Hypnos comes from the name of his Latin counterpart, Somnus. (in- "not" + somnus "sleep"), as well as a few less-common words such as "somnolent", meaning sleepy or tending to cause sleep and hypersomnia meaning excessive sleep, which can be caused by many conditions (known as secondary hypersomnia) or a rare sleep disorder causing excessive sleep with unknown cause, called Idiopathic Hypersomnia. 3D model of "Bronze head of Hypnos" via laser scan of a cast of British Museum's bronze. Hypnos In Greek mythology, Hypnos (; , "sleep") is the personification of sleep; the Roman equivalent is known as Somnus. In the
Modern understanding of Greek mythology mythology to the still poorly understood pre-Hellenic societies of Greece, such as the Minoans and so-called Pelasgians. This is especially true in the case of chthonic deities and mother goddesses. Historians of religion were fascinated by a number of apparently ancient configurations of myth connencted with Crete: the god as bull — Zeus and Europa; Pasiphaë who yields to the bull and gives birth to the Minotaur; agrarian mysteries with a sacred marriage (Demeter's union with Iasion) etc. Crete, Mycenae, Pylos, Thebes and Orchomenus figure so large in later Greek mythology. For some, the three main generations of gods in