Mythical Creatures and Legends – Morpheus, God of Dreams – D.A. Henneman

When searching for the hero in Web Of Lies (Goddesses In Love Collection), Morpheus came to me like a dream. I mean, it was a literal dream. Appropriate for the personification of sleep, as he shapes dreams and nightmares much as Arachne weaves fabric. They are perfect for one another, or at least they are in my story. But what I found is that his character is as illusive as some visions he creates, hard to pin down into any one category. This post was my way of getting to know him better, to make sense of his mythology and legend. Buckle up, it’s about to get strange.

Origins of Morpheus

In Greek mythology, Morpheus was one of many sons of Hypnos, the God of sleep, who was the son of Nyx (Primordial Goddess of Night). She is considered one of the first beings to have emerged from Chaos, so we aren’t going to get much further back than her, and she is on my radar for a post of her own for sure! Back on track though… we are chatting about her Grandson today.

Hypnos’ sons were known as Oneiroi, which were dark winged spirits (similar to bats) that flew out each night from Erebos (Eternal Darkness) to share their gifts. On a side note: for those who have read my Power Of Four Series, the word Erebos will ring a bell, for those who haven’t, it is the name of my “baddie.” These spirits were personifications of various dreams, which is most likely why there are so many of them, and Morpheus was their leader. When they flew out at night, they came through one of two gates, the first made of “horn” which were prophetic god-sent dreams, and the second made of “ivory” which were known as false dreams. Morpheus’ particular talent was to mimic any male form at will, so he provided messages to royalty in their sleep, often taking on the form of a loved one. The most memorable example I could find for this happening was the Myth of Halcyon and Ceyx. I remember reading it as a kid, but for my story, I took a little liberty and allowed him to mimic women as well.

Like other gods associated with sleep, his true form showed him with wings on his back believed to have been given to him by their uncle Thantos (Death), although there are mentions he was born with them. He has also been depicted as having a winged ear, symbolizing his ability to hear and respond to dreams. These wings not only allowed him to reach those whom required a message but also to carry his wingless father around in the dream world caves they lived in. Morpheus’s mother was Pasithea, the Goddess of relaxation and rest, who was one of the Graces and is connected as a descendant of Hera and possibly Dionysus (which would make sense for the relaxation part). His brothers who were described by name were: Phoebetor (Frightener/Nightmares), Phantasus (Fantasy/Illusions), and Ikelos (True Dreams).

Morpheus and his brothers live in the Land of Dreams in a section of the Underworld, yup… that place ruled by Hades. In Web Of Lies (Goddesses In Love, Book 4), we get a good look at where he lives and what someone would have to do to get there, although according to myth only the gods that lived in Olympus could visit Morpheus and his family there. What I also mention in my story is his bedroom is full of poppies, which is connected to Opium (Morphine). Very significant to the God of Dreams, don’t you think?

Significant Relationships

It seems that our poor Morpheus was a work-o-holic and didn’t have time for a wife or family, although I did find a few mentions of him being connected to Iris (personification of the rainbow). Since he was in charge of all of the dreams, for all of the humans, I think this rings pretty true. I mean, considering how many people and time zones there are on this planet, he has to be insanely busy. If anyone watched the Sandman series on Netflix, that is just how I imagined him, pale, exhausted, and emo. Since I’m also one to want to give everyone their happily ever-after… I paired him up with someone who made complete sense to me.

Zeus was most likely one of the most significant relationships for Morpheus, in that he was used as a messenger to reach kings in their sleep. (Hermes was the messenger of the gods, but only relayed messages between the habitants of Olympus. The mortals were a different story). In this way, Morpheus was able to keep things on track for Zeus. This relationship would have been tricky for Morpheus considering that Zeus and Morpheus’ father, Hypnos, had some baggage. Hypnos had the ability to put humans and gods to sleep, and had used that ability a few times on the King of the Gods. It goes without saying that Zeus wasn’t happy about it, and Morpheus was in charge of moving his father around the Underworld to avoid Zeus’s wrath.

For the purposes of my story, I connected him to Arachne since she too was exhausted and emo, although I would argue she had every right to be considering what she turned into every night. The challenge was that Morpheus could only be in his true form in his world, and she only knew him from her dreams, something I imagined would be the case from the things I read through. Having her help him with the weaving and crafting of dreams for eternity was something that made us both happy.

Lavender Book Cover with images of Poppies and a spider - Title: Web Of Lies

Versions of Morpheus

There are a few stories that mention him specifically in Greek/Roman myth, like the story of Halcyon (Alcyone) & Ceyx, or when he delivered a message to King Agamemnon in the Iliad. However, the idea of Morpheus, his personification if you will, extends far beyond those stories and into our modern imaginings. I mean… any Gen X’r is going to know this guy…

Morpheus in the “Matrix” franchise is similar to the Greek version in that he delivers a message to the “sleeping” Neo. If you haven’t watched it just know that I’m a huge fan and would highly recommend it, although it may not be your cup of tea if you aren’t into Dystopian Sci-Fi. If nothing else, it is fun watching Keanu Reeves kick some booty. Don’t even get my started on this movie you guys… omg… I believe it is the one to popularize bullet time. Now I need to watch it again… so good!

Amid allegations of sexual assault against the creator, there is also “The Sandman” on Netflix which is releasing Season 2 in July of 2025. For purposes of this post I am focusing on the actor’s portrayal of The Sandman’s main character Morpheus. His demeanor and mannerisms are very much like what I imagine the God Of Dreams to be, giving the impression that the character is dark, driven, and serious about his job. For the purposes of my story, he is complicated and is slow to realize that he needs to be more open than he is used to.

There isn’t much to go on when it comes to stories about Morpheus, but perhaps that is how it should be since we are talking about the God of Dreams, right? He is meant to direct dreams into our head when we are most receptive to receiving them, then monitoring our progress and sending tailored messages to us as needed. We are the captain of the ship, but he is the wave, and we can either work with him or fight him. Not sure about you, but I’m ready to go with the flow and let the magick happen. Time for a new story, and while he won’t be there in name, he will definitely be there in spirit. He always is.

As always, thank you for sharing this journey with me, and for taking the time out of your day to read my thoughts. It means a lot. For anyone interested in my writing please feel free to stay awhile and poke around on my website. I have a ton of content I’ve been developing over the years and I would love to get your thoughts on it.