Oneiroi

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The Oneiroi ( Greek Ὄνειροι Óneiroi , German 'dreams' ) are the embodiment of dreams or dreams in Greek mythology . The singular Oneiros ( Ὄνειρος Óneiros ) as a designation for a god of dreams is rare. The Oneiroi are more often mentioned as an unspecified group. In Hesiod's theogony they are the children of the Nyx ("night"): "Nyx now begat [...] the Hypnos at the same time as the swarm of the Oneiren".

According to Homer , the land of dreams ( demos oneiroi ) is part of the underworld. It is on the other side of the Ocean , on the other side of the white rock and the gates of the sun, before reaching the Asphodeloswiese , where the abode is the shadow of the dead.

True dreams and dream portals

Homer also distinguishes between deceptive dreams and true dreams. However, it is not the case that deceptive dreams are simply delusions and that dreams sent by the gods are always true dreams. Rather, the gods also make use of deceptive dreams. So when Zeus plans to move Agamemnon to premature battle , he sends him a deceptive dream in the form of the wise advisor Nestor . But it is precisely this passage that is criticized by Plato , who said, no matter how much Homer is valued that Homer shows the god Zeus as a sender of false dreams, that could not find approval.

Aesop explains in a fable how it came about that the gods not only send people true dreams. For Apollo once asked Zeus for the gift of infallible prophecy. When the gift was granted and Apollo was now the greatest prophet among the gods, he became even prouder than before and so arrogant that Zeus thought about a remedy and therefore created the true dreams so that people could foresee the future in visions even without Apollo's help. When Apollo then asked for forgiveness and pleaded with Zeus not to devalue the prophecy entirely with the true dreams, Zeus created the false dreams. When the people noticed that some dreams were only a mist, they turned back to the oracles of Apollo.

According to Homer, true and false dreams can be distinguished on the basis of the gate:

Because they are, as they say, two gates of futile dreams:
One made of ivory, the other made of Horne.
Which are now going out of the ivory gate,
These deceive the mind by false preaching;
Others who emerge from the gate of smooth horn,
Indicate reality when it appears to people.

The image of the two gates of dreams ( pylê oneirôn ) had a broad aftermath in poetry and iconography. According to one of Flavius ​​Philostratos' descriptions of the pictures, the famous Amphiareion of Oropos is the subject of a picture. In this sanctuary, the sick, in particular, looked for advice on therapy in dreams (see Enkoimesis ). The picture shows the city of Oropos as a youth in the middle of the Thalattai , the allegories of the seas, as well as the gate of dreams, next to which the white clad Aletheia , the goddess of truth, stands and thus shows that in this place the sleeper finds the truth in dreams finds. The dream ( Oneiros ) is also shown carrying a horn in his hands .

Dreams in Roman Mythology

In Roman mythology , the Greek Oneiroi correspond to the Somnia , who are also children of the Nox (night) here. Hyginus Mythographus states that the Somnia was the father of Erebus .

Ovid names Somnus as the father of dreams. In the Metamorphoses he reports on a thousand sons of Somnus, including the three brothers Morpheus , Phobetor (or Ikelos) and Phantasos . Of them, Morpheus is the most powerful. He forms human actors in dreams. Phobetor is responsible for the representation of animals. Finally, Phantasos shapes everything that is inanimate, i.e. earth, stones, water and trees. While the nameless Oneiroi send their dreams to the people, Morpheus, Phobetor and Phantasos take over this task with kings and tribal princes.

literature

Web links

  • Oneiroi in the Theoi Project (English)

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Hesiod Theogony 211f
  2. ↑ Homer's Odyssey, December 24th
  3. ↑ Homer Iliad 2.5
  4. ↑ Plato Politeia 383b
  5. ↑ Vita Aesopi 33
  6. ↑ Homer Odyssey , Canto 19, 562-567. Translation by Johann Heinrich Voss .
  7. ↑ Philostratos imagines 1.27
  8. ^ Hyginus fabulae praefatio; Cicero de natura deorum 3.17
  9. ^ Ovid Metamorphoses XI, 633ff
  10. ↑ Oneiroi: Gods or Spirits of Dreams. Theoi Project, Aaron J. Atsma, New Zealand, accessed August 21, 2016 .