Thanatos
From Free Encyclopedia of Thelema
| Greek deities series | |
|---|---|
| Primordial deities | |
| Titans and Olympians | |
| Aquatic deities | |
| Chthonic deities | |
| Other deities | |
| Personified concepts | |
In Greek mythology, Thanatos (θάνατος, "death") was the personification of death (Roman equivalent: Mors). He was a creature of bone-chilling darkness. He was a son of Nyx and twin of Hypnos. He plays little role in the myths. He became rather overshadowed by Hades the lord of death. Night, the destructive, brought forth a horde of villainous immortals. Thanatos was one of that wretched lot.
Night’s offspring are described as "horrible, painful, cruel, brooding, mocking and malignant." (Theogony, 212). (The one exception is "loving Affection" who is placed between Deception and Old Age.)
Thanatos might be poetically called the brother of Sleep and the son of Night.
In art, Thanatos was depicted as a young man carrying a butterfly, wreath or inversed torch in his hands. He sometimes has two wings and a sword attached to his belt.
Other uses
In psychoanalytical theory, Thanatos is the death instinct, which opposes Eros. The "death instinct" identified by Sigmund Freud, which signals a desire to give up the struggle of life and return to quiescence and the grave. This should not be confused with a similar urge/force destrudo.
Note that Mars is not the Roman equivalent of Thanatos. Thanatos is death. Mars, the god of war, is Ares' Roman equivalent.
See also
References
- Wikipedia (2005). Thanatos. Retrieved July 9, 2005.
