Hypnos by Roman sculptor

Hypnos by Roman sculptor Travel photography Family-friendly: true

120-130. Marble, 150 x 55 cm.

This personification of dreams ("Hypnos") is the brother of Death and son of Night and Erebus (the darkness of hell). Hypnos traveled around the world on wings, making the living drowsy. His attributes, opium poppies in his left hand and a small horn in his outstretched right hand, are lost on this statue. Hypnos, or Sleep, strides towards a figure lying at his feet, who was not shown, to wet his lips with the soothing elixir of the horn. The tree trunk with its two lizards is a Roman addition to strengthen the marble statue. This sculpture is the best-known representation of him and is a roman copy of a Hellenistic original that some writers attribute to the school of Praxiteles (early third century B.C.) and others consider early neo-Attic (mid second century B.C.).