Hypnos bronze head

A Roman bronze head that copies a known Greek statue. The complete Greek statue, carved in marble, now resides in the Prado Museum, Madrid. Identified as Hypnos, the Greek god of sleep, this winged head of a youth dates from the 4th century BC. Hypnos was fabled to be the son of Nyx and Erebus and the twin of Thanatos, and able to fly over land and sea lulling people to sleep. The writer Ovid believed he lived in the land of the Cimmerians, in a magic palace where everyone was asleep. According to other legends, he fell in love with Endymion and gave him the power to sleep with his eyes open so that he could constantly look at his lover. Moulded from the original in the Department of Greek and Roman Antiquities. Cat. Ref. Bronze 267 47R