the Cult of Sleep?

[Omalos]

Sleep (Hypnos or something like that in Greek I think) gets a mention somewhere. I mean as a person - as the brother of Death (Thanatos). My feeling is that he's likely a personification - from the word for sleep a person gets generated, but there are no real stories about this person.
What I'm curious about is whether the existence of cult ties to real deity. I.e. personifications don't have cult activity. Maybe looking into Sleep would throw some light on it. I can have a look first of all to see if there are any stories where Sleep features in a real way. And then have a look for cult activity. Does anyone have any ideas how to look for records of cult activity? I'm not sure about this and don't have access to a library so any ideas appreciated.
It seems to me that Sleep really could have a cult. Well - I suppose some Greeks had insomnia, which would be a good reason to make an offering to Sleep. Anyone notice a reference anywhere to a Greek with insomnia? Would be nice to be sure.
If I don't find any Cult of Sleep, maybe it would be fun to invent one. First things first though...

 

[Omalos]

Deeds of Sleep:
not much. Going from Robert Graves' Greek Myths -
Mentioned as one of the early gods in Hesiod. Only the geneology.
Is used by Zeus to make mankind drowsy while he made one day last 72 hours to give him time to really get to grips with Hercules' mother - the conception of Hercules.
Then later used by Hera to lull Zeus to sleep while she messed up Hercules' sailing voyage. When Zeus woke he went after Sleep who took refuge with Night, which saved her. (Sleep is a she by the way.)
That's the nearest Sleep comes to doing anything of her own initiative in the stories in Graves.
She also, along with Death, carries off Sarpedon's body after his death at Troy.

So it looks like Sleep doesn't really do anything of her own initiative. Not a real player. That looks like a personification, not a real deity. At least that's my hunch.

 

[Omalos]

so this i found - no sources given nor details at all-

Hypnos the Greek God of Sleep: Unveiling the Secrets of Ancient Greek Mythology - Old World Gods

Hypnos, the Greek god of sleep, holds a significant place in Greek mythology. He is the son of Nyx (Night) and twin brother of Thanatos (Death). Hypnos

oldworldgods.com

Hypnos’ Cult and Local Worship
Throughout ancient Greece, various cults and local forms of worship were dedicated to Hypnos. These cults often had specific rituals and ceremonies designed to honor and appease the god of sleep.

Dedicated temples and sanctuaries existed in several cities where believers would gather to seek Hypnos’ blessings.

In these religious settings, priests and priestesses performed sacred rites, including the burning of incense, pouring of libations, and recitation of prayers.

These rituals aimed to establish a connection with Hypnos and invoke his divine presence for a peaceful and restful sleep experience.

 

[Omalos]

looks like the guy for descriptions of cult practice is Pausanius. 2nd century AD i think. But his work has five volumes at about 25 euros each. I think that's beyond my budget. Or i suppose i could try the internet archive. though i don't like reading books on the screen. hm.

 

[Omalos]

on the history of insomnia - from The Lancet:
"In the few remaining pre-industrial equatorial societies, the prevalence of chronic insomnia is just 1–2%; indeed, within these communities there might not even be a word to signify involuntary sleeplessness."

it also says 10% of adults in modern high income countries.

So it was likely less of a big thing in ancient greece than it is for modern developed countries.
So they had less reason for cult - perhaps.

 

[Omalos]

I found a copy of volume 1 of Pausanius. There's no index - that would be in vol. 5. So I'm just reading it. It's a guide book to Greece for tourists. Volume 1 is Athens and around - maybe something else too. He tells you what shrines a temples and other sites there are, and what paintings and statues and other noteworthy things there are in and around them. Plus stories about, for example, the people that statues are of. So there is plenty of mention of the gods and heroes. But also there's something about cult practice and human relations with the gods and heroes.

I'll put the Cult of Sleep questions to one side at least for now, but maybe make some notes here as I read.

 

[Omalos]

A few bits and pieces from reading Pausanius:
Seems not uncommon to have disagreement of who a statue is of - or even nobody knows who it is. There was also a shrine or alter to "Unknown gods" somewhere (I forget where, near or on Athens though). There was also a painting which had "Demos" as a person. Demos must mean "the people" or something like that. And plenty of other gods who look like abstractions. They can also have altars. Would be natural then to make them offerings I suppose. And I think P. called them "gods"(theoi).

Speculating:
I have an idea that the Romans had no mythology of their own, and took over the Greek stories - attributing them to their own gods. Would be natural to suppose the Romans had somehow lost their stories. But perhaps it's the other way round - Having lots of gods with cult and altars but no stories could be normal. The Greeks were different then, in that they got a load of stories on top of the normal set-up. Also someone said that Homer gave faces to the gods, or something like that. And I think that was an old greek that said it - i mean ancient. SO then it would be wrong to divide off personifications from real gods. They're all real, only some of them got into the stories though.

Mercy had an alter in Athens. But didn't have one anywhere else. That's just an aside.

Why did stories of only some of the gods get passed down then? It could be that some of them didn't do anything - maybe. Or there wasn't much interest in them, so the bards weren't requesting those stories from the Muses. Or the Muses didn't want to tell those stories. And their reasons were their own. Not something for mortals to profitably poke their noses into. So we maybe reach a screen there.

 

[Omalos]

There was one case of a dedication to a god at their shrine, in which someone had left something out of the normal run of things. I don't remember what it was, but here is how it struck me-
Imagine a merchant who travelled to previously unknown lands, and brought back something previously unknown to their own people - as a gift to a god in their own town or village. How did they decide that this was a good idea as a gift? There must have been some flexibility in the cult. I think that it was as flexible as any relationship with a living person. Think of bringing a present back for someone in your family, or a friend. You have a feeling they will like it. You hope so. And try it. If the god ever dies, but the cult is kept up through love of tradition, or some other reason, then it will become fossilised.

 

[Omalos]

A detour: a pantheistic trip to the dentist's -

I remember it clearly; Night had come with her brother Darkness while the Hours were coming and going as they do. I sat on my bed rocking slowly backwards and forwards as sharp pointed Pain sat in my lower jaw, his power pulsing with the beat of my heart. Coloured stars flashed in front of my closed eyes.
First thing next morning I went to the tooth temple, where, fortunately, my girlfriend was assistant priest and oracle.

I'm finding this quite difficult to do. Maybe I'll continue another day.
The basic idea is that every concept is a person, who has power over the things it represents.