Nyx

> Oh! thou divine Nyx! how slowly thy chariot threads its way through the starry vault, across the sacred realms of the Aether and mighty Olympus.
>
>

**Nyx** is the primordial Greek goddess (and personification) of the night, her name means "the mother night."

## Overview

Nyx is one of the Protogenoi, primordial Deities of Greek mythology. The protogenoi were the first entities or beings that come into existence, they form the very fabric of the universe and as such are truly immortal. Everything in existence is born of them, including the Titans and the Olympian gods. Unlike the Titans, when overthrown by the next generation of deities, the protogenoi didn't lose their power or position, for the very simple reason that they **form** the existence.

A shadowy figure, Nyx stood at or near the beginning of creation and mothered other personified deities such as Hypnos (Sleep) and Thanatos (Death), with Erebus (Darkness). Her appearances are sparse in surviving mythology, but reveal her as a figure of such exceptional power and beauty that she is feared by Zeus himself.

Nyx, alongside her Primordial siblings, is born of Khaos. With Erebus (Darkness), Nyx gives birth to Aether (Brightness) and Hemera (Day). Later, Nyx gives birth to Moros (Doom, Destiny), the Keres (Destruction, Death), Thanatos (Death), Hypnos (Sleep), the Oneiros (Dreams) (though they were mainly children of her son Hypnos), Momus (Blame), Oizys (Pain, Distress), Charon, the Hesperides, the Moirai, Nemesis (Indignation, Retribution), Apate (Deceit), Philotes (Friendship), Geras (Old Age), Eris (Strife) alongside many others.

## Appearance

She is depicted as a goddess draped in long flowing black robes that are coated with the void of space and glimmering distant stars. Her appearances in mythology are sparse, but reveal her as a figure of exceptional power. In ancient art Nyx was depicted as a either a winged goddess or charioteer, sometimes crowned with an aureole of dark mists.

In her human form, Nyx appears as a beautiful young woman, with a mature figure, blue eyes and neck length black hair.

In her second form, she appears as a beautiful fair-skinned woman, with dark hair that reaches her hips and purple colored eyes. When on earth, she wears a black blazer with a black belt over her white collared shirt with a lavender bow tie, along with a white skirt, long black socks and simple black shoes. Erebus points out that she "inherited" the shape of Khaos' eyes. Also, Nyx seems to be well endowed as well as Khaos in her female forms.

## Personality

As a Primordial, Nyx's personality isn't truly describable as it can differ according to the entity.

According to her family and children, Nyx displays a motherly personality. She is seen as warm, caring and just a person who you can let your guard down around. Like her husband, she cares for all things that come under her care, treating them as she would her own children even if they aren't her children as shown with her attitude towards Hades, Hecate and others.

Like her husband, Nyx holds completely amorality to any mortal being or race as their troubles and woes mean nothing to a primordial beings like herself. However, Nyx has been shown to hold great animosity for most of humanity, despising what they are and what they did to her and her family. It is said that during the Great Flood, Nyx watched with utter glee as humanity was destroyed by God but accepted the fact that a couple were able to survive. Like her husband, she holds a grudging respect for humans. Nyx admits that their tenacity is what allowed them to survive for so long and become numerous species, stating that if they didn't learn to band together, they would have been wiped out.

## Powers and Abilities

As one of the Protogenoi, Nyx is an extremely powerful deity feared by mortals and gods alike. Zeus himself feared her enough to retract all threats against her son Hypnos and regretted even touching Nemesis.
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## History

In the beginning, there was the Khaos, and from Khaos came Erebus and Nyx, a pair of god twins who embodied aspects of the absence of light; Erebus was darkness itself and Nyx was night, being in some sense related to Ouranos - the starry sky. The pair of twins generated some new gods: Hypnos (sleep) and Thanatos (death), twins just like their parents, after all death and sleep are similar, but not the same, similar to night and darkness. They also had Aether (light) and Hemera (day), between others.

One account that details Zeus' fear of Nyx is when Hypnos, the god of sleep, reminds Hera of an old favor after she asks him to put Zeus to sleep. He had once before put Zeus to sleep at the bidding of Hera, allowing her to cause Heracles, who was returning by sea from Laomedon's Troy, great misfortune. Zeus was furious and would have smitten Hypnos into the sea if he had not fled to Nyx, his mother, in fear. In fact, the king of the gods was fearful to the point where he held his fury at bay and in this way Hypnos escaped the wrath of Zeus by appealing to his powerful mother. He disturbed Zeus only a few times after that always fearing Zeus and running back to his mother, Nyx, who would have confronted Zeus with a maternal fury.

Nyx lived in Tartarus with her daughter Hemera. During the day, Nyx would leave Tartarus (while Hemera was returning) and fly up out of the Underworld and bring Erebus together making it night time. When Nyx came back to Tartarus, Hemera left and scattered Erebus thus, revealing Aether and making it day. Later Eos the goddess of dawn came along and gave them a break. After that when Hemera arrived, Eos would leave then Nyx would leave.

## Myths and Legends

Versions of her birth and origins vary, but one interpretation has her as a creator goddess, laying a silver egg that produces the gods responsible for the creation of the world. Chaos didn't exist and Nyx was the first divine Entity, promoting her power and importance even more. One example is that the Moirai, her daughters serve her.

## Quotes

> How can you stop me? How can you do anything but watch? I am mankind's first darkness. I am midnight and moonrise. I am a primal being, greater than gods... What are you?
>
> Nyx to Zeus.

> The goddess of the night in Greek mythology. She was born out of Chaos and gave birth to many offspring, including light (Aether), day (Hemera), death (Thanatos) and the Moirae Sisters among others.
>
> The Demonic Compendium.

> The moment man devoured the fruit of knowledge, he sealed his fate... Entrusting his future to the cards, man clings to a dim hope. Yes, the Arcana is the means by which all is revealed.
>
> Nyx

## Gallery

Goddess Nyx - Story, symbols and powers of the Greek Goddess of Night.webpThe goddess of the night (Art by William-Adolphe Bouguereau)Wp8851152.jpg(Art by ???)Nyx creating a star, Sara Cuervo.pngNyx creating a star (Art by Sara Cuervo)Nyx greek mythology by yliade ddkvttt-fullview.png(Art by Yliade)Nyx and erebus original concept by dianaiiz deahhh1-pre.jpgNyx and Erebus (Art by Dianaiiz)Tumblr inline pi3wn7qmI51qm8zcd 540.pngNyx and Erebus on a date (Art by Port of Zelda)Nyx in Shin DxD.pngHuman form (Art by Miyama-Zero)Nyx (Earth-616) from Avengers No Road Home Vol 1 4 002.jpg(Art from Marvel)Nyx.Avatar.full.502499.jpg(Art from Persona 3)
## Trivia

* Her name means "night" in Greek; the alternate spelling "Nox" means the same in Latin.
* While Erebus likes any kind of tea, she seems to like any kind of coffee.