In Greek mythology, Nyx is the goddess and personification of the night. In Hesiod's Theogony she is the offspring of Chaos and, by Erebus (Darkness), mother of Aether and Hemera (Day); by herself she bears a brood of mostly negative personifications, including Thanatos, Hypnos, Nemesis, and Eris. Early cosmogonies often place her among the first deities. Poets describe a black-robed, sometimes winged goddess who drives a horse-drawn chariot across the sky; in the Iliad even Zeus fears to displease her. The Romans called her Nox. This entry concerns the mythological Night, not later astronomical namesakes.
Adapted from Wikipedia, "Nyx" · CC BY-SA 4.0
I.Genealogy
Hesiod makes Nyx a child of Chaos, sister (and consort) of Erebus, and mother by him of Aether and Hemera. Without a father she also produces Moros, Ker, Thanatos, Hypnos, the Oneiroi, Momus, Oizys, the Hesperides, the Moirai, the Keres, Nemesis, Apate, Philotes, Geras, and Eris, among others. Later Greek and Roman authors expand or vary the list; Aeschylus makes her mother of the Erinyes, and Bacchylides names Hecate among her daughters.
Orphic theogonies give Night a still more central role: in the earliest Orphic cosmogonies she may be the first deity and mother of Uranus; in the Rhapsodies she is daughter and consort of Phanes and second ruler of the gods, nurse and prophetic counsellor of Zeus.
II.Literary character
Homer's Iliad recounts that Hypnos once fled Zeus's wrath by taking refuge with Night, and that Zeus, though furious, "was in awe of doing anything to swift Night's displeasure." Hesiod locates her home at the far western ends of the earth, near the entrance to the underworld and the dwellings of Hypnos and Thanatos; each day she and her daughter Hemera pass at the threshold as one goes out and the other returns.
Fifth-century tragedy and later poets picture her black-robed, winged, and driving a chariot among the stars as Helios finishes his course. Roman poets such as Virgil, Ovid, Tibullus, and Statius stress her sombre or terrifying aspect, sometimes placing her in the underworld and giving Sleep as her charioteer.
III.Iconography and cult
In Greek art Nyx is often hard to distinguish from other celestial goddesses such as Selene and Eos. She commonly appears winged, driving a chariot, or later as a velificans with a billowing veil; Pausanias describes her on the chest of Cypselus nursing Hypnos and Thanatos as children. She sometimes figures among the gods fighting Giants on the Pergamon Altar.
Cult evidence is sparse. Pausanias records an oracle of Night on the acropolis of Megara; some traditions make her the earliest owner of Delphi's oracle; a statue by Rhoecus stood in the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus. Roman authors mention dark animals sacrificed to Night. The goddess Nyx is distinct from later bodies named for her in modern astronomy.