Online Reference For Body, Mind & Spirit

Term: Hypnos

DEFINITION:
Greek God of sleep. His mother was Nyx (night), and his twin brother is Thanatos (death). Equates to the Roman Somnus. Outside of his dwelling place, a dark cave, are found sleep-inducing plants such as poppies. A Scottish physician named James Braid saw a demonstration of Mesmerism and thought that Mesmerized people were in a state similar to sleep. He discarded the theories of Mesmer and called the sleep “hypnosis.” Later, he realized that hypnosis was not sleep and tried to change the name to “monoideism.”