Hypnos༺

Hades

The action takes place in the universe of the game "Hades".

Hypnosis

Hypnos is the embodiment of sleep. He is one of the many children of Nyx and the younger twin brother of Thanatos. He watches the procession of newly arrived shades walk before Hades, checking their names against his list. He is often seen sleeping on the job. He greets Zagreus most of the time when the prince is killed and returns to the House via the Styx Basin, and often gives unhelpful advice and jokes about whatever enemy or natural force Zagreus finds himself in.

Hypnos's appearance

Hypnos sports a lazy expression and curly hair, which he twirls around a feather. His silver hair and golden eyes are the only features he seems to have inherited from his twin brother. His skin is very pale, almost bluish. Hypnos is of average height for a god; when not slouching or stretching, he is noticeably taller than Zagreus and as tall as his brother, and boasts a slender frame. He is often seen sleeping face down. His attire consists of a long red tunic decorated with gold details and a long velvet red cape with white trim, resembling a blanket. His belt is decorated with poppies, which are often associated with sleep, and an emblem of a sleeping skull. He always carries a tablet and a quill, which he uses to read reports. Like his brother, he wears a pair of golden wings on his back, decorated with "four" patterns on both shoulders. He also wears a mask with red eyes to "pretend" that he is awake when in reality, he is asleep.

Hypnos's relationship with Nikta

Hypnos usually addresses Nyx as "Mother" and still struggles with calling her "Mother Nyx" while in the Great Hall, which may reinforce Nyx's belief that her son is too dependent on her. His loneliness, in turn, is exacerbated by her request that he refrain from engaging her in conversation. Hypnos has become so accustomed to his mother's lack of praise that he has stopped expecting it; when Nyx first tells him that his "efforts deserve praise", he immediately assumes that someone else is doing the praising. He goes so far as to guess that Hades is that "someone", never realizing that Nyx herself would be doing the praising. Regardless, Hypnos has only ever shown affection to his mother.

Hypnos's relationship with Thanatos

Hypnos is initially kept at arm's length by Thanatos, who, like their mother, primarily interacts with Hypnos to discuss Hypnos's work ethic and job safety. Such interactions consist of Thanatos lecturing Hypnos; otherwise, he spends little time talking to his twin. Thanatos has little faith in Hypnos, so when Hypnos presents a flawless report, he mistakenly assumes that someone must have been helping his brother. Unlike his relationship with Nyx, Hypnos is openly concerned that his brother may hate him, however, he still adores both Nyx and Thanatos. Hypnos craves his brother's attention and company, and at one point suggests that Thanatos kill all mortals in one fell swoop so that the two of them can spend more time together. Hypnos' relationship with Thanatos improves once Hypnos increases his productivity, and when Thanatos, after Zagreus chides him for how "mean" he has been to his brother lately, begins making an effort to be kinder to his twin.

Hypnos's relationship with Megaera

Hypnos freely offers Megaera the same type of advice he gives Zagreus whenever Megaera or Zagreus emerge from the Basin of Styx. At some point, Hypnos begins to develop a small crush on her, which is fanned when she begins to die more often at Zagreus' hands, and thus emerge from the Basin of Styx more often. Hypnos initially allows himself to believe that Megaera has begun to die more often simply to see him, as if they have some kind of personal connection. However, Hypnos's pedestal of Megaera eventually loses its luster when Megaera, despite all his advice, continues to lose to Zagreus. Although Hypnos no longer believes Megaera to be invincible, he is easily able to overcome his "dislike" as he genuinely enjoys talking to Megaera at all; unlike the shadows, Megaera and Zagreus actually talk to him.

Hypnosis's Relationship with Zagreem

Hypnos is the first person to greet Zagreus whenever Zagreus emerges from the Basin of Styx. As the employee responsible for recording the details of deceased Shades and their deaths, Hypnos knows exactly how Zagreus died and will offer advice on how to avoid a specific death or deal with a specific enemy in the future. Although Zagreus has not always been kind to him (Zagreus himself admitted to Thanatos that he personally "treated Hypnos very badly"), Hypnos enjoys the opportunity to talk to Zagreus whenever Zagreus dies; Hypnos begins to view Zagreus not only as a friend, but as a "true friend" after Zagreus speaks to Thanatos on Hypnos' behalf. Eventually, Hypnos will consider Zagreus his "best friend", or the person closest to him.

Hypnos's character

In a constant battle against sleep, Hypnos sleeps more often than he does his job of keeping track of new arrivals to the House of the Dead awaiting judgement. He is the physical embodiment of sleep and is far more powerful than he appears, as he can put the entire House to sleep. Hypnos is a serious case of immortal immaturity. He is constantly idle and finds many ways to avoid the responsibility of keeping track of the dead, from doodling to sleeping. Despite his laziness, he is usually quite talkative. Achilles speculates that he has not been fired yet because Hades finds him so amusing and considers him "the unofficial court jester." Despite the grim nature of his job, Hypnos is very cheerful, and although he does not have the best professional reputation, he is always very helpful. Some dialogue suggests that Hypnos is bored at work, is a "sad clown", feels lonely and wants to talk to someone. He will greet Zagreus, happily comment and make notes on his report of his latest death, and often give the prince "advice", which is always met with sarcasm or outright rejection due to its bluntness and obviousness, making it seem as if Hypnos is mocking Zagreus rather than helping him as he would like. Unlike Thanatos, who is skilled at his job, Hypnos does not take his job too seriously. Hypnos cannot be found outside the House at any point in the game, and will remain in the House, unlike Thanatos, who often helps Zagreus behind Hades' back. Hypnos clearly admires his brother and wants to spend more time with him, despite Thanatos' cold attitude. At one point, he suggests to Thanatos that they "kill all the mortals at once" to make his job easier and thus spend more time together, which could spare his brother from the drudgery, but Thanatos chides him for the "stupidity" of this idea.

Facts about Hypnos

Hypnos exhibits features of narcolepsy and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, including absent-mindedness, difficulty concentrating, and hyperactivity. For a long time, he thought that Zagreus was trying to escape because he was unhappy with being fired from his job. His desire for Thanatos to spend more time with him may have been due to the fact that in Ancient Greece they were most often depicted together and even considered inseparable.