If you were ancient and Greek this was the guy who handled the people in your dreams and nightmares. The director and shaper, Morpheus literally means "he who forms, or molds" (from the Greek 'morphe'). He's usually depicted in a dimly lit cave, lying upon a bed of ebony and surrounded by the poppy flowers - their milk running thick with narcotic.
Morpheus may appear to humans in their dreams, but only in the shape of a man - his responsibilities did not cover animal or the inanimate. He is responsible for shaping dreams, or giving shape to the beings which inhabit dreams. Morpheus, known from
Ovid's
Metamorphoses, plays little or no part in Greek mythology and is mentioned as the son of
Hypnos, the god of sleep:
"King Sleep was father of a thousand sons -
indeed a tribe - and of them all, the one
he chose was Morpheus, who had such skill
in miming any human form at will.
No other Dream can match his artistry
in counterfeiting men: their voice, their gait,
their face - their moods; and, too, he imitates
their dress precisely and the words they use
most frequently. But he mimes only men..."
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Greek And Roman Mythology