Thanatos
THA na toos
Θανατος
Death
A Child of Nyx
Nyx (Black Night) is one of the oldest Immortals ... she was brought forth by the first Immortal, Chaos. From Nyx came a hoard of Immortals, most of which are usually thought of as: horrible, painful, cruel, brooding, mocking and malignant but some of her children are true benefactors of the mortal humans. Thanatos is one of the more feared of Nyx’s children.
Thanatos might be poetically called the twin brother of Hypnos (Sleep) but no matter how you describe him, he is a creature of bone chilling darkness. Hypnos goes kindly among the mortals but Thanatos has a heart made of pitiless iron ... when he takes hold of you, the world of light ceases to be.
From on high, Helios (the Sun) never casts his light on Thanatos because he resides in his mother’s house of gloom and only emerges when Helios has stabled his chariot and not riding through the sky.
Thanatos at Troy
Thanatos played an important role in the Trojan War when he was summoned by Apollon to assist in the return of the body of Sarpedon to his native land of Lykia (Lycia). Sarpedon was a son of Zeus and thus a demigod. He was an ally of the Trojans and fought bravely until he was killed by Patroklos (Patroclus) in the last year of the war.
Zeus had engineered the Trojan War to rid the earth of the demigods and as much as he regretted it, his son Sarpedon was one of the demigods fated to die at Troy. When Patroklos donned Achilles’ armor and charged into the Trojan lines, he killed many men and then finally came against Sarpedon. When Patroklos engaged Sarpedon, he first killed Sarpedon’s charioteer, Thrasymelos (Thrasymelus). Sarpedon threw his spear at Patroklos but missed and hit one of Achilles’ chariot horses in the right shoulder ... the horse screamed and went down into the dust, dead. Patroklos again charged Sarpedon and killed him.
The fight for the body and armor of Sarpedon was fierce ... Zeus lamented the loss of his son and could not bear to see Sarpedon’s body disgraced in the blood and gore of the battlefield ... he summoned Apollon and instructed him to retrieve Sarpedon’s body, wash it clean and then instruct Thanatos and Hypnos to transport the body to Lykia so that Sarpedon could have a hero’s burial and be mourned by his friends and family. Thanatos solemnly did as he was told.
At Zeus’ command, Thanatos retrieves the dead body of Sarpedon from the battlefield at Troy.
Thanatos and Alkestis
Thanatos may have a heart of iron but he can be persuaded to show sympathy ... the story of Admetos (Admetus) and his wife Alkestis (Alcestis) is an example of how Thanatos released his death-hold and allowed a mortal to return to the land of the living.
Admetos was king of Pherae in Thessaly and unwittingly drawn into the plots and dramas of the Immortals when Zeus made Apollon into Admetos’ slave for one year as retribution for Apollon’s vengeful attack on the Cyclops. Admetos was a kind master and treated Apollon with respect ... in repayment for such noble treatment, Apollon arranged for Admetos to marry a lovely woman named Alkestis.
When Apollon found out that Admetos was destined to die immediately after the marriage, he wooed the Eumenides (Fates) with wine until they agreed to allow Admetos to live. The Eumenides were not easily persuaded ... they would only allow Admetos to live on the condition that someone else volunteer to die in his place. Alkestis loved her husband so much that she agreed to die for him.
During his travels, Herakles (Heracles) happened to visit King Admetos shortly after Thanatos had taken Alkestis ... . when Herakles heard the story of how Alkestis had volunteered to die in Admetos’ place, he was so moved by such an act of selflessness that he intercepted Thanatos as he was escorting Alkestis to the Underworld and persuaded him returned Alkestis to the land of the living to be reunited with Admetos.
Thanatos in The Iliad
(listed by book and line)
The references listed here are from four different translations of The Iliad.
Richmond Lattimore
- 14.231 - Hera promises Sleep, the brother of Death, many gifts if he will use his powers on Zeus
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- 16.454 - When Zeus regrets the impending death of his son Sarpedon, Hera advises him to let Sarpedon die and then send Death and painless Sleep to the battlefield to transport Sarpedon’s body to his home in Lykia
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- 16.672 - Zeus instructs Apollon to retrieve the body of his son Sarpedon and to wash the body in the river then let the twin brothers Sleep and Death carry the body to Lykia
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- 16.682 - Apollon gives the body of Sarpedon to the twin brothers, Sleep and Death, so they can carry the body to Lykia as Zeus had commanded
Loeb Classical Library
- 14.231 - Hera promises Sleep, the brother of Death, many gifts if he will use his powers on Zeus
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- 16.454 - When Zeus regrets the impending death of his son Sarpedon, Hera advises him to let Sarpedon die and then send Death and sweet Sleep to the battlefield to transport Sarpedon’s body to his home in Lycia
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- 16.672 - Zeus instructs Apollo to retrieve the body of his son Sarpedon and to wash the body in the river then let the twin brothers Sleep and Death carry the body to Lycia
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- 16.682 - Apollo gives the body of Sarpedon to the twin brothers Sleep and Death so they can carry the body to Lycia as Zeus had commanded
Robert Fagles
- 14.277 - Hera promises Sleep, the brother of Death, many gifts if he will use his powers on Zeus
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- 16.539 - When Zeus regrets the impending death of his son Sarpedon, Hera advises him to let Sarpedon die and then send Death and soothing Sleep to the battlefield to transport Sarpedon’s body to his home in Lycia
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- 16.785 - Zeus instructs Apollo to retrieve the body of his son Sarpedon and to wash the body in the river then let the twin brothers Sleep and Death carry the body to Lycia
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- 16.798 - Apollo gives the body of Sarpedon to the twin brothers Sleep and Death so they can carry the body to Lycia as Zeus had commanded
Robert Fitzgerald
- 14.259 - Hera promises Sleep, the brother of Death, many gifts if he will use his powers on Zeus
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- 16.527 - When Zeus regrets the impending death of his son Sarpedon, Hera advises him to let Sarpedon die and then send Death and sweetest Sleep to the battlefield to transport Sarpedon’s body to his home in Lykia
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- 16.770 - Zeus instructs Apollo to retrieve the body of his son Sarpedon and to wash the body in the river then let the twin brothers, Sleep and Death, carry the body to Lykia
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- 16.781 - Lord Apollo gives the body of Sarpedon to the twin brothers, Sleep and Death, so they can carry the body to Lykia as Zeus had commanded
Thanatos in The Odyssey
(listed by book and line)
The references listed here are from four different translations of The Odyssey.
Richmond Lattimore
- 11.134 - At the entrance to the Underworld, the ghost of the prophet Teiresias tells Odysseus that at the end of his long life, Death will come for him from the sea
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- 23.281 - Reunited with Penelope, Odysseus tells her the prophecy of Teiresias and how Death will come for him from the sea after a long life
Loeb Classical Library
- 11.134 - At the entrance to the Underworld, the ghost of the prophet Teiresias tells Odysseus that, at the end of his long life, death will come for him from the sea
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- 23.281 - Reunited with Penelope, Odysseus tells her the prophecy of Teiresias and how death will come for him from the sea after a long life
Robert Fagles
- 11.154 - At the entrance to the Underworld, the ghost of the prophet Tiresias tells Odysseus that at the end of his long life, painless death will come far from the sea to take him down
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- 23.322 - Reunited with Penelope, Odysseus tells her the prophecy of Tiresias and how painless death will come far from the sea to take him down
Robert Fitzgerald
- 11.148 - At the entrance to the Underworld, the ghost of the prophet Teiresias tells Odysseus that seaborne death will come upon him
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- 23.313 - Reunited with Penelope, Odysseus tells her the prophecy of Teiresias and how death will drift upon him rom seaward
Other Text References
Works and Days
- line 154 - The Bronze generation of mortals were destroyed by their own hands and went to the chill House of Hades when Thanatos seized them
Theogony
- line 213 - Thanatos is one of the children of Nyx (Night)
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- line 756 - Nyx (Night) holds Hypnos (Sleep) and Thanatos in her arms as she rises into the sky
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- line 759 - The awful gods Hypnos (Sleep) and Thanatos dwell in gloom with their mother, Nyx (Night)
The Children of Nyx
