Night from Gustave Moreau, 1880.This is my favorite painting from Gustave Moreau, the French symbolist painter who loves to paint Mythological figures and does it so well. Remember, he painted Juno, Miss June in this year's blog. This is the painting that introduced me to Moreau as it hung over a friend's bed in the 70's...and she is still there serving as a sleeping aid of sorts. Moreau's paintings had at one time fallen out of favor but there was a revival of an interest in his work in the myth loving 60's. This painting is titled Night and it features Nyx, Goddess of the night, whom you may recall sprung from Chaos. She was feared by men and Gods alike with even the mighty Zeus going out of his way to not anger her. She saw some action as evidenced by her numerous offspring, including Hypnos (sleep), Monus (blame), Aether (atmosphere), Hemera (day), Thanatos (death), Philotes (friendship), Apate (deception), Geras (age) and the ferryman of Hades himself, Charon. Notice the spooky little owl trying to keep up with her to her right and the star above her which is her symbol along with the moon. One of Pluto's moons is named for her even though the spelling had to be changed to Nix to avoid confusion with an asteroid winning her name earlier. It is said that with the advance of civilization and lighting, Nyx has lost some of her power over man since we no longer fear the night. I believe there are plenty of dark alleys where she can still give you goosebumps. Fear or not, I think her magic is definitely still there and like Zeus we should show a little respect for the lady and remember the power of myth.
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