Hypnos

OverviewQuotesRelationships

Hypnos

Hades
Hades II

General Information

Title

Sleep Incarnate

Relationships

Family Tree

Chthonic Family Tree

Family

Nyx (Mother)
The Fates (Older Sisters)
Charon (Older Brother)
Moros (Older Brother)
Nemesis (Older Sister)
Thanatos (Older Twin Brother)
Eris (Younger Sister)
Chaos (Grandparent)

Relations

Hades (Boss)
Zagreus (Colleague/Friend)
Megaera (Colleague/Ex-Crush)
Tisiphone (Colleague)
Alecto (Colleague)
Dusa (Colleague)
Asterius (Idol)

Behind the Scenes

Voice

Greg Kasavin

“	Welcome to the House of Hades, where... wait I know you, I guess that means you died out there, huh? Well don't be sad, though, pretty much everybody dies sometime !	„
	~ Hypnos

Hypnos is the embodiment of sleep. He is one of Nyx's many children, and the younger twin brother of Thanatos.

He watches over the procession of newly-arrived shades coming before Hades, checking their names off 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 Pool of Styx, and often gives unhelpful advice and a quip about whichever enemy or natural force did Zagreus in.

Hypnos returns in Hades II, but in a state of deep coma induced by sleep. One of Melinoë's missions is to wake him up.

Characteristics and Personality[ | ]

In a constant battle against sleep, Hypnos is found sleeping more often than performing his task of accounting for the newly arrived dead to the House while awaiting judgment. He is the physical embodiment of sleep and is much more powerful than he appears, as he can put the entire House to sleep.

Hypnos is a serious case of immortal immaturity, constantly lounging around, and finding many ways to avoid his responsibility of accounting for the dead, from doodling to sleeping. Despite being lazy he is usually quite chatty. Achilles speculates that the reason he hasn't been fired yet is that Hades finds him very funny and considers him an "unofficial court jester."

Despite the dark nature of his work, Hypnos is very cheerful, and although he does not have the best professional conduct, he is always very receptive. Some dialogues suggest that Hypnos may be bored at work, "being one sad clown" feeling lonely, and wanting someone to talk to. He will greet Zagreus and happily comment and jot down notes in his report about his latest death.

Despite his often-blasé attitude towards his work and other important matters, there are moments where he shows a surprisingly cunning intelligence when it comes to combat often giving useful advice to Zagreus whenever he returns from a failed run which Zagreus always finds helpful.

In sharp contrast to Thanatos, who does his job masterfully, Hypnos does not take his work 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 moves to help Zagreus behind Hades' back. Hypnos clearly admires his brother and wishes to spend more time with him, despite Thanatos' cold rejection. At one point, he suggests that Thanatos "kill all the mortals at once" to make his job easier and thus free up more time together, and this may save his brother from his hard work, but Thanatos reprimands him for the "stupidity" of his idea.

He's apparently powerful enough that he can put the entire House except Nyx to sleep, which Zagreus asks him to do when he goes to snoop around. But overall, he's not very good at his job and prefers lazing about and chatting to Zagreus when he appears from the pool from time to time.

Physical description[ | ]

Hypnos flaunts a lazy expression and sports curly hair, with a pen feather resting on top. His silver hair and golden eyes are the only features he seems to share with his twin brother. His complexion is extremely pale, almost taking on a bluish undertone. Hypnos possesses an average stature for a god; when not hunched or stretching, he stands noticeably taller than Zagreus and has a height similar to that of his brother, boasting a slender physique. He is frequently observed lying face down during sleep.

His attire comprises a long red tunic adorned with golden details, complemented by a long, velvety red coat with white trim that resembles a blanket. His belt is fashioned with poppies, which are often associated with sleep, and features a sleeping skull emblem. He always carries a clipboard and a feather, which he uses to read his reports. Much like his brother, he displays a pair of golden wings on his back, embellished with "four" ornaments on both shoulders. Furthermore, he wears a red eye mask to "feign" that he's awake when he's actually asleep.

In Hades II, Hypnos's curly hair has been straightened and grown. His face mask has changed from a red one to a light purple one. His clothes remain the same.

History[ | ]

Before Hades[ | ]

Hypnos was born as one of the numerous children of the goddess of the night, Nyx, alongside his twin Thanatos, the god of death. Initially inseparable, the shared closeness between Hypnos and Thanatos gradually diminished, eclipsed by the incessant demands of Thanatos' vocation.

His essence summarized the very essence of sleep, gifting mortals with serene and tranquil nights. Despite being born of Nyx herself, Hypnos never gained fame as an independent child, often labeled as careless and lacking in his other vocations. He had a reputation as the least somber of chthonic gods.

Later, owing to the influence of their mom Nyx, Hypnos managed to secure a job as a receptionist at the House of Hades.

Hades[ | ]

Hypnos appears as the receptionist and the first to welcome Zagreus, trying to comfort him when his first death occurs, but miserably failing and initially unsettling Zagreus.

Epilogue[ | ]

He falls asleep during the family meeting of the Olympian gods in the epilogue.

Before Hades II[ | ]

Hypnos was rescued by Hecate and brought to The Crossroads after the Titan Chronos took control of Underworld but has since fallen into a deep slumber from which he cannot be awoken. During a flashback, a young Melinoë can interact with him but he still remains asleep.

Hades II[ | ]

Years later, Hypnos still remains asleep with no way for him to be woken up and interacting with him will only cause him to snore. When gifted Nectar, he only manages to mutter "Welcome to the house..." before going back to snoring.

Affinity[ | ]

If given Nectar, Hypnos will give you the Chthonic Coin Purse.

Hypnos' affinity gauge is maxed out at 8 hearts, requiring the gifting of 6 Nectar and 2 Ambrosia total.

Favor[ | ]

Completing Hypnos' favor involves witnessing a series of events between him and Thanatos. To start, Hypnos will tell Zagreus that Thanatos has said some things to him that make him feel as though he's displeased his brother, and Zagreus states he will talk to Thanatos on Hypnos' behalf.

After Zagreus confronts Thanatos about Hypnos, periodically between runs Zagreus will encounter the brothers engaged in conversation. Thanatos will repeatedly criticize Hypnos' work ethic until finally seeming to discover a way to help Hypnos focus. Later, Thanatos praises the quality of his brother's improved work and apologizes for treating him badly. Afterward Hypnos will thank Zagreus for speaking to Thanatos, completing his favor.

Other characters shall comment on the quality of Hypnos' work, such as Dusa asking Hypnos how he managed to keep the shades orderly and moving swiftly, only for him to refuse to divulge his secrets, and state that he shall one day have his picture on the wall in the Lounge.

Autograph from the Minotaur[ | ]

After dying for the first time while facing Asterius—whether as a miniboss or in the arena of Elysium—Hypnos will start asking Zagreus to get him an autograph from the Minotaur. In order to actually get him this autograph, Zagreus must first die a total of six times in order to hear six unique greetings from Hypnos: three of these require dying to Asterius himself, two require dying to Theseus, and one requires dying in the final boss room of Elysium. The game tracks which of the two deals the final blow, but it doesn't matter if you have activated the Extreme Measures aspect of the Pact of Punishment. After getting all six lines of dialogue from Hypnos, encountering Asterius as a miniboss will finally allow Zagreus to get Hypnos his prized autograph.

It says: “To Hypnos, my biggest fan, stay tuned” with a small image of a bull.

Codex entry[ | ]

'...It is said that Sleep is the cousin of Death. That turns out to be not quite correct, insofar as the two, in fact, are brothers, born to Nyx herself. The former of the two, we call him Hypnos; he whiles away, half-sleeping, watching over the Pool of Styx in the foyer of the House, taking stock of those arriving in the Master's domain, or returning to it. Though Hypnos may be lacking in propriety, he brings a certain cheer, however unconventional, into the grim proceedings of the House. It is a wonder that the Master is so tolerant of this. Some say it is because the Master is oblivious to Hypnos, but it is my choice to think the Master secretly and silently enjoys the bit of levity the fellow purposely or inadvertently provides.'

Book of Shadows Entry (Hades II)[ | ]

'A son of Nyx and the incarnate of Sleep. You gaze upon him in wonder of his dreams. He served in your father's House, and narrowly avoided the fate the others met soon after your birth.'

Trivia[ | ]

Hypnos' hair appears to form a single wing, possibly a reference to a statue of him with the same characteristic.
- One myth of him also says Zeus ripped one of his wings after Hypnos had put him to sleep.
If Zagreus stealthily crawls out of a pool of blood, Hypnos will immediately awaken, shouting, "I'm awake! I'm awake!" probably thinking it was Hades coming back to check on him.
He was one of the characters whose design underwent significant changes before the official release, notably not featuring his iconic red cloak.
3D Artist Paige Carter revealed in a Twitter post that she "wrote little joke stuff on his floating ledger", however it is too small to see in-game. She also hasn't revealed what it is she wrote.^[1]
Hypnos displays characteristics of narcolepsy and ADHD, including lack of attention, difficulty concentrating, and hyperactivity.
The official translations of Hades, Japanese, show Hypnos using honorifics (お兄ちゃん) "oni-chan," meaning "big brother," to refer to Thanatos, and (モロス兄) "Karon-Nii" (older brother Charon) to refer to Charon.
For a long time, he thought Zagreus' escape attempts were because he was unhappy about being fired from his job.
His wish for Thanatos to spend more time with him might stern from how both were mostly depicted together in Ancient Greece, and even considered inseparable.