thanatos

Thanatos is the personification of death in ancient Greek mythology. The name comes from the Greek thanatos, meaning death. In most traditions, Thanatos is a minor deity, associated with Nyx (Night) as a son, and often described as the brother of Hypnos (Sleep); some sources place his parentage differently, including Erebus (Darkness). His primary role is to escort mortals from life to the afterlife, guiding souls to the realm of Hades. He is generally depicted as a neutral or gentle figure rather than a malevolent one, distinct from Hades, who rules the underworld rather than merely causing death.

In classical art and literature, Thanatos is commonly shown as a winged youth or young man, sometimes bearing a weapon such as a sword or a staff. The mythological tradition emphasizes his function as an impersonal force of nature rather than a tyrannical god, and he is often portrayed as a passing or inevitable element of fate rather than an antagonist to be overcome. Hermes is sometimes depicted as assisting in the passage of souls, illustrating the cooperative nature of the rites surrounding death in Greek myth.

In modern thought, the name Thanatos also appears in psychology as the death drive (Thanatos), a term introduced by Sigmund Freud to describe an instinct toward self-destruction that operates alongside Eros, the life instinct. The concept has influenced literary and cultural portrayals of death and mortality.