Thanatos, Son of Darkness

After discussing the dullahan yesterday, I decided to do a follow-up and talk about the legend behind the leader of the fallen Grim, Thanatos.

Leighton, Frederic (1830-1896), "Hercules Wrestling Death (detail)"

In Mimgardr Thanatos was once an elf of large proportion, standing nearly nine feet tall. He was a student of Merlin the Great, and apparently he wielded quite an influence over his classmates. At the time of Zuren's fall, he followed Zuren into the darkness. In order to become part of Zuren's special league, it was required that he sign a magically-binding contract and carve out his own heart as a mark of loyalty. When he had did so, the contract engendered several changes in him. His once noble elfin appearance was demented and consumed, his true name was wiped from every memory, and his name became Thanatos from there on. Over the years of his fall Thanatos became cruel and malicious, continually wielding dominion over the remaining Grim and sinking further into the darkness. Once in Oblivion he was assigned the duty to keep watch over Oblivion's Gate, and later joined Master Morgan in an attempt to free the duo as well as the rest of the Grim from the Fallon Ones' control.

But as we talked about yesterday, Zuren chose the names for his minions based upon his love of death. So, where did Thanatos' name come from?

The "real" Thanatos of ancient myth rises from the Greeks as a god of death. Born the Son of Erebos, who was the personification of Darkness, and Nyx, the personification of Night, Thanatos was the twin of Hypnos, the personification of Sleep. Thus the twin children of Darkness and Night were Sleep and Death. Other negatively deemed children included Moros (Doom), Eris (Strife), Geras (Old Age), Oizys (Suffering), Apate (Deception), Momus (Blame), Nemesis (Retribution), and finally Charon the Ferryman.

According to Theogony, written by Hesiod the Poet, Thanatos and Hypnos were never allowed to behold the light of the sun. And while Hypnos was benevolent and kindly, Thanatos is described as having "a heart of iron, and his spirit within him is pitiless as bronze: whomsoever of men he has once seized he holds fast: and he is hateful even to the deathless gods." Thanatos was seen as cruel, merciless and indiscriminate, only able to be cheated or tricked on rare occasion and beaten back only once, by Herakles. He hated--and was hated by--both mortals and the gods. The use of his sword was the dedication of a soul to the life and gods of the Underworld.

Later on however, when the people of Greece found death more desirable than life, their depictions of Thanatos changed. They began depicting the heartless wraith as a winged child, much more like Cupid, who wore a sheathed sword on his belt and carried an inverted torch. Thanatos became the overseer of peaceful passing and lost his role as the hated reaper. Which I personally believe tells us more about the condition of Greece than it does about the ancient Greek mythologies. When a tyrannical god of death becomes a welcome guest at your parties there must be something terribly wrong in the world. It wasn't until later that the true nature of Thanatos returned.

Thus is the history of Thanatos. I hope this gives you more insight into what Zuren might have hoped his new-found slave would become. I also hope it gives you some ideas as to what the rest of the Grim might be named. Got any good guesses? Want to know more? Please comment below.