Inspired in Morpheus and Iris, painted in 1811 by Pierre-Narcisse Guérin.
This painting most probably relates to the Roman poet Ovid’s version of the tale of Alcyone and Ceyx.
Ceyx dies during a storm at sea, and so the goddess Juno decides that his wife, Alcyone, must be informed of his passing with all haste. Iris, the messenger goddess, is dispatched by Juno to Somnus, the personification of sleep, with instructions that Alcyone should be told that very night in a dream.
Somnus sends forth his son, Morpheus, god of sleep and dreams, who changes his appearance to match that of Ceyx, and enters the dream world of Alcyone.
Dripping with seawater, Morpheus, as Ceyx, tells Alcyone of his passing, and commands that funeral rites are undertaken. In her dream, Alcyone attempts to grab hold of her husband, but as she goes to touch Morpheus, so she awakens; but Morpheus has done his job, for Alcyone now knows that she is a widow.
For all Matrix fans this is how the character Morpheus’ name was chosen, in reference to the god of dreams, as the Matrix world was merely a form of dream.
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