In the Greek mythology, Thanatos was the personification of Death. He rarely appeared, but was often mentioned in many pieces. Translated literally from Latin “Thanatus”, but his names’ counterpart in Roman mythology was Mors or Letum. I chose to talk about this character because I feel like just because he’s only associated with death, it makes people fear him for reasons which I understand.
Some theorized that Thanatos didn’t have a father, others that his father was Erebus, but in “Theogony” by Hesoid it was explained that he never had a father, his mother Nyx (night) and his brother Hypnos (sleep). Homer described Thanatos’ and his brothers’ job in the “Iliad”, by delivering a swift death to Sarpedon. Counted among Thanatos’ siblings were other negative personifications such as Geras (Old Age), Oizys (Suffering), Moros (Doom), Apate (Deception), Momus (Blame), Eris (Strife), and Nemesis (Retribution). Thanatos was loosely associated with the three Moirai (for Hesiod, also daughters of Night), particularly Atropos, who was a goddess of death in her own right. He is also, at times, specified as being exclusive to a peaceful death, while the bloodthirsty Keres embodied violent death. His duties as a Guide of the Dead were sometimes superseded by Hermes.
Thus, Thanatos was regarded as merciless and indiscriminate, hated by and hateful towards, mortals and gods alike, but in myths which feature him, Thanatos could occasionally be outwitted, a feat that the sly Sisyphus twice accomplished. When it came time for Sisyphus to die, Zeus ordered Thanatos to chain Sisyphus up in Tartarus. Sisyphus cheated death by tricking Thanatos into his own shackles, thereby preventing the demise of any mortal while Thanatos was so enchained. In later eras, as the transition from life to death in Elysium became a more attractive option, Thanatos came to be seen as a beautiful and easy death. He became associated more with a gentle passing than a woeful demise. Many Roman sarcophagi depict him as a winged boy, very much akin to Cupid: „Eros with crossed legs and torch reversed became the commonest of all symbols for Death”.
According to Sigmund Freud, humans have a life instinct—which he named „Eros” and a death drive, which is commonly called „Thanatos”. This postulated death drive allegedly compels humans to engage in risky and self-destructive acts that could lead to their own death. Behaviors such as thrill-seeking and aggression are viewed as actions which stem from this Thanatos instinct. It marks a major turning point in the formulation of his drive theory, where Freud had previously attributed self-preservation in human behavior to the drives of Eros and the regulation of libido, governed by the pleasure principle. Revising this as inconclusive, Freud theorized beyond the pleasure principle, newly considering the death drives which refers to the tendency towards destruction and annihilation, often expressed through behaviors such as aggression, repetition compulsion, and self-destructiveness. In sections IV and V, Freud posits that the process of creating living cells binds energy and creates an imbalance. It is the pressure of matter to return to its original state which gives cells their quality of living. The process is analogous to the creation and exhaustion of a battery. This pressure for molecular diffusion is referred to as a „death-wish”. The compulsion of the matter in cells to return to a diffuse, inanimate state extends to the whole living organism. Thus, the psychological death-wish is a manifestation of an underlying physical compulsion present in every cell, which Freud directly corresponds to the death drives. Freud also states the basic differences, as he saw them, between his approach and Carl Jung’s and summarizes published research into basic drives in Section VI to establish his revisions.
There is a lot of terminology associated to Thanatos, such as: “Thanatophobia”, the fear of things associated with or reminiscent of death and mortality, such as corpses or graveyards. It is related to necrophobia, although the latter term typically refers to a specific fear of dead bodies rather than a fear of death in general. Secondly, “Thanatology” is the academic and scientific study of death among human beings. It investigates the circumstances surrounding a person’s death, the grief experienced by the deceased’s loved ones, and larger social attitudes towards death such as ritual and memorialization. Third, “Thanatophoric dysplasia”, so named because of its lethality at birth, is the most common lethal congenital skeletal dysplasia with an estimated prevalence of one in 6,400 to one in 16,700 births. Lastly, “Euthanasia”, is the act or practice of ending the life of an individual who would otherwise experience severe, incurable suffering or disability.
I believe Thanatos represents the Brother/Sister archetype because of his brotherly relationship with Hypnos and the familial unity and comradery between them. An ability of Thanatos’ which I’d like to have is showing to people that death isn’t as brutal and mortifying as it seems because society thinks death and things surrounding it is a problem they will have to think about every day for the rest of their lives, which isn’t true.
In conclusion, Thanatos, although a little misjudged for his methods of delivering others their demise at first, is a very interesting figure in the Greek Mythology. He also makes appearances in other pieces of media like Hades, God of War and Persona 3.