Morpheus (Ancient Greek: Μορφεύς, romanized: Morpheús 'Fashioner', derived from Ancient Greek: μορφή, romanized: morphḗ, meaning 'form, shape') is a god associated with sleep and dreams. In Ovid's Metamorphoses he is the son of Somnus (Sleep, the Roman counterpart of Hypnos) and appears in dreams in human form. From the Middle Ages, the name began to stand more generally for the god of dreams, or of sleep.
Etruscan art was produced by the Etruscan civilization in central Italy between the 10th and 1st centuries BC. From around 750 BC it was heavily influenced by Greek art, which was imported by the Etruscans, but always retained distinct characteristics. Particularly strong in this tradition were figurative sculpture in terracotta (especially life-size on sarcophagi or temples), wall-painting and metalworking especially in bronze. Jewellery and engraved gems of high quality were produced.
Etruscan sculpture in cast bronze was famous and widely exported, but relatively few large examples have survived (the material was too valuable, and recycled later). In contrast to terracotta and bronze, there was relatively little Etruscan sculpture in stone, despite the Etruscans controlling fine sources of marble, including Carrara marble, which seems not to have been exploited until the Romans.
The μ-opioid receptors (using the Greek letter mu, abbreviated MOR) are a class of opioid receptors with a high affinity for enkephalins and beta-endorphin, but a low affinity for dynorphins. They are also referred to as μ(mu)-opioid peptide (MOP) receptors. The prototypical μ-opioid receptor agonist is morphine, the primary psychoactive alkaloid in opium and for which the receptor was named, with mu being the first letter of Morpheus, the compound's namesake in the original Greek. It is an inhibitory G-protein coupled receptor that activates the Gi alpha subunit, inhibiting adenylate cyclase activity, lowering cAMP levels.
In Roman mythology, Somnus ("sleep") is the personification of sleep. His Greek counterpart is Hypnos. Somnus resided in the underworld. According to Virgil, Somnus was the brother of Death (Mors), and according to Ovid, Somnus had a 'thousand' sons, the Somnia ('dream shapes'), who appear in dreams 'mimicking many forms'. Ovid named three of the sons of Somnus: Morpheus, who appears in human guise, Icelos / Phobetor, who appears as beasts, and Phantasos, who appears as inanimate objects.
In Ovid's Metamorphoses, Phobetor (Ancient Greek: Φοβήτωρ, romanized: Phobḗtōr, lit. 'frightener', from Ancient Greek: φόβος, romanized: phóbos, lit. 'panic, fear'), so called by humans, or Icelus/Icelos (Ancient Greek: Ἴκελος, romanized: Íkelos, lit. 'like, resembling'), so called by the gods, is one of the thousand sons of Somnus (Sleep, the Roman counterpart of Hypnos). He appeared in dreams "in the form of beast or bird or the long serpent".
According to Ovid, two of his brothers were Morpheus, who appeared in dreams in human form, and Phantasos ('Fantasy'), who appears in dreams in the form of inanimate objects. The three brothers‘ names are found nowhere earlier than Ovid, which leads some scholars to believe that they were originally invented by him. One example of these scholars is Tripp, who calls the three figures "literary, not mythical concepts". However, there is not a consensus around the origins of the figures. For example, Griffin suggests that the names of the deities and the division of dream forms between Phobetor and his brothers may have been of Hellenistic origin.