From Morpheus to Morphine

Morphine was first isolated by Friedrich Wilhelm Sertürner in 1805. Sertürner named his discovery after Morpheus, the Greek god of dreams. Morpheus is the son of Hypnos, the god of sleep. Morpheus has two brothers, Icelus and Phantasus. In Greek mythology, dreams were sent out to man passing through one of two gates: a gate of horn from which true dreams came; and a gate of ivory, from which passed dreams that were false. Icelus gave man dreams of birds or beasts. Phantasus gave man dreams of inanimate objects. Morpheus had the capacity to assume the form of any and every human being. His father Hypnos sent him out into the night to appear as a loved one in mortal dreams.


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Morphine: 200 anniversary