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Nyx "came forth" from the primal god, Khaos. She mated with the god Erebos, the personification of the darkness under the earth, and had two children—Aither (Upper Air) and Hemera (Day).
The murky gloom of Tartaros (the Pit) became the home of Nyx. Descending into Tartaros for an entire year, a mortal man would still not reach the foundation of Tartaros, where stands the home of Nyx.
Nyx and Hemera share the underworld abode but only one goddess at a time can occupy the dwelling. Holding up the sky on his shoulders, Atlas, son of Iapetos, guards the bronze threshold where Nyx and Hemera pass one another as they travel to and from the heavens.
Only three of Nyx's children were mentioned by Homer in the Iliad—Hypnos, god of sleep, Thanatos, god of death, and Eris, goddess of discord. The other children of Nyx were enumerated in the poem Theogony by Hesiod, presumably a contemporary of Homer.
Eris was by far the most prolific and dreaded of Nyx's children. Eris's children accounted for most of the personal and social miseries of the world. As the goddess of discord and strife, Eris was a bane to the immortal gods and mortal humans.
It's interesting to note that of all the children of Nyx, Eris is the only one to have children of her own. The children of Nyx seem to be "forces of nature" that manifest themselves without invocation.
Nemesis became the goddess of divine retribution ... without her judgments and punishments there would be no escape from worldly evil. She is powerful but only acts when commanded by her father, Zeus.
The Hesperides are best known as the guardians of the Golden Apples, which were given to the goddess Hera by the primal mother goddess, Ge (Earth). The Hesperides—Hespere, Erytheis, and Aegle—resided on an island located somewhere in the western ocean until Herakles, son of Zeus, took the Golden Apples in compliance with one his Twelve Labors. The Hesperides were subsequently transformed into phantoms doomed to roam the Libyan desert without substance or purpose.
The brother of Thanatos (Death), Hypnos exhibited the kindness and tranquility his brother obliterated. At his worst, Hypnos can be mischievous ... at his best, he brings the gift of peace and relaxation.
Hypnos used bad judgment on two occasions by casting sleep spells on Zeus. Both instances involved the machinations of the goddess Hera. The first time Hypnos lulled Zeus to sleep was so Hera could torment Zeus's son, Herakles. Zeus was so angry he chased Hypnos to Nyx's home but did not punish him because he did not want to incur the wrath of Nyx. The second time Hypnos cast a sleep spell on Zeus was during the Trojan War but he managed to escape without being detected. Hera rewarded Hypnos with a marriage to the goddess Pasithea, one of the Kharites (Graces).
The mission of Thanatos is death to all humans. Thanatos might be poetically called the twin brother of Hypnos (Sleep) but no matter how you describe him, Thanatos is a creature of bone chilling darkness. He has a heart of pitiless iron ... when he takes hold of you, the world of light ceases to be.
Exploring the history of Thanatos, we encounter the first documented case of someone returning to life after being pronounced dead. Compelled by love and devotion, a young woman named Alkestis volunteered to die to save the life of her husband, King Admetos of Pherae in Thessaly. Thanatos took Alkestis and began the trek to the House of Hades, lord of the dead. When Herakles heard the sad story, he hastened to intercept Thanatos before he could deliver Alkestis to Hades. Herakles eloquently pleaded for mercy. After hearing the whole story, Thanatos recognized Alkestis's uncommon selflessness and released his death-grip on the young woman and allowed her to return to the light of day.
Geras (Old Age) is only frightening to those who allow old age to make them fear the future.
Philotes (Friendship) is a goddess who needs to be embraced with caution because unwise friendships can be emotionally and financially costly ... as Philip, father of Alexander the Great, supposedly said, "Cheat young men with dice and old men with oaths of friendship."
Apate (Deceit) can cause frustration but compared to Eris, her deeds are quite petty.
The Erinyes—Klotho (spinner) and Lachesis (disposer of lots) and Atropos (she who cannot be turned)—are also called the Fates or Destinies ... they give humans both evil and good at their birth. They pursue the transgressions of mortals and gods and never cease from their dread anger until they punish the sinner with a sore penalty.
The hateful goddess of Doom.
The original goddess of Fate.
The tribe of Dreams.
The goddess of Blame.
The painful goddess of Woe.
Adjectives describing Nyx in the classical literature often had a negative connotation—murky, dark, deadly, evil— but anyone who has experienced a clear night sky punctuated with the moon and stars will readily extol Nyx's grandeur and beauty.
The Iliad
Theogony
Works and Days
Description of Greece by Pausanias
Library of History by Diodorus of Sicily