Gates of horn and ivory facts for kids

The gates of horn and ivory are an old idea from stories that helps tell the difference between real dreams and fake ones. Real dreams are like messages that come true, while fake dreams are just make-believe. This idea started in the Greek language. In Greek, the word for "horn" sounds a lot like the word for "fulfill" (meaning to make something happen). And the word for "ivory" sounds like the word for "deceive" (meaning to trick or mislead).

So, true dreams are said to come through the gates of horn. False dreams, which don't come true, are said to come through the gates of ivory.

The Odyssey and True Dreams

The first time we see this idea is in an ancient Greek story called the Odyssey. This epic poem was written by Homer. In book 19, lines 560–569, Penelope, the wife of the hero Odysseus, has a dream. She thinks it means Odysseus is coming home. But she uses this idea of the gates to say she believes her dream is false.

She says:

Stranger, dreams are often confusing and don't always come true for people. There are two gates for shadowy dreams. One is made of horn and one of ivory. Dreams that come through the gate of ivory deceive people. They bring words that don't come true. But dreams that come through the gate of polished horn bring true things to pass. But I don't think my strange dream came from there.

It's hard to translate this wordplay into English. The Greek words for "horn" (κέρας) and "fulfill" (κραίνω) sound alike. Also, the words for "ivory" (ἐλέφας) and "deceive" (ἐλεφαίρομαι) sound similar.

Later Greek Stories

Homer's stories were very important in ancient Greece. Other writers also used the idea of the two gates.

Plato's Charmides

The famous Greek thinker Plato mentions the two gates in his dialogue Charmides.

Socrates: "Listen then," I said, "to my dream, to see whether it comes through horn or through ivory."

Nonnus's Epic Poem

A later epic poet named Nonnus, around 400 AD, also used this image.

As Morrheus slept, a dream tricked him,

fooling his mind after flying through the gates of ivory.

The Aeneid and the Underworld

The Roman poet Virgil also used the idea of the two gates in his epic poem, the Aeneid. In Book 6, lines 893–898, he describes them. The gate of horn lets true spirits pass. The gate of ivory is where false dreams are sent up from the underworld to living people.

Virgil's hero, Aeneas, visits the underworld. He meets his dead father, Anchises. When Aeneas leaves, Virgil says he returns through the ivory gate.

Two gates make the quiet house of Sleep beautiful;

One is of polished ivory, the other of clear horn:

True visions come through clear horn;

Through polished ivory pass misleading lies.

Talking about many things as he walked,

Anchises finally came here.

Then, through the gate of ivory, he sent away

His brave son and the wise guest.

Why the Ivory Gate?

It's not clear why Virgil had Aeneas leave through the ivory gate. This gate is for "misleading lies." One idea is that it refers to the time of night Aeneas left. Another idea is that Virgil was showing that his story was not meant to be taken as completely true. It might be like a dream itself.

John Wesley, a famous speaker, once said that Virgil sending Aeneas through the ivory gate was a clear sign. It meant that everything told before was like a dream, not real fact.

Other Latin Writings

The idea of the gates appeared in other Latin works too.

Statius's Silvae

The poet Publius Papinius Statius wrote a sad poem for his dead father. He wished his father would visit him in a true dream. This dream would come through the gate of horn.

Then may you pass to where the better gate of horn wins over the jealous ivory. And in the form of a dream, teach me what you used to teach.

Ausonius's Cupid Crucified

In the 4th century AD, the Latin poet Ausonius wrote "Cupid Crucified." He says Cupid escapes through the ivory gate. This suggests that the whole scene in the poem was a false dream.

Basinio of Parma's Hesperis

In the 15th century, Basinio of Parma wrote an epic poem called Hesperis. It was like the Aeneid. In it, the hero Sigismondo goes to the underworld. Before that, he passes a temple with two gates: one of horn and one of ivory.

On the ivory side are pictures of Sigismondo's journey, and also those of Hercules, Theseus, Ulysses, and Aeneas.

Disturbing nightmares are carried by false rumors on the empty ivory gates. True dreams of horn are sent by trustworthy rumors.

English Writings

The gates of horn and ivory appear in many well-known English books and poems.

• David Gemmell's novel "Troy: Lord of the Silver Bow" (chapter sixteen). Odysseus talks about his wife Penelope teaching him about dreams.
• Edmund Spenser's poem "The Faery Queene" (1590, book 1, stanzas XL and XLIV). A false dream is brought to the hero.
• Alexander Pope's poem The Dunciad (1743, Book III): "And Thro' the Iv'ry Gate the Vision flies."
• E. R. Eddison's story The Worm Ouroboros (1922, Chapter 2): "...perhaps the dream was a true dream, sent you through the gate of horn."
• E. M. Forster's short story The Other Side of the Hedge. The main character sees the two gates. This story is often seen as being about death and Heaven.
• A. A. Milne's play "The Ivory Door" is about false beliefs.
• T.S. Eliot's poem "Sweeney Among the Nightingales": "And Sweeney guards the horned gate."
• Eliot's poem Ash-Wednesday: "And the blind eye creates / The empty forms between the ivory gates."
• William Empson's poem 'Letter III': '...offspring of Heaven first born, | Earth's terra firma, the Hell-Gate of Horn.'
• H. P. Lovecraft's short story "Celephaïs". It suggests that children see a world of wonder through the gates of ivory. Adults, with their knowledge, reject it as make-believe.
• Ursula K. Le Guin's novel A Wizard of Earthsea.
• Robert Holdstock's novel Gate of Ivory, Gate of Horn. The main character deals with a difficult event that has both a true and a false side.
• Derek Mahon's poem "Homage to Malcolm Lowry": "Lighting-blind, you, tempest-torn / At the poles of our condition, did not confuse / The Gates of Ivory with the Gates of Horn."
• Margaret Drabble's novel The Gates of Ivory.
• W.H. Auden's poem "Prime" in Horae Canonicae.
• Seamus Heaney's poem "To a Dutch Potter in Ireland" in The Spirit Level (poetry).
• Lord Dunsany's poem "The Gate of Horn" (1940). It's about leaving Ireland's false dream of neutrality in WW2 for the true dream of victory.
• The Ivory Gate, a novel by Walter Besant. It describes a lawyer with two personalities. His hopeful thoughts are said to happen "before the Ivory Gate."
• Frank Bidart's long poem, "The First Hour of the Night." It uses both gates to question what is true in facts and memories.
• The gates are also part of the Dream world in the graphic novel "The Sandman" by Neil Gaiman.

Music

• The American metal band Fates Warning has a 22-minute song called The Ivory Gate of Dreams. It's on their album No Exit (1988).
• In 2015, the Canadian band The Agonist released a music video for their song "Gates of Horn and Ivory." It was the first song from their album Eye of Providence.

Software

• The computer library Keras, used for artificial intelligence, is named after the Greek word for horn (κέρας). This links to the idea of the gate of horn.