Nysa (mythology)
Mythical mountain where Dionysus was raised by nymphs.
In Greek mythology, Nysa (Νῦσα) is a mountainous district traditionally associated with the upbringing of the infant god Dionysus by the rain nymphs, the Hyades. Various ancient sources placed Nysa in locations as diverse as Ethiopia, Libya, Boeotia, Thrace, India, or Arabia, reflecting its conception as a remote and mythical land. The name Nysa also refers to Macris, one of the daughters of Aristaeus.
Quick Facts
- Also known as
- Macris
- Associated deity
- Dionysus
- Mythological figures
- Hyades
- Macris
- Aristaeus
Facts from the source article.
Mythology
Some scholars suggest Dionysus worship came to Mycenaean Greece from Asia Minor, where the Hittites called themselves "Nesi." However, the many places linked to Nysa might simply be a way of pointing to a distant, legendary land. The name Nysa itself could be a made-up word to explain the god's name. Homer mentions a mountain called Nyseion where Dionysus was raised by nymphs. The 5th-century Byzantine writer Hesychius of Alexandria listed many ancient guesses for Mount Nysa's location, including Arabia, Ethiopia, Egypt, Babylon, the Red Sea, Thrace, Thessaly, Cilicia, India, Libya, Lydia, Macedonia, Naxos, an island called Pangaios south of Arabia, and Syria. When Dionysus left Nysa to join the other Olympians, he brought wine, a substance used in religious rites. According to Sir William Jones, the Greeks said Meros was an Indian mountain where Dionysus was born. He also noted that Meru, while usually meaning the north pole in Indian geography, is also a mountain near the city of Naishada or Nysa, which Greek geographers called Dionysopolis and which appears often in Sanskrit poems.
People of Nysa
When Alexander the Great reached Nysa, city officials approached him and requested that he spare the settlement and its territory, explaining that the god Dionysus had established the city and named it after the nymph. In later Hellenistic times, Nysa became personified as Macris, Dionysus’s nursemaid, and her burial site was said to be in Scythopolis, a town that also traced its founding to Dionysus. Dionysus is often called the "masked god," "wine god," and "god of theater," titles that reflect his androgynous nature and his talent for concealing his identity behind masks and ecstatic behavior. According to many Greek traditions, Dionysus was Zeus’s son, separated from him and entrusted to the Nysa nymphs so Hera’s wrath would not reach him. These nymphs raised him on Mount Nysa until he departed for Greece, where he gathered a following of outcasts and people seeking relief from social norms. Lycurgus tried to suppress Dionysus’s cult on Mount Nysa, driving the god and his followers into the sea, where Thetis gave them refuge. In response, Dionysus and the Nysa nymphs cursed Lycurgus with madness, causing him to kill his own son.
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