Moria (nymph)
In Greek mythology, Moria (Ancient Greek: Μορια means "sacred olive-tree") was a Naiad nymph dwelling by the river Hermus. She was the sister of Tylus.
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Mythology
Moria makes an appearance in Nonnus' Dionysiaca, in an episode that is as follows. Tylus accidentally touched a serpent, which then attacked Tylus, coiled round his body and suffocated him; Tylus was not his first victim. Moria only could helplessly watch her brother die, but then Damasen, a Giant son of Gaia, arrived on the spot; Moria implored him to help and he killed the serpent, hitting it with the trunk of a tree he tore out of the ground. Then a female serpent, the slain monster's mate, appeared and used a magical herb, referred to as "Zeus' flower", to bring the dead serpent back to life. Moria then used the same herb to revive her brother.[1]
It has been speculated that the myth of Moria, Tylus and Damasen may be rooted in Lydian mythology.[2]
A similar story could be compared to that of Polyidus who used an herb to resurrect Glaucus, the son of Minos.[3]
Notes
- Nonnus, Dionysiaca, 25. 452 ff
- Theoi.com - Moria (accessed on April 13, 2012)
- Apollodorus, Library 3.3.1.
References
- Apollodorus, The Library with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer, F.B.A., F.R.S. in 2 Volumes, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921. ISBN 0-674-99135-4. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library. Greek text available from the same website.
- Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca translated by William Henry Denham Rouse (1863-1950), from the Loeb Classical Library, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press, 1940. Online version at the Topos Text Project.
- Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca. 3 Vols. W.H.D. Rouse. Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1940-1942. Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.