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.

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.