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[edit]

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[edit]

References[edit]

• 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.