Nysa (mythology)
|
In Greek mythology, the mountainous district of Nysa, variously associated with Ethiopia, Libya, Tribalia or Arabia by Greek mythographers, was the traditional place where the rain nymphs, the Hyades, raised the infant Dionysus, the 'god of Nysa.' Though the worship of Dionysus came into mainland Greece from Anatolia (where the Hittites called themselves "Nesi" and their language "Nesili") the locations of the mythical Nysa may simply be conventions to show that a magically distant chthonic land of myth was intended. The name 'Nysa' may even be an invention to explain the god's name.
On his return from Nysa to join his fellow Olympians, Dionysus brought the entheogen wine.
See also Nysa, a city in Poland and name for a Polish river.