Nisus

“ But Nisus the king frowned upon the herald. "I will pay no blood-money," he said. "Go your ways to your master and tell him so. Better were it for him to be satisfied with this answer of mine and to turn and hie him home. Little use is it for mortal men to strive against those who are protected by the undying gods. I care not for the wrath of King Minos, and the spears of his warriors have no more power to hurt my people than the bulrushes that children gather in the fields and break in mimic warfare with each other."
"Thou speakest in riddles, King Nisus," replied the herald ”

“ There is a legend that the Termilae also, to whom Lycus came when he fled from Aegeus, were called Lycii after him.
1.19.4 Behind the Lyceum is a monument of Nisus, who was killed while king of Megara by Minos, and the Athenians carried him here and buried him. About this Nisus there is a legend. His hair, they say, was red, and it was fated that he should die on its being cut off. When the Cretans attacked the country, they captured the other cities of the Megarid by assault, but Nisaea, in which Nisus had taken refuge, they beleaguered. ”

“ Nisus with mighty whirr through heaven pursues;
Where Nisus heavenward soareth, there her wings
Clutch as she flies, the light air winnowing still.
Soft then the voice of rooks from indrawn throat
Thrice, four times, o'er repeated, and full oft
On their high cradles, by some hidden joy
Gladdened beyond their wont, in bustling throngs
Among the leaves they riot; so sweet it is,
When showers are spent, their own loved nests again
And tender brood to visit. ”

“ Firm stands the purpose of my thought: Come, stir we: why so slow?" Then calls the guards to take their place, Moves on by Nisus, pace with pace, And to the prince they go. All other creatures wheresoe'er Were stretched in sleep, forgetting care: Troy's chosen chiefs in high debate Were pondering o'er the reeling state, What means to try, or whom to speed To show Aeneas of their need. There stand they, midway in the field, Still hold the spear, still grasp the shield: When Nisus and his comrade brave With eager tones admittance crave ”

“ Two Trojan sentinels have watched anxiously every sound and movement in the enemy’s lines. They are Nisus and his young friend Euryalus,—late among the competitors in the foot-race—inseparable in peace or war. Nisus sees, as he thinks, an opportunity for stealing through the Rutulian guards, and bearing news to Æneas at Pallanteum of the peril in which his son and his companions lie. He is a keen sportsman, and knows the forest by-paths well. He confides his design to Euryalus, but has no notion of taking the youth with him to share the danger. ”

“ Nisus was the eponymous hero of the harbour of Nisaea, and local tradition makes no mention of his betrayal by his daughter. According to Roscher (in his Lexikon der Mythologie) , who identifies the ciris with the heron, the story of Nisus and Scylla (like these of Aëdon, Procne, Philomela and Tereus) was invented to give an etiological explanation of the characteristics of certain birds. The birds were regarded as originally human beings, whose acts and characters were supposed to account for certain habits of the birds into which they had been changed. ”

“ For sure our souls were near allied, and thine
Cast in the same poetic mould with mine.
One common note on either lyre did strike, 5
And knaves and fools we both abhorred alike.
To the same goal did both our studies drive;
The last set out, the soonest did arrive.
Thus Nisus fell upon the slippery place,
Whilst his young friend performed, and won the race. 10
Oh early ripe! ”

“ In order to please her enemy, she offered him her father's purple hair off, which she had cut off, which Nisus had made sacred, such that as long as he kept it uncut, he would rule the kingdom. 5. Afterwards, Scylla, who was despised by Minos, was transformed into a bird by grief and the dead Nisus was changed into the form of a bird, as a result of the sympathy of the gods. Today these birds still burn with a great hatred for one another. ”

“ Then the men of Crete fought stoutly against the men of Megara, and day after day the tide of battle surged around the walls of the town. But strive as they might the men of Crete won no inch of ground, but the men of Megara drove their foes before them like sheep.
At length the warriors of King Minos began to murmur among themselves and to repeat the words that King Nisus had spoken to the herald.
"If the city of Megara is indeed defended by the deathless gods," said they, "what avails it to fight and to strive?" ”

“ It chanced that the captains were at that moment debating how possibly to convey a message to Æneas informing him of their pressing need, and when Nisus expounded to them his plan, assuring them that as a young hunter he had explored every inch of the ground and knew a secret forest path that would lead them to the rear of the enemy's camp, he was welcomed as a messenger sent from heaven. Old Aletes laid his hands on their heads and with tears in his eyes blessed the gods for sending such deliverers. "Young heroes!" ”

“ Then Nisus makes appeal for compensation, pointing out to the laughing spectators the blood and dirt which are the very disagreeable evidences of his mishap, and protesting, with a consummate impudence which suits with the popular humour, that the whole thing was an accident, and that he, as the winner that would have been, is the real object of commiseration. If a fall deserves a prize, who has so good a claim as the man who fell first? Again the generosity of Æneas answers the appeal, and Nisus is presented with a shield of the finest workmanship, another Greek trophy. ”

“ Among the Sicilians are Salius and Patron, of Greek families settled in the island, and Helymus and Panopes, friends and companions of Acestes. The favourites among the Trojans are Diores, one of the many sons of Priam, and Nisus and Euryalus, noted for their romantic friendship, of which we shall hear more hereafter. The prizes in this contest are a war-horse with full trappings for the first, an Amazonian quiver for the second, and a helmet—the spoil of some conquered Greek on the plain of Troy—for the third. Nisus goes off with a strong lead, and has the race easily in hand. ”

“ Ans. Nisus was king of Megara; this city was closely besieged by Minos, but all his efforts were vain, as the Fates had decreed that it should not be taken, so long as a purple lock which grew on the head of Nisus, remained uncut. Scylla, the daughter of this prince, admired the majestic person of Minos, and the valor which he displayed. Believing that he would reward her treachery by making her his queen, she cut the fatal lock while her father slept. Minos received the gift with horror, and, when the city was taken, refused to permit Scylla to accompany him to Crete. ”

“ The runners having been placed in proper order, the signal was given, and they darted forward like a tempest. Nisus led the way, Salius coming second, and Euryalus third, with the rest following close behind. Already Nisus was near the goal, when unluckily his foot slipped at a spot where some victims had been sacrificed for the altar, and the blood soaking into the grass had made it slippery. ”

“ Unfortunately they had delayed too long in slaughter; as they neared the camp of Turnus, Volscens, returning with reinforcements, caught sight of the shining helmet of Euryalus. The youth, flying, became separated from Nisus, and was captured by the enemy. Nisus, who returned to rescue his friend, sent weapon after weapon from his retreat, and when he saw Euryalus about to suffer death from Volscens, rushed forth to save him, only to fall dead upon the body of his slaughtered friend. ”

“ His daughter Scylla (often called Niseia Virgo) saw from the walls of Megara the royal besieger, and she became desperately enamoured of him. To obtain a more immediate interview with this object of her passion, she stole away the fatal hair from her father’s head as he was asleep; the town was immediately taken, but Minos disregarded the services of Scylla, and she threw herself into the sea. The gods changed her into a lark, and Nisus assumed the nature of the hawk at the very moment that he gave himself death, not to fall into the enemy’s hands. ”

“ Great was the agony of Nisus at seeing his friend about to be put to death, and starting from his concealment, he exclaimed aloud, "I am he who did the deed. Turn your arms therefore on me."
"Me! me! (he cried) turn all your swords alone
On me—the fact confessed, the fault my own.
His only crime (if friendship can offend)
Is too much love to his unhappy friend."
DRYDEN, AEneid, BOOK IX.
But vain was the effort of Nisus to save his friend, for scarce had his last word been spoken when Euryalus fell lifeless to the earth, pierced by the weapon of Volcens. ”

“ However, another Scylla was the daughter of Nisus, king of the Megarians. When Minos fought against them after he had conquered the Athenians, on account of the murder of his son Androgeus, whom the Athenians and Megarians had ambushed and killed. ”

“ Nisus, King of Megara
Noah, as legendary ancestor of French, Roman, German, and British peoples
Noman, name assumed by Ulysses
Norns, the three Scandinavian Fates, Urdur (the past) , Verdandi (the present) , and Skuld (the future)
Nothung, magic sword
Notus, southwest wind
Nox, daughter of Chaos and sister of Erebus, personification of night
Numa, second king of Rome
Nymphs, beautiful maidens, lesser divinities of nature Dryads and Hamadryads, tree nymphs, Naiads, spring, brook, and river nymphs, Nereids, sea nymphs Oreads, mountain nymphs or hill nymphs ”

“ But Nicias persuaded them to wait another full course of the moon, as if he had not seen it clear again as soon as ever it had passed the region of shadow where the light was obstructed by the earth.
In a manner abandoning all other cares, he betook himself wholly to his sacrifices, till the enemy came upon them with their infantry, besieging the forts and camp, and placing their ships in a circle about the harbor. Nor did the men in the galleys only, but the little boys everywhere got into the fishing-boats and rowed up and challenged the Athenians, and insulted over them. ”

“ The monk rose, and continued in solemn tones —
"Know then, O Nicias, that, with the aid of God, I will snatch this woman Thaïs from the unclean affections of the world, and give her as a spouse to Jesus Christ. If the Holy Spirit does not forsake me, Thaïs will leave this city and enter a nunnery."
"Beware of offending Venus," replied Nicias. "She is a powerful goddess; she will be angry with you if you take away her chief minister."
"God will protect me," said Paphnutius. "May He also illumine thy heart, O Nicias, and draw thee out of the abyss in which thou art plunged." ”

“ This was the ablest thing Nicias did in the whole of his conduct of the expedition. For having drawn out all the strength of the enemy, and made the city destitute of men, he set out from Catana, entered the harbor, and chose a fit place for his camp, where the enemy could least incommode him with the means in which they were superior to him, while with the means in which he was superior to them, he might expect to carry on the war without impediment. ”

“ Now, my readers know that there were of old not less than ten cities known by the name of Nysa. At two of these, Nysa in India and Nysa in Ethiopia, Bacchus (Dio Nysus) was held in extreme reverence. In the last-named city, Ptolemy Philadelphus manifested his veneration for the god, by honouring the deity’s great festival after a pleasing fashion. The King had a figure of the joyous divinity made expressly for the occasion. It was eight cubits in length, and was drawn through the city, attired in a tunic of yellow and gold, with a Macedonian mantle hanging from the shoulders. ”

“ This corresponds with the book of Genesis, which makes the dynasty Chaldean, while the people were Semitic, since the kingdom of Asshur was derived from that of Nimrod. “Ninus, the viceroy,” says Smith, “having revolted from the king of Babylon, overruns Armenia, Asia Minor, and the shores of the Euxine, as far as Tanais, subdues the Medes and Persians, and makes war upon the Bactrians. Semiramis, the wife of one of the chief nobles, coming to the camp before Bactria, takes the city by a bold stroke. Her courage wins the love of Ninus, and she becomes his wife. ”

“ Insomuch that the Syracusans took heart again, made excursions to Catana, wasted the country, and fired the camp of the Athenians. For which everybody blamed Nicias, who, with his long reflection, his deliberateness, and his caution, had let slip the time for action. None ever found fault with the man when once at work, for in the brunt he showed vigor and activity enough, but was slow and wanted assurance to engage. ”

“ Dionysus (Bacchus) was the son of Zeus and Semele, daughter of Cadmus of Thebes. By the orders of Zeus the child was intrusted to Hermes, to be taken to Nysa, a majestic island with clear flowing streams and ever green meadows. The fruit-bearing trees are covered with vine clusters and the ocean breezes temper the sun’s heat. In the midst of this island is a beautiful valley. The tops of the trees are so closely interwoven that neither a sun ray nor a drop of rain can penetrate them. There is a cavern there, whose rocky arches gleam with variegated colors. ”

“ The god indeed called the city Nysa, and the land Nysaea after his nurse Nysa. The mountain also which is near the city he named Meros (i.e. thigh) , because, according to the legend, he grew in the thigh of Zeus. From that time we inhabit Nysa, a free city, and we ourselves are independent, conducting our government with constitutional order. And let this be to thee a proof that our city owes its foundation to Dionysus; for ivy, which does not grow in the rest of the country of India, grows among us.”
267
CHAPTER II. Alexander at Nysa. ”