Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos
Nisus
Introduction References & Edit History Related Topics
Quizzes
Parthenon, Acropolis, Athens, Greece.
From Athena to Zeus: Basics of Greek Mythology
mythology. Greek. Hermes. (Roman Mercury)
A Study of Greek and Roman Mythology
Britannica AI Icon
Adding us as a Preferred Source tells Google you trust our content, so our articles show up more often in your Google Search, Discover feed, and AI Overviews.
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

External Websites

Nisus

Greek mythology
Written and fact-checked by
Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
Britannica Editors
History

Nisus, in Greek mythology, king of Megara, a son of King Pandion of Athens. His name was given to the Megarian port of Nisaea. Nisus had a purple lock of hair with magic power: if preserved, it would guarantee him life and continued possession of his kingdom. When King Minos of Crete besieged Megara, Nisus’ daughter Scylla fell in love with Minos (or, in some accounts, was bribed): she betrayed her city by cutting off her father’s purple lock. Nisus was killed (or killed himself) and became transformed into a sea eagle. Scylla later drowned, possibly at the hand of Minos, and was changed into a sea bird (Greek keiris, Latin ciris), possibly a heron, constantly pursued by the sea eagle.