In Nonnus's epic poem ''

Dionysiaca The ''Dionysiaca'' {{IPAc-en, ˌ, d, aɪ, ., ə, ., n, ᵻ, ˈ, z, aɪ, ., ə, ., k, ə ( grc-gre, Διονυσιακά, ''Dionysiaká'') is an ancient Greek epic poem and the principal work of Nonnus. It is an epic in 48 books, the longest survi ...

'', Damasen (

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...

: derived from ''damazô'' or ''damasô'' "to subdue") is a

Lydia Lydia (Lydian language, Lydian: ‎𐤮𐤱𐤠𐤭𐤣𐤠, ''Śfarda''; Aramaic: ''Lydia''; el, Λυδία, ''Lȳdíā''; tr, Lidya) was an Iron Age Monarchy, kingdom of western Asia Minor located generally east of ancient Ionia in the mod ...

n giant. He is the son of

Gaia In Greek mythology, Gaia (; from Ancient Greek , a poetical form of , 'land' or 'earth'),, , . also spelled Gaea , is the personification of the Earth and one of the Greek primordial deities. Gaia is the ancestral mother—sometimes parthenog ...

(the

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

),{{Cite book, title=The Greek Myths, last=Graves, author-link=Robert Graves, first=Robert, publisher=Penguin Books, year=1960, isbn=978-0143106715, location=Harmondsworth, London, England, pages=s.v. The Children of Pasiphae and was nursed by Eris (the goddess of discord). The story of Damasen is only recounted by the late antiquity epic poet Nonnus in his poem.

Mythology

At birth, Damasen was born with a spear and had a thick hairy beard that covered his chin. Due to his large stature, he was described as "warlike". In his childhood, he wielded lances and spears. The Greek goddess of childbirth, Eileithyia, bestowed him with a shield. When the hero Tylon or Tylus ('knot' or 'phallus') was fatally bitten by a poisonous serpent, his sister Moria appealed to Damasen to avenge her brother. Damasen agreed to avenge Tylus and pulled a tree out of the ground to fight the serpent. The serpent fought back by wrapping itself around Damasen and spitting poison into his face. Despite the attack, the giant threw the serpent off of him and brought down the tree he was holding. The tree collided with the serpent's head before it sunk its roots into the ground, taking the serpent into the ground with it. Another serpent, a female one, then fetched 'the flower of

Zeus Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label=Genitive case, genitive Aeolic Greek, Boeotian Aeolic and Doric Greek#Laconian, Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label=Genitive case, genitive el, Δίας, ''D� ...

' from the woods, which was a painkilling herb. She laid it on the lips of the dead serpent, bringing it to life. Moria saw this and also got the flower of Zeus to bring to her dead brother, Tylus. The flower brought him back to life as he stood up again on both his feet.

In popular culture

* In '' The House of Hades'', Damasen is encountered by protagonists Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase as they travel through Tartarus.

Notes

References

Nonnus of Panopolis Nonnus of Panopolis ( grc-gre, Νόννος ὁ Πανοπολίτης, ''Nónnos ho Panopolítēs'', 5th century CE) was the most notable Greek epic poet of the Imperial Roman era. He was a native of Panopolis (Akhmim) in the Egyptian Thebai ...

, ''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

External links

Greek giants Children of Gaia

Mythology

In popular culture

See also

Notes

References

External links