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Scylla, a MythSource painting
Greek

Scylla

01Identity

Scylla in Greek tradition

Scylla was the daughter of Nisus, king of Megara, whose safety depended on a purple lock among his hair. During Minos's siege, she watched the Cretan king from the city's tower and became enamoured of him. She imagined ending the war by surrendering her father's safeguard, but she knew that doing so would betray her city and her father. At last, while Nisus slept, she cut off the lock and offered it to Minos.

Minos rejects the gift and says Scylla may not come to Crete. When his ships sail, she follows and clings to one of them as an unwelcome companion. Her father, now a sea-eagle, pursues her from the air. As she falls, feathers support her, and she becomes the bird called Ciris; the account connects that name with the cut lock. This Scylla belongs to the Megarian siege story, not the separate sea-monster encountered by Glaucus.

SourceThe Metamorphoses of Ovid, Scylla betrays Nisus, printed pp. 264–268

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The quick answers

02The myths

The myths of Scylla

1 myth, with sources recorded for each.

Scylla betrays Nisus

During the long conflict, Scylla watches the fighting from the tower and learns the leaders, armour and horses. Her attention fixes on Minos. She admires him as he rides and fights, then imagines entering the enemy camp or opening the city's gates if that is what he wants. The thought crosses a boundary she knows: the lock in her father's hair is the safeguard of Megara.

At night, while Nisus sleeps, Scylla enters his chamber and cuts away the purple lock. She carries it through the enemy ranks and offers it to Minos as proof that she has handed over both her country's fate and her father's life. Minos refuses the gift. He condemns the betrayal and denies her passage to Crete, even though she has risked everything to reach him.

When the ships depart, Scylla leaps after them and clings to the vessel. Nisus, now a sea-eagle, swoops to tear her apart. Fear makes her quit the stern, but she does not strike the water. Feathers form around her as she falls, changing her into a bird called Ciris. The name is connected in the account with the cut lock that began her flight from her father and her city.

Scylla betrays Nisus, a MythSource painting of the scene

3 sources· checked 2026-10-01

  1. 1The Metamorphoses of OvidT1
  2. 2The Metamorphoses of OvidT1
  3. 3The Metamorphoses of OvidT1

Also mentioned in

Stories elsewhere on MythSource that mention Scylla, each on that figure’s page.