nurse of Hyllus in Greek mythology

Abia

Abia is, in Greek mythology, the nurse of the child Hyllus, son of Heracles and Deianira, and she gave her name to a city in Messenia. Her story links the Heraclid myth with the origin of a place name.

The myth

According to tradition, Abia nursed Hyllus, the son Heracles had with Deianira. In some translations the child appears as Glenus. After Hyllus failed to return to the Peloponnese, Abia settled there, in the city called Ire.

The story says she built a temple to Heracles, and the Heraclid Cresphontes honored her by renaming the city after her as Abia. Homer, as cited by Pausanias, mentions the city among the seven that Agamemnon promised to Achilles to bring him back to the Trojan War. Over time Abia became part of the Achaean League.

Worship and religion

According to Pausanias, the city had a notable temple to Heracles and also one to Asclepius, suggesting that the place had heroic and healing cults.

Ancient sources: Homer mentions the city among the seven promised to Achilles, and Pausanias, in his Description of Greece, explains the origin of its name.