The Nisius Triangle | Nisius Genealogy
Myths & Curiosities

The Nisius Triangle

How mythology, natural science, and our surname are wonderfully connected

Metamorphosis into sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus Friendship Ehret – Linnaeus Nisius King Nisus Mythology Dionysius Family Name Carl Linnaeus Natural Science

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Mythology
King Nisus
of Megara
Family Name
Dionysius
Saint & God
Natural Science
Carl Linnaeus
Accipiter nisus

Title

Content…
Thus a fascinating circle closes: Our surname Nisius traces back to Saint Dionysius of Paris. The botanist Georg Dionysius Ehret was a close friend of Carl Linnaeus – and likely introduced him to the ancient legend of King Nisus. Linnaeus then named the Eurasian sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus. Perhaps we are not direct descendants of the mythical king, but we bear a name that wonderfully connects faith, mythology, and science.
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