Nicaea (mythology)

In Greek mythology, Nicaea (/naɪˈsiːə/ nye-SEE-ə) or Nikaia (Ancient Greek: Νίκαια, romanized: Níkaia, pronounced [nǐːkai̯a]) is a Naiad nymph of the springs or fountain of the ancient Greek colony of Nicaea in Bithynia (in northwestern Asia Minor) or else the goddess of the adjacent lake Ascanius. Nicaea and her myth are featured primarily in the Dionysiaca, a fifth-century epic poem by Nonnus, though she might have originated from local stories of Bithynia. The virginal nymph Nicaea is courted by Dionysus, although she rejects him.