In Greek mythology, the Hyades (/ˈhaɪ.ə.diːz/;[1] Ancient Greek: Ὑάδες, romanized: Hyádes, popularly "rain-makers"[2] or "the rainy ones"; from ὕω, hýō, 'I fall as rain', but probably from ὗς, hŷs, 'swine'[3]) are a sisterhood of nymphs that bring rain.
The names are also variable, according to the mythographer, and include: Additionally, Thyone and Prodice were supposed to be daughters of Hyas by Aethra, and have been added to the group of stars.
[citation needed] The main myth concerning them is envisioned to account for their collective name and to provide an etiology for their weepy raininess: Hyas was killed in a hunting accident and the Hyades wept from their grief.
[16] Some sources relate that they were subject to aging, but Dionysus, to express his gratitude for having raised him, asked Medea to restore their youth.
[17][18][19] In Tennyson's poem, Ulysses recalls his travels of old: "I cannot rest from travel: I will drink - Life to the lees: All times I have enjoy'd - Greatly, have suffer'd greatly, both with those - That loved me, and alone, on shore, and when - Thro' scudding drifts the rainy Hyades - Vext the dim sea ..."[20] A well-studied star cluster in Taurus and the open cluster nearest Earth is named after the Hyades of Greek mythology.