In Greek mythology, Dryas was the son of King Lycurgus of Thrace. He was killed when his father went insane and mistook him for a patch of ivy, a plant holy to the god Dionysus.
Lycurgus had imprisoned all of Dionysus' followers, the Maenads, and forced Dionysus to flee his kingdom. Dionysus took refuge with Thetis the sea nymph, sent a drought to Thrace, and drove Lycurgus insane. An oracle predicted that the land would stay dry and barren as long as Lycurgus was alive, so his people had him drawn and quartered. With Lycurgus dead, Dionysus lifted the curse.
The Younger Dryas saw a rapid return to glacial conditions in the higher latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere between 12,900 – 11,500 years before present (BP)[2] in sharp contrast to the warming of the preceding interstadial deglaciation.
Replacement of forest in Scandinavia with glacial tundra (which is the habitat of the plant Dryas octopetala).
The prevailing theory holds that the Younger Dryas was caused by a significant reduction or shutdown of the North Atlantic thermohaline circulation in response to a sudden influx of fresh water from deglaciation in North America.
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