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| Grouping | Mythological |
|---|---|
| Sub grouping | Nature spirit |
| Similar entities | Mermaid, hellois, huldra |
| Country | Greece |
A nymph (Ancient Greek: νύμφη, romanized: nýmphē; Attic Greek: [nýmpʰɛː]; sometimes spelled nymphe) is a minor female nature deity in ancient Greek folklore. Distinct from other Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature, they are typically tied to a specific place, landform, or tree, and are usually depicted as maidens. Because of their association with springs, they were often seen as having healing properties;[1] other divine powers of the nymphs included divination and shapeshifting.[2] Nymphs, like other goddesses, were immortal except for the Hamadryads, whose lives were bound to a specific tree.[3]
Nymphs are divided into various broad subgroups based on their habitat,[4] such as the Meliae (ash tree nymphs), the Dryads (oak tree nymphs), the Alseids (grove nymphs), the Naiads or Hydriads (spring nymphs), the Nereids (sea nymphs), the Oceanids (ocean nymphs), the Oreads (mountain nymphs), and the Epimeliads (apple tree and flock nymphs). Other nymphs included the Hesperides (evening nymphs), the Hyades (rain nymphs), and the Pleiades (companions of Artemis).
Nymphs featured in classic works of art, literature, and mythology They are often attendants of goddesses and frequently occur in myths with a love motif, being the lovers of heroes and other deities.[4] Desirable and promiscuous, nymphs can rarely be fully domesticated, being often aggressive to their mortal affairs.[5][3] Since the Middle Ages, nymphs have been sometimes popularly associated or even confused with fairies.
Etymology
| Greek deities series |
|---|
| Nymphs |
The Greek word nýmphē has the primary meaning of "young woman; bride, young wife" but is not usually associated with deities in particular. Yet the etymology of the noun nýmphē remains uncertain. The Doric and Aeolic (Homeric) form is nýmphā (νύμφα).[6]
Modern usage more often applies to young women, contrasting with parthenos (παρθένος) "a virgin (of any age)", and generically as kore (κόρη < κόρϝα) "maiden, girl". The term is sometimes used by women to address each other and remains the regular Modern Greek term for "bride".
Ancient Greek mythology
Nymphs were sometimes beloved by many and dwelt in specific areas related to the natural environment: e.g. mountainous regions; forests; springs. Other nymphs were part of the retinue of a god (such as Dionysus, Hermes, or Pan) or of a goddess (generally the huntress Artemis).[7]
The Greek nymphs were also spirits invariably bound to places, not unlike the Latin genius loci, and sometimes this produced complicated myths like the cult of Arethusa to Sicily. In some of the works of the Greek-educated Latin poets, the nymphs gradually absorbed into their ranks the indigenous Italian divinities of springs and streams (Juturna, Egeria, Carmentis, Fontus) while the Lymphae (originally Lumpae), Italian water goddesses, owing to the accidental similarity of their names, could be identified with the Greek Nymphae. The classical mythologies of the Roman poets were unlikely to have affected the rites and cults of individual nymphs venerated by country people in the springs and clefts of Latium. Among the Roman literate class, their sphere of influence was restricted and they appear almost exclusively as divinities of the watery element.[citation needed]
Greek folk religion
The ancient Greek belief in nymphs survived in many parts of the country into the early years of the twentieth century when they were usually known as "nereids".[8] Nymphs often tended to frequent areas distant from humans but could be encountered by lone travelers outside the village, where their music might be heard, and the traveler could spy on their dancing or bathing in a stream or pool, either during the noon heat or in the middle of the night.[9] They might appear in a whirlwind. Such encounters could be dangerous, bringing dumbness, besotted infatuation, madness or stroke to the unfortunate man. When parents believed their child to be nereid-struck, they would pray to Saint Artemidos.[10][11]
Nymphs and fairies
Nymphs are often depicted in classic works across art, literature, mythology, and fiction. They are often associated with the medieval romances or Renaissance literature of the elusive fairies or elves.[12][13]
Sleeping nymph
A motif that entered European art during the Renaissance was the idea of a statue of a nymph sleeping in a grotto or spring.[14][15][16] This motif supposedly came from an Italian report of a Roman sculpture of a nymph at a fountain above the River Danube.[17] The report, and an accompanying poem supposedly on the fountain describing the sleeping nymph, are now generally concluded to be a fifteenth-century forgery, but the motif proved influential among artists and landscape gardeners for several centuries after, with copies seen at neoclassical gardens such as the grotto at Stourhead.[18][19][20]
List
All the names for various classes of nymphs have plural feminine adjectives, most agreeing with the substantive numbers and groups of nymphai. There is no single adopted classification that could be seen as canonical and exhaustive.[21] Some classes of nymphs tend to overlap, which complicates the task of precise classification. e.g. dryads and hamadryads as nymphs of trees generally, meliai as nymphs of ash trees.[21]
By dwelling or affinity
The following is not the authentic Greek classification, but is intended as a guide:
| Type / Group / Individuals | Location | Relations and Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Celestial nymphs | ||
| Aurae (breezes) | also called Aetae or Pnoae,[citation needed] daughters of Boreas[22] | |
| Asteriae (stars) | mainly comprising the Atlantides (daughters of Atlas) | |
| 1. Hesperides (evening) | Far West | nymphs of the sunset, the West, and the evening; daughters of Atlas; also had attributes of the Hamadryads[23] |
| • Aegle | ||
| • Arethusa | ||
| • Erytheia (or Eratheis) | mother of Eurytion by Ares[24] | |
| 2. Hyades (star cluster; sent rain) | Boeotia (probably) | daughters of Atlas by either Pleione or Aethra[25] |
| 3. Pleiades | daughters of Atlas and Pleione;[26] constellation; also were classed as Oreads | |
| • Maia | Mt. Cyllene, Arcadia | partner of Zeus and mother of Hermes[27] |
| • Electra | Mt. Saon, Samothrace | mother of Dardanus and Iasion by Zeus[28] |
| • Taygete | Taygetos Mts., Laconia | mother of Lacedaemon by Zeus[29] |
| • Alcyone | Mt. Cithaeron, Boeotia | mother of Hyperes and Anthas by Poseidon[30] |
| • Celaeno | Mt. Cithaeron, Boeotia or Euboea | mother of Lycus and Nycteus by Poseidon[31] |
| • Asterope | Pisa, Elis | mother of Oenomaus by Ares[32] |
| • Merope | Corinth | wife of Sisyphus and mother of Glaucus[33] |
| Nephele (clouds) | daughters of Oceanus[34] and/or Tethys[35] or of Aither[36] | |
| Land nymphs | ||
| Alseides (groves) | [37] | |
| Auloniades (valley pastures, glens) | ||
| Leimakides or Leimonides (meadows) | ||
| Napaeae (dells) | [38] | |
| Oreads (mountains, grottoes), also Orodemniades | ||
| Wood and plant nymphs | ||
| Anthousai (flowers) | ||
| Dryades (trees) | ||
| Hamadryades or Hadryades | ||
| 1. Daphnaeae (laurel tree) | ||
| 2. Epimeliades or Epimelides (apple tree; also protected flocks) | other name variants include Meliades, Maliades and Hamameliades; same as these are also the Boucolai (Pastoral Nymphs) | |
| 3. Kissiae (ivy) | ||
| 4. Meliae (manna-ash tree) | born from the drops of blood that fell on Gaia when Cronus castrated Uranus[39] | |
| Hyleoroi (watchers of woods) | ||
| Water nymphs (Hydriades or Ephydriades) | ||
| Haliae (sea and seashores) | ||
| 1. Nereids | Mediterranean Sea | 50 daughters of Nereus and Doris[40] |
| Naiads, Naides (fresh water) | ||
| 1. Crinaeae (fountains) | ||
| 2. Eleionomae (wetlands) | ||
| 3. Limnades, Limnatides (lakes) | ||
| 4. Pegaeae (springs) | ||
| 5. Potameides (rivers) | ||
| Oceanids | daughters of Oceanus and Tethys,[41] any freshwater, typically clouds and rain. see List of Oceanids | |
| Underworld nymphs | ||
| Lampades | Hades | torch bearers in the retinue of Hecate |
| • Orphne | is a representation of the darkness of the river Styx, the river of hatred, but is not to be confused with the goddess Styx herself nor with Nyx, goddess of night, despite being associated with both. She is the consort of Acheron, (the god of the river in Hades), and the mother of Ascalaphus, (the orchardist of Hades).[42] | |
| • Leuce (white poplar tree) | daughter of Oceanus and lover of Hades[43] | |
| • Melinoe | Orphic nymph, daughter of Persephone and "Zeus disguised as Pluto".[44] Her name is a possible epithet of Hecate. | |
| • Minthe (mint) | Cocytus River | probably a daughter of Cocytus, lover of Hades and rival of Persephone[45][46] |
| Other nymphs | ||
| Hecaterides (rustic dance) | daughters of Hecaterus by a daughter of Phoroneus; sisters of the Dactyls and mothers of the Oreads and the Satyrs[47] | |
| Kabeirides | daughters of Cadmilus and sisters of the Kabeiroi[48] or of Hephaestus and Cabeiro[49] | |
| Maenads or Bacchai or Bacchantes | frenzied nymphs in the retinue of Dionysus | |
| 1. Lenai (wine-press) | ||
| 2. Mimallones (music) | ||
| 4. Thyiai or Thyiades (thyrsus bearers) | ||
| Melissae (honey) | likely a subgroup of Oreades or Epimelides | |
By location
The following is a list of individual nymphs or groups thereof associated with this or that particular location. Nymphs in such groups could belong to any of the classes mentioned above (Naiades, Oreades, and so on).
| Groups and Individuals | Location | Relations and Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Aeaean Nymphs | Aeaea Island | handmaidens of Circe |
| Aegaeides | Aegaeus River on the island of Scheria | |
| Aesepides | Aesepus River in Anatolia | |
| • Abarbarea | ||
| Acheloides | Achelous River in Acarnania | |
| • Callirhoe, second wife of Alcmaeon | ||
| Acmenes | Stadium in Olympia, Elis | |
| Amnisiades | Amnisos River on the island of Crete | entered the retinue of Artemis |
| Anigrides | Anigros River in Elis | believed to cure skin diseases |
| Asopides | Asopus River in Sicyonia and Boeotia | |
| • Aegina | Island of Aegina | mother of Menoetius by Actor, and Aeacus by Zeus |
| • Asopis | ||
| • Chalcis | Chalcis, Euboea | regarded as the mother of the Curetes and Corybantes; perhaps the same as Combe and Euboea |
| • Cleone | Cleonae, Argos | one of the daughters of Asopus |
| • Combe | Island of Euboea | consort of Socus and mother by him of the seven Corybantes |
| • Corcyra | Island of Corcyra | mother of Phaiax by Poseidon |
| • Euboea | Island of Euboea | abducted by Poseidon; perhaps the same as Chalcis and Combe above |
| • Harpina | Pisa, Elis | mother of Oenomaus by Ares |
| • Ismene | Ismenian spring of Thebes, Boeotia | wife of Argus, eponymous king of Argus and thus, mother of Argus Panoptes and Iasus. |
| • Nemea | Nemea, Argolis | others called her the daughter of Zeus and Selene |
| • Oeroe or Plataia | Plataea, Boeotia | carried off by Zeus |
| • Ornea | Ornia, Sicyon | |
| • Peirene | Corinth | others called her father to be Oebalus or Achelous by Poseidon she became the mother of Lecheas and Cenchrias |
| • Salamis | Island of Salamis | mother of Cychreus by Poseidon |
| • Sinope | Sinope, Anatolia | mother of Syrus by Apollo |
| • Tanagra | Tanagra, Boeotia | mother of Leucippus and Ephippus by Poemander |
| • Thebe | Thebes, Boeotia | wife of Zethus and also said to have consorted with Zeus |
| • Thespeia | Thespia, Boeotia | abducted by Apollo |
| Astakides | Lake Astacus, Bithynia | appeared in the myth of Nicaea |
| • Nicaea | Nicaea, Bithynia | |
| Asterionides | Asterion River, Argos | daughters of the river god Asterion; nurses of the infant goddess Hera |
| • Acraea | ||
| • Euboea |