Nymphs

=The Mythical Greek Guardians of Nature = What was the force behind the arrangement of the leaves, the unraveling of flower buds, and the cleansing of the water? Nymphs were playful, mischievous spirits that roamed the lands and aided in the movement and progression of nature itself. All nymphs were beautiful, charming maidens that had plenty of amorous relationships with other Gods and Titans. Although they were not immortal, they still led very long lives as spirits. There were numerous categories of nymphs depending on the type of element it was associated with; there were Nereids, Dryads, Pleiades, Naiads, and Hamadryads.

In the Mediterranean Sea, Nereids would dwell in all parts of the ocean; from the rocky shores, to the deepest sea caverns and currents while riding the backs of dolphins and giant underwater beasts. All 50 of them were born from their father, Nereus, and their mother, Doris. Although most stories say Poseidon was the first god of the sea, Nereusclaimed it far before Poseidon was even born. The talents that Nereus had that made him powerful were foretelling the future and shape shifting into any form. Nerieds would help sailors and guide them through the stormiest waters. Most of the time, they would visit their father in his cavern at the bottom of the Aegean Sea. Whenever a meeting was held, Nerieds would always be present in Poseidon’s court since they were important in decision making. They were kind, happy souls that aided anyone that was in need of help. (Asthma,Theoi.com)

The rustling trees of the forests are home to the Dryads. These nymphs were born with a certain tree and were responsible for tending to it until it died. Dryads were usually very shy and did not live too far away from their tree, but when their friend Artemis (the goddess of the hunt) went on hunting expeditions, the spirits were eager to join in on the fun. They were mainly the spirits for Oak trees but the term “Dryads” is now used for all tree spirits in general. Meliai (ash tree nymphs) were the first Dryads to live on earth. Their parents were Gaia (Mother Nature) and Ouranos (the father of the Titans). These Melai mated with other gods creating other species of Dryads. The Dryads guarded the forests and were very protective over them. (Keenan, p.41, // Gods, Goddesses, and Monsters: an Encyclopedia of World Mythology //.)

Up in the starry night sky is where the Pleiades will forever be; in the constellations. There is a legend about these nymphs and about how they became a cluster of stars. Seven daughters were born from the Titan Atlas (who held up the sky) and the Oceanid Pleione, whose names were Maia, Taygete, Electra, Merope, Sterope, Celaeno, and Alcyone. The great hunter, Orion (Poseidon’s son), pursued after these beautiful maidens for seven years and chased them like any prideful hunter would. Zeus watched from above on the poor women and transformed them into doves where they could fly to the heavens out of Orion’s reach. Zeus used this as an added punishment to Atlas as his family was no longer on earth. Other versions of this legend said that the sisters were extremely saddened by their father’s fate and committed suicide off of a cliff. Zeus pitied them and transformed them into stars so they could be a part of the sky that their father was holding on his shoulders. The nymphs of the stars sparkled and looked down upon the mortals from the heavens. (Sacks, 154-155, Encyclopedia of the Ancient Greek World)

Naiads were the nymphs of freshwater. Different from Nereids and Oceanids; Naiads inhabited fountains, lakes, rivers, springs, lagoons, and even marshes. Similar to the Hamadryad, if the Naiad’s body of water dried up, it died as well. In Greek mythology, Naiads were worshiped because their waters were believed to have magical properties. When one drank the pure water, a spark of inspiration occurred and all diseases were cured. Naiads were always invited to attend the Olympus’s court meeting with all of the gods by Zeus. A fountain in the middle of the court enabled the Naiads to transport themselves to and from their body of water. These nymphs were known to be caring, fun, and sweet, but tended to get jealous easily. A story that proves this was when a river nymph named Nais found out about her partner’s unfaithfulness, she struck him in the eyes with a fast jet stream of water. Blind, her lover fell into a river and drowned because he was never rescued by the other river nymphs. Life went on for Nais and the rest of the nymphs, as revenge was sweet. (Pleiade.org)

Just like the Dryads, Hamadryads were tree nymphs too; except that these nymphs were literally bound to the tree itself. Some said there was a nymph that lived in the tree’s trunk, while others said it was the tree’s spirit itself. Each and every one of the eight Hamadryad daughters lived in Mount Oita. They all had a region of the land and a species of tree to rule over. The forest spirit Oxylos and one of the first oak tree nymphs, Hamadryas were their parents. Since all Hamadryads were bound to a tree, they couldn’t play in the forests like the fortunate Dryads could. Their lives literally depended on the tree it was taking resident in. When the tree prospered, the nymph inside of it did as well, but when it died, so did the nymph. For that reason, any careless mortal that harmed the vulnerable Hamadryads were severely punished by the gods. The other tree nymphs themselves also punished mortals that injured the trees in any way. (School.eb.com)

According to Greek Mythology, Nereids, Dryads, Pleiades, Naiads, and Hamadryads alike were nature guardians that cared about their homes. Each class of Nymphs is significant and has their own tales of widely known drama. Without the legend of the Nymphs, nature would have been an unexplainable phenomenon to the ancient Greeks.

 Works Cited  Keenan, Sheila. //Gods, Goddesses, and Monsters: an Encyclopedia of World Mythology//. New York: Scholastic, 2000. Print.

 Mikalson, Jon D. "Narcissus." //World Book Advanced//. World Book, 2011. Web. 30 Nov. 2011.

 Sacks, David. "Nymphs." //Encyclopedia of the Ancient Greek World//. New York: Facts on File, 1995. 154-55. Print.

 "NEREIDS : Sea-Goddesses, Sea-Nymphs | Greek Mythology, Nereides, W/ Pictures." //THEOI GREEK MYTHOLOGY, Exploring Mythology & the Greek Gods in Classical Literature & Art//. Web. 30 Nov. 2011. <[]>.

 //Encyclopædia Britannica Online School Edition//. Web. 30 Nov. 2011. <[]>.

 "Pleiade | The Pleiades in Mythology." //Pleiade | Architects | Bristol//. Web. 04 Dec. 2011. <[]>.