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Nymph

In Greek mythology Greek mythology

Greek mythology consists in part of a large collection of narratives that explain the origins of the wo... 

, a nymph is any member of a large class of female nature entities, either bound to a particular location or landform or joining the retinue of a god or goddess. Nymphs were the frequent target of lusty satyr Satyr

In Greek mythology [i], satyrs are half-man and half-goat [i] nature entities that roamed the woods and ... 

s. "The idea that rivers are gods and springs divine nymphs," Walter Burkert remarks "is deeply rooted not only in poetry but in belief and ritual; the worship of these deities is limited only by the fact that they are inseparably identified with a specific locality." Nymphs are personifications of the creative and fostering activities of nature, most often identified with the life-giving outflow of springs.

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In Greek mythology Greek mythology

Greek mythology consists in part of a large collection of narratives that explain the origins of the wo... 

, a nymph is any member of a large class of female nature entities, either bound to a particular location or landform or joining the retinue of a god or goddess. Nymphs were the frequent target of lusty satyr Satyr

In Greek mythology [i], satyrs are half-man and half-goat [i] nature entities that roamed the woods and ... 

s.

"The idea that rivers are gods and springs divine nymphs," Walter Burkert remarks "is deeply rooted not only in poetry but in belief and ritual; the worship of these deities is limited only by the fact that they are inseparably identified with a specific locality." Nymphs are personifications of the creative and fostering activities of nature, most often identified with the life-giving outflow of springs. The Greek word ??µf? has "bride" and "veiled" among its meanings: hence, a marriagable young woman. Other readers refer the word to a root expressing the idea of "swelling" . The home of the nymphs is on mountains and in groves, by springs and rivers, in valleys and cool grottoes. They are frequently associated with the superior divinities: the huntress Artemis Artemis

Artemis , in Greek mythology [i] was daughter of Zeus [i] and of Leto [i] and the twin sister of Apollo [i]... 

; the prophetic Apollo Apollo

In Greek [i] and Roman mythology [i], Apollo , the ideal of the kouros [i], was the ... 

; the reveller and god of wine Wine

Wine is an alcoholic beverage [i] produced by the fermentation [i] of the juice of fruit [i] ... 

, Dionysus Dionysus

Dionysus and Dionysos or Dionysius , the Thracian [i] god of wine [i], represents not only t... 

; and with rustic gods such as Pan and Hermes Hermes

Hermes , in Greek mythology [i], is the Olympian god [i] of boundaries and of the trave... 

 .

The symbolic marriage with a nymph of a patriarchal leader, often the eponym of a people, is repeated endlessly in Greek origin myths; clearly such a union lent authority to the archaic king and to his line.

Nymph classifications

The different species of nymph are sometimes distinguished according to the different spheres of nature with which they were connected. However, many of these distinctions may not have existed in popular belief at any time, being late inventions. As Rose states, "the fact is that all these names are simply feminine adjectives, agreeing with the substantive nympha, and there was no orthodox and exhaustive classification of these shadowy beings." He mentions dryads and hamadryads as nymphs of trees generally, meliai as nymphs of ash tree Ash tree

An ash can be any of four different tree genera [i] from four very distinct families [i] , ... 

s, and naiads as nymphs of water, but no others specifically.

Thus, the following is not a Greek classification, but simply a handy modern guide:
  • Land Nymphs
    • Alseids
    • Napaeae
    • Auloniads
    • Leimakids
    • Oreads
    • Minthe
    • Hesperides Hesperides

      In Greek mythology [i], the Hesperides are nymph [i]s who tend a blissful garden in a far west corner of ... 

      • Aegle
      • Arethusa
      • Erytheia
      • Hesperia
      • Hespera Hesperides

        In Greek mythology [i], the Hesperides are nymph [i]s who tend a blissful garden in a far west corner of ... 

    • Hamadryad Hamadryad

      Hamadryads are Greek mythological [i] beings that live in tree [i]s. ... 

      s
      • Dryad Dryad

        Dryads are female tree [i] spirits in Greek mythology [i]. ... 

        s
      • Meliae
      • Leuce
      • Epimeliad
  • Water Nymphs
    • Helead
    • Oceanids
    • Nereids
    • Naiads Naiad

      In Greek mythology [i], the Naiads were a type of nymph [i] who presided over fountains, wells, springs, ... 

      • Crinaeae
      • Limnades or Limnatides
      • Pegaeae
      • Potameides
      • Eleionomae
  • Wood Nymphs
    • "Corycian Nymphs"
    • Lampades

Foreign adaptations


The Greek nymphs were spirits invariably bound to places, not unlike the Latin genius loci, and the difficulty of transferring their cult may be seen in the complicated myth that brought Arethusa to Sicily. Among the Greek-educated Latin poets, the nymphs gradually absorbed into their ranks the indigenous Italian divinities of springs and streams , while the Lymphae , Italian water-goddesses, owing to the accidental similarity of name, could be identified with the Greek Nymphae. The mythologies of classicizing Roman poets were unlikely to have affected the rites and cult of individual nymphs venerated by country people in the springs and clefts of Latium Latium

Latium is a regione [i] of central Italy [i], bordered by Tuscany [i], Umbria [i], ... 

. Among the Roman Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was a phase of the ancient Roman [i] civilization characterized by an autocratic [i] ... 

 literate class their sphere of influence was restricted, and they appear almost exclusively as divinities of the watery element

Depictions in popular culture

Unlike mermaids Mermaid

A mermaid) is a legendary [i] aquatic creature with the head and torso of human fem ... 

, few nymphs have been depicted on film, in television, or in other forms of mass media Mass media

Mass media is a term used to denote, as a class, that section of the media specifically conceived and de... 

 and popular culture. Among them are:
  • Lady in the Water Lady in the Water

    Lady in the Water is a 2006 [i] thriller [i]/fantasy film [i] written [i], ... 

    , a film by M. Night Shyamalan M. Night Shyamalan

    Manoj Nelliattu Shyamalan , known professionally as M.... 

    , which features a water nymph of a mythology he created for the movie.


  • Nymphs appear as monsters in the classic CRPG Daggerfall The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall

    The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall is a first-person freeform [i] computer role-playing game [i] ... 

    .
  • Nymphs also appear as monsters in the popular RPG Dungeons & Dragons Dungeons & Dragons

    Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy [i] tabletop roleplaying game [i] currently published by Wizards of the Coast [i] ... 

    .
  • Nymphs appear in the TV series Charmed Charmed

    Charmed is an American [i] television series [i] that ran for eight... 

    .
  • Nymphs appear regularily 'summoning the stork' in the Xanth series, but the stork never responds to those signals
  • In the series The Belgariad and The Malloreon by David Eddings, the character Ce'Nedra is a dryad.
  • Nymph was also the title of a porno movie done with Chasey Lain Chasey Lain

    Chasey Lain is a pornographic actress [i]. ... 

     being a water nymph.
  • In the film Sirens, an erotic dream-sequence of a woman swimming turns into a lesbian Lesbian

    A lesbian is a female [i] who is exclusively emotionally [i], sexually [i], ... 

     version of Waterhouse's painting Hylas and the Nymphs.

See also

  • Houri
  • Huacas
  • Landvaettir Wight

    Wight is an obsolete word for a human [i] or other intelligent "being" and derives from the same roo ... 

  • Melusine Melusine

    Melusine is a figure of Europe [i]an legend [i]s and folklore [i], a feminine spirit of fresh waters in... 

  • Ondine
  • Slavic fairies Slavic fairies

    Fairies [i] in Slavic mythology [i] come in several forms and their names are spelled differently ... 

  • Sprite
  • Succubus Succubus

    n medieval [i] legend [i], a succubus is a demon [i] which takes the form of a female to se ... 

  • Calypso

Footnotes



References