Nymph

{{Short description|Greek and Roman mythological creature}} {{About|the creatures of Greek mythology}} {{Infobox mythical creature |name = Nymph |image = File:Three nymphs, marble relief, c. 320–300 BC.jpg |image_size = |caption = Three nymphs, marble relief, c. 320–300 BC |Grouping = Mythological |Sub_Grouping = Nature spirit |Similar_entities = Mermaid, hellois, huldra |Country = Greece }} A '''nymph''' ({{langx|grc|{{linktext|νύμφη}}|nýmphē}}; {{IPA|grc-x-attic|nýmpʰɛː|lang|link=yes}}; 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;{{Sfn|Larson|2001|p=5}} other divine powers of the nymphs included divination and shapeshifting.{{Sfn|Larson|2001|pp=11, 71}} In spite of their divine nature, they were not immortal.<ref>''Brill's New Pauly'', s.v. Nymphs.</ref>

Nymphs are divided into various broad subgroups based on their habitat,{{Sfn|Grimal|1996|pp=313–314}} such as the Meliae (ash tree nymphs), the Dryads (oak tree nymphs), the Alseids (grove nymphs), the Naiads (spring nymphs), the Nereids (sea nymphs), the Oceanids (ocean nymphs), and the Oreads (mountain nymphs). Other nymphs included the Hesperides (evening nymphs), the Hyades (rain nymphs), the Heliades (poplar tree nymphs, daughters of Helios), 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.{{Sfn|Grimal|1996|pp=313–314}} Desirable and promiscuous, nymphs can rarely be tamed, their dealings with mortals often marked by capricious aggression.{{Sfn|Larson|2001|p=4}}<ref name="Parad1997">{{cite web|title=Genealogical Guide to Greek Mythology: Nymphs|year=1997|last1=Parad|first1=Carlos|last2=Förlag|first2=Maicar|url=http://www.maicar.com/GML/NYMPHS.html|publisher=Astrom Editions|access-date=25 May 2019}}</ref> Since the Middle Ages, nymphs have been sometimes popularly associated or even confused with fairies.

==Etymology== The Greek word {{lang|grc-Latn|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 {{lang|grc-Latn|nýmphē}} remains uncertain. The Doric and Aeolic (Homeric) form is {{lang|grc-Latn|nýmphā}} ({{lang|grc|νύμφα}}).<ref name="etymonline">{{cite web |url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/nymph |title=Online Etymology Dictionary |work=etymonline.com}}</ref>

Modern usage more often applies to young women, contrasting with ''parthenos'' ({{lang|grc|παρθένος}}) "a virgin (of any age)", and generically as ''kore'' ({{lang|grc|κόρη}} < {{lang|grc|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== [[File:John William Waterhouse - Hylas and the Nymphs.jpg|left|thumb|210x210px|In this 1896 painting of ''Hylas and the Nymphs'' by John William Waterhouse, Hylas is abducted by the Naiads, i.e. fresh water nymphs]] Nymphs often 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).<ref name="Larson1997">{{Cite journal |last1=Larson|first1=Jennifer|year=1997|title=Handmaidens of Artemis?|journal=The Classical Journal|volume=92|issue=3|pages=249–257|jstor=3298110}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{EB1911|inline=y|wstitle=Nymphs|volume=19|page=930}}</ref>

== 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".<ref>{{cite book |last=Lawson |first=John Cuthbert |title=Modern Greek Folklore and Ancient Greek Religion |url=https://archive.org/details/moderngreekfolkl00laws |edition=1st |year=1910 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |page=[https://archive.org/details/moderngreekfolkl00laws/page/131 131]}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/1256865|title=Folklore of the Greeks in America|author=Lee, D. Demetracopoulou|year=1936|journal=Folklore|volume=47|issue=3|pages=294–310|doi=10.1080/0015587X.1936.9718647 |jstor=1256865 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> 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 the Saint Artemius (Perhaps this saint in particular being chosen is due to a corruption of the name of the goddess Artemis. If this is the case, it would be an example of "practical polytheism in the worship of the saints").<ref>"Heathen Artemis yielded her functions to her own genitive case transformed into Saint Artemidos", as Terrot Reaveley Glover phrased it in discussing the "practical polytheism in the worship of the saints", in ''Progress in Religion to the Christian Era'' 1922:107.</ref><ref>{{cite book |last = Tomkinson |first = John L. |title = Haunted Greece: Nymphs, Vampires and Other Exotika |edition = 1st |year = 2004 |publisher = Anagnosis |location = Athens |isbn = 978-960-88087-0-6 |pages= chapter 3 |no-pp = true}}</ref>

== 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.<ref name="Kready1916">{{cite book |last=Kready |first=Laura|year=1916 |title=A Study of Fairy Tales |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Company |location=Boston|url=http://www.sacred-texts.com/etc/sft/sft07.htm}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author-link=Katharine Mary Briggs |last=Briggs |first=Katharine Mary |year=1976 |title=An Encyclopedia of Fairies |url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaoffa00brig |url-access=registration |location=New York |publisher=Pantheon Books |chapter=Euphemistic names for fairies |isbn=0-394-73467-X}}</ref>

== Sleeping nymph == [[File:Stourhead, Grotto, statue of a sleeping nymph.jpg|thumb|The statue of a sleeping nymph in a grotto at Stourhead gardens, England.]] A motif that entered European art during the Renaissance was the idea of a statue of a nymph sleeping in a grotto or spring.<ref name="National Gallery of Art">{{cite web|title=The Nymph of the Spring|url=http://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/Collection/art-object-page.43716.html|website=National Gallery of Art|access-date=23 September 2016}}</ref><ref name="Campbell2004">{{cite book|author=Stephen John Campbell|title=The Cabinet of Eros: Renaissance Mythological Painting and the Studiolo of Isabella D'Este|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z_GBq346SKIC&pg=PA95|year=2004|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=978-0-300-11753-0|pages=95–6}}</ref><ref name="AinsworthWaterman2013">{{cite book|author1=Maryan Wynn Ainsworth|author2=Joshua P. Waterman|author3=Dorothy Mahon |title=German Paintings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1350-1600|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MKkSBtJNBUwC&pg=PA95|year=2013|publisher=Metropolitan Museum of Art|isbn=978-1-58839-487-3|pages=95–6}}</ref> This motif supposedly came from an Italian report of a Roman sculpture of a nymph at a fountain above the River Danube.<ref name="Levenson(U.S.)1991">{{cite book|author1=Jay A. Levenson|author2=National Gallery of Art (U.S.)|title=Circa 1492: Art in the Age of Exploration|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wMK-Ba0-RG4C&pg=PA260|year=1991|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=978-0-300-05167-4|page=260}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Barkan1999">{{cite book|author=Leonard Barkan|title=Unearthing the Past: Archaeology and Aesthetics in the Making of Renaissance Culture|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KPMHJVKLc74C&pg=PA237|year=1999|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=978-0-300-08911-0|pages=237–8}}</ref><ref name="MacDougall1994">{{cite book|author=Elisabeth B. MacDougall|title=Fountains, Statues, and Flowers: Studies in Italian Gardens of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Xav4T6QU5n8C&pg=PA37|date=January 1994|publisher=Dumbarton Oaks|isbn=978-0-88402-216-9|pages=37–56}}</ref><ref name="Gross1992">{{cite book|author=Kenneth Gross|title=The Dream of the Moving Statue|url=https://archive.org/details/dreamofmovingsta00gros|url-access=registration|year=1992|publisher=Cornell University Press|isbn=978-0-8014-2702-2|pages=[https://archive.org/details/dreamofmovingsta00gros/page/170 170]–175}}</ref>

== 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.<ref name="Rose1959">{{cite book |last=Rose |first=Herbert Jennings |author-link=H. J. Rose |title=A Handbook of Greek Mythology |edition=1st |year=1959 |publisher=E. P. Dutton |location=New York |isbn=978-0-525-47041-0 |page=[https://archive.org/details/handbookofgreekm00rose/page/173 173] |url=https://archive.org/details/handbookofgreekm00rose/page/173 }}</ref> 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.<ref name="Rose1959"/> According to classicist Robin Hard, these terms "were hardly proper names at all, but feminine adjectives that could be assigned to the noun {{translit|grc|nymphē}} at will", adding that "[n]o orthodox or exhaustive classification of such beings was ever attempted, and ancient authors were often careless or arbitrary in the application of such titles".<ref>Hard, p. 210.</ref>

=== By dwelling or affinity === {| class="wikitable" |+ !Type / group / individuals !Location !Relations and notes |- | colspan="3" |'''Celestial nymphs''' |- |Aurae (breezes) | |also called Aetae or Pnoae,{{citation needed|date=January 2018}} daughters of Boreas<ref>Quintus Smyrnaeus, 1.683 ff.</ref> |- | Hesperides (evening) | rowspan="4" |City of Lixus (probably) |nymphs of the sunset, the West, and the evening; daughters of Atlas and Hesperis; also had attributes of the Hamadryads<ref>Diodorus Siculus, 4.26.2</ref> |- |• Aegle | |- |• Arethusa | |- |• Erytheia (or Eratheis) |mother of Eurytion by Ares<ref>Stesichorus, ''Geryoneis'' Frag S8</ref> |- | Hyades (star cluster; sent rain) | rowspan="2" |Boeotia (probably) |daughters of Atlas by either Pleione or Aethra<ref>Hyginus, ''Fabulae'' 192</ref> |- | Pleiades |daughters of Atlas and Pleione;<ref>Apollodorus, 3.10.1</ref> constellation; also were classed as Oreads |- |• Maia |Mount Cyllene, Arcadia |partner of Zeus and mother of Hermes<ref>Hesiod, ''Theogony'' 938</ref> |- |• Electra |Mount Saos, Samothrace |mother of Dardanus and Iasion by Zeus<ref>Apollodorus, 3.12.1</ref> |- |• Taygete |Taygetos Mountains, Laconia |mother of Lacedaemon by Zeus<ref>Hyginus, ''Fabulae'' 155</ref> |- |• Alcyone |Mount Cithaeron, Boeotia |mother of Hyperes and Anthas by Poseidon<ref>Pausanias, 2.30.8</ref> |- |• Celaeno |Mount Cithaeron, Boeotia or Euboea |mother of Lycus and Nycteus by Poseidon<ref>Apollodorus, 3.10.1</ref> |- |• Asterope |Pisa, Elis |mother of Oenomaus by Ares<ref>Hyginus, ''Fabulae'' 84</ref> |- |• Merope |Corinth |wife of Sisyphus and mother of Glaucus<ref>Hyginus, ''Astronomica'' 2.21</ref> |- |Nephele (clouds) | |daughters of Oceanus<ref>Aristophanes, ''Clouds'' 264</ref> and/or Tethys<ref>''Orphic Hymn'' 22</ref> or of Aither<ref>Aristophanes, ''Clouds'' 563</ref> |- | colspan="3" |'''Land nymphs''' |- |Alseides (groves) | |<ref>Homer, ''Iliad'' 20.4</ref> |- |Auloniades (valleys, see also Napaeae) | | <ref>Montanari, s.v. αὐλωνιάς, p. 338; ''Orphic Hymns'' 51.7 (Ricciardelli, pp. 134, 135).</ref> |- |Leimonides (meadows) | |<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|author=Malkin, Irad|year=2016|chapter=Nymphs|title=Oxford Classical Dictionary|doi=10.1093/acrefore/9780199381135.013.4487 |isbn=978-0-19-938113-5 }}</ref> |- |Napaeae (dells, see also Auloniades) | |<ref>Statius, ''Thebaid'' 9.385</ref> |- |Oreads (mountains, grottoes)'', also Orodemniades'' | | |- | colspan="3" |'''Wood and plant nymphs''' |- |Anthousai (flower nymphs) | | <ref>Philostratus the Elder, ''Imagines'' 2.11.</ref> |- |Dryades (trees) | | |- |Hamadryades or Hadryades | | |- | Daphnaiai ({{lang|grc|Δαφναίαι}}) | | Nymphs associated with the laurel tree<ref>Larson, p. 283 n. 31, citing Nonnus, ''Dionysiaca'' 24.99.</ref> |- | 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) |- | Kissiae (ivy) | | <ref name="Nonnus4353"> {{cite book | author=Nonnus |title= Dionysiaca 43.53}}</ref> |- |• Oenone |India |mother of Melantheus, an Indian chief assisting Dionysus in the war against the Indians <ref name="Nonnus4353" /> |- | Meliae (manna-ash tree) | |born from the drops of blood that fell on Gaia when Cronus castrated Uranus<ref>Hesiod, ''Theogony'' 182–187</ref> |- | Hyleoroi (watchers of woods) | | {{Citation needed|date=April 2026}} |- | colspan="3" |'''Water nymphs''' (''Hydriades or Ephydriades'') |- |Haliae (sea and seashores) | | |- | Nereids |Mediterranean Sea |50 daughters of Nereus and Doris<ref>Hesiod, ''Theogony'' 240–262</ref> |- |Naiads, Naides (fresh water) | rowspan="6" | | |- | Krenaiai | Nymphs associated with springs{{sfn|Larson|2001|pp=8, 362}} |- | Limnades, Limnatides (lakes) | |- | Pegaeae (springs) | |- | Potameides (rivers) | |- | Oceanids |daughters of Oceanus and Tethys,<ref>Hesiod, ''Theogony'' 365–366</ref> any freshwater, typically clouds and rain. see List of Oceanids |- | colspan="3" |'''Underworld nymphs''' |- |• Orphne | rowspan="3" |Hades |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. {{Citation needed|reason=Claim is not confirmed by the next reference |date=April 2026}} She is the consort of Acheron, (the god of the river in Hades), and the mother of Ascalaphus, (the orchardist of Hades).<ref>Ovid, ''Metamorphoses'' 5.539 ff</ref> |- |• Leuce (white poplar tree) |daughter of Oceanus and lover of Hades<ref>Servius, ''Commentary on Virgil's Aeneid'' 7.61</ref> |- |• Melinoe |Orphic nymph, daughter of Persephone and "Zeus disguised as Pluto".<ref>''Orphic Hymn'' 71</ref> Her name is a possible epithet of Hecate. |- |• Minthe (mint) |Cocytus River |probably a daughter of Cocytus, lover of Hades and rival of Persephone<ref>Oppian'', Halieutica'' 3.485 ff</ref><ref>Strabo, 8.3.14</ref> |- | colspan="3" |'''Other nymphs''' |- | Lampades | |torch bearers in the retinue of Hecate<ref>Scholia minora on Homer's ''Iliad'', 6.21 [= Alcman, [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/alcman-fragments/1988/pb_LCL143.439.xml fr. 63 Campbell, pp. 438, 439] = fr. 63 ''PMG'' (Page, p. 53)].</ref> |- | Hecaterides (rustic dance) | |daughters of Hecaterus by a daughter of Phoroneus; sisters of the Dactyls and mothers of the Oreads and the Satyrs<ref>Strabo, 10.3.19</ref> |- | Kabeirides | |daughters of Cadmilus and sisters of the Kabeiroi<ref>Acusilaus Frag as cited in Strabo, 10.3.21</ref> or of Hephaestus and Cabeiro<ref>Strabo, 10.3.21 citing Pherecydes</ref> |- | Maenads or Bacchai or Bacchantes | |frenzied nymphs in the retinue of Dionysus |- | Lenai (wine-press) | | |- | Limnakides | |translated by Vian as "marsh nymphs" (''Nymphes des Marais''); older editions render their name as ''Limnaioi'' or ''Leimakides''<ref>Vian, commentary on line 646, p. 120; ''Orphic Argonautica'' 646 (Vian, p. 120).</ref> |- | Mimallones (music) | | |- | Thyiai or Thyiades (thyrsus bearers) | |possibly a subgroup of, or a synonym<ref>Pausanias, 10.6.4</ref> for Maenads |- |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). {| class="wikitable" |+ !Groups and Individuals !Location !Relations and Notes |- |Aeaean Nymphs |Aeaea Island |handmaidens of Circe |- |Aegaeides |Aegaeus River on the island of Scheria | |- |Aesepides | rowspan="2" |Aesepus River in Anatolia | |- |• Abarbarea | |- |Acheloides | rowspan="2" |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 |- |Astacides |Lake Astacus, Bithynia |appeared in the myth of Nicaea |- |• Nicaea |Nicaea, Bithynia | |- |Asterionides | rowspan="4" |Asterion River, Argos |daughters of the river god Asterion; nurses of the infant goddess Hera |- |• Acraea | |- |• Euboea | |- |• Prosymna | |- |Carian Naiades (Caria) |Caria | |- |• Salmacis |Halicarnassus, Caria | |- |Nymphs of Ceos |Island of Ceos | |- |Corycian Nymphs (Corycian Cave) |Corycian cave, Delphi, Phocis |daughters of the river god Pleistos |- |• Kleodora (or Cleodora) |Mt. Parnassus, Phocis |mother of Parnassus by Poseidon |- |• Corycia |Corycian cave, Delphi, Phocis |mother of Lycoreus by Apollo |- |• Daphnis |Mt. Parnassus, Phocis | |- |• Melaina | Dephi, Phocis |mother of Delphos by Apollo |- |Cydnides |River Cydnus in Cilicia | |- |Cyrenaean Nymphs |City of Cyrene, Libya | |- |Cyprian Nymphs |Island of Cyprus | |- |Cyrtonian Nymphs |Town of Cyrtone, Boeotia |Κυρτωνιαι |- |Deliades |Island of Delos |daughters of Inopus, god of the river Inopus |- |Dodonides |Oracle at Dodona | |- |Erasinides | rowspan="5" |Erasinos River, Argos |daughters of the river god Erasinos; attendants of the goddess Britomartis. |- |• Anchiroe | |- |• Byze | |- |• Maera | |- |• Melite | |- |Nymphs of the river Granicus | rowspan="3" |River Granicus |daughters of the river-god Granicus |- |• Alexirhoe |mother of Aesacus by Priam |- |• Pegasis |mother of Atymnios by Emathion |- |Heliades |River Eridanos |daughters of Helios who were changed into trees |- |Himeriai Naiades |Local springs at the town of Himera, Sicily | |- |Hydaspides |Hydaspes River, India |nurses of infant Zagreus |- |Idaean Nymphs | rowspan="3" |Mount Ida, Crete |nurses of infant Zeus |- |• Ida | |- |• Adrasteia | |- |Inachides | rowspan="7" |Inachos River, Argos |daughters of the river god Inachus |- |• Io |mother of Epaphus by Zeus |- |• Amymone | |- |• Philodice |wife of Leucippus of Messenia by whom she became the mother of Hilaeira, Phoebe and possibly Arsinoe |- |• Messeis | |- |• Hyperia | |- |• Mycene |wife of Arestor and by him probably the mother of Argus Panoptes; eponym of Mycenae |- |Ionides | rowspan="5" |Kytheros River in Elis |daughters of the river god Cytherus |- |• Calliphaea | |- |• Iasis | |- |• Pegaea | |- |• Synallaxis | |- |Ithacian Nymphs |Local springs and caves on the island of Ithaca | |- |Ladonides |Ladon River | |- |Lamides or Lamusides |Lamos River in Cilicia |possible nurses of infant Dionysus |- |Leibethrides |Mounts Helicon and Leibethrios in Boeotia; or Mount Leibethros in Thrace) | |- |• Libethrias | | |- |• Petra | | |- |Lelegeides |Lycia, Anatolia | |- |Lycaean Nymphs |Mount Lycaeus |nurses of infant Zeus, perhaps a subgroup of the Oceanides |- |Melian Nymphs |Island of Melos |transformed into frogs by Zeus; not to be confused with the Meliae (ash tree nymphs) |- |Mycalessides |Mount Mycale in Caria, Anatolia | |- |Mysian Nymphs | rowspan="4" |Spring of Pegai near Lake Askanios in Bithynia |who abducted Hylas |- |• Euneica | |- |• Malis | |- |• Nycheia | |- |Naxian Nymphs | rowspan="4" |Mount Drios on the island of Naxos |nurses of infant Dionysus; were syncretized with the Hyades |- |• Cleide | |- |• Coronis | |- |• Philia | |- |Neaerides |Thrinacia Island |daughters of Helios and Neaera, watched over Helios' cattle |- |Nymphaeides |Nymphaeus River in Paphlagonia | |- |Nysiads |Mount Nysa |nurses of infant Dionysos, identified with Hyades |- |Ogygian Nymphs |Island of Ogygia |four handmaidens of Calypso |- |Ortygian Nymphs |Local springs of Syracuse, Sicily |named for the island of Ortygia |- |Othreides |Mount Othrys |a local group of Hamadryads |- |Pactolides | rowspan="2" |Pactolus River | |- |• Euryanassa |wife of Tantalus |- |Pelionides |Mount Pelion |nurses of the Centaurs |- |Phaethonides | |a synonym for the Heliades |- |Phaseides |Phasis River | |- |Rhyndacides |Rhyndacus River in Mysia |daughters of the river god Rhyndacus |- |Sithnides |Fountain at the town of Megara | |- |Spercheides |River Spercheios |one of them, Diopatra, was loved by Poseidon and the others were changed by him into trees |- |Sphragitides, or Cithaeronides |Mount Cithaeron | |- |Tagids, Tajids, Thaejids or Thaegids |River Tagus in Portugal and Spain | |- |Thessalides |Peneus River in Thessaly | |- |Thriae |Mount Parnassos |prophets and nurses of Apollo |- |Trojan Nymphs |Local springs of Troy | |}

=== Others === The following is a selection of names of the nymphs whose class was not specified in the source texts. For lists of Naiads, Oceanids, Dryades etc., see respective articles. {| class="wikitable" |+Individual names of some of the nymphs !Names !Location !Relations and Notes |- |Alphesiboea |India |loved by Dionysus<ref>Pseudo-Plutarch, ''De fluviis'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Ps.+Plut.+Fluv.+24&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2008.01.0400 24]</ref> |- |Aora | rowspan="2" |Crete |eponym of the town Aoros in Crete<ref>Stephanus of Byzantium, ''Ethnica'' s.v. ''[https://topostext.org/work/241#A154.3 Aōros]''</ref> |- |Areia |daughter of Cleochus and mother of Miletus by Apollo<ref name="Apollodorus, Bibliotheca, 3. 1. 2">Apollodorus, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Apollod.+3.1.2&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022:book=3:chapter=1&highlight=Aria 3.1.2]</ref> |- |Axioche or Danais |Elis |mother of Chrysippus by Pelops<ref>Scholia on Euripides, ''Orestes'', 4; on Pindar, ''Olympian Ode'' 1.144</ref><ref>Plutarch, ''Parallela minora'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2008.01.0219%3Asection%3D33 33]</ref> |- |Brettia |Mysia |eponym of Abrettene, Mysia<ref>Stephanus of Byzantium, s.v. ''[https://topostext.org/work/241#A8.18 Abrettēnē]''</ref> |- |Brisa | |brought up the god Dionysus<ref>Schol. ad ''Pers. Sat. i. 76.''</ref> |- |Calybe |Troy |mother of Bucolion, Laomedon<ref>Apollodorus, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Apollod.+3.12.3&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022:book=3:chapter=12&highlight=Calybe 3.12.3]</ref> |- |Carmentis or Carmenta |Arcadia |She had a son with Hermes, called Evander. Her son was the founder of Pallantium, one of the cities that was merged later into ancient Rome.<ref>{{cite web |title=Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities, 2.1 |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0081.tlg001.perseus-grc1:1.31.1}}</ref> |- |Chalcea | |mother of Olympus by Zeus<ref name="autogenerated1">Pseudo-Clement, ''Recognitions'' 10.21–23</ref> |- |Chania | |a lover of Heracles |- |Chariclo |Thebes |mother of Tiresias by Everes<ref>Apollodorus, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Apollod.+3.6.7&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022:book=3:chapter=6&highlight=Chariclo 3.6.7]</ref> |- |Charidia | |mother of Alchanus by Zeus<ref name="autogenerated1"/> |- |Chryse |Lemnos |fell in love with Philoctetes<ref>Sophocles, ''Philoctetes'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0194%3Acard%3D1314:highlight 1327]</ref> |- |Cirrha |Phocis |eponym of Cirrha in Phocis<ref>Pausanias, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.+10.37.5&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160:book=10:chapter=37&highlight=Cirrha 10.37.5]</ref> |- |Clymene | |mother of Tlesimenes by Parthenopaeus<ref>Hyginus, ''Fabulae'' [https://topostext.org/work/206#71 71]</ref> |- |Cretheis | |briefly mentioned in Suda<ref>Suida, s.v. ''Kretheus''</ref> |- |Crimisa |Italy |eponym of a city in Italy<ref>Stephanus of Byzantium, s.v. ''[https://topostext.org/work/241#K385.1 Krimisa]''</ref> |- |Deiopea | |one of Hera's nymphs who was promised to Aeolus<ref>Virgil, ''Aeneid'' 1.71-75</ref> |- |Dodone |Dodona |eponym of Dodona<ref>Stephanus of Byzantium, s.v. ''[https://topostext.org/work/241#D246.6 Dodone]''</ref> |- |Echemeia |Cos |spelled "Ethemea" by Hyginus, consort of Merops<ref>Hyginus, ''Astronomica'' [https://topostext.org/work/207#2.16.2 2.16.2]</ref> |- |Eidothea |Mt. Othrys |mother by Eusiros of Cerambus<ref>Antoninus Liberalis, 22 vs ''Cerambus''</ref> |- |Eunoë |Phrygia |possible mother of Hecuba by Dymas<ref>Scholia on Homer's ''Iliad'' 16. 718 with Pherecydes as the authority</ref> |- |Eunoste |Boeotia (possibly) |nurse of Eunostus<ref>Plutarch, ''Quaestiones Graecae'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2008.01.0215%3Asection%3D40 40]</ref> |- |Euryte |Athens |mother of Halirrhothius by Poseidon<ref>Apollodorus, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Apollod.+3.14.2&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022:book=3:chapter=14&highlight=Euryte 3.14.2]</ref> |- |Harmonia |Akmonian Wood, near Themiscyra |mother of the Amazons by Ares<ref>{{cite web |title=Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica, Book 2 |url=http://www.theoi.com/Olympios/AresFamily.html}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=ARGONAUTICA BOOK 2 |url=http://sacred-texts.com/cla/argo/argo23.htm}}</ref> |- |Hegetoria |Rhodes |consort of Ochimus<ref>Diodorus Siculus, [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Diodorus_Siculus/5D*.html#57.7 5.57.7]</ref> |- |Hemera | |mother of Iasion by Zeus |- |Himalia |Rhodes |mother of Cronius, Spartaios, and Cytos by Zeus<ref>Diodorus Siculus, [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Diodorus_Siculus/5D*.html#55.5 5.55.5]</ref> |- |Hyale | |belongs to the train of Artemis<ref>Ovid, ''Metamorphoses'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0028%3Abook%3D3%3Acard%3D138 3.155]</ref> |- |Hyllis |Argos |possible eponym of the tribe Hylleis and the city Hylle<ref>Stephanus of Byzantium, s.v. ''[https://topostext.org/work/241#Y647.2 Hylleis]''</ref> |- |Idaea |Crete |mother of Cres<ref>Stephanus of Byzantium, s.v. ''[https://topostext.org/work/241#K383.21 Krētē]''</ref> and Asterion<ref name="autogenerated1" /> by Zeus |- |Idaea |Mt. Ida, Troad |mother of Teucer by Scamander<ref>Apollodorus, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022%3Atext%3DLibrary%3Abook%3D3%3Achapter%3D12%3Asection%3D1 3.12.1]</ref> |- |Ithome |Messenia |one of the nurses of Zeus<ref>Pausanias, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.+4.+33.+1&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160:book=4:chapter=33&highlight=Ithome 4.33.1]</ref> |- |Laodice |Argolis (possibly) |mother of Apis by Phoroneus{{Citation needed|date=May 2024}} |- |Leucophryne |Magnesia (possibly) |priestess of Artemis Leucophryne |- |Lotis | |pursued by Priapus and was changed into a tree that bears her name<ref>Ovid, ''Fasti'' [https://topostext.org/work/143#1.415 1.416] & [https://topostext.org/work/143#1.415 1.423]; ''Metamorphoses'', [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Ov.+Met.+9&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0028 9.347]</ref> |- |Ma | |nymph in the suite of Rhea who nursed Zeus |- |Melanippe |Attica (possibly) |married Itonus, son of Amphictyon<ref>Pausanias, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.+9.+1.+1&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160:book=9:chapter=1&highlight=Melanippe 9.1.1]</ref> |- |Melissa |Crete |nurse of Zeus<ref>Lactantius, ''Divine Institutes'' [https://topostext.org/work/543#1.22.3 1.22.3]</ref> |- |Mendeis |Thrace |consort of Sithon<ref name="Conon, Narrations, 10">Conon, ''Narrations'' 10</ref> |- |Menodice | |daughter of Orion and mother of Hylas by Theiodamas<ref>Hyginus, ''Fabulae'' [https://topostext.org/work/206#14.2 14]</ref> |- |Methone |Pieria |mother of Oeagrus by King Pierus of Emathia<ref>''[https://www.gutenberg.org/files/348/348-h/348-h.htm#link2H_4_0021 Of the Origin of Homer and Hesiod and their Contest, Fragment 1.]'' Translated by Evelyn-White.</ref> |- |Myrmex |Attica |beloved companion of Athena whom she turned into an ant<ref>William Smith. ''A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology'' s.v. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0104:entry=myrmex-bio-1&highlight=myrmex Myrmex]</ref> |- |Nacole |Phrygia |eponym of Nacoleia in Phrygia<ref>Suida, s.v. ''[https://topostext.org/work/240#nu.19 Nakoleia]''</ref> |- |Neaera |Thrinacia |mother of Lampetia and Phaethusa by Helios<ref>Homer, ''Odyssey'' 12.133 ff</ref> |- |Neaera | |mother of Aegle by Zeus{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}} |- |Neaera |Lydia |mother of Dresaeus by Theiodamas<ref>Quintus Smyrnaeus, 1.290–291</ref> |- |Nymphe |Samothrace |mother of Saon by Zeus<ref name="Dionysius2">Dionysius of Halicarnassus, ''Antiquitates Romanae'' [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Dionysius_of_Halicarnassus/1C*.html#61.3 1.61.3]</ref> |- |Oeneis | |mother of Pan by Hermes<ref>Scholiast ad Theocritus, 1.3</ref> |- |Oenoe |Sicinus |mother of Sicinus by Thoas<ref>Apollonius Rhodius, ''Argonautica'' 1.620 ff with scholia on 1.623</ref> |- |Olbia |Bithynia |mother of Astacus by Poseidon<ref>Stephanus of Byzantium, s.v. ''[https://topostext.org/work/241#A137.14 Astakos]''</ref> |- |Paphia | |possibly the mother of Cinyras by Eurymedon<ref>Scholia on Pindar, ''Pythian Ode'' 2.28</ref> |- |Pareia |Paros |mother of four sons by Minos<ref>Apollodorus, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Apollod.+3.1.2&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022:book=3:chapter=1&highlight=Paria 3.1.2]</ref> |- |Polydora | |one of the Danaïdes<ref>Antoninus Liberalis, [https://topostext.org/work/216#32 32]</ref> |- |Pyronia | |mother of Iasion by Minos |- |Psalacantha |Icaria |changed into a plant by Dionysus<ref>Ptolemy Hephaestion, ''New History'' 5 in Photius, ''Myrobiblion'' 190</ref> |- |Rhene |Mt. Cyllene, Arcadia |consorted with Oileus<ref>Homer, ''Iliad'' 2.728</ref> |- |Semestra |Thrace |nurse of Keroessa<ref name="Dionysius of Byzantium">{{cite web| url = https://topostext.org/work/619#24| title = Dionysius of Byzantium, Anaplous of the Bosporos, §24}}</ref> |- |Teledice |Argolis (possibly) |a consort of Phoroneus<ref>Apollodorus, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Apollod.+2.1.1&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022:book=2:chapter=1&highlight=Teledice 2.1.1] </ref> |- |Thalia |Sicily |mother of the Palici by Zeus<ref>Macrobius, ''Saturnalia'' 5.19.15</ref> |- |Thisbe |Boeotia |eponym of the town of Thisbe<ref>Pausanias, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.+9.32.3&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160:book=9:chapter=3&highlight=Thisbe 9.32.3]</ref> |- |Tithorea |Mt. Parnassus, Phocis |eponym of the town of Tithorea (previously called Neon)<ref>Pausanias, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.+10.+32.+9&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160:book=10:chapter=39&highlight=Tithorea 10.32.9]</ref> |}

===In non-Greek tales influenced by Greek mythology=== * Sabrina (the river Severn) * Tágides (Tagus River)

== Gallery == <gallery> File:Hylas Saint-Romain-en Gal 07 2011.jpg|Hylas and nymphs from a mosaic in Roman Gaul (3rd century) File:Sátiro y ninfa..JPG|''Fight between Nymph and Satyr'', Naples National Archaeological Museum File:Lucas Cranach d.Ä. - Ruhende Quellnymphe (Washington, D.C.).jpg|''The Nymph of the Spring''<br />by Lucas Cranach the Elder<br />National Gallery of Art<br />({{Circa|1537}}) File:Nymphe et satyr - Nicolas Poussin - Musée Pouchkine Moscou.jpg|Nymphe and Satyr by Nicolas Poussin - Pushkin Museum, Moscow (between 1626 and 1628) File:Sleepingnymph.jpg|''A Sleeping Nymph Watched by a Shepherd'' by Angelica Kauffman (about 1780, V&A Museum no. 23–1886) File:Makovsky - satyr-and-nymph.jpg|''Satyr and nymph'' by Konstantin Makovsky (1864) File:Nymphs and Satyr, by William-Adolphe Bouguereau.jpg|''Nymphs and Satyr'' by William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1873) File:Pleiades by Elihu Vedder.jpg|''The Pleiades'' by Elihu Vedder (1885) File:Nymphe, by Luis Ricardo Falero.jpg|''A naiad'' by Luis Ricardo Falero (1892) File:Adolf Hiremy-Hirschl, Die Seelen des Acheron.jpg|''The Souls of Acheron'' by Adolf Hirémy-Hirschl (1898) File:Bildplatte Oreade.jpg|Young oread, on German porcelain plate (late 19th century) File:Sir Edward John Poynter — Cave of the Storm Nymphs.jpg|''The Cave of the Storm Nymphs'' by Sir Edward John Poynter (1903) File:Echo and Narcissus by John William Waterhouse.jpg|Echo, an Oread (mountain nymph) watches Narcissus in this 1903 painting of ''Echo and Narcissus'' by John William Waterhouse File:Jules Joseph Lefebvre - Nymph with morning glory flowers.jpg|''Nymph with morning glory flowers'' by Jules Joseph Lefebvre File:La Nymphe de la Foret.jpg|''La Nymphe de la Foret'' by Guillaume Seignac </gallery>

==See also== {{Div col}} * Animism * Apsaras * Fairy * Houri * Kami * Mimi * Nunnehi * Nymphaeum * Pitsa panels * Plant soul * Rå * Xian * Vila * Yakshini * Zana * List of Greek deities {{Div col end}}

==Notes== {{Reflist|30em}}

==References== * {{cite book|last=Burkert|first=Walter|author-link=Walter Burkert|title=Greek Religion|edition=1st|year=1985|publisher=Harvard University Press|location=Cambridge, MA|isbn=978-0-674-36281-9}} * ''Brill's New Pauly: Encyclopaedia of the Ancient World. Antiquity, Volume 9'', Mini &ndash; Obe, edited by Hubert Cancik and Helmuth Schneider, Brill, 2006. {{ISBN|9004122729}}. * Campbell, David A., ''Greek Lyric, Volume II: Anacreon, Anacreontea, Choral Lyric from Olympus to Alcman'', Loeb Classical Library No. 143, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press, 1988. {{ISBN|978-0-674-99158-3}}. [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/LCL143/1988/volume.xml Online version at Harvard University Press]. [https://archive.org/details/greeklyric0002unse/page/n5/mode/2up?view=theater Internet Archive]. * {{cite book|last=Grimal |first=Pierre |title=The Dictionary of Classical Mythology |publisher=Wiley-Blackwell |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-631-20102-1}} * Hard, Robin, ''The Routledge Handbook of Greek Mythology: Based on H.J. Rose's "Handbook of Greek Mythology"'', London and New York, Routledge, 2004. {{ISBN|020344633X}}. {{doi|10.4324/9780203446331}}. * {{cite book|last=Larson|first=Jennifer|title=Greek Nymphs: Myth, Cult, Lore |publisher=Oxford University Press|location=New York|year=2001|isbn=978-0-19-514465-9}} * {{cite book|last=Lawson|first=John Cuthbert|date=1910|title=Modern Greek Folklore and Ancient Greek Religion|location=Cambridge|publisher=Cambridge University Press|page=131}} * Montanari, Franco, ''The Brill Dictionary of Ancient Greek'', edited by Madeleine Goh and Chad Schroeder, Leiden, Brill, 2015. {{ISBN|978-90-04-19318-5}}. * Page, Denys Lionel, Sir, ''Poetae Melici Graeci'', Oxford University Press, 1962. {{ISBN|978-0-198-14333-8}}. * Philostratus the Elder, ''Imagines'', in ''Philostratus the Elder, Imagines. Philostratus the Younger, Imagines. Callistratus, Descriptions'', translated by Arthur Fairbanks, Loeb Classical Library No. 256, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press, 1931. {{ISBN|978-06-749-9282-5}}. [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/LCL256/1931/volume.xml Harvard University Press]. * Ricciardelli, Gabriella, ''Inni Orfici'', Fondazione Lorenzo Valla, 2000. {{ISBN|978-8-804-47661-0}}. * {{cite book|last=Tomkinson|first=John L.|title=Haunted Greece: Nymphs, Vampires and Other Exotika|edition=1st|year=2004|publisher=Anagnosis|location=Athens|isbn=978-960-88087-0-6}} * Vian, Francis, ''Les Argonautiques orphiques'', ''Collection Budé'', Paris, Les Belles Lettres, 2003. {{ISBN|978-2-251-00389-4}}.

==External links== * [https://iconographic.warburg.sas.ac.uk/category/vpc-taxonomy-000154 The Warburg Institute Iconographic Database (images of Nymphs)] * {{wiktionary-inline}} * {{Commons category-inline}} {{Greek religion}} {{Nymphs}} {{Authority control}}

Category:Nymphs Category:Elementals