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 A Naiad byJohn William Waterhouse, 1893; a water nymph approaches the sleepingHylas. | |
| Creature information | |
|---|---|
| Grouping | Nymphs |
| Sub grouping | Water spirit Elemental |
| Similar entities | Mermaid Huldra Selkie Siren |
| Origin | |
| Habitat | Any body of fresh water |
| Greek deities series |
|---|
| Water deities |
| Waternymphs |
InGreek mythology, thenaiads (/ˈnaɪædz,ˈneɪædz,-ədz/;Ancient Greek:ναϊάδες,romanized: naïádes), sometimes alsohydriads,[1] are a type of female spirit, ornymph, presiding over fountains, wells, springs, streams, brooks and other bodies offresh water.
They are distinct fromriver gods, who embodied rivers, and the very ancient spirits that inhabited the still waters of marshes, ponds and lagoon-lakes such as pre-MycenaeanLerna in theArgolis.
The Greek word isναϊάς (naïás[naːiás]), pluralναϊάδες (naïádes[naːiádes]). It derives fromνάειν (náein), "to flow", orνᾶμα (nâma), "body of flowing water".[citation needed]
Naiads were often the object of archaic local cults, worshipped as essential to humans. Boys and girls at coming-of-age ceremonies dedicated their childish locks to the local naiad of the spring. In places like Lerna their waters' ritual cleansings were credited with magical medical properties. Animals wereritually drowned there. Oracles might be situated by ancient springs.
Naiads could be dangerous:Hylas of theArgo’s crew was lost when he was taken by naiads fascinated by his beauty. The naiads were also believed to exhibit jealous tendencies.Theocritus's story of naiad jealousy was that of a shepherd,Daphnis, who was the lover ofNomia or Echenais; Daphnis had on several occasions been unfaithful to Nomia and as revenge she permanently blinded him. The nymphSalmacis rapedHermaphroditus and fused with him when he tried to escape.
The water nymph associated with particular springs was known all through Europe in places with no direct connection with Greece, surviving in theCeltic wells of northwest Europe that have been rededicated to Saints, and in the medievalMelusine.
Walter Burkert points out, "When in theIliad [xx.4–9]Zeus calls the gods into assembly on Mount Olympus, it is not only the well-knownOlympians who come along, but also all the nymphs and all the rivers;Okeanos alone remains at his station",[2] Greek hearers recognized this impossibility as the poet'shyperbole, which proclaimed the universal power of Zeus over the ancient natural world: "the worship of these deities," Burkert confirms, "is limited only by the fact that they are inseparably identified with a specific locality."[2]
In the back-story of the myth ofAristaeus, Hypseus, a king of theLapiths, married Chlidanope, a naiad, who bore himCyrene. Aristaeus had more than ordinary mortal experience with the naiads: when his bees died inThessaly, he went to consult them. His aunt Arethusa invited him below the water's surface, where he was washed with water from a perpetual spring and given advice.
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