nymph

Information about nymph

This article is about the creatures of Greek mythology. For other uses, see Nymph (disambiguation).
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Nymphs
In Greek mythology, a nymph is any member of a large class of female entities in human form, that is either bound to a particular location, or landform, or is part of the retinue of a god, such as Dionysus, Hermes, or Pan, or a goddess, generally Artemis.[1] Nymphs were the frequent target of satyrs.

Nymphs live in mountains and groves, by springs and rivers, and in valleys and cool grottoes. They are frequently associated with the superior divinities: the huntress Artemis; the prophetic Apollo; the reveller and god of wine, Dionysus; and rustic gods such as Pan and Hermes.

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

Meaning of nymph

"The idea that rivers are gods and springs divine nymphs," Walter Burkert remarks (Burkert III.3.3) "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 νύμφη has "bride" and "veiled" among its meanings: hence a marriagable young woman. Other readers refer the word (and also Latin nubere and German Knospe) to a root expressing the idea of "swelling" (according to Hesychius, one of the meanings of νύμφη is "rose-bud").

Nymph classifications

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A fourth-century Roman depiction of Hylas and the Nymphs
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A Hamadryad, by John William Waterhouse
As Rose (1959, p. 173) states, "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[2] dryads and hamadryads as nymphs of trees generally, meliai as nymphs of ash trees, and naiads as nymphs of water, but no others specifically.

The following is not the Greek classification, but is intended simply as a guide:

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

Nymphs in modern Greek folklore

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The Head of a Nymph by Sophie Anderson
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". At that time John Cuthbert Lawson wrote: "...there is probably no nook or hamlet in all Greece where the womenfolk at least do not scrupulously take precautions against the thefts and malice of the nereids, while many a man may still be found to recount in all good faith stories of their beauty, passion and caprice. Nor is it a matter of faith only; more than once I have been in villages where certain Nereids were known by sight to several persons (so at least they averred); and there was a wonderful agreement among the witnesses in the description of their appearance and dress." Lawson (1910, p. 131)

Usually female, they were dressed in white, decked with garlands of flowers, but they frequently had unnatural legs, like those of a goat, donkey or cow. They were so beautiful that the highest compliment was to compare some feature of a woman (eyes, hair, etc.) with that of nereid. They could move swiftly and invisibly, ride through the air and slip through small holes. Although not immortal, their lives exceeded man's tenfold, and they retained their beauty until death.

They tended to frequent areas distant from man, but could be encountered by lone travellers outside the village, where their music might be heard, and the traveller could spy on their dancing or bathing in a stream or pool, either during the noon heat or in the middle of the night. They might appear in a whirlwind. Such encounters could be dangerous, bringing dumbness, besotted infatuation, madness or stroke to the unfortunate human. When parents believed their child to be nereid-struck they would pray to Saint Artemidos, the Christian manifestation of Artemis. Tomkinson (2004, chapter 3)

Stock stories about nereids include the girl who fell ill and died and was seen after death dancing with the nereids; the nereid changeling; and the man who won a nereid as his wife by stealing a piece of her clothing. The latter would become an ideal wife until she recovered her clothing and returned to her own people. Nereids

Modern sexual connotations

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Cover of The Case of the Negligent Nymph (1956), by Erle Stanley Gardner
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Cover of the 2005 album Nympho by Armand Van Helden.


Due to the depiction of the mythological nymphs as females who mate with men at their own volition and are completely outside male control, the term is often used for women who are perceived as behaving similarly.

The term "Nymphomania" was created by modern psychology as refering to a "desire to engage in human sexual behavior at a level high enough to be considered clinically significant", "Nymphomaniac" being the person suffering from such a disorder.

Due to widespread use of the term among lay persons (often shortened to "nympho") and stereotypes attached, professionals nowadays prefere the term "Hypersexuality" which can refer to males and females alike.

See also

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Undine Rising from the Waters, ca. 1880-92, by Chauncey Bradley Ives

Footnotes

Notes

1. ^ But see Jennifer Larson , "Handmaidens of Artemis?" The Classical Journal 92.3 (February 1997), pp. 249-257.
2. ^ (pp. 172–3)

References

In Greek mythology, a nymph (νύμφη) is a female nature-spirit.

Nymph may also mean:
  • Nymph (biology), is the immature form of some insect species.

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Greek mythology is the body of stories belonging to the Ancient Greeks concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices.
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    The ancient Greeks proposed many different ideas about the primordial gods in their mythology. The many theogonies constructed by Greek poets each give a different account of which gods came first.
    • In Homer, Ocean and Tethys are the parents of all the gods.

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    Titans (Greek: Τιτάν Titan; plural: Τιτάνες Titanes
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    Twelve Olympians, also known as the Dodekatheon (Greek: Δωδεκάθεον
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      The ancient Greeks had a large number of sea gods. The philosopher Plato once remarked that the Greek people were like frogs sitting around a pond -- their many cities hugging close to the Mediterranean coastline from the Hellenic homeland to Asia Minor, Libya, Sicily and
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      Chthonic (from Greek χθόνιος-khthonios, of the earth, from khthōn, earth; pertaining to the Earth; earthy) designates, or pertains to, gods or spirits of the underworld, especially in relation to Greek religion.
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      MusE is a MIDI/Audio sequencer with recording and editing capabilities written by Werner Schweer. MusE aims to be a complete multitrack virtual studio for Linux: it currently has no support under other platforms, due to its reliance on JACK and ALSA.
      ..... Click the link for more information.
      Asclepius (Greek Ἀσκληπιός, transliterated Asklēpiós; Latin Aesculapius) is the demigod of medicine and healing in ancient Greek mythology.
      ..... Click the link for more information.
      Medicine is the science and "" of maintaining and/or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of patients. The term is derived from the Latin ars medicina meaning the art of healing.
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        In Greek mythology, Lētṓ (Greek: Λητώ, Lato in Dorian Greek, etymology and meaning disputed) is a daughter of the Titans Coeus and Phoebe:[1] Kos claimed her birthplace.
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        In Greek and Roman mythology, Apollo (in Greek, Ἀπόλλων — Apóllōn or Ἀπέλλων — Apellōn), the ideal of the kouros
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        Artemis (Greek: (nominative) Ἄρτεμις, (genitive) Ἀρτέμιδος
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          Pan (Greek Πάν, genitive Πανός) is the Greek god of shepherds and flocks, of mountain wilds, hunting and rustic music: paein means to pasture.
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          shepherd is one who takes care of sheep, usually in flocks in the fields.

          History

          Shepherding is one of the oldest professions, beginning some 6,000 years ago in Asia Minor. Sheep were kept for their milk, meat, and especially their wool.
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            In Greek mythology, Alseids were the nymphs of glens and groves. They liked to scare travelers.

            Of the Classical writers, the first and perhaps only poet to use the term alseid is Homer. Rather than alseid he used alsea.
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            Auloniad (from the classical Greek αύλών; valley, ravine) was a nymph who could be found in the mountain pastures and vales, often in the company of Pan, the god of nature.
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              In Greek mythology, the Crinaeae were a type of nymph associated with fountains.

              The Crinaeae included:
              1. Aganippe
              2. Appias (Roman mythology)

              See also

              • Nymph
              • Naiad
              • Camenae

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              DRYAD Numeral Cipher/Authentication System (KTC 1400 D) is a simple, paper cryptographic system currently in use by the U.S. military for authentication and for encryption of short, numerical messages. Every unit with a radio is given a set of DRYAD code sheets.
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              Hamadryads are Greek mythological beings that live in trees. They are a specific species of dryad, which are a particular type of nymph. Hamadryads are born bonded to a specific tree. If their tree died, the hamadryad associated with it died as well.
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              Hesperides (Greek: Ἑσπερίδες) are nymphs who tend a blissful garden in a far western corner of the world, located near the Atlas mountains in Libya, or on a distant blessed island at the edge of
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                In Greek mythology, the Limnades were a type of Naiad. They live in fresh water lakes. Their parents were river or lake gods.

                The Limnades include:
                1. Astakides
                2. Limnaee


                Image showing detail from John W. Waterhouse's painting of Hylas and the Nymphs
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                  In Greek mythology, the Meliae or Meliai were nymphs of the ash tree, whose name they shared. They appeared from the drops of blood spilled when Cronus castrated Uranus, according to Hesiod, Theogony 187.
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                    In Greek mythology, the Naiads (from the Greek νάειν, "to flow," and νἃμα, "running water") were a type of nymph who presided over fountains, wells, springs, streams, and brooks, as river gods embodied rivers, and some very
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                    Napaeae (νάπη, "a wooded dell") were a type of shy but mirthful nymph. They lived in wooded valleys, glens or grottoes. They are associated with Artemis, and often accompany her.

                    It is a sophisticated land nymph that lives in wooded valleys.
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                    Callianassa redirects here. For the shrimp genus, see Callianassa (genus).
                    Cymothoe redirects here. For the butterfly genus, see Cymothoe (butterfly).
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                      In Greek and Roman mythology, the Oceanids were the three thousand daughters of the Titans Oceanus and Tethys. One of these many daughters was also said to have been the wife of the god Poseidon, typically named as Amphitrite.
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                      Oread or Orestiad (from ὄρος, "mountain") was a type of nymph that lived in mountains, valleys, ravines. They differ from each other according to their dwelling: the Idae were from Mount Ida, Peliades from Mount Pelia, etc.
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                        In Greek mythology, the Pegaeae were a type of naiad that lived in springs. One group of them dwelled in the spring of Pegae, and were responsible for the kidnapping of Hylas.

                        Pegaeae included:
                        1. Albunea (Roman mythology)
                        2. Cassotis


                        See also Pegaea.
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                        Greek mythology is the body of stories belonging to the Ancient Greeks concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices.
                        ..... Click the link for more information.

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