Nymphs are the mistresses of nature in mythology. Ancient Greek nymphs of different elements Where do nymphs live

Nymph(Nimphae, "maiden", "bride") - in ancient Greek mythology, a deity, the personification of the forces of wildlife, the patroness of everything growing or moving in nature, everything that gives life to plants.

Description, habitats and origin

The myths mention different types nymphs:

Water nymphs. They were considered the main ones, they were also divided into nymphs of the seas (oceanids), nymphs of rivers (nereids), nymphs of springs (naiads), lakes and marshes (limnades). The catalog of oceanids and nereids is given by Hesiod in his Theogony.

tree nymphs. They took care of groves (alseids), or individual trees (dryads and hamadryads), or even certain types, for example, ash nymphs - meliades or meli nymphs.

Nymphs of mountains and grottoes - orestiades or agrostins.

And other nymphs responsible for individual phenomena or localities, for example, rain nymphs - hyades, nymphs guarding golden apples - hesperides, etc.

Nymphs could originate from different gods, titans or even after some events. For example, the daughters of Oceanus and Tethys are the oceanid nymphs, the daughters of Nereus and the oceanid Doris are the Nereids, the meliad nymphs appeared from the drops of blood of castrated Uranus. This is probably why meliads are considered very ancient creatures. However, according to Hesiod, the nymphs were the offspring of Gaia-Earth.

It was believed that nymphs can be both immortal and mortal. For example, the Hamadryads lived exactly as long as the tree to which they are attached, and the naiads died along with their source. Other nymphs could live forever or, as Plutarch writes, 9,720 years.

Nymphs lived in caves, grottoes, groves and forests, as well as in their trees, springs or swamps. Therefore, the sanctuaries of the nymphs (nymphaeums) were located mainly in forests, groves or grottoes. The Homeric description of the cave of the nymphs in Ithaca was symbolically interpreted as the focus of cosmic forces by the philosopher Porphyry in his treatise On the Cave of the Nymphs.

As the spirits of streams and rivers, nymphs were responsible for the fertility of fields, meadows, for the abundance of bees, for the growth of herds, so that the ancient Greek, leaving the city gates, heard the voices of nymphs in the sound of streams, and in the noise of trees, and in the buzz of bees, and even in the lowing of cows. In the works of Greek poets there are no enthusiastic descriptions of nature, characteristic of modern literature, because nature itself was not something abstract - it had the appearance of nymphs and their voices. The cult of the nymphs, which permeated all consciousness, was the cult of nature. And just like the fragile nature, the nymphs demanded a respectful and careful attitude.

myths

Many nymphs look quite humanoid (for example, Calypso), some of them were beloved of the gods and gave birth to heroes from them. So Thetis and Zeus were the parents of Achilles, Zeus and Aegina were the parents of Aeacus, the famous soothsayer Teresius was the son of the nymph Chariklo, and the healer and soothsayer Asclepius was the son of Apollo and Coronida. Two nymphs beloved of Hades are also known. One of them was the oceanid Levka, she was mortal and after the expiration of her life, she died, Hades turned his beloved into a white poplar, which appeared on earth thanks to Hercules. The second beloved of Hades was Minfa (or Kokitida, the nymph of the river Kokit), but the jealous Persephone turned her into garden mint. Nymphs were lovers and wives of people, for example, Eurydice, the wife of the Thracian singer Orpheus, was also a nymph.

Often, myths describe situations when nymphs become objects of harassment by gods, people, or even nature spirits - satyrs, but often nymphs themselves strive to be closer to people or other deities and fall in love themselves, participate in festivities. For example, Dionysus in his wanderings was constantly accompanied by meliads, and the nymph Echo unrequitedly fell in love with a beautiful young man - Narcissus. It was believed that the nymphs were constant companions and helpers of the healer god Asclepius.

Zeus can call nymphs to Olympus if necessary (according to Homer). They possess unique properties and knowledge of ancient secrets, they heal and predict the future. For example, in place of the Delphic oracle was the oracle of the goddess Gaia, and after the oracle of one of the mountain nymphs - Daphne.

However, the nymphs are not so peaceful creatures, they know how to send madness. On the one hand, madness was a terrible punishment, but on the other hand, it meant that the ancient wisdom of the nymphs touched the person, which means that the delirium of a madman could carry knowledge hidden from ordinary people. This is how soothsayers appeared among people, who enjoyed deep respect, they could temporarily immerse themselves in a state of insanity by drinking a decoction or inhaling fumes, such as, for example, the Pythia.

The nymphs could also take revenge or make them get lost. One of the myths tells how Apollo went to Parnassus, but on the way he met the nymph of the valley Telfus. She specifically showed him the wrong path, to the terrible monster dragon Delphine (in other words, Python), because she was frightened of the stranger and decided to destroy him. There are also known cases when the nymphs blinded Daphnis and drowned Hylas, made Hermaphrodite bisexual.

There is a myth about how the nymph Arteusa was pursued by the river god Alpheus. Then the goddess of hunting Artemis came to the aid of the nymph and opened a passage for her under the sea, through which Arteusa, in the form of a spring, came to the surface of the island of Ortigia near the Greek colony of Syracuse. Since then, the inhabitants of this colony began to consider Arteusa their patroness.

Another very famous myth tells how Zeus fell in love with the nymph Callisto. He appeared to her in the form of Artemis herself, known for her decency and vow of celibacy. Artemis, having learned about Callisto's pregnancy, expelled her, and the jealous wife of Zeus Hera turned the poor nymph into a bear (or Zeus turned the nymph into a bear to save, and Hera persuaded Artemis to shoot her with a bow). Zeus placed Callisto in the sky in a place with their son in the form of the constellations Ursa Minor and Ursa Major.

The daughter of the river god Peneus, the nymph Daphne was the most famous of Apollo's lovers. According to Ovid, Cupid struck Apollo with a golden arrow that kindles love, and Daphne, on the contrary, with an arrow that averts this feeling. Fleeing from the god who pursued her, the girl prayed to her father, who turned her into a laurel. The story of Daphne and Apollo is interpreted in art as a victory of chastity over passion.

Streams and rivers became places of divination for the ancient Greeks, because the nymphs were able to predict the future. For example, they threw a tablet with a desire into the water and watched it sink, float to the surface, or be thrown out of the source. Also, those convicted of certain crimes were thrown into the river. It was the nymphs, according to the ancient Greeks, who justified or condemned a person, they were incorruptible and fair judges. It was believed that Apollo himself taught the art of predicting nymphs.

Names of famous nymphs

Here are some names of famous nymphs.

naiads- Alope, Batia, Hippocrene, Kokitida, Liriope, Menta, Pyrene, Praxitheus, Salmakida, Stilba, Telfus, Tritonida, Aegina, Oenon.

Nereids- Amphitrite, Galatea, Glaucus, Lefkothea, Nemerteus, Psamath, Scylla, Thetis, Foos.

Oceanides- Asia, Hesion, Dione, Dorida, Idia, Klymene, Clytia, Clonia, Lethe, Metis, Ozomen, Perseid, Pleion, Styx, Tyche, Filira, Eurynome, Electra.

Hesperides- Arethus, Hesperus, Aegle, Erifia.

Orestiades- Daphne, Ido, Maya, Echo.

Dryads- Dryope, Syringa (hamadryad), as well as hyades Calypso and meliade Melia.

Other nymphs- Chlorida (nymph of flowers).

Nymphs in art

It is believed that Homer first mentioned the nymphs in the Odyssey in the place where Odysseus woke up in a cave and saw the nymphs surrounding him. After Homer, nymphs began to appear very often in literature and art.

Nymphs were portrayed by painters and sculptors as beautiful young girls with long flowing hair, decorated with wreaths of flowers. Often they were depicted dancing and completely naked. In the Hellenistic era, it became customary to depict nymphs sleeping (for example, the painting by Cranach).

Statues of naiads often held a shell or a vessel, the typical pose of the depicted oread is sitting in thought on a high rock.

One of the most common subjects of antiquity in the Renaissance is the myth of Apollo and Daphne. The most famous creation of Pollaiolo (1470-1480) is the painting "Apollo and Daphne", depicting a god in an elegant camisole, but with bare legs, and a nymph in a flowing dress with green branches instead of fingers. This theme became even more popular during the Baroque era. The pursuit of Apollo and the transformation of the nymph were depicted in their works (both in paintings and in sculpture) by Bernini, L. Giordano, Giorgione, J. Tiepolo, Jan Breughil, P.P. Rubens and others. In the Rococo era, the plot did not become less fashionable.

In the visual arts, scenes with dancing or bathing nymphs, as well as nymphs with satyrs or nymphs running away from satyrs, were very popular. For example, the painting by G. Thomas "Dancing Nymphs", A. Bouguereau "Nymphs and Satyr", E. Le Saer "Nymph after Bathing", N. Poussin "Nymph Syrinx Pursued by Pan", J. Cooke "Bathing of the Nymphs", N. Bertin "Pan and Nymphs" and others.

In modern times

A rather bright asteroid in the main belt was named after the nymphs - (875) Nymphaeum. It was discovered on May 19, 1917 by the German astronomer Max Wolf at the Heidelberg-Königstuhl Observatory, Germany.

Nymph (or cockatiel) is a species of parrots of the cockatoo family, common for keeping at home.

Nymph (or Ryukin) is one of the breeds artificially bred, aquarium fish otherwise called "goldfish".

Also, traditionally, a nymph is the larval stage of development of some arthropods with incomplete transformation, that is, when an individual looks like an adult, but does not have sexual maturity.

- (Nimphae, Νύμφαι). The lower female deities, who, according to the Greeks, lived in the seas, rivers, springs, grottoes, mountains, groves and meadows. They were divided into several classes according to the places they inhabited. 1) Sea nymphs, to ... ... Encyclopedia of mythology

In the myths of the ancient Greeks, the deities of nature, its life-giving and fruitful forces. There are nymphs of rivers, seas, springs (these are water nymphs oceanids, nereids, naiads), lakes and swamps (limnad nymphs), mountains (agrostine nymphs, orestiads), groves (alseid nymphs), ... ... Historical dictionary

- (Greek nymphe). Greek young demigods who personified objects of nature, from which they received names, for example, Nymphs of forests, mountains, rivers, etc. 2) one of the outer parts of the female genital organs. Dictionary of foreign words included in ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

- (inosk.) women of easy virtue (a hint at the nymphs of mythological cheerful beauties, demigods, long-lived, but not immortal). Wed Sitting with her... one of the youngest... glib-tongued nymphs of the half world. Markevich. Out… … Michelson's Big Explanatory Phraseological Dictionary (original spelling)

Nymphs, in Greek mythology, female deities of nature living in the mountains, forests, seas, springs (nereids, naiads, dryads). They were considered the daughters of Zeus, companions of Artemis or Dionysus ... Modern Encyclopedia

In Greek mythology, female deities of nature, living in the mountains, forests, seas, springs. They were considered the daughters of Zeus, companions of Artemis or Dionysus ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

In Greek mythology, female deities of nature, living in mountains, forests, seas, springs. They were considered the daughters of Zeus, companions of Artemis and Dionysus. Big explanatory dictionary of cultural studies .. Kononenko B.I .. 2003 ... Encyclopedia of cultural studies

nymphs- Nymphs, in Greek mythology, female deities of nature living in mountains, forests, seas, springs (Nereids, naiads, dryads). They were considered the daughters of Zeus, companions of Artemis or Dionysus. … Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary

nymphs- (from the Greek nymphe maiden, bride) in Greek mythology, numerous deities in the form of young maidens, personifying the forces and phenomena of nature; considered the patroness of marriage. Distinguished N. sources, n. river, sea, mountain, forest, etc. ... ... Antique world. Dictionary reference.

Nymphs- in Greek mythology, young and beautiful women's perfume who were thought to have inhabited some places. If Paracelsus limited their possessions to the elements of water, then the ancients believed that the whole world was inhabited by nymphs. They gave the nymphs different names... Symbols, signs, emblems. Encyclopedia

Books

Nymphs, Oikkonen Mikko, Luhtanen Sari. Responding to the kisses of her lover, Didi did not know that by doing so she dooms him to death ... After all, she is a nymph! Nymphs are immortal, but they need energy to stay young and beautiful...
Nymphs (2014 ed.), Mikko Oikkonen, Sari Luhtanen. Responding to the kisses of her lover, Didi did not know that by doing so she dooms him to death ... After all, she is a nymph! Nymphs are immortal, but they need energy to stay young and beautiful...

Nymphs

- female deities of nature, living in the mountains, forests, seas, springs. They were considered the daughters of Zeus, companions of Artemis or Dionysus. These include: Agannipa, Adrastea, Arethusa, Britomartida, Daphne, Caissa, Calypso (she is the daughter of Atlanta), Callirea, Callisto, Castalia, Cyrene, Lotida (according to Ovid), Maya, Marika ?, Melissa, Melia, Muta (Lara ), Orseida, Periboea, Salmakida, Filira, Foos, Chariklo, Egeria, Aegina, Echo, Yuturna, etc.

In general, there are several types of nymphs:

hyades (Nisean nymphs) - daughters of Atlanta and Pleione

dryads - tree nymphs

lemoniades - goddesses of the meadows

Meliades (Melian nymphs) - generated by Gaia from drops of blood of castrated Uranus

naiads - river nymphs

Nereids - sea nymphs, daughters of the sea elder Nereus

oceanides - sea nymphs, daughters of the titan Ocean

oreads - nymphs of the mountains (they had the right to be called by the name of the mountain: Kiferonides, Peliades, etc.)

At a later time arose the new kind nymphs: the Pleiades, the daughters of the titan Atlanta and the oceanides Pleione, began to be considered celestial nymphs.

// Edward Burne-Jones: Perseus and the Sea Nymphs // Adolphe-William BUGREAU: Nymphs and the Satyr // Arnold Böcklin: Nymph on Pan's Shoulders // Arnold Böcklin: Bathing Nymphs // TITIAN: Shepherd and Nymph // José Maria de HEREDIA: Bathing of the Nymphs

myths Ancient Greece, reference dictionary. 2012

The meaning of the word "nymph"

What culture gave the world these cute and virgin spirits? It is known that the word itself, its origin and interpretation have Greek roots. The ancient Hellenes were pagans, they believed in the existence formidable gods that host on Olympus, fabulous creatures and otherworldly creatures that can both help people and harm. In their imagination, the image of ephemeral virgins, mysterious and very beautiful, also clearly loomed. According to Greek legends the nymph is the patroness of a certain object of nature, its soul and incarnation.

The Greeks often depicted them as half-naked beauties: with appetizing forms, long hair flowing in the wind and huge charming eyes. The maidens almost always had a wreath of fresh wild flowers on their heads, their body was covered with a light transparent cloth with a beautiful belt. The inhabitants of ancient Hellas called tree nymphs dryads, the patrons of valleys - napey, meadows - lemonades, mountains - oreads, reservoirs - naiads, seas and oceans - nereids or oceanids.

Beautiful deities

Beautiful creatures did not reach the mighty gods. Nymphs have always been considered deities of a lower rank. Greek mythology, despite this hierarchy, assigned the virgins an equally important function: they guarded the world, protected forests, fields, mountains, rivers and valleys from a rough external invasion. The nymphs were the embodiment of the forces of nature, her daughters and patrons at the same time.

The Greeks did not build temples in honor of the nymphs, they only brought them gifts to the sanctuaries in their habitat: in grottoes, groves, on the shores of the seas. Ephemeral beings were offered honey and olive oil, milk and wine, bouquets and wreaths. Ancient people believed that nymphs knew the future, they could predict events and predict fate. In Hellas, such fortune-telling was popular: tablets with different texts were thrown into a seething stream of water - one that did not sink and was thrown ashore by the waves, said the truth. Zeus himself adored airy beauties. By his order, they often appeared on Olympus, entertaining the supreme god with dances and songs.

Dryads

According to ancient Greek legends, they are the inhabitants of forests and groves, the keepers of trees and bushes. At the same time, being born with a green shoot, its patroness grows and develops with it. When the tree dies, so does its forest nymph. Dryads are the only mortals among all ephemeral beings.

The Greeks represented dryads as graceful beauties, whose body is intertwined with tree branches. Their complexion, eyes, and hair color changes with the seasons: silver in winter, orange-red in autumn, and emerald green in spring and summer. The clothes of the maidens also change with the course of the seasons: now it is like foliage, now it is like bark.

Dryads speak their own language, but, having a pronounced eloquence, they are able to fool the heads of all living beings. True, beauties use this gift only in case of danger threatening their tree. Unfortunately, the forest nymph cannot stray far from the oak, maple or birch in which she lives. Far from her native tree, she weakens and withers before our eyes. It is believed that people who plant forests and gardens are under the protection of dryads.

Nereids

These are the nymphs of the seas, sunny bays and cozy bays. Born from mother Dorida and father Nereus, they were considered slightly higher in rank than their Oceanid sisters. The thing is that the first lived in the "closed" seas, on the banks of which fishing villages and cities were built. Nereids were closer to people, often they appeared to them in the form of mermaids. As for the oceanids, their refuge was the huge oceans, which, according to legend, washed the edges of the Earth.

The sea nymph, a representative of the water element, has long hair blue hue, her body glistens like fish scales. The eyes of the beauty are piercing blue: many sailors, having met the gaze of the maiden, lost their heads and dreamed of an unearthly creature until the end of their days. Despite this, the Nereids tried to help sea travelers. They saved sailors from certain death during a storm, but when the elements were calm, they showed the ships the right path.

The sea nymph is a cheerful, funny and very cheerful creature. Gathering in small groups, Nereids come ashore on warm moonlit nights: they spin in round dances and arrange competitions with newts. At the bottom of the sea, they live in silver caves, care for coral gardens, and spin on golden spinning wheels.

Lemonade

They are patrons of meadows and swamps. The Greeks believed that these creatures should be especially appeased, since they are not as peaceful as their mythical relatives. Lemonades often pose a danger to people, turning water meadows into swampy impenetrable bogs. At night, the maidens come out of the shelter: they walk under the stars, lighting swamp lights on their way. The Greeks said that if you, wandering among the forests, see a bright light in the distance, do not rush to approach it. Most likely, a meadow nymph beckons you. This is a trap, so it is better to bypass any incomprehensible glow.

Lemonades differ from other nymphs also in their appearance. Of course, they are beautiful, but their transparent skin endowed with an unusual light green glow. Also, the creatures have huge green eyes, glowing emerald teeth and full, seductive lips. The fingers and toes are framed with frog membranes. The head of the maidens, as well as their wrists and waist, are decorated with wreaths of water lilies and water lilies.

Other nymphs

First of all, it should be said about the naiad, the keeper of springs, rivers, lakes. The water nymph is one of the most ancient deities. Often mentioned in Greek manuscripts along with satyrs and corybantes. Naiads are very kind, they give people healing from ailments, if you swim in the reservoirs that they command.

Napei are also favorable to a person - a rare variety of virgins. They govern the valleys and plains. They often help people with housework, as they live very close to residential buildings. There are also Oreads - mountain deities. The most famous nymph is a voiceless beauty named Echo. Having angered Hera with her pride and self-confidence, she was punished: her lips forever remained mute, they could only echo the sounds.

Nowadays, all these nymphs live peacefully and friendly on the pages of textbooks on Greek mythology, in tales and legends. Reading about them amazing stories, we briefly plunge into a real fairy tale full of adventures, surprises and pleasant surprises.

In Greek mythology, we meet creatures similar to fairies - nymphs. These are the lower deities, personifying the forces of nature, its life-giving and fruitful forces. The ancients sacrificed honey, olive oil and milk to them. Nymphs were minor deities, but temples were not erected in their honor.

forest nymphs

Beliefs about nymphs

Paracelsus limits their possessions to the elements of water, the ancients, however, believed that the whole world was inhabited by nymphs. They gave the nymphs different names according to their habitations. Dryads, or Hamadryads, lived in trees, were invisible and died with the trees. It was believed that those who plant trees and those who care for them enjoy the special protection of the dryads. Other nymphs were considered immortal or, as Plutarch briefly mentions, lived for nine thousand seven hundred and twenty years. Among them were Nereids and Oceanids - they owned the seas. The nymphs of lakes and springs were called naiads, the nymphs of caves were called oreads. There were also nymphs of the hollows, called napei, and nymphs of the groves - alseids. The exact number of nymphs is unknown; Hesiod calls the number three thousand. They were strict beautiful young women; their name, perhaps, means only "a girl of marriageable age." The one who saw them could go blind, and if he saw them naked, he died. So says one verse of Propertius.

forest nymphs

“The second dryad appeared soundlessly from behind a spruce trunk engulfed in juniper bushes, no more than ten paces away. Although she was small and very thin, the trunk seemed even thinner. It is completely incomprehensible how he could not notice when she approached. Perhaps it was her clothing that camouflaged her slender figure, a combination of strangely sewn patches of fabric in many shades of green and brown, strewn with leaves and bits of bark. Her hair, tied up on her forehead with a black handkerchief, was olive, and her face was criss-crossed with walnut-skin stripes. The one that fired first jumped out of the thorn bush, ran along the fallen trunk, deftly jumping over the fallen roots. Although there was a pile of dry branches lying there, he did not hear even one crunch under her feet.

(Andrzej Sapkowski
"Sword of Destiny".)

Nymphs in the mythology of the peoples of the world

The main nymphs were considered water nymphs.

The most ancient - meliads

Born from drops of blood of Uranus. Names of water nymphs for the most part indicate a particular property or quality of the water element. From the marriages of the Nymphs with the gods, heroes are born. Nymphs live far from Olympus, but by order of Zeus they are called to the palace of the father of gods and people. They are the owners ancient wisdom the mysteries of life and death. They heal and heal, predict the future. They were portrayed as beautiful naked or semi-naked girls.

naiads

In Greek mythology, the nymphs of springs, streams and springs, the guardians of the waters. Bathing in their waters cures diseases. They refer to the descendants of Oceanus and Tethys; number up to three thousand. Naiads are very ancient creatures. One of the naiads - Menta - bore the name of Kokekhida, was associated with the water of the kingdom of the dead and is the beloved of Hades. Naiads have the ability to divination. The waters of the springs where the Naiads live have purifying properties and even have the ability to give immortality.

Flora

IN Ancient Rome- the goddess-protector of flowering and flowers, depicted with a cornucopia, from which she scatters flowers all over the earth. According to the poem of Ovid (43 BC - 17 BC), Flora during the Golden Age was a nymph named Chloris (Chloris - ringing), but the west wind Zephyr kidnapped her and made her his wife. His wedding gift was eternal spring, as a result of which she became the goddess of youth (youth) of nature, beginning the year.

Scylla

Before becoming a monster and turning into a rock, Scylla was a nymph who fell in love with Glaucus, one of the sea gods. In order to subdue her, Glaucus asked for help from Kirk, who was famous for her knowledge of herbs and magic. However, Kirka herself fell in love with Glaucus, but she could not make him forget Scylla. And, in order to punish her rival, she poured the juice of poisonous grass into the source in which the nymph bathed. Further, according to Ovid ("Metamorphoses", XIV, 59 - 67):

Scylla came and plunged deep into the backwater to the waist,
But suddenly he sees that some monsters are disgusting
They bark around her bosom. Not believing at first that they became
Part of her, runs, drives away, fears
Dog's insolent muzzles, - but it draws them to flight with it,
Feels his body, and thighs, and calves, and feet.
- Instead of familiar parts, it acquires only a dog's mouth.
All is but the fury of the dogs; no crotch but monsters
Backs in place of her fly out of a full womb.

She feels that she stands on twelve legs, that she has six heads and three rows of teeth in each head. Such a metamorphosis frightened her so much that Scylla threw herself into the strait separating Italy and Sicily, where the gods turned her into a rock. When, during a storm, the wind drives the ships into the stony crevices of the rock, the sailors, according to them, hear a terrible roar coming from there.

This legend can also be found in Homer and Pausanias.