- For the use of the term "nymph" in biology, see nymph (biology).
Hylas and the Nymphs by John William Waterhouse
In Greek mythology, a nymph is any member of a
large class of female nature spirits, sometimes bound to a particular location or landform. Nymphs often accompanied various gods
and goddesses, and were the frequent target of lusty satyrs.
They are personifications of the creative and fostering activities of nature. The Greek word νύμφη has "bride" and "veiled" among its meanings: hence, a married
woman, and, in general, one of marriageable age. Others 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"). 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, the prophetic Apollo, the
reveller and god of trees Dionysus, and with
rustic gods such as Pan and Hermes
(as the god of shepherds).
Nymph classifications
The different species of nymph were distinguished according to the different spheres of nature with which they were
connected.
- Land Nymphs
- Alseids (glens, groves)
- Auloniads (pastures)
- Dryads (forests)
- Ieimakids (meadows)
- Oreads (mountains, grottoes)
- Napaeae (mountain valleys, glens)
- Water Nymphs
- Other
- "Corycian Nymphs" (Classical Muses)
Foreign adaptations
The Greek nymphs, after the introduction of their cult into Latium, gradually absorbed into their ranks the indigenous Italian
divinities of springs and streams (Juturna, Egeria, Cavmentis,
Fons), while the Lymphae (originally Lumpae), Italian water-goddesses, owing to the accidental similarity of name, were identified
with the Greek Nymphae. Among the Romans their sphere of influence was
restricted, and they appear almost exclusively as divinities of the watery element.
See also Askefruer, Huacas and
Landvaettir, undine, houri, Slavic fairies.
This article incorporates text from the public domain 1911 Encyclopędia Britannica.
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