The nymphs of the woods, minor divinities of nature

All the  nymphs of the woods they are fantastic beings, born by the forces of nature. Her image is defined by a very beautiful female body and that has the particularity that it does not age, in this article we will tell you everything about these minor divinities.

Nymph

The nymphs of the woods according to Greek mythology are female semi-goddesses with a lower rank and who live in an area involved with nature, since that is where they come from, that is, they live in mountains, rivers, lakes or forests. In addition, they were called Olympians, because they were called by the gods of Olympus to meet with them, they were also daughters of Zeus.

They are beautiful damsels who live naked and some are semi-naked, they are very cheerful, they sing and dance and they also love. They usually inhabit the mountains, rivers, lakes, depending on where they live they are called Nereids, Oreads y naiads, some poets made a brief description of them and used to say that their hair was the color of the sea.

These adorable creatures do not know what it is to grow old, nor do they die of any disease. And they usually procreate the children of the gods, these would be immortal, although they are not, because in reality they can die in many ways. But the Greek poet known as Homer, He fervently believed that these fantastic beings were indeed immortal and expressed it in his famous book The Iliad and because they were goddesses they were also worshiped with sacrifices, he writes this in his book The odyssey.

Alli Homer makes a very detailed description about some games of the nymphs when they accompanied Sagebrush, the goddess of the forests, in the same way they used to dance, sing and weave beautiful garments, while they watched the destinies of mortal people. According to some Greek myths, the nymphs assisted other main deities, such as the ominous Apolo or also the womanizing God of wine known as Dionisio.

In the same way they helped the coarse gods like Bread y Hermes. The mythological marriage between a nymph and a patriarch was performed very frequently and these were very famous, since this union used to give a lot of power to a king and his lineage.

Etymology

Wood nymphs are representations of actions that nature created to be creative and comforting, they are almost always associated with the flow of springs. This is how the scholar of Greek mythology walter burkert, when it expresses:

“The idea that the rivers are gods of Greek mythology and the sources are divine nymphs, is deeply rooted not only in poetry but also in beliefs and rituals; the worship of these deities is limited only by the fact that they are inseparably identified with a particular locality”.

It should be added that in Greek the word nymph represents bride and veiled, which means that she is a young lady of marriageable age. And according Hesychius of Alexandria,  nymph means rosebud.

Adaptations

The spirits of the Greek nymphs were linked to the Latin "genius loci", which are also protective spirits, and many times there was a lot of complication in transferring the cults, which was seen very clearly in the myth that led to the nymph Arethusa to Sicily. There are some Latin poets in Greek, who describe that the absorption took place progressively and by categories, to the Italian indigenous divinities in the springs and in the course that the waters took (Juturna, Egeria, Carmenta, Fonto).

On the other hand, the Greek nymphs who were native to Lumpae or Italian water goddesses, could recognize each other even though their names were similar. It is impossible that the classification given to it by the Roman poets had much influence on some of the rites and cults of the individual nymphs, who were venerated by the peasants in the fountains and canyons of Latium. Also visit our content on Archangels.

Classification and worship

The nymphs were divided into gigantic groups, even though they were infinite. In the first group were all those who were considered as an inferior divinity and who were also recognized in the cults they performed in nature. In fact, some ancient Greeks said that the phenomena that occurred in nature were because in some way a divinity was manifesting.

For them, things that were very common, such as rivers, caves, fountains, mountains and trees, had life and that is why they were clear representations of many divine agents.

That is to say that all the power that nature had, including its benefits, were a personification of many divinities and all the emotions that man could have when contemplating some majestic vision of nature such as joy or pleasure, terror or awe, were attributed to the actions of nature deities.

As for the second group of nymphs, they were representations of the tribes, races and states of Cyrene, among other. The first group of nymphs was again divided into several species, it all depends on the parts of nature that they represented:

Nymphs of the water element

We must first name the nymphs of the ocean, the Oceanids (Ὠκεανίδε) or sea nymphs, whom they considered as daughters of the ocean, there are also the nymphs of the Mediterranean Sea and it was believed that they were daughters of Nereusthat's why they were called Nereids (Νηρεΐδες). The representation of the rivers was part of the Pothamides (Ποταμηΐδες), and as they were local divinities they were baptized depending on the river, as Acheloids, Anigrides, Amnisíades o Pactolides.

These freshwater nymphs, like rivers, lakes, streams or wells, had the name of naiads (Νηΐδες), but they also had their own names like creneas (Κρηναῖαι), Pegeas (Πηγαῖαι), Limnatides (Λιμνατίδες) or lemonades (Λιμνάδες). The nymphs of the rivers of the Underworld were cited as "nymphs of the infernal swamp" that is why their Latin name was Nymphae infernae paludis and avernal they governed the waters or the sources.

They believed that they inspired the people who drank from their waters, because there were many beliefs that the nymphs were full of many powers. The priests or the diviners were attracted by these beliefs and that is why they used to drink from the waters, they were called "nymphilepts" (νυμφύληπτοι). So sometimes many people would go to drink the water from these sources because they even had the belief that it helped them with their health, because after drinking these majestic waters their health improved considerably.

That is why people used to worship water and water nymphs hydriades, together with Dionysus y Demeter, Greek gods, because they also served to water the vegetation and quench the thirst of all living beings and that filled many blessings to all the beings that lived there, that is why they always paid tribute, giving them many expressions, names and adjectives such as καρποτρόφοι, αἰπολικαί, νόμιαι ('nomies'), κουροτρόφοι ('kerotrophs') and others.

Much influence was gathered in all of nature and that is why they were closely related to other superior deities such as Apollo, the prophetic god who protected herds and flocks, along with Sagebrush, that she was the huntress and that she protected the forest, since she was once an arcadian nymph, she was also Hermes who was the god of the herds, Dionisio the one with the bread and the Silenus and satyrs, who also joined them at dances and banquets.

Nymphs of the mountains and caves

These nymphs were called Oreads (Ὀρειάδες) and Orodemaniades (Ὀροδεμνιάδες) and they also used to call them by some names that are derived from the mountains where they lived, like Cytheronides (Κιθαιρωνίδες), Peliades (Πηλιάδες) and Corycias (Κορύκιαι).

Nymphs of the woods, groves and meadows

The wood nymphs were called alseides (Ἀλσηΐδες), Ὑληωροί, Auloniades (Αὐλωνιάδες) and napeas (Ναπαῖαι), and many people believed that they used to appear to scare those who were in the habit of traveling alone. Tree nymphs were also believed to exist, it is said that these nymphs at the time they die, do so together with the tree with which they came into existence and where they lived until the moment of their death.

These nymphs are named, Adrianes (Ἀδρυάδες) or Dryads (Δρυάδες), not only do they live in oak trees, they can also find a dwelling in a tree that is majestic and imposing.

The second group of nymphs

This second group was assigned a name depending on the places where they were related, they could be called Nisiades, Dodonidas o Lemnias. They are also closely related to some races and that is why they are also called Νύμφαι χθόνιαι.

These forest nymphs were greatly adored, offering sacrifices as tribute to goats, lambs, milk and oils, but never wine. They were worshiped and honored with different altars that they built in many places throughout Greece, these altars were in Olympia, Attica, Megara, Cirtones, Sisión and Fliunte.

in contemporary culture

Currently in contemporary culture, nymphs have great relevance, they are known more than anything in Greek folklore. As indicated below:

modern greek folklore

Many people of ancient Greece were sure that nymphs survived in many places in this country, even in the XNUMXth century, and they recognized them very well, since they were the nereids. The writer John Cuthbert Lawson At that time he reported the following:

“…there is probably no corner or village in all Greece where women do not at least take precautions against the thefts and wickedness of the Nereids, while many men continue to be found who relate in good faith stories of their beauty, passion and caprice. It is not just a matter of faith: more than once I have been in towns where certain Nereids had been seen by several people (at least they claimed), and there was a wonderful coincidence between the witnesses in describing their appearance and attire.^"

The nymphs of the woods liked to go to places that were far away from humans, the only ones who had the fortune to meet one of them, were the men who used to travel alone to the outskirts of those towns, and they delighted listening their music and dances, they spied on them both day and night, even bathing in the streams.

Some people said that meeting a nymph head-on meant that they could be seriously in danger, they fell madly in love with them to the point of madness, others became mute or had apoplexy. It was so much that if the parents were sure that their child was enchanted by one of these, they immediately prayed to Saint Artemidos to remove the spell, it is said that many died as a result of these infatuations.

sexual connotations

Normally in mythology, nymphs are usually represented as beautiful women who can maintain relationships, both with women and men, under their own will. This term is usually used in people who have a similar behavior, leaving men out, of course.

One of the best known myths of Greek mythology is that of Eurydice y Orpheus, which tells that Orpheus He was constantly persecuted by the nymphs due to his beautiful song, but the moment they were rejected by this god, they lost their minds and of course there was no good outcome.

That is why the word "nymphomania" was attributed by modern psychologists to indicate sexual desire and to continue having sexual relations very frequently, so much so as to be considered clinically remarkable. Professionals also today gave it another term such as "hypersexuality" due to the generalized use that was being given to "nymphomania", and that it could be applied to both sexes.

They began to use the word "nymphet" to refer to girls who were sexually precocious. This term became famous thanks to the novel Lolita de Vladimir Nabokov, where the protagonist makes use of this word many times when referring to lolita.

Classification of the nymphs

There are different types of nymphs, which live in different places in the forest. The names of these nymphs derive from those places they inhabit and therefore are classified as follows:

Wood and land nymphs

The dryads or nymphs of the forests are the spirits of the oaks and the majestic trees that are found in the forests, these nymphs are wonderful beings that are born from the forces of nature, their names and meanings are the following:

• Alseides, this name was given to those that were related to ravines, groves.
• Auloníades, is the name of the nymphs associated with grasses.
• Leimáchides or Limónides, this is how the protectors of meadows are identified.
• Napeas, is the way to identify the nymphs of mountain valleys and ravines.
• Oréades or Orestíades, is used to refer to the nymphs of mountains and caves.
• Nymphs of forests and plants.
• Anthousai, is the best way to identify flower nymphs.
• Dryads, that's how tree nymphs made themselves known.
• Hamadríades or Hadríades, other options for identifying tree nymphs.
• Daphneas, so you can identify the nymphs that are in a laurel tree.
• Epimelíades or Epimélides, these names were used to identify the nymphs that protected the herds.
• Boucolai, thus the pastoral nymphs were identified.
• Kissiae, for nymphs related to ivy.
• Melias, these are the nymphs related to ash trees.
• Hyleoroi, these were the watchful nymphs of the woods.

Water nymphs (fresh water)

These nymphs are born from freshwater rivers and lakes, wells, streams, fountains, springs and ponds. Actually these nymphs are daughters of water, below we will mention their names and what they are related to:

• Creneas, are those related to sources and wells.
• Heleades, are related to swamps and marshes.
• Limnades or Limnátides, can be found in lakes.
• Pegeas, are located in springs and waterfalls.
• Potámides, these are located in streams and streams.
• Oceánidas, are those nymphs that are located in rivers; sisters of the Oceanids.
• Oceánides, are the nymphs related to salt water.
• Nereids, the 50 daughters of Nereus, the Mediterranean Sea.
• Mermaids, they inhabited an island in the Mediterranean in front of Sorrento.

Underworld Nymphs

These are nymphs that were born directly into the world of darkness and spirits, they are usually associated with witchcraft and torches. The best known nymphs of the underworld are the Lampades, which are companions of Hecate, the goddess of ghosts and spirits. Here are the known nymphs of the underworld:

• Cocythias are the daughters of the river-god Cocytus.
• Lampades, all those who carried torches in the entourage of Hecate.
• Cabírides, that is how the sisters of the goats.
• Hecaterides, is the name of those related to rustic dance; sisters of the dactyl, mothers of the Oreads and the Satyrs.
• Melissa, bees; subgroup of Oreads o Epimelides.
• Maenads or Bacaes or Bacchantes, these are the frantic nymphs of the retinue of Dionysus.
• Lenas, they work the wine press.
• Mimalones, those who made music.
• Naides, also known as Nayádes.
• Tíades or Tías, all those who were carriers of the thyrsus, a rod covered with leaves similar to a scepter.
• Muses, were the ones who represented what was related to memory, knowledge and art.
• Themides, daughters of Zeus y Themis, prophets and guardians of certain divine objects.

celestial nymphs

These are the nymphs born from the stars. They live between the breezes and the blizzards, in the clouds and the wind. They are the daughters of heaven and are always in the air. Here are their names and meanings:

• Auras, Aurae or Aurai, 'breezes', also called Aetae or Pnoae.
• Asterias, 'stars'.
• Atlantis, daughters of Atlas.
• Hesperides, infas of the west, daughters of Atlas.
• Egle, means 'brightness' or 'splendour'.
• Hyades, were those rain-making nymphs.
• Pleiades, these were the nymphs daughters of Atlas y Pleyone, also known as Oreads.
• Maya, with this name was known the mother of Hermes with Zeus.
• Nepheles, related to clouds.

Finally, the following video offers additional information to complement all the content that we have highlighted in this article about the nymphs of the woods. If you liked our article, we invite you to continue reading about it. Phoenix, another fantastic creature.