Nereids

Greek Sea nymphs, daughters of Nereus
Greek deities
series
Water deities
  • Amphitrite
  • Ceto
  • Glaucus
  • Nereus
  • Oceanus
  • Phorcys
  • Pontus
  • Poseidon
  • Potamoi
  • Proteus
  • Tethys
  • Thetis
  • Triton
Nymphs
  • v
  • t
  • e

In Greek mythology, the Nereids or Nereides (/ˈnɪəriɪdz/ NEER-ee-idz; Ancient Greek: Νηρηΐδες, romanized: Nērēḯdes; sg. Νηρηΐς, Nērēḯs, also Νημερτές) are sea nymphs (female spirits of sea waters), the 50 daughters of the 'Old Man of the Sea' Nereus and the Oceanid Doris, sisters to their brother Nerites.[1] They often accompany Poseidon, the god of the sea, and can be friendly and helpful to sailors (such as the Argonauts in their search for the Golden Fleece).[2]

Name

It is not known whether the name Nereus was known to Homer or not, but the name of the Nereids is attested before it, and can be found in the Iliad.[3] Since Nereus only has relevance as the father of the Nereids, it has been suggested that his name could actually be derived from that of his daughters;[4] while the derivation of the Nereids from Nereus, as a patronymic, has also been suggested.[5] According to Martin Litchfield West (1966), Nereus is much less important than his daughters, mentioning that Herodotus offered "the Nereids, not Nereus, as an example of a divine name not derived from Egypt".[6]

The name of the Nereids has survived in modern Greek folklore as νεράιδες, neráides 'fairies'.[7]

Mythology

French Empire mantel clock (1822) depicting the nereid Galatea velificans

The Nereids symbolized everything that is beautiful and kind about the sea. Their melodious voices sang as they danced around their father. They are represented as beautiful women, crowned with branches of red coral and dressed in white silk robes trimmed with gold.

These nymphs are particularly associated with the Aegean Sea, where they dwelt with their father Nereus in the depths within a golden palace.[8] The most notable of them are Thetis, wife of Peleus and mother of Achilles; Amphitrite, wife of Poseidon and mother of Triton; Galatea, the vain love interest of the Cyclops Polyphemus, and lastly, Psamathe who became the mother of Phocus by King Aeacus of Aegina, and Theoclymenus and Theonoe by Proteus, a sea-god or king of Egypt.

In Homer's Iliad XVIII, when Thetis cries out in sympathy for the grief of Achilles for the slain Patroclus, her sisters appear.[9] Four of her siblings, Cymodoce, Thalia, Nesaea and Spio were also among the nymphs in the train of Cyrene.[10] Later on, these four together with their other sisters Thetis, Melite and Panopea, were able to help the hero Aeneas and his crew during a storm.[11]

In one account, Cassiopeia boasted that her daughter Andromeda was more beautiful than the Nereides, who were enraged by the claim. Poseidon, in sympathy for them, sent a flood and a sea monster to the land of the Aethiopians, demanding as well the sacrifice of the princess.[12] These sea goddesses also were said to reveal to men the mysteries of Dionysus and Persephone.[13][14]

List of Nereids

This list is correlated from four sources: Homer's Iliad,[15] Hesiod's Theogony,[16] the Bibliotheca of Pseudo-Apollodorus[17] and the Fabulae of Hyginus.[18] Because of this, the total number of names goes beyond fifty.[19]

No. Name Sources Notes
Hom. Hes. Apol. Hyg. Others
1Actaea✓✓✓✓
2 Agaue ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ Appeared to Thetis when she cried out in sympathy for the grief of Achilles for Patroclus.
3 Amatheia ✓ ✓ Appeared to Thetis when she cried out in sympathy for the grief of Achilles for Patroclus.
4Amphinome ✓ ✓ Feeds Poseidon's flock
5 Amphithoe ✓ ✓ Appeared to Thetis when she cried out in sympathy for the grief of Achilles for Patroclus.
6 Amphitrite✓✓ Consort of Poseidon
The name of an Oceanid[20]
7Apseudes✓✓
8 Arethusa ✓ [21]
9 Asia ✓ [22] The name of an Oceanid[23]
10 Autonoe ✓ ✓ Only mentioned by name
11 Beroe ✓ The name of an Oceanid[24]
12 Callianassa ✓ ✓ Appeared to Thetis when she cried out in sympathy for the grief of Achilles for Patroclus.
13 Callianeira ✓ Only mentioned by name on the Iliad.
14 Calypso ✓ The name of an Oceanid[25]
15 Ceto ✓ The name of an Oceanid[26] Only mentioned by name
16 Clio ✓ The name of an Oceanid[27]
17 Clymene ✓ ✓ [28] The name of an Oceanid;[29] appeared to Thetis when she cried out in sympathy for the grief of Achilles for Patroclus.
18 Cranto ✓
19 Creneis ✓
20 Cydippe ✓ [30] In the train of Cyrene along with her other sisters
21 Cymatolege ✓ Only mentioned by name
22 Cymo ✓ ✓ Only mentioned by name
23 Cymodoce ✓ ✓ ✓ [31]
24 Cymothoe ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ [32] Appeared to Thetis when she cried out in sympathy for the grief of Achilles for Patroclus.
25 Deiopea ✓ [22]
26 Dero ✓ Only mentioned by name
27 Dexamene ✓ ✓ Appeared to Thetis when she cried out in sympathy for the grief of Achilles for Patroclus.
28 Dione ✓ The name of an Oceanid[33]
29 Doris ✓ ✓ ✓ The name of an Oceanid[23]
30 Doto ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ [34]
31 Drymo ✓ [35] One of the nymphs in the train of Cyrene
32 Dynamene ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
33 Eione ✓ ✓ Only mentioned by name
34 Ephyra ✓ [22] The name of an Oceanid[36]
35 Erato ✓ ✓
36 Euagore ✓ ✓
37 Euarne ✓
38 Eucrante ✓ ✓
39 Eudore ✓ ✓ The name of an Oceanid[33]
40 Eulimene ✓ ✓
41 Eumolpe ✓ Only mentioned by name
42 Eunice ✓ ✓
43 Eupompe ✓ Only mentioned by name
44 Eurydice ✓
45 Galene ✓
46 Galatea ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ [34]
47 Glauce ✓ ✓ ✓
48 Glauconome ✓ ✓ Only mentioned by name
49 Halie ✓ ✓ ✓
50 Halimede ✓ ✓
51 Hipponoe ✓ ✓
52 Hippothoe ✓ ✓ Only mentioned by name
53 Iaera ✓ ✓ Appeared to Thetis when she cried out in sympathy for the grief of Achilles for Patroclus.
54 Ianassa ✓ ✓ Appeared to Thetis when she cried out in sympathy for the grief of Achilles for Patroclus.
55 Ianeira ✓ ✓ The name of an Oceanid;[25] appeared to Thetis when she cried out in sympathy for the grief of Achilles for Patroclus.
56 Ione ✓
57 Iphianassa [37] Only mentioned by name
58 Laomedeia ✓ Only mentioned by name
59 Leiagore ✓ Only mentioned by name
60 Leucothoe ✓
61 Ligea ✓ [35]
62 Limnoreia ✓ ✓ ✓
63 Lycorias ✓ [30]
64 Lysianassa ✓ ✓
65 Maera ✓ ✓ Appeared to Thetis when she cried out in sympathy for the grief of Achilles for Patroclus.
66 Melite ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ [38] The name of an Oceanid[39]
67 Menippe ✓ The name of an Oceanid[40]
68 Nausithoe ✓
69 Neaera The name of an Oceanid
70 Nemertes ✓ ✓ ✓
71 Neomeris ✓
72 Nesaea ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ [41]
73 Neso ✓ Only mentioned by name. Gives her name to Neso, one of Neptune's moons.
74 Opis ✓ [22]
75 Oreithyia ✓ ✓ Appeared to Thetis when she cried out in sympathy for the grief of Achilles for Patroclus.
76 Panope ✓ ✓ ✓ [34]
77 Panopea ✓ ✓ [38]
78 Pasithea ✓ Only mentioned by name
79 Pherusa ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ Appeared to Thetis when she cried out in sympathy for the grief of Achilles for Patroclus.
80 Phyllodoce ✓ [35]
81 Plexaure ✓ The name of an Oceanid[42]
82 Ploto ✓ Only mentioned by name
83 Polynoe ✓
84 Polynome ✓ Only mentioned by name
85 Pontomedusa ✓ Only mentioned by name
86 Pontoporeia ✓ Only mentioned by name
87 Pronoe ✓ Only mentioned by name
88 Proto ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
89 Protomedeia ✓ Only mentioned by name
90 Psamathe ✓ ✓
91 Sao ✓ ✓ Means 'the rescuer'; only mentioned by name
92 Speio ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ [41] Appeared to Thetis when she cried out in sympathy for the grief of Achilles for Patroclus.
93 Thaleia ✓ ✓ [41]
94 Themisto ✓ Only mentioned by name
95 Thetis ✓ ✓ ✓ [38] Mother of Achilles
96 Thoe ✓ ✓ ✓ The name of an Oceanid[43]
97 Xantho ✓ [35] The name of an Oceanid[33]
Total 34 50 45 47

Iconography

Nereid riding a sea-bull (latter 2nd century BC)

In ancient art the Nereides appear in the retinue of Poseidon, Amphitrite, Thetis and other sea-divinities. On black-figure Greek vases they appear fully clothed, such as on a Corinthian hydra (sixth century BCE; Paris) where they stand near the bier of Achilles. Later vase-paintings depict them nude or partially nude, mounted on dolphins, sea-horses or other marine creatures, and often grouped together with Tritons. They appear as such on Roman frescoes and sarcophagi. An Etruscan bronze cista from Palestrina depicts winged Nereides.

Famous is the Nereid Monument, a marble tomb from Xanthos (Lycia, Asia Minor), partially in the collection of the British Museum. At the top is a small temple surrounded by pillars between which Nereides stood. They were depicted in motion and with billowing, transparent clothes. The style is Attic-Ionian and dates to c. 400 BCE.

In the Renaissance and baroque periods the Nereid was frequently used to decorate fountains and garden monuments.

Worship

The Nereid Monument. From Xanthos (Lycia), modern-day Antalya Province, Turkey. 390–380 BC. Room 17, the British Museum, London

Nereides were worshiped in several parts of Greece, but more especially in seaport towns, such as Cardamyle,[44] and on the Isthmus of Corinth.[45] The epithets given them by the poets refer partly to their beauty and partly to their place of abode.

Modern use

In modern Greek folklore, the term "nereid" (νεράιδα, neráida) has come to be used for all nymphs, fairies, or mermaids, not merely nymphs of the sea.[46]

In modern folklore

The neraida appears in modern Greek folktales as a kind of supernatural wife, akin to the swan maiden, and gives its name to the homonymous type in the Catalogue of Greek Folktales: tale type ATU 400, "The Neraïda".[47] She has been compared to the nymph, the female character of ancient Greek mythology.[48][49] She is said to inhabit water sources (rivers and wells),[50] similar to their ancient mythical counterpart, the Nereids (water nymphs).[51][52] However, in modern speech, the term also encompasses fairy maidens from mountains and woodlands.[53]

Greek folklorist Nicolaos Politis amassed a great amount of modern folkloric material regarding the neraida.[54] In modern tales from Greek tellers, the neraides are said to dance at noon or at midnight; to have beautiful golden hair; to dress in white or rose garments and to appear wearing a veil on the head, or holding a handkerchief. Due to their beauty, young men are drawn to the neraides and steal their veils or kerchiefs to force their stay in the mortal realm. The women marry these men, but later regain their piece of clothing back and disappear forever.[52][55][54] Greek scholar Anna Angeloupoulos terms this storyline The Stolen Scarf, one of four narratives involving the neraida. Also, this sequence is "the most frequent and stable introductory episode" in Greek variants of tale type 400.[47]

In a tale from Greece, a human goatherd named Demetros, dances with ten fairies three nights, and in the third night, on a full moon, he dances with them and accidentally touches the handkerchief of Katena. Her companions abandon her to the mortal world and she becomes Demetros's wife, bearing him a daughter. For seven years, Demetros has hidden the handkerchief, until his wife Katena asks him for it. She takes the handkerchief and dances with it in a festival, taking the opportunity to return home and leave her mortal husband. Years later, their daughter follows her mother when she turns fifteen years old.[56]

Another introductory episode of the Greek variants is one Angelopoulos dubbed The sisters of Alexander the Great. This refers to a pseudo-historical or mythological account about Alexander the Great and a quest for a water of life that grants immortality. His sister (or sisters) drinks it instead of him, is thrown in the sea and becomes a gorgona, a half-human, half-fish creature with power over the storm who can sink boats and become birds. They approach ships to ask if Alexander still lives, and can only be appeased if answered positively. In one tale, a youth on a ship captures a gorgona three times (or three gorgones) and beats her until she promises not to threaten any more ships. The youth then arrives on a deserted island and sees three birds that become human (or flying maidens), and steals their garments.[47][57] Richard MacGillivray Dawkins suggested that the modern gorgona was a merging of three mythological characters (the Sirens, the Gorgons, and the Scylla), and reported alternate tales where Alexander's sisters are replaced for his mother or a female lover.[57][a]

Other uses

Nereid, a moon of the planet Neptune, is named after the Nereids, as is Nereid Lake in Antarctica.[58]

Explanatory notes

  1. ^ In another article, Dawkins claims the oldest version of the tale involves Alexander's daughter; later versions replacing her for his sister.[50]

Footnotes

  1. ^ Aelian, De Natura Animalium 14.28
  2. ^ McInerney, Jeremy (2004). "NEREIDS, COLONIES AND THE ORIGINS OF ISEGORIA". Free Speech in Classical Antiquity: 21–40. doi:10.1163/9789047405689_003. ISBN 978-90-474-0568-9.
  3. ^ Tsantsanoglou 2015, p. 5; Chantraine 1968, p. 751; "Νηρεύς – Ancient Greek (LSJ)". lsj.gr.
  4. ^ Beekes & van Beek 2010, pp. ix, xliii, 1017; Tsantsanoglou 2015, p. 14
  5. ^ Beekes & van Beek 2010, pp. ix, xliii, 1017
  6. ^ Litchfield West 1966, p. 233
  7. ^ Chantraine 1968, p. 751; Papachristophorou 1998, p. 190; Litchfield West 1966, p. 233
  8. ^ Atsma, Aaron J. "Nereides". Theoi Project Greek Mythology. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  9. ^ Homer, Iliad 18.39–18.51
  10. ^ Virgil, Georgics 4.338
  11. ^ Virgil, Aeneid 5.825–5.826
  12. ^ Apollodorus, 2.4.3; Hyginus, Fabulae 64, De Astronomica 2.10 with Euripides and Sophocles as the authority; Ovid, Metamorphoses 5.16 ff.
  13. ^ Orphic Hymns 24.10
  14. ^ Kerényi, Carl (1951). The Gods of the Greeks. London: Thames and Hudson. p. 66.
  15. ^ Homer, Iliad 18.39–18.51
  16. ^ Hesiod, Theogony 240–262
  17. ^ Apollodorus, 1.2.7
  18. ^ Hyginus, Fabulae Preface
  19. ^ Apollodorus, 1.2.2 & 1.4.5
  20. ^ Virgil, Georgics 4.346
  21. ^ a b c d Virgil, Georgics 4.343
  22. ^ a b Hesiod, Theogony 349–361; Apollodorus, 1.2.2
  23. ^ Virgil, Georgics 4.341; Nonnus, Dionysiaca 41.153
  24. ^ a b Hesiod, Theogony 349–361; Homeric Hymn to Demeter, 418–423
  25. ^ Nonnus, Dionysiaca 26.355
  26. ^ Virgil, Georgics 4.341
  27. ^ Virgil, Georgics 4.345
  28. ^ Hesiod, Theogony 349–361; Hyginus, Fabulae 156; Tzetzes, Chiliades 4.19.359
  29. ^ a b Virgil, Georgics 4.339
  30. ^ Virgil, Georgics 4.338; Aeneid 5.826; Statius, Silvae 2.2.20
  31. ^ Valerius Flaccus, 2.605; Quintus Smyrnaeus, 5.394 ff.
  32. ^ a b c Hesiod, Theogony 349–361
  33. ^ a b c Valerius Flaccus, Argonautica 1.130 ff.
  34. ^ a b c d Virgil, Georgics 4.336
  35. ^ Hyginus, Fabulae 275.6; Eumelus, fr. 1 Fowler (apud Pausanias, 2.1.1)
  36. ^ Lucian, Dialogi Marini 14
  37. ^ a b c Virgil, Aeneid 5.825
  38. ^ Homeric Hymn to Demeter, 418–423; Hyginus, Fabulae Th. 8
  39. ^ Hyginus, Fabulae Th. 6 (Smith and Trzaskoma, p. 95), except where otherwise indicated.
  40. ^ a b c Virgil, Georgics 4.338; Aeneid 5.826
  41. ^ Hesiod, Theogony 353
  42. ^ Homeric Hymn to Demeter, 418–423
  43. ^ Pausanias, 3.2.5
  44. ^ Pausanias, 2.1.7
  45. ^ Zervas, Theodore G. (2016). Formal and Informal Education During the Rise of Greek Nationalism: Learning to be Greek. Springer. p. 121. ISBN 9781137484154.
  46. ^ a b c Angelopoulos, Anna (December 2010). "Greek Legends about Fairies and Related Tales of Magic". Fabula. 51 (3–4): 217–224. doi:10.1515/FABL.2010.021. S2CID 161959532.
  47. ^ Mitakidou, Soula; Manna, Anthony L.; Kanatsouli, Melpomeni. Folktales of Greece: A Treasury of Delights. Greenwood Press/Libraries Unlimited, 2002. p. 15. ISBN 1-56308-908-4.
  48. ^ Blagojevic, Gordana. "Женидба вилом и нерајдом: јужнословенско-грчке фолклорне паралеле" [Marrying a Fairy and a Nereid: South Slavic-Greek Folk Parallels]. In: Заједничко у словенском фолклору: зборник радова [Common Elements in Slavic Folklore: Collected Papers, 2012]. Београд: Балканолошки институт САНУ, 2012. p. 178. ISBN 9788671790741.
  49. ^ a b Dawkins, R. M. (1942). "Folklore in Stories from the Dodecanese". Folklore. 53 (1): 5–26. doi:10.1080/0015587X.1942.9718288. JSTOR 1257708.
  50. ^ Håland, Evy Johanne (December 2009). "Water Sources and the Sacred in Modern and Ancient Greece and Beyond". Water History. 1 (2): 83–108. Bibcode:2009WatHi...1...83H. doi:10.1007/s12685-009-0008-1. S2CID 154379238.
  51. ^ a b Lee, D. Demetracopoulou (1936). "Folklore of the Greeks in America". Folklore. 47 (3): 294–310. doi:10.1080/0015587X.1936.9718647. JSTOR 1256865.
  52. ^ Lawson, John Cuthbert (1910). Modern Greek Folklore and Ancient Greek Religion (1st ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 130.
  53. ^ a b Λουκατος, Δημητριος σ. (1982). "Les néréides en Grèce, êtres toujours légendaires, aussi bien maritimes que terrestres". Le Monde alpin et rhodanien. Revue régionale d'ethnologie. 10 (1): 293–299. doi:10.3406/mar.1982.1164.
  54. ^ Lawson, John Cuthbert (1910). Modern Greek Folklore and Ancient Greek Religion (1st ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 132–133, 135–136, 138–139.
  55. ^ "III. The Fairy Wife". In: Gianakoulis, Theodore P. and MacPherson, Georgia H. Fairy Tales of Modern Greece. New York City: E. P. Dutton & Co. [1930]. pp. 34–47.
  56. ^ a b Dawkins, R. M. (1937). "Alexander and the Water of Life". Medium Ævum. 6 (3): 173–192. doi:10.2307/43626046. JSTOR 43626046.
  57. ^ Nereid Lake. SCAR Composite Gazetteer of Antarctica

References

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  • Hesiod, Theogony from The Homeric Hymns and Homerica with an English Translation by Hugh G. Evelyn-White, Cambridge, MA.,Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1914. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library. Greek text available from the same website.
  • Homer, The Iliad with an English Translation by A.T. Murray, Ph.D. in two volumes. Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1924. ISBN 978-0674995796. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
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Supernatural
women
Tale types
ATU 313
ATU 400
ATU 465
Adaptations
Notes: "Tale types" refer to narratives of the international Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index where the swan maiden (or other type of bird) appears.
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International
  • VIAF
National
  • France
  • BnF data
Other
  • IdRef