Mythic Monday: 5 Water Nymphs – What’s Your Type?

NymphsRae_-_Water_Nymphs_(color)
Henrietta Rae [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Nymph, according to scholar Barbara G. Walker, was a word used for a young woman who served as a priestess in the temple of the goddess. As a representative of divine fertility, ceremonial sex was an important feature of a nymph’s devotion. This meaning has come down to us in the word nymphomaniac. In Greek mythology, nymphs were female nature spirits with otherworldly powers but not to the extent of a goddess. Their souls were interwoven with an aspect of the natural world. Regenerative power was part of their makeup. They lived long lives and often served as oracles. Nymphs can be associated with one of the elements—fire, earth, air, or water, although the fire connection is less frequent. Some nymphs also dwell in the Underworld and, in medieval times, some were thought to dwell in the land of fairy. Numerous broad classes and subclasses of nymphs exist, such as the 5 types of water nymphs we will talk about here. Some of these classes have no differentiation of individuals, while others certainly do. Most of the old stories about nymphs feature individuals that we have come to know and love, such as Daphne, the laurel tree spirit desired by Apollo, and Thetis, the mother of the great warrior Achilles.

Halides: Maidens of the sea who rode on the backs of seahorses and dolphins. There are many famous individual nymphs of this class, including Amphitrite, Scylla, and the fifty Nereids. My very favorite, though, is Achilles’ mother Thetis. It is interesting to associate the Halides with what came to be called mermaids.

Potameides: Nymphs of fresh water rivers and streams who, according to Plutarch, lived for 9,720 years. Any young girl bathing in a stream charmed by one of the Potameides would see her freckles vanish to be replaced by creamy, unblemished skin. Young men who played in the stream, however, were often dragged down to a watery abode. This type of nymph also existed in waterways of the Underworld. They were a subclass of the Naiads, the larger term applied to all fresh water nymphs.

Limnades: Lake dwelling nymphs who take on the personalities of their watery homes. Warning: keep your lake pristine and unpolluted to avoid angry, vengeful Limnades. These are beings whose beauty can be marred by strong negative emotion. When one is mad, I can only visualize the painting The Scream or the hideous creature in the Supernatural episode The Woman in White.

Pegaia: Powerful nymphs who live in sacred healing springs. They are known for their compassion toward illness and the suffering of humans. After the advent of Christianity, many springs and wells that had been sacred to the goddess and indwelling nymphs, took on the name of a saint, such as St. Brigid of Kildare.

Heleionomai: Nymphs of marshes and wetlands. In today’s ecosystems, we know how vital these areas are. Like all nymphs, Heleionomai are young and nubile. In juxtaposition, I think of the iconic bog woman as the crone aspect of a maiden nymph.

Which type of these 5 water nymphs is your favorite? Are you more drawn to those who dwell in rivers, lakes, springs, marshes, or the sea?

Cheers & Happy Reading!
Flossie Benton Rogers, Conjuring the Magic with Paranormal Fantasy Romance

By Flossie Benton Rogers

Paranormal romance author who loves to shake the edges of reality.

10 comments

  3. They all sound utterly fascinating. Like faeries, it’s interesting how many different types of nymphs populate our folklore.

    I liked your visual of The Scream for an angry lake nymph. Sounds like it would be very unwise to tick one off. 🙂

    Reply

    1. I am so drawn to those, too, Cathy. I see ancient travelers stopping for a fresh drink and communing with the spirit of the spring. I see people journeying on purpose to receive the healing as well.

      Reply

  5. Various types, indeed. Around here there’s the Stima Apelor/Waters’Fae a kind of Romanian siren. She isn’t very friendly toward humans. I will have a post on her sometime later. Thanks for the info on them!

    Reply

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