File:John_William_Waterhouse_-_A_Naiad_or_Hylas_with_a_Nymph,_1893.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
naiad
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In Greek mythology, the naiads (; ), sometimes also hydriads, are a type of female spirit, or nymph, presiding over fountains, wells, springs, streams, brooks and other bodies of fresh water.
In Greek mythology, naiads are female spirits or nymphs that are believed to preside over fresh water sources like fountains, wells, springs, and streams. They matter because they represent an ancient culture's way of understanding and personifying the natural world, particularly the fresh waters that were essential to human life.
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Key facts
- Mythical creature.name
- Naiad
- Mythical creature.image
- John William Waterhouse - A Naiad or Hylas with a Nymph, 1893.jpg
- Mythical creature.caption
- A Naiad by John William Waterhouse, 1893; a water nymph approaches the sleeping Hylas.
- Mythical creature.Grouping
- Nymphs
- Mythical creature.Sub_Grouping
- Water spiritElemental
- Mythical creature.Similar_entities
- MermaidHuldraSelkieSiren
- Mythical creature.Habitat
- Any body of fresh water
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Image
- Play of the Nereides by Arnold Böcklin.jpg
Show 1 more fact
- Commons category
- Naiads
Sources (2)
via Wikidata · CC0
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Article
8 sectionsContents
- Etymology
- Mythology
- Interpretation
- Place names
- Gallery
- See also
- Notes
- References
In Greek mythology, the naiads (; ), sometimes also hydriads, are a type of female spirit, or nymph, presiding over fountains, wells, springs, streams, brooks and other bodies of fresh water.
They are distinct from river gods, who embodied rivers, and the very ancient spirits that inhabited the still waters of marshes, ponds and lagoon-lakes such as pre-Mycenaean Lerna in the Argolis.