Our ancestors believed that every river, lake, sea has its own deity, which received power over its own territory from the universal gods of Olympus.
Naiads are beautiful water goddesses who own springs of water and are considered patrons of music and poetry. All waters, according to ancient Greek mythology, have their own mistress. Naiads (naiads) are a cheerful and perky tribe, their number is about three thousand. All the names of the goddesses are not known to people. According to the legends, beautiful creatures were the descendants of the Ocean and Tethys. Naiads are very ancient creatures that are mentioned along with Kuretes, Telchines, Satyrs, Corybantes. There are special naiads - healers, their waters have healing properties, they can cure many diseases.
Nymphs
Nymphs (translated from the ancient Greek "virgins") are the deities of nature, its fruitful and magical healing powers, a cross between gods and people. They always remained beautiful and never grew old, but still they were mortal. Better than the gods from Olympus, the nymphs knew human problems. The virgins have always helped travelers, guiding them on the right path, planting flowers on the abandoned graves of the dead. nymphswere the embodiment of everything touching and sweet in nature. Naiads, for example, ensured that there was always plenty of clean water in Greece during the destructive heat. Although the deities of nature are far from Olympus, they appear on the orders of the father of people and the gods Zeus. Very often, the next hero of Greek mythology was born precisely from the marriage of nymphs and gods, for example, Achilles, Aeacus, Tireseus. However, there are also sad love stories of nymphs that did not end in marriage.
Love Aida and Cops
There are many legends about beautiful water nymphs. One of these stories tells about the betrayal of the god of the underworld Hades to his wife Persephone (goddess of fertility). According to legend, Persephone was a conductor between the realm of the living and the dead, therefore, every hero of Greek mythology, descending into the realm of Hades, was accompanied by Persephone. Hades was madly in love with his wife, therefore, when she left his kingdom and went to her mother Demeter, he yearned. One day he decided to ride his chariot to the surface of the earth in order to be closer to his beloved. On the way, he saw that a beautiful naiad nymph was standing in the water. Hades looked into the brown eyes of the charming Menta and fell in love with her. Dark hair and white skin seduced the ruler of the underworld. Most likely, the fact that the young naiad was very different from his wife influenced the feelings. Mythology is very cruel, as this beautiful novel was doomed. When Persephone returned to her husband, she found that he was cold towards her, and also left the kingdom too often in order to visit the human world. The wise queen followed her husband and found out about the betrayal. Persephone's revenge was served cold. Once again, when she visited the human world, she found Menta and killed the beautiful nymph. Hades did not immediately find out who killed the nymph, despite his frustration with the death of his beloved, after a while he again had a mistress. The enraged queen killed her too, but this time she did not hide, the mistress of the kingdom of the dead remained to wait for her husband. When Hades found out that Persephone had killed both nymphs, he asked why she was so cruel to them, but after he heard his wife's words of love in response, he forgave her for her jealousy and gave his word to be faithful to her, just like she did to him.. Here is such a sad story about a naiad nymph.
Love for a beautiful hunter
There lived a beautiful hunter in the forest, his name was Narcissus, he was so good that all the nymphs were in love with him, but he was not interested in them. Narcissus was only interested in hunting. One river nymph decided to take possession of his heart and cast a spell, according to him, the guy will fall in love with the first person he sees. The nymph began to sing, drawing him to the reservoir in which she was, however, when the guy approached the water surface, he first saw his own reflection, and not the nymph, she was swimming towards him. Narcissus was so carried away by his own reflection that he did not stop admiring himself for a minute, closer and closer he wanted to be with the object of his own feelings. As a result, the hunter died of senseless sadness. At the site of the hunter's death, a beautiful yellow flower grew, which becamecall "Narcissus" the same way you call narcissists.
Attitude towards nymphs in Greece in modern society
The Greeks still remember the good nymphs. On Crete there is a church in honor of the Holy Virgins, near the spring beats, which is carefully guarded and cherished, as well as the memory of the wonderful goddesses of the waters.
An analogue of the naiad in Slavic beliefs
Very similar to the ancient Greek nymphs according to the descriptions of the Eastern Slavs mermaids. Slavic naiads are the spirits of nature in the form of charming and innocent girls (sometimes unfortunate) that live in rivers, lakes, swamps. Among some Slavic peoples, mermaids are “unclean” spirits of drowned women.
