Nymphs

Nymphs by Association
 - the well-known (and more obscure) groups of Nymphs:

Nymphs by Name - the nymphs interesting enough to say something about:

Acantha

Acantha was another beautiful nymph with the misfortune to be loved by someone she didn't love back. Apollo was the culprit in this case. He "loved" the nymph so much he tried to rape her. The nymph fought back, scratching the Sun God's face. As a result, the little nymph was transformed into the acanthus tree, a "sun-loving" but thorny plant.
 

Adamanthaea

She was the nurse, in Crete, who took care of Zeus and hung his cradle from a tree so that he wasn't in the sea, the earth, or Heaven.
 

Aegina

This was the daughter of Asopus, a river god, and Metope (she had TONS of siblings). She was abducted by Zeus, as it every nymph eventually is, it seems, and carried off to the island of Attica (which was renamed after her for a period). There she had a son, Aeacus, and he became the monarch of the island. To make love to her, Zeus changed into a flame of fire. Later, she became a lover of Actor's and had three children by him.

Arethusa

Arethusa was one of the many water nymphs who attended Artemis. As one of the Virgin Goddesses followers, she had no interest in men. So when the river-god Alpheus pursued her, Artemis helped her out by turning her into a fountain. Alpheus, however, would not be denied, and changed himself to flow underground so that he could touch her.
 

Agamede

Agamede was the mother of Actor by Poseidon. She was one of the first to use herbs in healing.
 

Britomartis

In a Hymn to Artemis, Britomartis is described as the nymph Artemis loves best. She is the fawn-slaying, sharpshooting nymph of Gortyn here, but originally she was a Cretan goddess who was adopted by the Artemis cult. Anyway, the story goes that Minos, madly in love with her, chased her all over Crete. She hid in oaks and marshes, but couldn't shake him. Nine months he chased her without relenting until at last he cornered her on a cliff. She leapt off, and was caught by a fishing net and was called, from then on the Lady of the Net.
 

Calypso

I started off liking her, but now I just think that she's a bore. She was the daughter of Atlas. She is in the story of Odysseus. She takes a fancy to him, and keeps him prisoner for seven years, during which time they sleep together, although Odysseus remains loyal to Penelope (which I don't understand), and eventually Zeus orders her to set him free. She is also in the Minor Goddesses section, because she was a goddess as well as a nymph.
 

Chelone

This poor nymph got turned into a turtle because she refused to attend the wedding of Hera and Zeus. The gods condemned her to eternal silence because of her insulting words.
 

Clymene

Clymene was but a simple Oceanid, but for a simple Oceanid, she had a lot going on. She was the wife of the Titan Iapetus, and by him bore Atlas, Epimetheus, Prometheus, and Menoetius. In another version, she was the wife of Helios and the mother of Phaeton (who is generally accepted as Apollo's offspring, but oh well). In yet another version she was the mother of Atalanta. Some other sources say that she was the granddaughter of King Minos of Crete and mother of Palamedes. Her name means Famous Might, which is an interesting name for a Oceanid. She's interesting.
 

Clytie

Also known as Clytia, this Oceanid was the beloved of Apollo. Well, she was until he got tired of her. Then he dropped her and broke her heart. She was changed into a sunflower with her face to the sun. There is a longer (and better, if I do say so myself) story about her coming in the Myth section. So stay tuned.
 

Daphne

Daphne was the unfortunate Naiad pursued by Apollo. Apollo wouldn't leave her alone, despite her obvious aversion to him. She ran to her father, a river god, and begged for help. Her father did the only thing he could do and transformed her. Just as Apollo would have caught her Daphne grew bark and transformed into a laurel tree. But the God still wouldn't let her be and plucked some of her branches and made them into a wreath, saying she would be his sacred tree. Poor kid.
 

Echo

Echo is probably the most famous of all the nymphs. Her name and her voice live on to this day. She was the nymph who had a fling with Zeus and lost her voice when she tried to protect her lover from Hera's vengeance. Then she fell in love with Narcissus. If you are interested in the story, check out the long (and good) version in the Myth Pages.

 

Galatea

Galatea was a Nereid loved by the Cyclop Polyphemus (you know, the stupid one from the Odyssey). This could be bad enough on its own, but matters were complicated because she loved a human named Acis. Acis was murdered by Polyphemus and then one of three things happened. Either she threw herself into the ocean and drowned (odd, being a Nereid), wept so much she was turned into a always-flowing fountain, or accepted Polyphemus and had a child named Galates by him.
 

Lethe

Lethe was another Naiad, but her river was in the Underworld. The Lethe was the river of Forgetfulness and Oblivion. Lethe was a daughter of Eris.
 

Maia

Maia, who was sort of a Goddess, has more written about her in the Minor Goddesses section. But, to make a long story short, she slept with Zeus and bore the Messenger God Hermes. She was also one of the Pleiades.
 

Nephele

Nephele was a nymph who was the first wife of Athamas, King of Orchomenus. He dropped her for this human chica, Ino. She was very bitter and complained to Hera, after which this whole drama ensued. She was the mother of Phrixes and Helle, who she had to protect from Ino, their stepmother.
 

Oenone

Called Oenone in Latin, this Naiad was the daughter of the rivergod Kebren. She was a Phrigian nymph who lived during the Trojan War. Now, there are two stories. She was abducted by Paris (yes, you DEFINTELY should know who Paris is) and became his first wife. Later, when he died, she hung herself. Apollodorus, however, says she married Alexandros and bore his son, Corythus. She had learned to prophesy from Rhea, and tried to convince her husband that he would be mortally wounded in Troy, but only she would be able to heal him. He ignored her, and was indeed mortally wounded. Oinone was pissed, and had no interest in helping him. Upon her summoning she refused to heal him, but later changed her mind and hurried to Troy. By the time she got there it was too late and so she threw herself on his funeral pyre. Either way, she kills herself.
 

Orphne

Orphne was a nymph who lived in the Underworld. But though she chilled with Persephone, her hubby (Acheron, the ferry-man of the Dead) worked above ground (sort of).
 

Pallas

Pallas, according to Apollodorus, was the childhood playmate of Athena. She was a Naiad, the daughter of the rivergod Triton, and both she and Athena were raised to love to fight. One time when they were dueling, Zeus mischievously held up the aegis. Pallas looked away for only a moment, but that was enough, and she fell and died. Athena was distraught, and made a wooden statue of her friend placing the aegis on its breast.
 

Rhodus

Rhodus was a nymph who was a daughter of Poseidon. I believe she was also called Rhode. She was the mother of the Heliadae with Helios. The island she lived on was named after her: Rhodes. Eventually the island became the home of the Pillars of Heracles and a certain very cool person named Ramsi.
 

Rhodope

Rhodope was a nymph from Thrace whose intelligence-impaired-if-enthusiastic husband compared himself and Rhodope to Zeus and Hera. I think this stupidity must have been based from the fact that he was the son of the King of Thrace (the husband's name was Haemus). Anyway, the gods were not having that, so they changed the couple into a mountain range with the same names. Rhodope into the mountain range now called Despoto, and her husband into the Balkan mountain range.

 

Styx

Styx was a Naiad. Her name meant literally Hateful. This may have been because her river was the one that all of the dead must pass. Her river was the most holy and sacred, and to swear on it was the most holy oath a God could make. There is more to say about her, but you will have to wait for more of the Myth Pages to come out. The painting on the right is called Crossing the Styx.
 

 

Syrinx

Syrinx is the nymph who was pursued by Pan who, to escape him, begged the gods to save her. They took pity and turned her into reeds. Pan, following Apollo's lead, cut some of the reeds in different sizes and made a set of pipes, called the pan pipes from then on.
 

Thetis

Thetis was the chief Nereid for a long time, and it was she who found the baby Hephaestos and nursed him back to health after he was thrown from Olympus (if you don't get it, check out the Myth Pages). Zeus wanted her for his lover, but she rejected him (good for her!). Then, the Goddess Themis prophesied that she would bear a son mightier than his father. Hearing that, Zeus stopped being horny and started being scared, and immediately decreed that she could only marry a mortal. She did, and ended up becoming wife to Peleus, and mother of Achilles. As his mother, she tried to make him invincible. There are two versions of what she did, and why she missed his heel.