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A nymph (; ; sometimes spelled nymphe) is a minor female in ancient Greek folklore. Distinct from other , nymphs are generally regarded as of nature; they are typically tied to a specific place, landform, or tree, and are usually depicted as . Because of their association with springs, they were often seen as having healing properties; other divine powers of the nymphs included and . In spite of their divine nature, they were not . Brill's New Pauly, s.v. Nymphs.

Nymphs are divided into various broad subgroups based on their habitat, such as the ( nymphs), the ( nymphs), the (grove nymphs), the (spring nymphs), the (sea nymphs), the (ocean nymphs), and the (mountain nymphs). Other nymphs included the (evening nymphs), the Hyades (rain nymphs), and the Pleiades (companions of ).

Nymphs featured in classic works of art, literature, and . They are often attendants of goddesses and frequently occur in myths with a love motif, being the lovers of heroes and other deities. Desirable and promiscuous, nymphs can rarely be fully domesticated, being often aggressive to their mortal affairs. Since the , nymphs have been sometimes popularly associated or even confused with .

Etymology
The word nýmphē has the primary meaning of "young woman; bride, young wife" but is not usually associated with deities in particular. Yet the etymology of the noun nýmphē remains uncertain. The and () form is nýmphā (νύμφα).

Modern usage more often applies to young women, contrasting with parthenos (παρθένος) "a virgin (of any age)", and generically as kore (κόρη < κόρϝα) "maiden, girl". The term is sometimes used by women to address each other and remains the regular term for "".

Ancient Greek mythology
Nymphs were sometimes beloved by many and dwelt in specific areas related to the natural environment: e.g. mountainous regions; forests; springs. Other nymphs were part of the of a god (such as , , or Pan) or of a goddess (generally the huntress ).

The Greek nymphs were also spirits invariably bound to places, not unlike the Latin , and sometimes this produced complicated myths like the cult of Arethusa to Sicily. In some of the works of the Greek-educated , the nymphs gradually absorbed into their ranks the indigenous Italian divinities of springs and streams (, Egeria, , ) while the (originally Lumpae), Italian water goddesses, owing to the accidental similarity of their names, could be identified with the Greek Nymphae. The classical mythologies of the Roman poets were unlikely to have affected the rites and cults of individual nymphs venerated by country people in the springs and clefts of . Among the literate class, their sphere of influence was restricted and they appear almost exclusively as divinities of the watery element.

Greek folk religion
The ancient Greek belief in nymphs survived in many parts of the country into the early years of the twentieth century when they were usually known as "". Nymphs often tended to frequent areas distant from humans but could be encountered by lone travelers outside the village, where their music might be heard, and the traveler could spy on their dancing or bathing in a stream or pool, either during the noon heat or in the middle of the night. They might appear in a whirlwind. Such encounters could be dangerous, bringing dumbness, besotted infatuation, madness or stroke to the unfortunate man. When parents believed their child to be nereid-struck, they would pray to the Saint Artemidos (), an example of "practical polytheism in the worship of the saints.""Heathen Artemis yielded her functions to her own genitive case transformed into Saint Artemidos", as Terrot Reaveley Glover phrased it in discussing the "practical polytheism in the worship of the saints", in Progress in Religion to the Christian Era 1922:107.
(2025). 9789608808706, Anagnosis.

Nymphs and fairies
Nymphs are often depicted in classic works across art, literature, mythology, and fiction. They are often associated with the romances or Renaissance literature of the elusive or .
(1976). 039473467X, Pantheon Books. . 039473467X

Sleeping nymph
A motif that entered European art during the was the idea of a statue of a nymph sleeping in a or spring.
(2025). 9780300117530, Yale University Press. .
(2025). 9781588394873, Metropolitan Museum of Art. .
This motif supposedly came from an Italian report of a Roman sculpture of a nymph at a fountain above the .
(1991). 9780300051674, Yale University Press. .
The report, and an accompanying poem supposedly on the fountain describing the sleeping nymph, are now generally concluded to be a fifteenth-century , but the motif proved influential among artists and landscape gardeners for several centuries after, with copies seen at gardens such as the grotto at .
(1999). 9780300089110, Yale University Press. .
(1994). 9780884022169, Dumbarton Oaks. .
(1992). 9780801427022, Cornell University Press. .

List
All the names for various classes of nymphs have plural feminine adjectives, most agreeing with the substantive numbers and groups of nymphai. There is no single adopted classification that could be seen as canonical and exhaustive.
(2025). 9780525470410, E. P. Dutton. .
Some classes of nymphs tend to overlap, which complicates the task of precise classification. e.g. and as nymphs of trees generally, as nymphs of . According to classicist Robin Hard, these terms "were hardly proper names at all, but feminine adjectives that could be assigned to the noun at will", adding that "no orthodox or exhaustive classification of such beings was ever attempted, and ancient authors were often careless or arbitrary in the application of such titles".Hard, p. 210.

By dwelling or affinity
The following is not the authentic Greek classification, but is intended as a guide:
+ !Type / Group / Individuals !Location !Relations and Notes
Celestial nymphs
Aurae (breezes) also called Aetae or Pnoae, daughters of BoreasQuintus Smyrnaeus, 1.683 ff.
(evening)Far Westnymphs of the sunset, the West, and the evening; daughters of Atlas; also had attributes of the , 4.26.2
• Aegle
• Arethusa
• Erytheia (or Eratheis)mother of by , Geryoneis Frag S8
Hyades (star cluster; sent rain)Boeotia (probably)daughters of Atlas by either Pleione or AethraHyginus, 192
Pleiadesdaughters of Atlas and Pleione;Apollodorus, 3.10.1 constellation; also were classed as
• Mt. Cyllene, Arcadiapartner of and mother of Hermes, 938
• ElectraMt. Saon, Samothracemother of Dardanus and by ZeusApollodorus, 3.12.1
• Taygetos Mts., Laconiamother of Lacedaemon by ZeusHyginus, 155
• AlcyoneMt. Cithaeron, Boeotiamother of and by Pausanias, 2.30.8
• Mt. Cithaeron, Boeotia or Euboeamother of Lycus and by PoseidonApollodorus, 3.10.1
• AsteropePisa, Elismother of Oenomaus by AresHyginus, 84
• MeropeCorinthwife of Sisyphus and mother of GlaucusHyginus, Astronomica 2.21
(clouds) daughters of , Clouds 264 and/or Tethys Orphic Hymn 22 or of AitherAristophanes, Clouds 563
Land nymphs
(groves) Homer, 20.4
(valleys, see also Napaeae) Montanari, s.v. αὐλωνιάς, p. 338; 51.7 (Ricciardelli, pp. 134, 135).
Leimonides (meadows)
(dells, see also Auloniades) Statius, Thebaid 9.385
(mountains, grottoes) , also Orodemniades
Wood and plant nymphs
Anthousai (flower nymphs) Philostratus the Elder, Imagines 2.11.
(trees)
or Hadryades
( tree)
or Epimelides ( tree; also protected flocks) other name variants include Meliades, Maliades and Hamameliades; same as these are also the Boucolai (Pastoral Nymphs)
Kissiae ()
(manna-) born from the drops of blood that fell on Gaia when castrated Uranus, 182–187
Hyleoroi (watchers of woods)
Water nymphs ( Hydriades or Ephydriades)
Haliae (sea and seashores)
Mediterranean Sea50 daughters of and DorisHesiod, Theogony 240–262
, Naides (fresh water)
(fountains)
3. , (lakes)
4. (springs)
5. (rivers)
daughters of Oceanus and Tethys,Hesiod, Theogony 365–366 any freshwater, typically clouds and rain. see List of Oceanids
Underworld nymphs
• Hadesis a representation of the darkness of the river , the river of hatred, but is not to be confused with the goddess Styx herself nor with , goddess of night, despite being associated with both. She is the of , (the god of the river in Hades), and the mother of , (the of Hades).Ovid, Metamorphoses 5.539 ff
• Leuce (white poplar tree)daughter of Oceanus and lover of Servius, Commentary on 7.61
• nymph, daughter of and "Zeus disguised as Pluto". Orphic Hymn 71 Her name is a possible epithet of .
• ()Cocytus Riverprobably a daughter of , lover of and rival of , Halieutica 3.485 ffStrabo, 8.3.14
Other nymphs
torch bearers in the retinue of Scholia minora on 's , 6.21 = = fr. 63 PMG (Page, p. 53)].
Hecaterides (rustic dance) daughters of by a daughter of Phoroneus; sisters of the Dactyls and mothers of the Oreads and the Strabo, 10.3.19
Kabeirides daughters of Cadmilus and sisters of the Acusilaus Frag as cited in Strabo, 10.3.21 or of and Strabo, 10.3.21 citing Pherecydes
or Bacchai or Bacchantes frenzied nymphs in the retinue of
Lenai (wine-press)
Limnakides translated by Vian as "marsh nymphs" ( Nymphes des Marais); older editions render their name as Limnaioi or LeimakidesVian, commentary on line 646, p. 120; Orphic Argonautica 646 (Vian, p. 120).
Mimallones (music)
Thyiai or Thyiades ( bearers)
Melissae (honey) likely a subgroup of Oreades or Epimelides

By location
The following is a list of individual nymphs or groups thereof associated with this or that particular location. Nymphs in such groups could belong to any of the classes mentioned above (Naiades, Oreades, and so on).
+ !Groups and Individuals !Location !Relations and Notes
Aeaean Nymphs Islandhandmaidens of
AegaeidesAegaeus River on the island of
Aesepides River in
•
Acheloides in
• Callirhoe, second wife of Alcmaeon
AcmenesStadium in Olympia,
River on the island of entered the retinue of
Anigros River in believed to cure skin diseases
River in and
• AeginaIsland of mother of Menoetius by Actor, and by Zeus
•
• Chalcis, regarded as the mother of the Curetes and ; perhaps the same as Combe and Euboea
• Cleone, Argosone of the daughters of
• CombeIsland of Euboeaconsort of and mother by him of the seven Corybantes
• CorcyraIsland of mother of by Poseidon
• EuboeaIsland of Euboeaabducted by Poseidon; perhaps the same as Chalcis and Combe above
• Pisa, Elismother of by
• IsmeneIsmenian spring of Thebes, Boeotiawife of Argus, eponymous king of Argus and thus, mother of and Iasus.
• Nemea, others called her the daughter of Zeus and
• or Plataia, Boeotiacarried off by Zeus
• Ornia, Sicyon
• Peireneothers called her father to be or by Poseidon she became the mother of and Cenchrias
• SalamisIsland of mother of Cychreus by Poseidon
• SinopeSinope, mother of by
• Tanagra, Boeotiamother of Leucippus and Ephippus by Poemander
• ThebeThebes, Boeotiawife of Zethus and also said to have consorted with Zeus
• Thespeia, Boeotiaabducted by Apollo
AstakidesLake Astacus, appeared in the myth of Nicaea
• NicaeaNicaea, Bithynia
AsterionidesAsterion River, Argosdaughters of the river god Asterion; nurses of the infant goddess
•
• Euboea
• Prosymna
Carian Naiades ()Caria
• Halicarnassus, Caria
Nymphs of Island of Ceos
(), , Phocisdaughters of the river god
• (or Cleodora), Phocismother of Parnassus by Poseidon
• Corycian cave, Delphi, Phocismother of by
• Daphnis, Phocis
• Dephi, Phocismother of by
CydnidesRiver in
Cyrenaean NymphsCity of Cyrene, Libya
Cypriae NymphsIsland of
Cyrtonian NymphsTown of Cyrtone, Κυρτωνιαι
Island of daughters of , god of the river Inopus
DodonidesOracle at
ErasinidesErasinos River, Argosdaughters of the river god ; attendants of the goddess .
• Anchiroe
• Byze
• Maera
• Melite
Nymphs of the river River Granicusdaughters of the river-god Granicus
• mother of Aesacus by Priam
• Pegasismother of Atymnios by Emathion
River Eridanosdaughters of who were changed into trees
Himeriai NaiadesLocal springs at the town of ,
Hydaspides, Indianurses of infant
Idaean NymphsMount Ida, Cretenurses of infant
• Ida
•
InachidesInachos River, Argosdaughters of the river god
• Iomother of by Zeus
•
• Philodicewife of Leucippus of by whom she became the mother of , Phoebe and possibly Arsinoe
•
• Hyperia
• Mycenewife of and by him probably the mother of ; eponym of
River in daughters of the river god Cytherus
•
•
• Pegaea
• Synallaxis
Ithacian NymphsLocal springs and caves on the island of Ithaca
LadonidesLadon River
Lamides or LamusidesLamos River in possible nurses of infant
LeibethridesMounts and Leibethrios in ; or Mount Leibethros in )
•
• Petra
Lelegeides,
Lycaean NymphsMount nurses of infant Zeus, perhaps a subgroup of the Oceanides
Melian NymphsIsland of transformed into frogs by Zeus; not to be confused with the Meliae (ash tree nymphs
MycalessidesMount in ,
Mysian NymphsSpring of Pegai near Lake Askanios in who abducted
•
• Malis
•
Naxian NymphsMount Drios on the island of Naxosnurses of infant Dionysus; were syncretized with the Hyades
•
• Coronis
• Philia
Neaerides Islanddaughters of and Neaera, watched over Helios' cattle
NymphaeidesNymphaeus River in
Mount Nysanurses of infant , identified with Hyades
Ogygian NymphsIsland of four handmaidens of Calypso
Ortygian NymphsLocal springs of Syracuse, named for the island of
OthreidesMount a local group of
Pactolides River
• wife of
PelionidesMount nurses of the
Phaethonides a synonym for the
Phaseides River
Rhyndacides in daughters of the river god
SithnidesFountain at the town of
SpercheidesRiver one of them, Diopatra, was loved by and the others were changed by him into trees
Sphragitides, or CithaeronidesMount
Tagids, Tajids, Thaejids or ThaegidsRiver Tagus in Portugal and Spain
ThessalidesPeneus River in
Mount prophets and nurses of
Trojan NymphsLocal springs of

Others
The following is a selection of names of the nymphs whose class was not specified in the source texts. For lists of Naiads, Oceanids, Dryades etc., see respective articles.
+Individual names of some of the nymphs !Names !Location !Relations and Notes
Indialoved by Dionysus, De fluviis 24
AoraCrete of the town Aoros in Stephanus of Byzantium, Ethnica s.v. Aōros
Areiadaughter of and mother of by ApolloApollodorus, 3.1.2
or DanaisElismother of Chrysippus by on , Orestes, 4; on , Olympian Ode 1.144, Parallela minora 33
Mysiaeponym of Abrettene, Stephanus of Byzantium, s.v. Abrettēnē
Brisa brought up the god DionysusSchol. ad Pers. Sat. i. 76.
Troymother of , Apollodorus, 3.12.3
or CarmentaArcadiaShe had a son with , called Evander. Her son was the founder of , one of the cities that was merged later into .
mother of Olympus by Zeus, Recognitions 10.21–23
Chania a lover of
Thebesmother of by EveresApollodorus, 3.6.7
Charidia mother of by Zeus
Chrysefell in love with , Philoctetes 1327
Phociseponym of in Pausanias, 10.37.5
Clymene mother of Tlesimenes by Hyginus, 71
Cretheis briefly mentioned in , s.v. Kretheus
CrimisaItalyeponym of in ItalyStephanus of Byzantium, s.v. Krimisa
Deiopea one of nymphs who was promised to Aeolus, 1.71-75
Dodoneeponym of DodonaStephanus of Byzantium, s.v. Dodone
Cosspelled "Ethemea" by Hyginus, consort of MeropsHyginus, Astronomica 2.16.2
Eidotheamother by Eusiros of Antoninus Liberalis, 22 vs Cerambus
EunoëPhrygiapossible mother of by DymasScholia on Homer's Iliad 16. 718 with Pherecydes as the authority
Boeotia (possibly)nurse of Eunostus, Quaestiones Graecae 40
Athensmother of by PoseidonApollodorus, 3.14.2
HarmoniaAkmonian Wood, near Themiscyramother of the by
consort of , 5.57.7
Hemera mother of Iasion by Zeus
HimaliaRhodesmother of Cronius, Spartaios, and Cytos by ZeusDiodorus Siculus, 5.55.5
Hyale belongs to the train of Artemis, 3.155
HyllisArgospossible eponym of the tribe Hylleis and the city HylleStephanus of Byzantium, s.v. Hylleis
Cretemother of CresStephanus of Byzantium, s.v. Krētē and Asterion by Zeus
IdaeaMt. Ida, Troadmother of by Apollodorus, 3.12.1
IthomeMesseniaone of the nurses of ZeusPausanias, 4.33.1
LaodiceArgolis (possibly)mother of Apis by
LeucophryneMagnesia (possibly)priestess of Artemis Leucophryne
Lotis pursued by Priapus and was changed into a tree that bears her name, Fasti 1.416 & 1.423; , 9.347
Ma nymph in the suite of Rhea who nursed Zeus
Attica (possibly)married , son of Pausanias, 9.1.1
Cretenurse of Zeus, Divine Institutes 1.22.3
Thraceconsort of SithonConon, Narrations 10
daughter of Orion and mother of by Hyginus, 14
MethonePieriamother of by King Pierus of Emathia Of the Origin of Homer and Hesiod and their Contest, Fragment 1. Translated by Evelyn-White.
MyrmexAtticabeloved companion of whom she turned into an antWilliam Smith. A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology s.v. Myrmex
Phrygiaeponym of Nacoleia in PhrygiaSuida, s.v. Nakoleia
NeaeraThrinaciamother of Lampetia and Phaethusa by Helios, 12.133 ff
Neaera mother of Aegle by Zeus
NeaeraLydiamother of by Quintus Smyrnaeus, 1.290–291
NympheSamothracemother of Saon by ZeusDionysius of Halicarnassus, Antiquitates Romanae 1.61.3
Oeneis mother of Pan by HermesScholiast ad , 1.3
OinoieSicinusmother of Sicinus by ThoasApollonius Rhodius, 1.620 ff with scholia on 1.623
OlbiaBithyniamother of Astacus by PoseidonStephanus of Byzantium, s.v. Astakos
Paphia possibly the mother of by EurymedonScholia on , Pythian Ode 2.28
Parosmother of four sons by Apollodorus, 3.1.2
one of the DanaïdesAntoninus Liberalis, 32
Pyronia mother of Iasion by Minos
Icariachanged into a plant by DionysusPtolemy Hephaestion, New History 5 in , Myrobiblion 190
RheneMt. Cyllene, Arcadiaconsorted with , 2.728
SemestraThracenurse of
Argolis (possibly)a consort of PhoroneusApollodorus, 2.1.1
ThaliaSicilymother of the by Zeus, Saturnalia 5.19.15
ThisbeBoeotiaeponym of the town of ThisbePausanias, 9.32.3
TithoreaMt. Parnassus, Phociseponym of the town of Tithorea (previously called Neon)Pausanias, 10.32.9

In non-Greek tales influenced by Greek mythology

== Gallery ==

and from a mosaic in (3rd century)]]
, Naples National Archaeological Museum]]
- , (between 1626 and 1628)]]
(1885)]]
by Luis Ricardo Falero (1892)]]
by Adolf Hirémy-Hirschl (1898)]]
, on German porcelain plate (late 19th century)]]
(mountain nymph) watches Narcissus in this 1903 painting of Echo and Narcissus'' by John William Waterhouse]]

See also

Notes
  • (1985). 9780674362819, Harvard University Press.
  • Brill's New Pauly: Encyclopaedia of the Ancient World. Antiquity, Volume 9, Mini – Obe, edited by Hubert Cancik and Helmuth Schneider, Brill, 2006. .
  • Campbell, David A., Greek Lyric, Volume II: Anacreon, Anacreontea, Choral Lyric from Olympus to Alcman, Loeb Classical Library No. 143, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press, 1988. . Online version at Harvard University Press. Internet Archive.
  • (1996). 9780631201021, Wiley-Blackwell.
  • Hard, Robin, The Routledge Handbook of Greek Mythology: Based on H.J. Rose's "Handbook of Greek Mythology", London and New York, Routledge, 2004. . .
  • (2025). 9780195144659, Oxford University Press.
  • Montanari, Franco, The Brill Dictionary of Ancient Greek, edited by Madeleine Goh and Chad Schroeder, Leiden, Brill, 2015. .
  • , Poetae Melici Graeci, Oxford University Press, 1962. .
  • Philostratus the Elder, Imagines, in Philostratus the Elder, Imagines. Philostratus the Younger, Imagines. Callistratus, Descriptions, translated by , Loeb Classical Library No. 256, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press, 1931. . Harvard University Press.
  • Ricciardelli, Gabriella, Inni Orfici, Fondazione Lorenzo Valla, 2000. .
  • (2025). 9789608808706, Anagnosis.
  • Vian, Francis, Les Argonautiques orphiques, Collection Budé, Paris, Les Belles Lettres, 2003. .

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