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Sources for the dryads in Chronicles of Narnia + expanding the details a bit.
 
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{{Other uses}}
{{Other uses}}
[[File:Dryad11.jpg|thumb|''The Dryad'' by [[Evelyn De Morgan]]]]
[[File:Dryad11.jpg|thumb|''The Dryad'' by [[Evelyn De Morgan]]]]
A '''dryad''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|d|r|aɪ|.|æ|d}}; {{lang-el|Δρυάδες}}, ''sing''.: {{lang|el|Δρυάς}}) is a [[Tree (mythology)|tree]] [[nymph]] or tree spirit in [[Greek mythology]]. ''Drys'' (δρῦς) signifies "[[oak]]" in Greek. Dryads were originally considered the [[nymph]]s of oak trees specifically, but the term has evolved towards tree nymphs in general,<ref name=Graves862>Graves, ch. 86.2; p. 289</ref> or human-tree hybrids in [[fantasy]]. Often their life force was connected to the tree in which they resided and they were usually found in sacred groves of the gods.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Nymphs {{!}} Theoi Greek Mythology |url=https://www.theoi.com/greek-mythology/nymphs.html |access-date=2022-06-13 |website=www.theoi.com}}</ref> They were considered to be very shy creatures except around the goddess [[Artemis]], who was known to be a friend to most nymphs.
A '''dryad''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|d|r|aɪ|.|æ|d}}; {{langx|el|Δρυάδες}}, <small>[[grammatical number|sing.]]</small> {{lang|el|Δρυάς}}) is an oak [[Tree (mythology)|tree]] [[nymph]] or oak tree spirit in [[Greek mythology]]; ''Drys'' (δρῦς) means "tree", and more specifically "[[oak]]" in Greek.<ref>{{cite dictionary
| title = δρῦς, ‘’n’’. | dictionary = A Greek-English Lexicon | editor1-last = Liddell | editor1-first = Henry |editor2-last=Scott |editor2-first=Robert |publisher=Clarendon Press | date = 1940 |url=http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3Ddru%3Ds}}</ref> Today the term is ofter used to refer tree nymphs in general.<ref>Łaszkiewicz (2017) p. 131.</ref>


== Types ==
== Types ==
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===Epimelides===
===Epimelides===
{{main|Epimeliad}}
{{main|Epimeliad}}
The Maliades, Meliades or Epimelides were nymphs of apple and other fruit trees and the protectors of sheep. The Greek word ''melas'', from which their name derives, means both apple and sheep. [[Hesperides]], the guardians of the golden apples were regarded as this type of dryad.
The Maliades, Meliades or Epimelides were nymphs of apple and other fruit trees and the protectors of sheep. The Greek word ''melas'', from which their name derives, means both apple and sheep. The [[Hesperides]], the guardians of the golden apples, were regarded as this type of dryad.{{cn|date=November 2024}}


===Hamadryad===
===Hamadryad===
{{main|Hamadryad}}
{{main|Hamadryad}}
Dryads, like all [[nymph]]s, were supernaturally long-lived and tied to their homes, but some were a step beyond most nymphs. These were the [[hamadryad]]s who were an integral part of their trees, such that if the tree died, the hamadryad associated with it also died. For these reasons, dryads and the [[Greek god]]s punished any mortal who harmed trees without first [[wiktionary:propitiate|propitiating]] the tree-nymphs. (associated with Oak trees)
Dryads, like all [[nymph]]s, were supernaturally long-lived and, like many, were tied to their homes, but some were a step beyond most nymphs. These were the [[hamadryad]]s, who were an integral part of their trees, such that if the tree died, the hamadryad associated with it also died. For these reasons, dryads and the [[Greek god]]s punished any mortal who harmed trees without first [[wiktionary:propitiate|propitiating]] the tree-nymphs. (associated with Oak trees)


===Meliae===
===Meliae===
{{main|Meliae}}
{{main|Meliae}}
The dryads of the [[ash tree]] were called the [[Meliae]].<ref name=Graves862/> The Meliae sisters tended the infant [[Zeus]] in [[Rhea (mythology)|Rhea]]'s [[Crete|Cretan]] cave. Gaea gave birth to the Meliae after being made fertile by the blood of castrated [[Uranus (mythology)|Uranus]]. The [[Caryatid]]s were associated with walnut trees.<ref name=Graves862/>
The dryads of the [[ash tree]] were called the [[Meliae]].<ref>Larson (2001) p.11.</ref> The Meliae sisters tended the infant [[Zeus]] in [[Rhea (mythology)|Rhea]]'s [[Crete|Cretan]] cave. In [[Hesiod]]'s ''[[Theogony]]'', [[Gaia]] gave birth to the Meliae after being made fertile by the blood of the castrated [[Uranus (mythology)|Uranus]].<ref>Hesiod, ''Theogony'' 183–87.</ref>


==Names==
==Names==
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*[[Atlanteia]] and [[Phoebe (Greek myth)|Phoebe]], two of the many wives or concubines of [[Danaus]]<ref>[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], 2.1.5</ref>
*[[Atlanteia]] and [[Phoebe (Greek myth)|Phoebe]], two of the many wives or concubines of [[Danaus]]<ref>[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], 2.1.5</ref>
*[[Chrysopeleia]]<ref>[[Tzetzes]] on [[Lycophron]], 480</ref>
*[[Chrysopeleia]]<ref>[[Tzetzes]] on [[Lycophron]], 480</ref>
*[[Dryope (daughter of Dryops)|Dryope]]<ref>[[Ovid]], ''Metamorphoses'' 9.330 ff; [[Antoninus Liberalis]], 32</ref>
*[[Dryope (daughter of Dryops)|Dryope]]<ref>[[Ovid]], ''Metamorphoses'' 9.330 ff; [[Antoninus Liberalis]], [https://topostext.org/work/216#32 32]</ref>
*[[Erato (dryad)|Erato]]<ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], 8.4.2</ref>
*[[Erato (dryad)|Erato]]<ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], 8.4.2</ref>
*[[Eurydice]]
*[[Eurydice]]
*[[Phigalia (mythology)|Phigalia]]<ref>Pausanias, 8.39.2</ref>
*[[Tithorea (mythology)|Tithorea]]<ref>Pausanias, 10.32.9</ref>
*[[Tithorea (mythology)|Tithorea]]<ref>Pausanias, 10.32.9</ref>


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* [[John Keats|Keats]] addresses the nightingale as "light-winged Dryad of the trees", in his "[[Ode to a Nightingale]]" .
* [[John Keats|Keats]] addresses the nightingale as "light-winged Dryad of the trees", in his "[[Ode to a Nightingale]]" .
* In the [[poetry]] of [[Donald Davidson (poet)|Donald Davidson]] they illustrate the [[Theme (literature)|theme]]s of [[tradition]] and the importance of the past to the present.<ref>{{Cite journal|jstor=20077624|title=Dryads and Flappers|author=Martha E. Cook|volume=12|year=1979|pages=18–26|journal=The Southern Literary Journal|issue=1|publisher=University of North Carolina Press}}</ref>
* In the [[poetry]] of [[Donald Davidson (poet)|Donald Davidson]] they illustrate the [[Theme (literature)|theme]]s of [[tradition]] and the importance of the past to the present.<ref>{{Cite journal|jstor=20077624|title=Dryads and Flappers|author=Martha E. Cook|volume=12|year=1979|pages=18–26|journal=The Southern Literary Journal|issue=1|publisher=University of North Carolina Press}}</ref>
*In [[The Chronicles of Narnia]] by [[C. S. Lewis]], dryads appear as inhabitants of [[Narnia (world)|Narnia]], as do many creatures from Greek mythology.<ref>Niedbala (2006) p.87</ref> In [[Prince Caspian]] the activity of the [[Telmarines]] in felling trees and defiling streams forces the dryads and naiads – denizens of 'Old Narnia' – into a deep sleep, from which they awaken when [[Bacchus]] and [[Silenus]] are summoned by [[Aslan]] to aid in the fight against King [[Miraz]]'s army.<ref>Sellars (2008) pp.37–38.</ref>
* In [[Lev Grossman]]'s ''The Magicians Trilogy'', the character Julia becomes a dryad after having had her shade removed during her rape at the hands of [[Reynard the Fox]]. Her transformation accelerates when she visits Fillory in the company of the novel's other principals, and is complete when she and Quentin Coldwater visit Fillory's underworld.<ref>Lev Grossman, ''The Magician King''. New York: Viking, 2011. pp.343-357. {{ISBN|978067002231-1}}</ref>
* The fantasy novels of [[Thomas Burnett Swann]] frequently feature dryads, along with other mythological creatures, usually endangered by the advent of more "advanced" civilisations. Swann's story "''The Dryad-tree''" is set in contemporary [[Florida]] and features a woman's reaction to the knowledge that her new husband's garden contains a tree possessed by a jealous dryad. The story was adapted as a short film in 2017.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4082936/|title=The Dryad Tree (2017) - IMDb|publisher=IMDb|accessdate=25 August 2018}}</ref>


==See also==
==See also==
*[[Oread|Oreads]], a related mountain nymph
*[[Ghillie Dhu]], a similar Scottish spirit
*[[Ghillie Dhu]], a similar Scottish spirit
*[[Kodama (spirit)|Kodama]], a similar Japanese spirit
*[[Kodama (spirit)|Kodama]], a similar Japanese spirit
*[[Nat (spirit)|Green spirit]], a similar spirit found in Myanmar and other Buddhist countries
*[[Nat (spirit)|Green spirit]], a similar spirit found in Myanmar and other Buddhist countries
*[[Elf]], a similar mythical creature associated with nature
*[[Elf]], a similar mythical creature associated with nature
*[[Plant soul]], the soul of a plant in religious traditions
*[[Querquetulanae]], Roman nymphs of the oak
*[[Querquetulanae]], Roman nymphs of the oak
*[[Rådande]], a similar Swedish spirit
*[[Rådande]], a similar Swedish spirit
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'''Bibliography'''
'''Bibliography'''
{{refbegin}}
{{refbegin}}
⚫
* [[Walter Burkert|Burkert, Walter]], 1985. ''Greek Religion'' (Cambridge: Harvard University Press).
*{{cite book |last=Graves |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Graves |title=Greek Myths |year=1955 |publisher=Penguin |location=London |isbn=0-14-001026-2 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/greekmythsvolume00robe }}
* {{cite book| editor-last=Evelyn-White |editor-first=Hugh |title= Hesiod. The Homeric Hymns and Homerica |publisher=Harvard University Press |year=1914}}
⚫
*[[Walter Burkert|Burkert, Walter]], 1985. ''Greek Religion'' (Cambridge: Harvard University Press).
* {{cite book |last1=Larson |first1=Jennifer Lynn |title=Greek nymphs: myth, cult, lore |date=2001 |publisher=Oxford university press |isbn=0-19-514465-1}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Łaszkiewicz |first1=Weronika |title=Into the Wild Woods: On the Significance of Trees and Forests in Fantasy Fiction |journal=Mythlore |date=2017 |volume=36 |issue=1 (131) |pages=39–58 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/26809256 |issn=0146-9339}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Niedbala |first1=Amanda M. |title=From Hades to Heaven: Greek Mythological Influences in C. S. Lewis's "The Silver Chair" |journal=Mythlore |date=2006 |volume=24 |issue=3/4 (93/94) |pages=71–93 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/26814545 |issn=0146-9339}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Sellars |first1=Jeff |title=Toward a Narnian Valuation of Nature: Participatory Ontology |journal=Sehnsucht: The C.S. Lewis Journal |date=2008 |volume=2 |issue=1 |pages=29–46 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/48579533 |issn=1940-5537}}
{{refend}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
==External links==
{{Commons category|Dryads}}
{{Commons category|Dryads}}
* [http://www.maicar.com/GML/NYMPHS.html Greek Mythology Link: Nymphs.]
* [http://www.andersen.sdu.dk/vaerk/hersholt/TheDryad_e.html Hans Christian Andersen, "The Dryad", 1868] (e-text)
* [http://www.andersen.sdu.dk/vaerk/hersholt/TheDryad_e.html Hans Christian Andersen, "The Dryad", 1868] (e-text)
* Andersen, H. C.; Craigie (transl.) "[[s:Fairy Tales and Other Stories (Andersen, Craigie)/The Dryad|The Dryad]]" ''Fairy tales and other stories'' London; Toronto: Oxford University Press. 1914
* Andersen, H. C.; Craigie (transl.) "[[s:Fairy Tales and Other Stories (Andersen, Craigie)/The Dryad|The Dryad]]" ''Fairy tales and other stories'' London; Toronto: Oxford University Press. 1914
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20061124001516/http://www.mytholog.com/fiction/hoke_dryad.html Tim Hoke, "The Dryad", 2002] (e-text; strong language)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20061124001516/http://www.mytholog.com/fiction/hoke_dryad.html Tim Hoke, "The Dryad", 2002] (e-text; strong language)



{{Greek mythology (deities)}}
{{Greek mythology (deities)}}

Latest revision as of 16:27, 22 November 2024

For other uses, see Dryad (disambiguation).
The Dryad by Evelyn De Morgan

A dryad (/ˈdraɪ.æd/; Greek: Δρυάδες, sing. Δρυάς) is an oak tree nymph or oak tree spirit in Greek mythology; Drys (δρῦς) means "tree", and more specifically "oak" in Greek.[1] Today the term is ofter used to refer tree nymphs in general.[2]

Types

[edit]
Greek deities
series
Nymphs

Daphnaie

[edit]
Main article: Daphnaie

These were nymphs of the laurel trees.

Epimelides

[edit]
Main article: Epimeliad

The Maliades, Meliades or Epimelides were nymphs of apple and other fruit trees and the protectors of sheep. The Greek word melas, from which their name derives, means both apple and sheep. The Hesperides, the guardians of the golden apples, were regarded as this type of dryad.[citation needed]

Hamadryad

[edit]
Main article: Hamadryad

Dryads, like all nymphs, were supernaturally long-lived and, like many, were tied to their homes, but some were a step beyond most nymphs. These were the hamadryads, who were an integral part of their trees, such that if the tree died, the hamadryad associated with it also died. For these reasons, dryads and the Greek gods punished any mortal who harmed trees without first propitiating the tree-nymphs. (associated with Oak trees)

Meliae

[edit]
Main article: Meliae

The dryads of the ash tree were called the Meliae.[3] The Meliae sisters tended the infant Zeus in Rhea's Cretan cave. In Hesiod's Theogony, Gaia gave birth to the Meliae after being made fertile by the blood of the castrated Uranus.[4]

Names

[edit]

Some of the individual dryads or hamadryads are:

[edit]
La dernière dryade (The Last Dryad) by Gabriel Guay, 1898.

See also

[edit]
  • Ghillie Dhu, a similar Scottish spirit
  • Kodama, a similar Japanese spirit
  • Green spirit, a similar spirit found in Myanmar and other Buddhist countries
  • Elf, a similar mythical creature associated with nature
  • Plant soul, the soul of a plant in religious traditions
  • Querquetulanae, Roman nymphs of the oak
  • Rådande, a similar Swedish spirit
  • Salabhanjika, a similar Indian spirit
  • Mavka, a similar Ukrainian spirit

References

[edit]

Citations

  1. ^ Liddell, Henry; Scott, Robert, eds. (1940). "δρῦς, n.". A Greek-English Lexicon. Clarendon Press.
  2. ^ Łaszkiewicz (2017) p. 131.
  3. ^ Larson (2001) p.11.
  4. ^ Hesiod, Theogony 183–87.
  5. ^ Apollodorus, 2.1.5
  6. ^ Tzetzes on Lycophron, 480
  7. ^ Ovid, Metamorphoses 9.330 ff; Antoninus Liberalis, 32
  8. ^ Pausanias, 8.4.2
  9. ^ Pausanias, 8.39.2
  10. ^ Pausanias, 10.32.9
  11. ^ Martha E. Cook (1979). "Dryads and Flappers". The Southern Literary Journal. 12 (1). University of North Carolina Press: 18–26. JSTOR 20077624.
  12. ^ Niedbala (2006) p.87
  13. ^ Sellars (2008) pp.37–38.

Bibliography

[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dryads.


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