NAIAD (freshwater nymph)

The group served as attendants within the palace of Circe, where they ministered to all things for her and carried away all the defilements from the palace.⁶ When Odysseus arrived in his own land, he prayed to the Naiads, promising to bring them offerings if granted life.² The Naiads were also the sisters of the youth who died and turned into a flower.⁷ After his death, the Naiads mourned their brother, cut off their hair and placed it on his body, and helped prepare the funeral pile, torches, and bier for the youth.⁷ The group changed Syrinx into reeds at her request.³

Among their most famous members was Kreüsa, who was identified as a daughter of Earth, though the broader group claimed Zeus as their parent.^8,2 Kreüsa gave birth to Hypseus within the mountain dells of Pindos after sleeping with the river god Peneus.⁸ Erichthonius married a Naiad nymph named Praxithea, and they had a son named Pandion.⁹ Periboea was the partner of Icarius and the mother of five sons and one daughter, including Thoas and Penelope.¹⁰ Batia, identified as a Naiad nymph, was the mother of Icarius, who was begotten by Oebalus and the Naiad nymph Batia.¹¹

A Naiad nymph was the mother of Aetolus, though some sources name Iphianassa instead.¹² Another Naiad was the mother of Polydectes and Dictys.¹³ The Naiad Caliadne was the mother of twelve sons of Egyptus, while the Naiad Polyxo was the mother of twelve daughters of Danaus.¹⁴ An unnamed Naiad was the mother of Aglaus, Callileon, and Orchomenus.¹⁵ A Naiad nymph was the wife of Magnes.¹³ The nymph Abarbarea bore twin sons to the man Bucolion, and a naiad nymph gave birth to Iphition, the son of Otrynteus.^16,17 A naiad gave birth to Satnius while Enops was tending cattle near the river Satnioeis.¹⁸

One Naiad used magic and powerful herbs to turn young men into silent fish.¹⁹ She prepared her appearance and garments before approaching the youth, placing her hands on his neck and suggesting he might be a god or Eros.²⁰ She proposed marriage to the youth if he was not already wed, seeking kisses from him and comparing them to sibling affection.²⁰ After speaking her proposal, she remained silent, and then seized a resisting youth, entwining her body around him like a serpent or ivy to force herself upon him.^20,21 The Naiad prayed to the gods to keep the youth from ever leaving her, and the gods granted her prayer, merging her body with the youth's into a single, ambiguous human form.²¹ Eventually, the Naiad suffered the same transformation into a fish herself.¹⁹ In another instance, a Naiad appeared before a speaker who was resting her weary limbs and advised her to flee to the Acarnanian shore, instructing her to jump from high Leucadia without fear.⁵