Greek NAIADS in Mythology

A naiads were always woman and always associated with water. Higher being than a human, but not immortal like a god. They were respected in mythology.
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Hylas and the Nymphs
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A Naiad, Waterhouse
Na'iads In Greek mythology, the Na'iads were nymphs of fountains and brooks.
Syrix "There was a certain nymph, whose name
was Syrinx, who was much beloved by the
satyrs and spirits of the wood; but she
would have none of them, but was a
faithful worshipper of Diana, and
followed the hunt.

You would have thought it was Diana
herself, had you seen her in her hunting
dress, only that her bow was of horn and
Diana's of silver.

One day, as she was returning from the
hunt, Pan met her She ran away, without
stopping to hear his compliments, and he
pursued till she came to the bank of the
river, where be overtook her, and she
had only time to call for help from her
friends the water nymphs, who hid her.

Pan threw his arms around what he
supposed to be the nymph and found he
embraced a tuft of reeds! As he breathed
a sigh, the air sounded through the
reeds, and produced a melody.

The god, charmed with the music, said,
'Thus, then, at least, you shall be
mine.' And he took some of the reeds,
and putting them together of unequal
lengths, side by side, made an
instrument which he called Syrinx,
in honor of the nymph."

Naiades (Naiads) - Nymphs of Fresh Water

Naiades (Naiads) (Nayads) were nymphs of fresh water
Three classes of water nymphs:

  1. Nereides (nymphs of the Mediterranean Sea)
  2. Oceanides (nymphs of the oceans).
  3. Naiades presided over rivers, streams, brooks, springs, fountains, lakes, ponds, wells, and marshes.
  4. Naiads; the issue at hand had specalities in mythology.
    • Crinaeae (fountains)
    • Pegaeae (springs)
    • Eleionomae (marshes)
    • Potameides (rivers)
    • Limnades or Limnatides (lakes).

The Naiad was intimately connected to her body of water and her
very existence seems to have depended on it. If a stream dried
up, its Naiad expired. The waters over which Naiades presided
were thought to be endowed with inspirational, medicinal, or
prophetic powers. Thus the Naiades were frequently worshipped
by the ancient Greeks in association with divinities of healing,
fertility and growth.

Naiades were either daughters of Zeus, daughters of various river
gods, or part of the family of the Titan Oceanus.

Like all the nymphs, the Naiades were in many ways female sex
symbols of the ancient world and played the part of both the
seduced and the seducer. Zeus in particular seems to have
enjoyed the favors of countless Naiades and the other gods do
not seem to have lagged far behind. The tale of the Naiad,
Arethusa, and her pursuit by the river god, Alpheus, is a
classic example of a lustful deity infatuated by a Naiad. The
Naiades fell in love with and actively pursued mortals as well.
Classical literature abounds with the stories of their love
affairs with gods and men and with the tales of their resulting
children.

Stories of the Naiades could take the form of cautionary tales
with unhappy endings. The Naiad, Nomia, fell in love with a
handsome shepherd named Daphnis and could not do enough for him.
He repaid her love with unfaithfulness and she repaid his
inconstancy by blinding him. The Naiades of a spring in
Bithynia (Mysia) took a liking to Hylas (companion of Heracles)
and lured him into their waters. The cautionary element is
uncertain here. The fate of Hylas could have been either an
abrupt death by drowning or everlasting sexual bliss.

Other stories of the Naiades were explanations of the origins of
immortals and mortals. The sun god, Helios, mated with Aegle
(renowned as the most beautiful of the Naiades) to produce the
Charites. Melite, a Naiad of the Aegaeus River in Corcyra, had
a liaison with Heracles and became the mother of Hyllus.
Naiades were the lovers of Endymion, Erichthonius, Magnes,
Lelex, Oebalus, Otrynteus, Icarius, Enops, and Thyestes and were
therefore co-founders of important families.

Greek cities, islands, and mountains were called after the names
of Naiades. The town of Lilaea, in Phocis, was named for Lilaea,
the Naiad of the Cephissus River. After Zeus carried off the
Naiad, Aegina (daughter of the river god, Asopus), to the island
of Oenome, the island was reamed Aegina. Arcadians claim that
the Nomian mountains are named after the afore-mentioned Naiad,
Nomia. There is a reference in Homer's Odyssey to a cave, rather
than a body of water, that is sacred to the Naiades. It might
be assumed, therefore, that this cave in Ithaca may have
contained a spring or have been the source of a stream or brook.
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