Naiad

Naiad
A Naiad by John William Waterhouse, 1893; a water nymph approaches the sleeping Hylas.
GroupingNymphs
Sub groupingWater spirit
Elemental
Similar entitiesMermaid
Huldra
Selkie
Siren
HabitatAny body of fresh water

In Greek mythology, the naiads (/ˈnædz, ˈnædz, -ədz/; Greek: ναϊάδες, translit. naïádes), sometimes also hydriads,[1] are a type of female spirit, or nymph, presiding over fountains, wells, springs, streams, brooks and other bodies of fresh water.

They are distinct from river gods, who embodied rivers, and the very ancient spirits that inhabited the still waters of marshes, ponds and lagoon-lakes such as pre-Mycenaean Lerna in the Argolis.

  1. ^ Postgate, J. P. "On the Alleged Confusion of Nymph-Names. Appendix". The American Journal of Philology. 18 (1): 74–75. doi:10.2307/287931. ISSN 0002-9475.

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