| Dryad | |
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Real Name |
Dryad |
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First Appearance |
Greek Myth |
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Created by |
Greek Myth |
Origin[]
A dryad is a tree nymph or tree spirit in Greek mythology. Drys signifies "oak" in Greek. Dryads were originally considered the nymphs of oak trees specifically, but the term has evolved towards tree nymphs in general. Often their life force was connected to the tree in which they resided and they were usually found in sacred groves of the gods. They were considered to be very shy creatures except around the goddess Artemis, who was known to be a friend to most nymphs.
Some notable dryads or hamadryads named in mythology are Atlanteia, Phoebe, Dryope, Erato, Eurydice, and Tithorea.
Types of dryads associated with particular species of trees included:
- Daphnaie - The nymphs of the laurel trees.
- Epimelides - 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.
- Hamadrya - dryads, like all nymphs, were supernaturally long-lived and 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.
- Meliae - The dryads of the ash tree were called the Meliae. The Meliae sisters tended the infant Zeus in Rhea's Cretan cave. Gaea gave birth to the Meliae after being made fertile by the blood of castrated Uranus. The Caryatids were associated with walnut trees.
Public Domain Appearances[]
Literary appearances[]
All published appearances of dryads from before January 1, 1929 are in the public domain in the US.
Some notable appearances include:
- The Iliad
- Theogony
- Homeric Hymn 5 to Aphrodite
- Thesmophoriazusae
- Argonautica
- Metamorphoses
- Aeneid
- Thebaid
- Dionysiaca
- Ode to a Nightingale
Movie appearances[]
- The Wood Nymph (1916)
Notes[]
- The Yokai called Kodama are spirits in Japanese folklore that inhabit trees similar to Dryads from Greek Myth.