Nymphs are a fairy folk described in ancient Greek myths. Nereids, naiads, oceanids - they were all associated with one of the natural elements. The nymph dryad, which will be discussed later, was considered the guardian of the forest.
Who are dryads?
Dryads are elusive and enchanting tree spirits shrouded in mystery and sung in legends. Young enchantresses, shy and peaceful creatures, they were somewhere between a man and a god. Dryads never grew old, but they were not immortal, they lived inexpressibly long, but eventually died.
They spent their lives under the green vaults of forests, hiding from human eyes. Only modest and shy maidens were happy with the company of the huntress Artemis, and even the eternally drunk goat-legged satyrs, with whom they danced and sang all night long.
Like other fabulous creatures, dryads were endowed with magic. They were skilled healers and witches, but they could also send damage and madness to people. They patronized people who cared for trees, as well as bees, who served them as messengers.
Who could understand the language of flowers if not a dryad? The plant happily shared its thoughts, thoughts, news with the nymph. Cute shy beauties knew everything about their forest and its inhabitants, because they were its integral part, its soul, its brainchild.
Hamadryads
Among the mythical inhabitants of the protected forests were nymphs, inextricably linked with their tree - these are hamadryads. They were his continuation, his defenders and his hostages. If an ancient oak tree was cut down or struck by lightning, the eternally young maiden died with it.
According to ancient legends, when a woodcutter's ax pierced the wood, blood began to ooze from the trunk, and painful and drawn-out groans were heard in the foliage. Woe to the one who does not hear this plea for mercy and destroys the keeper of the tree: his entire family will suffer the curse of the dryad, and the just gods will punish the culprit.
The Greeks have a myth about the impious king of Thessaly - Erysichthon. He insulted Demeter by cutting down the age-old grove planted in her honor. He did not spare the hundred-year-old oak, in which the beautiful dryad lived, it was the favorite of the goddess. For such insolence, the angry Demeter severely punished Erysichthon, she sent him an insatiable hunger: the more he ate, the stronger the torment became. He sold everything he had, hoping to get enough, even his own daughter, but this did not help either. The death of the king was terrible - he ate his own flesh and died in unbearable agony.
Orpheus and Eurydice
The most famous dryad is undoubtedly Eurydice. Like manyother forest nymphs, she connected her fate with an ordinary mortal - a musician named Orpheus. But their happiness was short-lived: running away in the forest from an annoying suitor, Eurydice stepped on a poisonous snake. The bite turned out to be fatal, because the dryad is the only nymph who does not have the gift of immortality. So the girl ended up in the kingdom of Hades.
Orpheus, distraught with grief, decided to return his beloved at all costs and went down the dark river to the abode of night and eternal sleep. The lord of the dead took pity on the unfortunate and gave away his lovely wife, but severely ordered not to look at her until they reached the kingdom of the living.
For a long time they walked among the gloomy and cold dungeons of Hades, until they saw the light. Orpheus doubted whether his dear dryad was keeping up with him, this became fatal for him. He turned around, saw Eurydice, but after a moment she melted like a shadow.
No matter how much he called, no matter how much Orpheus prayed, the gods remained impregnable. The hearts of the lovers were united only after many years, when he himself was gone.
Dryad flower
A plant of the pink family is also called dryad. Thickets of this evergreen shrub can be found in the northern arctic and subarctic latitudes and among high-mountain alpine meadows.
Its simple large flowers of white or pale yellow color stand out against the background of lush vegetation or rocky slopes. Small leathery leaves covering the creeping stems give the plant a decorative effect. The dryad is often used inthe design of rocky slides in landscape design.
