A naiad, a spring nymph, holds a washbowl in his hands. This exhibit is a Roman bronze copy, made in 250 AD, based on a Greek original from the 3rd century BC, exhibited in the National Museum in Naples.
Nymphs, Greek nymph, "bride", "young woman", in the ancient legend lowly natural deities, often daughters of Zeus, were beautiful young girls, busy in nature with dance, singing and playing. Sometimes as companions of gods who worked in nature (Apollon, Artemis, Dionysos), or in community with Satyrn.
They gave blessings and fertility, but could also become dangerous to humans, as the stories of Hylas and Daphnis prove. The nymphs were classified according to the natural areas in which they worked. The naiads belonged to springs, ponds and lakes, they lived in the water itself or in neighbouring caves. The Nereids lived in the sea. The Oreaden were in the mountains and forests. The dryads lived in trees. While the other nymphs were considered long-lived, but not immortal, it was believed that dryads ended with the life of their tree. This was especially true of the Hamadryads, who died "at the same time" (Greek hama) as the tree. The transition between the nymph groups is fluid. Often a certain nymph was assigned to a certain water body or place.
Many local legends are connected with the nymphs, who were worshipped in ancient, popular, rural cults (on altars and in caves). They received bloodless sacrifices and consecration gifts from the rural population.
