In Greek mythology, the Meliae (also called Meliads) (/ˈmiːli.iː/; Ancient Greek: Μελίαι, romanized: Melíai or Μελιάδες, Meliádes) were usually considered to be the nymphs of the ash tree, whose name they shared.
In Greek mythology, the Meliae (also called Meliads) (/ˈmiːli.iː/; Ancient Greek: Μελίαι, romanized: Melíai or Μελιάδες, Meliádes) were usually considered to be the nymphs of the ash tree, whose name they shared.
A nymph (Ancient Greek: νύμφη, romanized: nýmphē; Attic Greek: [nýmpʰɛː]; sometimes spelled nymphe) is a minor female nature deity in ancient Greek folklore. Distinct from other Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature; they are typically tied to a specific place, landform, or tree, and are usually depicted as maidens. Because of their association with springs, they were often seen as having healing properties; other divine powers of the nymphs included divination and shapeshifting. In spite of their divine nature, they were not immortal.
Nymphs are divided into various broad subgroups based on their habitat, such as the Meliae (ash tree nymphs), the Dryads (oak tree nymphs), the Alseids (grove nymphs), the Naiads (spring nymphs), the Nereids (sea nymphs), the Oceanids (ocean nymphs), and the Oreads (mountain nymphs). Other nymphs included the Hesperides (evening nymphs), the Hyades (rain nymphs), and the Pleiades (companions of Artemis).
The Erinyes (/ɪˈrɪni.iːz/ ih-RI-nee-eez; Ancient Greek: Ἐρινύες, sg. Ἐρινύς Erinys), also known as the Eumenides (Εὐμενίδες, the "Gracious ones"), are chthonic goddesses of vengeance in ancient Greek religion and mythology. A formulaic oath in the Iliad invokes them as "the Erinyes, that under earth take vengeance on men, whosoever hath sworn a false oath". Walter Burkert suggests that they are "an embodiment of the act of self-cursing contained in the oath". Their Roman counterparts are the Furies, also known as the Dirae. The Roman writer Maurus Servius Honoratus (c. 400 AD) wrote that they are called "Eumenides" in hell, "Furiae" on Earth, and "Dirae" in heaven. Erinyes are akin to some other Greek deities, called Poenai.
According to Hesiod's Theogony, when the Titan Cronus castrated his father, Uranus, and threw his genitalia into the sea, the Erinyes (along with the Giants and the Meliae) emerged from the drops of blood which fell on the Earth (Gaia), while Aphrodite was born from the crests of sea foam. Apollodorus also reports this lineage. According to variant accounts, they are the daughters of Nyx ('Night'), while in Virgil's Aeneid, they are daughters of Pluto and Nox (the Roman name for Nyx). In some accounts, they were the daughters of Eurynome (a name for Earth) and Cronus, or of Earth and Phorcys (i.e., the sea). In Orphic literature, they are the daughters of Hades and Persephone.
In Greek mythology, Glauce (/ˈɡlɔːsiː/; Ancient Greek: Γλαύκη Glaukê means 'blue-gray' or 'gleaming'), Latin Glauca, refers to different people:
In Greek mythology, Melia or Melie (Ancient Greek Μελία, Μελίη) was the name of several figures. The name Melia comes from μελία, the ancient Greek word for ash-tree. In the plural, the Meliae were a class of nymphs associated with trees, particularly ash-trees. There were several other nymphs (or possible nymphs) named Melia, not necessarily associated with trees, these include:
Two other personages named Melia, are known from scholia citing the fifth-century BC mythographer Pherecydes:
In Greek mythology, Melia or Melie (Ancient Greek: Μελίη) was a Bithynian nymph, who was, by Poseidon, the mother of Amycus and Mygdon, both kings of the Bebryces. The name Melia perhaps derived from a misreading of a line of Apollonius of Rhodes containing Βιθυνὶς Μελίη, which instead of being read as Melia from Bithynia, might instead be read as Bithynis the Melia, i.e. Bithynis the ash tree nymph.