Nereids in the context of "Changelings"

In Greek mythology, Achilles (/əˈkɪliːz/ ə-KIL-eez) or Achilleus (Ancient Greek: Ἀχιλλεύς, romanized: Achilleús) was a hero of the Trojan War who was known as being the greatest of all the Greek warriors. The central character in Homer's Iliad, he was the son of the Nereid Thetis and Peleus, king of Phthia and famous Argonaut. Achilles was raised in Phthia along with his childhood companion Patroclus and received his education by the centaur Chiron. In the Iliad, he is presented as the commander of the mythical tribe of the Myrmidons.

Achilles's most notable feat during the Trojan War was the slaying of the Trojan prince Hector outside the gates of Troy. Although the death of Achilles is not presented in the Iliad, other sources concur that he was killed near the end of the Trojan War by Paris, who shot him with an arrow. Later legends (beginning with Statius's unfinished epic Achilleid, written in the first century CE) state that Achilles was invulnerable in all of his body except for one heel. According to that myth, when his mother Thetis dipped him in the river Styx as an infant, she held him by one of his heels, leaving it untouched by the waters and thus his only vulnerable body part.

Thetis (/ˈθiːtɪs/ THEEH-tiss, or /ˈθɛtɪs/ THEH-tiss; Ancient Greek: Θέτις, romanized: Thétis pronounced [tʰétis]) is a figure from Greek mythology with varying mythological roles. She mainly appears as a sea nymph, a goddess of water, and one of the 50 Nereids, daughters of the ancient sea god Nereus.

When described as a Nereid in Classical myths, Thetis was the daughter of Nereus and Doris, and a granddaughter of Tethys with whom she sometimes shares characteristics. Often she seems to lead the Nereids as they attend to her tasks. Sometimes she also is identified with Metis.

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).

In Greek mythology, Nerites (Ancient Greek: Νηρίτης, romanized: Nērítēs, lit. 'sea snail') is a minor sea deity, the son of "Old Man of the Sea" Nereus and the Oceanid nymph Doris, and brother of the fifty Nereids (apparently their only male sibling). He was described as a young boy of stunning beauty. According to Aelian, although Nerites was never mentioned by epic poets such as Homer and Hesiod he was a common figure in the mariners' folklore nevertheless.

In Greek mythology, Andromeda (/ænˈdrɒmɪdə/; Ancient Greek: Ἀνδρομέδα, romanized: Androméda or Ἀνδρομέδη, Andromédē) is the daughter of Cepheus, the king of Aethiopia, and his wife, Cassiopeia. When Cassiopeia boasts that she (or Andromeda) is more beautiful than the Nereids, Poseidon sends the sea monster Cetus to ravage the coast of Aethiopia as divine punishment. Queen Cassiopeia understands that chaining Andromeda to a rock as a human sacrifice is what will appease Poseidon. Perseus finds her as he is coming back from his quest to decapitate Medusa, and brings her back to Greece to marry her and let her reign as his queen. With the head of Medusa, Perseus petrifies Cetus to stop it from terrorizing the coast any longer.

As a subject, Andromeda has been popular in art since classical antiquity; rescued by a Greek hero, Andromeda's narration is considered the forerunner to the "princess and dragon" motif. From the Renaissance, interest revived in the original story, typically as derived from Ovid's Metamorphoses. The story has appeared many times in such diverse media as plays, poetry, novels, operas, classical and popular music, film, and paintings. A significant part of the northern sky contains several constellations named after the story's figures; in particular, the constellation Andromeda is named after her.

In Greek mythology, Glauce (/ˈɡlɔːsiː/; Ancient Greek: Γλαύκη Glaukê means 'blue-gray' or 'gleaming'), Latin Glauca, refers to different people:

• Glauce, an Arcadian nymph, one of the nurses of Zeus. She and the other nurses were represented on the altar of Athena Alea at Tegea.
• Glauce, twin sister of Pluto who died as an infant according to Euhemerus.
• Glauce, one of the Melian nymphs.
• Glauce, one of the 50 Nereids, marine-nymph daughters of the 'Old Man of the Sea' Nereus and the Oceanid Doris. She personifies the color of the sea which can be attributed to her name that signifies "sea-green" or "bright green". Glauce and her other sisters appear to Thetis when she cries out in sympathy for the grief of Achilles at the slaying of his friend Patroclus.
• Glauce, mother, by Upis, of "the third" Artemis in Cicero's rationalized genealogy of the Greek gods.
• Glauce, a Libyan princess as one of the Danaïdes, daughters of King Danaus. Her mother was either Atlanteia or Phoebe, both were hamadryads. Glauce married and murdered her cousin Alces, son of King Aegyptus of Egypt by an Arabian woman.
• Glauce, a Corinthian princess as the daughter of King Creon. Also known by the name Creusa, predominantly in Latin authors, e.g. Seneca and Propertius. Hyginus uses both names interchangeably. In Cherubini's opera Medea she is known as Dircé. She married Jason. Creusa was killed, along with her father, by Medea, who either sent her a peplos steeped in flammable poison or set fire to the royal palace. In the local Corinthian tradition, Glauce threw herself into a well in a vain attempt to wash off Medea's poison; from this circumstance the well became known as the Well of Glauce.
• Glauce, an Amazon. Some say that it was she, and not Antiope, who was abducted by Theseus and became his wife.
• Glauce, a Salaminian princess as the daughter of King Cychreus, son of Poseidon and Salamis. Some sources say that Glauce married Actaeus and bore him a son Telamon. Others say that Telamon was her husband and that, after her death, he married Periboea, mother of Ajax.
• Glauce, a princess of Colonae as daughter of King Cycnus, sister of Cobis and Corianus. During the Trojan campaign, she was taken captive by the Greeks and was given to Ajax, by whom she became mother of Aeantides.