Nature spirits
who lived in the sea, rivers and forests. They were beautiful girls and were
of different sorts: Nereids
(water), Oceanids (oceans), Naiads (sea), Oreads (mountains), Hamadryads (forests)
and Dryads (trees).
Even though the nymphs were full of beauty and grace, they could also be very
dangerous, inflicting madness and death. There are many stories about young
men being taken by the nymphs.