Dryad is a beautiful nymph and mountain flower

Nymphs - a fairy folk, described in ancient Greek myths. Nereids, naiads, oceanids - all of them were associated with one of the natural elements. The nymph of the Dryad, which will be discussed further, was considered the guardian of the forest.

Who are Dryads?

Dryads - elusive and charming spirits of trees, covered with mystery and sung in legends. Young charmers, shy and peace-loving creatures, they were someone middle between man and God. Dryads never grew old, but they were not immortal, they lived for a long time, but eventually died.

They spent their lives under the green vaults of forests, hiding from human eyes. Only the society of the hunter Artemis was welcomed by modest and bashful virgins, and always drunk with goat-nosed satyrs, with whom they danced and sang all night long.

Like other fabulous creatures, dryads were endowed with magic. They were skilful healers and guides, but they could also spoil people and insanity. They patronized people who care for trees, as well as bees, who served them as messengers.

Who could understand the language of flowers, if not the dryad? The plant gladly shared with the nymph its thoughts, thoughts, news. Lovely shy beauties knew everything about their forest and its inhabitants, as they were its integral part, its soul, its brainchild.

Hamadriads

Among the mythical inhabitants of the reserved forests were nymphs, inextricably linked with their tree, - these are hamadriads. They were his continuation, his protectors and his own hostages. If the age-old oak was chopped down, or lightning struck, the young maiden perished with him.

According to ancient legends, when the woodcutter's ax pierced the wood, blood began to ooze from the trunk, and painful and prolonged moans were heard in the foliage. Woe to those who do not hear this prayer for mercy and destroy the keeper of the tree: all his family will suffer the curse of the Dryad, and the culprit will be punished by just gods.

The Greeks have a myth about the unholy king of Thessaly - Erichihton. He insulted Demeter by cutting down an 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 goddess's favorite. For such insolence, the enraged Demeter brutally punished Erisichton, she sent him an insatiable hunger: the more he ate, the stronger became the agony. He sold everything he had, hoping to get enough, even his own daughter, but that 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 many other forest nymphs, she linked her fate to a common mortal - a musician named Orpheus. But their happiness was short-lived: escaping in the forest from the annoying boyfriend, Eurydice stepped on a poisonous snake. The bite was disastrous, because the dryad is the only nymph that does not have the gift of immortality. So the girl was in the kingdom of Hades.

Orpheus, distraught with grief, decided at all costs to return the beloved and descended the dark river to the monastery of night and eternal sleep. The lord of the dead took pity on the unfortunate man and gave his adorable wife, but severely punished him not to look at her until they reached the realm of the living.

Long they walked among the gloomy and cold dungeons of Hades, until they saw the light. Orpheus doubted whether his dear dryad followed him, it was fatal for him. He turned around, saw Eurydice, but after a moment she melted like a shadow.

No matter how many he called, no matter how much Orpheus prayed, the gods remained unapproachable. The hearts of lovers joined only after many years, when he himself did not become.

Dryad flower

The plant of the rose family is also called Dryad. The thickets of this evergreen shrub can be found in the northern Arctic and subarctic latitudes and among the high-mountain alpine meadows.

Its simple large flowers of white or gentle yellow color stand out against the background of succulent vegetation or stony slopes. Small leathery leaves covering creeping stems, give the plant decorativeness. Dryadu is often used in the design of rocky hills in landscape design.