Dryads
Dryads were nymphs bound to individual trees — when the tree died, so did its dryad.
The Myth of Dryads
Dryads, the tree nymphs, inhabited every oak and forest from Arcadia to the slopes of Olympus. Their lives were bound to their trees — when the tree died, the dryad perished. Apollo pursued Daphne, a dryad, until she begged Gaia for rescue and was transformed into a laurel, which Apollo adopted as his sacred tree at Delphi. Eurydice, wife of Orpheus, was a dryad who died from a serpent's bite, prompting Orpheus's descent to Hades. Those who felled sacred trees risked divine punishment — Erysichthon cut Demeter's grove and was cursed with insatiable hunger. The dryads embodied the Greek conviction that nature was alive with presence.
Parents
Born from trees
Children
Varied
Symbols
Fun Fact
The scientific term "dendrite" comes from the same root — dendron/drys, "tree."
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth. See our full guide to English words from Greek mythology.
Explore Further
Lotis
🌿 nymphtrees, escape
A nymph who fled the god Priapus and was transformed into the lotus tree to escape his assault.
Leuce
🌿 nymphthe underworld, trees
A sea nymph abducted by Hades and transformed into a white poplar tree in the Underworld after her death.
Minthe
🌿 nymphthe underworld, plants
A Naiad nymph of the Underworld river Cocytus who was trampled into the mint plant by a jealous Persephone.
Pitys
🌿 nymphtrees, wind
A nymph pursued by Pan who was transformed into a pine tree — the reason pine trees moan in the wind.
Oreads
🌿 nymphmountains, wilderness
Mountain nymphs classified among the broader family of nature spirits, dwelling on peaks and in highland caves as attendants of Artemis.
Eurydice
🌿 nymphWife of Orpheus, lost to the underworld
Eurydice was the nymph whose death drove Orpheus to descend to the underworld — only to lose her at the last moment when he looked back.
Naiads
🌿 nymphFreshwater nymphs
Naiads presided over every spring, stream, river, lake, and fountain — their water held prophetic and healing powers.
Meliboea
🌿 nymphnature, grief
A nymph (or mortal woman) who survived the massacre of Niobe's children and was preserved by her extreme pallor of terror.
Limnades
🌿 nymphlakes, marshes
Lake nymphs who inhabited freshwater lakes, marshes, and pools, considered dangerous to mortals who swam in their waters.
Oreads
🐉 creaturemountains, wilderness
Mountain nymphs who inhabited peaks and highland forests, serving as companions of Artemis in her hunts across the wild uplands.
Meliae
🌿 nymphash trees, war, birth of humanity
The ash-tree nymphs born from the blood of Ouranos when Kronos castrated him — among the oldest beings in Greek mythology.
Lampad
🐉 creaturenymphs
Torch-bearing underworld nymphs who accompanied Hecate and could induce madness in mortals