Dryads
nymphΔρυάδες
Tree nymphs
Dryads were nymphs bound to individual trees — when the tree died, so did its dryad.
The Myth
Hamadryads were born with their tree. Cutting one down was murder. When Erysichthon cut Demeter's sacred oak, she cursed him with insatiable hunger. Eurydice, wife of Orpheus, was a dryad. Their name comes from drys, "oak."
Parents
Born from trees
Children
Varied
Symbols
oak treeforestgreenbark
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: