Eunice
nymphA Nereid whose name means "good victory," one of the fifty sea-nymph daughters of Nereus and Doris.
The Myth
Eunice — "she of good victory" — was one of the fifty Nereids, the sea nymphs who attended Poseidon and could calm or trouble the waters at will. Hesiod names her in his catalogue of Nereids in the Theogony, and she appears in other lists compiled by Apollodorus and Hyginus, though she never stars in her own myth. She belongs to that large company of named but undramatised figures who populated the Greek sea.
The Nereids as a group were more important than any individual member. Sailors prayed to them collectively before voyages. Their sanctuaries dotted the coastline of the Greek world. They were imagined riding dolphins and sea horses through the waves, their hair streaming with salt water, often carrying gifts to mortal sailors who showed proper reverence.
Eunice's name — eu (good) plus nike (victory) — was a blessing in itself. Greek parents sometimes named daughters Eunice hoping the name would bring fortune. The name has survived unbroken to the present day, borne by women across the Western world who may not know they carry a Nereid's identity.
Parents
Nereus and Doris
Symbols
Fun Fact
The name Eunice — meaning 'good victory' — has passed directly from this obscure Nereid into modern use across Europe and the Americas without ever falling out of fashion.
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth:
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