Nereids in the ancient sources

Ancient Sources / Figures / Nereids

22 passages from 10 ancient authors that tell of Nereids, in the original with English translation, author by author in the order the Greeks read them. The Nereids were sea nymphs in Greek mythology, fifty in total, daughters of Nereus and Doris. They helped sailors on their voyages when they faced fi... For the story in one place, read our article on Nereids.

Homer (2)

Homer, Iliad 18.1–64Antilochus brings the news to AchillesAntilochus runs weeping to Achilles with the news that Patroclus is dead and that the fight is over his body, since Hector has the armour. A black cloud of grief covers Achilles, who pours dust over his head and lies stretched out in the dust tearing his hair, while the women of the household shriek. Antilochus holds his hands lest he cut his own throat, and Achilles' groan reaches his mother in the sea.
Homer, Iliad 18.65–147Thetis and the Nereids come to AchillesThetis rises from the sea with the Nereids and goes to her son, who tells her that Hector has taken the armour that the gods gave to Peleus and that he has no wish to live unless Hector falls. She warns him that his own death will follow Hector's, and Achilles says that he would die at once, since he failed to protect his friend. Thetis tells him not to go into battle until she returns with new armour from Hephaestus.

Apollodorus (1)

Apollodorus, The Library (Bibliotheca), with the Epitome 1.2.1–7Zeus and the Titanomachy; the children of the TitansZeus takes Metis as his ally, and she gives Cronus a drug that makes him disgorge the stone and his swallowed children. In the ten-year war the gods win once Zeus frees the prisoners in Tartarus and the Cyclopes give him thunder and lightning, Pluto a helmet and Poseidon a trident; the Titans are shut in Tartarus and the three brothers draw lots for sky, sea and the underworld. The rest of the section lists the offspring of the Titans, of Styx, and of Sea and Earth, ending with the Nereids.

Pindar (2)

Pindar, Nemean Odes 4.1–96Nemean 4: for Timasarchus — Peleus and ThetisPindar says that good cheer and song heal the toil of contests and praises Timasarchus of Aegina, boys' wrestling victor. He recalls Teucer, who rules in Cyprus, Ajax at Salamis, and Peleus, who wedded Thetis, one of the Nereids, and saw the gods promise sovereignty to his line. He promises to raise a monument of song for the victor's uncle Callicles.
Pindar, Nemean Odes 5.1–54Nemean 5: for Pytheas — Peleus and the wife of AcastusPindar sends his song out from Aegina to announce the pancratium victory of Pytheas, and says that reverence restrains him from telling how Peleus and Telamon left the island. He tells instead how Peleus resisted the false advances of the wife of Acastus, and how the Muses sang at his wedding to Thetis. He ends by praising Pytheas and his trainer Menander and by bringing garlands to the portals of Aeacus.

Euripides (1)

Euripides, Electra 432–486First choral song: the ships to Troy and the death of AgamemnonThe Chorus sings of the famous ships that went to Troy with their countless oars, of the dolphins that leaped by their prows, and of Achilles' gift of the shield and arms made by Hephaestus. They tell of the death of Agamemnon, and of the cunning of Clytemnestra, and pray that the day may come when she will pay with her own blood.

Apollonius Rhodius (2)

Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica 4.885–981The Sirens, the Wandering Rocks and ScyllaAt dawn the Argonauts leave Aeaea; Orpheus drowns out the Sirens' song with his lyre, though Butes dives in and is saved by Cypris. The Nereids pass Argo through the Wandering Rocks, with Hera and Hephaestus watching, and the heroes sail on past Thrinacia and the cattle of Helios.
Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica 4.783–884Hera and ThetisHera asks Thetis to guide Argo through the Wandering Rocks and past Scylla and Charybdis. Thetis agrees, gathers the Nereids, and secretly tells her husband Peleus to have the heroes sail at dawn.

Pausanias (1)

Pausanias, Description of Greece 2.1.1–9Isthmus of Corinth: early Corinth, the robbers of Theseus and the temple of PoseidonPausanias opens the Corinthian book with the origins of Corinth, the Roman destruction by Mummius and the later refoundation. He notes Cromyon and the sow Phaea, the pine-tree and altar of Melicertes, and the robber Sinis killed by Theseus, and discusses attempts to cut through the Isthmus. He then describes the sanctuary of Poseidon, its theatre and stadium, the statue groups given by Herodes and the Nereids.

Quintus Smyrnaeus (3)

Quintus Smyrnaeus, The Fall of Troy (Posthomerica) 3.582–664Thetis and the Muses mourn AchillesThe sound of the wailing reaches the Nereids in the deep, who rise from the sea. Zeus gives the Argives courage to look at the goddesses, who mourn round Achilles with the Muses. Thetis cries out her grief, and Calliope urges her to stop lamenting.
Quintus Smyrnaeus, The Fall of Troy (Posthomerica) 5.333–455The madness of AiasThetis and the Nereids plunge back into the sea, where Cymothoe curses Prometheus. Aias, furious at the verdict, will not eat or sleep and arms himself in the night, and Athena strikes him with madness to spare Odysseus. Menelaus fears for the army, but Aias slaughters the flocks in the plain, thinking them Argives, and taunts a slain ram as if it were Odysseus.
Quintus Smyrnaeus, The Fall of Troy (Posthomerica) 3.665–787The pyre of AchillesAt dawn the Argives raise a great pyre, and Achilles is burned with the horses and men slain round it. His companions gather his bones into a silver casket, which the Nereids anoint and lay in a golden vase given by Thetis, and the Argives heap a barrow by the Hellespont. His immortal horses mourn him, and Poseidon rises from the sea to console Thetis.

Nonnus of Panopolis (8)

Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca 43.143–224Book 43: Poseidon's threats; the Tritons and Pan fight on the wavesPoseidon mocks Dionysos as a god who fled from Lycurgos and threatens to drown the Bacchants. He calls up his Tritons and yokes his sea-horses. Triton sounds the charge, Glaucos drives a team over the surface, and Pan skips on the water chasing the echo of his own pipes.
Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca 43.225–306Book 43: Proteus, Nereus and the Rivers join the frayProteus, ringed by the Indian soldiers, changes into a panther, a tree, a serpent, a lion, a boar and water to slip their grasp. Nereus leads his daughters into the fight, sea creatures and the Nereids join, and the seas and straits roll against one another. The Rivers come to the aid of Dionysos while Melicertes thrusts at him with his trident.
Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca 21.90–177Book 21: Earthquake and madness in Arabia; Lycurgos is blindedPoseidon shakes Arabia with his trident, and Megaira drives the Nysian women to kill their children. Lycurgos, still bound, defies the gods and demands fire to burn the vines, until Hera cuts him free and Zeus makes him a blind wanderer, though the Arabs later worship him as a god. Under the sea the Nereids, Ino and Melicertes entertain Dionysos.
Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca 34.0–88Book 34: Morrheus confesses his love to HyssacosMorrheus, sleepless with love for Chalcomede, wanders by the river and debates what to do, until his guard Hyssacos asks what troubles him. Morrheus admits that he loves her and fears that Aphrodite and Dionysos are fighting together against him.
Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca 43.307–449Book 43: Zeus ends the battle; Poseidon weds Beroe; Eros consoles DionysosBassarids, Satyrs and Seilenoi fight the sea-gods, and Psamathe prays to Zeus to save the Nereids from Dionysos. Zeus grants Beroe to Poseidon and halts Dionysos with thunder. The sea-gods celebrate the wedding with rich gifts, and Poseidon gives her city victory at sea. Eros consoles Dionysos by promising him another bride, Aura of Phrygia, and Dionysos returns to Lydia, Rheia and then Europe.
Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca 48.182–327Book 48: Dionysos kills Sithon and weds Pallene; the huntress AuraDionysos kills Sithon with his thyrsus and gives the weapon to Pallene as a love-gift. The Nereids and the sea-gods sing at the wedding, and Dionysos consoles the bride. The poet then introduces Aura, daughter of the Titan Lelantos, a manlike huntress who knows nothing of love, and who drives Artemis's car to the river Sangarios on a hot noon.
Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca 39.212–294Book 39: The fight at sea; the gods look onAres, Rout and Terror join the sea fight, which fills the water with blood and corpses. The Nereids watch, Galatea fears for Polyphemos, and Poseidon complains to Dionysos that his son the Cyclops is not in the battle.
Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca 42.438–542Book 42: Poseidon woos Beroe; Aphrodite sets the contest and the oathsPoseidon, in turn, comes up from the sea, gazes at Beroe, and offers her the sea, the rivers and the Nereids as her kingdom and servants, but she will not listen. Both suitors bring gifts to her parents in vain, and Aphrodite, fearing them both, decrees that they must fight for the bride and swear an oath to spare her city. As the gods gather on Lebanon, an omen of a pigeon seized by an osprey makes Dionysos despair of victory.

Bacchylides (1)

Bacchylides, Dithyrambs 17.1–132Dithyramb 17: Theseus and MinosA ship bears Theseus and fourteen Athenian youths and maidens to Crete, where Minos lays a hand on a maiden and Theseus rebukes him. Minos asks Zeus for a sign and challenges Theseus to bring back his gold ring from the sea. Theseus dives, is carried by dolphins to the hall of his father Poseidon and robed by Amphitrite, and comes back unwetted to the ship while the Athenians sing a paean.

Orpheus (attributed) (1)

Orpheus (attributed), Orphic Hymns 22–26Hymns 22-26: the Sea (Tethys), Nereus, the Nereids, Proteus, the EarthThese hymns descend into the sea. Tethys is called on as the sea-goddess with sea-blue eyes, Nereus as the keeper of the roots of Ocean, the Nereids as the nymphs who sport in the waves, and Proteus as the god who holds the keys of the deep. The group closes with the Earth, honoured as the source of gods and men and endowed with fertile force.