Ancient_History_Investigation._How_Has_the_Nymph_Permeated_Modern_Society_

This Essay was completed for Preliminary HSC. Year 11. Australia. Teacher said: Concepts are brilliant, knowledge is all there, structure is not great. Feel free to use this essay to get information but please DO NOT COPY AND SUBMIT AS YOUR OWN. HOW HAS THE NYMPH PERMEATED MODERN SOCIETY' The nymph, in classical mythology, is most broadly defined as voluptuously beautiful young maidens that are minor goddesses of nature, typically associated with a particular areas, location or landform. ‘The illustrated dictionary of mythology’ Phillip Wilkinson, describes the nymphs as often ‘Having one divine parent,’ and being ‘associated with the country side.’ Nymphs are commonly regarded as creatures of the ancient society however the ancient Greek belief in nymphs has supposedly survived in many parts of the country into the early years of the 20’Th century, where they had come to be known as Nereids. It is not just Greece however where the belief in nymphs is still practiced, as well as the representation and reinterpretations, and appropriations of these beautiful maidens. They have survived the years, some being included in the modern religions, others being used as objects of entertainment. The worship of the nymph was very important to ancient Greek religion, and was so loved that it survived the conversion to Christianity, being one major feature of ancient religion still practiced up to recent times. [11] In modern rural Greece they have come to be known, as ‘Nereids’ but the myths and practices have stayed relatively unchanged over the centuries. Tales are still told of males being abducted and offerings are still made at wells and rivers. However, in the Modern Greek setting, there is a strong overlay of the Christian sexual mores in the stories of the Nereids. Historian ‘Jennifer Larson’, in her book ‘GREEK NYMPHS myth, cult, lore’, [2] has stated that the nymph legends, like the Nereids, are stories of morale. There are no archaeological finds or historical records that state this is correct-but the myths and legends themselves, and if one studies them closely they will find that there are many underlying morals. An example of this is the story of ‘Echo’ one of the most famous nymphs of the ancient societies. Taken from the dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology [3] ECHO used to follow Hera (Zeus’s wife) around, incessantly talking to distract her when Zeus was “playing” with the nymphs, so Hera was not able to detect her faithless husband, and the nymphs had time to escape. Hera, however, found out the deception, and she punished Echo by changing her into an echo. Ovid, Metamorphoses 3. 350 ff (trans. Melville) (Roman epic C1st B.C. to C1st A.D.) `Your tongue’, she said, `with which you tricked me, now its power shall lose, your voice avail but fro the briefest use.’ Echo in this state fell desperately in love with Narcissus. She longed to come to him with winning words, to urge soft please, but nature now opposed; All she could do was echo the last few words of his voice. He did not return her love and Shamed and rejected “in the woods she hides and has her dwelling in the lonely caves; yet still her love endures and grows on grief, and weeping vigils waste her frame away; her body shrivels, all its moisture dries; only her voice and bones are left; at last only her voice, her bones are turned to stone, so in the woods she hides and hills around, for all to hear, alive, but just a sound.” Just from this one nymph myth we can draw several morals and consequences if wrong is done. There is no reason why the nymph could not have functioned in much the same way as the Nereids for ancient societies, especially since the strict control of female sexuality is one of major concern for both the ancient and modern culture and it is clear that the Nereid plays just as important a role in modern society as the nymphs did in ancient society. They were used as ways of telling us what is right and wrong, what is expected and abnormal, what is evil and good-without seeming to be to bombastic and brain washing, hence, why they are so effective. Leading on from this, a common theme that appears in the mythology of the nymphs is that women’s sexuality is a negative and seen as “evil and unthinkable” whereas the women’s chastity is good. Although nymphs represented both these stereotypes, they were not all “sexual” and therefore “evil”, nor where the majority of them “chastise,” and “good.” It seems however, that the lesser likeable qualities of the nymphs, the ones most unthinkable have also been those most unforgettable, and to this day, the word nymph has many sexual connotations. One of these more common connotations is the word ‘nymphomania’, a term surrounded by myth, hyperbole and fantasy that conjures up an aggressively sexual female who both terrifies and titillates men. The concept of nymphomania-according to According to Carol Groneman, author of Nymphomania: A History (2000) [4][5]-was first laid out by the French physician Bienville in his 1771 thesis, Nymphomania. It is most commonly defined as ‘a disorder in woman characterised by an overactive libido, extreme or obsessive uncontrollable desire for sexual stimulation’ [4] and Bienville listed the symptoms and behaviours of one who has nymphomania as ‘dwelling on impure thoughts, reading novels, eating too much chocolate and indulging in "secret pollutions.” [6] One whom was found to be a nymphomaniac could be placed in an asylum and treatments could consist of cold baths, enemas, leeches applied to the perineum and clitoridectomy. When the 1970’s came however most sex researchers gave up the idea of the ‘nymphomaniac’, admitting that there was nothing inherently abnormal with woman enjoying frequent sex with partners[12], despite the social disagreement from both the church and majority of peoples with such acts. Now the term nymphomania has been discredited and replaced with another known now as “Hyper sexuality" ‘the desire to engage in human sexual behaviour at a level high enough to be considered clinically significant’ [7] which can refer to both male and female and has fewer stereotypes attached. This isn’t to say though that the term and stereotypes of nymphomania don’t still exist in the more recent times of our modern era. The 20th and 21st century notions of a nymphomaniac is embedded in popular culture: referred to in films, novels, music videos, and sex addiction manuals. The nymphs have survived since the ancient era and penetrated modern society in our entertainment culture. This is, once again, due to the strength and love of the nymph myths and legends, and most obviously, due to the simple fact that people enjoy reading, hearing, and watching beautiful young girls with supernatural powers and the rule in entertainment… “What sells is what is sold.” Nymphs are adapted to make and these adaptations can be found in many areas of our modern entertainment. Such examples of this could be children’s books of fairies living in the woodlands, or movies such as Ariel the little mermaid, the mermaid being based upon the sea nymphs the ‘Nereids,’ beautiful mermaids who sprang from the union between the Sea and its Rivers most often portrayed as friendly and helpful towards sailors fighting perilous storms or treacherous sea passages. [8] One particular example of a the nymph in modern entertainment culture is that of the Veela, whom, features in one of the most popular books in existence today, selling over 400 million copies worldwide-Harry potter-making it a prime example to use. “Veela were women… the most beautiful women Harry had ever seen… except that the weren’t – they couldn’t be human.” [Harry Potter anf the Goblet of fire, J.K.Rowling] Broadly defined Vila, Wila, Wili, or Veela are the Slavic versions of nymphs who have power over storms, which they delight in sending down on lonely travellers. They live in meadows, ponds, oceans, trees, and clouds and can appear as swans, horses, wolves, or beautiful women. [9] Vicky Dillen mentions in her short essay on Harry Potter: The Fruitless Deeds of Darkness [10] that they are based on and reminiscent of nymphs known as the ‘sirens’ in Greek mythology. It is unclear of whether they are nymphs one of my sources says that they are the Slavic version of the nymph, and ‘Thomas Keightley‘, author of ‘The Fairy Mythology’ mentions the Veela as “mountain nymph”. They share many characteristics of the nymphs such as eternal youth, interest in human males, astounding beauty, supernatural powers and despite the feminine charms they could make fierce warriors. Vicky Dillen also writes that that “the voices of Veela are beautiful” and any male who hears them-they do not seem to effect women-loses all thoughts of food, drink, or sleep, sometimes for days. “but then the music started, and Harry stopped worrying about them not being human-in fact, he stopped worrying about anything at all. The vela had started to dance, and Harry’s mind had gone completely and blissfully blank. All that mattered was that he keep watching the vela, because if they stopped dancing, terrible things would happen…And as the vela danced faster and faster, wild, half-formed thoughts started chasing through Harry’s dazed mind. He wanted to do something very impressive.” From this passage we can compare the Veela in the Harry potter novel to the Sirens, which in Greek mythology were a "group of sea nymphs who, by their sweet singing, lured sailors to their destruction’ [13] they were ‘A dangerously seductive woman, a temptress". This definition of the siren can be supported by a short passage from the writings of Homer, one that almost reflect Harry’s thoughts of the Veela in J.K.Rowlings’ successful novel. Homer, Odyssey 12. 39 ff (trans. Shewring) (Greek epic C8th B.C.) : "[Kirke advises Odysseus on his journey :] You will come to the Seirenes first of all; they bewitch any mortal who approaches them. If a man in ignorance draws too close and catches their music, he will never return to fine wife and little children near him and to see their joy at his homecoming; the high clear tones of the Seirenes will bewitch him. They sit in a meadow; men’s corpses lie heaped up all round them, mouldering upon the bones as the skin decays. The Veela, reminiscent of the Sirens, Nymphs in Greek mythology, have penetrated our entertainment culture, along with many other nymphs. The nymphs have penetrated our modern society in our art. They appear the subject matter in many contemporary artworks, examples of this shown in figures one and 2, ‘water nymphs, 2009, AvantFae’ and ‘Sirens, James Cullen, 2007’. The nymph is also present in our music, their significance in mythology, folklore and religion in ancient and modern culture leading to tales and songs of the nymphs, one of the most popular-being of Croatian culture-19th century song titled ‘Vila Velebita,’ The Musical instrument, the pan pipes (also known as the Syrinx), also originated from the nymph mythology. According to legend the god Pan fell in love with the wood nymph Syrinx. Syrinx changed herself into reed to hide. Pan listened for her, and heard the sound of wind sighing in the reeds, and had the idea of making a musical instrument out of reeds of different length, naming it the syrinx after the nymph he loved. The nymph has also survived in modern culture in the naming of our towns, cities, locations, such as the town called “Ferentino,” in Italy, named after the ancient Latin Water and Fertility Goddess Ferentina, speciphically nymph of a spring central to Latin peoples [14], or the town Naissus-meaning "the town of nymphs,“ that originated from Celtic belief that the magic Nissa River (now Nišava) was the river of nymphs. [15] Worship of the nymphs today is minor compared to how they were worshipped in ancient cultures, however they are definitely not forgotten. The nymph has penetrated modern society. It exists in our religions, our entertainment, our art, our dictionary, our vocabulary, our science, our cities, and our morals. Though, one may be ignorant to this, it cannot be denied and when one starts to look for a nymph in society today, it is only to easy to find. BIBLIOGRAPHY ‘The illustrated dictionary of mythology’ Phillip Wilkinson ‘Myths and Legends’ David Bellingham, Clio Whittaker, John Grant ‘THE ILLISTRATED BOOK OF MYTHS-tales and legends of the world’ Neil Philip ‘THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF WORLD MYTHOLOGY’ Arthur Cotterell, Rachel Storm ‘THE FAIRY MYTHOLOGY’ THOMAS [1] http://www.paleothea.com/Nymphs.html http://www.monstropedia.org/index.php'title=Nymph [2]‘GREEK NYMPHS-myth, cult, lore’ Jennifer Larson http://books.google.com/books'id=1ww3m1vSRtsC&pg=PA89&lpg=PA89&dq=nymph+sexual+appeal&source=bl&ots=66POwQVwxe&sig=_uSz9ohVDVRBL8U7TEPL1dAVb_M&hl=en&ei=IdCPSoTeL9agkQWTvNy7Cg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3#v=onepage&q=nymph%20sexual%20appeal&f=false [3] Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology http://www.theoi.com/Nymphe/NympheEkho.html [4] http://www.academicarmageddon.co.uk/library/grone.pdf [5] http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2465/what-is-nymphomania [6] http://www.seximus.ro/dictionary/sex_dictionary_letter_n.php [7] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypersexuality http://www.amazines.com/Nymphomania_related.html http://www.psychosexual.com/the-story-and-understanding-of-nymphomania.html http://www.sciencedirect.com/science'_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B82YG-4SVKMMG-4D&_user=10&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_searchStrId=987424048&_rerunOrigin=google&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=bb501134c27987af60ebdae431fefd6c [8] http://thanasis.com/mythman/nymph.htm ‘Harry Potter and the Goblet of fire’ J.K.Rowling [9] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavic_fairies [10] ‘Harry Potter: The Fruitless Deeds of Darkness’ Vicky Dillen "http://www.seekgod.ca/hpsymbols4.htm"# HYPERLINK "http://www.seekgod.ca/hpsymbols4.htm"# HYPERLINK "http://www.seekgod.ca/hpsymbols4.htm"http://www.seekgod.ca/hpsymbols4.htm http://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Naiad http://www.pantheon.org/articles/n/naiads.html http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/Mythology/Naiads.html http://www.helium.com/items/1483692-greek-goddesses-the-naiads http://www.theoi.com/Nymphe/Naiades.html http://www.carnaval.com/nymphs/ http://www.experiencefestival.com/a/Slavic_fairies_-_Vila/id/601763 [11] http://www.wildivine.org/nymphs_worship.htm [12] http://ai.eecs.umich.edu/people/conway/TS/Auto-Nympho.html [13] http://www.theoi.com/Pontios/Seirenes.html [14] http://www.thaliatook.com/OGOD/ferentina.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferentino [15] http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/32f3c/b0010/ www.deviantart.com/