Hamadryad

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Tile mosaic of Pan and a Hamadryad, found in Pompeii Template:Cn

In Greek mythology, a Hamadryad or Hamadryas (Template:IPAc-en; Template:Langx<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>) is a tree nymph.<ref>Brill's New Pauly, s.v. Hamadryads.</ref> They are born bonded to a certain tree on which their life depends.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Bell1790">Template:Cite book</ref> Some maintain that a Hamadryad is the tree itself, with a normal dryad being simply the indwelling entity, or spirit, of the tree. If the tree should die, the Hamadryad associated with it would die as well. For this reason, both dryads and the other gods would punish mortals who harmed trees.

EtymologyEdit

The name of the Hamadryades was compounded from the ancient Greek words háma ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, Doric: {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, "together, concurrently"<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>) and dryás ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, "tree, wood nymph"<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>). This informs the understanding that the life of a Hamadryas is concurrent with that of its tree: one cannot exist without the other.

List of HamadryadsEdit

Template:Greek myth (nymph) The Deipnosophistae of Athenaeus lists eight Hamadryads, the daughters of Oxylus and Hamadryas:

Karya (walnut or hazelnut)
Balanos (oak)
Kraneia (dogwood)
Morea (mulberry)
Aigeiros (black poplar)
Ptelea (elm)
Ampelos (vines, especially Vitis)
Syke/Sykea (fig)

Other HamadryadsEdit

Scientific namesEdit

The mother, Hamadryas, is immortalized in three scientific names, two of which are still valid: the generic name of the cracker butterfly, the specific name of the northernmost monkey in Asia Minor, the hamadryas baboon, and the original (but no longer valid) genus name of the king cobra (originally Hamadryas hannah, now Ophiophagus hannah). The cracker butterfly is more arboreal than most butterflies, as it commonly camouflages itself on trees. It feeds on sap, rotting fruit and dung. The hamadryas baboon is one of the least arboreal monkeys, but was the most common monkey in Hellenic lands. The king cobra is sometimes considered arboreal or semi-arboreal, and is also referred to by the common name "hamadryad", especially in older literature.

NotesEdit

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ReferencesEdit

Brill's New Pauly: Encyclopaedia of the Ancient World. Antiquity, Volume 5, Equ – Has, edited by Hubert Cancik and Helmuth Schneider, Brill, 2004. Template:ISBN.