Nereid

Origin

The iconographic origin is (1) the canon of lines 35-64 of Book 18 and lines 84-98 of Book 24 of the Iliad of the eighth-century-BCE Homer (Homeros) — the canon of the Nereid Thetis, mother of the hero Achilles, and her sister Nereids — and (2) the canon of lines 240-264 of the Theogony (Theogonia) of the Greek poet Hesiod (Hesiodos) of c. 700 BCE — naming all fifty Nereids. Lines 240-264 of Hesiod's Theogony name all fifty Nereids — Amphitrite (wife of Poseidon), Thetis (mother of Achilles), Galateia (loved by the Cyclops Polyphemus), Doto, Proto, Pherousa, and others — the decisive canon, and lines 35-64 of Book 18 of Homer's Iliad name thirty-three Nereid sisters — Glauke, Thaleia, Kymodoke, Nesaie, Speio, Thoe, Halie, Kymothoe, Aktaie, and others. The Greek tragedy The Nereids (Nereides, fragmentarily preserved) of the fifth-century-BCE Greek tragedian Aeschylus (525-456 BCE) and the canon of lines 859-964 of Book 4 of the Argonautica (Argonautika) of the fourth- and third-century-BCE Alexandrian poet Apollonius Rhodius (Apollonios Rhodios, 295-215 BCE) — when the Argo ship of the hero Jason (Iason) is in danger, the Nereid sisters, on Thetis's order, safely guide the ship — are the decisive Alexandrian-school Nereid canon.

Features

• Fifty sisters preside over various aspects of the sea
• Form of a beautiful human woman
• Befriends dolphins and sea creatures
• Skilled in music and dance
• Friendly to sailors and heroes
• Weakens far from the sea

Stories

The Nereid canon of Book 18 lines 35-64 of the eighth-century-BCE Homer's Iliad and lines 240-264 of Hesiod's c. 700 BCE Theogony is the decisive origin, and the Greek tragedy The Nereids of the fifth-century-BCE Aeschylus and Book 4 of the fourth- and third-century-BCE Apollonius Rhodius's Argonautica extended the Alexandrian-school canon. The canon of lines 738-897 of Book 13 of the Metamorphoses of the Roman poet Ovid (Publius Ovidius Naso, 43 BCE - 17 CE) of c. 8 CE — the love of the Nereid Galatea (Galateia) and the shepherd youth Acis (Acis) and the unrequited love of the one-eyed giant Cyclops Polyphemus (Polyphemos) leading to the murder of Acis by jealousy — is the decisive Latin-literary canon, and the Bibliotheca of the second-century-CE Greek Apollodorus (Apollodoros) systematised the Nereid-myth system. The decisive Renaissance visual canon is the c. 1486 painting The Birth of Venus (La Nascita di Venere) of the Italian painter Sandro Botticelli (1445-1510, held by the Uffizi Gallery in Florence), which gave decisive Nereid iconographic influence, and the c. 1512 The Triumph of Galatea (Trionfo di Galatea) of Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio, 1483-1520, held by the Villa Farnesina in Rome) — depicting the Nereid Galatea riding a shell-chariot drawn by two dolphins — is the decisive culminating work of the Renaissance Nereid visual canon. The 1873 painting Triton and Nereid (Triton und Nereide) of the Swiss Symbolist painter Arnold Boecklin (1827-1901, held by the Neue Pinakothek in Munich, Germany) and the 1905 painting The Sea Maiden of the British Pre-Raphaelite painter Herbert James Draper (1863-1920) settled the nineteenth- and twentieth-century Nereid visual canon, and the Nereid of the 1977 D&D Monster Manual by Gary Gygax of TSR in the USA — consistent through to 5e (5th Edition) of 2014 — is the modern fantasy RPG canon.

Weakness

The Nereid's weaknesses are: (1) being far from the sea — the decisive environmental-binding canon of the Greek-mythological nature-spirit canon that the Nereid weakens when she leaves her sea (salt sea); (2) separation from sister bonds — in the Book 18 canon of Homer's Iliad the Nereid acts in groups with her sisters, and is weakened when separated from her sisters; (3) human pride — the decisive retributive canon of lines 670-764 of Book 4 of Ovid's c. 8 CE Metamorphoses — when Queen Cassiopeia (Kassiopeia), mother of Andromeda (Andromede), boasts that her beauty exceeds that of the Nereids, the Nereids appeal to Poseidon, who sends the sea-monster Cetus (Ketos) to devastate Ethiopia; (4) Polyphemus's jealousy — the decisive tragic canon in the Book 13 canon of Ovid's Metamorphoses that the Cyclops Polyphemus, who loved Galatea, crushed the shepherd youth Acis to death with a rock; (5) Achilles's fate — the decisive tragic canon in Books 18 and 24 of Homer's Iliad and in the fourth- and third-century-BCE Apollonius Rhodius canon that the Nereid Thetis cannot prevent her son Achilles's death in the Trojan War; (6) tragic fate — the canonical weakness in Greek mythology that the Nereid cannot prevent the tragic fate of gods and heroes; (7) storms and tempests — the Greek-mythological canon that the storms of Poseidon's wrath weaken the Nereid; (8) gods and fate — the Greek-mythological canon that the Nereid yields to Zeus's decisions and the decisions of the goddesses of fate, the Moirai. The decisive canonical finale of Book 13 of Ovid's c. 8 CE Metamorphoses — Galatea's beloved Acis is crushed by Polyphemus's rock and Acis's blood becomes a river to be eternally united with Galatea — is the decisive canon of the Latin-literary Nereid tragedy.

Cultural Significance

The Nereid is not merely a sea-spirit icon but the canonical iconographic figure of the Greek sea canon traversing the eighth-century-BCE Homer's Iliad, c. 700 BCE Hesiod's Theogony, fifth-century-BCE Aeschylus's The Nereids, third-century-BCE Apollonius Rhodius's Argonautica, c. 8 CE Ovid's Metamorphoses, fifteenth- and sixteenth-century Renaissance Botticelli and Raphael, nineteenth-century Boecklin and Draper, and twentieth-century D&D fantasy RPG. In the Greek-mythological nature-spirit belief of the Mycenaean civilization of the Greek Bronze Age (3000-1200 BCE), the fifty Nereid sisters became the decisive canon of the Aegean Sea, the Ionian Sea, and the Mediterranean — the decisive canon of nature-spirit belief of the Greek Bronze Age. The canon of lines 35-64 of Book 18 of Homer's Iliad — in which thirty-three Nereid sisters rise from the deep-sea cave to comfort the grieving Thetis — is the decisive masterpiece scene of Greek epic, and the decisive Renaissance visual canon is the c. 1512 painting The Triumph of Galatea by Raphael (1483-1520, held by the Villa Farnesina in Rome, 295 x 225 cm) — depicting the Nereid Galatea riding a shell-chariot drawn by two dolphins, surrounded by cupids — the decisive culminating work of the Renaissance Nereid iconography. The 1873 painting Triton and Nereid (Triton und Nereide) of the Swiss Symbolist painter Arnold Boecklin (1827-1901, held by the Neue Pinakothek in Munich, Germany, 105 x 194 cm) and the 1905 painting Ulysses and the Sirens of the British Pre-Raphaelite painter Herbert James Draper (1863-1920, held by the Ferens Art Gallery, Britain) — although the Sirens are a decisive adaptation of Nereid iconography — and other nineteenth- and twentieth-century paintings settled the Nereid visual canon. The Nereid of the 1977 D&D Monster Manual by Gygax of TSR in the USA — consistent through to 5e (5th Edition) of 2014 — is the decisive canon of the modern fantasy RPG sea-spirit, and the sea (Te Fiti) of the Disney animation Moana, released on 23 November 2016 in the USA, and the twenty-first-century Polynesian-myth adaptation are evaluated as the decisive modern adaptation of the Nereid canon.

In Popular Culture

Homer, Iliad, Book 18, lines 35-64 (eighth century BCE) — decisive Nereid canonical sceneHesiod, Theogony, lines 240-264 (c. 700 BCE) — decisive canon naming all fifty NereidsAeschylus, tragedy The Nereids (fifth century BCE) — Greek-tragedy canonApollonius Rhodius, Argonautica, Book 4, lines 859-964 (fourth-third century BCE) — Alexandrian-school canonOvid, Metamorphoses, Book 13, lines 738-897 (c. 8 CE) — Galatea-Acis decisive Latin canonApollodorus, Bibliotheca (second century CE) — Nereid-myth systematisationRaphael, The Triumph of Galatea (c. 1512) — decisive Renaissance visual canonBoecklin, Triton and Nereid (1873) — nineteenth-century Symbolist canonDraper paintings (1905) — British Pre-Raphaelite canonGygax, D&D Monster Manual, Nereid (1977) — fantasy RPG canon