Understanding the Theogony by Hesiod, Part 3: The Nymphs

The next segment in Hesiod's Theogony speaks of the nymphs. Who are they and what do they have to do with us? Sometimes we start the day in a good and pleasant mood, but then our thoughts and feelings change, especially when we interact with things we do not want or people we don't like. We meet someone who says something or does something and then we change how we think and feel. Sometimes we partake in an activity thinking this will make another person happy, and then their mood changes and everything falls apart. We may ask ourselves, was it even worth it to have participated in this? Should I avoid doing these good things next time? Avoid the company of people? Avoid trying to connect with someone who doesn't appreciate me if they lead me to bad situations and bad states of mind? Because we are immersed in chaos, people cheat and take advantage of others. Evildoers threaten our safety and abuse us. Family members disappoint us or let us down. Even the things that make us happy eventually change. The good book we read can become boring. The tasty food we like can make us sick. What we consume proves to be enjoyable only for a little while. Listening to someone expose our previous mistakes may make us feel invaded and attacked. Being confronted with someone better than us can destroy us. With this uncertainty and fragility in mind, Hesiod opens himself to the inspiration of the Muses. Talking about gods, society, and duties may cause some of us to become defensive, suspicious, or feeling intimidated. Hesiod is inspired by the Muses to see the cause of this shift in our emotions and thoughts. They reveal to him that our interaction with existence is the same as the interaction of the gods with the world. What he experiences as stories about the gods has more to do with us. The primordial's interaction with each other leads to the blossoming of life. Earth interacts with heaven and their powers combine into many beings. The first of these beings that appear out of this divine interaction are the nymphs. Then she brought forth hills, the lovely homes of goddesses, the nymphs who live among the mountain clefts. The points of interaction between heaven and earth are the mountains. Wherever the different parts of nature interact with each other, there is a power that emerges. Be it mountains, lakes, trees, flowers, the interaction brings about the emergence of joy. The nymphs, or nymphe, are represented as female supernatural creatures who gather together around trees, lakes, and mountains. The nymphs are represented as innocent young maidens. Their presence is not overpowering, but almost a secret. Their power lies in their charm, their easy going way of making people feel welcomed. Their power is in being happy in the presence of the other nymphs. They have joy together, delighting in each other's company. This is a love that we know as friendship or endearment, which later philosophers would categorize as philia. Friendship, brotherhood, camaraderie, team spirit, are all aspects of that kind of love. It is the love of enjoying being in the presence of what is joyful or giving in joy. This delight in each other's company is how the gods interact with each other. This is the kind of godly life we should aspire to have. This is what later philosophers like Aristotle would define as eudaimonia or eudaimonia. There is a secret joy that awaits to be discovered and whatever we are attached to. There is joy in places, in objects, in ideas, in people. When we go there and interact, we feel that joy hovering by, and we know we are in the presence of the nymphs. Every person from any culture or tradition experiences the joy of being together with others, eating together, praying, doing any activity. There are nymphs gathering at every places, anywhere where there is a connection between things. The foremost and most obvious interaction is in place, or topos. The celestial nymphs are the asperides, who gather when the day interacts with the night to create the evening, the iades, who gather when the rain clouds are created, the pleiades, who gather with the stars to form constellations, the land nymphs are the alceides, who gather near glands and groves, the avlonias, who gather in valleys, the orias, who gather at mountains, the anthusae, who gather near flowers, the dryas, who gather near trees, the water nymphs are the nereides, who gather near seawaters, the naiades, who gather around fresh running water, and the underworld nymphs are the lambades, who are the companions, gathering near ricatti. In paintings we see satyrs falling in love with the nymphs, but the nymphs transform even the lustful satyrs into joyful beings who delight in philia. Once we experience the presence of the nymphs, we start to change into godly beings. Meeting people, going to places, participating in events, even if they are not part of our culture, can lead to our feeling welcomed and experiencing the joy of participating. We should go out and interact with places, objects and people with the intention of encountering the joy of the nymphs. The muses reveal the stohysia so that discussions about gods can bring what is good in whoever listens, whoever interacts with these stories. We should feel a sense of fondness and endearment to hear about the gods.