Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities of ...

, the Spercheides (

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...

: Σπερχειδες), also known as the Maliades (Μηλίδες), were

naiads In Greek mythology, the naiads (; grc-gre, ναϊάδες, naïádes) are a type of female spirit, or nymph, presiding over fountains, wells, springs, streams, brooks and other bodies of fresh water. They are distinct from river gods, who ...

of the Spercheus River, in Malis. They were sometimes held to be the daughters of the river god

Spercheus ''Spercheus'' is a genus of aquatic beetles which are placed in a family of their own, Spercheidae within the Hydrophiloidea. About 20 species are known from around the world except the Nearctic with the majority being from the Oriental and Afro ...

and the naiad

Deino In Greek mythology, Dino or Deino (Ancient Greek: Δεινώ means "dread" or "eddy, whirlpool") may refer to the following divinities: * Deino, also called Persis, one of the Graea who were daughters of the sea-deities Phorcys and Ceto. Her ...

, although

Antoninus Liberalis Antoninus Liberalis ( el, Ἀντωνῖνος Λιβεράλις) was an Ancient Greek grammarian who probably flourished between AD 100 and 300. His only surviving work is the ''Metamorphoses'' (Μεταμορφώσεων Συναγωγή, ''Me ...

reported the tradition that

Cerambus In Greek mythology, Cĕrambus (Ancient Greek: Κέραμβος), a son of Euseiros (himself son of Poseidon) and the nymph Eidothea of Othreis. Mythology Cerambus was a survivor of Deucalion's flood by means of wings which he received from the ...

was punished for making this claim.

, ''Metamorphoses'' 22

Note

Naiads Greek legendary creatures

Reference

, ''The Metamorphoses of Antoninus Liberalis'' translated by Francis Celoria (Routledge 1992)
Online version at the Topos Text Project.
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