The Thriae (; ) were

nymph A nymph (; ; sometimes spelled nymphe) is a minor female nature deity in ancient Greek folklore. Distinct from other Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature; they are typically tied to a specific place, land ...

s, three virginal sisters, one of a number of such triads in

Greek mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...

. They were named '' Melaina'' ("The Black"), ''

Kleodora In Greek mythology, Kleodora or Cleodora (; ) was one of the prophetic Thriae, nymphs who divined the future by throwing stones or pebbles and were associated with the Pythia, Oracle of Delphi. Her name comes from ''kleos'' ‘famous’ and ''dôro ...

'' ("Famed for her Gift"), and ''Daphnis'' ("Laurel") or ''

Corycia In Greek mythology, Corycia () or Corycis (Kōrukis), was a naiad who lived on Mount Parnassus in Phocis. Family Corycia's father was the local river-god Kephisos or Pleistos of northern Boeotia. With Apollo, she became the mother of Lycoru ...

''.

Mythology

They were the three

Naiad In Greek mythology, the naiads (; ), sometimes also hydriads, 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 embodied ...

s (

s) of the sacred springs of the Corycian Cave of

Mount Parnassus Mount Parnassus (; , ''Parnassós'') is a mountain range of central Greece that is, and historically has been, especially valuable to the Greek nation and the earlier Greek city-states for many reasons. In peace, it offers scenic views of the c ...

Phocis Phocis (; ; ) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the administrative region of Central Greece. It stretches from the western mountainsides of Parnassus on the east to the mountain range of Vardousia on the west, upon the Gu ...

, and the patrons of bees. The nymphs had women's heads and torsos and lower body and wings of a bee. The nymph sisters were romantically linked to the gods

Apollo Apollo is one of the Twelve Olympians, Olympian deities in Ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek and Ancient Roman religion, Roman religion and Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, mu ...

and

Poseidon Poseidon (; ) is one of the twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and mythology, presiding over the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 He was the protector of seafarers and the guardian of many Hellenic cit ...

; Corycia, the sister after whom the Corycian Cave was named, was the mother of Lycoreus with

, Kleodora was loved by

, and was the mother by him (or Kleopompos) of Parnassos (who founded the city of Parnassus) while Melaina was also loved by

, and bore him Delphos (although another tradition names Thyia as the mother of Delphos). Her name, meaning "the black," suggests that she presided over subterranean nymphs. These three bee maidens with the power of

divination Divination () is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic ritual or practice. Using various methods throughout history, diviners ascertain their interpretations of how a should proceed by reading signs, ...

and thus speaking truth are described in the '' Homeric Hymn to Hermes'', and the food of the gods is "identified as honey"; the bee maidens were originally associated with

, and are probably not correctly identified with the Thriae. Both the Thriae and the Bee Maidens are credited with assisting Apollo in developing his adult powers, but the divination that Apollo learned from the Thriae differs from that of the Bee Maidens. The type of divination taught by the Thriae to Apollo was that of mantic pebbles, the throwing of stones, rather than the type of divination associated with the Bee Maidens and Hermes:

cleromancy Cleromancy is a form of sortition (casting of lots) in which an outcome is determined by means that normally would be considered random, such as the rolling of dice ( astragalomancy), but that are sometimes believed to reveal the will of a deit ...

, the casting of lots. Honey, according to a Greek myth, was discovered by a nymph called Melissa ("Bee"); and honey was offered to the Greek gods from Mycenean times. Bees were associated, too, with the

Delphic oracle Pythia (; ) was the title of the high priestess of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi. She specifically served as its oracle and was known as the Oracle of Delphi. Her title was also historically glossed in English as the Pythoness. The Pythia w ...

and the prophetess was sometimes called a bee.

Notes

References

* Evelyn-White, Hugh, ''The Homeric Hymns and Homerica with an English Translation by Hugh G. Evelyn-White''. Homeric Hymns. Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1914. * Pausanias, ''Pausanias Description of Greece with an English Translation by W.H.S. Jones, Litt.D., and H.A. Ormerod, M.A., in 4 Volumes.'' Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1918
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
* Hyginus, Gaius Julius
''The Myths of Hyginus''
Edited and translated by Mary A. Grant, Lawrence: University of Kansas Press, 1960. * Scheinberg, Susan 1979. "The Bee Maidens of the Homeric Hymn to Hermes" Harvard Studies in Classical Philology 83 (1979), pp.1–28. * Larson, Jennifer. “The Corycian Nymphs and the Bee Maidens of the Homeric Hymn to Hermes.” Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies, (1996): 341-357.

External links

{{Authority control Women of Apollo Women of Poseidon Classical oracles Mythological Greek seers Oracular goddesses Bees in religion