Nympholepsy is the belief of the

ancient Greeks Ancient Greece () was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity (), that comprised a loose collection of culturally and linguistically re ...

that individuals could be

possessed Possessed may refer to: Possession * Possession (disambiguation), having some degree of control over something else ** Spirit possession, whereby gods, demons, animas, or other disincarnate entities may temporarily take control of a human body *** ...

by the

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. Individuals who considered themselves nympholepts would display a great religious devotion to the nymphs. An example is Archedemos of

Thera Santorini (, ), officially Thira (, ) or Thera, is a Greek island in the southern Aegean Sea, about southeast from the mainland. It is the largest island of a small, circular archipelago formed by the Santorini caldera. It is the southernmos ...

, who built the sanctuary of the nymphs in the Vari Cave northeast of

Attica Attica (, ''Attikḗ'' (Ancient Greek) or , or ), or the Attic Peninsula, is a historical region that encompasses the entire Athens metropolitan area, which consists of the city of Athens, the capital city, capital of Greece and the core cit ...

, Greece.

Etymology

Nympholepsy, a term first used in 1775 by Richard Chandler in Travels in Greece, is described as “frenzy or rapture hat wassupposed to take hold of a man upon gazing on a nymph”. It originates from the Greek word ''nymphe'', meaning “bride”, “beautiful young woman”, then “semi-divine being in the form of a beautiful maiden”, and epilepsy, from the Greek word ''epilepsis'', meaning “a seizure”. Though the root of nympholepsy implies a fit or seizure, according to

Socrates Socrates (; ; – 399 BC) was a Ancient Greek philosophy, Greek philosopher from Classical Athens, Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and as among the first moral philosophers of the Ethics, ethical tradition ...

, as presented in the writings of

Plato Plato ( ; Greek language, Greek: , ; born BC, died 348/347 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Classical Greece, Classical period who is considered a foundational thinker in Western philosophy and an innovator of the writte ...

, a person could experience nympholepsy without any “tearing of clothes, the biting of lips, or convulsions, or frenzies”. Plato implies in his writings that nympholepsy showed itself in others by “heightened awareness and eloquence”. Ancient Greece also had the word ''nymphleptos'', meaning “caught by nymphs”.

Nymphs

Amphiglyphon_votif_NAMA_1783_Athens_Greece

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 were known as female spirits of the natural world, and were minor goddesses of various aspects in nature – forests, rivers, springs, meadows, mountains and seas. They were often depicted as beautiful young women with attributes symbolizing whatever natural formation they ruled over. Nymphs are most often described as either the daughters of

Zeus Zeus (, ) is the chief deity of the List of Greek deities, Greek pantheon. He is a sky father, sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, who rules as king of the gods on Mount Olympus. Zeus is the child ...

, the river

Oceanus In Greek mythology, Oceanus ( ; , also , , or ) was a Titans, Titan son of Uranus (mythology), Uranus and Gaia, the husband of his sister the Titan Tethys (mythology), Tethys, and the father of the River gods (Greek mythology), river gods ...

, or

Gaia In Greek mythology, Gaia (; , a poetic form of ('), meaning 'land' or 'earth'),, , . also spelled Gaea (), is the personification of Earth. Gaia is the ancestral mother—sometimes parthenogenic—of all life. She is the mother of Uranus (S ...

, though various other gods and goddesses have been attributed to their parentage over the years. Many gods are also described as having various nymph companions; for example,

Artemis In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Artemis (; ) is the goddess of the hunting, hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, transitions, nature, vegetation, childbirth, Kourotrophos, care of children, and chastity. In later tim ...

is known for her band of huntress nymphs,

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 ...

is often accompanied by sea nymphs called

Nereid In Greek mythology, the Nereids or Nereides ( ; ; , also Νημερτές) are sea nymphs (female spirits of sea waters), the 50 daughters of the ' Old Man of the Sea' Nereus and the Oceanid Doris, sisters to their brother Nerites. They ofte ...

es, and nymph handmaidens were common companions to the goddesses of Olympos. Some elder nymphs, such as those of the

Oceanids In Greek mythology, the Oceanids or Oceanides ( ; , ) are the nymphs who were the three thousand (a number interpreted as meaning "innumerable") daughters of the Titan (mythology), Titans Oceanus and Tethys (mythology), Tethys. Description an ...

and

Nereids In Greek mythology, the Nereids or Nereides ( ; ; , also Νημερτές) are sea nymphs (female spirits of sea waters), the 50 daughters of the 'Old Man of the Sea' Nereus and the Oceanids, Oceanid Doris (Oceanid), Doris, sisters to their bro ...

class, were known as immortal goddesses, but most nymphs had a finite, though very long, lifespan.

Archedemos and the Vari Cave

The Vari Cave, also known as the Nympholyptos Cave, lies northeast of

Vari Vari () is a southern suburb of Athens and former municipality in East Attica, Greece along the Athens coast. The ancient Athenian deme of Anagyrous was situated here. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Vari-Vo ...

in Attica, Greece. Along with being a shrine to the nymphs, the Vari Cave is also a shrine devoted to the gods Pan and

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 ...

. It is also known as the Cave of Pan, and is unique for the reliefs cut into the rock by nympholept Archedemos. Archedemos was a native of Thera, an island which is now known as modern-day Santorini and is located 318 kilometers from the Vari Cave. According to Richard Chandler's writings in his account in Travels in Greece, Archedemos moved from his native town and settled in Attica, Greece, which was 35.5 kilometers from the Cave of Vari where he would later create his shrine to the nymphs, Apollo, and Pan. Though it is a shrine devoted to Apollo and Pan as well, Archedemos created the cave "for the nymphs, by whom he was possessed". By the writings of Archedemos in the cave, it is presumed that the Vari Cave was furnished with a dwelling and a garden for the nymphs, as well as a well of water. Richard Chandler, an English antiquary, was the first scientist to report his findings of the Vari Cave in 1765, but the cave was not excavated until 1901 by Charles Heald Weller.

In popular culture

In modern culture, nympholepsy is also defined as "passion aroused in men by beautiful young girls", and "wild frenzy caused by desire for an unattainable ideal". The most famous example is in Vladimir Nabokov's ''

Lolita ''Lolita'' is a 1955 novel written by Russian-American novelist Vladimir Nabokov. The protagonist and narrator is a French literature professor who moves to New England and writes under the pseudonym Humbert Humbert. He details his obsession ...

'', where the main character Humbert Humbert has an obsession with prepubescent girls he refers to as nymphets and self-describes as a nympholept. The obsession with young girls is explained with the loss of his first love when she was a young age, referring back to the definition of an unattainable ideal.

Etymology

Nymphs

Archedemos and the Vari Cave

In popular culture

References

Further reading