- ONLINE ETYMOLOGY DICTIONARY
- "sea-nymph," 1510s, from Gk. Nereis (gen. Nereidos), daughter of the ancient sea-god Nereus, whose name is related to naros "flowing, liquid, I flow" (see naiad).
- WIKIPEDIA
- In Greek mythology, the Nereids ( /ˈnɪəriɪdz/ NEER-ee-idz; Ancient Greek: Νηρηΐδες, sg. Νηρηΐς) are sea nymphs (female spirits of sea waters), the fifty daughters of Nereus and Doris, sisters to Nerites. They were distinct from the mermaid-like Sirens. They often accompany Poseidon and can be friendly and helpful to sailors fighting perilous storms.
Tuesday, 25 December 2012
Nereid=نيريد
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Fifty daughters, fifty sons myth retold later as Aegyptus and Danaus or two halves of a whole representing the two distinct parts of a year. It would have behooved the ancients to also have assigned fifty distinct stars seen only in the one half of the year represented by the daughters for navigation purposes giving a ritualized function to the mythology. Once placed in the heavens in this manner perhaps they then become addressed as Nyx?
ReplyDeleteFor out of darkness came the light of the stars of Nereus. Could also represent the historical narrative on the split between the Egyptian and Greek kingdom into two separate cultures since Solon claimed they originated as one according to the Egyptians. You then have a creation, observable phenomena, ritualized function and historical narrative all rolled into a single story. The Sumerian "female" spirit of the waters was Tiamat who was torn to pieces by Marduk becoming the stream of stars in the heavens "blowing north" hence the descendants of her being individual women as stars. You can divide the stars by the two halves of the Milky Way partition as well supporting the mathematical observation of halves to wholes.