Alseid

In Greek mythology, Alseids (/ælˈsiːɪdz/; Ancient Greek: Ἀλσηΐδες, romanized: Alsēḯdes) were nymphs who inhabited groves. In Homeric epic and the Homeric Hymns, there are three references to alsea:

"The nymphs who live in the lovely groves (ἄλσεα, álsea), and the springs of rivers (πηγαὶ ποταμῶν, pēgaì potamôn) and the grassy meadows (πίσεα ποιήεντα, písea poiḗenta)."

"They [nymphs] come from springs (krênai), they come from groves (alsea), they come from the sacred rivers (ποταμοί, potamoí) flowing seawards."

"The nymphs [of Mount Ida] who haunt the pleasant woods (alsea), or of those who inhabit this lovely mountain (ὄρος, óros) and the springs of rivers (pegai potamon) and grassy meads (pisea)."

References

• Grimal, Pierre, The Dictionary of Classical Mythology, Malden, Oxford, and Carlton, Blackwell Publishing, 1986. ISBN 0631201025. Internet Archive.
• Homer, The Iliad with an English Translation by A.T. Murray, Ph.D. in two volumes. Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1924. ISBN 978-0674995796. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
• Homer, The Odyssey with an English Translation by A.T. Murray, PH.D. in two volumes. Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1919. ISBN 978-0674995611. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library. Greek text available from the same website.
• The Homeric Hymns and Homerica with an English Translation by Hugh G. Evelyn-White. Homeric Hymns. Cambridge, MA.,Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1914. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library. Greek text available from the same website.
• Oxford Classical Dictionary, edited by Simon Hornblower and Antony Spawforth, Oxford and New York, Oxford University Press, 2003. ISBN 0198606419. Internet Archive.

Further reading

• Larson, Jennifer (2001), Greek Nymphs: Myth, Cult, Lore, Oxford University Press, 2001. ISBN 978-0-19-512294-7. p. 283 n. 31.