A hamadryad or hamadryas (/hæməˈdraɪ.æd/; Ancient Greek: ἁμαδρυάς, pl: ἁμαδρυάδες, romanized: Hamadryás, pl: Hamadryádes[1]) is a Greek mythological being that lives in trees. It is a particular type of dryad which, in turn, is a particular type of nymph. Hamadryads are born bonded to a certain tree on which its life depends.[2][3] Some maintain that a hamadryad is the tree itself, with a normal dryad being simply the indwelling entity, or spirit, of the tree. If the tree should die, the hamadryad associated with it would die as well. For this reason, both dryads and the other gods would punish mortals who harmed trees.
- ^ Rhodios, Apollonios; Seaton, Robert Cooper (1900). Argonautika 2.477 (in Greek). Clarendon Press. p. 80. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
- ^ "Ἁμαδρυάδες - Ancient Greek (LSJ)". Liddell, Scott, Jones Ancient Greek Lexicon. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
- ^ John Bell (1790). Bell's New Pantheon; Or, Historical Dictionary of the Gods, Demi-gods, Heroes, and Fabulous Personages of Antiquity: Also, of the Images and Idols Adored in the Pagan World; Together with Their Temples, Priests, Altars, Oracles, Fasts, Festivals, Games ... J. Bell. pp. 366–7.