Naiades (nā´i-a-dēz), or Naiads (nā´yadz).—The nymphs of freshwater. See “[Nymphæ].”
Naraka.—The hell of the Hindus. It has twenty-eight divisions, in some of which the victims are mangled by ravens and owls; in others they are doomed to swallow cakes boiling hot, or walk over burning sands.
Narcissus (nar-sis´us).—A beautiful youth, inaccessible to the feeling of love. The nymph Echo fell in love with him, but, her love not being returned, she pined away in grief (see “[Echo]”). In order to punish him, Nemesis made him see his own reflected image in a fountain, whereupon he became so enamored of it that he gradually pined away until changed into the flower that bears his name.
Nausicaa (naw-sik´a-a).—Daughter of Alcinous, who conducted Ulysses, when shipwrecked on the coast of Scheria (an island), to her father’s court.
Neleus (nē´lūs).—Son of Neptune and the nymph Tyro; king of Pylos, in Peloponnesus, and father of [Nestor] (q.v.).
Nemea (ne-mē´a).—A city in Argolis, near which Hercules slew the Nemean lion.
Nemesis (nem´e-sis)—i. e. vengeance (Gr.).—The goddess of retribution, who brings down all immoderate good fortune. She was also regarded as the goddess who punished crimes. She was the daughter of Night, and was represented as a crowned virgin, of great beauty and grace, with a whip in one hand and a pair of scales in the other.
Neoptolemus (ne-op-tol´em-us).—Son of Achilles and Deidamia. He was also called Pyrrhus (pir´us), on account of his reddish hair (Gr.); his other name, Neoptolemus, which signifies New-to-war (Gr.), having been given to him because he came late to Troy. He displayed great valor at Troy, and was one of the heroes concealed in the wooden horse (see “[Troy]”). He slew Priam and his daughter Polyxena. At the distribution of captives Andromache, the widow of Hector, fell to his lot, and he took her to Epirus. He married Hermione, the beautiful daughter of Menelaus and Helen, but was slain by Orestes, to whom she had been previously promised.
Neptunus (nep-tū´nus), or Neptune; called Poseidon (po-sī´don) by the Greeks.—The god of the sea and other waters, the brother of Jupiter, and husband of Amphitrite. His palace was in the depth of the sea, near Ægæ, in Eubœa, where he kept his horses with brazen hoofs and golden manes, which drew his chariot over the waves of the sea. His celebrated contest with Minerva for the possession of Athens is narrated under “Athenæ.” In the Trojan war he sided with the Greeks. He not only created the horse, but also taught men the art of managing horses by the bit and bridle. The symbol of his power was a trident, or spear with three prongs, with which he called forth or hushed storms, shook the earth, etc. Besides the trident, his attributes are the dolphin and the horse.
Nereides (nē´re-i-dēz or nē-rē´id-ēz); the Nereids (nē´-re-ids).—The fifty daughters of Nereus and Doris. They were the marine nymphs of the Mediterranean (see “[Nymphæ]”). Thetis, the mother of Achilles, was a Nereid.