Abstract

The nymphs, from their mythological avatars to literary modernity, are an example of ecosymbolism that shows a parallel between feminist discourse and the discourse of nature, supported by Gimbutas' theories. According to her, the culture of the Goddess was associated with a culture of peace and cooperation, precisely unlike the irruption of the patriarchal order of the Olympian gods. Along these lines, the stereotypes of nymphs in western myth or literature tend to obscure or distort the role of these female deities. Hence the connections of these numbers with iconologies of monsters and figures like Potnia Theron, whose violent or maddened behavior Calasso glossed. Postmodernity has reused these icons — in decadent, lustful, or mystical forms — to radiate this bundle of meanings.