Meliae- Greek RaceRace"Ash-Tree Nymphs"
Also known as: Μελίαι and Meliai
Description
Blood from the severed flesh of Uranus strikes the earth, and from the stained soil rise the ash-tree nymphs, primordial mothers whose sacred wood arms the spear-wielding warriors of the Bronze Age.
Mythology & Lore
Born from Blood
When Kronos took the jagged sickle and severed the flesh of his father Uranus, blood fell upon the earth. From those drops Gaia bore the Erinyes and the Gigantes. She bore also the Meliae, the nymphs of the ash tree, bound to the manna ash that grew from the same blood-soaked soil.
The Mothers of Bronze
In the Works and Days, Hesiod tells of the men of the Bronze Age who sprang from the ash trees. These warriors loved the works of Ares and ate no bread. Their arms and houses were of bronze, and their spears were cut from the same ash wood that gave them life.
Callimachus in his Hymn to Delos calls the Meliae the oldest of all nymphs. They were born before Zeus, before Olympus had a king.