The Anigrides ( grc, Ἀνίγριδες) were in

Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the Cosmogony, origin and Cosmology#Metaphysical co ...

the

nymph A nymph ( grc, νύμφη, nýmphē, el, script=Latn, nímfi, label=Modern Greek; , ) in ancient Greek folklore is a minor female nature deity. Different from Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature, are ty ...

s—that is, the ''

potamides Potamides (;Falck-Lebahn, Carl (1854); p 296. )Smith, William (1849); pp 1216-1217. were a type of water nymph of Greco-Roman mythology. They were assigned to a class of nymphs of fresh water known as naiads and as such belonged to a category t ...

''—of the river Anigrus in

Elis Elis or Ilia ( el, Ηλεία, ''Ileia'') is a historic region in the western part of the Peloponnese peninsula of Greece. It is administered as a regional unit of the modern region of Western Greece. Its capital is Pyrgos. Until 2011 it was ...

. On the coast of Elis, not far from the mouth of the river, there was a grotto sacred to them near modern

Samiko Samiko ( el, Σαμικό, before 1923: Αλή Τσελεπή - ''Ali Tselepi'') is a village in the municipality of Skillounta, Elis, Greece. In 2011 its population was 389. It is situated on a hill near the Ionian Sea, 2 km south of Kalliko ...

, which was visited by persons afflicted with skin diseases. They were supposedly cured here by prayers and sacrifices to the nymphs, and by bathing in the river. The earliest known attestation of the cult of these nymphs was from the poet

Moero Moero or Myro ( el, Μοιρώ and Μυρώ) was a woman poet of the Hellenistic period from the city of Byzantium. She was the wife of Andromachus Philologus and the mother – the Suda says daughter, but this is less likely – of the tragedian Ho ...

in the 3rd century BCE. The river Anigrus (or Anigros) itself was a small stream in southern Elis that flowed down from

Mount Lapithas Lapithas ( el, Λαπίθας) is a mountain located in southern Elis in the western Peloponnese in Greece. The mountain is named after the mythical people, the Lapiths. In the west the mountain touches the Ionian Sea. It is 15 to 20 km long ...

and the mountains at

Minthi Minthi ( el, Μίνθη, before 1927: Άλβενα - ''Alvena'') is a mountain village and a community in the municipality of Zacharo, Elis, Greece. In 2011 its population was 77 for the village and 86 for the community, including the village Kotr ...

to the

Ionian Sea The Ionian Sea ( el, Ιόνιο Πέλαγος, ''Iónio Pélagos'' ; it, Mar Ionio ; al, Deti Jon ) is an elongated bay of the Mediterranean Sea. It is connected to the Adriatic Sea to the north, and is bounded by Southern Italy, including C ...

. The waters are distinctly

sulfur Sulfur (or sulphur in British English) is a chemical element with the symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundant, multivalent and nonmetallic. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with a chemical formula ...

ic in character. The river and cave are now part of the thermal springs of

Kaiafas Kaiafas or the thermal springs of Kaiafas (Greek, Modern: Καϊάφας) is a spa in the municipality of Zacharo in southwestern Greece. It is located SW of Athens, SE of Pyrgos, S of Olympia, nearly N of Kyparissia and some NW of Kalamat ...

Notes

References

Pausanias Pausanias ( el, Παυσανίας) may refer to: *Pausanias of Athens, lover of the poet Agathon and a character in Plato's ''Symposium'' *Pausanias the Regent, Spartan general and regent of the 5th century BC *Pausanias of Sicily, physician of th ...

, ''Description of Greece'' with an English Translation by W.H.S. Jones, Litt.D., and H.A. Ormerod, M.A., in 4 Volumes. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1918.
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
* Pausanias, ''Graeciae Descriptio.'' ''3 vols''. Leipzig, Teubner. 1903.
Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library
*

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...

, '' The Geography of Strabo.'' Edition by H.L. Jones. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd. 1924
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
* Strabo, ''Geographica'' edited by A. Meineke. Leipzig: Teubner. 1877
Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.
Potamides {{Greek-deity-stub Characters in Greek mythology Nymphs