|Nymphs of the
Land of Caria
THE NAIADES KARIAI were the Naiad Nymphs of the springs and rivers of Karia (Caria) (a region of Anatolia), and sisters of the Nymph Salmakis.
|Presumably daughters of the River MAIANDROS
Ovid, Metamorphoses 4. 302 ff (trans. Melville) (Roman epic C1st B.C. to C1st A.D.) :
"[Near] the towns of Lycia . . . and Carae . . . there is a pool, a limpid shining pool, clear to its very bottom . . . A Nympha [Salmakis] dwelt there, not one to bend the bow or join the hunt or run to win the race; she was the only of the Naides unknown to swift Diana [Artemis]. Many a time her sisters [the Naides Kariai] chide her: ‘Come, Salmacis, get out your spear or painted quiver; vary your hours of ease with hardships of the chase.’ Yet never spear she took nor painted quiver, nor would vary her hours of ease with hardships of the chase."
- Ovid, Metamorphoses - Latin Epic C1st BC - C1st AD