fragrant blooms and the music of the cicada. Here, as in Ovid’s description of Diana’s
grotto (Metamorphoses3.158–9), nature simulates art. Such places were likely to be
recognized as dwelling places of gods and supplied with altars and offerings. Below I
describe actual sanctuaries that served as gardens of the nymphs, but first let us look at
another idealized, literary nymph’s garden.
In theOdyssey, the nymph Calypso inhabits a cave surrounded by a lush garden,
presented as a conjunction of natural elements which spontaneously arrange them-
selves to provide a maximum of aesthetic pleasure, while the utilitarian garden of
Alcinous serves as a foil to that of the nymph (Odyssey5.63–74, 7.114–32). Each
garden is made up of four main elements: trees, vines, herbaceous plants, and a water
source. The pristine state of Calypso’s trees is emphasized by the birds nesting in them
and the fact that they are not fruiting trees, whereas Alcinous’ trees are all productive
domesticated types. Calypso’s vine is loaded with untouched clusters, whereas Alci-
nous’ vines are busily harvested and processed by his men. Alcinous’ garden beds
presumably contain kitchen herbs or vegetables, while Calypso’s herbaceous plants are
wild violets and parsley. Finally, Alcinous’ fountains are constructed to provide water
to the palace and the townspeople, whereas those of Calypso, equally abundant, are
allowed to flow freely this way and that. Both gardens give pleasure, one to mortals
and one to the gods. After his long journey to Calypso’s distant island, Hermes finds
himself charmed and refreshed by her garden. Far from requiring the attention
lavished on the gardens of Alcinous, the nymph’s garden has domesticated itself.
Note that the criterion of pleasure automatically gives the garden a human point of
reference: it is judged by anthropomorphically divine, hence human, pleasure. The
scents, colors, and textures that please mortals also please the gods. Grimal (1984:69)
contrasts the awe and fearful veneration paid to sacred groves in the Italic tradition
with this Greek idea that divine gardens give pleasure: the former emphasizes super-
natural distance and otherness, while the latter focuses on qualities that mortals share
with the gods. The divine garden does not represent wild nature tamed by human
agency; it expresses the ideal of a natural world that remains untamed, yet conforms
itself to anthropocentric standards of safety, comfort, and pleasure: a golden-age
world. This concept of the ‘‘divine garden’’ is related to that of the sanctuary, and
to the selection of sanctuary sites for many deities, not just the nymphs.
There are close cultic analogs of the literary garden of the nymphs. But as all
gardeners know, aesthetically pleasing arrangements do not spring up by themselves;
they require a great deal of human intervention. In late fifth-century Attica and
Thessaly, two men devoted to the worship of the nymphs created gardens around
the mouths of caves, consciously following the cultural model of the nymphs’
sanctuary set forth in theOdyssey. During the archaic and classical periods, the nymphs
were credited with the ability to ‘‘seize’’ individuals and inspire them. These nym-
pholepts sometimes withdrew to cave shrines and spent their lives communing with
the nymphs and other resident gods. They welcomed visitors and may have acted as
prophets. One such nympholept was Archedamus, an immigrant from Thera, who
devoted his life to the maintenance of a sanctuary of the nymphs at Vari in Attica
(Figure 3.1). At the instruction of the nymphs, he cut stairs, sculptures, and inscrip-
tions into the rock of a cave, and outside it cultivated a garden. At a cave near
Pharsalus, Pantalces left a long inscription inviting worshipers to enjoy themselves
and take pleasure in the sanctuary. He refers twice to the growing things that he
Nature Deities 59