Dryad

or Hamadryad, ham'a-dri-ad, in Greek mythology, a wood nymph whose life was supposed to be bound up in that of her tree. The wanton destruction of a tree was therefore regarded as an impious act, to be punished by the vengeance of the gods. Erisichthon once felled a tree whose dryad was beloved by Ceres. As a punishment, he was afflicted with insatiable hunger. He ate everything he could get, selling all his possessions and his own daughter for food. At last he consumed his own limbs, and began eating his body before death released him. The dryads were partners of the god Pan in the dance. See Ceres; Pan