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[[Dryad]]s | [[Dryad]]s | ||
[[Nephele]] | [[Nephele]] | ||
[[Category:Slavic mythology]] | |||
[[Category:Nature spirits]] | |||
[[Category:water]] | |||
Revision as of 10:36, 3 September 2006
The Vila, or Willi or Veela, are the Slavic versions of nymphs, who have power over storms, which they delight in sending down on lonely travelers. They are known to live in meadows, ponds, oceans, trees, and clouds. They can appear as swans, horses, wolves, or, of course, beautiful women.
The Vilia is the Celtic version of this woodland spirit. She enjoys captivating passing men with her beauty, but then abandoning them. In a love song titled Vilia, from "The Merry Widow" by Lehar and Ross, a hunter pines for Vilia, "the witch of the wood".
Art / Fiction
Popular culture
The Vila may have inspired the Veela, stunningly beautiful and magically captivating women who put men into a trance when singing or dancing and turn into hideous bird-like creatures capable of throwing balls of fire when angered, in J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.