Naiads

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The Naiads are the nymphs of river waters, recalled by Dante in Canto XXXIII of Purgatorio at verse 49, where it is stated that «fier li fatti le Naiade», that is, the facts themselves will solve the enigma. The critical note on the verse clarifies that the Naiads were not actually solvers of obscure oracles and that the mention depends on a material error present in several manuscripts of Ovid current at the time, in which one read «Naiades» instead of «Laiades», with reference to Oedipus, son of Laius, who according to myth solved the enigma of the Sphinx and thus entered Thebes, as recounted by Ovid in the Metamorphoses and Statius in the Thebaid. The Italian form «Naiade», attested by the Dantean verse, is the only documented textual variant. In the Purgatorial passage the citation is intertwined with the similitude of the shout of Eduardo, explained by Statius, and with the discussion on the obscurity of oracles.