In
Greek mythology, the
Meliae (;
Meliai or Μελιάδες
Meliades) were
nymphs of the
ash tree, whose name they shared. They appeared from the drops of blood spilled when
Cronus castrated
Uranus, according to
Hesiod,
Theogony, 187. From the same blood sprang the
Erinyes, suggesting perhaps that the ash-tree nymphs represented the Fates in milder guise, and the
Giants. From the Meliae sprang the race of mankind of the
Age of Bronze.