Nepenthe

Nepenthe

Nepenthe

Medicine for sorrow

For other uses, see Nepenthe (disambiguation).

Nepenthe /nɪˈpɛnθi/ (Ancient Greek: νηπενθές, nēpenthés) is a possibly fictional medicine for sorrow – a "drug of forgetfulness" mentioned in ancient Greek literature and Greek mythology, depicted as originating in Egypt.[1]

The carnivorous plant genus Nepenthes is named after the drug nepenthe.

In the Odyssey

The word nepenthe first appears in the fourth book of Homer's Odyssey:

Analysis

Figuratively, nepenthe means "that which chases away sorrow". Literally it means 'not-sorrow' or 'anti-sorrow': νη-, nē-, i.e. "not" (privative prefix),[3] and πενθές, from πένθος, pénthos, i.e. "grief, sorrow, or mourning".[4]

In the Odyssey, νηπενθές φάρμακον : nēpenthés phármakon (i.e. an anti-sorrow drug) is a magical potion given to Helen by Polydamna, the wife of the noble Egyptian Thon; it quells all sorrows with forgetfulness.

References

  1. [1]
    νηπενθές. Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; A Greek–English Lexicon at the Perseus Project.
  2. [2]
    Homer (1919). "4.219-221". Odyssey. Translated by Murray, A.T.; from Homer. Odyssey (in Greek) – via Perseus Project.
  3. [3]
    νη-. Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; A Greek–English Lexicon at the Perseus Project
  4. [4]
    πένθος. Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; A Greek–English Lexicon at the Perseus Project.
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