Nepenthe

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]

For other uses, see Nepenthe (disambiguation).

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.

Pliny the Elder and Dioscorides believed nepenthe to be the medicinal herb borage.

In modern times prior to the 20th century it was accepted that Indian hemp was the nepenthe.[5]

Quoting the passage cited above in his 2015 novel Boussole (Compass), French writer Mathias Énard identifies nepenthe with opium.[6] Likewise, in Forbidden Drugs, Philip Robson writes: "What else could Helen of Troy’s nepenthe have been but opium?"[7]

References
  1. νηπενθές. Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; A Greek–English Lexicon at the Perseus Project.
  2. Homer (1919). "4.219-221". Odyssey. Translated by Murray, A.T.; from Homer. Odyssey (in Greek) – via Perseus Project.
  3. νη-. Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; A Greek–English Lexicon at the Perseus Project
  4. πένθος. Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; A Greek–English Lexicon at the Perseus Project.
  5. Ripley, George; Dana, Charles A., eds. (1879). "The American cyclopaedia: a popular dictionary of general knowledge". Internet Archive. New York: D. Appleton. Retrieved 2020-08-10.
  6. Compass, trans. Charlotte Mandell (NY: New Directions, 2017), pp. 73–74.
  7. Philip Robson (1999). Forbidden Drugs. Oxford University Press. p. 161. ISBN 978-0-19-262955-5.
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