The Lotus Plant
Because the Greek word lôtos can refer to several different plants, there is some ambiguity as to which "lotus" appears in the Odyssey. Some of the proposed species, based in part on Herodotus' assertion, include:
- a fodder plant such as a species of Trifolium, Melilot or Trigonella, the Lotus corniculatus, the fellbloom, or Medicago arborea
- the sweet and succulent persimmon fruit of the date-plum Diospyros lotus
- a water-lily, either Nymphaea lotus, Nymphaea caerulea, or Nymphaea stellata. Recent studies have shown that the blue water-lily of the Nile, Nymphaea caerulea, also known as the blue lotus (already known under this name to the Greeks), is another candidate. It can be processed to be used as a soporific and, in some formulations, has psychotropic properties. It is common in Egyptian iconography which suggests its use in a religious context.
- the nettle-tree, Celtis australis
- Ziziphus lotus, a relative of the jujube
It is the last of these, or another member of the genus Ziziphus, that is traditionally taken to be the plant meant in the Odyssey.
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Fenugreek seeds.
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Nymphaea lotus.
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Lotus corniculatus.
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Nelumbo nucifera seeds.
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Celtis australis.
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Fresh jujube fruits.
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Nymphaea caerulea.
Read more about this topic: Lotus-eaters
Famous quotes containing the words lotus and/or plant:
“I passed a little further on and heard a lotus talk:
Who made the world and ruleth it, He hangeth on a stalk,
For I am in His image made, and all this tinkling tide
Is but a sliding drop of rain between His petals wide.”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)
“Now, what I want is, Facts. Teach these boys and girls nothing but Facts. Facts alone are wanted in life. Plant nothing else, and root out everything else. You can only form the minds of reasoning animals upon Facts: nothing else will ever be of any service to them. This is the principle on which I bring up my own children, and this is the principle on which I bring up these children. Stick to Facts, sir!”
—Charles Dickens (1812–1870)