The Real Fruit Behind Odyssey’s Lotus-Eaters Oblivion

Odysseus Overcome by Demodocus’ Song, by Francesco Hayez, 1813–15. Credit: Francesco Hayez / Public Domain

Within the 9th section of the Odyssey, Homer introduces a mystical and fascinating tribe, the Lotus-eaters, oregon successful Greek Lotophàgi (λωτοφάγοι).

A communicative interlude that is shorter than the different iconic stages of the Greek hero, but nevertheless hides a connection of denunciation toward past society. Also, a enigma that is inactive disputed contiguous among researchers of past myth.

Odysseus Lost After the Storm

After Odysseus and his men raided the stocks of the Cicones, a warrior radical located successful present-day Thrace, Zeus punished them with a beardown tempest that pushed the fleet disconnected course.

This was however the long-awaited travel backmost to Ithaca, turned into the greatest escapade ever told, and sung astir successful classical poems.

The fleet of the King of Ithaca was forced to dock connected the island of Djerba, northbound of Tunisia, wherever the archetypal fantastic brushwood of Homer’s communicative took place.

In this chartless land, Odysseus sent up 3 of his astir trusted men to hunt for assistance and supplies needed for the instrumentality voyage. However, the deficiency of quality and the passing of clip disquieted Odysseus. The islanders’ intentions and his men’s whereabouts were chartless to him, truthful helium decided to question answers himself. That is wherever helium came crossed the Lotus-eaters.

Lotus: the effect of forgetfulness

The Lotus-eaters were acold from hostile, yet Odysseus’ concerns were not unfounded. Though they were not attacked, the men of the King of Ithaca were “captured” by the eating habits of the section people.

The section inhabitants lived successful a primordial society; a operation powerfully tied to tribal customs. Their main, if not lone livelihood, was cultivating and past consuming the alleged lotuses.

Gastronomy often reflects societal organization, yet mythological and humanities information indispensable beryllium introduced earlier asking whether the tribal operation of the Lotus-eaters was the origin oregon the effect of their primitive diet.

“Those of them who tasted the sweetest effect of the lotus had nary tendency to instrumentality to study quality but preferred to enactment with those geniuses to sensation the lotus, forgetting the homeland.”

Odyssey, Book IX

Reference is made successful the above poem to the effect that these fruits produced to individuals who ate them; a consciousness of carelessness, a nonaccomplishment of volition and sinking into idiosyncratic oblivion.

Obviously this simple, if not primordial, nine of this people was the effect of their feeding connected these fruits. Otherwise stated, their gluttonous nature.

Deciphering the author’s substance to place the “lotus flower” with an constituent of today’s food, has produced overmuch confusion. For example, successful the Iliad, Homer refers to different lotus plant, akin to a clover, that the Trojans utilized arsenic fodder for their horses.

The Greeks gave the sanction lotòs (λωτός) to assorted kinds of fruits. However, they had nary nonstop transportation with psychedelic oregon narcotic plants.

Thanks, however, to archaeological, historical, and botanical studies, it has been imaginable to constrictive the tract of probe and place the effect successful question.

According to the ancient Greek doc and botanist, Pedanius Dioscorides, a benignant of lotus called cyrenaic – named aft the Roman empire portion Cyrenaica – grew successful the territories of present-day Lebanon and Tunisia. It was aboriginal named ziziphus lotus.

Jujube

The fruits of this works are identified arsenic 1 of the jujube species. It is recovered contiguous chiefly successful areas of North Africa and Asia. The jujube commonly consumed successful assorted accepted cuisines, is the 1 identified arsenic ziziphus jujuba, portion the Ziziphus lotus works represents a chaotic variant of it.

Jujube, known by the technological sanction Ziziphus jujuba. Credit: CIFOR / Flickr CC-BY-SA 2.0

In “The Histories,” by past historiographer Polybius, notation is made to the lotophagus – tribes of North Africa that featured jujubes successful their regular fare – and their preserving methods of the fruit.

“The full effect crushed erstwhile ripe, is stored successful the pots and is utilized to provender the servants, while, deprived of the kernel and preserved successful the aforesaid way, it is nutrient for the escaped people. Macerated successful h2o and minced, it is utilized to marque a wine-like drink.”

The Histories, Polybius

It is perchance that the main root of the Lotus’ psychotropic effect was wine. It was produced not from the vine, but from the works ziziphus lotus, and its fruit, the chaotic jujube.

In addition, it is thought that the benignant of this plant, recovered connected the land of the Lotus-eaters, produced jujubes with toxins. This made the macerated merchandise stronger successful presumption of alcoholic spot and psychotropic properties.

Homer’s Social Denunciation

Even if the land halt was described successful conscionable a fewer verses successful Homer’s poem, the mysterious writer manages to originate the contented of cause use.

In past Greece, cause use, of evident earthy origin, was wide among each Greek cities –poleis – of the Mediterranean. It went beyond the spiritual rites and ceremonies honoring the gods.

The Lotus-eaters communicative metaphorically serves arsenic a reporter’s text. The writer offers an penetration into the depletion of assorted substances and however they affected humans successful the regular beingness of the times.

Just similar immoderate fable written by Aesop, different large writer of the past Greek world, Homer besides hands down a motivation to the readers. The omniscient and mature Odysseus fights the consequences of feeding disconnected the lotus with his volition to instrumentality home. This tin beryllium paraphrased arsenic a motivational message:

Don’t suffer show of your goals and your motivation integrity arsenic a quality being by indulging successful the whims and snubs of the nine successful which we live.

Why is this a modern message? Because, we are… what we utilized to eat.