minthe
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ingreekmythology,minthe(alsomenthe,mentha,mintho,ingreekΜένθη)wasanaiadassociatedwiththerivercocytus.shewasdazzledbyhades'goldenchariotandwasabouttobeseducedbyhimhadnotqueenpersephonemetamorphosedmintheintothepungentlysweet-smellingmint,whichsomecallhedyosmus.the╟nth╟elementinmentheischaracteristicofaclassofwordsborrowedfromapre-greeklanguage:compareacanthus,labyrinth,corinth,etc.

inancientgreece,mintwasusedinfuneraryrites,togetherwithrosemaryandmyrtle,andnotsimplytooffsetthesmellofdecay;mintwasanelementinthefermentedbarleydrinkcalledthekykeonthatwasanessentialpreparatoryentheogenforparticipantsintheeleusinianmysteries,whichofferedhopeintheafterlifeforinitiates.(kerenyi1967).


[edit]references
strabo:viii.3.14[1]
ovid:metamorphosesx:728╟731[2]
graves,robert,(1955;rev.ed.1960).thegreekmythsi(london:penguin)31.d(p121),31.d.note6(p.124).
kerenyi,karl,1967.eleusis:archetypalimageofmotheranddaughter,pp.40,179f(princeton:bollingen)
retrievedfrom"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/minthe"
categories:greekmythology|naiads