Mind (mythology)

In Greek mythology, Mind or Minte (in ancient Greek Μένθη Ménthē or Μινθη Minthê) She was a nymph associated with the river Cocito, who was loved by Hades and eventually transformed into the mint plant, which bears her name. By analogy with the plant, the name of the nymph can also be transcribed as Mint, which is the less common meaning. The sources do not agree on who performed the metamorphosis, shuffling the names between Persephone, Demeter or Hades. Be that as it may, no author reveals who the nymph's parents were.

Metamorphosis by Persephone

Strabo tells us that to the west of Pylos is a mountain named after Minte, who was named after the nymph. This, turned into a concubine of Hades, was trampled by Core and transformed into garden mint, the plant that some called hedyosmos (that is, "aromatic" or "fragrant"). On the mountain there is a sanctuary dedicated to Hades, also venerated by the Macistians, and, in addition, a sacred precinct dedicated to Demeter, which dominates the Pilia plain.

Metamorphosis by Demeter

Perhaps the most complete version of the myth is narrated by Opiano. This tells us that Mente was a lover of Hades, the god of the underworld before meeting Persephone, and whom he abandoned after meeting and falling in love with the daughter of Demeter, mother of the goddess of spring, queen of the underworld and wife of the god Hades.. Angry and delirious because of her jealousy, Mente went out to tell Demeter that she surpassed her daughter in beauty and that Hades would get bored of her new wife and would abandon her in the rooms of her palace; and that after her the god of the Underworld would return to her. Demeter, irritated by Mente's audacity, trampled it with her feet and at this moment her mint arose from the earth.

Metamorphosis by the work of Hades

Others say that Mente had become the wife of Hades after his marriage to Persephone, and she dismembered her rival in retaliation. However, Hades, feeling sorry for her, and to preserve the memory of this nymph, transformed her into mint.

Interpretations

Mint's link with Demeter and Persephone, deities associated with death, probably stems from the use of the mint plant in funeral rites, to cover up the odor of the decomposing corpse. The kykeon (a drink made with a mixture of water, barley and mint) is already mentioned in the Homeric hymn to Demeter, as one of the ingredients of the drink that the goddess drinks. It is precisely this same drink that the initiates drank during the Eleusinian mysteries.

Etymology

Finally, the -nth- sound, as in Menthe, is characteristic of words that come from Boluo-Greek, such as "acanthus", "labyrinth" or "Corinthian"; This already indicates how old this myth may be.