From folk medicine · Ancient Greece

The nymph who became mint

Mint

Mint is named after a nymph: in Greek myth, the water nymph Menthe, lover of Hades, god of the underworld, is turned into the mint plant. The name of the peony (Paeonia) also comes from Paeon, a physician who was turned into a plant. In Egypt, peony root was moved in the shape of a cross over people having epileptic fits, and it was called “haçotu” (cross herb).

Source: Nilay Tarhan, Miray Arslan, Sevgi Şar, “Bazı Tıbbi Bitkiler ve Onlara Ait Mitoslar”, Lokman Hekim Dergisi 6(1), 2016 (Tarhan et al., Lokman Hekim Dergisi, 2016). This is a folk record, not a treatment recommendation.

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