Lotus tree in the context of "Lucina (mythology)"

⭐ In the context of Lucina (mythology), the lotus tree is considered…

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⭐ Core Definition: Lotus tree

The lotus tree (Ancient Greek: λωτός, lōtós) is a plant that is referred to in stories from Greek and Roman mythology. It is not known if it was real or mythical, and there are multiple candidates for possible real plants that might have been given that name.

The lotus tree is mentioned in Homer's Odyssey as bearing a fruit that caused a pleasant drowsiness, and which was said to be the only food of an island people called the Lotophagi or lotus-eaters. When they ate of the lotus tree, they would forget their friends and homes and would lose their desire to return to their native land in favor of living in idleness.

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👉 Lotus tree in the context of Lucina (mythology)

In ancient Roman religion, Lucina was a title or epithet given to the goddess Juno, and sometimes to Diana, in their roles as goddesses of childbirth who safeguarded the lives of women in labor.

The title lucina (from the Latin lux, lucis, "light") links both Juno and Diana to the light of the Moon, the cycles of which were used to track female fertility as well as measure the duration of a pregnancy. Priests of Juno called her by the epithet Juno Covella on the new moon. The title might alternatively have been derived from lucus ("grove") after a sacred grove of lotus trees on the Esquiline Hill associated with Juno, later the site of her temple.

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Lotus tree in the context of Lotus-eaters

In Greek mythology, lotophages or the lotus-eaters (Ancient Greek: λωτοφάγοι, romanized: lōtophágoi) were a race of people living on an island dominated by the lotus tree off coastal Tunisia (Island of Djerba), a plant whose botanical identity is uncertain. The Lotophagi race in the Odyssey are said to eat the fruit of the lotos "sweet as honey". The lotus fruits and flowers were the primary food of the island and were a narcotic, causing the inhabitants to sleep in peaceful apathy. After they ate the lotus, they would forget their home and loved ones and long only to stay with their fellow lotus-eaters. Those who ate the plant never cared to report or return.

Figuratively, 'lotus-eaters' denotes "people who spend their time indulging in pleasure and luxury rather than dealing with practical concerns".

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Lotus tree in the context of The Lotos-Eaters

The Lotos-Eaters is a poem by Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson, published in Tennyson's 1832 poetry collection. It was inspired by his trip to Spain with his close friend Arthur Hallam, where they visited the Pyrenees mountains. The poem describes a group of mariners who, upon eating the lotos, are put into an altered state and isolated from the outside world. The title and concept derives from the lotus-eaters in Greek mythology.

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Lotus tree in the context of Lotus (genus)

Lotus, a latinization of Greek lōtos (λωτός), is a genus of flowering plants that includes most bird's-foot trefoils (also known as bacon-and-eggs) and deervetches. Depending on the taxonomic authority, roughly between 70 and 150 species are accepted, all legumes; American species formerly placed in the genus have been transferred to other genera. Lotus species are found in the Eastern Hemisphere and adapted to a wide range of habitats.

The aquatic plant commonly known as the Indian or sacred lotus is Nelumbo nucifera, a species not closely related to Lotus.

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LINKED FROM (PARENTS)
← Lucina (mythology) ← Lotus-eaters ← The Lotos-Eaters ← Lotus (genus) ← Lucina (goddess)
LINKS TO (CHILDREN)
Ancient Greek language → Greek mythology → Roman mythology → Homer → Odyssey → Lotus-eaters →