Myrsine (mythology)
InGreek mythology,Myrsine(Ancient Greek:Μυρσίνη,romanized:Mursínē,lit. 'myrtle') is an Attic girl who won the favour ofAthenathanks to her impressive athletic achievements and her beauty, and the envy of the other Atticans for the same reason.[1]Her brief tale survives in theGeoponica,a Byzantine Greek collection of agricultural lore, compiled during the tenth century inConstantinoplefor the Byzantine emperorConstantine VII Porphyrogenitus.
Etymology
[edit]The Ancient Greek wordμυρσίνη(myrsínē) means 'myrtle'.[2]Other spellings and forms includeμυρρίνη(myrrhínē), masc.μύρρινος(mýrrhinos) for the plant overall and myrtle wreaths, while the berry isμύρτον(mýrton)[3]orμυρτίς(myrtís).[4][5]Myrsine and its variants is probably ofSemiticorigin, but unrelated to the word for myrrh,μύρρα(mýrrha) orσμύρνα(smýrna), despite the strong resemblance between the two words.[5]Robert Beekessuggested apre-Greekorigin due to themyrt-/myrs-variation.[6]
Mythology
[edit]Myrsine surpassed all girls in beauty and all boys in strength, winning herself the favour ofAthena,the virgin goddess of wisdom and patron-goddess ofAttica.She excelled in both theringand the race, beating all of her opponents. Many of her fellow athletes were envious and grew resentful, so they murdered her. But Athena took pity in her favourite, and turned the dead girl into amyrtle,which was 'not less acceptable to Athena than the olive tree'.[7][8][9][10][11]A similar, almost word-for-word, story was also told about another maiden,Elaea,who was changed into an olive tree.[11]
The myrtle was also seen asAphrodite's sacred plant, and she too had a story connecting her to it.[10][11]
See also
[edit]
References
[edit]- ^Rosemary M. Wright."A Dictionary of Classical Mythology: Summary of Transformations".mythandreligion.upatras.gr.University of Patras.RetrievedJanuary 3,2023.
- ^Liddell & Scotts.v.μυρσίνη
- ^Liddell & Scotts.v.μύρτος
- ^Liddell & Scotts.v.μυρτίς
- ^abHünemörder, Christian (2006)."Myrtle".In Cancik, Hubert; Schneider, Helmuth (eds.).Brill's New Pauly.Translated by Christine F. Salazar. Hamburg: Brill Reference Online.RetrievedJanuary 9,2023.
- ^Beekes 2010,pp.983-984.
- ^Geoponica6
- ^Cancik et al. 2002,p. 423.
- ^New York (State) Legislature Assembly, p.683
- ^abVersnel 1993,p.264, note 119.
- ^abcForbes Irving 1990,p. 278.
Bibliography
[edit]- Anonymous (1805).Geoponika: Agricultural Pursuits.Vol. II. Translated by Thomas Owen.London.
- Beekes, Robert S. P.(2010). Lucien van Beek (ed.).Etymological Dictionary of Greek.Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series. Vol. ΙΙ. Leiden, the Netherlands:Brill Publications.ISBN978-90-04-17419-1.
- Cancik, Hubert; Schneider, Helmuth; Salazar, Christine F.; Orton, David E. (2002).Brill's New Pauly: Encyclopaedia of the Ancient World.Vol. IX.Brill Publications.ISBN978-90-04-12272-7.
- Forbes Irving, Paul M. C. (1990).Metamorphosis in Greek Myths.Clarendon Press.ISBN0-19-814730-9.
- Liddell, Henry George;Scott, Robert(1940).A Greek-English Lexicon,revised and augmented throughout by Sir Henry Stuart Jones with the assistance of Roderick McKenzie.Oxford:Clarendon Press.Online version at Perseus.tufts project.
- New York (State) Legislature Assembly (March 28, 1865).Documents of the Assembly of the State of New York.Vol. 9. C. Wendell.
- Versnel, Henk (1993).Inconsistencies in Greek and Roman Religion.Vol. II: Transition and Reversal in Myth and Ritual.Leiden,theNetherlands:Brill Publications.ISBN90-04-09266-8.
