ambrosia

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Thetis oils Achilles with ambrosia

The ambrosia ( ancient Greek ἀμβροσία ambrosía , German 'food of the gods' ) belongs to the area of Greek mythology .

etymology

The word is the feminine form of the adjective ἀμβρόσιος, ἀμβροσία, ἀμβρόσιον ("belonging to the immortals, immortal, ambrosial"), formed from the adjective ἄμβροτος, ἀμβρότη, ἄμβ -brotos . The noun from ancient Greek ἐδωδή edōd deutsch , German 'food', should also be considered . Actually, the adjective is ἀμβρότιος / α / ον. It is pre-ancient Greek from the sonant * n- indicating the negation (which in Greek becomes α privativum , in Latin becomes in and in German and English becomes un- ) and the root * mrt- ("death", cf. lat. mors ). The -β- is a scion between the nasal and the -r-, so that the adjective βροτός (mortal) appears as a derived, "retrograde" formation.

The accent Ambrósia corresponds to the rules of the Latin language.

There is an etymological and mythological relationship to the Hindu Amrita .

meaning

  • With Homer it occurs regularly in the Iliad and Odyssey as the immortal food of the gods. It is withheld from common people, as can be seen from the Kirke episode of the Odyssey.
  • According to the myth, wild pigeons brought ambrosia to Zeus. It was also given to the gods' favorites among men, such as Tantalus , Aeneas and Achilles . In the novel The Golden Donkey of Apuleius, Jupiter Psyche hands a mug with ambrosia with the words: "Take, Psyche, and you shall be immortal!"
  • Ambrosia was also used as an oil for embalming the dead. So Zeus orders Apollo to anoint the corpse of Sarpedon (χρῖσόν τ 'ἀμβροσίῃ - "[...] and anoint him with ambrosia!"), Which this ten verses later also explains.
  • Ambrosia is also generally used as a fragrant liquid, as in the Odyssey, where Eidothea uses it to cover up the seals odor. Virgil says something similar .
  • Ambrosia serves as food for the horses of the gods. You can see that B. from the Iliad, when it is said of the river Simois in the plain in front of Troy that it grows ambrosia as pasture for their horses. In Roman mythology, the horses of the sun god are fed with ambrosia, which grows in the west.
  • If Athenaeus reports that the ambrosia is mixed from pure water, olive oil and a mixture of fruits, one still finds an aftertaste of sweetness in Catullus , who speaks of a "kiss sweeter than sweet ambrosia".
  • Ambrosia was also used as an ointment, sweet-smelling balm or as a drink that increased the beauty of the body and protected it from rot.

Other connections

  • Early doctors called the elixirs of life and beauty products ambrosia.

Similar myths

literature

Individual evidence

  1. 5,197: While the goddess ambrosia and nectar are served, Odysseus only gets "what mortal people eat" (οἷα βροτοὶ ἄνδρες ἔδουσιν).
  2. 6.23: Sume, Psyche, et immortalis esto!
  3. Iliad 16.670
  4. V. 680: χρῖσεν τ 'ἀμβροσίῃ ("[...] and he anointed him with ambrosia").
  5. 4.445
  6. Georgica 4,515: haec ait et liquidum ambrosiae diffundit odorem ("Spoke and spread the refreshing ambrosia fragrance.")
  7. 5.777
  8. τοῖσίν δ 'ἀμβροσίην Σιμόεις ἀνέτειλε νέμεσθαι ("Simoeis let Ambrosia sprout as pasture for them")
  9. Ovid , Metamorphosen 2,120: ambrosiae suco saturos ("those who are fed up with ambrosia juice") and Metamorphosen 4,214 ff: Ax sub Hesperio sunt pascua Solis equorum. / Have ambrosia per gramine. Ea fessa diurnis / membra ministeriis nutrit reparatque labori ("In the western area lies the pasture of the steeds of the sun god. Ambrosia serves them as fodder instead of grass. It nourishes their limbs, which are tired from day-long service, and strengthens them for their work").
  10. Deipnosophistai 11,473 b
  11. 99.2: suaviolum dulci dulcius ambrosia .