The quest for Homer’s moly
Exploring the Potential of an Early Ethnobotanical Complex
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 7843985 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Rafael Molina-Venegas (0000-0001-5801-0736, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, corresponding author), Rodrigo Verano (0000-0002-6489-4491, Universidad Complutense de Madrid) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 20 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 11-11 |
| Publication date | 2024-01-20 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1746-4269 • E-ISSN: 1746-4269 |
| Publisher | Springer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1186/s13002-024-00650-7 |
| PMID | 38245738 |
| OpenAlex | W4391052081 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 44 |
The Homeric plant moly is a mysterious herb mentioned in Book 10 of the Odyssey . In the early 1980s, a pharmacological thesis to identify the plant was put forward for the first time, regarding the snowdrop ( Galanthus nivalis L.) as candidate species. The proposal was inspired by the snowdrop’s acetylcholinesterase (AChE)-inhibiting properties and its alleged morphological reminiscence to other plants called moly by ancient Greek herbalists. Here, we draw from a compilation of literature from various disciplines, together with an understanding of the Homeric epic as a repository of information based on oral traditions, to (i) show that the assimilation of Homer’s moly to Galanthus nivalis is, at the very least, questionable and (ii) frame and support a new synthesis of the pharmacological thesis. We suggest that the uncertainty that revolves around the identity of Homer’s moly can be tied to an unnamed phylogenetic clade of closely related Mediterranean native species with AChE-inhibiting properties. Further, we speculate that Homer’s moly might represent an early record of an ethnobotanical complex, a sort of cultural taxon resulting from the cognitive crossbreeding of closely related taxonomic species that could have been interchangeably used due to their rough resemblance and common AChE-inhibiting properties. Such cultural taxon would have referred to the phytonym moly by the centuries-old oral traditions that ultimately crystallized in the poem. We also venture that sea daffodils ( Pancratium spp.) could have greatly contributed to shaping the botanical archetype in the myth as we know it today
Biology · Botany · Ethnobotany · Medicinal plants · Reminiscence · Chemical synthesis and alkaloids · Cholinesterase and Neurodegenerative Diseases · Philosophy · Psychedelics and Drug Studies
Oral Tradition and its Implications
Homeric Warfare
Perceiving Colors
Etymological Dictionary of Greek
Early Greek Imports in Sardinia
Arming scenes, war preparation, and spoils in ancient epic
A study of four medicinal plant complexes of Mexico and adjacent United States
Medicinal plant complexes of Salvia subgenus Calosphace
Árnica
Galanthamine from snowdrop—the development of a modern drug against Alzheimer’s disease from local Caucasian knowledge
Hexing Herbs” in Ethnobotanical Perspective
Odyssey 5.234–53 and Homeric Ship Construction
Gathered Food Plants in the Mountains of Castilla–La Mancha (Spain)
Henbane—Healing herb of hercules and of apollo
The Plant Called Moly
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |