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Myrsine (mythology)

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In Greek mythology, Myrsine (Ancient Greek: Μυρσίνη, romanizedMursínē, lit.'myrtle') is an Attic girl who won the favour of Athena thanks 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 the Geoponica, a Byzantine Greek collection of agricultural lore, compiled during the tenth century in Constantinople for the Byzantine emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus.

Etymology

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The Ancient Greek word μυρσίνη (myrsínē) means 'myrtle'.[2] Other spellings and forms include μυρρίνη (myrrhínē), masc. μύρρινος (mýrrhinos) for the plant overall and myrtle wreaths, while the berry is μύρτον (mýrton)[3] or μυρτίς (myrtís).[4][5] Myrsine and its variants is probably of Semitic origin, but unrelated to the word for myrrh, μύρρα (mýrrha) or σμύρνα (smýrna), despite the strong resemblance between the two words.[5] Robert Beekes suggested a pre-Greek origin due to the myrt-/myrs- variation.[6]

Mythology

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The Attican maiden Myrsine surpassed all girls in beauty and all boys in strength, winning herself the favour of Athena, the virgin goddess of wisdom and patron-goddess of Attica.[7][8] She excelled in both the ring and the race, beating all of her opponents. Many of her fellow athletes were envious and grew resentful, so they murdered her.[9] But Athena took pity in her favourite, and turned the dead girl into a myrtle, which was 'not less acceptable to Athena than the olive tree'.[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 as Aphrodite's sacred plant, and she too had a story connecting her to it.[9][11]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Rosemary M. Wright. "A Dictionary of Classical Mythology: Summary of Transformations". mythandreligion.upatras.gr. University of Patras. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
  2. ^ Liddell & Scott s.v. μυρσίνη
  3. ^ Liddell & Scott s.v.μύρτος
  4. ^ Liddell & Scott s.v. μυρτίς
  5. ^ a b Hünemörder, Christian (2006). "Myrtle". In Cancik, Hubert; Schneider, Helmuth (eds.). Brill's New Pauly. Translated by Christine F. Salazar. Hamburg: Brill Reference Online. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
  6. ^ Beekes 2010, pp. 983-984.
  7. ^ Cancik et al. 2002, p. 423.
  8. ^ New York (State) Legislature Assembly, p. 683
  9. ^ a b Versnel 1993, p. 264, note 119.
  10. ^ Geoponica 6
  11. ^ a b c Forbes Irving 1990, p. 278.

Bibliography

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