Nepenthe

Nepenthe  /nɨˈpɛnθiː/ (Ancient Greek: Νηπενθές) is a medicine for sorrow, literally an anti-depressant – a "drug of forgetfulness" mentioned in ancient Greek literature and Greek mythology, depicted as originating in Egypt.

The carnivorous plant genus Nepenthes is named after the drug nepenthe.

Description in the Odyssey

The word nepenthe first appears in the fourth book of Homer's Odyssey (verses 220–221):

... εἰς οἶνον βάλε φάρμακον, ἔνθεν ἔπινον,

νηπενθές τ᾽ ἄχολόν τε, κακῶν ἐπίληθον ἁπάντων.

(4.220–221)

Figuratively, it means "that which chases away sorrow"; νη = ne = not, and πενθές = penthos = grief, sorrow, or mourning; so, literally, it means 'not-sorrow' or 'anti-sorrow'. In the Odyssey, Nepenthes pharmakon (i.e. an anti-sorrow drug) is a magical potion given to Helen by the Egyptian queen Polidamma. It quells all sorrows with forgetfulness.

Presumed ingredients

Many scholars think that nepenthe might have been an opium preparation, perhaps similar to laudanum. Alternatively, some believe it could have been an Egyptian wormwood elixir (see absinthe, history) or Cannabis, as the active compunds THC and CBD are well soluble in an alcoholic drink like wine and the effects would fit the given description, because the effects are now even being investigated in a possible therapy for PTSD.

As described in literature the effects of nepenthe are similar to those of opiates. The therapeutic and side effect profile of nepenthe as reported may also very well be the result of some form of belladonna-type anticholinergic being present, that drug being well known for its amnesia and other properties, the former of which is considerably more potent than opium in this respect, and belladonna or separated alkaloids, especially scopolamine, were widely used in surgery and medical and dental procedures for many years before medium and short acting benzodiazepines such as alprazolam, diazepam, chlordiazepoxide, midazolam and others. The opioid-amnesic combinations are available from pharmaceutical companies or can be mixed on site; often third and fourth ingredients such as potentiators and anti-histamines are present as well. When used with morphine and a benzodiazepine mixture, scopolamine can be used for its broad spectrum of effects including decreasing glandular secretions like saliva.

In culture

• In Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene, book 4, canto 3, the effect of the drink is extended: "such as drinck, eternall happinesse do fynd" (verse 43). Spenser likens Nepenthe to the magic potion from Ariosto's Orlando furioso.
• George Chapman refers to Nepenthe in Ovid's Banquet of Sense, stanza 10, line 1: "Sacred Nepenthe, purgatiue of care".
• In "The Raven", a poem by Edgar Allan Poe there is a reference to "quaffing nepenthe" in order to forget a lost love: "Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepenthe, and forget this lost Lenore!".
• Erasmus mentions Nepenthe in the opening paragraphs of In Praise of Folly.
• Nepenthe is the name of a collection of poetry published in 1921 by Greek poet Kostas Karyotakis. It was his second collection.
• Pliny makes reference to Nepenthe.^[1]
• Nepenthe is also the fictional name of the island in Norman Douglas' novel South Wind.
• When the Spacer woman Gladia Delmarre makes love to the detective Elijah Baley in Isaac Asimov's science fiction novel The Robots of Dawn, the exhausted Bailey finds "this utterly soft end of a hard day... as soporific as the fabled nepenthe...."
• In Patricia McKillip's novel Alphabet of Thorn, Nepenthe is the name of the main character.
• H. P. Lovecraft referenced nepenthe in one of the famous final lines from his story "The Outsider": "For although nepenthe has calmed me, I know always that I am an outsider..."
• American death metal band Nile mentions nepenthe in their song "Beneath Eternal Oceans of Sand" from their first album Amongst the Catacombs of Nephren-Ka: "In the cosmos / There is balm as well as bitterness / And that balm is Nepenthe". The song is inspired by Lovecraft's short story.
• "Nepenthe" is a song by Finnish metal band Sentenced, released on their fourth album, Amok.
• The fourth track of Eluvium's album "An Accidental Memory in the Case of Death" is titled "Nepenthe".
• Swedish progressive metal band Opeth has a song titled "Nepenthe" on their tenth album Heritage.
• Nepenthe Productions was a production company name used by Martin Rosen for several films he directed, two of them (Watership Down and The Plague Dogs) adaptations of Richard Adams novels.
• In Kurt Wimmer's 2002 science-fiction film Equilibrium, Nepenthe is used by Father to describe Prozium, the drug used to quell emotion.
• In The Bell Group Ltd (In Liq) v Westpac Banking Corp (No 9)^[2] Owen J (Supreme Court of Western Australia), having given judgment after legal proceedings that spanned five years, said: "[A] nepenthe beckons. Part of the nepenthe (which may even bear that name) is likely to involve a yeast-based substance. It will most certainly involve a complete avoidance of making decisions and writing judgments."

References