Thelotus tree (Ancient Greek:λωτός,lōtós) is a plant that is referred to in stories fromGreek andRoman mythology.
The lotus tree is mentioned inHomer'sOdyssey as bearing a fruit that caused a pleasant drowsiness, and which was said to be the only food of an island people called the Lotophagi orlotus-eaters. When they ate of the lotus tree, they would forget their friends and homes and would lose their desire to return to their native land in favor of living in idleness.[1]
Botanical candidates for the lotus tree include the persimmon (Diospyros lotus), which is asub-evergreen tree native toSouthwest Asia andSoutheast Europe that grows to about 25 ft (7.6 m) bearing yellowish green flowers, as well asZiziphus lotus, a plant with an edible fruit closely related to thejujube, native to theMediterranean region of Europe, Asia andNorth Africa.
InOvid'sMetamorphoses,[2] thenymphLotis was the beautiful daughter ofNeptune, the god of water and the sea. In order to flee the violent attention ofPriapus, she invoked the assistance of the gods, who answered her prayers by turning her into a lotus tree.[3]
TheQuran has a legendary plant, theLote tree, that marks the end of theseventh heaven.[4] In the Bible, theBook of Job also has two lines (40:21–22), with the Hebrew word צֶאֱלִים (tse'elim),[5] which appearsnowhere else in the Bible. A recent translation into English has been "lotus trees" since the publication of theRevised Version of theKing James Bible of 1881. However, it is otherwise rendered simply as "shady trees".[6]
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