Orchis (Ancient Greek:Ὄρχις,romanized: Órkhis,lit. 'testicle, orchid'[1][2]) is often claimed to be a minor character inGreek mythology whose transformation is the origin of theorchid flower. However, Orchis's existence and myth does not seem to be attested in classical times.
The unattested myth supposedly goes that Orchis was the son of anymph and asatyr whose names are usually not disclosed, though sometimes given as Acolasia[a] and Patellanus (in some accounts, he is said to be the son of the fertility godPriapus). One day, during a festival in honour ofDionysus the god of wine, Orchis raped or attempted to rape one of Dionysus's priestesses, so the god killed him. His father mourned his death and asked the gods to bring him back, but they refused, and instead settled on creating theorchid flower out of him. An alternative version of his death has him being torn apart by wild animals or the priestesses themselves, and, through the intervention of the gods, the orchid grows from his testicles.
Over the years, this story has been repeated in books (mostly those onherbology),[4][5][6] websites,[7] and journals, however, none are known to have included a citation to a specific original source dating to ancientGreece orRome.
The story cannot be found in modern high-quality encyclopedias noted for their completeness regarding ancient Greek mythology, such as the German encyclopediaDer Neue Pauly,[8] which is considered to be an unparalleled masterpiece of classical German scholarship,[9][10] theDictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology byWilliam Smith,[11] which has been praised for its thorough and accurate entries that draw directly from ancient literary sources,[12] or in Paul M. C. Forbes Irving'sMetamorphosis in Greek Myths, a work specifically dealing with the themes of transformation in Greek mythology.[13]
"Orchis" as a proper name, and the names sometimes given to his parents, Patellanus and Acolasia,[14] do not appear anywhere before 1704, the year when French writerLouis Liger published a gardening book calledLe Jardinier Fleuriste et Historiographe ("the floristic and historical gardener").[15] Liger's book is the oldest known work where Orchis's tale appears, and it is considered likely that it was his own invention, although it does borrow elements from genuine myths, such as those ofPentheus (who is torn apart) andHyacinthus (who dies and is transformed into a flower).[16]
The orchid was known to the ancient Greeks, and they did make a connection between the plant and satyrs: early herbalists would call the orchid 'satyrion'.[17] It was seen as an aphrodisiac, and some species (particularly theorchis italica) were thought to resemble a little satyr in shape.[18]Theophrastus, author of one of themost important books of natural history written in ancient times, wrote that they were called thus due to their round root, which bore a resemblance to human testicles,[2] and recorded their healing and aphrodisiac properties. Orchids were thought to help produce male progeny if given to men, or female progeny if given to women.[19]
Another similar myth is the story ofButes, a Thracian man who rapedCoronis, a follower of Dionysus. She called upon her god, and he punished Butes by driving him mad and ended with his falling to his death down a well.[20]
Other examples of invented traditions:
The dictionary definition ofὄρχις at Wiktionary
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