InGreek mythology,lotophages or thelotus-eaters (Ancient Greek:λωτοφάγοι,romanized: lōtophágoi) were a race of people living on an island dominated by thelotus tree off coastal Tunisia (Island ofDjerba),[1][2] a plant whose botanical identity is uncertain. The Lotophagi race in theOdyssey are said to eat the fruit of thelotos "sweet as honey".[2] The lotus fruits and flowers were the primary food of the island and were anarcotic, causing the inhabitants to sleep in peacefulapathy. After they ate the lotus, they would forget their home and loved ones and long only to stay with their fellow lotus-eaters. Those who ate the plant never cared to report or return.
Figuratively, 'lotus-eaters' denotes "people who spend their time indulging in pleasure and luxury rather than dealing with practical concerns".
In English, thelotus-eaters (Ancient Greek:λωτοφάγοι,lōtophágoi), are also referred to as thelotophagi orlotophaguses (singularlotophagus/ləˈtɒfəɡəs/) orlotophages (singularlotophage/ˈloʊtəfeɪdʒ/).[3]
InHomer's epic poem theOdyssey Book IX, Odysseus tells how adverse north winds blew him and his men off course as they were roundingCape Malea, the southernmost tip of thePeloponnesus, headed westwards forIthaca:
I was driven thence by foul winds for a space of 9 days upon the sea, but on the tenth day we reached the land of the Lotus-eaters, who live on a food that comes from a kind of flower. Here we landed to take in fresh water, and our crews got their mid-day meal on the shore near the ships. When they had eaten and drunk I sent two of my company to see what manner of men the people of the place might be, and they had a third man under them. They started at once, and went about among the Lotus-eaters, who did them no hurt, but gave them to eat of the lotus, which was so delicious that those who ate of it left off caring about home, and did not even want to go back and say what had happened to them, but were for staying and munching lotus with the Lotus-eaters without thinking further of their return; nevertheless, though they wept bitterly I forced them back to the ships and made them fast under the benches. Then I told the rest to go on board at once, lest any of them should taste of the lotus and leave off wanting to get home, so they took their places and smote the grey sea with their oars.[4]
Herodotus, in the 5th century BC, was sure that they still existed in his day in coastalLibya:
A promontory jutting out into the sea from the country of the Gindanes[5] is inhabited by the lotus-eaters, who live entirely on the fruit of the lotus-tree. The lotus fruit is about the size of thelentisk berry and in sweetness resembles thedate.[6] The lotus-eaters even succeed in obtaining from it a sort of wine.[7]
Polybius identifies the land of the lotus-eaters as the island ofDjerba (ancient Meninx), off the coast ofTunisia.[1] Later, this identification is supported byStrabo.[8]Pseudo-Scylax mentions lotus-eaters in area of northern and centralDalmatia ("namely the Iaderatenai andBoulinoi").[9]
Because the Greek word λωτόςlōtós can refer to several different plants, there is some ambiguity as to which "lotus" appears in theOdyssey.
The Lotos-Eaters is a poem byAlfred Tennyson, describing a group of mariners who, upon eating the lotos, are put into an altered state and isolated from the outside world.
British romantic composerHubert Parry wrote a half-hour choral setting of Tennyson's poem for soprano, choir, and orchestra.[10]
The novelPercy Jackson and the Lightning Thief byRick Riordan features the 'Lotus Hotel and Casino', which is based off of the Lotus-eaters. The casino muddles the character's senses and distorts time; days pass without them knowing. In the film adaptation, the characters eat physical Lotus cookies and are only able to escape when they stop eating them, similar to the Odyssey
The Lotus Eaters (Weinbaum) is a 1935 short story byStanley G. Weinbaum that explores the Lotus Eaters as an intelligent vegetative species on the planet Venus discovered by human explorers.[11]
The 1972-1973BBC television seriesThe Lotus Eaters (TV series) features a group ofBritishex-pats inCrete, many staying there to escape difficulties or embarrassments in their previous lives.
