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Posted by on Mar 24, 2018 in TellMeWhy |

What Kind of a Person Is a Lotus-eater?

What Kind of a Person Is a Lotus-eater?

What Kind of a Person Is a Lotus-eater? A lotus-eater is someone who is forgetful and careless about responsibility, living only for pleasure, a kind of person who leads a life of dreamy, indolent ease, indifferent to the busy world; daydreamer.

In Greek mythology the lotus-eaters, also referred to as the lotophagi or lotophaguses or lotophages, were a race of people living on an island dominated by lotus plants. The lotus fruits and flowers were the primary food of the island and were a narcotic, causing the inhabitants to sleep in peaceful apathy.

The lotus-eaters, or Lotophagi, whom Odysseus and his men encountered in Homer’s great epic poem, the Odyssey lived on a plant called zizyphus lotus, which they offered to travelers. Those who ate of it forgot home, friends and responsibilities and wanted only to lie in the sun and eat lotus for ever.

zizyphus lotus

The zizyphus lotus in the poem is from South Europe. It has large fruits holding a mealy material which can be used for making bread or wine.

Content for this question contributed by Nathan Garner, resident of Springfield, Hampden County, Massachusetts, USA