Several years ago, I decided that if I ever had a daughter her name would be Ambrosia Dominique. I did not have a daughter, but I did stay true to my love of Greek names with the name of my son. His name is Daryn, and in the Greek language the name means gift. If I would have had a daughter, her name would have been tied to the mysterious mythology of her namesake.
There are several extraordinary myths about ambrosia. This amazing and not completely described item, is said to have been used by the ancient Greeks. They were said to have consumed ambrosia orally, but in some instances used it externally. A powerful item which could bestow one with immortality, was reserved for the Greek God and Goddess of Mount Olympus.
Ambrosia is said to have possibly been a hallucinogenic, causing feelings of euphoria. Some scholars of Greek mythology believe that ambrosia and nectar (often identified as two distinct items) may have really been one in the same, as some sources note that ambrosia was consumed in liquid form. The drink was used as a method of purification, as perfume for attraction, and at times as a sort of love potion. In one particular Greek myth, Athena delivers ambrosia to Heracles when he becomes immortal, and joins the others on Olympus.
Contemporary scholars have concluded that ambrosia was likely honey. The wings of a bee, flight, and the healing properties of honey were likely behind the belief of immortality in relation to the ingestion of ambrosia. The use of ambrosia externally has been recorded in Greek mythology in one of two ways that I have read about. It was used as a salve or ointment to anoint or for healing, and possibly as a way to preserve the spirit of the departed. In two separate myths, ambrosia was used (put on) a corpse. Apollo used ambrosia on the corpse of Sarpedon, and Thetis used it on the corpse of Patroclus.
Though only the most divine beings were allowed to consume or use ambrosia, the special product was inevitably sought after by mortals. I was unable to find any myths which detail the success of any mortal in obtaining and/or consuming/using ambrosia. Though I guess if a mortal got their hands on ambrosia, it wouldn’t really be a myth at all now would it?
If you are interested in reading about the mythology of ambrosia, you may want to check out the following Greek myths about: Aphrodite and her ambrosian oil; Apollo and the corpse of Sarpedon; Calypso and his table; Circe and a flock of doves; Polyphemus, his wine and Odysseus; Psyche, the completion of her quests, and her marriage to Eros; Thetis and Achilles; and Thetis and the corpse of Patroclus.
***Sources:
*Swarthmore College Computer Society http://www.sccs.swarthmore.edu/users/08/ajb/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Ambrosia.html
*Dartmouth College http://www.dartmouth.edu/~milton/reading_room/pl/book_5/notes.shtml
*University of Chicago, Department of Romance Languages and Literature, The ARTFL Project http://machaut.uchicago.edu/?action=search&resource=Webster%27s&word=Ambrosia&quicksearch=on
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