Re: etymological trivia
- Subject: Re: etymological trivia
- From: t* <t*@gmail.com>
- Date: Fri, 21 Jan 2011 10:06:41 -0800
Here's a short article...
http://www.horticapublications.com/ART-H-024.htm
THE GREEK MYTHS BEHIND PLANT NAMES
And here's a book...
http://rutgerspress.rutgers.edu/acatalog/Gods_and_Goddesses_in_the_Garden.html
Gods and Goddesses in the Garden
Subtitle: Greco-Roman Mythology and the Scientific Names of Plants
Author: Peter Bernhardt
2008
On Wed, Jan 19, 2011 at 10:01 PM, Ben Armentrout-Wiswall
<benjamin.r.aw@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi All,
> I don't know if there are any classics scholars out there, but does anyone
> know the relationship between:
> Achillea and Achilles?
> Artemisia and Artemis?
> Asclepias and Asclepius?
> Nemesia and Nemesis?
> I suspect some scientific plant names are strictly derivative, a poetically
> inclined botanist assigning an ancient name to a new discovery, such as
> Arethusa, Calypso, or Endymion.
> Others I suspect are simply the names the ancient Greeks gave to plants,
> such as Iris, Narcissus, or Hyacinthus.
> Anyway, if anyone can shed some light on nomenclature, I'd appreciate it.
