Mintha, Green Goddess

January 18, 2013 — ancient Greece, aromatherapy, mint, mythology

Persephone stomps on Mintha

Mintha, Greek goddess of the mint plant is a fertile herbal mother.  Stewing, growing, and drinking mint can cause euphoric uplift.  Soothing, aiding digestion of food and intuition, mint tea opens the senses and the mind.  Bathing or washing with mint stimulates the skin and the circulation.  The high notes of these aromas evaporate quickly.  The use of mint in aromatherapy is widespread and well accepted.  Peppermint oil is used for everything from headache cure to memory tonic. In the middle east, especially Morocco, mint tea is the beverage of choice for all occasions.

Growing mint is easy.  I grow several varieties, with the most dominant ones winning out and taking over the space.  A source of moisture is all they need to spread like crazy underground.  To harvest it, cut it and hang your bundles in a dry dark place until dry.  I store mine in brown paper bags once dry because I have too much to use jars. I harvest mass amounts throughout the year.   In the summer we drink it every day for the cooling qualities.  Mints mix very well with other herbs and fruits to create flavor layers in tea.

Mintha, the water nymph of myth, had an affair with Haides, god of the underworld, pissing off Persephone, his wife.  In an all too common scenario in Greek mythology, angry wife takes revenge on the nymph, in this case by by stomping on her.  She turns into the mint plant so that every time Persephone steps on her the aroma of mint wafts all over the angry queen.  So whether  you want to uplift your spirits or annoy an angry queen, the goddess Mintha is the tool for the job.