In Greek mythology, the lotus-eaters (Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: λωτοφάγοι|lōtophágoi) were a race of people living on an island dominated by the lotus tree, a plant whose botanical identity is uncertain. The lotus fruits and flowers were the primary food of the island and were a narcotic, causing the inhabitants to sleep in peaceful apathy. 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, the lotus-eaters (Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: λωτοφάγοι, lōtophágoi), are also referred to as the lotophagi or lotophaguses (singular lotophagus) or lotophages (singular lotophage).
In Homer's epic poem the Odyssey Book IX, Odysseus tells how adverse north winds blew him and his men off course as they were rounding Cape Malea, the southernmost tip of the Peloponnesus, headed westwards for Ithaca:
Herodotus, in the 5th century BC, was sure that they still existed in his day in coastal Libya:Polybius identifies the land of the lotus-eaters as the island of Djerba (ancient Meninx), off the coast of Tunisia.[1] Later, this identification is supported by Strabo.[2] Pseudo-Scylax mentions lotus-eaters in area of northern and central Dalmatia ("namely the Iaderatenai and Boulinoi").[3]
Because the Greek word λωτός lōtós can refer to several different plants, there is some ambiguity as to which "lotus" appears in the Odyssey.
The Lotos-Eaters is a poem by Alfred Tennyson, describing a group of mariners who, upon eating the lotos, are put into an altered state and isolated from the outside world.
The Lotus Eater is a short story by W. Somerset Maugham about a man who goes to live a life of indolence on the island of Capri.
British romantic composer Hubert Parry wrote a half-hour choral setting of Tennyson's poem for soprano, choir, and orchestra.[4]
In the book Percy Jackson & the Olympians, the characters of Percy, Annabeth and Grover find themselves in a hotel in Vegas during book 1, The Lightning Thief, called the Lotus Hotel and Casino. They fall victim to the Lotus Eaters before Percy manages to regain control over himself and drags his friends out, finding they had missed five days and now had only one day to finish their quest to find and return Zeus' stolen Master Bolt to prevent a war of the gods.[5]
Season 2, episode 4 of the CBS series Star Trek Strange New Worlds originally airing July 6, 2023 is titled "Among The Lotus Eaters." The premise of the episode takes place around the crew of the USS Enterprise encountering a population on an alien planet being affected by a form of radiation that causes them to lose their memories at the end of every day.[6]