Nepenthe (Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: νηπενθές,) is a possibly fictional medicine for sorrow – a "drug of forgetfulness" mentioned in ancient Greek literature and Greek mythology, depicted as originating in Egypt.[1]
The carnivorous plant genus Nepenthes is named after the drug nepenthe.
The word Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: nepenthe first appears in the fourth book of Homer's Odyssey:
Figuratively, nepenthe means "that which chases away sorrow". Literally it means 'not-sorrow' or 'anti-sorrow': Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: νη-,, i.e. "not" (privative prefix), and Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: πενθές, from Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: πένθος,, i.e. "grief, sorrow, or mourning".[2]
In the Odyssey, νηπενθές φάρμακον : (i.e. an anti-sorrow drug) is a magical potion given to Helen by Polydamna, the wife of the noble Egyptian Thon; it quells all sorrows with forgetfulness.