Mint is a classic herb – it tastes heavenly in everything, grows everywhere and requires low maintenance – it comes out every year with no fuss, let alone the remarkable health benefits, that make it widely popular and appreciated. We need more mint in our lives! No, seriously – it can relieve our fatigue and headache and help us with the modern days’ most common illness – the depression.
Aromatic mint tea is a total bliss and mint can also be used in various infused waters and cocktails that will definitely add an extra sparkle to the summer, so what’s not to love?!
There is a quite intriguing story that goes behind the famous plant. You will be surprised to find out that as happy as it seems, mint was born from jealousy and violence. According to the Greek mythology, Minthe was a water nymph who lived near a river that went through the Underworld. One day Hades, the ruler of the Underworld spotted the beautiful nymph, apparently she also liked him, so they started an affair. At that time Hades was already married to Persephone. Unsurprisingly, she found out about her husband’s new friend and was not happy with the news, to say the least. No, Sir, she was furious and she had to take revenge from the water nymph. Classic myth scenario so far. The queen of the Underworld started stomping over the nymph in rage, until Minthe transformed into a plant and every time when Persephone stomped over it with her feet, the plant released a delightful scent.
Arising from the Greek myth, the name of the herb came out as minta, supposedly a borrowing from a long-lost Mediterranean language, through the classical Latin menta, mentha, to the Old Germanic minte, and to enter the English language in the 8th century. With Anglo-Saxon and Old English dictionaries from the mid 14th century listing the different spellings of the aromatic plants, as: Menta, minte, mente, minten.
And the written records from the next 3 centuries, referring to the herb as: mynte, mynthe, mintis; to come to 1657 and the first usage of the modern spelling to be found in a translation of Jean de Renou’s A medicinal dispensatory: “Mint is useful to cibaries [food], which..is a grateful sallet [salad] herb.”
