Minthe was a Chthonic Naiad Nymph of the river Cocytus and a lover of Hades, the Lord of the Underworld and god of the dead.
Genealogy and Family[]
Minthe is the daughter of the river god, Cocytus with an unknown mother.
Story[]
Minthe became concubine to Hades, the lord of the Underworld and god of the dead and in jealousy, his wife Persephone intervened and metamorphosed Minthe, in the words of Strabo's account, "into the garden mint, which some call hedyosmos (lit. 'sweet-smelling')". A mountain near Pylos was named after Minthe, where one of the few temples of Hades in Greece was situated.
Similarly to that, a scholiast on Nicander wrote that Minthe became Hades' mistress; for this Persephone tore her into pieces, but Hades turned his dead lover into the fragrant plant that bore her name in her memory. Ovid also briefly mentions Minthe and her transformation at the hands of Persephone in his Metamorphoses, but neglects to mention the story behind it. According to Oppian, Minthe had been Hades' mistress before he abducted and married Persephone, but he set her aside once he carried off and married his queen. Afterwards, she would boast that she surpassed Persephone in beauty and that Hades would soon return to her; in anger over the nymph's insolence, Persephone's mother Demeter trampled her, and thus from the earth sprang the mint herb.
Appearance and Personality[]
Trivia[]
Minthe's official Greek name is Μινθη.
Similiar to the Nymphs, Daphne, Clytie and The Heliades she was was transformed into a plant.