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Lethe |
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Lethe (lē`thē), in Greek mythology, river of forgetfulness in Hades. The dead drank from Lethe upon their arrival in the underworld. LetheAncient Greek personification of oblivion. She was the daughter of Eris (Strife). Her name was also applied to a river or plain in the realm of the dead. In the Orphic mysteries it was believed that the newly dead who drank from the River Lethe would lose all memory of their past existence. The initiated were taught to drink instead from Mnemosyne, the river of Memory. Lethe river of Hades which induced forgetfulness. [Gk. Myth.: Brewer Dictionary, 687; Br. Lit.: Paradise Lost; Rom. Lit.: Aeneid] See : Forgetfulness How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content. |
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The rosemary nods upon the grave; The lily lolls upon the wave; Wrapping the fog about its breast, The ruin moulders into rest; Looking like Lethe, see Whereby you may see, that the river of Lethe runneth as well above ground as below. "I know not Lethe nor Nepenthe," remarked he; "but I have learned many new secrets in the wilderness, and here is one of them -- a recipe that an Indian taught me, in requital of some lessons of my own, that were as old as Paracelsus. |
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