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Thyme was called thymon by the ancient Greeks from thyein meaning to make a burnt offering. Thyme was burned as incense in temples and later to sanctify or purify houses.
Thymon was apparently later confused with the Greek word thymos meaning mind, soul, spirit, and courage. A person said 'to smell of thyme' meant someone of admirable style, activity, and energy.
Thyme (Thymus vulgaris Linnaeus) is a centuries-old potherb native to the western Mediterranean. The herb was called thymon by the ancient Greeks from thyein meaning to make a burnt offering. Thyme was burned as incense in temples and later to sanctify or purify houses.
Thymon was apparently later confused with the Greek word thymos meaning mind, soul, spirit, and courage. A person said 'to smell of thyme' meant someone of admirable style, activity, and energy. Gerard's Herbal (1633) declares of thyme, "Of his native propertie it relieveth them which be melancholicke." The herb was taken as a cordial to invigorate and inspire courage.
To the Greeks, thyme denoted graceful elegance "To smell of Thyme" was an expression of stylish praise. After bathing, the Greeks would include oil of thyme in their massage. Thymus may derive from the Greek word thymon, meaning "courage," and many traditions relate to this virtue. Roman soldiers, for example, bathed in Thyme water to give themselves vigor. In the Middle Ages, European ladies embroidered a sprig of thyme on tokens for their Knights-errant.
Thymusmay also derive from the Greek word for "smoke";, as the Greeks burnt it both when making sacrifices to the gods and also as incense to dispel insects and contagion. Thymus is the original Greek name used by Theophrastus for both Thyme and Savory.
The Romans slept on thyme to cure melancholy, and in the 16th century John Gerard said thyme was "profitable for such as are ferful melancholic and troubled mind." It was considered a strengthening tonic to the brain and an aid to increased longevity.
A soup recipe of 1663 recorded the use of thyme and beer to overcome shyness, while the Scottish highlanders drank tea made of wild thyme for strength and courage, and to prevent nightmares.