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The character Myrrhine, a young and sexy wife, appears in the bawdy comedy-drama Lysistrata by Aristophanes.
One web-source, authored by a professor, states that the various character-names were not simply names: they had meanings in ancient greek, the name Myrrhine being a sexual reference to a part of the female anatomy.
http://www.humanitiesinthebeginning.org/Hum211/greece12.htm; final paragraph
The professor, being professorial, uses a technical term to specify that part, but I suspect that Aristophanes would in fact have used the more earthy, "street-language" of his day. On the other hand, a friend with whom I discussed this felt that the name Myrrhine relates to myrrh.
To check further I contacted a friend in Athens who is a by profession a Greek-English translator. Her reference-books indicate that the word indeed refers to the part of the female anatomy.
HOWEVER, there remains the possibility that there was, in greek, a linguistic connection between the anatomical word and the substance myrrh. Here my research ends except to note, in support of a possible such connection, that the substance myrrh was used as a base for fragrant oils and perfumes (see definition in bartleby).
Post-edit: boldfaced added to highlight the tie to the subject of myrrh, per of-troy's question.
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Post deleted by Robert Payne
Robert Payne 06/12/02 07:35 PM ![]()
Re: Myrrh
wwh 06/12/02 07:59 PM ![]()
Re: Myrrh
wow 06/12/02 11:36 PM ![]()
Re: Myrrh
Geoff 06/13/02 01:07 AM ![]()
Re: Myrrh
alexis 06/13/02 08:45 AM ![]()
Re: Myrrh
of troy 06/13/02 12:18 AM ![]()
Re: Myrrh
of troy 06/14/02 04:09 PM ![]()
Re: Myrrh
Keiva 06/14/02 11:34 PM ![]()
Re: Myrrh
of troy 06/15/02 12:55 AM ![]()
Re: Myrrh
Keiva 06/15/02 02:22 AM ![]()
last words
snoot 06/16/02 12:17 AM ![]()
Re: deleted; a dittograph
Keiva 06/16/02 01:14 AM ![]()
Re: endlessly repeated words
Keiva 06/16/02 01:15 AM ![]()
Re: last words
of troy 06/16/02 01:17 AM ![]()
let's do it again
consuelo 06/16/02 01:21 AM ![]()
Re: Myrrh
alexis 06/16/02 02:35 AM ![]()
Re: Myrrh
of troy 06/15/02 03:23 AM ![]()
Re: Myrrh
FishonaBike 06/14/02 09:16 PM ![]()
Re: Myrrh
wordcrazy 06/15/02 01:10 AM ![]()
Re: Myrrh
alexis 06/15/02 01:32 AM ![]()
Re: Myrrh
of troy 06/15/02 02:06 AM ![]()
Re: Myrrh
Robert Payne 06/17/02 04:23 PM ![]()
Re: Myrrh
modestgoddess 06/17/02 11:12 PM ![]()
Lavender blue, dilly dilly
modestgoddess 06/15/02 02:31 AM ![]()
Re: Myrrh
Keiva 06/14/02 02:52 PM
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