The Seba library treats Myrtle in 5 passages, across 4 authors (including Rohde, Erwin, Burkert, Walter, Otto, Walter F.).
The myrtle is sacred to the chthonoi, and hence the myrtle-crown belongs to the Mystai of Demeter as well as to the dead
Rohde establishes that myrtle’s sacred status derives from its chthonic consecration, making it the definitive plant-symbol shared between mystery initiates and the dead in Greek religion.
, Psyche: The Cult of Souls and the Belief in Immortality among the Greeks, 1894thesis
Wreath, at sacrifice, 3, at initiation into mysteries, 268, 281.33; at Choes, 220f., 231, battle, 48, funerary cult, 56; ivy, 220, spruce, 199, myrtle, 56, 163.7
Burkert’s index confirms myrtle wreaths as a distinct subcategory of ritual garlands, specifically associated with funerary cult and distinguishable from the ivy of Dionysiac contexts.
, Homo Necans: The Anthropology of Ancient Greek Sacrificial Ritual and Myth, 1972supporting
myrtle wreaths are forbidden near the Samian Hera: Nic. Alex. 619 f., Schol. Aristoph. Ran. 330.
Burkert documents a cultic prohibition against myrtle at the Samian Hera sanctuary, indicating that the plant’s chthonic associations rendered it incompatible with certain Olympian cult contexts.
, Greek Religion: Archaic and Classical, 1977supporting
when prayer was offered to the image, pure myrtle sprouted all around it, a sweet aroma filled the ship, and the passengers who had already given up hope reached land in safety.
Otto presents a narrative in which spontaneous myrtle growth signals the miraculous presence of Aphrodite, associating the plant with the goddess of love and the numinous protection she affords mariners.
, The Homeric Gods: The Spiritual Significance of Greek Religion, 1929supporting
see also acacia; almond; ash; ashvattha; baobab; Bodhi; cedar; fig; forest; Gaokerena; myrtle; nettle; oak; olive; palm; persea; pine; plants tremendum
Jung lists myrtle within an alchemical-symbolic taxonomy of significant trees and plants, registering its relevance to the depth-psychological arboreal imagination without further elaboration.
, Alchemical Studies, 1967aside