A legendary magical herb from Homer's Odyssey with white flowers and black roots, supposed to have protective powers.
From Greek 'mōly,' a word of unknown origin that Homer used in the Odyssey. The mysterious plant that protects Odysseus's men from Circe's magic has never been definitively identified by botanists.
Moly is one of the most frustrating words in literature—Homer described it as an herb that could break magical spells, but scholars have argued for 2,500 years about what plant he meant. Some suggest it's fictional, some say snowdrop, some say garlic. It's a word pointing to something that might not exist.
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