Ambrosia
An English word meaning exquisitely delicious food or anything supremely enjoyable, derived from ambrosia, the food of the Greek gods that conferred immortality
The Meaning of Ambrosia
The word "ambrosia" derives from the Greek ambrotos, meaning immortal (from a-mbrotos, not mortal). In Greek mythology, ambrosia was the food of the gods, just as nectar was their drink. Together, these divine substances sustained the immortality of the Olympians — any mortal who consumed ambrosia would become immortal themselves. When the infant Achilles was anointed with ambrosia by his mother Thetis, it protected his flesh. The gods' ichor — their divine blood — was said to be nourished by ambrosia. Tantalus, who was invited to dine with the gods, stole ambrosia and shared it with mortals, earning his eternal punishment in Tartarus. The word entered English to describe any food or experience of divine deliciousness. In modern American cuisine, ambrosia is a fruit salad typically made with marshmallows, coconut, and canned fruit — a name that, while perhaps aspirational, connects a humble dessert directly to the food of the Olympian gods. The word also appears in perfumery, botany (the genus Ambrosia includes ragweed), and as a general superlative for anything supremely pleasant.
Parents
None recorded
Symbols
Fun Fact
The American dessert called ambrosia — a mixture of marshmallows, coconut, and canned fruit — shares its name with the food that sustained the immortality of the gods
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth. See our full guide to English words from Greek mythology.
Explore Further
Ambrosia
💭 conceptFood of the gods
Ambrosia was the food of the Olympian gods — anyone who consumed it became immortal, but mortals who ate it without permission were severely punished.
Nectar
💭 conceptDrink of the gods
Nectar was the divine drink of the Olympian gods, served by Hebe and later Ganymede — the liquid complement to ambrosia.
Nectar
💭 conceptLanguage and botany
An English word for sweet plant secretions or any delicious drink, derived from nectar, the drink of the Greek gods that conferred immortality alongside ambrosia
Cereals
💭 conceptGrain, agriculture, breakfast food
Grain-based food products, from Ceres (Demeter), the Roman goddess of grain and the harvest.
Cereal
💭 conceptLanguage and agriculture
The English word for grain-based food products, derived from Ceres, the Roman name for Demeter, the Greek goddess of the harvest and grain
Aphrodisiac
💭 conceptLanguage and pharmacology
A substance believed to increase sexual desire, named directly after Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, beauty, and sexual attraction
Elysian
💭 conceptLanguage and the afterlife
An English adjective meaning blissful, heavenly, or supremely happy, derived from the Elysian Fields, the paradise in the Greek underworld reserved for heroes and the virtuous
Tantalus
🗡 heropunishment
King invited to dine with the gods who stole nectar and ambrosia and served his son Pelops as a stew to test divine omniscience.
Panacea
💭 conceptLanguage and medicine
An English word meaning a universal remedy or cure-all, derived from Panakeia, a Greek goddess of universal healing and daughter of the god of medicine Asclepius
Tantalum
💭 conceptChemistry and mythology
A chemical element named after King Tantalus of Greek mythology because of the element's tantalising inability to absorb acids, just as Tantalus could never reach the water and fruit surrounding him
Creation of Man
💭 conceptNarrative
The mythological accounts of how humanity was fashioned from clay and endowed with life by the gods
Tantalize
💭 conceptTemptation, frustration, torment by proximity
To torment with something desired but just out of reach, from King Tantalus and his eternal punishment.