The Lotus-eaters were a race of people from Greek mythology who were said to have inhabited the Tunisian island of Djerba and lured in strangers with narcotic lotuses which made them forget their loved ones and homes. During his return voyage from the Trojan War, Odysseus and his men were blown off course from Cape Malea in the Peloponnese and were driven to North Africa, where the Lotus-eaters seduced Odysseus and his men until Odysseus forced his men back to the ships as the Lotus-eaters wept.