What is Poros? The story of our name
Poros is the Ancient Greek word for “passage, way, means”. In Plato’s Symposium it is also a god: Resource, the personification of plenty and of finding a way, and the father of Love (Eros). We took our name from him.
In short
Poros (Greek πόρος) is a word meaning “passage, way, means, resource”; in medicine it names the fine channels of the body, the pores. In the myth Diotima tells in Plato’s Symposium (203b–e), Poros is the son of Metis and the personification of plenty and resourcefulness. At the feast held for Aphrodite’s birth he gets drunk on nectar and falls asleep in the garden of Zeus; Penia, who stands for poverty and lack, conceives a child by him, and Eros is born. Poros Mantar takes its name from this myth.
What does poros mean?
Ancient Greek πόρος (póros) comes from the root of a verb meaning “to pierce, to pass through”. Its meaning stretches from a physical crossing to an abstract way out.
Passage
A ford, a strait, a way across. The Greek island of Poros is named after the narrow strait between it and the mainland.
Way
A way to get somewhere, a journey; passing through something to reach the other side.
Means, resource
The means to an end, a resource, a way out. Its opposite is “aporia”: having no way through, a dead end.
Pore
In medicine, the fine passages of the body. Latin porus and the English word “pore” come from it.
Who is Poros? The feast Plato tells of
In the Symposium, Socrates says he learned about love from Diotima, a wise woman of Mantinea, and retells the story she told him. It unfolds in four steps:
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The feast for Aphrodite’s birth
When Aphrodite is born, the gods hold a feast. Among the guests is Poros, son of Metis, whose name means wisdom, cunning and skill.
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Nectar and the garden of Zeus
Poros gets drunk on nectar (there was no wine yet, Plato notes), wanders into the garden of Zeus and falls into a heavy sleep.
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Penia at the door
After the meal, as happens at feasts, Penia, who stands for poverty and lack, has come to beg and waits at the door. Having no resources of her own, she plans to have a child by Poros and lies down beside him.
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Eros is born
Penia conceives Eros (Love). Because he was conceived on Aphrodite’s birthday, Eros becomes her follower and servant, and by nature a lover of beauty.
Eros: the child of plenty and lack
From his mother, Penia
Eros is always poor: hard and parched, barefoot and homeless, with no bed; he sleeps in the open, on doorsteps and by the road. Lack never leaves him.
From his father, Poros
He goes after what is beautiful and good; he is brave, bold and intense. Like a skilled hunter he always looks for a way and finds a means, and he loves wisdom all his life.
So Eros is neither mortal nor immortal, neither rich nor poor; he stands between wisdom and ignorance. In Diotima’s telling, love is what lacks something, knows it, and so keeps looking for a way, finding it and looking again.
Why Poros?
When we began to dream of this venture, we took courage from Poros: from the son of Metis, from Penia at the door, from the feast Plato tells of, and from their child, Eros. A legend in which love is born where plenty meets lack told us something simple: starting with little is not an obstacle, it is the way itself.
Mushrooms are that kind of life. They draw plenty out of fallen leaves, rotting logs and poor soil, and turn the forest’s waste back into life. Their hidden mycelium creeps through the ground in fine threads, goes round obstacles and finds its way. Some mushrooms, such as porcini and other boletes, even carry dense pores instead of gills under the cap: one more meaning of our name.
We too started small, on a shelf at home. We carry the name Poros as a promise to look for a way through every lack we meet along the road, together with everyone who wants to know mushrooms safely in the wild, love them in the kitchen and grow them at home.
Frequently asked questions
What is Poros?
Poros is an Ancient Greek word (πόρος) meaning “passage, way, means, resource”. In Plato’s Symposium it is also the name of a god who personifies that idea, the father of Love (Eros). Poros Mantar takes its name from this myth.
Who is Poros in Greek mythology?
In the myth Diotima tells in Plato’s Symposium (203b–e), Poros is the son of Metis and the personification of plenty and of finding a way. At the feast the gods hold for Aphrodite’s birth he gets drunk on nectar and falls asleep in the garden of Zeus. Penia, who stands for poverty and lack, conceives a child by him, and that is how Eros is born.
What does poros mean?
Greek πόρος means a passage (a ford or strait), a way or journey, and the means or resource for doing something. In medicine it names the fine passages of the body, the pores; Latin porus and English “pore” come from it. Its opposite is “aporia”: a dead end, having no way through.
Where does the name Poros Mantar come from?
We took our name from Poros in Plato’s Symposium, and took courage from its legend of love born where plenty (Poros) meets lack (Penia). Mushrooms, too, draw plenty out of poor soil and rotting leaves and find their way with their mycelium; and the sense “pore” recalls the pores under the cap of some mushrooms.
How is Poros related to Eros?
In Plato’s account Poros is the father of Eros and Penia is his mother. From his mother Eros takes poverty and a barefoot, homeless life; from his father the pursuit of beauty, courage and always finding a way. So he is neither mortal nor immortal and stands between wisdom and ignorance.
Who are the parents of Poros?
Plato calls Poros “the son of Metis”, a name meaning wisdom, cunning and skill. The Symposium does not mention his father.
Who is Penia?
Penia (Πενία) means poverty, and in the Symposium she is the personification of poverty and lack. She comes to the door of Aphrodite’s birthday feast to beg, plans to have a child by the sleeping Poros, and becomes the mother of Eros.
Is it related to the island of Poros?
Only through the word. The Greek island of Poros is named after the narrow strait that separates it from the mainland, the “passage” sense. Poros Mantar is named after the Poros of Plato’s Symposium; we have no link with the island.
Sources
- Plato, Symposium 203b–e (the myth of Poros and Penia as told by Diotima; the nature of Eros, 203c–204a).
- Plato, Şölen – Dostluk (Turkish translation by Sabahattin Eyüboğlu and Azra Erhat), Türkiye İş Bankası Kültür Yayınları, Hasan Âli Yücel Classics series.
- Plato, Symposium, trans. Harold N. Fowler (Loeb, 1925), 203b: Perseus Digital Library
- πόρος: Ancient Greek senses and etymology (Wiktionary, after Beekes 2010)
- Porus (mythology), Wikipedia
- Image: Anselm Feuerbach, Das Gastmahl (nach Platon), second version; public domain, Wikimedia Commons
The retelling is a faithful summary of Plato’s text, not a quotation. Checked: 5 November 2026.