A Greek word in Edgar Allan Poe's Bon-Bon

Greek Learning Greek
1

Greetings,

In Edgar Allan Poe’s story Bon-Bon (http://www.eapoe.org/works/tales/bonbonf.htm), the narrator says,

The Greeks at all events were right, he thought, who employed the same words for the mind and the diaphragm.*

The starred note is θζενες, and it is Poe’s.

I looked it up is several Greek dictionaries, both classical and modern, and couldn’t find this word. Is anyone familiar with that word and can provide a translation? Something tells me that Poe’s translation is either inaccurate or spoofed. Poe loved word play, so if there’s some joke there that I missed, please let me know.

Thank you,
Syd

2

I suspect φρένες (φρήν ἡ) is meant. It looks like an OCR error, edited by someone greekless.

3

Thank you, that makes perfect sense. So, is Poe’s contention correct? I assume phrenes is related to phrenology, and therefore to mind. Does it also mean diaphragm?