The Rose - Symbol of Love

by Read Listen Learn

Roses are the most popular flowers in the world and, more than any other, are a symbol of romance. On Valentine's Day, 14 February, each year, lovers all over the world receive a dozen red roses as a sure sign that they are forever in their partner’s heart… even if for the rest of the year they are tied to the washing machine or argue night and day.

Roses have been with us for at least thirty-five million years, according to the fossil evidence. However, they have probably been cultivated for about five thousand and, first of all, in China. There are wild roses even today as far north as Alaska and as near the equator as Mexico, although they have been introduced to just about every country in the world by rose-lovers.

The Ancient Greek goddess Aphrodite gave roses her name, but it was the goddess of flowers, Chloris, who first made the rose. Greek mythology tells us that one day when Chloris was cleaning the forest, she found a dead nymph. She was so saddened by this waste of life that she called Aphrodite to give her great beauty and her name. Then she asked Dionysus, the god of wine, to make her smell lovely. Next, she arranged for other gods and goddesses to make her lovely, bright and happy. Finally, the west wind blew the clouds away so that Apollo, the god of the sun, could shine on her. And that is how we got the rose. Or, at least, that is the story that has come to us from the Ancient Greeks.

The Romans opened rose gardens in their capital, put their petals in their wine and dropped them on the heads of their dinner guests. They painted roses on the ceilings of their dining rooms and the Latin phrase ‘sub rosa’ (‘under the rose’) means ‘secret’. In other words, guests should not discuss what they heard at the dinner table with outsiders. Newly-wed Roman couples had roses put on their heads at their wedding ceremonies. The Romans even used roses as a form of currency, paying for other goods in rosewater perfume. In fact, the Romans loved the flower so much that there were not enough plants. They forced poor farmers to grow more – instead of vegetables, corn and fruit – and this caused food shortages.

However, it was not just in Europe that the rose was popular. Rose petals have been found in the tombs of Ancient Egyptians. And there is a wonderful story from India of a contest between Vishnu, the protector of the world, and Brahma, its creator, about which was more beautiful, the rose or the lotus. However, Brahma, who had said that the lotus was the lovelier, did not really know what he was talking about, as he had never seen a rose. When he saw one, he immediately changed his mind and, to thank Vishnu for showing him such a beautiful flower, he made a bride for him, called Lakshmi from one hundred and eight large rose petals and a thousand and eight small ones.

The Arabs have a myth that is, perhaps, even more romantic. It goes like this. One night, a nightingale saw a white rose and fell in love with it. In those days, nightingales could only make a noise like every other bird, but her love for the rose was so great that she started to sing the charming song that we know today. But she did not stop there. She loved the rose so much that she pressed her heart to the rose and the thorns killed her. It was the nightingale’s blood that gave us red roses!

Although the rose was so much loved by the Greeks, Arabs, Hindus and Romans, there was a period of more than a thousand years after the end of the Roman Empire, around the year 400, when the popularity of the rose fell. It was not until the eighteenth century that roses were cultivated in Europe again – introduced from China this time. What’s more, it took another hundred years for the red rose, so important to lovers, to be produced. Until that time, roses were either white or pink.

It was the French who, about two hundred years ago, started to breed roses and, in the middle of the nineteenth century, made the first artificial rose by mixing two others. It was pink, but deep red, yellow, orange and even green roses soon followed. This was managed in a very basic way. The amateur rose breeder put two rose bushes of different colours into the same pot and hoped that they would breed. They did.

It’s not just new colours that were new to Europe. The Chinese also brought ‘repeat blooms’, meaning that modern roses flower several times in the summer. Until the nineteenth century, a rose bush only produced one flower a year. When it died, there were no more flowers until the next summer.

Now, of course, roses are vital to the perfume industry. One hundred and fifty million plants are sold every year to gardeners for their homes or to farmers who sell the petals or flowers. There are also thirty thousand different kinds of roses, ten thousand of these are mixtures of other plants. Roses are used to make jam to put on your toast at breakfast. They are grown to make tea and different medicines for the stomach and for the skin. And, of course, they are more popular than ever for young lovers.