The folklore of lavender

Lavender is native to the Mediterranean, the Arabian Peninsula, Russia, and Africa. It has been used cosmetically and medicinally throughout history.

Ancient Egyptians used lavender in their funerary rights, including it in their mummifying process, as well as for perfuming their clothing and themselves. They created Mummification casts that would last indefinitely by soaking linen in oil of lavender containing asphalt, wrapping the bodies with these and drying them in the sun until the casts were hard.

Cleopatra was reputed to have used lavender as one of her secret weapons for seduction (it worked on Julius Ceasar and Mark Antony, evidently).

The Romans loved lavender, and used it extensively in their elaborate bathing rituals, as well as for perfume, cooking and early medicines. It may have been from the Latin lavare, meaning ‘to wash’ that lavender found its more common name. However, its name also may have come from the Latin livendula, meaning bluish.

Greeks and Romans used lavender's stress-reducing properties to cure complaints of migraine headaches and insomnia. Lavender wasn't just used by the wealthy – commoners hung lavender above the door to protect against evil spirits and added it to the bath to drive evil spirits and demons from cranky children and to rejuvenate adults.

History states that the Romans brought lavender here to England. Lavender soon became entwined within English folklore. A lavender cross was often hung on the door to ward off evil spirits. During the Great Plague of the 17th century people would tie lavender bunches to their wrists to guard against infection. In the Victorian era Lavender symbolized love and devotion.
The folklore of lavender

Ancient beliefs about diamond

The word “diamond” comes from the Greek “adamao,” or “I subdue,” referring not to a chauvinist attitude towards marriage (we hope), but to the diamond’s hardness and its ability to scratch any surface without being scratched.

Diamonds are magic. They have become such powerful symbols of romance and prestige that no other gemstone sends quite the same message. Some ancient Greeks called diamonds splinters of stars; others referred to them as the tears of the Gods. Diamonds have been used to drive away evil spirits, to induce sexual prowess, and, of course, to declare undying devotion between lovers.

The ancient Indians revered diamonds as a gift and tool of the gods. Carrying a diamond was seen as a good luck charm and a protection from threats like poisonous snakes, fire, thieves, or evil spirits.

In the Indian ancient scriptures, diamonds were divided into the same four caste groups, according to the colour: “the diamond has four colours, according to its caste. The diamond that has the velvety lustre of the mother-of-pearl, the rock crystal, the moonstone is a Brahmin. The one that is slightly red, monkey brown, beautiful and pure is called Kshatriya. The Vaishya is a lustrous, pale yellow. The Shudra shines like a polished sword: the experts have classified it into the fourth caste on account of its shine.”
Ancient beliefs about diamond

Bay leaf in ancient culture

Bay leaves come from the ancient Mediterranean by laurel tree and are one of the most widely used culinary herbs in Europe and North America.

The Oracle at Delphi ate a bay leaf before expounding her wisdom. The trees a sacred to Apollo, the god of prophesy, so the Oracle apparently knew where to get her information.

The roof of the Temple at Delphi was made of bay leaf. The common use of bay in Greek and Roman architecture has resulted in the adaption of the leaves into a standard architectural element.

The ancient Greeks used bay leaves to adorn their victorious athletes at the Olympics games, and Greek poets and scholars were granted wreaths of bay leaves upon completion of their studies; the modern world baccalaureate.

According to Theophrastus superstitious Greeks would keep a bay leaf in their months all day, to preserve themselves from misfortunes.

The Romans are credited with spreading a taste for cheeses cake around Europe. Early Roman cheesecakes were loaves made of ricotta and honey and flavored with bay leaf, which also served as a preservative.
Bay leaf in ancient culture

Pomegranate in different culture

The pomegranate is native to the Himalayas in northern India to Iran but has been cultivated and naturalized since ancient times over the entire Mediterranean region.

Pomegranate fruit has been regarded as a miracle in different cultures and used as a multifunctional agent to treat and cure of the diseases throughout the human history.

In Greek mythology, it served as a symbol of the indissolubility of marriage; in Persian mythology, Isfandiyar ate a pomegranate and became invincible.

In ancient Rome, brides adorned their hair with small branches of the pomegranate as a symbol of richness and fertility. In Judaism, the number for pomegranate seeds in a single fruit are said to number 613, one for each of the Bible’s 413 commandments.

The Jews employ the fruit in their religious ceremonials; and it has entered into the heathen mythology - for in the isle of Euboea there was formerly a statue of Juno, holding in one hand a scepter and in the other a pomegranate

In Buddhism, the pomegranate is associated with fertility, abundance, posterity, numerous and virtuous offspring and a blessed future.

While, in Christianity and Bedouin tribes it is associated with fertility while in Islam the Koran describes a heavenly paradise that contains pomegranates.

In China the pomegranate is also an emblem of fertility and numerous progeny. Chinese women might offer a pomegranate to the goddess of mercy when they pray for children. Pomegranate in different culture

Marjoram in Greek and Roman culture

Marjoram, a member of the Lamiaceae family grows in gardens around the world and is a favorite in English country gardens.

Marjoram was one of the herbs and spices used by the ancient Egyptians in the embalming process.

It was sacred to the god Hymen, who was responsible for marriages (his mother was Venus, the Greek’s Aphrodite, goddess of love).

The ancient Romans called marjoram the ‘herb of happiness’. Greek and Roman newlyweds wore garlands of marjoram upon their heads to bless them with marital bliss.

Many cultures believed that marjoram could increase longevity. Growing it on a gravesite was meant to comfort the departed one buried there. Ancient Greeks planted marjoram on the graves of their beloved in the belief that by doing so the deceased would enjoy eternal peace and happiness.
Marjoram in Greek and Roman culture

Coffins in Romans time

The word ‘coffins’ appears to owe its origin to the ancient custom of burying the dead in caves, a practice which prevailed not only among many civilized nations of antiquity but also with the barbarian tribes. Wooden coffins were common, but there were also lead coffins and stone coffins (sarcophagi).

Some sarcophagi were extremely ornate, and some were only carved on three sides, as they were intended to b placed against a wall in a tomb.

The resting place of emperors and their relatives were often large, tomb-like sarcophagi, or coffins, decorated with reliefs glorifying the dead person.

Well-to-do families went in for mausoleums in which the various members were laid to rest often in sarcophagi, expensive stone coffins often decorated with inscription and sculpture.

The classicizing sarcophagus of Junius Bassus, city prefect of Rome, baptized just before his death in 359 includes a colonnaded front divided into ten niches of richly carved biblical stories.

In the 4th and 5th centuries AD, they became common for ordinary people as well because Christianity chose to bury the dead instead of cremating the bodies. Marble or red porphyry were favored, as both types of stone sculpted well.
Coffins in Romans time