Since antiquity, the rose has held a mystery, an ability to evoke a sense of passion, to somehow lure and conquer the beholder of its sublime beauty and fragrance. It was cultivated 5,000 years ago in the ancient gardens of western Asia and North Africa. Poetry has been written about the rose since the mythical rose gardens of Semiramis, Queen of Syria, and Midas, King of Phrygia.
According to Greek legend, Flora, the deity of flowers, was walking through the forest and found the body of a beautiful nymph. Sorrowful at the sight of the lovely creature dead, she decided to give her new life by turning her into a flower whose beauty surpassed all others. She called on Aphrodite to give beauty, brilliance, joy and charm; Zephyrus, the west wind, to blow away the clouds so that Apollo, the Sun, could cast warm rays upon it, and Dionysius, the god of wine to give nectar and fragrance. When the new flower was complete, Chloris placed a crown of dewdrops over her and named her the Rose, Queen of Flowers. Aphrodite presented the Rose to her son Eros, the deity of Love. The white rose became the symbol of charm and innocence and the red rose the symbol of love and desire.
Roses were already considered ancient when the Greek botanist Theophrastus wrote about "the hundred-petaled rose" in 270 B.C. The Egyptian rose, which was known for its many petals, was the one Cleopatra used to entice Mark Antony. Athenaeus, a writer of the times, records that Cleopatra covered the floors of her palace in fresh rose petals to a depth of half a meter. The sails of her royal barge were drenched in rose water. In her bedroom surrounding the bed itself, the floor was covered in a thick sultry layer of rose petals. Mark Antony fell to the seduction of the temptress; should we ask Cleopatra or the rose?
Not only Cleopatra but the ancient Romans were also obsessed with roses. Roses were strewn at public ceremonies and banquets; rose water bubbled through the emperor’s fountains. Public baths were seeped in it, and in public amphitheaters, crowds sat under sun awnings drenched in rose perfume. Rose petals were used as pillow stuffing, roses adorned people’s hair. They ate rose puddings and their love potions and aphrodisiacs all contained roses. The bacchanalia (Rome’s official orgy) was inundated with an excess of roses and rose petals.
The Emperor Nero had silver pipes installed under each guest’s plate so that during dinner the guests were spritzed with scent between courses. Above them was a ceiling painted to resemble the celestial heavens. As they looked up the ceiling would open and shower them in a continuous rain of perfume and flowers. At one of his parties such an enormous amount of rose petals fell that one of the guests was smothered to death.
According to legend, the first Rose Oil Perfume came about as a result of a discovery made by an ancient Persian caliph named Sehangir. It is said that while walking with his beautiful bride in his palace gardens along the canals and fountains decked with rose petals, he noticed an oily film on the surface of the waters, produced by the action of the sun on the roses. He was intoxicated by the heavy scent of this oil and ordered it bottled. Upon bottling this attar or otto of roses, it was found that it lasted almost indefineately. Now instead of having to surround themselves with bushels of rose petals the seduction came from a beautifully ornate flask.
For Islamic culture the rose was more of a spiritual symbol. Rose water went into the mortar of their temples, and into luscious sherbets and pastries. It was also used to scent the apparel and sprinkled onto guests as they arrived in the home. When the crusaders arrived, they discovered the lure of the 'rose temptress'. Their senses were overwhelmed by exotic indulgences in the pleasures of languorous harem women, perfumed in the attar of roses along with sandalwood and other rich scents. The knights returned to Europe with the scented oils, which became instantly fashionable. These perfumes suggested all the wicked pleasures of the East, seductive and forbidden.
During the Middle Ages the rose fell out of favour. In fact, all delicious fragrances, scents and perfumes, along with water for bathing, fell out of favour. The Dark Ages became a time when any personal indulgence was considered sinful. People stopped bathing as a response to the various diseases and plagues of the times. They believed that water held the disease they were so much afraid of. Personal hygiene became almost non-existent. In addition, and perhaps because of it, personal indulgence in the use of fragrance was considered sinful because it was associated with the hedonism of the pagan civilizations of Egypt, Greece and Rome.
Perfumes, scents and roses once again appeared onto the fashion scene in the 1700's. People of noble rank in the French court doused themselves with perfume. Later, after the French Revolution, Napoleon and Josephine indulged heavily in the use of scent. It is recorded that Napoleon transported gallons of rose and violet scent with him on his campaigns. Meanwhile, back at home in France, Josephine, his Empress not only perfumed herself in rose fragrance, she also cultivated acres of every possible rose species known at the time at her famous Malmaison.
In the 1800's, the Victorians also fell to the charm of the rose. But the rose took on a more innocent and virtuous quality. It was not considered so much exotic and forbidden but rather the subject of beautiful prose and poetry. The rose had truly become romantic. Combining an intoxicating scent with such tender and fragile beauty, it is no surprise that the rose is known as an aphrodisiac. In India today, rose petals are scattered on the wedding bed. They are also used as massage oil, sprinkled in the bath or worn as perfume. Rose oil evokes an erotic atmosphere.
In aromatherapy the fragrance of the rose has the power to unite physical and spiritual love. Rose oil has the effect of arousing desire and instilling a need for harmony. The essential oil or attar of roses is still used heavily in modern perfumes. The mystique remains. The rose has come to play two roles, as a result of history. The seductive vixen, the hot-blooded intoxicating temptress of passion and lustful love and the aesthetically pure, charming, divine beauty of pure and innocent love. Undoubtedly she has retained her original purpose as symbolized by the red and white roses of Eros.
