This month, an estimated 250 million flowers were bought and sold because of Valentine’s Day. Over one third of all those flowers were roses, the flower of love. But, one might wonder, how did this prickly red petal become the absolute symbol for lovers?
The earliest recording of roses being used in the context of love was in Greek mythology. Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love, learned that there was a plot to murder her boyfriend, Adonis. Cupid, also known as Eros, was jealous and shot a dozen arrows into the field, giving all the flowers thorns. Aphrodite pricked her finger on one of them and her blood turned all the flowers red. Aphrodite was too late, and her boyfriend was killed.
Another variation of the story is that Chloris, the goddess of flowers, found a beautiful nymph, a creature of nature, dead in the woods. Because of its beauty, she created a flower out of the nymph. Aphrodite, shocked by its beauty, named it after her son, Eros, by scrambling the letters up to create the word “rose.”
Roses also gained prominence during the Middle Ages as a gift from knights to their ladies. They were also written about in the Elizabethan Era like in the poetry and the works of Shakespeare. For example, in Romeo and Juliet, Juliet says, “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” In fact, the word “rose” is used more than 70 times in all of his works. They are most commonly used to describe a girl with a fair complexion. During the Victorian era, roses were given out as a way to say “I love you” since verbal expression of this phrase was deemed inappropriate.
Roses also made an appearance in the battle between the House of Lancaster and the House of York in what is known as the War of the Roses. Henry VII came out victorious and unified both houses to create the Tudor dynasty. “The Rose of England,” a ballad, recounts how Henry VII was able to capture his enemies. Because of all these events, the rose has become a special flower in the eyes of the English.
In Christianity, the rose is used to describe innocence and purity, representing the Virgin Mary. In Judaism, the rose is used for royalty and mentioned in text as beauty even among thorns. In Islam, the rose is most commonly found as the inspiration for songs about beauty and love.
Moving past the past and into the modern day, roses play a huge role in movies, holidays, and gifts. Many of these flowers are the national flower of countries in North America. In movies, main actors often lie in a bed of roses in dreams or weddings. Animated movies, like Beauty and the Beast, also use roses as a symbol of love.
Roses often hold political meaning as well. During French socialist parties and the Mexican Revolution, the rose was used in propaganda posters as the centerpiece. It symbolizes revolution and nationalism, also known as pride in one’s country.
The rose has evolved over hundreds of years. From being used in a simple, entertaining story, it has been transformed into a rallying point for troops and movements. It has been utilized as an eye-catching centerpiece for blockbuster movies. The rose will always be the symbol for eternal love, forever unwavering.
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