Roses in Mythology
Roses have been loved by multiple cultures throughout history. It is rumored that the Chinese philosopher Confucius had a library stocked with 600 books on how to nurture roses and that Cleopatra covered her palace floors with rose petals. In addition to their historical importance, roses also appear in myths as symbolic representations of certain incidences.
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Aphrodite
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Dionysus, the Greek god of wine, gave roses their sweet-smelling nectar. The Greeks believed that the love goddess Aphrodite named the rose. According to the book "The Language of Flowers" by Sheila Pickles, one day Chloris, a Grecian nymph linked to flowers and springtime, stumbled on a dead nymph in the woods. She appealed to Aphrodite to somehow revive her. Aphrodite turned the lifeless nymph into a beautiful rose. Then the god of wine, Dionysus, gave the rose nectar so that the flower would always smell sweet. Zephyr commanded winds to blow the clouds away, allowing Apollo to lavish the rose with nurturing sunshine. With so many gods helping the rose thrive, the Greeks considered it the queen of the flowers.
Venus
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When Venus wept over a lost love, her tears became white roses. Venus, the Roman equivalent of Aphrodite, was also associated with roses. As told in Ovid's "Metamorphoses," the goddess fell in love with a beautiful mortal named Adonis. When he was killed while hunting, she wept. Wherever her tears fell on the earth, white roses bloomed. Venus is also connected to red roses. It is said that when she was walking through a garden, she stepped on a thorn and her blood colored the roses red.
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Cupid
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In Roman mythology, Cupid's errant arrow gave roses their thorns. Romans believed that Cupid gave the roses their thorns. According to their mythology, while Cupid was shooting arrows, a bee stung him. He jerked, and his aim was thrown. The arrow landed in Venus's rose garden and the landing of its pointed tip caused the roses to grow thorns.
Rodanthe
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After turning Rodanthe into a rose, Diana turned the maiden's bothersome suitors into thorns. Romans have other myths involving roses. Rodanthe was a woman who was so beautiful that suitors constantly swarmed around her. None of them won her heart. Despite her refusals, they all continued to pursue the maiden. At one point, several of them broke down her door. Angry on Rodanthe's behalf at the suitors' impertinence, Diana, the goddess of virginity and hunting, saved Rodanthe by turning her into a rose. The suitors were transformed into thorns.
Nightingale
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Persian mythology believes that the nightingale's blood is what created red roses. In Persian mythology, the rose is associated with a nightingale. Legend has it that a nightingale stabbed itself in the breast and that its blood fell on a white rose, forever coloring it red. Because of this, the rose is symbolic of the nightingale's arrogance and ego.
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