No flower in human history has ever been as beloved as the rose. Spanning centuries and cultures, roses are symbols of love, war, passion and politics. Their timeless beauty has inspired poetry and plays by everyone from Shakespeare to Robert Burns to Gertrude Stein, and their heady fragrance has filled our senses, perfume bottles and imaginations.
Thanks to fossil evidence found in Colorado, Oregon and Montana, we know that roses were growing some 35 million years ago. Early civilizations, including the Phoenicians, Egyptians, Chinese, Greeks and Romans loved roses and grew them extensively. Confucius had many books about the cultivation of roses in his library, though the flowers had been cultivated in China thousands of years before his time. Roses were considered a sacred flower in ancient Egypt and were used as offerings to the goddess Isis. Cleopatra loved the flower so much that she had rose petals strewn on the floor of her palace for special occasions. The Greeks used rose-scented olive oils to perfume their bodies, keep illness at bay and to anoint their dead.
Ancient Greek mythology tells how the rose was created by Chloris, goddess of flowers, with the help of love goddess Aphrodite. According to Roman myths, Cupid offered a rose when trying to bribe the God of Silence to hush Venus's amorous escapades, thus making the flower into a symbol for secrecy. Roman dining room ceilings were decorated with roses, reminding guests that what had been discussed during dinner was to be kept secret. To this day, sub rosa, or "under the rose," means confidentiality.
During the years of the Roman Empire, roses were grown widely throughout the Middle East. They were used for medicinal purposes and for perfume; their petals were strewn as confetti during celebrations; Roman patricians filled their baths with rose water and sat upon carpets of their petals. Roses eventually became synonymous with the worst excesses of the Empire, when peasants were forced to grow roses instead of food in order to satisfy the demands of their hedonistic rulers.
When the Roman Empire fell, Europeans spent their energies fighting marauders, and the popularity of the rose began to decline. It wasn’t until the 12th and 13th centuries, when Crusaders returned from the Middle East with specimens of Damask roses, that interest in the flower was rekindled. By the 17th century, the flowers were in such high demand that royalty used roses and rose water as legal tender.
One of the most ardent lovers and greatest patrons of the rose was the Empress Josephine of France, wife of Napoleon I. Her extensive gardens at Malmaison contained 250 varieties of the flower, and her garden was so well known and highly esteemed that the English, who were at war with the French, allowed her head gardener free access to travel across the Channel in order to bring back plants for her. As a result, France became a leading exporter of roses.
Cultivated roses weren't introduced into Europe until the late eighteenth century from China. These flowers were repeat bloomers, making them of great interest to hybridizers who no longer needed to wait once a year for their roses to bloom.
Roses are intricately entwined in the history and culture of the world. As a motif, they have been adopted by nations and social and political causes. But mostly, they still remain symbols of love and beauty. On Valentine’s Day all across the world, bouquets of red roses are given as gifts of love.
Everything’s coming up roses in our new Spring collection at Peruvian Connection. You’ll find the beloved blooms flourishing on the pages of our catalog, on our website and in our stores—from the English Rose Dress to the Cabbage Rose Skirt, the sweet Rosebud Cardigan, and the graphic black and red roses of the Chintz Knit Coat, shown at top.
