The Pomegranate – Greek Origins and Myths

The pomegranate, a rosy-hued fruit, bursting with plentiful, ruby-red, jewel-like seeds, are the oldest cultivated fruit, dating back to 3000 B.C. where they first appeared in Persia, before spreading to India, North Africa, Europe, China and America.

Other stories have the Pomegranate originating in Iranor Afghanistan.

The ancient Greeks believed it to have been planted by the Goddess of love, Aphrodite (Venus in Roman mythology) on the island of Cyprus.

 

 

The botanical name for pomegranates is Punica granatum; Punica being the name of the ancient Phoenician city in North Africa, where Roman soldiers, during the Phoenician wars (3rd century B.C), saw the fruit for the first time and “granatum”; having many seeds.

 

 

The word garnet comes from pomegranate, as does grenade, the modern French term for pomegranate, so named for the way a grenade imitates the seed-scattering explosion of a smashed pomegranate.

 

Pomegranate Symbolism

 

 

The pomegranate is a symbolic fruit, signifying beauty, love, marriage, fertility, birth, rebirth, hope, prosperity and eternity and strangely enough, was used in ancient Greece as a form of birth control.

In Ancient Rome, newlywed women wore crowns made from pomegranate leaves and drank the juice of pomegranates, said to cure infertility.

As an emblem of the Eleusinian Mysteries, the pomegranates also featured in the Temple of Solomon and were embroidered on priest’s robes as a royal insignia.

 

Smashing Pomegranates

 

 

The pomegranate is also a symbol of good luck, even today, young brides in certain Greek villages, where Greek superstitions, customs and traditions are still strictly followed, throw pomegranates through the door of their new house, with such a force, that the pomegranate bursts open, scattering the seeds, this ritual is said to ensure a happy marriage and the birth of many children.

One of the traditional Greek Christmas and New Year customs, is to hang a pomegranate above the door throughout Christmas and at the stroke of midnight, on New Year’s Eve, the lights are turned out and the pomegranate is then hurled to the floor, or at the door, where it smashes, spilling out its seeds; the more the better, to help ensure luck, health, happiness and prosperity for the coming year.

Owing to its wealth of symbolism, the pomegranate has been portrayed in art for thousands of years, on pottery, carpets, embroidery, and fabric pattern and in some wonderful paintings.

 

 

Greek Mythology:

Persephone and the Pomegranate

 

 

A story of love and abduction, in Ancient Greek mythology,  Persephone, daughter of Demeter, Goddess of harvest and agriculture, is kidnapped by Hades, God of the underworld, who fell in love with her at first sight and carried her off to his kingdom; the Underworld.

Demeter, mad with sorrow, hunted everywhere for Persephone, going as far as to disguise herself as an old lady with a lighted torch in her hands and roamed the Earth for ninety days looking for her daughter, until, finally, the sun God Helios, took pity on Demeter and told her that Hades had carried Persephone off to his underworld.

Demeter found Hades and they struck a bargain, Persephone would live four months on Earth, with the living and eight months in the underworld. (The number of months spent in each place differs, depending on which story is read).

Before being set free from the underworld, Persephone was persuaded to eat six pomegranate seeds (In ancient mythology, to eat the fruit of one’s captor meant that one would have to return to that captor), to make sure she returned to the underworld when her time on Earth was up.

 

 

This myth of Persephone, one of disappearing and reappearing, or birth and re-birth, was the origin of many festivals in ancient Greece, including the Eleusinian Mysteries whose secrets were so closely guarded little is known about them.

One festival that we do know a bit about, is that, in ancient Greece, after the harvest, a three day feast occurred, devoted to the Goddess Demeter, mother of Persephone, the third day was devoted to women, where pomegranate seeds were eaten to guarantee many children and much prosperity.

The pomegranate is a seasonal fruit, ripening in the autumn (autumn being the beginning of the new year in ancient times) and  wreaths, decorated with wheat stalks, walnuts and pomegranates, adorned houses, much as is done today at Christmas time.

In Greece, the pomegranate is a symbol for the New Year, and is used as a decoration at Christmas and New Year as a good luck charm.

 

Hera:

Goddess of Marriage, Women and Family

 

In the sanctuary of Hera, (ancient Greek goddess of marriage), near Argos, Peloponnese, known as the Argive Heraion, ancient Greek sculptor, Polykleitos, created an enormous cult statue, in about 420 BCE, which has long since disappeared.

Hera was depicted holding a scepter in one hand and offering a pomegranate in the other, as a symbol of fertile blood and marriage.

 

 

The Pomegranate as a biblical symbol

 

 

The pomegranate is also a biblical symbol and is mentioned in the great religions of the world.

Mohammed, the Muslim prophet, advised pregnant women to eat pomegranates, a symbol of beauty, so that they would bear beautiful children.

The pomegranate is seen everywhere at Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, much as it is in Greece, also, in Jewish mysticism (Kabbala), as in Greece, pomegranates are burst open on religious days, as a call for fertility and prosperity.

 

koliva:

A Greek Dish Symbolizing Rebirth or Resurrection

 

Another ritual, of symbolic value involving pomegranates, used even before Christianity and still performed today in the Greek Orthodox Church, is the eating of koliva, a dish prepared for memorial services, as a symbol of the sweetness of the heavenly kingdom.

 

 

The Greek word koliva comes from kolivos, meaning a small coin; in ancient Greece it was called pansperma, (seeds or sperm) meaning a mixture of seeds and nuts.

Pansperma was consumed at the pagan festival of Anthesteria (one of the four Athenian festivals honouring Dionysus , held in the month of Anthesteria, spring time)

This dish, containing cooked wheat kernels, nuts, raisins, sugar and pomegranate seeds, symbolizes rebirth or resurrection.

Some religions consider the pomegranate, not the apple, to have been the fruit of The Tree of Life.

 

Super Food

 

 

Ancient cultures knew the health benefits of pomegranates and used them as remedies for ailments such as digestive disorders, skin disorders and intestinal parasites.

No part of the pomegranate tree goes to waste; the fruit, flowers, bark, roots and leaves, all contain chemicals, such as polyphenols, which are used to treat various diseases and conditions.

Modern day research has shown that pomegranates may even help prevent serious conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer.