According to ancient Greek mythology Demeter, the goddess of agriculture, marriage and fertility created brilliant red poppies so she could sleep after the loss of her daughter Persephone, fathered by Zeus.
While gathering wildflowers, Persephone was stolen away by Hades, god the underworld. She became queen of the dead but was permitted to return to the surface for a third of each year.
The inclusion in the myth that Demeter required the poppies to sleep is an intriguing one, not overlooked by commentators. A Minoan terra cotta figurine from Crete depicts what is appears to be a goddess crowned with opium poppy seed pods. It has been dated following the Mycenaean invasion of Crete about 1450 BC . . .
Poppies became the emblem of Demeter to be used in Greek and Roman tales as offerings to the dead. Millennia later, the practice returned with red poppies commemorating Remembrance Day, 11 November, for the dead of two world wars.
The corn poppy: Papaver rhoeas flowers from June to September. Prior to the advent of modern agricultural herbicides, it was common in fields of grain where it was considered a weed. Nevertheless, the seed is sold today and can be sown to remind of Demeter, Persephone and the many dead from conflicts.
Wes Porter is a horticultural consultant and writer based in Toronto. Wes has over 40 years of experience in both temperate and tropical horticulture from three continents.
