The #Roseshards Story begins with tales from the ancient world of Alexander the Great: rose aficionado and early graffiti artist. For more information on the Asphalt Rainbow project, please check out the Olfactive Story of Asphalt Rainbow.

Early Rose History

Hanging Roses Brooklyn Botanic Garden

No flower in the history of perfumery has been more revered than the irresistible rose. Native to Asia, Europe, North America, and North Africa, its intoxicating scent has been seducing and healing since the dawn of mankind. Ethnobotanists believe that the rose may have first originated in Central Asia roughly 70 million years ago during the Eocene epoch before spreading throughout the Northern Hemisphere. Early rose fossils, discovered in the Florissant Fossil Beds of Colorado, are themselves over 40 million years old. Though subject to debate, most botanists believe there to be somewhere between 100-150 true wild rose species scattered across the globe. Due to years of extensive interbreeding by avid rosarians, thousands of rose varieties exist today.

Man’s fascination with roses has not only led to the plants proliferation, but with it, has also introduced great variation to the plant’s odor profile, with some roses possessing olfactive similarities to musk, myrrh, violet, clove, and even pine. Of all these roses, only three varieties are primarily used in perfumery: Rosa damascena (Bulgaria), Rosa centifolia (S. France/Morocco), and Rosa gallica (Turkey).

Roses of the Ancient (Western) World

Rosa damascena vars semperflorens

While records indicate the importance of roses to the ancient Mesopotamians, most rose historians attribute the vast spread of its floral beauty to Greco-Roman society. Early Phoenicians, Greeks, and Romans are all known to have grown, studied, and traded in roses (see the writings of Pliny the Elder and Theophrastus), taking the flowers with them as they traveled and conquered. As a result, roses (and rose scented products) spread throughout the Middle East and Mediterranean.

According to Greek historian Herodotus (490-420 BC), the Phrygian King Midas grew magnificently fragrant roses in his Cretan gardens. Following his defeat at the hands of the Persian army, he had these roses transported back to Macedonia. These roses are believed to be Rosa damascena var.semperflorens (often referred to as “the King’s rose”). Perhaps it was inside these great Macedonian gardens that Alexander the Great (356-323 BC) first became infatuated with rose.

Alexander The Great… Rose Aficionado

Alexander the Great of Macedon

While most known for his strategic military genius, Alexander the Great (Alexander III of Macedon) is also credited with introducing rose cultivation to the rest of Europe. He would bring rose flowers with him as he conquered, and send back any newly found cultivars he might discover along the way. A student of Aristotle until the age of 16, Alexander would have been exposed to the study of botany under the philosopher’s tutelage, and it is my theory that this is where his love affair with rose was born. 

While our earliest known record of rose in Egyptian history (to date) is an Egyptian hieroglyph depicting a rose discovered inside the tomb of the Pharaoh Thutmose IV (1600 BC), it is Alexander and his love of everything Greek that is said to have led to the true adoption of rose by Egyptian culture. Following his 6 month sojourn into the land of pharaohs (himself named pharaoh in 332 BC), depictions and usage of rose in Egypt escalated, especially during the Ptolemaic dynasty. For example, the Ptolemaic Queen Cleopatra VII (69-30 BC) was said to have laid rose petals on Marcus Antonius’ path to not only impress, but also so that every time he smelled a rose he would think of her.

In Egypt, rose is most associated with the goddess Isis, symbolic of not only love but also the cycle of life. It is believed that inside the great libraries of Alexandria once existed great tomes dedicated to Alexander’s study of roses. Rose, too, is listed as an ingredient in some pharaonic Kyphis, as well as in formulations unearthed in Mendes. During this period in history, rose usage was enjoyed by all genders, and probably said more about the class you were from than the gender you identified with. To Alexander, the rose reigned supreme inside the garden.

Alexander The Great… Graffiti Artist

Example of Ancient Graffiti Art

“Human culture has been identifying themselves on walls and in places forever.”
– from Bomb It (Directed by Jon Reiss, 2007)

Many street art historians also recognize Alexander the Great as an early example of graffiti art. It is said that with every city that he conquered, he would scratch his name into the walls (i.e. atop the Great Pyramids of Giza). According to Plutarch, Alexander renamed and rebuilt at least 70 cities after himself, though Alexandria in Egypt remains the most famous. To me, rebuilding an entire city in your name, including introducing your own floral stamp, is just a further iteration of that same street art impulse.

In the next part of the #Roseshards Story, I’ll take a closer look at the ritual use and importance of rose within Greco-Roman society. To learn more about Asphalt Rainbow, click here.


More information about Asphalt Rainbow, visit our shop
Follow Charenton Macerations’ #Roseshards Story on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Related Posts

Join the Conversation