Poppies And The Gods

The Papaver Somniferus received its name after the roman god Somnus Ferre, who was the god of sleep and in ancient Greece and god of sleep Hypnos considered poppies to be sacred. While in ancient Greece and Rome the poppy was associated with gods, it was also associated with the underworld.

It was believed that the gods of the underworld had used the poppy to create charm for invisibility and Hades used the cap made with this potion when he abducted Persephone to make him invisible. It is also believed by these people that by steeping poppies in wine for 15 days they can create a potion to make them invisible when a glass would be drank.

Another goddess an ancient Greece also used the poppy to relieve pain and sadness during the search for her daughter abducted by Hades. This was the earth goddess Demeter who ruled over wheat and barley.

Aphrodite was also a goddess that used the poppy for many love charms, she also made it a flower that would be used for women to dream of their future husbands. In these ancient myths it was believed the poppy came from the tears of Aphrodite, when she mourned Adonis, where she cried is where poppies grew.

In these ancient times on St, Andrews night and married women would scatter poppy seeds behind them to enable them to dream of their future husband and to determine what direction the a true love would come from. The maiden threw a peace of poppy cake out of a window and then sent a dog get it. The direction that the dog would return from would be the direction the true love come from.