Perhaps there are not so many myths and legends about any plant as about the rose - this flower appeared on earth many millions of years ago and is still very popular among flower growers all over the world. Roses were revered in Ancient Persia, Greece, and France, but in Russia this flower was long considered a pagan symbol. The high decorative qualities of this plant are glorified in songs, odes and treatises are dedicated to it, and many ancient families place it on their coats of arms.
Legends about the rose flower: where and how these plants appeared
According to archaeologists, roses have existed for approximately 35 million years - this is how the finds of fossilized plants are dated.
The history of the rose flower began in Ancient India: It was from there that the first mention of this plant has reached our days.
One of the treatises says that if a person brought a rose to the king, then according to the law he can ask the king for anything.
This manuscript does not say how the rose flower appeared, but there is a beautiful legend associated with it:
One day, in an open rose bud, consisting of 108 large and 1008 small petals, the most beautiful woman in the world appeared - Lakshmi. The guardian of the Universe Vishnu, seeing her, kissed her and made her his wife.
According to this legend about the rose, Lakshmi became the goddess of beauty, and the plant itself became a symbol of divine mystery and a divine flower.
The first material evidence of where roses appeared was found in the Altai mounds (5th-4th millennium BC) - silver coins with roses carved on them were found in them.
The rose was especially revered in Ancient Iran (Persia), and by the name of the rose - “gul” - this country was often called Gulistan.
There is a myth about rose flowers and the history of their origin:
The Persian legend about the rose plant says: one day the children of Flora came to Allah, complained about the eternally sleepy lotus and asked to appoint a new ruler for them instead; Allah appointed a white rose with sharp thorns as ruler; Seeing the new queen of flowers, the nightingale in delight pressed her chest so hard that he injured himself, and the petals turned pinkish.
The descendants of the ancient Persians came up with a new myth about the rose, according to which White flower grew from drops of sweat of the prophet Mohammed:
When he ascended to heaven at night, from the drops of sweat of the Archangel Gabriel who accompanied his ascent, a red rose appeared, and from the drops of sweat of the donkey who was with Mohammed, a yellow rose appeared.
This is where Muslims respect the rose and their belief in the cleansing power of rose water.
Where did the rose come from: myths about the flower
The earliest depictions of roses in Europe are the frescoes of the Knossos Palace in Crete, which date back to the 16th century. BC e. Around the same time, the rose was widespread in Egypt. During excavations of Egyptian tombs from 170 BC. e. wreaths of roses were discovered that were so well preserved that their botanical species was even established.
The ancient Greeks considered the rose a gift from the gods and believed that it emerged from the white foam that covered the body of Aphrodite, emerging from the sea at birth. Having assessed the new beautiful flower, the gods immediately sprinkled it with nectar, thanks to which the rose acquired the finest divine aroma. But the nectar did not make the flower immortal, because evil forces were jealous of its beauty.
The rose remained white until the misfortune happened. Aphrodite received news that her lover Adonis had been mortally wounded by a boar. Without discerning the path, the goddess of beauty ran to the scene of the tragedy. A few drops of her blood fell on the rose, and its petals turned from white to bright red.
Another myth about how red roses appeared says that Cupid gave this flower to the world. Once, during a feast of the gods, Cupid, fluttering, overturned a vessel with nectar, and this magical liquid gave the flowers a wonderful smell and turned them red.
As you can see, every nation has its own legends about where the rose came from, and this adds to the attractiveness of the magnificent flower.
The legend where the name “rose” came from
If we talk about where the name “rose” came from, the ancient Greeks are sure that it appeared thanks to the goddess Flora:
According to this myth about the rose, Flora managed to avoid meeting Cupid for quite a long time, but he still overtook her and struck her with his arrow. Flora was inflamed with love, but now Cupid began to avoid her. In response, the goddess created a flower that would laugh and cry, combining sadness and joy. Seeing the flower, she wanted to dedicate it to her beloved and call it “Eros,” but she faltered and said only “grew,” and since then everyone calls this flower a rose.
But this is not all versions!
Another legend about where the rose came from is also associated with Cupid:
Allegedly, the goddess of the hunt, Diana, who was in love with him, once, in a fit of jealousy towards the beautiful nymph Rosalia, killed her, wounding her with thorny thorn bushes. The distressed Cupid, having found the lifeless body of his beloved, began to cry, his tears fell on the thorn bushes and turned into amazing beauty Roses.
The ancient Greeks loved roses; these flowers were used to decorate homes, temples of numerous gods (and primarily, of course, Aphrodite) and public buildings, chariots and streets. They were worn on the head in the form of wreaths as a sign of mourning; they were used to clean monuments and urns with ashes, as they believed that the smell of a rose would protect the remains from destruction and would be pleasant to the souls of the dead.
From Greece the rose came to Rome, where it also became a favorite flower. The Romans grew roses for their petals. The petals were filled with aromatic pillows, added to perfumes, food, cosmetics, and on holidays the floors were strewn with them. In ancient times, the technology for making aromatic oil from rose petals was already known.
After the fall of the Roman Empire, the rose was forgotten for a while, because it was considered a pagan symbol by Christians. In the Middle Ages, roses returned in popularity and, as paintings from that time show, they even became part of the cult of the Virgin Mary. During prayer, the monks fingered rosary beads made from dry rose hips.
How many varieties of roses are there?
Numerous varieties of roses appeared at the end of the 18th century.
Few people know another interesting fact about roses: It turns out that even Napoleon was involved in rose growing. He invested huge amounts of money in growing roses. His wife at the Chateau de Malmaison collected the best collection of roses at that time.
It is known that cultivated roses originated from wild flowers. The most common of these is the rosehip, or "dog rose", native to Northern Europe. In the 14th century, the Crusaders brought Gallic and Damask roses to Europe from the Middle East. They became the progenitors of, as they now say, ancient varieties.
And only in the 18th century did Chinese roses come to France and then to England. They were distinguished by a longer flowering period.
The efforts of breeders at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th centuries were aimed at developing varieties with repeat flowering, and these efforts were rewarded by obtaining a group of new varieties of roses, the so-called remontant (repeating flowering).
And by crossing remontant roses with tea roses and varieties of tea roses with each other, roses were obtained.
This group of roses with abundant long-term flowering, graceful double fragrant flowers, distinguished by a rich variety of colors, has become very widespread and now occupies a leading place in the assortment.
Polyantha roses with a lush inflorescence of small flowers were formed as a result of crossing with one of the low-growing Chinese roses. From polyanthus and hybrid tea varieties turned out to be roses with large flowers in inflorescences.
Varieties of modern roses appear constantly. Breeders have created a group of park (shrub) roses. Among them there are ground cover varieties, the care of which is minimal, and many of them are rooted.
How many varieties of roses are there in the world? Currently, the world assortment of roses includes about 25 thousand varieties and forms. And, despite how many varieties of roses are already cultivated, more and more new varieties are being added to this number.
Roses have been held in high esteem by all nations since ancient times. The Romans considered roses a symbol of morality, the Greeks planted rose gardens around the temple of Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, and strewn the path of the newlyweds with pink petals. And rose water was one of the most common cosmetics.
Description of the rose plant and its photo
Here you can see a photo and description of a rose - one of the most beautiful flowers on Earth:
Roses are a separate genus of the Rosaceae family, which includes different kinds cultivated (roses) and wild (rose hips) species.
The description of a rose flower cannot be unambiguous, because these plants are very different in appearance: they are erect or creeping multi-stemmed shrubs, ranging from 0.3 to 2.5 m in height, and some evergreen climbing species reach 10 m. Woody stems and shoots are almost always covered with thorns of various sizes and shapes.
The only similarity in the description of the rose plant is the structure of their leaves: they are all complex, imparipinnate, in most species they consist of 5 - 7, sometimes 9-11 leaves.
Flowers of various colors, bisexual, solitary or collected in umbellate-paniculate inflorescences. For many garden species they form on one-year-old wood. They bloom several times during the summer.
The fruits are nut-shaped, with a dense woody shell, ripen in August-September. They contain from 3-5 to 100 or more seeds. Widely used in medicine.
Roses are distinguished by the shape of the bush, the aroma and color of the flowers. That is why they are used in a wide variety of plantings, combined with other plants, or gardens are created only from roses ().
Rose is a member of the Rosaceae family. Today, this genus includes about 400 species of wild roses, about 1000 subspecies and more than 30 thousand varieties. And every year there are more and more varieties and hybrids, and it becomes more and more difficult to classify them. This huge economy requires systematization, and this process is ongoing.
For many years there was confusion in the international rose growing community, as the standards adopted in each country differed significantly. For decades, work has been going on to compile a unified classification of roses, and in 1976, the World Federation of Rose Societies approved a unified classification of roses, which was based on their decorative and biological characteristics, and not on their origin.
Since then, of course, changes have occurred, new varieties are added to the list, new groups are included.
Such systematization is of practical importance not only for science, but also for every gardener: knowing which group a particular variety belongs to, the gardener can figure out what conditions the plant needs, where it is best to plant it and how to care for it.
LEGENDS OF ROSE
Since ancient times, the rose has remained the unsurpassed queen of flowers, a symbol of beauty and greatness among all peoples of the world.
Poets of all centuries sing about it.
There is nothing more tender and beautiful in the world,
Than this bundle of scarlet petals,
Opened with a fragrant cup.
S. Marshak
According to archaeological data, roses have existed on Earth for about 25 million years, and roses have been cultivated for more than 5,000 years!!!
In the 2nd millennium BC. roses were depicted on the walls of houses in Crete, and thousands of years later - on the tombs of the pharaohs in Ancient Egypt.
The rose was grown in the gardens of the East several thousand years ago, and the first information about the rose is found in ancient Indian legends, although Persia is considered its homeland.
In Old Persian, the word "rose" - "GUL" literally means "spirit". Iran was called by ancient poets Gulistan i.e. country of roses.
Indian goddess of beauty Lakshmi
born from a blossoming flower, composed of 108 large and 1,608 small petals rose bud.
Vishnu, the guardian of the universe, seeing this beauty hiding in her lovely pink cradle, captivated by her beauty, woke her up with a kiss and turned her into his wife.
The rose was held in such esteem in ancient India that there was even a law according to which anyone who brought a rose to the king could ask him for whatever he wanted.
According to Indian legend, during the celebrations, one ruler ordered a moat of water to be filled with pink petals. Later, people noticed that the water was covered with a film of pink essence. This is how rose oil was born. 
Greece
From the waves of the sea the goddess of love was born Aphrodite
. She had barely reached the shore when foam flakes, sparkling on her body began to turn into luxurious White Rose.
Goddess of the island Rhodes
considered to be the nymph Roda, the wife of Helios, the patron saint of the island. The name Rhoda came from the rose, and the name in turn gave the name to the island.
And in Rhodes, where one of the most magnificent temples of Aphrodite existed, even images of the divine rose were minted on coins. 
The priestesses of Aphrodite took white roses to the temples of this goddess and decorated the altar and the garden surrounding them with them. And the roses remained white until the heart of Aphrodite was struck by terrible news: her beloved Adonis lay wounded to death by a boar.
Then the goddess rushes into the grove of Python, where her path is, and runs, not paying attention to the thorns covering the roses, which wound her legs until they bleed. A few drops of this divine blood fall on the roses and turn them from white into red.
According to another legend, White Rose turned red during one of the feasts of the gods on Olympus. Cupid somehow accidentally knocked over a vessel with nectar, which spilled onto the white roses that were blooming right there, turning them red and giving them a lovely scent.
Even more poetic is the legend about the creation of the red rose by the goddess Flora. Flora was struck by Cupid's arrow, and was inflamed with passionate love for him. It was then, in an unsatisfied passion, that she decided to create a flower that both laughs and cries - combines both sadness and joy.
Seeing the wonderful flower growing in her hand, the goddess wanted to exclaim in admiration: "Eros"(that’s what the Greeks called Amur), but she faltered and, swallowing the first syllable, only shouted: "grew up" The flowers growing around picked up this word, and from then on this flower and began to be called a rose
.
Myths are interesting about the origin of thorns at the rose. According to one version, Bacchus, who was pursuing a nymph, found himself in front of an insurmountable fence of thorns and ordered her to become a fence of roses. However, later, seeing that the fence could not hold the nymph, Bacchus supplied the rose with thorns.
Among the Romans
During the republic, the rose served as a reward for outstanding deeds, and during the fall of Rome it was a symbol of vice and a luxury item on which crazy amounts of money were spent.
At first, when Roman soldiers went to war, they even took off their helmets and put on rose wreaths to give you courage. It was like an order that was given as a reward for heroism.
This was not the meaning of the rose during the fall of Rome. From a royal flower it becomes a flower of fun for drunken orgies
Wanting to revel in the scent of roses as much as possible, some patricians strewn even the surface of the sea with its petals when they went out on galleys for a walk, and during one of the celebrations the surface of the entire Lake Lucina was even strewn with them. 
But he surpassed everyone with his ugly destruction of roses Emperor Heliobalus.
At one of his feasts, nobles the guests were abandoned so many rose petals fell from the ceiling that some of them, to his great pleasure, suffocated under them.
According to legend, Heliogabalus decided to get rid of his associates, whom he suspected of infidelity.
Roses of Heliogabalus Alma Tadema Lawrence 
This is reflected in the poem L.A. Meya "Flowers":
“And the flowers fall and fall,
And they rain uncontrollably...
Their hundred hands from the extinct choir throws
Baskets, heaps, aroma
Pours deadly poison into the air...
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In vain is the cry of the feasters: “Mercy!
We are dying!" Flowers are falling -
There is no mercy - all the doors are locked..."
Helioglobal, on the other hand, bathed in wine from roses, which after that the mob had to drink.
Cleopatra
An interesting custom of the Romans was to throw rose petals from the wreaths of their interlocutors into glasses of wine and drink this wine as a sign of goodwill. This custom was used by the Egyptian queen Cleopatra to convince her of her love. Mark Antony
.
Once upon a time Cleopatra sprinkled rose petals with poison your wreath. When Mark Antony plucked the petals from her wreath into his bowl and was about to drink, Cleopatra stopped him. “Look, dear Anthony, how easy it would be for me to get rid of you if I could live without you.”
In support of her words, Cleopatra ordered the slave sentenced to death to be brought in and ordered him to drink the cup of Anthony. The poor slave died on the spot.
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In the work of the ancient writer Apuleius “Metamorphoses” main character Lucius, turned into a donkey due to witchcraft, turns to the gods for help. Isis invites him to eat blooming roses, after which Lucius returns to human form.
Roses are also edible. They made jam from them and made a delicacy from candied roses. Roman writers talked about the magnificent wine made from roses, which they likened to the nectar of the gods. Ancient doctors highly valued rose oil, rose water and rose ointments.
But among all the feasts and orgies, the rose, in addition to decoration, also had an even more original meaning.
The rose served as a symbol of silence, and was dedicated to Harpocrates - the god of silence
, who was depicted as a young man with a finger attached to his lips.
According to one of the myths, Cupid gave Harpocrates a white rose in order to suppress rumors and gossip about the frivolity of his mother Venus. 
The Latin proverb says: "In vino veritas"(there is truth in wine) indicating that a person intoxicated with wine may blurt out his secrets.
And since during the decline of Rome it was very dangerous to share your thoughts publicly, to remind you that you need to keep your mouth shut, people were hanged during Roman feasts. on the ceiling of the hall there is an artificially made white rose
.
A look at this rose forced many to restrain their frankness. They say that the famous Latin expression came from this rose: "sub rosa dictum" - " what was said under the rose»,
in the sense: under secret.
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Rose is the flower most revered by Christianity. That's what they call it - the flower of the Virgin Mary.
Painters depicted the Virgin Mary with three wreaths. A wreath of white roses meant her joy, red roses meant her suffering, and yellow roses meant her glory.
According to Christian legend, white garden roses owe their origin to the Blessed Virgin Mary. They grew on a bush on which she hung Christ’s swaddling clothes to dry. 
The red moss rose arose from the drops of Christ's blood flowing down the cross. The angels collected it in golden bowls, but a few drops fell on the moss, and a rose grew from them, the bright red color of which should remind us of the blood shed for our sins.
Another story about why the rose turned red - it blushed with pleasure when Eve, who was walking in the Garden of Eden, kissed her.
At that time, white roses were also called Magdalene roses, and they were said to have lost their color due to Magdalene’s tears of repentance shed on them.
It was believed that the rose grew in paradise without thorns, but acquired them after the fall of man as a reminder.
In Catholic legends, the rose is the heavenly protector of good deeds. So, one of them tells about St. Nicholas. When one day in the middle of a freezing winter he was carrying bread taken from the monastery to feed the poor, and was stopped by the abbot of the monastery, this bread turned into roses - as a sign that this was a good deed.
Golden Rose
Since the 11th century Pope annually awards golden rose
to the monarch who has shown the highest virtue during the past year. “On the day of “Dominica in rosa” (the fourth Sunday of Lent), the Pope, in the presence of the cardinals, blessed this rose in St. Peter’s Basilica, and then sent it to the one who during the year turned out to be worthy of a high reward.” Interestingly, only the Santelli family has the right to make such a rose. 
IN different years The owners of the golden rose were: Joan of Sicily, German Emperor Henry III, Mexican Empress Charlotte and Spanish Queen Isabella.
A real gift from heaven was a branch of a living rose, the mention of which is found in the records of Columbus's expedition. When Columbus's ships were sailing in the Sargasso Sea, one of the sailors saw a rose branch in the water. It was good sign, instilling hope in everyone and adding determination to continue the journey. This is how America was discovered.
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Muslims believe that a white rose grew from drops of Mohammed’s sweat during his night ascent to heaven, a red rose from drops of sweat from the Archangel Gabriel who accompanied him, and a yellow rose from the sweat of an animal that was with Mohammed.
Muslims attribute cleansing powers to roses and rose water.
Sultan Saladdin, having again taken Jerusalem from Christians in 1189, he entered the Mosque of Omar, converted by the crusaders into a church, no earlier than washing the entire floor and all its walls with rose water. Mohammed II did the same with the temple of St. Sofia after his capture of Constantinople in 1453. Before turning this wonderful temple into a mosque, he ordered it to be washed from top to bottom with rose water. 
According to one of the Eastern poets, the rose was a gift from Allah himself. One day all the children of the flora came to him with a request to appoint them a new ruler instead of the sleepy lotus (Nile water lily), who, although wonderfully beautiful, forgot his duties as a ruler in the middle of the night. Then Allah, having listened to them favorably, heeded their request and gave them a white virgin rose with sharp thorns guarding it as their ruler.
Nightingale and rose
When the nightingale saw this wonderful queen of flowers, he was so captivated by her charm that he pressed her to his chest in delight. But sharp thorns, like daggers, pierced his heart, and warm scarlet blood, splashing from the loving breast of the unfortunate man, watered the delicate petals of the wondrous flower. This is why, says a Persian legend, many of the outer petals of a rose still retain their pinkish tint.
Thus, rose thorns became associated with the wounds of love.
Knights
Once upon a time they compared the ladies of their hearts to roses. They seemed as beautiful and impregnable as this flower. Many of the knights had a rose engraved on their shields as an emblem.
In the 13th century, a custom arose in France for ladies to wear wreaths of roses, which are called “chapels,” and those who knit them are called “chapelliers,” a word that now denotes hat manufacturers; from these wreaths came the present French word "chapo"(chapeau) - hat.
In 1324, the legendary Clémence Isor founded in Toulouse Flower Games
- first in history tournament of poet-knights. The reward for the talented winner was silver rose
.
Since then, the Flower Games have become a tradition, and outstanding poets of France, such as Ronsard, Chateaubriand, Hugo, Vigny and others, became holders of the silver rose.
Gallic rose
- one of the oldest and most studied types of roses.
In earlier times, rose petals were dried, rolled into balls, and then used to make beads.
Such rosaries were called “ rose gardens
“.
They were used when counting the number of prayers offered to the Lord God. Later this name passed for flower beds, in which roses were bred. 
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Rose in England
Many legends and stories about roses in England are associated with
Eleanor of Aquitaine and the beautiful Rosamund
.
Gallic rose appeared in Europe thanks to the French king Louis VII
(1120-1180), who brought it after the second crusade for his wife, the beautiful Eleanor.
But Louis VII divorced Eleanor, and soon she married a handsome man Duke of Anjou
. As a dowry, the Duke received the Duchy of Aquitaine and white rose
as an emblem.
Subsequently Henry of Anjou became Henry II, the first Plantagenet king of England, father of the legendary king Richard the Lionheart
.
And so, Henry had a mistress - Jane Clifford, Jane was extraordinarily beautiful, she was called “Rosa Mundi” (Graceful Rose) and “The Fair Rosamund” (Charming Rosamund
).
Romantic legends say that Henry II and Rosamund met in a secret tower hidden by a bower of roses. The path to the gazebo ran through a labyrinth, and the way could only be found with the help of a silver guiding thread.
William Bell Scott "Fair Rosamund in the Bower", 1854 
But Queen Eleanor
managed to find the way to the secret tower and destroy Rosamund. Legend has it that Rosamund died in the town of Woodstock, and there, near Blenheim Palace, a healing spring began to flow, and a new scarlet rose grew, called “Rosa Mundi” (Graceful Rose). 
When one of Henry II's descendants Edmund the Hunchback, 1st Earl of Lancaster
, married Blanche Artois, the widow of the French king Henry III, then adopted her emblem - Provençal (Gallic) scarlet rose. And then the scarlet rose became the official symbol of the Lancaster dynasty.
In England it is called Red Rose of Lancaster .
About the famous War of the Scarlet and White Roses
Between representatives of the two Plantagenet lines in 1455. the war for the throne began.
War of Scarlet and White roses. The war that tore England apart for more than 30 years was caused by clan rivalry Lancasters and Yorks
who had these flowers on their coats of arms.
Based on the tragedy “Henry VI” by the great Shakespeare,
it all started in Temple Park.
Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York, having picked a white rose from a bush, offered to do the same to everyone who wanted to see him as king. “I will not rest until my white rose is stained with Lancaster blood,” Richard declared.
Lancastrian supporters responded by pinning red roses to their hats. After this, white and scarlet roses were used on castle coats of arms, shields and banners.
And as a result of this, the discord that arose during Henry VI of Lancaster for the right to the English throne Edward of York, wears, name Wars of the Scarlet and White Roses.
As a result of the war Henry VII Tudor
, (who had distant rights to the throne), won Richard III
, the last of the House of York. Henry VII married Elizabeth of York and created a new royal emblem combining white and scarlet roses(the white rose is inside the scarlet rose).
Emblem of the Tudors 
In London's Temple Park, those two historical rose bushes with which the whole story began were preserved for a long time...
English gardeners did not stand aside from the events and developed a special variety of roses.
Rose Lancaster York, with flowers with white and scarlet petals 
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Black roses
Black rose from the fantasy garden
Mourning velvet - its petals
They say that this variety of roses was bred for the Queen of England, who preferred to lay just such flowers on her husband's grave.
Actually completely black rose
it was not possible to breed, but there are varieties with such a rich dark red color that these roses can be called black.
These roses include the Black Magic or Baccarat varieties. Petals are the color of red Burgundy wine with a black tint. It seems that real magic comes from the rose flower... 
The buds are actually black. But as soon as the bud opens, its color becomes burgundy with a velvety sheen of black.
Also, black tulips are actually very dark red.
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In Germany The rose (rose hip) dates back to pagan times.
In the ancient Germanic sagas it is dedicated Queen of Heaven Frigga, in many places it is still called Friggadorn. It was allowed to tear it only on Friday - the day dedicated to Frigga.
The Germanic language also uses roses. fire god Loki
when spring comes. He laughs, and from his laughter the cold runs away, the snow melts and the earth is covered with roses.
She also plays a role in the tale of Brunnhilde,
when she, having become a Valkyrie, whose duty was to carry the souls of dead soldiers from the battlefield to Valhalla, betrays the vow she made. Intervening in the battle of two kings, he helps one of them, who Wotan (One), the god of war, was destined to perish. 
As punishment for this, the angry Wotan places it under her head. wild rose branch(rose hips) with mossy growths, and Brünnhilde and all her surroundings fall into deep sleep, from which she can only wake up when some prince comes to wake her up.
All this served as a prototype for our existing fairy tale “ About Sleeping Beauty
”, which in German is called “Wild Rose”. or "Rosehip".
In Germany, roses are still called " sleeping beauties". The word "rosehip" is translated from German as "sleeping beauty."
The symbol associated with the rose Order of the Rosicrucians.
Rosicrucians - a mysterious and secret mystical society founded in Germany in the 15th century by Christian Rosicrucian (hence the name - the order of the Rosicrucians, "The Order of the Rose and the Cross").
This is the teaching, " built on ancient truths" that "provide understanding of nature, the universe, and the spiritual realm", which is symbolized by the emblem of the brotherhood - a rose blooming on a cross. 
As alchemists and spellcasters, they became legendary. Later, the more modern Theosophists, headed by Paracelsus, and the alchemists, descended from them.
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The oldest rose in the world
growing in Germany near the cathedral in Hildesheim
- it is about a thousand years old, and the height of the bush is comparable to the height of the cathedral. And there is an old legend about this bush.
Charlemagne's son Louis the Pious, while hunting in winter in Saxony, he lost his pectoral cross. The servant found this cross among the snow on a blooming rose bush. But when I wanted to remove the cross, the bush wouldn’t let me in. The servant told about this, and then Louis himself went to get the cross.
Arriving at the place, he saw a huge spot in the snow in the form of a cathedral plan, in the upper part of which there was a rose bush.
Having removed the cross, he ordered a cathedral to be built on this site and a wonderful bush to be preserved with it. The place was named Hilde Schnee, deep snow; hence the word Hildesheim (Hidelsheim). 
And the bush turned into a huge tree that exists today
and is covered every year with thousands of magnificent roses!
At the end of World War II, Hildesheim was almost destroyed by Allied bombing. Then the trunk of the rose burned down, but the next year the rose sprouted and grows in the old way!
Just imagine - in a thousand years it is forgotten world history, entire cities are leaving, and the rose is still blooming!
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In the 17th century, the rose first came to Russia.
The German ambassador brought it as a gift to Emperor Mikhail Fedorovich. They began to plant it in gardens only under Peter the Great.
Tea rose
, so called for its wonderful tea smell, was brought to Europe only at the beginning of the 19th century, and moreover, pink - in 1860 from the East Indies, and yellow - in 1824 from China.
From a mixture of these two species, those hundreds, even thousands of hybrids of tea roses, which make up the beauty of our modern flower beds, turned out.
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The best of the best!!
Among roses, climbing forms are the most vigorous plants. 
Biggest A rose bush grows over a tombstone in Tombston, USA. The flower was planted in 1885, and today it has a trunk 3.7 meters in girth, covering an area of 740 square meters. During the flowering period, more than 200,000 buds of yellow roses bloom on it. 
Unusual colors
Rainbow roses (Rainbow Roses), cast in all the colors of the rainbow, are a miracle that boggles the imagination. Each petal in a flower has its own unique coloring. 
The effect of such an unusual color is achieved by coloring the flower through the stem. The stem of the selected flower is split and placed in a solution with special dyes. As the water is absorbed, the rose petals turn into the most unusual colors.
Now you can find rainbow tulips, lilies, gerberas, etc.
The cost of one rainbow rose reaches 20 dollars - the most expensive!
Blue or blue roses
Roses do not naturally have the blue pigment known as delphinidin. That's why there are no blue roses. Unattainable blue shade there were even roses synonymous with impossibility.
Red roses and white roses
I brought it to my beloved.
She doesn't need those, no!
Give me a bouquet of blue roses...
I returned to those lands
My love has died.
I waited, I waited until I cried
In the kingdom of death of blue roses...
It was an empty question:
There are no blue roses in the world...
R. Kipling
But the dream of getting blue roses never left the gardeners. The Japanese holding Suntory subsidized genetic research of the Australian company Florigen. The blue gene was introduced from pansies(pansies) in roses.
in Paris . 
Rose in sculpture
38 huge roses “grew” on the streets of New York. The stems and leaves of the flowers are steel, and the buds are made of fiberglass. The largest roses are seven meters high 
And this rose is in St. Petersburg, in the Museum of City Sculpture. 
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In Bulgaria
, in Kazanlak and Karlovo, at the end of May they hold Rose Festival
. Here the rose is considered a messenger of happiness. At this time, the collection of petals begins to prepare rose oil in the Rose Valley. The Rose Parade and the election of the pink Queen and King take place here.
Some interesting facts about roses:
1. The rose is the national flower of the USA, England and Iran.
2. The wild rose Rosa Acicularis can be found in the Arctic Circle.
3. Long before Sappho immortalized the rose with the epithet “queen of flowers,” the Greeks called it “king of flowers.”
4. Natural rose oil is one of the most expensive; on the international market it is valued more than gold and platinum.
5.Yellow, orange, coral roses appeared from crossing with wild rose variety Persian yellow, and the bright red color was inherited from Chinese roses.
6. The gene responsible for scent is recessive, and if you cross two roses with a strong scent, you will get a hybrid with either a weak scent or no scent at all.
7. Shakespeare mentioned roses more than 50 times in his poems.
8. Avicenna’s recipes using roses take up several pages.
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For those interested in this topic:
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Legends of the RoseIt is not surprising that there are so many legends about the rose, because it is as ancient a crop as rye, barley or wheat. Among the huge variety of plants, it has occupied an honorable place since ancient times and enjoyed love and popularity among almost all peoples of the world. She was worshiped and served as a symbol of grace in poetry and painting. So many legends and tales have been created about the rose that it is rightly called the queen of flowers.
If you believe the hypotheses of scientists, then the name rose comes from the ancient Persian name of the plant “wrodon”, among the Greeks it changed to “rhodon”, among the Romans to rosa. It is known that the very first information about the rose is found in ancient Indian legends, although Persia is considered its homeland. From those ancient times to this day, the rose has been considered the unsurpassed queen of flowers, a symbol of beauty and greatness.
For many thousands of years, the rose has been and remains the favorite flower of many peoples. Love for it is not subject to fashion and, perhaps, that is why there are countless legends about the rose.
Since ancient times, the rose has remained the unsurpassed queen of flowers, a symbol of beauty and greatness. Her beauty and mystical appeal have always attracted human attention. She was loved, she was worshiped, she was sung from time immemorial. Rose has always enjoyed love and popularity among all peoples of the world.
If you believe archaeological data, roses have existed on Earth for about 25 million years, and roses have been cultivated for more than 5,000 years and most during this time it was considered a sacred symbol. The aroma of roses has always been associated with something divine, causing awe. Since ancient times, the custom of decorating temples with fresh roses has been preserved.
Yes, probably, the rose is one of the few flowers about which there are so many legends and tales.
1 . According to the ancient Greek poet Anacreon, the rose was born from the snow-white foam that covered the body of Aphrodite (Venus), when this goddess of love in all her wondrous beauty emerged from the sea after swimming. Seeing this lovely flower on her, the enchanted gods sprinkled it with nectar, which gave it a wonderful smell. However, the nectar that gave immortality, due to the envy of some gods, did not give it to the rose, and it remained as mortal as everything that is born on earth. The priestesses of Aphrodite, which appeared in all its virgin beauty and purity, took it to the temple of this goddess and decorated the altar and the garden that surrounded them with the rose. And the rose remained white until the heart of Aphrodite was struck by terrible news: her beloved Adonis lay wounded to death by a boar.
Having forgotten everything, in indescribable grief the goddess rushed to the grove of Python, where her beloved was. She ran, not paying attention to the roses along the way and the thorns covering the roses, which wounded her legs until they bled. A few drops of this divine blood fell on the roses and they turned from white to red.
2 . Here's another legend. The white rose turned red during one of the feasts of the gods on Olympus.
Fluttering in a cheerful dance, Cupid somehow accidentally knocked over a vessel with nectar with his pink-red wings, which, spilling onto the white roses that were blooming right there, colored them red and gave them a lovely smell.
3 . Even more poetic is the legend about the creation of the red rose by the goddess Flora.
Having not loved and avoided Cupid for a long time, Flora was nevertheless struck by his arrow and was inflamed with passionate love for him from that moment. But the cunning god, having achieved what he wanted, then began, in turn, to avoid Flora, and it was then, in unsatisfied passion, that she decided to create a flower that both laughs and cries - combines both sadness and joy. Seeing a wonderful flower growing in her hand, the goddess wanted to exclaim in admiration: “Eros” (that’s what the Greeks called Cupid), but, shy by nature, she faltered, blushed and, swallowing the first syllable, shouted only: “grew.” Since then, this flower began to be called a rose.
4 . And here is another legend that says that the rose owes its origin to the goddess of the hunt, Diana.
In love with Cupid, this goddess became jealous of him for the wonderfully beautiful nymph Rosalia. And then one day, in wild anger, she grabbed the unfortunate woman, dragged her into the nearest thorn bush and, wounding her with the terrible thorns of this thorny bush, took her life. Cupid, having learned about the bitter fate of his beloved, hurried to the scene of the crime and, finding her lifeless, burst into burning tears in inconsolable grief. His tears dripped, dripped from his eyes onto the thorn bushes like dew, and - oh, miracle! - the bush irrigated by them began to be covered with wondrous flowers. These flowers were roses.
5 . There is also a story about why the rose turned red; she blushed with pleasure when Eve, walking in the Garden of Eden, kissed her.
6 . The Koran says that the rose arose from drops of sweat of the Prophet Mohammed.
Rose thorns also have a legend
1 . If you believe some legends, the origin of rose thorns is associated with Bacchus, who chased a nymph and unexpectedly found himself in front of an insurmountable barrier of thorns. In order for the nymph to stop, Bacchus turned the thorns into roses. But the frightened nymph continued to run, not paying attention to their beauty. Then the angry Bacchus endowed the rose with thorns so that the nymph, wounded by the thorns, would become weak and become the prey of Bacchus.
2 . One day Cupid, inhaling the scent of a rose, was stung by a bee; Angry, he shot an arrow at the flower, and the arrow turned into a thorn.
3 . And here is another legend: the rose became overgrown with thorns when Bacchus wanted to take possession of the nymph. With its thorns, the rose wanted to say that beauty must be protected.
rose flower- a symbol of beauty, since the sophistication of its delicate petals is harmoniously combined with sharp thorns. The rose is a member of the Varicolor family, the Rosehip genus. The plant in most cases is a branched shrub, the stems of which are covered with thorns; the rose has green leaves and large fragrant flowers of a wide variety of colors (see photo).
There are many legends about the appearance of this flower, but they are all somehow connected with love. According to one legend, the rose appeared thanks to the efforts of the goddess Flora, who was unrequitedly in love with Cupid. The goddess in love decided to create a flower that would represent both sadness and joy. This is how the rose appeared. Seeing the flower, the goddess wanted to say the name of her lover, but instead of “Eros” she only managed to say “ros”. Since then, the rose, which Flora created as a symbol of unrequited feelings, has become an iconic flower for all lovers. Another legend says that the flower was born from the foam that covered the body of the ancient Greek goddess of beauty after bathing. The gods sprinkled the rose with nectar to give it a charming aroma and make it even more beautiful. Initially, the rose was snow-white, but when Aphrodite learned of Adonis’ injury, she ran into the thicket where her lover was dying, the thorns wounded the goddess’s feet, and drops of her blood painted the white petals scarlet.
For the first time this amazing flower started growing in Ancient Rome. Ancient Roman writers sang the beauty of the flower starting from the 5th century. The Romans grew roses in gardens where previously only beneficial plants (spices, medicinal herbs). During the reign of the Carolingians, the rose began to be grown as a medicinal flower, also noting the decorative and beauty of this plant.
Garden roses became known at the end of the 18th century; at that time, amazing flowers were brought from Asia. beautiful plants, whose flowers had a pleasant aroma reminiscent of tea. The first information about the rose is found in ancient Indian sources, although Persia is considered the birthplace of the flower. The Persians considered the white rose a gift to people from Allah himself. There is a version that the flower got its name in honor of the island where it first began to grow - Rhodes. This flower has been cultivated for more than 5 thousand years, as evidenced by archaeological data. The scarlet rose has always been a symbol of love; in the Middle Ages, the gentleman had to give red roses to his lady.
Planting and growing
You can plant and grow a rose on summer cottage, if you create everything for her the necessary conditions. Roses are generally heat-loving flowers, so they should be planted in a sunny place. Very often, roses are grown from cuttings, that is, vegetatively. This way roses can be grown even in a city apartment.
For this you will need a cut rose and a potato. Potatoes contain many nutrients that will help the rose take root faster. You should make a hole in the potato where you will need to stick the cut rose. The flower in the potato will take root very quickly; as soon as this happens, the rose along with the potato should be transplanted into the ground.
Beneficial features
The beneficial properties of this flower are due to the presence large quantity essential oil. Rose oil is one of the most valuable in cosmetology and perfumery. The aroma of roses is included in many perfume compositions. Essential oil has a positive effect on nervous system, has a slight sedative effect. The aroma of rose stimulates brain function. In order to obtain just 1 gram of essential oil, you need to process about 30 kilograms of petals. There is even a whole valley of roses in Bulgaria, where they grow a very valuable oilseed variety Pink colour. Bulgarian rose oil is considered the best in the world. Products containing rose essential oil are also world famous and are used for facial skin care.
Rose petals contain fatty acids that restore the protective properties of the skin, relieve inflammation and irritation. A paste of rose petals is applied to various skin problems for 5-10 minutes. Rose petals kill painful microorganisms and promote healing. The gruel from the petals is effective for eczema, acne, and is also used to relieve inflammatory processes in psoriasis.
Regular baths with rose petals or rose oil can also help solve skin problems. To prepare a medicinal infusion, you should brew a glass of petals with a glass of boiling water and leave in a sealed container to preserve the essential oils. The infusion should be added to the bath. There is no need to strain it.
Use in cooking
In cooking, rose flowers are used to prepare the famous rose jam. The recipe for this healthy sweet is also known under the romantic name “woman’s revenge.” To make jam, 200 grams of rose petals, a kilogram of sugar and a glass of water will be enough. The petals are covered with sugar and left to sugar for two days. After two days, prepare a syrup from sugar and water with the addition of lemon juice, then add petals in sugar to the syrup and cook until tender.
Wild rose, or rose hip, can also be used to brew an aromatic drink, which is also called “Chinese tea.” To prepare this drink, you will have to prepare the leaves in a special way. The leaves should be dried in the shade for one day, after which they are rubbed in the palms until the leaves release juice. The prepared leaves are poured onto a baking sheet in a small layer and covered with a wet cloth. The baking sheet is kept at a temperature of 26 degrees for 6-10 hours. Then the fermented leaves are dried for 40 minutes at a temperature of 100 degrees. Tea is brewed as usual, at the rate of 1 teaspoon per glass of boiling water. The drink turns out to be very tasty and healthy.
Rose flower benefits and treatment
The benefits of roses are enormous. So, on its basis you can prepare various wound healing agents. For example, for getting rid of boils, treating burns and skin diseases prepare an ointment from butter and rose petals. For the ointment, a few grams of powdered petals and 100 grams of butter will be enough. The ointment turns out to be very tender and fragrant, moreover, it is quite effective due to the bactericidal properties of the rose.
IN folk medicine There are many recipes for using rose oil. This kind of oil is an excellent antiseptic, which significantly expands the range of its use. It is best to prepare rose oil based on olive oil. To do this, pour 2 cups of petals with a glass of olive oil and insist for three weeks in a dark place. During this time, the oil bottle needs to be shaken from time to time. Afterwards, the mixture is filtered, and the oil is poured into another bottle. Rose oil is used externally for skin diseases or just to care for delicate skin, inside the oil is used for diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. Drinking medicinal oil 1 teaspoon twice a day an hour after meals.
For sore throat and tonsillitis A sore throat is treated with rose vinegar. To prepare vinegar, pour rose petals (about 100 grams) with 9% vinegar and insist for one week. For diseases of the throat, vinegar is diluted with water at the rate of 1 teaspoon of vinegar per glass of water, the throat is gargled with this solution several times a day until complete recovery.
Harm to rose flowers and contraindications
Rose can cause harm to the body due to individual intolerance. It is not recommended to use rose essential oil during pregnancy. Before using an essential oil, be sure to do a tolerance test for this product. To do this, apply a few drops of diluted oil to the bend of the elbow. If allergic reactions occur, use of the oil should be discontinued.
Roses are certainly very beautiful flowers. Where did roses come from? Roses have a very interesting story and legends of their origin.
In many cultures, the rose is considered the queen of flowers and is an object of admiration and worship, a symbol of passionate love.
The first information about this flower is found in ancient Hindu legends. In India, the rose was so revered that kings bestowed great wealth on those who brought them this flower.
Not less legends about the rose also appeared in Ancient Iran. According to one of them, all the flowers came to Allah and asked that instead of the royal but lazy Lotus, a new ruler be appointed to them. And then Allah created a magnificent white rose with sharp thorns.
According to another legend, the rose appeared from drops of Mohammed’s sweat when he ascended to heaven at night. Mohammedans believe in the cleansing power of this flower, and if they see a rose lying on the ground, they will never step on it, but will move it to a clean place. They also attribute cleansing powers to rose water. According to legend, after the capture of Constantinople by the Turks, Sultan Mohammed II ordered the Hagia Sophia Church to be washed from the dome to the base with rose water, and then made a mosque out of it.
Even the great philosopher Confucius sang the rose and worshiped it as a divine flower. In the imperial gardens of China, a huge number of rose bushes grow, and the imperial library contains 500 volumes entirely devoted to roses.
❧ In the garden of the Iranian Negaristan Palace, a unique Eglantheria rose grows, the height of which reaches 6 m, and the girth of the trunk is 70 cm.
Scientists are still arguing whether the rose was known to the ancient Jews. Nevertheless, the Talmud says that a red rose grew from the blood of the innocently murdered Abel. In addition, an important element of any Jewish bride's outfit is a red rose. In the 7th century BC e. During the reign of King Ptolemy in Egypt, a lot of roses grew in the town of Arsinoe, from which they prepared precious rose water. When Queen Cleopatra hosted the Roman commander Mark Antony, the floor of the palace hall was covered with a layer of rose petals, the thickness of which was several tens of centimeters.
Ancient Greece was the center of intellectual life of the ancient world, and the rose was also revered there, considering it a gift from the gods. The ancient Greek poet Anacreon tells of the birth of a rose from snow-white foam that enveloped the beautiful body of Aphrodite when she emerged from the depths of the sea. The gods were so amazed by the beauty of the flower that they sprinkled it with nectar, from which the rose acquired its magnificent aroma.
Many legends tell how a white rose turned into a red one. One of them is the Persian legend of the nightingale and the rose. The nightingale fell in love with the rose and, captivated by its perfect beauty, pressed it to his chest. However, the thorns, sharp as blades, pierced the heart of the unfortunate lover, and the petals of the flower absorbed his blood.
An ancient Greek legend tells that the goddess of love Aphrodite ran to her seriously wounded lover Dionysus through the rose bushes. Sharp thorns dug into her body until she bled, which turned the rose petals red.
The rose occupied a special place in the life of many peoples. The Greeks strewn the path of the winners with these flowers, lovers gave them to each other, brides decorated their outfits with individual roses and entire wreaths of them. In addition, the ancient Greeks considered the rose to be a symbol of infinity, so they had a custom of decorating urns containing the ashes of the dead with flowers. In their opinion, the miraculous properties of the rose helped restore beauty, delay old age and protect the remains from decomposition. Knitters of rose wreaths used Ancient Greece great respect.
The ancient Romans adopted the worship of this plant from the Greeks. In the Roman Republic, the rose was revered as a symbol of morality. She was also considered the personification of courage, so warriors put wreaths of roses on their heads to get rid of the fear of battle; Prominent figures were also awarded wreaths of roses. A rose branch was often hung above the table, as it was considered a symbol of the god of silence, Harpocrates. There is a popular expression: Sub rosa dictum - “I said under the rose”, meaning that what was said is a big secret.
After the fall of the Roman Empire, the rose acquired a completely different meaning and became a symbol of fun and drunken orgies, the personification of base feelings. Roman aristocrats stuffed pillows and mattresses with rose petals and covered the floors of their houses with them. The Roman Emperor Nero ordered the walls and ceiling in the dining room to be made rotating and to depict the change of seasons. Millions of pink petals showered the guests, symbolizing rain or snow. Roman emperors admired the scent of roses so much that even during boat trips they strewn the surface of the sea with petals for them.
On the outskirts of Rome, rose plantations grew in place of grain crops, and on its streets there were so many of these flowers that their aroma made unaccustomed people faint.
Due to the fact that in Rome the rose became a symbol of depravity, the first Christians were disgusted by this flower. However, its amazing beauty and delicate aroma eventually regained their favor. White roses became a symbol of St. Mary Magdalene, and the red rose lost its color when Mary shed tears of repentance. In Catholicism, the white rose is considered the heavenly protector of good people.
In medieval France, the rose was held in high esteem and love, so much so that not everyone was allowed to grow this flower. There was a custom according to which every parent, even the poorest, was obliged to give his daughter a wreath of roses. In those days, during baptism, even pink water was added to holy water.
In England in the 15th century. The fratricidal war lasted 30 years, called the War of the Red and White Roses, because these flowers were the symbols of the 2 royal dynasties. Recently, English gardeners developed a special variety of rose, named “Lancaster-York” in memory of the warring royal families. It is distinguished by the fact that white and red roses bloom on its bush at the same time.
In the old days, actors in England wore rosebuds on their shoes, which were attributes of their costumes. Later the rose became distinctive feature the appearance of English dandies - it was customary to wear it behind the ear. Moreover, preference was given big buds- that’s when the outfit was considered chic. The rose was so popular among aristocrats that even Queen Elizabeth herself wore it behind her ear, and King Edward VII loved this flower so much that during the monarch’s funeral, his wife Alexandra placed a white rose on her husband’s body.
In Germany, the rose was known and revered back in pagan times. One of the legends says that with the arrival of spring, the god of fire Loki begins to laugh, and from this laughter the last frosts occur, the snow melts, and roses appear from under it. Moreover, among the Germanic tribes, the rose was considered the personification of the sword and the mortal wound, therefore, in poetic allegory, rose gardens became a symbol of the battlefield and cemetery.
After the arrival of Christianity in Germany, the pagan worship of this flower was transformed. Thus, one medieval legend says that the Virgin Mary hung her Son’s diapers on a bush to dry and roses bloomed on it. People believed that by touching a rose, a werewolf could become human again, and a witch would expose herself to witchcraft.
❧ In the botanical garden of Cluj, Romania, a rose variety with emerald petals, reminiscent of the transparent wings of a dragonfly, was bred.
Freemasons wore a rose on Midsummer. The symbol of the Rosicrucian Order was the Alexander Cross within a wreath of thorned roses. The Brazilian Emperor Don Pedro founded the Order of the Roses, whose symbol was a pentagon of stars with a wreath of roses inside.
In Russia, they began to decorate gardens with rose bushes only under Peter I, and this innovation reached its greatest flourishing under Catherine II. A story has survived to this day about a family of serfs who knew how to care for roses so well that their owner, the count, gave them the free name of the Rozanovs. The head of this family grew roses much better than the Englishman invited specially for this.
Typically rose petals are colored red, white, pink and yellow colors, but there are varieties with rare and unusual colors: blue, black, etc. Thus, the black rose has become a symbol of sadness. And recently in Italy they developed a variety of roses called “Purezza”, which means “purity”. It is distinguished by the purest white color of its petals, and the stems of the bush are completely devoid of thorns.
