Symbolism of plants: examples from European-Mediterranean culture presented with biology and history of art: FEBRUARY: Sea-daffodil and narcissus

Journal of Experimental Botany Symbolism of plants: examples from European-Mediterranean culture presented with biology and history of art Riklef Kandeler 1 Wolfram R. Ullrich 0 0 Institute of Botany, Darmstadt University of Technology , Kirchbergweg 6, D-64287 Darmstadt , Germany 1 Institute of Botany, University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences , Gregor Mendelstr. 33, 1180 Wien Austria In February around Europe, North Africa, and Asia, Narcissus flowers are early signs of spring. Pancratium, the sea-daffodil, is a closely related genus, although its flowering season is in later summer. Through antiquity the Narcissus has been used to symbolize the ambiguous character of February. It carries, for example, meanings between violent death and vanity in Greek mythology and idealized depictions of Pancratium were used in Aegean wall decorations. Many poets have celebrated the Narcissus in verse, notably William Wordsworth, and the elevating spirit of his verses are reflected in many of the sentiments associated with the gift of daffodils in different societies today. - The two distinctive properties of the sea-daffodil, Pancratium maritimum (Amaryllidaceae), are specified in its English common name. In the Mediterranean region it grows on sandy seashores with its bulbs deep in the sand. It is closely related to Narcissus, a genus occurring in the whole northern hemisphere, and shares the distinctive corona familiar to all daffodils. One distinction is that the filaments of Pancratium are attached to the corona and protrude from its edge allowing the anthers to stand upright (Fig. 1). This feature in particular enables the identification of this plant on old frescos, in spite of their beautifully stylized representations. Symbolism For the symbolic meaning of Pancratium it is important that it flowers from July to September, i.e. mainly in late summer. In The Women’s House at Akrotiri on Thera, the volcanic island in the Aegean Sea, large stylized plants were painted on the walls (17th century BC) (Doumas, 1992). The excavator Spyridon Marinatos (1986) has interpreted these as sea-daffodils. Baumann (1982) showed that herbarium specimens of P. maritimum were often mounted to look like the plants in the frescos, by opening the bell-shaped corolla on one side and removing the outer parts of the perianth (Fig. 2). The depicted plants are an impressive 140 cm tall, wild Pancratium is 60 cm at the most, usually only 30–40 cm. In context with the ceremonial character of the room, these plants were apparently meant to dominate the space and thus to set the scene. Sea-daffodils on the frescos in Akrotiri are associated with the veneration of a goddess. In continuation of the fresco, a woman is bending over and holding a ritual apron in her hand. The scene has been interpreted as the investiture of a priestess. Priestesses wore fur aprons as known from presentations found on Crete (Kandeler, 2006). Probably those priestesses were related to death and the other world. In the museum at Heraklion, a Minoan earthen sarcophagus from eastern Crete is exhibited. On its left side two sea-daffodil plants are painted and, on the right side, a griffin. A Mycenaean bronze blade shows sea-daffodils, also without outer perianth, beside a leopard seizing two wild ducks. In both cases, the plant is connected with death, particularly with violent death (Baumann, 1982). Death is also associated with narcissus in Greek mythology and they were supposed to grow along the river Styx in the underworld, and were often used as flowers on graves. According to myth, the pretty young man Narkissos fell in love with his own image reflected in water. He faded away with longing and was converted to the flower named after him. At Zeus’ command, Gaia made a tall and strong-smelling narcissus grow out of the ground in order to lure Persephone, the daughter of Zeus and Demeter, away from her companions and thus facilitate her kidnapping to the underworld. Both sea-daffodils and narcissus pointed to the transformation of life, to the inescapability of death. While narcissus tended to be a reminder of untimely death in the middle of spring, sea-daffodils announced the imminence of autumn when the flora generally vanishes. The sea-daffodil, Fig. 1. Pancratium maritimum, sea-daffodil, on the sea shore in Greece, the flowers showing the corona with the attached filaments. (Th. Georgiades, Patras). therefore, was also a plant associated with the vegetation goddess Persephone (or Ariadne), who each year had to pass through all the phases of life, including the underworld. In Christian times, daffodils became a symbol of resurrection, and today are prevalent for Easter (in German ‘Osterglocke’) (Addison, 1985; Beuchert, 2004; Levi d’Ancona, 1977). Narcissus appeared in medieval book illustrations and later in altarpieces. On an altar panel-painting by a Franciscan master craftsman of Go¨ ttingen, the ‘Noli me tangere’ scene of Easter Mo (...truncated)