Divine Herb of Joy, or Evil Weed of Daemons?
Who doesn't know this gorgeous flower, herald of the summer season? Poppy is a familiar sight throughout much of Europe. It commonly grows wild in corn fields or is cultivated as an ornamental in gardens. It is indeed lovely to see the delicate petals waft in the wind, mingling amongst the corn.
Alas, it is a fleeting beauty - the pretty flowers only last a few days.
Soon the petals fall away to reveal a bulging seed-pod, the true keeper of the Poppy's secret. Whilst most of us know that the tiny gray-blue seeds are used in baking or were sometimes pressed to yield a fine oil, few of us think of the Poppy as a powerful sacred herb. The greatest gift of this sacred plant is concealed within the its milky juice.
This latex is present within the tissues of the whole plant, but is most prolific and potent in the capsules prior to the ripening of the seed. This juice, commonly referred to as 'raw Opium', has been known about and utilized for thousands of years.
As one of the most ancient 'culture plants' Poppies have been a companion to humanity since its infancy during the upper Neolithic period.
According to archeological studies, remains of Poppies have been found in prehistoric settlements in central Europe, Switzerland, Southern Germany and Southern England which date to at least 4000 BC.
Scholars argue among themselves about the origin of this mysterious and strikingly beautiful magical herb.
Some sources claim Asia as its original habitat, others the eastern Mediterranean region. Recent research seems to point at central and southern Europe as its original home, from where it is believed to have spread south to Egypt, east to India, Pakistan and China and north to England.
Why Neolithic farmers should have cultivated a plant such as Poppy is also a point of argument.
Some scientists have proposed the theory that it was grown for its edible seeds and the oil that could be pressed from them for use as a cooking oil as well as for lamp fuel.
Whilst these uses may well have played a role, there are many other plants that could have been used for these purposes which would have been easier to process.
It is more likely that our ancestors held Poppies in special regard for their psychotropic powers which may well have played a significant role within a ceremonial or ritual context.
Naturally it is difficult for Ethnoarcheologists to substantiate their theories on prehistoric plant uses since organic matter has a habit of decomposing and conditions rarely allow for such substances to survive to the present day and age.
Knowledge pertaining to the uses of plants was passed down as an oral tradition through successive generations for thousands of years before written language was even invented.
However, based on what we know about the roles that psychoactive plants play in aboriginal societies even today, it is more than likely that our ancestors were not ignorant of the hidden powers of Poppy.
Furthermore, it is likely that knowledge regarding such 'magical' plants, which allowed humans to transcend the world of mundane concerns and to commune with the Gods, were particularly sacred and not the subject of everyday breakfast conversations.
Thus, the clues are indeed vague. We have to look at ancient mythologies and imagery to trace the hidden meaning and significance of sacred plants, which in turn may give some hints to yet more ancient traditional knowledge.
In ancient Greece Poppies were considered sacred to Hypnos, the God of sleep.
Ancient imagery often depicts Hypnos with Poppy heads in his hands and adorning his head. The doorway to his drowsy realm was also surrounded with Poppies.
He brought prophetic dreams and soothed the pain of those suffering from emotional agony.
The Romans knew this God as Somnus, a name which still echoes in Poppy's Latin name 'Papaver somniferus' - somnus ferre - bringer of sleep.
But Poppy was also associated with Thanatos, or Hades the Lord of Dead and of eternal sleep, for it can also bring death.
Such myths reveal Poppy as a plant of the Underworld, associated with both temporal and eternal sleep.
Indeed, some archeological finds at ancient burial sites confirm Poppy's status as a sacred plant that was intimately connected with the rites of passage to the Underworld.
At a site, known as 'Cueva de los Murcielagos' (Bat Cave) situated near Albunol, (Granada) in Southern Spain evidence for this hypothesis has been discovered.
The human remains found there were accompanied by bags of Esparto grass (Stipa tenacissima), containing numerous Poppy seed capsules.
Subsequent carbon dating established the date of the burial at around 4200 BC.
Likewise, a vase containing Opium remains has been discovered at the tomb of Kha at Deir el-Medina in Egypt, though this is thought to be of a more recent age. (3000+ years old)
In the days of Antiquity, Poppy was not just valued for its magical properties.
Its medicinal powers, particularly evident in the potent latex, were no secret.
It was used as a sedative and painkiller, to calm hysterics, lighten melancholy and heal colic, diarrhoea and persistent spasmodic coughs.
It was also considered to be a powerful aphrodisiac. Dioscurides describes the process of obtaining the latex (raw Opium), which he calls 'opion' in detail:
'Those who wish to obtain the sap (of the Poppy) must go after the dew has dried and draw their knife around the star in such a manner as not to penetrate the inside of the capsule, and also make straight incisions down the sides.
Then with your finger wipe the extruding tear into a shell. When you return to it not long after, you will find the sap thickened and the next day you will find it much the same. Pound the sap in your mortar and roll the mass into pills."
The oldest text that mentions Poppy is of Sumerian origin and dates to about 3000 BC. The text refers to Poppy as a 'herb of joy'.
It is also mentioned in the famous Ebers Papyrus (1600 BC) along with several other important healing plants.
In Egypt it was also used medicinally - as a sedative painkiller for wounds and abscesses as well as for scalp complaints (?).
Another Egyptian text, dating to about 1300 BC describes the custom of giving Poppy to children to stop them from crying.
This ancient tradition has survived in northern Africa and the Asia Minor, and even, until the beginning of this century, was still practiced in some rural areas of northern France.
It is said that it keeps children quiet, but also makes them stupid, as this remedy tends to make them sleep a lot.
