Poppy Legends

It may have been as early as Neolithic times that man became aware of the potent qualities latent in the seed pod of the fragile poppy flower. Poppies have been found in Egyptian tombs dating back 3,000 years. There is even a prescription for poppy to be given to children to stop their crying. It was known to the Assyrians and the mythology of Greece. Ancient Greeks thought that poppies were a sign of fertility. Poppy seeds were thought to bring health and strength so Greek athletes were given mixtures of poppy seeds, honey, and wine.

Demeter,so the legend goes, created the poppy for the purpose of getting some sleep after the loss of her daughter Persephone. The twin brothers Hypnos and Thanatos (sleep and Death) were represented as crowned with poppies or carrying poppies in their hands. Obviously the Greeks were aware of the fact that a merciful sleep induced by opium could lead to death. Pliny gave in one breath a careful description of how to collect raw opium and in the next issued a warning that "taken in too large quantities is productive of sleep unto death even." Dioscorides said bluntly "being drunk too much...it kills."

It was introduced into England by the Romans. Their mythology linked the papaver plant to Somnus, the god of sleep. The Greeks followed a similar line, connecting it to Hymnus, the god of rest and oblivion. Christianity gave its symbolism a new twist. Carved into the benches of some medieval church pews it represented the belief that we rest in anticipation of the Last Day. Cynics used to add that it also represented the slumber 'begun when the priest did speak!' Perhaps this explains why carved poppies were not a feature of all medieval church pews.