Stories of the Rose throughout history

Class presented by Peter E. Kukielski

Through the 92 Street Y

Mondays, October 31st – November 28th, 7:00 – 8:00p.m.

Class Outline

·      Week 1:  The Ancient Rose Story

·      Week 2:  Stories of the Greek and Roman rose obsession

·      Week 3:  Religious and Secular rose stories

·      Week 4:  Stop and Smell the Roses – the story of the fragrance of roses

·      Week 5:  Authors and painters tell the story of romance with roses; and, some stories of roses in our modern world

Course description:

The Greek philosopher Aristotle is credited with the phrase: “The whole is more than the sum of the parts” (c. 350 BCE).  Regarding this class, we will define “the parts” as those stories told with amazing, inspiring, and resilient roses.  The full account of the rose is a continuing one –Here, we start with a “Once upon a time… some 35 million years ago in a land far away” kind of opening.

            With this class, the roses are the characters.  The stories that we will follow reveal numerous scenes in which roses play:  archaeological studies, myths, pleasure gardens, and ancient cultures.  Roses perform in religions, love stories, poetry, literature, and wars.  The rose influences art and architecture; and shapes fragrance and medicine.

            In Greek and Roman times, the rose gains a prominent place in society. Through myths, Aphrodite and Venus share the rose; and Theophrastus, Sappho, and Pliny all bring importance to the rose through their writings.  Alexander the Great, a huge rose lover, captures the bloom among quests; and Nero and Heliogabalus display some rose mania.  Symbolically through Christian times, the rose takes a pew with the Virgin Mary, the rosary, and saints.  Later, a famous balcony scene depicts Shakespeare’s claim that “a rose by any other name would smell as sweet” (Romeo and Juliet), and artists such as Renoir, van Gogh, and Manet all found inspiration from the rose as revealed in many of their paintings. Islam and Sufism celebrate the rose, where we find Rumi, who inspirationally expresses it is his famous Masnavi, possibly one of the greatest masterpieces of poetry.

            Like legendary performances we know today, some leading ladies in these chapters include the great roses of their era:  Rosa gallica, Rosa sancta, ‘Autumn Damask,’ and ‘Kazanlik.’ Other roses carry the specific name association of their famous counterparts, such as ‘Souvenir de la Malmaison’ – a light-pink Bourbon roses that is undeniably matched with Empress Josephine at her famous chateau.  The sixty-petaled rose commonly called “King Midas” (Rosa damascena) is very distinct from the five-petaled species roses found in China regions.  Both are unique to the hundred -petaled Rosa centifolia, which was painted by the late seventeenth- and eighteenth- century artist, including Rachel Ruysch and Pierre-Joseph Redoute.  Furthermore, one wonders what the real rose was that Cleopatra used to woo and seduce Mark Antony at the height of the Roman Empire.

            In religious symbolism, we find the rose garden as a standard image of paradise.  With health and medicines, rose water and rose oil have centuries-old uses, and entire societies were created around these industries.  Roses were exchanged as currency.  The traveling rose has moved from China, across Asia and Persia, to Ancient Europe, Egypt, and finally following trade routes around the world.  Moreover, the fragrance of the rose is undeniable.  It gives us wonder and is spirit lifting; its aroma can calm the nerves and rest the soul.

            In this class, you will hear about roses and the roles they played through history, explore the various lands from which they came, and begin to understand the essential contributions of all of the roses.  Enjoy the stories, symbolism, and the joy that they bring.