Parsley in Your Home Herb Garden and Greek Soap Operas

Parsley is a must for your home herb garden, but do you know its soap opera history?

If you want a really good soap opera type story you cannot do better than the historical story of the ubiquitous herb parsley. Intrigue, blood, murder, are all there.

Go back to really ancient times when the Greeks had a close and meaningful relationship with the gods. The first legend goes like this. Opheltes was the son of the Nemean King Lycurgus, and Eurydice. One day some travelers known as the Seven heroes were on an expedition against Thebes (Greek name for a city in Ancient Egypt located about 800km south of the Mediterranean, on the east bank of the river Nile). Nemea was in the area around where Corinth is today.

Anyhow, the Seven and stopped at Nemea for some water. The nurse of Opheltes agreed to show the Seven where to go and left the child alone. The child was killed by a dragon and the Seven then buried the body. However, one of the seven, named Amphiaraus thought the accident was a really bad omen signally the future destruction of the Seven. Action was called for. The dead child's was given the name of Archemorus, and the Nemea games were instituted in his honor. The ancient Greeks seem to have been very keen on games - (a minor Olympic games?).   Incidentally Archmorus means ""the Forerunner of death."

Another totally different story about Archemorus, relates that Archemorus was killed by a bunch of snakes and as they were eating him, his blood spilled, the parsley plant sprouted out of his spilled blood.

It is said that Dioscorides (a Greek Physician of the early Roman Empire) gave parsley its official name "petroselinum". The scientific name is Petroselinum crispum. However some people reckon the name parsley came from petros which means stone. Or it is a corruption of two Latin words, petros and selinon, which mean "rock" and "celery" respectively. Petros for the reason that the plant was frequently found growing in the middle of rocks.

Whatever the truth, parsley has been known as an herb for many centuries. It originally grew wild near the Mediterranean. Legend has it that the Greeks dedicated the plant to Persephone who was the Greek goddess of Spring, and would you believe it, the Underworld as well.

There is a description in Homer’s Odyssey (a very long poem written in about 800 BC about Odysseus and his long journey home following the fall of Troy). In the poem is a description of parsley, growing on an island, named Ogygia. Ogygia is a fabled island in Greek mythology.

However there is another story that it was first discovered in Sardinia. Centuries later Pliny The Elder, a naturalist, talks about the curly variety being the female plant and the flat leaf parsley being the male plant and said the male plant could not be eaten because it was connected to death.

Going back to the Nemean games, these originated from games played at funerals. The tomb was decorated with parsley and then at the games, the winners were crowned with a wreath of parsley. Parsley became a symbol of death and for that reason the Greeks would not have it in the house let alone eat it. However it was fed to chariot horses by the warriors just before a battle presumably in the hopes that death would come to the enemy.

The early Romans had a totally different attitude to parsley. They found out that you could get rid of bad smells by chewing it and they wore garlands of parsley at banquets for the same reason. At Roman weddings, wreaths of parsley were given to protect against evil spirits.

Medieval Europeans believed that you could kill someone by plucking a sprig and invoking that person's name at the same time.

Parsley's association with death goes on. There was a legend in the 17th century which said that parsley seed must go to the devil nine times before it can germinate. This arose because parsley is notoriously slow to germinate. The seeds that did not germinate belonged to the devil.

Parsley became related to the Jewish festival of the Passover. At Passover a vegetable is dipped in salt water and then eaten as a reminder of the tears of Jewish slaves. Parsley can be chosen for this ceremony. Apparently when you shake off the salt water, it looks like tears. However at the same time It represents Spring and rebirth.

Hippocrates reported that parsley had strong medicinal qualities and had been used to treat rheumatism, kidney stones, and bladder stones as well as other illnesses.

Parsley became popular throughout Europe and especially in England many myths arose. In fact even in such a small area, different communities developed different myths and old wives tales.

It came to America in the 17th century, and is used across America today mostly as a garnish and a culinary herb.

There are many more stories about parsley. Suffice to say that it has been around for a very long time because people have appreciated its benefits. What modern science has contributed to the story is the parsley is actually a power packed nutritional herb crammed full of minerals and vitamins, and as an added bonus, ongoing research is showing that parsley
seems to be capable of neutralizing certain carcinogens in the body.

Its easy to add this herb to your diet because it mixes easily with anything savory. An absolute must for your home herb garden.

Good herbs gardening!