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Scented flowers have long scarlet stigmas and the female parts are handpicked from each flower, male parts of no culinary value. Each flower has only three stigmas, over 14,000 of which are dried over charcoal fires to yield one ounce of saffron.
In the Bronze Age Minoan culture, saffron had religious associations and provided a flourishing trade. One of the first historic references of saffron comes from Ancient Egypt and Rome where the stigmas, were used as hair and fabric dye, in perfumes, as a drug, as well as for culinary purposes. It was used by Cleopatra and other Pharaons as an aromatic and seductive essence, and to make ablutions in temples. Ancient Egyptians sacrificed cakes of saffron to their gods.
During the Renaissance, Venice was the most important commercial center for saffron. During that time saffron was worth its weight in gold, and till today it is still
It is believed that saffron crocus originally grew nowhere but on the isle of Crete as a triploid sport of a Greek species Crocus cartwrightianus. The triploid crocus is sterile & it reproduces only by offsets on the corms. It cannot spread naturally, but declines if not dug up ever other year or so & the corms divided. That it even so spread throughout Europe & India & eventually into China was due to ancient routes of IndoEuropean traders. One must suppose that the priestesses who grew it attempted to keep cultivation methods secret
When Demeter first saw spring's bright yellow crocuses, she was angered, demanding who had disobeyed her edict that nothing flourishes until Persephone was restored to her side. The crocuses themselves replied, "But the Maid is coming!" Demeter in a dither of excitement dawned a mantle made of white crocuses in order to greet her returning daughter, who rose out of the ground in the circle of sunny yellow blooms. These pure yellow crocuses were probably the natural wild Golden Crocus
To appreciate the continuing sage of Enki versus Enlil, it is instructive to note their place in the Sumerian Family Tree, aka the “Grand Assembly of the Anunnaki”.
Marduk (who would become the god of the Babylonians) was Enki’s first born, and that of Enki’s wife, the goddess Damkina. Enki’s other wife was his half-sister, Nin-khursag (meaning “Mountain Queen”), the Lady of Life, also known as Nin-mah, the Great Lady.
Enlil was also espoused to Nin-khursag and their son was Ninurta (Ningirsu), the Mighty Hunter. By another wife, Ninlil (Sud), Enlil had a second son, Nanna (Suen), known as the Bright One. Nanna and his wife, Ningal, were the parents of Inanna (who was called Ishtar by the Babylonians), and who married the Shepherd King Dumu-zi (the latter given in the Semitic Old Testament book of Ezekiel 8:14 as Tammuz).
Another son of Enlil and Ninlil was Nergal (Meslamtaea), King of the Underworld. He married Eresh-kigal, the Queen of the Netherworld, the daughter of Nanna and Ningal (i.e. Inanna’s sister), and the mother of Lilith (who became handmaiden to Inanna, her maternal aunt). Lilith is also notorious as the first wife of Adam, but it was Lilith who rejected him (and thus incurred the wrath of every reject-worthy male on the planet).
Originally posted by Turkenstein
reply to post by LUXUS
could you explain your avatar pic and what it is from?? Please?