Myrtle, the plant sacred to Venus and the crown of brides

An evergreen shrub with glossy leaves and fragrant white flowers, myrtle grows wild along the coasts of the Mediterranean. For the Greeks and Romans it was no ordinary plant: it was consecrated to Aphrodite and Venus, adorned the goddess's places of worship and encircled the heads of brides. Its symbolic value endured for a long time, passing from ancient religion to the wedding customs of European courts.

The goddess's plant

Latin poets link myrtle to Venus quite naturally. Virgil, in the Eclogues, lists the plants dear to each deity and assigns myrtle to the goddess: “formosae myrtus Veneri”, myrtle to lovely Venus. Ovid, in the Fasti, tells how the goddess, just risen from the sea and drying her hair, covered herself with myrtle branches to escape the gaze of the satyrs; for this reason, the poet explains, the plant has remained dear to her.

In Rome there was an ancient shrine of Venus Murcia near the Circus Maximus, whose name some ancient authors derived from myrtle itself, although the etymology was already debated in antiquity. Ovid also recalls that during the April festivals dedicated to Venus, women bathed crowned with myrtle, repeating the goddess's gesture on the shore.

Myrtle wreaths: love and triumph

Myrtle wreaths had different uses. At weddings they accompanied the bride as a sign of love and fertility. In the military sphere, by contrast, a general granted an ovation, a lesser triumph awarded for less demanding or less bloody victories, wore a crown of myrtle instead of laurel. Pliny the Elder and Aulus Gellius record this custom, which connected the plant of Venus to a success achieved without great bloodshed.

Myrtle also had a melancholy side. In the sixth book of the Aeneid, Virgil describes the Fields of Mourning, where the souls of those who died consumed by love wander, hidden by secret paths and a grove of myrtles. Here Aeneas meets Dido, who turns away from him without a word: a powerful image that also ties the goddess's plant to unhappy passion.

From Jewish tradition to royal bouquets

Myrtle also has a place in Jewish tradition: under the name hadas it is one of the four plant species used at the festival of Sukkot, and the name Hadassah, given to Esther in the biblical book that bears her name, derives from it. In the modern era the plant returned to prominence at European weddings. In England it is said that sprigs from a myrtle planted at Osborne House, Queen Victoria's residence, have been placed in the bouquets of many royal brides.

A discreet plant, myrtle has accompanied decisive moments of life for centuries: weddings, worship, victorious homecomings, the remembrance of the dead. Its association with Venus has never been entirely forgotten, and the scent of its leaves still evokes, around the Mediterranean, an ancient idea of beauty and faithful love, which brides in many regions cherished until recent times.