-- ROSE -- The Flower Of Love

A wealth of stories about the rose have been handed down from generation to generation, tales for which we cannot really find the beginnings, but the telling goes on and on.

Greek legend says that early one morning as Flora, goddess of all flowers, was walking through the woods, she came upon the dead body of a beautiful young girl. Flora was saddened to see such a lovely creature dead, and she decided to give her new life by transforming her into the most beautiful of all flowers.

To accomplish this, she called on all the gods of Olympia to aid her in the task. She asked her husband, Zephyrus, the west wind, to blow away all the clouds so that Apollo, the sun, could send warm rays of blessings over the dead form.

Flora then called Aphrodite to give beauty and the three graces (brilliance, joy and charm) to this new flower. Next, Dionysus, the god of wine, was to add the final touch by giving fragrance and nectar.Aphrodite was asked to provide the name for this loveliest of all flowers. She gave the name of rose in honor of her son Eros, the Greek god of Love. (If we rearrange one letter of the word rose, we have Eros. Eros = Rose = Love.) Flora then presented the rose to Eros in hopes that it would always be the choice of lovers and the flower of romance.