BIG Question: Why Are Roses Related to Romance?

With Valentine’s Day being near, I figured I could answer the question of: Why are roses related to romance? Red roses are the classic, romantic flower, but why? I will be answering this question about why red roses are related to romance.

Roses are classically romantic, and I have found that it all started way back in the time of Greeks and Romans. This was written in their symbolic history and it was related to their god of love, Aphrodite (Venus to the Romans). The empire was actually alive, around 140’s B.C! That’s a long time!

Now, you might be wondering why they related the rose to Aphrodite. There are many quotes related to roses from a variety of sources, but this is one of many, “Rose, finest of flowers, rose, darling of spring, rose, delight of the gods also, rose with which Kythere’s [Aphrodite’s] son [Eros] garlands his lovely curls when he dances with the Kharites” (Aaron J. Atsma). I am not sure why they related the rose to Aphrodite, but there is definite evidence of it. My main source.

To be completely honest, in Western culture the most steadfast romance symbol, is the red rose. This rose carries the deepest, true meaning out of all the rose colors. There were actually used as an symbol of love by Shakespeare in the famous play “Romeo and Juliet”. The famous poet Robert Burns, a famous poet actually wrote a poem entitled, “A Red, Red, Rose” was based on the beauty of the red rose, in which he compared his love to a red rose. These are just a few examples of the red rose being compared to love and romance.

The red rose; the most classic symbol of love, but why? I explained to you why they are related to love, and gave some examples in vintage history. I hope you learned something about our classic symbol of love!