Field or corn poppy (Papaver rhoeas L.) is one of the frequently represented flowers in ancient Egyptian art. Field poppies grew as weeds among ancient Egyptian cereal crops but were also cultivated. Frequently represented in Egyptian garden, the crimson flowers were used to fashion fresh bouquets, which also played an important part in the cult of the gods.
The Egyptian artist usually depicted poppies with the black marks on the outside, or with the petals outlined in black in order to make them more recognizable, even though in reality these black spots appear inside the flower surrounding the black center.
Poppies were conspicuous in elaborate jewelry but also decorated pieces of furniture such as the chest from the tomb of Tutankhamun.
The chest is richly decorated with flowers with open poppies arranged in spiral fashion, whereas in the central scene on the lid of the chest the queen is shown offering two bouquets of lotus, papyrus and poppies.
A corn poppy seed dating back to IV Dynasty has been identified at Meidum. Although corn poppy seeds today are used to make oil, it appears that they were not pressed for oil in ancient Egypt, but their medicinal properties were taken advantage of. Flowers of field poppy are used as a sedative in modern herbal medicine, and for colic and coughs.
As indicated in tomb paintings, poppy flowers were included in the bouquets, and were also identified in the actual remains of mummy garlands (poppies have been found in some of the garlands of princess Nesikhonsu).
The appearance of poppy in association with the dead is probably related to Osiris, the god of the dead, who was also the god of agriculture. As Wilson points out, cutting of the corn during the harvest was symbolically seen as the death of Osiris and the red poppies growing in corn fields would have looked like splashes of blood. Poppy thus became a symbol of rebirth and regeneration, as during the harvest fallen seeds of poppy would have been collected with the corn and replanted for next year, their resilience representing the continued existence of the deceased in the afterlife.
In the tomb of Sennedjem at Deir el-Medina, poppies were shown together with mandrakes and cornflowers, which might suggest that a combination of these plants also had a special significance. Petals of poppies can also be recognized on some of the pottery jar decorations that resemble floral collars frequently represented in Egyptian tomb paintings.
Opium poppy (Papaver somniferum L.) was also known to ancient Egyptians although the date of its introduction is uncertain. In addition to its use as a narcotic, it was cultivated for its seeds which were used for culinary purposes and as a source of oil (two subspecies have been distinguished somniferum Corb. for the opium and hortensis (husenot) Corb. for the oil). The cold pressed oil has a pleasant smell and taste and is used for culinary purposes while hot extracted oil is more suited for industrial use.
The word špn, translated as opium poppy, is mentioned in several remedies. An example is a remedy for quieting a crying child mentioned in Papyrus Ebers (E 782). The seeds of špn are also mentioned in passage 443 as an ingredient of an unguent, while in passage 445 ground špn-seeds with the addition of a mineral, myrrh and chalcedon are used for an external remedy. In more contemporary herbal medicine, poppy is used for treating bruised or inflamed skin conditions.
A capsule of opium poppy was found in a storage jar from Deir el-Medina, indicating a possible New Kingdom introduction, though the date and identification of the find have been disputed. Earlier claims of opium remains in a jar from the XVIII Dynasty tomb of Kha at Deir el-Medina (TT8) have also been shown to be unsubstantiated. Based on textual evidence it has also been suggested that opium use dates back to New Kingdom, but this is still under debate.
Nevertheless, a large number of pottery juglets shaped like the seed capsule of opium poppy have been found at ancient Egyptian sites. It has been suggested that they contained opium imported from Cyprus where the juglets were made. Merrillees proposed that the opium trade reached Egypt by the XVIII Dynasty, as the pottery juglets were introduced at that time. The presence of opium was confirmed in some of the juglets, which could potentially establish the connection between the jars and their content. However, Bisset cautions that the jars could be reused and that more evidence from juglets of well-established provenances is required to support Merrillees’ hypothesis concerning their origin and purpose.
Bibliography
H. Wilson, ‘Poppies for Remembrance’ in Ancient Egypt Magazine,Vol. 92, 2005.
K. Koschel, ‘Opium alkaloids in a Cypriote Base Ring I vessel (bilbil) of the Middle Bronze Age from Egypt.’ Ägypten und Levante 6, 1996
L. Manniche, An Ancient Egyptian Herbal, Cairo: American University in Cairo Press, 2006.
M. Serpico, R. White, ‘Oil, fat and wax’ in Ancient Egyptian Materials and Technology, ed. P. T. Nicholson, I. Shaw. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000.
N.G. Bisset et al., ‘The presence of opium in a 3,500 year-old Cypriot Base Ring juglet’. Ägypten und Levante 6, 1996
P. G. Kritikos, S.P. Papadaki, ‘The history of the poppy and of opium and their expansion in antiquity in the eastern Mediterranean area.’ Bulletin on Narcotics 19, 1967
R.S. Merrillees, ‘ Opium trade in the Bronze Age Levant’. Antiquity 36, 1962
W. F. Petrie, Tell el-Amarna, London:Methuen & Co, 1894.