Papaver somniferum History

The ancestors of the poppy are unknown and probably the same as that of the Western Mediterranean domiciled "bristle poppy (P. somniferum ssp. Setigerum). The use of the poppy as a crop in southern Europe since the Neolithic Age (from about 6000 BC found). Poppy is thus one of our oldest crops. He was first mentioned in writing around 4000 BC in cuneiform, in which the manufacture of pharmaceutical products is described from opium poppy.

The Sumerians referred to the opium poppy as a "plant of joy". In Cyprus in the Late Bronze Age bottles were produced, which had the shape of a poppy capsule (ware base ring) and by analysis contained opium. 1975 in the capital Kition was a 14-centimeter-long bronze cylinder from the 12 Century BC, excavated, which is interpreted as an opium pipe, and probably dates from the temple of a fertility deity. In Egypt, opium concoctions were up in the period around 1800 BC. The Egyptians imported opium obviously of Cyprus, built it himself later in the Nile valley and used it in rituals. he pitched their opium in special vessels, the Bibil-jugs.

From the ancient Greek archaeological finds prove that the Greeks opium for religious and medicinal purposes used. The poppy was the symbol of Morpheus, the god of dreams, for Thanatos, the god of death, and Nyx, the goddess of the night and this symbolism of the poppy capsule for the dream, sleep, and death has a wide range of rainfall in the visual found art. In the Roman Empire of the opium poppy was in the dubious status of a prosperous drug. With an inventory of the imperial palace in 214 total 17 tonnes of opium were counted. From about 1100 to build the Chinese opium for medical purposes. The early Christianity, which saw an illness a punishment from God forbid, in the 4th Century, the use of opium as a painkiller. Charlemagne renewed this prohibition 810; opium was seen as Satan's work. The Arabic medicine opium went back to Europe.

From various ancient writings show that you can win from the pressed plant the meconium. Meconium is weaker in its effect than opium, but was also used as a bed-and cure.

The extraordinary importance which the discovery of opium for the people of that time, is now well understood. For the first time were the art of healing resources available to breastfeed the pain and many medical procedures more tolerable for the patient or even made it all possible.


Source: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schlafmohn
See Also: sending flowers, online florist