While preparing for the upcoming class, I decided to look through Albert Chong’s Botanical and Other Observations Gallery*. I liked how he mixed life and death in this gallery. This was done in many ways, such as photographing a skull next to vibrant flowers, or freezing the development of a plant by taking a picture of a growing orchid seed pulled out of the earth. One of my favorite ways of showing life and death in this gallery was the picture of an open pomegranate. In Greek mythology, the fruit was part of a deal between Hades, God of the Underworld, and Persephone, daughter of the Goddess of Nature. When she ate four of the seeds, it meant that Persephone had to stay in the underworld for four months out of the year. During that time, her mother Demeter would mourn, and plants would die. For this post, I wanted to learn more about the fruit. Pomegranates are said to have originated in northern India, although it was quickly spread and grown all around the Mediterranean basin. The fruit was popular in royal banquets as well as desert caravans. In Judaism, it’s an important food for multiple reasons. It was said to have the same number of seeds (613) as there are mitzvah, or commandments, in the Torah. Because it has an abundance of seeds, pomegranates were also seen as a symbol of fertility. The sour fruit was brought over to the Americas by Spanish colonizers in the mid-1600s. All in all, pomegranates are a fruit chock-full of meaning.
*Just a heads up if you want to check out this specific gallery too; there are possibly disturbing images of pig fetuses.
https://www.albertchong.com/botanical-other-observations
https://www.greekmyths-greekmythology.com/myth-of-hades-and-persephone/
Leah, thank you for sharing. As you mentioned, I have a strong connotation between pomegranates and Greek mythology and Mediterranean food in my mind, so it was very interesting to learn that they originated in India! It is interesting to think of how foods have been spread to other regions and cultures (similarly to how noodles may be considered to be popularized in Italy despite originating in China). I have not noticed pomegranate to be prevalent in Indian cuisine, but I will definitely explore further! Also, there are so many seeds in a pomegranate, and interesting to connect its significance to religion! I learned so much!