Some one hundred rose species exist in the world, but only four of these were once in daily use in Mediterranean civilizations. They were white or pink, they had a bushy form, and they usually blossomed once a year. They were used for medicinal-hygienic, dietetic and sacral purposes. This book surveys the roses that played a role in various cultures of the eras between the second millennium BC and the 4-5th centuries AD, providing a history of both the botanicallybased views of them and those that boldly eschewed that framework. Touching on the rose images of earlier and later eras as well, it focuses on two main domains: the histories of botany and symbols. The uniqueness of this volume lies in this double perspective. It appears that the story of the rose can most lucidly be told by considering everyday activities, with survival and reproduction becoming the focal points around which a pattern of ideas about the rose emerges.