The Rose, "Queen of Flowers"

The "queen of flowers" has been cultivated in China since the 5th century BC, then in Persia, and has been celebrated since Antiquity. However, the word "rose" didn't enter the French language until the 12th century. Emblem of many countries, such as England, it is above all the symbol of the Greek goddess of love and beauty, Aphrodite. In 1545, the poet Pierre de Ronsard used it as a metaphor in his gallant ode "Mignonne, allons voir si la rose," evoking youth and death, and the passing of time.