Myrtus communis L. (Myrtle) - Plants and culture: seeds of the ...

A Mediterranean: Myrtus communis L. (Myrtle) 

Ayşe Mine GENÇLER ÖZKAN 1 and Çiğdem GENÇLER GÜRAY 2 

1 Ankara University, Faculty of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmaceutical Botany, Ankara, Turkey 

2 Başkent University, Center of Culture and Art Research, Ankara, Turkey 

Özet 

Myrtus communis L. (mersin, murt), Akdeniz florasının karakteristik bir temsilcisidir. 1-3 m boyunda çekici, aromatik bir çalıdır. 

Hoş kokulu beyaz çiçekleri Mayıs ve Ağustos ayları arasında görülür. Yenilebilen mavi-siyah meyveleri yazın olgunlaşır. Mersin 

antik çağlarda, Afrodit’in ve onun Roma’daki karşılığı Venüs’ün kutsal bitkisiydi ve o dönemde aşkın sembolü haline geldi. Belki 

de her dem taze olması ölüm karşısında yaşamın gücünü temsil ettiğinden, antik ayinlerde ve kutlamalarda, ayrıca mezarları 

süslemede kullanıldı. Ölümsüzlükle ilgili bu bağlantının günümüzde de halen sürdüğünün kanıtı, Batı ve Güney Anadolu’daki 

köy mezarlıklarında bulunan üstleri murt dalları ile kaplı mezarlardır. Eski zamanlardan beri murt aynı zamanda tedavide, yiyecek 

ve baharat olarak kullanılmaktadır. Bu çalışmanın amacı, M. communis imgesinin Anadolu ve Doğu Akdeniz’deki izini 

sürmektir. 

‘Shores are happiest with myrtle’ 

Vergil (Geo. 2.112) 

Among the earth’s more than one hundred warmththriving 

myrtle varieties, surely none has such regional 

cultural significance as Myrtus communis L., a native of 

the Mediterranean and Asia Minor (present-day Turkey). 

Like all evergreen plants with a pleasant aroma, in that 

region it was also a symbol of strong life force 

(Heilmeyer 2007). 

Botany 

Myrtus L. is a small genus belonging to the 

Myrtaceae family which includes approximately 100 

genera and 3000 species growing in temperate, tropical 

and subtropical regions. M. communis is the only 

Myrtaceae species native to Europe (fig. 1). It is 

widespread throughout the Mediterranenan region and 

the Middle East where it grows wild and is also 

cultivated. It is the only species of the genus found in 

the Northern Hemisphere (Traveset et al. 2001). It is an 

evergreen shrub that grows to a height of about 1-5 m. 

The oppositely arranged leaves are ovate-lanceolate, 2- 

5 cm long, coriaceous, glabrous, punctuate-glandular 

and entire. When crushed, they have a delicate aromatic 

odor. White, star-like flowers, which have five petals, 

five sepals and a mass of tufted stamens, appear from 

June to September. After the summer, subglobose to 

ellipsoid berries, which are bluish-black (or rarely 

yellowish-white) on ripening, appear around November 

(Davis 1982). 

The flowers are pollinated by insects and have a 

specialized strategy of seed dispersal by birds, mammals 

159 

and ants. M. communis seeds have no apparent 

dormancy. As a consequence, germination can occur 

soon after dispersal and their strategy of rapid 

establishment might allow seedlings to take advantage of 

1. - Myrtus communis. 

Plants and Culture: seeds of the cultural heritage of Europe - © 2009 · Edipuglia s.r.l. - www.edipuglia.it

A MEDITERRANEAN: MYRTUS COMMUNIS L. (MYRTLE) 

autumn and winter rains during the crucial first stages 

of growth. These features can be considered 

advantageous in order to maximize reproductive 

success, with seedling establishment and survival in 

Mediterranean environments (Traveset et al. 2001; 

Aronne and De Micco 2004). 

Etymology 1 

Myrtle has closely associated names in most 

European and even some non-European languages; 

besides English myrtle, German myrte, Estonian mürt, 

Spanish and Italian mirto, French myrte, modern Greek 

mirtia [μυρτιά], Russian myrt [мырт], Armenian mrdeni 

[մրտենի] and Farsi mourd [دروہ] and Turkish murt. 

All these names relate to the Old Greek myrtos 

[μύρτος] or myrsine [μυρσίνη] and were typically 

transmitted via Latin myrtus. The name derives from 

Greek myron [μύρον] meaning balm, chrism, ointment, 

which might be a Semitic loan and thus related to 

Hebrew mor [dm], myrrh (which is a reddish-brown 

resinous material, the dried sap of a number of trees, but 

primarily from Commiphora myrrha). Some other 

fragrant plants bear similar scientific names, e.g. 

Myristica (nutmeg), Myrrhis (cicely) or Myrica (gale). 

History 

Myrtle, as a typical shrub of the Mediterranean 

maquis, not only features in mythology, rituals and 

ceremonies of ancient history but also has been an 

important plant of the daily life of the people of this 

region from time immemorial; as the Gilgamesh, known 

as the oldest written story on Earth, tells us beyond four 

to five millennia: «I offered incence in front of the 

Mountain-Ziggurat. Seven and seven cult vessels I put in 

place and (into the fire) underneath (or; into their bowls) 

I poured reeds, cedar and myrtle. The gods smelled the 

savor and collected like flies over a (sheep) sacrifice» 

(Tablet XI, The Story of the Flood) (Kovacs 1989). 

Mediterranean Antiquity 

Mythology and Rituals 

In ancient mythology, myrtle was sacred to Aphrodite 

– Greek goddess of love, sex and beauty – and her 

Roman equivalent Venus, as it was to the Mesopotamian 

goddess Ishtar, hence it became the plant of love. With 

its evergreen leaves, elegant white flowers and pleasant 

perfume, it also symbolized beauty and youth. There is 

little information in the Greek literature before 

Plutarchus (Roman historian of Greek origin, AD 46- 

120) (Marcellus 22.4) connecting myrtle with Aphrodite, 

160 

but apparently there were temples to Aphrodite where a 

sacred myrtle was cultivated (fig. 2). Aristophanes 

(Greek playwright, c. 450-c. 380 BC) uses “myrtle” as a 

euphemism for the female genitalia (Lysistrata 1004) 

(Staples 1998; Ferber 2007) Pausanias (Greek traveller 

and geographer of the 2 nd century AD) explains in his 

Description of Greece that presence of rose and myrtle 

in Aphrodite worship relates directly to the story of 

Adonis (Pausanias, Elis 2, 7). The Graces, attendants of 

Aphrodite, are also associated with myrtle (fig. 3). One 

of the Graces in the sanctuary at Elis (Greece) holds a 

myrtle branch (Pausanias, Elis 2-6). 

According to Ovidius (Roman poet, 43 BC - AD 17), 

a story has emerged of Venus rising from the sea at birth 

covered with myrtle, which often grows by the shore. 

Venus’ son Aeneas shades his temples with “maternal 

myrtle” (materna myrto) before the games (Aeneid 5.72) 

and later in the underworld he sees a myrtle grove where 

those who died of love wander disconsolate (6.443) 

(Ferber 2007). 

An anecdote quoted by Athenaeus (Ancient Greek 

author, c. AD 200) illustrates the link between Aphrodite 

and myrtle: Herostratos, a merchant plying the waters 

between Cyprus and Egypt, buffeted by a terrible storm, 

all aboard his ship prayed to Aphrodite to save them. 

Fresh myrtle sprouted around the small statue of the 

goddess, permeating the air with its sweet scent and 

soothing the seasick men as the skies cleared. The crew 

safely arrived in Egypt and Herostratos was moved to a 

sanctuary to dedicate the image and to distribute crowns 

of the miraculous myrtle to her worshippers (Larson 

2007). 

Because Aphrodite was associated with it, myrtle 

took an important place in the Aphrodite rituals. Myrtle 

crowns were distinctive features of her worship. Ovidius 

mentions three ritual prescriptions: first, the statue of the 

goddess was to be stripped, washed and re-adorned; 

second, the women themselves were to bathe under 

boughs of myrtle; and third, they were to drink a ritual 

potion. Ovidius provided a myth to explain the necessity 

for bathing under the myrtle. Once, after a bathe, Venus 

used a myrtle bough to screen herself from the lewd gaze 

of satyrs (Larson 2007; Staples 1998). 

The scholium to line 330 of Frogs of Aristophanes 

lists the myrtle, in addition to the ivy and the vine, as the 

third favorite plant of Dionysus, the god of wine. He was 

one of the very few that was able to bring a dead person 

out of the underworld. Even though he had never known 

his mother Semele, he journeyed into the underworld to 

carry away her from the dead. The underworld god, 

Hades, normally reluctant to release the dead, would 

have only agreed if Dionysus could have left something 

as important to life as a surrogate for Semele. So, 

Dionysus gave him the myrtle plant. This is the basis for 

the belief that myrtle belonged both to Dionysus and to 


AYŞE MI˙NE GENÇLER ÖZKAN, ÇI˙ĞDEM GENÇLER GÜRAY 

2. - Aphrodite driving a chariot drawn by Erotes; attic red figure, c. 450-400 BC, Museo Archeologico 

Etrusco, Florence, Italy (www.theoi.com). 

3. - The younger Kharites Eudaimonia, seated holding a necklace, and Pandaisia, carrying a 

myrtle; attic red figure, ca 450-400 BC, British Museum, London (www.theoi.com). 

the dead. Moreover, all evergreens like myrtle, box, ivy, 

laurel were Dionysiac plants, that is symbols of 

generative power, signifying perpetuity of youth and 

vigor. Every Dionysian worshipper wore a myrtle wreath 

in his rituals (Knight 1993; Otto and Palmer 1995; 

Grimal 1987). 

There is also a link between myrtle and the Bona Dea 

(the Good Goddess), a very old Roman deity of women, 

fertility, healing and virginity. Bona Dea worship was 

exclusively con fined to women. A festival to her was held 

at the start of May and not even male animals were 

161 

allowed to this celebration. 

Myrtle was also excluded from 

the cult because, as the mytho - 

logists relate, this goddess was 

the wife of the god Faunus and, 

after having been found out 

drinking wine in secret, was 

beaten to death by her husband 

with myrtle twigs. Both myrtle 

and wine were again mentioned 

in another story: the goddess 

was the daughter of Faunus and 

that she resisted the amorous 

advances of her father who had 

fallen in love with her, so that he 

beat her death with myrtle twigs 

because she did not yield to his 

desires though she had been 

made drunk by him on wine. As 

a result myrtle was excluded 

from the rites altogether and 

wine – as libation in her honour 

– was brought in a honey pot 

and cold milk. Plutarchus also 

surmised that the reason for the 

exclusion of myrtle was 

because it was a plant sacred to 

Venus and Bona Dea was a 

chaste goddess (Brouwer 1989; 

Staples 1998). 

When a myrtle leaf is held 

up to the light it looks as though 

it has been pierced many times 

with a needle which are in fact 

the glands of volatile myrtleoil. 

A myth attributes these to 

the unhappy Phaedra as told in 

the ancient tragedy Hippolytus, 

by the great Greek tragedian, 

Euripides (480-407/6 BC). 

Phaedra married King Theseus 

who had a son, Hippolytus, 

from a previous marriage to the 

Amazonian queen Hippolyte. 

Because young Hippolytus an - 

gered Aphrodite by shunning her worship and devoting 

himself to Artemis – the virgin goddess of the hunt – to 

punish him Aphrodite compels Phaedra to begin lusting 

after her stepson. With her impossible and illicit passion, 

Phaedra used to recline idly all day long under the myrtle 

tree and used to pierce the myrtle leaves with her hairpin 

to avenge herself on Aphrodite because she had not 

granted her power over Hippolytus. Since he refused her 

and her passion for him became known, Phaedra hanged 

herself leaving a letter in which she charged her stepson 

of having assaulted her. Theseus proceeds to uncon - 



ditionally curse Hippolytus and calls upon the sea-god, 

Poseidon to destroy him (Baumann 1993; Berens 2007; 

Gregory 1997). 

The ancient Persians also regarded myrtle as a holy 

plant. Herodotus (Greek historian, c. 484- c. 420 BC) in 

his History narrates the Persian sacrifice ceremony in 

detail. He says: «The sacrificer brings his victim to a 

spot of ground and then calls upon the name of the god 

to whom he intends to offer. It is usual to have a turban 

encircled with a wreath, with commonly of myrtle» 

(Davis 1912). 

Daily life 

Theophrastus (Greek philosopher and natural 

scientist, c. 371- c. 288 BC) cites myrtle on some 

occasions. He refers (F81) to an old recommendation 

that olive and myrtle trees need hard pruning to promote 

growth and fruitfulness. The importance of pruning for 

fructification is emphasized. He also tells about (F82) 

the sympathy between olive and myrtle trees, which 

entwine their roots so the myrtle’s fruit becomes tender 

and sweet whilst the olive shelters it from sun and wind 

(Keyser and Irby-Massie 2008; Isager 1995). 

Theophrastus has also left us a description of the 

woods of Latium as they were in the fourth century 

before Christ. He says: «The land of the Latins is all 

moist. The plains produce laurels, myrtles and wonderful 

beeches...» (Frazer 1922). 

Herodotus usually mentioned myrtle in connection 

with sacrifices and festal occasions: myrtle was strewn 

on the roads by the Persians to celebrate their capture of 

Athens (vii. 99, cf. 54) and myrtle boughs were used for 

drawing up pitch out of a pool in Zacynthus (iv 195) 

(Forster 1942). 

In Athens, fragrant myrtle wreaths could be worn at 

sacrifices, banquets and weddings, and its berries were 

eaten as a dessert dish. Myrtle’s association with the 

goddess Aphrodite is part of a pattern which connects 

the plant’s appealing scent with sexual desire. In the 

Lysistrata, Aristophanes puts this notion vividly on stage 

when Myrrhina teases her husband with the prospect of 

sex (Lys. 889-953). Myrrhina is a conventional comic 

name derived from myrtle (Connors 1997). 

Wreaths of foliage, generally of laurel, olive, myrtle 

etc. appear upon coins, sometimes encircling symbolical 

figures and sometimes as chaplets on their heads 

signifying the perpetuity of existence. Hence the crowns 

of laurel, olive, myrtle etc., with which the victors in the 

Roman triumphs and Greek games were honoured, may 

be considered as emblems of consecration to immortality 

and not as mere transitory marks of occasional 

distinction (Knight 1993). Plinius (ancient natural 

philosopher and author, AD 23-79) reports that a Roman 

commander was crowned with the myrtle of Venus 

162 

Victrix (Venus the Victorious) for a victory in which no 

one was slain (Natural History 15.38) (Ferber 2007). 

In Athens, the pillars which stood in front of the 

houses were decorated with branches of laurel or myrtle 

and received offerings of incense or oil (Larson 2007). 

Pausanias (iii. 22) mentions certain colonists who were 

guided by a hare to a site where the animal hid in a 

myrtle bush. They therefore adore the myrtle (Lang 

2001). 

Both myrtle’s connection with festivals and its 

association with love, a common subject of song, may 

account for its use as a crown for poets, along with 

laurel, ivy or oak. A famous drinking song collected by 

Athenaeus tells of the two liberators of Athens: «In a 

myrtle bough will I carry the sword / Like Harmodious 

and Aristogiton / When they killed the tyrant / and 

brought equality to Athens» (Deipnosophistae 15.565). 

It is hard to see how myrtle branches could have 

concealed swords, but myrtle doubtless adorned the 

festival where the tyrant was killed and poetic point may 

lie in the contrast between the festive and friendly 

connotations of myrtle and the contrary sense of sword: 

Myrtle of love that defeats the tyranny and not the sword 

(Ferber 2007). 

Athenaeus made the participants in the banquet 

described in his narrative Deipnosophistai wear myrtle 

crowns to combat drunkenness. Goldsmiths and 

silversmiths modelled the myrtle with great skill in 

artistic objects. The gold myrtle wreath which was 

discovered in a royal tomb in 1977 at Vergina, 

Macedonia, is of remarkable beauty and possibly dated 

about 340 BC (Baumann 1993). 

Funeral rites 

Myrtle was also considered as a death tree. It has 

been used in funerary rites, together with mint and 

rosemary, to offset the smell of decay by ancient Greeks 

and Romans (Graves 1955). The Electra of Euripides 

mentions myrtle several times related to the funeral rites: 

«Agamennon’s grave, dishonoured, has not yet ever 

received any libations, or branch of myrtle» (Line 320). 

«... I wept for its desolation; then I opened the wine skin 

which I am bringing to the guests and pour libation and 

set myrtle sprigs round the tomb» (Euripides 2007). The 

myrtle and many other emblems employed in funerals 

are all significant of life rising out of death and of the 

equivocal condition of dying yet immortal man (fig. 4). 

Medicine 

There are ample references to myrtle in ancient 

Egyptian medical texts as a remedy for urinary 

disorders, pain, heartburn, swelling, stiffness of the 

limbs, cough and to remove mucus from the chest. 

In Coptic medicine, the essential oil of myrtle was 

used in a prescription with fresh rue and a mineral 



4. - Myrtle wreaths on the steps of a tomb, white-ground lekythos, c. 440-430 BC, Staatliche Antikensammlungen, Munich (Dayagi- 

Mendels 1993). 

for a number of skin ailments (Ch 219) (Manniche 

1999). 

Soranus (a Greek physician from Ephesus, 1st-2nd 

century) mentions myrtle under the title of 

contraceptions and recommends smearing the cervix 

with a paste of myrtle oil with white lead to block the 

passage of sperm. Myrtle was known as an antifertility 

agent and it was also included in some oral con - 

traceptives suggested by Soranus: «Myrtle, wallflower 

(or stock), bitter lupines in equal quantities; mix with 

water and mold into pills the size of a bean» (Lefkowitz 

and Fant 1977; Riddle 1992). 

Galen of Pergamum (a Roman physician and 

philosopher of Greek origin, AD 129-200) transmits 

the information about a powder (Flauius’ powder) for 

‘dysentery’: myrtle, roses, juniper berries, etc., taken 

with diluted wine. In some ancient preparations, 

myrtle wine was mentioned as a vehicle. For example, 

the physician Andromakhos notes in Galen CMLoc 9.5 

(13.296 K.) that he employed an enema containing 

minerals (lime, realgar, etc.), plus sour grapes and 

papyrus ash, in myrtle wine. The Byzantine physician 

Aetios of Amida (city of Diyarbakır in modern 

163 

Turkey) from the 6th century records his opium-based 

pill for “blood-spitting” containing also frankincense, 

myrtle, saffron and roses, etc. (Keyser and Irby-Massie 

2008). 

In his book De Alimentorum Facultatibus – his major 

work on the dynamics and kinetics of various foods – 

Galen explains the features of the myrtle-berry: «Like 

the juniper berry, it is devoid of nutriment, but it has the 

opposite property. For it is exceedingly astringent and 

as a result is constipating. Nevertheless it is not cold in 

property in portion to its astringency, because not only 

has it astringency, but some pungency has also been 

mixed with it» (Powell 2003). 

Dioscorides (the Greek pharmacologist and botanist, 

born in Tarsus, modern Turkey, AD c. 40-90) makes a 

distinction between the usual bluish-black fruit and the 

less profitable white one (1.55). He prescribes it to cure 

respiratory complaints, for the bites of poisonous spiders 

and scorpions and much else, including the juice of the 

cooked berries mixed with wine for intestinal 

inflammation. Myrtle was also one of the plants that 

Dioscorides recommended for menstrual problems as a 

sitz bath but not superficially as an emmenagogue 



(Baumann 1993; Riddle 1992; Gunther 1959). He also 

described the preparation of the oil, saying that the 

leaves were steeped in olive oil so that the latter 

absorbed the fragrant oil contained in the leaves 

(Manniche 1999). 

Judaism, Christıanity and Islam 

Myrtle is a venerated tree a branch of which was used 

as an essential accompaniment in all religious functions 

(Philpot 2004). The myrtle is used by prophets to 

indicate a change on the face of the earth, when the 

knowledge of the Lord shall cover the earth as the waters 

cover the sea. Thus Isaiah, when speaking of that blessed 

epoch, says: «Instead of the thorn shall come up the firtree; 

and instead of the brier shall come up with 

myrtle-tree; and it shall be to the Lord for a name, for 

an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off» (Isa. lv. 19). 

Again, the Lord says by the prophet: «I will plant in 

wilderness the cedar, the shittah-tree and the myrtle and 

the oil-tree» (Isa. xli. 19) (Balfour 1857). 

It has been stated that Hadasseh, the original name 

for Esther (a Jewish queen of the Persian Empire who 

risked her life to save her people), is derived from the 

Hebrew word Hadas, meaning myrtle. It has also been 

conjectured that Esther is formed from the word as, an 

Arabic name for myrtle and from the Persian word 

setareh meaning star, since the myrtle blossom 

resembles a twinkling star. According to the Midrash, 

myrtle typifies Esther: «Myrtle which spreads fragrance 

as Esther spread grace; myrtle fades not in winter, but is 

fresh in winter». The Jews also employed the myrtle as 

an emblem of justice (Balfour 1857; Abrahams 2004). 

Myrtle has also become popular for the Sukkot, a 

Jewish festival of thanks giving for the autumn harvest 

as well as the commemoration of the departure from 

Egypt. Many Jews come to Sukkot morning services 

carrying a lulav and etrod, known collectively as the 

“four species”. The etrog is a lemon-like fruit or citron. 

The lulav bundle contains different types of tree twigs: 

palm, myrtle and willow. Their use as ceremonial objects 

goes back to biblical times. Jewish scriptures instruct 

Israelites to take “the fruit of beautiful trees” along with 

«branches of palms, boughs of thick-tree foliage and 

willows of the brook and rejoice in the presence of God 

for seven days». The “thick tree” is interpreted to be 

myrtle. It represents the thick thorny forests that the 

Israelites encountered when they returned to Israel. 

These mountainous forests were very difficult to 

penetrate. Though myrtle does not have the thorns of the 

trees that the Israelites struggled with, myrtle has come 

to represent the “thick-tree” because it grows in dense 

bushes on mountains throughout many areas of Israel. 

Additionally, according to the Midrash Rabbah (30: 14), 

the four species represent different parts of the human 

body. The etrog resembles the heart, the palm branch 

164 

represents the spine, the myrtle has small leaves which 

are like eyes and the willow resembles the lips (Weber 

and Weber 1999; Terry 2000; King and Stager 2001). 

On the evening of the Sabbath, Jews remember the 

lamps and incense of the Temple in Jerusalem, when 

blessings are made over the havdallah candle and spice 

box. Different spices are used, but myrtle has been called 

“the quintessential fragrant plant of Israel” and is often 

preferred, when available. Indeed, the spice box is called 

hadas by many Ashkenazic and Sephardic Jews 

(Worwood 1998). 

In Christianity, myrtle was given as a sacred plant to 

the Virgin Mary, to symbolize purity and fertility. 

Crowning typifies purity also and at early Christian 

weddings the couple were crowned by the priest with 

garlands of myrtle after he had blessed the marriage 

ceremony. The wearing of the crown on the head is 

derived from early Christian tradition (Webber and Cram 

2003; Folkard 1884). 

There is an interesting account for myrtle by an Arab 

writer, who died in 1034, «I once entered at night» he 

says «into the principal Christian Church. I found it all 

strewed with green branches of myrtle and planted with 

cypress trees...» (Haines 1889). 

There are many collections of traditional sayings of 

the Prophet Mohamed on the subject of medicine. In a 

translation of one such compilation, Tibb-ul-Nabbi 

(Medicine of Prophet), said to the Prophet: «If anyone 

offers you myrtle as a present, do not refuse it. It is from 

the Heaven». This plant is also held in high esteem by 

Said Ibn ‘Abbas: «When the Prophet Noah descended 

from the Ark, the first thing that he planted was myrtle». 

And again from the same author: «Adam departed from 

paradise with myrtle, which is the queen of all 

sweetsmelling bushes in the world, together with dates 

and corn». Myrtle was also mentioned several times in 

this same work as a medicinal plant: «The treatment of 

a sprain also involves a strengthening of the site by an 

oinment made from leaves of sesame and myrtle mixed 

together in a dish»; «An infusion of myrtle benefits 

burns. A syrup is also made, but it is no use drinking it 

against a cough or to cut diarrhoea unless you also take 

quince with it. From the seeds of myrtle an elixir is 

made» (Elgood 1962). 

Myrtle in Anatolian-Turkish tradition 

The famous Ottoman traveler Evliya Celebi (1611- 

1682), who journeyed throughout the Ottoman Empire 

and neighbouring lands over a period of forty years, had 

showed a particular interest to forests and trees and 

mentioned the glorious hills and creeks of the Aegean 

region adorned with myrtle and bay tree. French 

naturalist Pierre Belon (1517-1564), who was the first 

European to enlist Anatolian native plants, also men - 



tioned the myrtle bushes with white berries growing 

along the Mediterranean coast of Anatolia (Baytop 2004). 

In accordance with the observations above, in Turkey 

the myrtle shrubs grow wildly in the rocky slopes, Pinus 

brutia forests, macchies, coastal sand dunes regions, just 

above sea level to 550 m. (especially in the West and 

South). Myrtle is known in Turkish as “mersin”, “murt”, 

“hambeles”, “bahar”, “elduran” and “sazak” (Baytop 

1997, 1999). Its fruits are sold in the Aegean and 

Mediterranean town markets such as Bodrum, Milas in 

Muğla (a province covering the South-Western corner 

of Turkey) (Ertuğ 2004a). 

During many periods of history, Anatolia served as a 

melting pot for different civilizations and many of the 

present-day customs had their roots in the religious 

beliefs of the early cultures. The myrtle’s prominent 

place in funeral rites in the coastal regions of Turkey 

corroborates this link: myrtle is frequently used to 

perfume the water used to respectfully wash the 

deceased. In some villages of Milas, the shrouded body 

is placed on myrtle twigs which cover the bottom of the 

grave before the burial. In the same region, the common 

saying “to be in the embrace of myrtle” is used for a man 

who is at death’s door. A more common tradition – as 

also witnessed by the authors of this article – in 

Bozburun in Marmaris (in Western Anatolia) and in 

Çıralı in Antalya (in Southern Anatolia), is for people to 

visit the graves and deck them with myrtle twigs on 

religious holidays (fig. 5). This is a common ritual in 

most of the Aegean, including towns such as Buldan in 

inner west Anatolia, where myrtus does not naturally 

grow (Ertuğ et al. 2004). According to local belief, 

myrtle shares and reduces the torments of the deceased 

in the grave and proclaims a blessing (Salawat) on the 

beloved Prophet (Çıblak 2002; Avcı 2003; Selçuk 2004; 

Çınar 2007). Dafni et al. also observed that myrtle is 

commonly planted in Muslim graveyards in Northern 

Israel, but only in one village young shoots are placed 

directly on the graves (Dafni et al. 2006). The funeral 

symbolism of this plant can be traced back to the original 

myths of Anatolia mentioned previously in this article. 

In Turkish folk medicine, the leaves, fruits and 

volatile oil of Myrtus communis have been used for 

several purposes: the leaves are used to treat 

hypertension, hemorrhoids, common colds, cardiac 

disorders, urethral disorders, diarrhoea, internal diseases, 

rheumatic pain, edema in the extremities, to lower blood 

glucose, to pass kidney stones, as an appetite stimulant, 

hair restorer, wound healer and a haemostatic. The 

volatile oil (Myrtii Oleum) prepared from the leaves by 

steam distillation is also commonly used to lower blood 

glucose. The fruits are traditionally used for coughs and 

pneumonia, stomach disorders, kidney problems, thirst, 

vomiting, hair care, diarrhoea and hemorrhoids. The root 

is also used to treat hemorrhoids (Tuzlacı 2006; Baytop 

165 

5. - Bozburun (Marmaris-Muğla, Turkey) village cemetery; tombs 

decked with myrtle branches. 

1999; Yeşilada et al. 1995; Ertuğ 2004b). Another 

interesting application is recorded in Buldan, where the 

dried leaves of myrtle is pounded to powder and mixed 

with salt. This mixture is applied to the naked body of 

new born babies when they are a few days old, after half 

an hour the baby is bathed. A similar application is made 

only with salt in other areas, to prevent the bad odor 

(Ertuğ et al. 2004). 

Its buds and fruits have been used as spices since 

ancient times in Anatolia. A fragrant distilled water is 

prepared from its leaves and flowers to aromatize fruit 

juices (Baytop 1999). 

The leaves and fruits of myrtle are used to dye wool 

fibers for weaving carpets and rugs in several areas of 

Anatolia. Dried leaves are boiled in water, wool yarns 

are added to the coloured water with a mordant 

substance and after a few hours the colour of the yarns 

becomes mustard yellow. The fruits give a characteristic 

dark brown colour (Yılmaz and Karakuş 1991; Doğan 

et al. 2003). 

The boughs of myrtle are used to make garden arbors 

in the hot, dry summers of the Mediterranean region of 

Anatolia. These arbors are called “talvar” or “hayma” 

locally. The plant is also preferred for decoration at 

traditional wedding ceremonies. The bark and root are 

used, together with the oak gall, for tanning Turkish 

leather, to which they add a peculiar odour. The leaves 

are also used to dress the skin (Baytop 1999). 

Although it is known that both the berries and the 

leaves are used to macerate an aromatic liqueur called 

Mirto at the islands of Sardinia and Corsica (Guarrera et 

al. 2006), a beverage use is not practiced in Anatolia. 

Conclusion 

Botany scientists may often feel that plants are not 

yet explainable as biochemical machines and that they 

have properties greater in value than the sum of their 



parts (Battey 2002). So, it is not surprising that our 

ancestors projected human and transcendental properties 

into plants (Kandeler and Ullrich 2009). The purpose of 

this review was to fully investigate the cultural and 

traditional aspects of Myrtus communis that hide behind 

the symbolism ascribed to it along the ages. 

Throughout the history, the combination of the 

myrtle flower’s attractive appearance, its edible berries, 

its sweet smell and its medicinal traits would have made 

the plant very appealing to the people living where this 

species could be found. In this respect, it is not difficult 

to imagine that an early relationship developed between 

man and this multi-purpose plant. In support of this 

argument, the authors have cited evidence from ancient 

mythology, authors of ancient times, religious stories, 

folk-lore and traditions originating especially from Asia 

Minor and the Eastern Mediterranean basin. The authors 

have also attempted to determine the natural and cultural 

origins of myrtle and to correctly identify the gaps the 

extent data. Since ancient times, many key plants were 

used in connection with graves and sanctuaries. 

Today, some of the same symbolic plants and their 

secondary metabolites are being tested scientifically in 

order to feed future research in medicine and in 

biological plant protection (Kandeler and Ullrich 

2009). Results have showed that myrtle is one of the 

oldest medicinal plants to have been applied as 

antiseptic, anti-inflammatory and hypoglycaemic agent 

in a continuous chain of traditions. However, there are 

few scientific reports about biological or 

pharmacological properties of myrtle and its extracts. 

For example, extracts and some isolated compounds of 

this plant have been reported to be efficient as 

antibacterial, antifungal, antioxidant and 

hypoglycaemic agents by some publishable studies, 

however more work is needed for Myrtus communis 

(Mansouri et al. 2001; Sacchetti et al. 2007; Yoshimura 

et al. 2008; Sepici et al. 2004). 

Plants have played important roles in the oral 

traditions and the recorded myths of peoples worldwide, 

both ancient and modern. These roles are concerned with 

a variety of relationships. In this sense, every scientific 

approach to the plant kingdom must realize that 

«mythologic philosophies always antedate scientific 

philosophies». Because, as Dawkins (1998) pointed out, 

both myth-making and the reasoning ability of the 

human being, originate from the fruitful power of an 

imaginative stream which irrigates the intellect. 

Notes 

1 Resources for the etymological information (Connection 

date: March 19, 2009) http://www.uni-graz.at/~katzer/ engl/ 

Myrt_com.html; http://www.unigraz.at/~katzer/engl/ Myri_fra. 

html, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myrrh). 

166 

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