Poppy

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Papaver orientale

A poppy is a flowering plant in the family Papaveraceae.

History

Antiquity

In 5th century BCE Greece, poppies were grown in abundance throughout Lakonia.

The blacksmith of Opous, Kosta, once asked the misthios Kassandra to gather some of the flowers from the nearby forest of the Red Lake, as he believed they would have an invigorating effect on a human, carrying "the fire from one's heart to one's crotch".

In the 1st century BCE, a type of mace called the Minoan Poppy Pin, was used across the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt. It was so named so due to the similarity of the mace's head to the seedpod of the poppy.

Renaissance

During the Renaissance, the papaver silvaticum was known as a source for the addicting drug opium. The Italian Assassins would mix this drug with nutmeg and ricinus to concoct one of their many poisons, with Tessa Varzi being exceptionally skilled in creating and using the mixtures. Her team would gather these in Rome, as did their Mentor Ezio Auditore da Firenze.

Symbolism

To the ancient Greeks, poppies were commonly known as the 'flowers of Aphrodite', said to have been planted by the Greek goddess of love and beauty herself.

According to the Victorian era book the Language of Flowers, the red Oriental poppy of the species Papaver orientale expressed consolation while the white poppy was used to express "my bane, my antidote." The poppies' juice was also noted to be used as a sedative for both pain and restlessness.

Gallery

• 
  The 'opium' flower
• 
  A poppy growing in 5th century BCE Greece
• 
  Minoan Poppy Pin with its seedpod-like head

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (mentioned only)
• Assassin's Creed: Project Legacy (as 'opium')
• Assassin's Creed: Syndicate
• Assassin's Creed: Odyssey