Herb Gardening - Herbal Usage History and Myths

For centuries, certain varieties of herbs or their properties have been used in many different ways. Many are used to enhance the flavor of our favorite cuisine, while others have been used for medicinal healing purposes. Still, there are others that are simply used for their fragrant aromas to enhance our surroundings. As stories of these methods travel through history, there is always the addition of a few undocumented myths.

As far back in time as 60,000 years, tombs in Mesopotamia (now known as Iraq) were found to have herbs used as medicines, preserved along with the human remains encased there in. Ancient Egyptians also shared the use of herbs for medicinal purposes as far back as 5,000 years. Their catalogue of herbs was quite extensive, including using them as laxatives, for headaches and other common ailments. In Sumaria, the herb Thyme has been documented as being used as an antiseptic as far back as 3,000 BC.

The herb Coriander has been documented as being used as a meal flavoring for more than 3,000 years by the Hebrews. The Romans also used this herb as a way to preserve their meat. The Coriander is an herb whose leaves are used to produce Cilantro, another herb which is used for cooking.

The belief that illness was inflicted by the god’s was not the opinion of the great Greek physician Hippocrates. He believed that illnesses were caused by nature and as such used his systemized knowledge to treat many ailments with herbs. The herb Parsley for instance, was used in treating the ailment rheumatism as well as kidney discomfort while Tarragon was used in the fight against toothaches.

Both the Greeks and Romans implemented the use of herbs as medicinal healers. Basil was the most commonly used herb, although Chive was implemented by the Romans to soothe sore throats. However, the Greek goddess of love, Aphrodite, believed highly in the use of Oregano.

After nearly a thousand years, the Middle Ages knowledge regarding the uses for botanicals began to become wide spread and popular, once again. Much of this preserved knowledge from the medieval times was now being imported from Arabic cultures, although the myths still resonated. Herbs such as Dill were believed to have mystical and magical powers, while Rosemary was believed to ward off the plague and Sage was being used as a cure for Epilepsy.

Meanwhile, the Chinese and Indian cultures were rapidly accumulating knowledge of their own on the beneficial medicinal properties of herbs. The herb Ginseng is just one example of these famous herbs.

During the Renaissance times, or times of re-birth, the Greek philosophy of observation and validation by experimentation was beginning to resurface. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the amount of knowledge regarding the healing powers of herbs began to grow at an extremely rapid pace. In the year 1652, Nicholas Culpeper, published a book that contained extensive information regarding the endless array of healing herbs well known in Great Britain.

Beginning in the nineteenth century however, the focus began to turn purely on the use of artificial chemistry created medicines. Luckily, in today’s world, there are still those who research and practice the knowledge of beneficial properties of herbs. These herbs found in their natural state can have additional substances that are naturally missing from man created synthetic medicines.

Belief in current chemistry created methods and the belief that herbs have healing properties is still a topic of debate for most people. There a re some herbs that have shown to have healing capabilities, however, the myths that have carried through the centuries still remain.

         

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