The Secret Language of Flowers in Egyptian Tombs

Both in life and death, the Ancient Egyptians adorned their world with plants whose meanings reached far beyond the garden. Flowers and fruits were not merely decorative, they were potent symbols, bearing associations of love, fertility, regeneration, and eternal life. In the imagery of tombs, such flora carried a language of their own, one that spoke to both the delights of earthly existence and the hopes of rebirth in the world to come.

Among the most evocative of these motifs were the mandrake and the lotus. The mandrake, prized for its heady fragrance and charged with erotic connotations, became a metaphor for beauty and desire, yet was also acknowledged for its dangerous, hallucinogenic powers. By contrast, the lotus embodied renewal, rising and closing with the sun in a rhythm likened to the eternal cycle of life and death. In banquet scenes depicted upon tomb walls, the two often appear together, with gestures that conjure both pleasure and profound symbolism.

Mandrake

The Ancient Egyptians regarded the mandrake (insno) as a fruit of love and desire, delighting in its sweet perfume whilst never forgetting its darker, hallucinogenic powers. In poetry and art of the New Kingdom it was woven into the language of beauty and allure, its rounded form likened to the curves of the female body, its very image evoking the sensuality of the breast. From banquet walls to cosmetic spoons and the jewelled collars of the dead, the mandrake’s likeness blossomed across Ancient Egyptian art, a playful yet potent emblem of passion and vitality.

Preferring rocky, dry soils and seldom thriving in the marshy environment of Egypt, the mandrake (Mandragora officinarum) is not native to the Nile Valley itself, making its presence in Ancient Egyptian art and ritual all the more intriguing. The true mandrake grows naturally in the eastern Mediterranean and Levant; Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Cyprus, and parts of Anatolia (Turkey).

As yet, no secure evidence exists for the mandrake in Egypt prior to the early 18th Dynasty. In the Middle Kingdom and earlier periods, we see abundant depictions of botanics including lotuses, papyrus, sycamore figs, and persea fruits, but not the mandrake. Excavated plant remains from earlier tombs and settlements (such as Kahun, Deir el-Medina’s precursors, and Middle Kingdom pyramid towns) have yielded many seeds and fruits dates, figs, grapes, barley, wheat, pomegranates (introduced from the Near East in the Second Intermediate Period), but once again, not mandrake. Because of this, we can safely presume that the mandrake was an imported plant, introduced to Egypt through contact with the Levant during the New Kingdom (especially the 18th Dynasty, when Egypt had strong political and military ties to Canaan and Syria). Tomb paintings coincide with this period of active exchange, when exotic flora and fauna were brought into Egypt as tribute or luxury imports. Despite this, the mandrake may have been grown in gardens of the wealthy once introduced. Reliefs and texts describe the tending of foreign plants in royal and temple gardens (Amenhotep III is famous for importing exotic flora for his palace at Malkata). It is possible that mandrakes were cultivated in such controlled environments.

The mandrakes give forth fragrance, and at our doors are all manner of precious fruits, new and old, which I have laid up for thee, O my beloved.
Song of Solomon 7:13

The 18th Dynasty is when evidence for the mandrake’s presence in Egypt begins. Archaeobotanical finds such as dried mandrake fruits begin to appear around this time too, coinciding with Egypt’s expansion into Syria–Palestine under Thutmose III and Amenhotep II & III. As previously stated, Amenhotep III’s palace at Malkata shows evidence of foreign gardens with imported flora, pomegranates, sycamores, and it’s safe to presume, there was probably mandrake among them.

It is said that the mandrake, in small doses acts akin to a sedative or muscle relaxant, providing mild hallucinogen effects, which can lower inhibitions, produce warmth, and induce dreamy states, all conducive to intimacy. In the Bible (Genesis 30:14–16), mandrakes are explicitly called “love-apples”, desired by Rachel and Leah in their rivalry over Jacob. In the Song of Songs (7:13), mandrakes again appear as symbols of erotic fragrance and fertility. Peoples across the wider Mediterranean world provide several ancient testimonies about the mandrake.

“The so-called mandrake is used by both physicians and magicians. They say that it has an affinity with love, for it excites desire.”
Theophrastus (c. 371–287 B.C.), Enquiry into Plants 9.8.8

“The juice of the mandrake… drunk in a drink, less than a cup, brings on sleep and eases pain. If too much is drunk, however, it makes men speechless and brings death. Some call it ‘Circaeon,’ for it is thought to be the drug of Circe.”
Dioscorides (1st century A.D.), De Materia Medica IV.75

“Mandrake is held in high repute for its soporific qualities… It is said to be employed for love potions, and it is even believed to possess a divine influence.”
Pliny the Elder (1st century A.D.), Natural History 25.147–150

While less explicit than the Greeks and Hebrews, Near Eastern traditions (Akkadian and Hittite medical texts) refer to plants thought to be mandrake-like as “love plants”, often prescribed in fertility incantations, showcasing that long before the Greeks, the idea of mandrake as an aphrodisiac was already circulating widely across the varied nations.

“If a woman cannot conceive, you give her the ḫašû-plant to eat with oil and beer, and she will become pregnant”
(BAM 237, Assyrian medical tablet; see Scurlock & Andersen, Diagnoses in Assyrian and Babylonian Medicine, 2005)

“Take the ḫaššu-plant, place it in her hand; let her eat, and let her conceive seed”
Ritual Hittite text (KUB 9.31)

These evidences make it apparent that the mandrake was one of the few plants with a pan-Mediterranean and Near Eastern “love-magic” identity, stretching from Anatolia and Mesopotamia to Egypt and Greece, Judea and then Rome.

Fruit & Root of the Mandrake

Though in Egyptian art we mostly see the fruit of the mandrake, there is evidence that the root was also known and sometimes used, very much in line with the wider Near Eastern and European tradition. Some of the reciepies in the Ebers Papyrus call for usage of the root, which was to be pounded and mixed with oils, resins, or milk to help with varied ailments.

In Mesopotamia, the ḫašû plant (mandrake) was explicitly prescribed as both fruit and root, with the root often associated with stronger effects. The Greeks and Romans (Theophrastus, Dioscorides, Pliny) stressed the root as the seat of its magical and narcotic power, which is likely the origin of the “human-shaped root” and later “screaming mandrake” myth (see below).

So whereas Egyptians seem to have preferred the fruit in art and symbolism because it was more fragrant, less sinister, and easier to fold into imagery of love and beauty, they were also very aware of the root’s potency. Dried mandrake fruits have been discovered in tombs among the offerings to the dead, yet the roots are conspicuously absent. Egyptologists do not take this as evidence of indifference to the root, but rather the reverse. The root was highly prized for its medicinal potency and was likely consumed in remedies during life, leaving little to be preserved in the archaeological record.

Medieval Mandrake “Screaming Root”

The European mandrake, though the same species as the Egyptian mandrake (mandragora officinarum), became an object of dread in classic and medieval lore. While the Egyptians focused attention on the yellow, plum-like fruit, the European focus shifted from the fruit to the human-shaped root, which inspired eerie legends, most famously, that when uprooted the plant would emit a fatal scream, killing anyone who heard it.

British Library: Mandrake

Writers from Josephus to Pliny allude to its mandrake’s sinister nature, and in the Middle Ages the myth grew elaborate, with instructions to tie the plant to a dog so that the animal would die in place of the gatherer. In this tradition, the mandrake was used as a magical talisman, a love charm, or a witch’s tool, shrouded in danger and occult power. This mythology was referenced in J.K Rowling’s Harry Potter series.

And so, while the Egyptians celebrated the mandrake as a fragrant and sensual fruit of love, the Europeans feared it as a demonic root of death. It is a striking example of how the same plant could embody such contrasting meanings, in Egypt a luxurious emblem of eroticism and rebirth, in Europe a sinister spirit of witchcraft and peril.

United States Department of Agriculture: The Powerful Solanaceae: Mandrake

The Egyptian “Lotus”

The true Egyptian lotus is the blue water lily (Nymphaea caerulea) and its cousin the white water lily (Nymphaea lotus). The blue water lily (Nymphaea caerulea) is often referred to as the Egyptian blue lotus and is the most famous, with vivid blue petals and yellow centres. The white water lily (Nymphaea lotus) is known as the Egyptian white lotus and is larger, with white petals and opens is nocturnal, opening at night rather than day. The third and lesser known is the pink sacred lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) also known as the Indian lotus. This pink lotus was introduced from Persia much later (likely in the Greco-Roman period) and is not native to Pharaonic Egypt, though sometimes this gets confused in modern texts.

The blue and white lotus grew naturally in the Nile marshes and were sacred symbols of rebirth. They were used in all forms of Egyptian life, from perfume, to wine, to medicine, and of course, funerary ritual. Unfortunately today, the majestic and spiritual blue lotus, an emblem of Ancient Egypt was once abundant in the Nile, has largely disappeared due to changes in water flow after the construction of the Aswan High Dam, as well as pollution leading to habitat loss. Some cultivated or protected populations exist, but it is now rare in modern Egypt. On the other hand, the white lotus still survives in parts of the Nile and marshlands. And the pink lotus, despite its foreign origins is still cultivated ornamentally to this day and has become a part of Egypt’s lotus family.

Symbology of the Lotus

The lotus is one of the most charged and beautiful symbols in Ancient Egyptian religion, deeply woven into myths of creation, rebirth, and divine fragrance. In Egyptian cosmogony, the lotus was imagined as the first flower to emerge from the primeval waters of Nun, at the dawn of time. From within its opening petals, the infant sun god was said to rise, bringing light to the world. Different traditions identify this solar child as Ra, Atum, or Nefertem. The very act of the lotus opening each morning and closing each evening mirrored the sun’s cycle and was taken as a living proof of renewal.

The lotus was the emblem of Nefertem, a youthful god associated with beauty, perfume, and healing. He was sometimes depicted as a young man rising from a blue lotus blossom, or as a lotus itself, often carried on the head. Nefertem was believed to have brought the fragrance of the lotus to the gods, soothing their spirits, and in mortuary contexts he was invoked as a protector who could grant freshness, vitality, and rebirth to the deceased.

Because of its daily opening and closing, the lotus became a natural metaphor for the resurrection of the dead. Tomb scenes often depict the deceased holding or inhaling a lotus blossom, a gesture that signified not only delight in fragrance but also participation in eternal renewal. Coffin garlands, jewellery, and temple decoration frequently included lotus imagery, ensuring the dead would “bloom again” in the hereafter.

The lotus was also associated with sacred scent. Its petals and stamens were used in perfumes and oils, while depictions show blossoms presented as offerings to the gods. The blue lotus (Nymphaea caerulea), with mild narcotic properties, was often steeped in wine; some scholars suggest this may have been used in temple or festival rituals to induce euphoria and altered states of consciousness, binding participants more closely to the divine.

In temple hymns and cosmological texts, the lotus appears as a cosmic symbol: the four sons of Horus are occasionally described as seated upon a giant lotus before Osiris; the solar child arises from its calyx; and in magical papyri the lotus is invoked as the very emblem of life, light, and rebirth.

Sacred Scent of the Lotus & Health Properties

One of the most fascinating aspects of the Egyptian lotus is the various ways it was a part of daily Egyptian life; from the mundane to the sacred. Whether a tummy upset, anxious mind, or a devoted ritual, the lotus was there in the centrefold, making up medicine, perfume, and sacred ritual substances that only the royals and gods would know of.

The Egyptians were keen herbalists, and were indeed exploiting the real pharmacology of the bottanics around them, much as later cultures did with other sacred plants. Both the blue lotus and the white lotus are mentioned in medical papyri, with several prescriptions listing seshen (lotus) among their ingredients..

In the Ebers Papyrus (c. 1550 B.C.), the lotus is listed as an ingredient in various remedies. Treatments were vast; from poultices (paste) for fevers and inflammations to preperation (internal use aka something to drink, chew, or swallow) for liver and digestive complaints, and even concoctions for psychological problems including those for soothing restlessness, depression and anxiety, known as “diseases of the heart”.

Ebers Papyrus & Ancient Egyptian Remedies

The Ebers Papyrus is an 18th Dynasty medical scroll found in Thebes, sold to Georg Ebers in 1872 (hence its name), and now preserved in Leipzig University Library (Papyrus Ebers, P. 149). It is the longest surviving Egyptian medical papyrus, bridging pharmacology, ritual, and magic. Dating from the reign of reign of Amenhotep I, the Ebers Papyrus is a single scroll, over 20 metres (110 pages) long, containing about 700 recipes and remedies, mixing practical medicine, magical incantations, and ritual prescriptions.

“Drive out the heat, O divine lotus, bring coolness to the limbs as Ra brings the dawn.”

One of the most fascinating aspects of the Ebers Papyrus is the merging of medicine and magic (heka). Not only are there 700 recipes with ingredients, it often pairs them with incantations, showing how medicine and magic were inseparable in Egyptian healing. Egyptians believed illness could be caused not only by physical imbalance, but by demons, curses, or the displeasure of gods. Medicine, therefore, worked best when combined with ritual words, and so, many remedies in the Ebers Papyrus begin or end with a magical spell or invocation

An example of a remedy for things such as asthma (“a disease of breathing”), the Ebers Papyrus’ suggests that herbs such as juniper, heated and inhaled would help sooth the sufferer. Along with an incantation or prayer to the god of air Shu, calling on him to “open the channels of breath”. Where as a tummy complaint calls for soem corrinader and juniper mixed with wine, calling to Horus with a incantation of; “Expel the poison, as Horus expelled the venom of Seth”.

And then, for the love-sick, or melachonly of heart, there is the mixture of lotus, honey and mandrake, pleading with Thoth to “restore memory and cool the mind”.

Though Egyptian medicine may appear holistic or even mystical to some in this modern age of surgical precision and laboratory science, it would be quite wrong to dismiss these medical papyri as mere superstition. The ancient physicians of the Nile worked with the natural resources around them, and many of their remedies had real, measurable effects. Honey, prescribed for wounds, is now recognised for its potent antibacterial qualities and has returned to use in modern hospitals. The blue lotus, infused in oils or wine, contains alkaloids such as aporphine and nuciferine with genuine sedative and anti-spasmodic properties, easing pain, calming anxiety, and even producing a mild euphoria.

In their poultices and infusions, the Egyptians were not concocting fanciful charms, they were not creating whimsical “magical potions” and wishing for the best, they were applying the pharmacology of the natural world as best they understood it. Their medicine was both practical and spiritual, rooted in care for the body and the soul, and remains a testament to the ingenuity of ancient healing.

Full Article on the Ebers Papyrus

_{Poultices: A poultice is a soft, moist preparation (made of mashed plant material, often mixed with fat, oil, or honey) that is spread on cloth and applied directly to the skin. In the case of lotus, the petals, roots, or sometimes the seed capsules could be pounded into a paste, mixed with binding agents (like honey, resin, or fat), and laid on the body. The aim was usually to draw out heat or infection, reduce swelling, or soothe pain. For example, a poultice of lotus might have been placed on the chest for fevers, or on inflamed skin.}

The Lotus & Mandrake together

Once recognised, the mandrake reveals itself again and again in 18th Dynasty art, most often paired with the lotus in royal and funerary scenes, a union that was no mere ornament, but laden with meaning. Depicting the lotus and mandrake among the offerings in tombs was never simply a reflection of earthly feasting, it carried supernatural weight.

The lotus embodied rebirth, regeneration, and divine fragrance. Its daily rhythm (closing at night, opening at dawn) made it the perfect emblem of the sun’s rebirth and the deceased’s renewal in the afterlife. And when used as a perfume or ointment, wine additive or sacred offering the lotus became a spiritual ingredient. The mandrake, by contrast, embodied erotic desire, vitality, and fertility. In Egyptian love songs, its golden fruit was likened to the sensual allure of a woman’s curves, making it a natural emblem of attraction and pleasure. At its core lay the idea of fertilit, not only the promise of human generation but also the abundance upon which Egypt’s agricultural world depended. It is little wonder, then, that the mandrake came to be regarded as a sacred living symbol of life’s continuity and renewal. Yet its potency was more than symbolic. The mandrake itself was believed to possess aphrodisiac qualities, its fragrance and effects heightening its role as a fruit of love and desire.

Together, the pairing symbolised earthly pleasures transformed into eternal gifts of beauty, vitality, and joy preserved for the spirit in the afterlife. In other words, they were not just plants but magical emblems, guaranteeing that the tomb-owner would be “fresh of face” and “fruitful of body” for eternity.

Banquet scenes in tombs, such as the scene from the Tomb of Nakht, as well as royal art of the Amarna and Tutankhamun age, depict guests sniffing lotus blossoms and holding mandrake fruits. These depictions certainly have symbolic meaning (joy, love, rebirth), but they also reflect real practices of intoxication.

Petals of the blue lotus (Nymphaea caerulea) were steeped in wine, producing both fragrance and a mild psychoactive effect. Guests did not only sniff the flower, they very likely drank it too. This can be seen paired with the fruit sweet-smelling and exotic mandrake, which along with the lotus wine and scent may have been nibbled in small amounts, or also infused in drink, as a sensual stimulant. Combined with music, incense, and wine, these additions created a heady atmosphere of release, intoxication, and heightened pleasure.

In modern times, the Egyptian blue lotus (Nymphaea caerulea) has been studied, and modern users report a gentle “happy, floaty” mood, comparable to drinking a couple of glasses of wine but without the same clouded heaviness. The alkaloids (mainly aporphine and nuciferine) are said to give a sedative muscle-relaxing effect, with anti-spasmodic qualities. Ethnobotanical studies (1990s–2000s) claim that people feel less anxious, more serene, and sometimes mildly sleepy while under it’s influence. Some report vivid dreams or a trance-like, meditative calm if taken in higher doses, especially when combined with alcohol such as wine, like the Ancient Egyptians did. There are reports that even music, scent, and touch may feel more pleasurable, which aligns with Egyptian banquet scenes full of music, flowers, and perfume.

It is therefore, safe to say that the the lotus likely gave Ancient Egyptians a gentle, euphoric “high”, calming the body, lifting the mood, and heightening sensory pleasure, with modern experiments confirming this effect.

Such scenes depicted in funerary art may seem strange to those outside of the Ancient Egyptian belief system, however these type of scenes would have been manditory wall decor for the Egyptian with the wealth to comission such. Tomb walls were not mere decoration but a vital map of the soul’s destiny, charting the journey through the afterlife, the encounter with the gods, and the hoped-for acceptance into the eternal paradise of the Field of Reeds (Aaru). It is in this context that banquet scenes, or depictions of farming the celestial fields, take on their full meaning, they were not simply images, but living realities, into which the spirit of the deceased might step and partake forever.