The red rose began its illustrious symbolic history in Greek and Roman iconography, where it was tied to Aphrodite, or Venus, the goddess of love. Later, in early Christian times it became associated with the virtue of Virgin Mary. By the time Shakespeare rolled around it had already become a poetic standard that he, and later Gertrude Stein both famously played with. But through all its ins and outs and long, storied history, the red rose still reigns as the ultimate symbol of passionate affection.