Roses in Ancient Historic Period
The Romans outdid the Greeks when Nero, the hedonistic emperor, 1st century AD, dumped tons of rose petals on his dinner guests.
Cleopatra had her living quarters filled with the petals of roses so that when Marc Antony met her, he would long remember her for such opulence and be reminded of her every time he smelt a rose. Her scheme worked for him. Such is the power of roses.
Not only in Christian literature, also in ancient Confucian and Buddhist religious documents we find references to the rose.
The Romans cultivated this great beauty and named it Rosa Gallica. Newly married couples were often crowned with roses.
Roman high society women used petals much like currency believing that they could banish wrinkles if used in poultices. Rose petals were often dropped in wine because it was thought that the essence of rose would stave off drunkenness and victorious armies would return to be showered with rose petals from the civilians that crowded the balconies above the streets.