The cultivation of basil spread from its native India through Asia to Egypt at least 4000 years ago and from there to Rome and southern Europe.
Legend has it that basil was found growing around Jesus’ tomb after the resurrection. It was used in Greek Orthodox chci8rches in the preparation of Holy Water.
It was widely used in ancient Rome and Greece. Its name derives from the Basilisk, a mythical serpent-like creature whose venom was so potent it could kill just by looking.
The Greek called it the ‘devil plant’ but they also considered it a powerful love charm. A sign of mourning in ancient Greece and a sign of love in ancient Rome, today in Crete basil signifies ‘love washed with tears’ and in some parts of Italy it remains a lover’s emblem.
It does not appear to have reached Britain until the 16th century and was then carried by early settlers to North America.
History of basil (Ocimum spp.)
