Pomegranates

Guide note

The pomegranate, native to the Middle East, is a berry of the pomegranate tree. It has a thick reddish skin and contains hundreds of sweet edible seeds.

Fast Facts

1. Scientific name: Punica granatum
2. High in Vitamin C and Antioxidants
3. Can be made into Juice
4. Originated in Persia
5. We eat the seeds inside, called arils

Greek Symbolism

The pomegranate is a key part of the myth of Persephone. Persephone is the daughter of Demeter, the goddess of the harvest. When the god of the Underworld, Hades, kidnaps Persephone and takes her to his realm to be his wife, Demeter goes into mourning for her daughter and allows the Earth to become barren. Zeus, the leader of the Greek Gods, demands the release of Persephone. Hades begrudgingly agrees, but because Persephone has eaten four seeds of the pomegranate, a food of the Underworld, she is forever bound to her husband and must live with him for four months out of the year.

The ancient Greeks used this myth to explain the seasons. When Persephone returned to her mother, the earth is fertile and its springtime. When Persephone goes back to the Underworld to be with Hades, the earth is barren and its wintertime.

Pomegranate Varieties

1. Balegal
2. Cloud
3. Crab
4. Early Wonderful
5. Fleshman
6. Francis
7. Granada
8. Green Globe
9. Home
10. King
11. Phoenicia
12. Sweet
13. Utah Sweet
14. Wonderful

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