Unveiling the Allure: How Pomegranates Became Icons of Sensuality in Art and Symbolism

Or in other words - why are pomegranates so sexy?

A quick search of pomegranate art will direct you to countless images, but what struck me—and got me wondering, "What is so sexy about a pomegranate? After all, it's just a piece of fruit"—was the way it's portrayed in these works, many dating back centuries. In these paintings, pomegranates are often delicately touched or cradled by fair maidens, their soft hands caressing the fruit as if it holds a secret power. Equally captivating are the poems—almost love letters—dedicated to this fruit, brimming with desire and symbolism, as if the pomegranate itself embodies sensuality, fertility, and forbidden temptation.

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Thus began my deep dive - yes, my search history is weird:

The pomegranate has woven itself into the myths and rituals of countless cultures for centuries. In Zoroastrianism, it was a key element in rituals, and Persian mythology claimed it granted invincibility. Judaism holds the pomegranate's 613 seeds as symbolic of the Bible's commandments, representing sanctity and abundance. In Buddhism, it is a blessed fruit, linked to fertility and favourable influences. Chinese art often features the pomegranate as a symbol of prosperity and a popular wedding gift. In Christianity, it signifies resurrection and eternal life, and in Islam, it is tied to paradise and fertility, with its seeds said to ensure many children. Across cultures, the pomegranate remains a powerful emblem of life, fertility, and the divine.

Through my research, I’ve discovered that the pomegranate symbolizes a striking duality, representing both life, love, and sensuality, as well as death and entrapment. In a way I think that this duality resonates deeply with the experiences of women, reflecting the complexities of our lives. While it may seem like a stretch, I believe one reason this fruit has emerged as a modern emblem of womanhood and femininity is precisely because of its multifaceted nature. The pomegranate mirrors the varied expectations placed on women by society and the rich complexity and beauty of our spirits, encapsulating the myriad roles we navigate throughout our lives.

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"Pomegranates, Temptation, and the Unbreakable Bond: Persephone and Hades"

This is probably one of the most famous stories that involves a pomegranate and that is that in Greek mythology, the pomegranate plays a pivotal role in the story of Persephone's abduction by Hades, the god of the underworld. While picking flowers, Persephone was seized by Hades and taken to his dark realm. By eating a few pomegranate seeds, she unwittingly bound herself to him, as the fruit symbolized the permanence of marriage. Grief-stricken, her mother Demeter, the goddess of agriculture, caused a barren earth until a compromise was reached—Persephone would spend one third of the year with Hades and the rest with her mother, marking the cycle of seasons and the return of life in spring. Here, the pomegranate serves not only as a symbol of fertility but also of captivity. It represents Persephone’s entrapment in a relationship she didn’t choose—an extension of the theme of female subjugation.

Even within this myth, the lines have blurred, transforming the tale into what many perceive as a 'romantic' story. Countless books and images depict the narrative as a passionate love affair, painting it in hues of desire and longing, as if Persephone and Hades are swept up in a whirlwind romance. This reveals the remarkable complexity that a single fruit—yes, a fruit—can evoke. While I’m not suggesting their relationship is a healthy love story, there is something profoundly poetic in the way people interpret their connection. The prominence of this narrative in popular culture, with its romantic overtones, feels like more than mere coincidence; it speaks to the deep-seated human longing for love and connection, even in the most unexpected of places. In contemporary interpretations, the narrative has been reimagined to empower Persephone, suggesting that she may have wielded control all along. The symbolism of the pomegranate has become central to this notion, transforming her from a passive figure into an assertive force in her own story. This shift invites us to reconsider the dynamics of her relationship with Hades, positing that Persephone's journey may have been one of a strong women - not a victim.

However, although modern interpretations of this myth often romanticize the dynamic between Hades and Persephone, casting it as a dark love story, the original tale is rooted in abduction, manipulation, and power. Hades didn’t merely take Persephone as his wife; he tricked her into eating the pomegranate, knowing that its consumption would bind her to him forever, effectively making her a prisoner of the underworld. The fruit becomes a symbol of both marriage and control, marking Persephone's entrapment rather than her willing participation.

Little Disclaimer: I neither fully endorse nor reject these interpretations; rather, I present them as reflections of the feelings and insights triggered by this story. More broadly, these discussions illustrate how the pomegranate has been repurposed in modern contexts to symbolize power and agency, inviting diverse perspectives on its significance throughout history and in contemporary culture.

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There are numerous scholarly works exploring the symbolism of pomegranates, one of which is an insightful article by Hannah Spry titled Symbolic Seeds: An Analysis of Pomegranate Usage in Selected Artworks of the Past and Present. In her analysis, Spry examines how pomegranates feature in various works of art, including Rachel Ruysch's Fruit and Flowers (1716) and Botticelli's Madonna of the Pomegranate. She connects this imagery to the popular notion that the pomegranate may represent the "forbidden fruit" from the Tree of Knowledge, which led to Adam and Eve’s expulsion from Eden, setting the stage for mankind’s redemption and Christ’s sacrifice (Atre, 2).

Perhaps the most famous use of the pomegranate in art is Dante Gabriel Rossetti's Proserpine (1874), where Persephone, the goddess of spring and new life, is portrayed with the fruit that binds her to the underworld. While the pomegranate could symbolise life and rebirth through Persephone's return to the earth, it more likely represents death—her time spent in the underworld and the decay that follows her departure from the natural world.

Spry reflects on the duality of the Pomegranate, stating: "I felt that the image of the pomegranate was the ultimate model of the shifts between isolation—the pomegranate’s tough exterior—and connection—the seemingly infinite seeds that spill out once opened—and so I used the image of the pomegranate in order to illustrate various states of introspection" (pg. 18).

This interpretation captures the fruit's rich symbolism, balancing themes of life, death, isolation, and renewal across cultures and artistic expressions.

In conclusion, the pomegranate's rich history and symbolism explain why it continues to hold cultural, mythological, and artistic significance today. It’s remarkable how a simple fruit has come to embody such complex ideas—love, lust, power, and even life and death. This fruit, with its layered meanings, shows how deeply we intertwine nature with our stories and beliefs. It makes me wonder: what other objects or symbols have we imbued with such significance throughout history? The pomegranate serves as a reminder that everyday things often carry deeper cultural and emotional weight, inviting us to explore the hidden stories behind them.

Sources:

https://digitalcommons.morris.umn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1082&context=horizons

https://theamag.com/9622/culture/9622/

https://red-crown.ca/2015/08/the-most-ancient-of-fruits/