They have been cultivated there for several thousand years. Clay tablets dating to the middle of the 3rd century BC written in cuneiform script, mentioning pomegranates, have been found in Mesopotamia.
The spread of pomegranates in the Mediterranean is due primarily to the Phoenicians, called Punians by the Romans. An archaeological dig in Gezer, Palestine, uncovered pomegranate seeds dating back 5000 years. Surviving carvings and paintings in Egypt’s oldest temples depict pomegranate fruits, meaning they were known there as early as 2500 years before Christ.
The remains of these fruits have been found in tombs from various eras in upper Egypt, while remnants of their flowers were first found in 1884 in a tomb from the 20th Dynasty.
The importance of pomegranates is also evidenced by their images in Assyrian, Greek, Byzantine, and Arabic artworks. The pomegranate fruit also figures on Greek coins alongside the head of Athena and the winged goddess of victory Nike. Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, can be seen on mosaics and frescoes holding a pomegranate fruit in her hand.
