They say when in Rome, do as the Romans do. But you don’t have to travel halfway across the world to the Italian capital to inherit the pomp, glory, and passion of this empire. Nor do you have to dig the remains of luxury Roman villas ornate with sumptuous mosaics to understand their lust and passion. Just look up their glorious history - the way they lived, loved, and conquered. ‘Love & War’ was the central theme in Roman culture. And so was the rose.

In Roman mythology, the rose - the eternity flower, had a remarkably special place. It symbolized beauty and love - Goddess Venus. The rose was Her flower with the Blood of Adonis and Christ. But all aside, the rose was central to love and lust .. and even adultery and secrecy. In one of the countless legends, we hear about two men in Venus’ love life - Adonis, the God of Beauty, and Mars, the God of war. The rose represented Venus - Goddess of beauty and love,. Yes, the mystical rose is many things. But perhaps more than anything, the ascension of the rose was for a blood and flesh mortal, and we’ve all heard of him ...

Julius Caesar: The Greatest Love Story Ever Told

Doubt thou the stars are fire,
Doubt that the sun doth move,
Doubt truth to be a liar,
But never doubt I love."
  -Act One, Scene Two, Hamlet. William Shakespeare

The greatest of men to ever tell a story wrote his greatest drama based on the most famous of all Roman Emperors - Julius Caesar. He loved three things above all - conquest, honor, and love. And to quench his thirst for love he used the power of roses to charm, beguile and seduce his women, and he did so with great prowess. But when the most infamous king of all times met the most seductive beauty to ever rule a kingdom - Cleopatra, it was going to be a love story unlike any.

The Eternity Flower: I Came. I Saw. I Loved.

The red rose is shrouded by mystery, enigma, and myths. No other flower has inspired men, women, authors, artists, emperors, and us everyday lovers like the rose. Even the layman wants to adorn his love with roses, see her lying on a bed of red petals as he strokes her hair. It’s something innate in us. The rose seems to possess some mystical energy that inspires love and beauty. Many claim its healing powers.

But the mystery deepens when the rose is cut, dried, and embalmed in a timeless form. The bloom looks pristine and young - as if just picked from the garden. It stands motionless in perpetual beauty as if frozen in time. The enigma, however, lies in how an embalmed flower possesses the same energy as a fresh rose. How can it inspire love and prose the same way as a real rose? It begs the question: is there something in the geometry and color of the rose that is the force behind lust, love, and affection? We know that both color and shapes can influence our thoughts and emotions.

Could it be that the perfect symmetry and shape of the eternal rose have been behind it all this time? Because nothing else explains how these eternity flowers seem to inspire men and women to fall in love every day.