Barley-FOR Erasmus+ project
Collaborative dictionary of mythological plants
FUNDED BY EUROPEAN UNION
TARGET GROUP NUMBER: 10 (ANE LOPEZ, ANE SAIZ)
Scientific name: Hordeum vulgare
Vulgar name
Spanish: Cebada
Basque: Garagar
Italian: Orzo comune
Greek: κριθάρι
Morphological description
Barley it´s a widely distributed cereal plant belonging to the genus Hordeum, of the grass family, having awned flowers that grow in tightly bunched spikes, with three small additional spikes at each node.It is a wonderfully versatile cereal grain with a rich nutlike flavor and an appealing chewy, pasta-like consistency. Its appearance resembles wheat berries, although it is slightly lighter in color. Sprouted barley is naturally high in maltose, a sugar that serves as the basis for both malt syrup sweetener. When fermented, barley is used as an ingredient in beer and other alcoholic beverages.
Uses, threats and singularity
Uses:
Barley is used for lowering blood sugar, blood pressure, and chorestelol, and for promoting weight loss. It is also used for digestive complaints including diarrhea, stomach pain, and inflammatory bowel conditions.
Some people use barley for increasing strength and endurance. Other uses include cancer prevention and treatment of a lung problem called bronchitis.
Barley is applied to the skin for treating boils.
In foods, barley is used as a source of vitamins, carbohydrates, proteins, and fatty oils.
In manufacturing, barley is used as a food grain, natural sweetener, and as an ingredient for brewing beer and making alcoholic beverages.
Singularity:
Symbolism
Greek symbolism
Demeter was the goddess of corn,barley, grain, and the harvest. She was the daughter of Cronus and Rhea. It was believed that Demeter was offered to her. She was the goddess of the earth, of agriculture, and of fertility in general. Sacred to her are livestock and agricultural products, poppy, narcisus and the crane.
Demeter was intimately associated with the seasons.
Catholic symbolism
Easter is also related to barley.
Classical myths related to the plant
Hades and Persephone
When Demeter(mother of Persephone) realised that her daughter was dissapeared, Demeter asked the gods for help to rescue Persephone, but no one helped her because they didn’t want to confront with Hades. So, Demeter decided to abandon the Olimpo and renounced to her powers as a goddess and she started to find her daughter around the world.
This absence in the Olimpo caused problems in the seasons and a permanent winter. At consequence of that, cereals didn’t grow up and people started to die because of the lack of food. Concerning this, Zeus ordered Hades to release Persepone but Hades forced her to eat a pomegranate of the underworld, making her to be forever in the underworld. Finally, Zeus took the decision of sharing Persephone, six months with her mother and six months with Hades. When Persephone was with Demeter will be spring and summer, where cereals as barley, and fruits will grow up. On the other hand, the time that Persephone spent with Hades will be autumn and winter. During the period that Demeter was looking for her daughter, she lived in a house with a family of mortals. So, after finding her daughter, she taught them the art of the agriculture as a gift. And later, this art was passed to all the humans.
Demeter took the name of Ceres in the Roman mythology.Persephone and Demeter in Plastic Arts
VIDEOS ON THE MYTH
Questions
2. What for is the grain of the Barley used?
3. What did Persephone eat forced by Hades?