In Christian symbolism (Hieronymus) the numerous seeds in this fruit represent the Church, unity in faith and a community of believers in the same vein, a pomegranate appears in depictions of Mary as ‘the Mother of the Church’. The hems of Jewish priestly vestments are decorated with a stylised form of this fruit (Ex. 28, 33f 39, 24-26) and, as such, a pomegranate is a metaphor for the richness of the promised land of Israel (Deut. 8:8) in the Song of Solomon, Sulamith’s cheeks are compared to halves of a pomegranate (Cant. 4: 3).

The Bible only mentions pomegranates in the Old Testament. The Ancient Greeks considered a pomegranate a symbol of fertility and associated it with the goddesses Demeter, Persephone, Aphrodite, and Athena. Pomegranates already symbolised fertility, beauty and eternal life, in Greek and Persian mythology. Pomegranates have diverse cultural-religious significance, as a symbol of life and fertility owing to their many seeds but also as a symbol of power (imperial orb), blood and death.

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Pomegranates and promises