Rose Quartz in Ancient Greece

As gemstones go, Rose Quartz is about as famous as they get. It's astoundingly abundant across the world and has been used in some of the most eye-catching everyday jewellery out there.

Affectionately known as the Love Stone, or the Crystal of Unconditional Love, but to many it's unclear why. As with many of the world's great stories, the roots lie in its mythological associations with Ancient Greece and the goddess of love, lust and beauty, Aphrodite. Discover the role that Rose Quartz played in some of the greatest Greek myths with Monica Vinader below.

The mythology surrounding Rose Quartz is indicative of its powerful effect on the human mind, body and soul. Some of the best-known myths of Ancient Greece depict the gemstone as a great healer and symbol of passion and adoration, so it's altogether fitting that we still recognise its romantic qualities to this day. There are two legends that illustrate why the Ancient Greeks held Rose Quartz in such high regard.

In a classic myth about love and reconciliation, Adonis, god of plants and rebirth, found himself entangled in a love story with Aphrodite, goddess of love and beauty, who could not bear to be apart from her mortal lover. Her obsession with Adonis enraged her past lover, Ares, god of war, so much so that he sought every opportunity to exact revenge on Adonis for stealing her devotion away from him.

In the form of a wild boar in the forest, Ares set out to mortally wound his rival. His actions and Adonis' resulting screams caught the desperate attention of Aphrodite, who, in rushing down from heaven to save him, cut herself on a briar bush.

Aphrodite held a dying Adonis in her arms and their blood combined to form anemones in the ground and Rose Quartz gemstones after it stained the white quartz pink. The fusion of their blood led Zeus to show his compassion as he brought Adonis back to Aphrodite for six months a year, leading the Love Stone, Rose Quartz, to become the central symbol of reconciliation and undying love.

Rose Quartz was also part of Eros' story as the god of desire, love and attraction, who is perhaps the most instantly recognisable character in all mythology - he was known as Cupid to the Romans.

The myth goes that he brought the pink gemstone down from the heavens (Olympus) to spread love and romance around the mortal world, for it was the Love Stone itself. The romantic qualities of the beautiful pink hue to the stone were thought so powerful that they would inspire love in humankind.

The Ancient Egyptians also held Rose Quartz close to their hearts - quite literally, too. The common belief instilled by Isis, goddess of life, motherhood and fertility, was that the stone had restorative qualities when it came to health, so she would use the pink stones to rub on her cheeks and eyes to heal the skin and prevent wrinkles.

It's a practice that is still carried out by Egyptian women today, which is testament to the power that Rose Quartz has had on cultures and ways of thinking for centuries.

Spiritual understandings of love and romance have been central to the way Rose Quartz has been revered around the world since it was first mined thousands of years ago. The emotive representations of the pink Love Stone in various mythological tales have only served to strengthen our love for it as one of the great gemstones of the world.

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