A Brief History of Thyme

This beautiful galaxy swirl of thyme and peach by @anettvelsberg

"If time travel is possible, where are the tourists from the future?" —Stephen Hawking ☄️

Thyme has been known in many guises. It is a cure for poison, a pain reliever, a sign of courage, and a home for fairies. Let's travel back through thyme to learn about how it was seen in the past.

In the Roman era, it was widely believed that eating thyme either before or during a meal would protect you from poison. For obvious reasons, this made it a particular favorite of Roman emperors and elite. It was even said that a bath in warm water liberally dosed with thyme could stop the effects of poison after it was inadvertently consumed. Doesn't a thyme bath sound lovely and aromatic?

Victorian England placed its own fanciful spin on the mystical properties of thyme—a patch of wild thyme in the woods was thought to be a sign that fairies had recently danced the night away on that very spot. Generations of little girls camped out near remote little plots of creeping thyme, hoping to catch a glimpse of a tribe of woodland fairies.