White, tall and fragrant, the lily is one of the most meaning-laden flowers of the Western tradition. We find it in the hands of angels and saints, on the coats of arms of kings, on the seals of cities. Its main symbol, purity, is known to everyone; less known are the paths by which this flower also became an emblem of royalty and power.
The lily in Greek myth
A mythological tale taken up several times by Renaissance artists links the lily to Hera, queen of the gods. The infant Heracles, son of Zeus and a mortal woman, was supposedly placed at the breast of the sleeping goddess so that he might receive immortality. When Hera woke and pushed him away, the milk spilled across the sky, forming the Milky Way, and a few drops fell to earth, where lilies sprang up.
The myth associates the lily with the white of milk and with the heavenly dimension: it is a flower born of the sky, a fragment of starlight fallen to earth.
Lilies in the Bible
The lily appears several times in Scripture. In the Song of Songs the beloved calls herself "the lily of the valleys", and the bridegroom compares her to "a lily among thorns". In the Gospel of Matthew, during the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus invites his listeners to consider "the lilies of the field", which neither toil nor spin, yet are arrayed more splendidly than Solomon in all his glory.
It is not certain which flower these texts meant: the Hebrew and Greek terms could refer to several species. But Christian tradition read them through the white lily, strengthening its link with simplicity and trust.
The flower of the Annunciation
In Christian art the white lily became the flower of the Virgin Mary. In countless depictions of the Annunciation a lily appears, in the hand of the archangel Gabriel or in a vase beside Mary. This is why the white-flowered variety is known in English as the "Madonna lily", and in Italian as Saint Anthony's lily.
The lily is also the attribute of many saints, among them Saint Joseph and Saint Anthony of Padua. In all these cases it represents chastity and purity of soul.
What purity means
In symbolic reading, the lily's purity is not merely the absence of stain. It is rather a quality of openness: the lily opens upwards, its cup turned to the sky, ready to receive. In the Annunciation it expresses readiness to welcome what comes from above.
The fleur-de-lis of the kings of France
The lily is also one of the great signs of heraldry. The fleur-de-lis, the stylised lily of three petals bound by a band, became the emblem of the French monarchy: golden lilies on a blue field. A medieval legend told that an angel had brought the lily to Clovis, king of the Franks, at the moment of his baptism.
The three petals of the heraldic lily were interpreted in various ways: as an image of the Trinity, as the virtues of faith, wisdom and chivalry, or as a sign of divine protection over the realm. The stylised form is probably closer to the iris than to the true lily, but the name and symbol remained those of the lily.
The lily of Florence
In Italy the most famous case is that of Florence, whose emblem is a red lily on a white field. Originally the colours were reversed, a white lily on a red field; during the thirteenth-century struggles between Guelphs and Ghibellines the colours were swapped. The Florentine lily, too, is actually modelled on an iris, which grew abundantly on the hills around the city.
Studio Esoterico Cornelio sees in this double life of the lily, mystical and political, an example of how a symbol of purity can become a sign of legitimacy: power that wishes to be pure, blessed from above.
| Context | Meaning of the lily |
|---|---|
| Myth of Hera | Heavenly light, divine milk |
| Bible | Simplicity, trust, beauty as a gift |
| Annunciation | Purity, openness to the divine |
| Saints | Chastity, integrity |
| French heraldry | Blessed royalty |
| Florence | Civic identity |
In short
- A Greek myth has lilies spring from drops of Hera's milk.
- In the Bible the lily represents beauty, simplicity and trust.
- In Christian art it is the flower of the Annunciation and of many saints.
- The fleur-de-lis became the emblem of the kings of France.
- The lily of Florence, modelled on an iris, is one of Italy's great civic emblems.
