Saffron is one of the rare spices with a history that is not solely the history of elsewhere. As notes Maguelonne Toussaint-Samat: “If Greek legend from Asia Minor mentions saffron, it is because it is one of the rare aromatics that does not come from India or Indonesia. The Crocus sativus comes from the west of Asia, from between Palestine and Kashmir.” According to Dr. Gordon Bendersky of Pennsylvania University, people were also aware of the medicinal properties of saffron in 3600 BC. Papyri, meanwhile, discovered by Georges Ebers, during his journey to Egypt in 1872-1873 mention the crocus. The papyri, dating from 1550 BC, form a veritable treatise on early medicine, and describe thirty recipes for the medicinal usage of Crocus sativus.

One of the most ancient descriptions of saffron cultivation comes from Greece, on the frescos of the Minoan Palace of Knossos (1700 – 1600 BC). Another is to be found on the Isle of Thera dating from 1500 BC. This distant testimony of saffron cultivation also mentions the trimming of stigmata by woman. The most famous period for growing was the IVth century BC, in Corycos Sicily. Sometimes it is considered that there is an etymological connection between the name Corycos and crocus. Pliny the Elder, in his Natural History, supplies us with a real report: “The most sought after is that of Sicily and in particular that of Mount Corycos, next comes that of Mount Olympus, followed by that of Centuriprinum in Sicily.” He also states that “on Mount Olympus, after 7 to 8 years, the crocus is transported to fresh prepared soil, and this process revives it at just the moment it is fading”. His work is full of mentions to saffron, direct or indirect, like when he compares the fragrance of melilot to that of the saffron flower. [...]