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The bee has always been a friend of a man. In ancient times, bees were deified for their ability to make valuable products - honey and wax. Honey was considered an important food product at all times of history. In 1758 the famous Swedish botanist and physician Karl Linnaeus called the honey bee (Apis mellifera L.). This name has remained till this day.
In ancient times, the Bees have composed the myths, legends, stories, fairy tales. Writers and poets sang the poetry of beekeeping and bees, apiaries inspired artists. The Egyptians drew a bee as an emblem of devotion on their requests expressing their allegiance to Pharaoh. They considered bees a good example of the selflessness, fearlessness, contempt for danger and cleanliness. The bee was also drawn on the tombs of pharaohs.
In ancient India, bees were considered sacred companions of the gods. The god Vishnu, embodying the sun, was depicted as a small bee resting in the Lotus.
The bee is also used in heraldy - it is used as an emblem of hard work and obedience. The bee also symbolizes the zeal, wisdom and vigilance as people thought that it never sleeps. Since bees store honey, they symbolize economy and thrift and in this very meaning they are used on bank signs. In heraldry the bee was depicted in many emblems: seven bees on a globe on the emblem of Manchester say that the fruits of this city’s labor can be found everywhere in the world.
The man and the bee
The bee has always been a friend of a man. In ancient times, bees were deified for their ability to make valuable products - honey and wax. Honey was considered an important food product at all times of history. In 1758 the famous Swedish botanist and physician Karl Linnaeus called the honey bee (Apis mellifera L.). This name has remained till this day.
In ancient times, the Bees have composed the myths, legends, stories, fairy tales. Writers and poets sang the poetry of beekeeping and bees, apiaries inspired artists. The Egyptians drew a bee as an emblem of devotion on their requests expressing their allegiance to Pharaoh. They considered bees a good example of the selflessness, fearlessness, contempt for danger and cleanliness. The bee was also drawn on the tombs of pharaohs.
In ancient India, bees were considered sacred companions of the gods. The god Vishnu, embodying the sun, was depicted as a small bee resting in the Lotus.
The bee is also used in heraldy - it is used as an emblem of hard work and obedience. The bee also symbolizes the zeal, wisdom and vigilance as people thought that it never sleeps. Since bees store honey, they symbolize economy and thrift and in this very meaning they are used on bank signs. In heraldry the bee was depicted in many emblems: seven bees on a globe on the emblem of Manchester say that the fruits of this city’s labor can be found everywhere in the world.
When in 1804 Napoleon became a crowned emperor of France, the bee replaced the lily flower in heraldic ornaments. Honey bee is of great value to humanity. It is not just a producer of the most valuable product of beekeeping, but it is also the most important pollinator of almost all crops and wild flowering plants. Benefits of the bees as a result of pollination of plants are many times higher than those from the sale of honey.
The article is based on the facts derived from the website «The World of Insects» and The Free Encyclopedia - Wikipedia on conditions of Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.
