While writing my blog about Persian dining (see: Dining the Persian way), I found a statement that Alexander used saffron to care for his hair.
Alexander clearly took great care of his body health, and daily bathing has repeatedly been mentioned by our historians. However, I never came across any reference to the use of saffron for his hair. Too much vanity to match his character, maybe?
The article mentioning saffron was published by the Greek Reporter and reads as follows: Moreover, Alexander himself carefully kept stocks of saffron — but not for culinary use, rather for cosmetic use: in fact, the young Macedonian king used the pistils of the flower Crocus sativus as a conditioner and as a care for his hair, characterized by its strikingly golden color and a splendid tone.
The same article further mentions that the army carried a provision of saffron as the primary means to exchange goods among the Macedonians.
True or false, these bits of information remain hard to check and believe, although not impossible.
On the other hand, I gladly believe that Alexander’s army
introduced saffron to the West. The precious spice spread further through the
later Hellenistic Indo-Greek kingdom, the
Saffron became deeply rooted in Indian cooking, and
growing the plant became so popular that the country ranks fourth among the
largest producers worldwide. Interestingly, one of the most refined types of
saffron comes from the
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