Fig Trees: Ancient Symbols!

© Georges Jansoone, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0

As far back as Ancient Egyptian times, figs provided a sense of fullness to people...little packets of energy to provide the "pep" they needed for their daily toils. Easily dried for preservation, they could be carried around for quick snacks. 


The Egyptians were most familiar with the sycamore fig tree, Ficus sycamorus,the variety that grows throughout Egypt. Sycamore trees often play an important role in Ancient Egyptian Theology as shown in the following:

• The goddess Hathor was referred to as the Lady of the Sycamore.
• The Egyptian sun god Ra emerged from a sycamore.
• Life and death were thought to be decided in a sycamore.
• The translation of text from a pyramid wall is "On the eastern horizon there stands tall sycamore on which the gods are seated."
• In chapter 109 of the Book of the Dead, it says "Two sycamores of turquoise stand by the eastern gate of the heavens from which Ra emerges every morning."

Egyptians used figs to calm the "vessels," heal the bite of a hippo, and treat finger and toe nails. The milky, latex sap of the tree was used to remove hairs from "any body parts."

Today, most figs we eat come from the common fig tree, ficus carica, which originated in western Asia. The ancient Egyptians were familiar with this type of fig, but as Pliny reported, 


The fig of Mount Ida is red, and the size of an olive, rounder however, and like a medlar in flavour; they give it the name of Alexandrian in those parts. The stem is a cubit in thickness; it is branchy, has a tough, pliant wood, is entirely destitute of all milky juice, and has a green bark, and leaves like those of the linden tree, but soft to the touch.
.......
As to the fig of Alexandria, it is a black variety, with the cleft inclining to white; it has had the name given to it of the "delicate" fig

Pliny, Natural History, Book XV, 19 - (eds. John Bostock, H.T. Riley)

Fig trees also played a significant role in Indian religion and mythology. The banyan tree is a type of fig that symbolizes fertility and is sometimes called the tree of immortality. Before mankind harnessed the power of grain and other  foods, the milk of the banyan was said to have been the source of nourishment. 


Buddha achieved enlightenment under a peepal tree which is also a type of fig. Sages and seers still sit under the shade of fig trees to conduct Vedic rituals, discuss ideas, and seek enlightenment.


Sylvia Plath, in The Bell Jar uses the symbolism of the fig tree as a portal between life and death when her main character contemplates suicide as shown in the quote below:


 "I saw my life branching out before me like the green fig tree in the story. From the tip of every branch, like a fat purple fig, a wonderful future beckoned and winked….I saw myself sitting in the crotch of this fig tree, starving to death, just because I couldn’t make up my mind which of the figs I would choose. I wanted each and every one of them, but choosing one meant losing all the rest, and as I sat there, unable to decide, the figs began to wrinkle and go black, and, one by one, they plopped to the ground at my feet.”

I tried the dried figs that you see in the picture above. The black mission figs are quite sweet and make wonderful snacks. The white Turkish figs have a milder flavor and also make wonderful snacks, but also would work well for baking.

When eating figs I often feel a sense of reverence for the ancient. The fig leaves covering the private areas of people in sculptures and paintings always pops into my mind. I love the shapes of the common fig tree leaves. We have a young fig tree in the back yard with buds that are beginning to pop out. Plants have already been telling us here in Austin that spring is here. Soon we will have wildflower season!