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Agave americana was first described by Charles Linnaeus in 1753 in his work Species plantarum.
In our country we find it under the name immortal.
It is considered a relative of yucca, lilies and is distantly related to aloe.
But it has no relation to cacti.
The Latin name of the Agave plant comes from Greek mythology. Agave was the daughter of Cadmus and sister of Semele, the mother of Dionysus. Her son Penthea became king of Thebes, whom she killed while in a trance, because he did not allow the worship of Dionysus in the city of Thebes.
The Aztecs in Central America considered Immortal to be a gift from God. Tequila is produced from the related species Agave tequilana.
According to historical sources, in the 20th century, during the short period when Kefalonia was under Turkish rule, the women of the lower social classes who were imprisoned in the castle of St. George, due to the lack of raw materials, started to process immortal leaves. After long hours of processing the leaf, they separated its tissues and made threads, which they either used for patches or created ropes, the so-called spartzes, which were used mainly for tying tins and bags to donkeys' saddles.
These women already knew how to embroider with fine threads to create lace handiwork for the aristocratic families. Having this knowledge, they used the immortal thread for these handicrafts and specifically worked on two designs, the rose and the spiral.
Testimonies say that the creations from immortal continued until the end of the last century, especially in the area of Livata. The beautiful embroideries made of amethanato are a world originality and characteristics of the folk tradition of Kefalonia and you can admire them up close at the Harokopeion Foundation.
Spanish and Portuguese explorers brought it to Europe in the 16th century from Mexico and Peru. Athanatos is a typical plant of the Mediterranean landscape, in Kefalonia it is found in many areas, such as on the slopes around the castro of St. George. It flowers and bears fruit only once after 25 years of growth. Its flowers are hermaphroditic (they have male and female organs), and are pollinated by moths (butterflies). The flowers are fragrant, yellowish-green, at the tips of horizontal branches. The plant dies after the fruits ripen. However, it leaves behind small lateral shoots and in this sense never dies. This is the reason for the name 'Immortal'.
Spanish and Portuguese explorers brought it to Europe in the 16th century from Mexico and Peru. Athanatos is a typical plant of the Mediterranean landscape, in Kefalonia it is found in many areas, such as on the slopes around the castro of St. George. It flowers and bears fruit only once after 25 years of growth. Its flowers are hermaphroditic (they have male and female organs), and are pollinated by moths (butterflies). The flowers are fragrant, yellowish-green, at the tips of horizontal branches. The plant dies after the fruits ripen. However, it leaves behind small lateral shoots and in this sense never dies. This is the reason for the name 'Immortal'.
The Latin name of the Agave plant comes from Greek mythology. Agave was the daughter of Cadmus and sister of Semele, the mother of Dionysus. Her son Penthea became king of Thebes, whom she killed while in a trance, because he did not allow the worship of Dionysus in the city of Thebes.
The Aztecs in Central America considered Immortal to be a gift from God. Tequila is produced from the related species Agave tequilana.
According to historical sources, in the 20th century, during the short period when Kefalonia was under Turkish rule, the women of the lower social classes who were imprisoned in the castle of St. George, due to the lack of raw materials, started to process immortal leaves.
After long hours of processing the leaf, they separated its tissues and made threads, which were either used for patches or to create ropes, the so-called spartzines, which were mainly used for tying tins and bags to donkey saddles.
These women already knew how to embroider with fine threads to create lace handicrafts for the aristocratic families; having this knowledge they used the immortal thread for these handicrafts and specifically worked on two designs, the rose and the spiral.
Testimonies say that the creations from immortal continued until the end of the last century, especially in the area of Livata.
The beautiful embroideries made of immortal are a global originality and characteristics of the folk tradition of Kefalonia. You can admire them in person at the Harokopeion Foundation.
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