Sleep, death, and serenity are all represented by this symbol.
The poppy was associated with love, healing, and fertility by the ancient Greeks and Romans. The poppy was created by Somnus, the Greek deity of sleep, to aid the goddess Cereus in sleeping. Ceres was unable to sleep because her daughter had vanished. Ceres was the goddess of corn, and while she was agitated and alert, the corn did not grow. The corn began to grow again after she received the poppy that helped her sleep. Poppies were planted in ancient Greek cornfields to stimulate the grain to grow. According to another tale, Demeter, the Greek goddess of fertility, developed the poppy in order to obtain some rest following the death of her daughter Persephone. Hypnos and Thanatos, the gods of sleep and death, were represented with poppies in their hair and holding them. Poppies were spotted growing on the battlefield during the Battle of Waterloo. The red color of the poppies was supposed to be due to the blood of the deceased. Poppies were also the flower in the Wizard of Oz that made Dorothy and the others fall asleep. Today, poppies are worn as a symbol of remembrance for fallen troops.