Lotus flowers have a long, rich history spanning thousands of years. Naturally occurring in many countries in Southeast Asia and Australia, they're also found in ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics, as well as folklore in ancient Greece.

As assistant professor of religious studies at Colorado College Steven Vose, Ph.D., tells mbg, "The lotus flower appears on some of the earliest Buddhist and Jain imagery we have in South Asia," going as far back as the time of Emperor Ashoka around 250 BCE.

Vose adds that lotuses were also used in Buddhist stupas (spherical shrines) as early as 180 BCE, "as a source and support for a goddess who is eventually known as Lakshmi."

Because the lotus was also popular among the Indo-Greeks (an ancient nomadic people of Eurasia), Vose says it's "unclear geographically where the image first arose," but by the first few centuries of the Common Era, "it is well established to see the Buddha, Jinas, and Hindu gods and goddesses emerging from lotus flowers."

Today, the lotus is the national flower of both India and Vietnam.

Lotus flowers have a long, rich history spanning thousands of years. Naturally occurring in many countries in Southeast Asia and Australia, they're also found in ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics, as well as folklore in ancient Greece.

As assistant professor of religious studies at Colorado College Steven Vose, Ph.D., tells mbg, "The lotus flower appears on some of the earliest Buddhist and Jain imagery we have in South Asia," going as far back as the time of Emperor Ashoka around 250 BCE.

Vose adds that lotuses were also used in Buddhist stupas (spherical shrines) as early as 180 BCE, "as a source and support for a goddess who is eventually known as Lakshmi."

Because the lotus was also popular among the Indo-Greeks (an ancient nomadic people of Eurasia), Vose says it's "unclear geographically where the image first arose," but by the first few centuries of the Common Era, "it is well established to see the Buddha, Jinas, and Hindu gods and goddesses emerging from lotus flowers."

Today, the lotus is the national flower of both India and Vietnam.