Recommended by Pliny for making chaplets(1), Amaranth, Amaranthus hypochondriacus (LINN.), sacred to Ephesian Artemis in ancient Greece, was believed to have special healing properties and was used as s symbol of immortality in decorating images of the gods and tombs.(2)
It is important to remember that only the new world species developed the heavy seed yields of a grain crop. The edible Old World species were used as potherbs.(3)
footnotes & bibliography
(1) Farrar, Linda Farrar; Ancient Roman Gardens; Sutton; 1998; p206