Pears have a venerable history that goes back for 35-40 centuries.
Originating in western Asia and in the area around the Caspian Sea, pears have been known in Europe as far back as the Stone Age.
Homer, writing in Greece about 580 B.C., calls this fruit “the gift of the gods.” He lists pears among the fruits in his own garden.
Some centuries later, Theophrastus, Plato and Pliny recorded many varieties of pears. They gave lengthy descriptions of methods of grafting and pruning as early as 200 B.C.