Parsley is native to the Mediterranean region of Southern Europe. While it has been cultivated for more than 2,000 years, parsley was used medicinally prior to being consumed as a food. As far back as Hippocrates (c. 460 BC - c. 370 BC), parsley was used in medicinal recipes for cure-alls, general tonics, poison antidotes, anti-rheumetics, and formulas to relieve kidney and bladder stones. The ancient Greeks held parsley to be sacred, making crowns of parsley to bestow upon the winners of the Nemena and Isthmian sports games, in the same manner that bay wreaths honored the Olympians. They also used them to decorate tombs. De'eis thai selinon, "to need only parsley," was an expression equivalent to "one foot in the grave." Parsley was never served at Greek dining tables. Greek gardens often had borders of parsley and rue, which led to the saying "Oh! we are only at the Parsley and Rue" to signify when an undertaking was in contemplation and not fully acted upon.

Pliny (23 - 79 AD) mentioned parsley as a cure for ailing fish and listed it as a popular flavoring for broths and sauces. He also made mention of a curled variety. The Romans wore garlands of parsley on their heads during feasts to ward off intoxication. At Roman weddings, wreaths of parsley were given to protect against evil spirits. The practice of using parsley as a garnish can be traced back to the ancient Romans, although parsley was kept away from nursing mothers because it was thought to cause epilepsy in their babies.

According to Dr. May Berenbaum, former chair of the University of Illinois Entomology Department, "Parsley's long association with death led naturally to an association with evil, a fact that did not increase its popularity among medieval home gardeners. Dire consequences awaited those who were not fully aware of its powers. Virgins could not plant it without risking impregnation by Satan; a male head of household could plant it safely only on Good Friday, so that the Devil might have his share with impunity. Germination was slow because the seeds had to travel to hell and back two, three, seven, or nine times (depending on sources) before they could grow." The ungerminated seeds were thought to be the ones that the Devil kept for himself. In some areas, the belief claimed that only if the woman was master of the household would parsley start to grow.

Parsley is used in the Hebrew celebration of Passover as a symbol of spring and rebirth.

Parsley probably began to be consumed as a seasoning, sometime in the Middle Ages in Europe. Some historians credit Charlemagne with its popularization because he had it grown on his estates. It was later said to be a favorite of Catherine de Medici and Henry VII. Starting in Tudor times, parsley was thought to be a remedy for baldness. John Gerard, author of Herball or Historie of Plants (1597), grew both the smooth and curled leaf varieties and described the curled variety as "fannes of curled feathers." Nicholas Culpepper (1616 - 1654), a physician-astrologer, said "it brings urine and women's curses," referring to parsley's diuretic effect and the belief it could both bring on a woman's menstrual cycle. Joseph Pitton de Tournefort (1656 - 1708), despite being perhaps the greatest European botanist of his century, believed parsley to contain an acrid and corrosive salt. That salt, when wet with water and left in contact with a glass, would cause the glass to become extremely fragile and easily be broken. The Gardener's Dictionary, published in 1805 by Phillip Miller, identified parsley as being fatal to small birds. It goes on to say that parsley can injure the sight and aggravate or even cause epilepsy.

Parsley was also associated with death in England. In Surrey and in other southern English counties it was said, "Where parsley's grown in the garden, there'll be a death before the year's out." It was believed if someone cut parsley that they would be later crossed in love. In Devonshire, it was believed that anyone who transplanted parsley (or a member of his family) would be punished within a year. In Hampshire, peasants feared giving away any parsley as it would bring bad luck. In Suffolk, it was thought sowing Parsley seed on Good Friday would ensure the herb coming up "double."

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