Wine and the Ancient Greeks

Nemea - Agiorgitiko red wines are integrated into the myth and history for the region of Nemea in the Peloponnese, Greece

October, the grape harvest in Tuscany - I revel in the beauty of the orderly vineyards swaying in the valleys. And then my thoughts go to the vineyards that were situated around ancient Athens, some of which still exist – and so my mind is set to work...  

Oinos, οίνος in Greek means wine.

Spirit is translated as πνεύμα in Greek.

When you combine the two words in οινό-πνευμα, you have the Greek word: “alcohol”. For the ancient Greeks, though,  the word meant the “spirit of wine”.

My ancestors did not drink wine during the meal – they enjoyed it afterward. Half-lying on their triclinia (a form of a couch) they refrained from eating much because food was to stimulate the stomach, not burden it. Then, they began to converse.

Α Symposium scene - Attic red-figure bell-krater, ca 420 BC., National Archaeological Museum of Madrid

These kinds of venues became known as Symposia (banquets): in ancient Greek, the term was used to refer to a meeting amongst friends or acquaintances who drank. It began with a libation to Dionysus, the god Bacchus of the Romans. During conversations, a servant, οινοχόος (cup-bearer) was entrusted with the task of pouring the wine into the cup of each participant, being capable at all times of fathoming the extent to which the guest could drink without getting drunk.

The richly decorated Triclinium (dining room) in Villa Regina, in Boscoreale, near Pompei, Italy

The ancient Greeks loved wine, but never drank to excess, so conversation around the issues which they loved could go on and on with a clear mind. On the other hand, the ancient Romans had a tendency to drink way too much at banquets. However, unlike the Greeks, they had more refined ways of eating, using plates of precious metal or glass. For the Greeks, flat bread like a pizza served as a plate and small pieces of bread as napkins.

Athenian women were not permitted to attend banquets, only musicians and courtesans.

The best wine came from the islands of Chios and Lesbos.

Discover more in the book: GREECE, The Dance of the Seas

My long sojourn in Tuscany is described in the book: A Year in Tuscany