Wine in Roman culture Ancient Rome and wine

1 wine in roman culture

1.1 religion , festivals
1.2 bacchic cult
1.3 medical uses

wine in roman culture

marble table support adorned dionysos, pan , satyr; dionysos holds rhyton (drinking vessel) in shape of panther, 170-180 ad

early roman culture sharply influenced ancient greeks. though rome dry greek standards, view changed on course of empire. wine had religious, medicinal , social roles set apart other roman cuisine. wine, in greek culture mixed water, , both cultures held banquets, wine used show off wealth , prestige. rome entered golden age of winemaking , era of expansion, democratic approach wine started emerge. wine increasingly viewed necessity of everyday life rather luxury enjoyed elite. cato believed slaves should have weekly ration of 5 liters (over gallon), nonetheless citing dietary health of slaves , maintenance of strength rather personal enjoyment. should slave become sick , unavailable work, cato advised halving rations conserve wine workforce. widespread planting of grapes ensued need serve classes of society, given impetus changing roman diet. in 2nd century bc, romans began shift meals consisting of moist porridge , gruel more bread-based; wine aided in eating drier food.

religion , festivals

wine played major role in ancient roman religion , roman funerary practices, , preferred libation deities. invention of wine credited liber , greek equivalents, bacchus (later romanised) , dionysus, promoted fertility of human , animal semen, , soft seed of vine. ordinary, everyday, mixed wines under protection of venus, considered profane (vinum spurcum), forbidden use in official sacrifice deities of roman state. sample of pure, undilute strong wine first pressing offered liber/bacchus, in gratitude assistance. remainder, known temetum, customarily reserved roman men , roman gods, particularly jupiter, king of gods. was, however, essential element of secretive, nocturnal , exclusively female bona dea festival, during freely consumed referred euphemistically, milk or honey .

the major public festivals concerning wine production 2 vinalia. @ vinalia prima ( first vinalia ) of april 23, ordinary men , women sampled previous year s vintage of ordinary wine in venus name, while roman elite offered generous libation of wine jupiter, in hope of weather next year s growth. vinalia rustica of august 19, rustic latin harvest festival, celebrated grape harvest, , growth , fertility of garden crops; patron deity may have been venus, or jupiter, or both.

bacchic cult



wine s use in christian sacrament of eucharist shares similarities pagan rites dedicated bacchus.

the bacchanalia private roman mystery cults of bacchus, greco-roman god of wine, freedom, intoxication , ecstasy. based on greek dionysia , dionysian mysteries, , arrived in rome c. 200 bc greek colonies in southern italy, , etruria, rome s northern neighbour. occasional, women-only affairs, became increasingly popular , frequent, , opened priests , initiates of both genders , classes; may have briefly supplanted existing, public cult liber. cult initiates employed music, dance , copious amounts of wine achieve ecstatic religious possession. roman senate perceived cult threat own authority , roman morality, , suppressed extreme ferocity in 186. of 7 thousand initiates , leaders, put death. thereafter bacchanalia continued in diminished form, under supervision of rome s religious authorities, , absorbed liber s cult. despite ban, illicit bacchanals persisted covertly many years, particularly in southern italy, place of origin.

as rome assimilated more cultures, encountered peoples 2 religions viewed wine in positive terms—judaism , christianity. grapes , wine make frequent literal , allegorical appearances in both hebrew , christian bibles. in torah, grapevines among first crops planted after great flood, , in exploring canaan following exodus egypt, 1 of positive reports land grapevines abundant. jews under roman rule accepted wine part of daily life, regarded negatively excesses associated roman impurities.

many of jewish views on wine adopted new christian sect emerged in 1st century ad. 1 of first miracles performed sect s founder, jesus, have turned water wine. in addition, sacrament of eucharist prominently involved wine. romans drew parallels between bacchus , christ. both figures possessed narratives featuring symbolism of life after death: bacchus in yearly harvest , dormancy of grape; , christ in death , resurrection story. eucharist s act of drinking wine stand-in consuming christ, either metaphysically or metaphorically, echoes rites performed in festivals dedicated bacchus.

the influence , importance of wine in christianity undeniable, , church take mantle ancient rome dominant influence in world of wine centuries leading renaissance.

medical uses

romans believed wine had power both heal , harm. wine recommended cure mental disorders such depression, memory loss , grief, bodily ailments, bloating, constipation, diarrhea, gout, , halitosis snakebites, tapeworms, urinary problems , vertigo.

cato wrote extensively on medical uses of wine, including recipe laxative: wine made grapevines treated mixture of ashes, manure , hellebore. recommended flowers of plants, e.g. juniper , myrtle, soaked in wine snakebites , gout. believed mixture of old wine , juniper, boiled in lead pot, aid in urinary issues , mixing wine acidic pomegranates cure tapeworms.

the 2nd-century ce greco-roman physician galen provided several details concerning wine s medicinal use in later roman times. in pergamon, galen responsible diet , care of gladiator , used wine liberally in practice, boasting not single gladiator died in care. wine served antiseptic wounds , analgesic surgery. when became emperor marcus aurelius s physician, developed pharmaceutical concoctions made wine known theriacs. superstitious beliefs concerning theriacs miraculous ability protect against poisons , cure plague mouth sores lasted until 18th century. in work de antidotis, galen noted trend in romans tastes thick, sweet wines lighter, dry wines easier digest.

the romans aware of negative health effects of drinking wine, particularly tendency towards madness if consumed immoderately. lucretius warned wine provoke fury in 1 s soul , lead quarrels. seneca elder believed drinking wine magnified physical , psychological defects of drinker. drinking wine in excess frowned upon , imbibed heavily considered dangerous society. roman politician cicero labeled rivals drunkards , danger rome—most notably mark antony, apparently once drank such excess vomited in senate.