Ancient Greek god of wine. Dionysus - ancient Greek god God of wine in Greek mythology

Dionysus is the god of the harvest, winemaking and wine, ritual madness and fertility, theater and religious ecstasy.

Wine occupied an important part in Greek culture, so Dionysus was the favorite god of the inhabitants.

The origins of the cult of Dionysus have not yet been determined. Some historians are inclined to think that the cult of God arrived from the east, others say that the origins of the cult come from the south, from Ethiopia.

Dionysus was one of the twelve Olympian gods; he was born from a mere mortal. Large-scale holidays (mysteries) dedicated to Dionysus, with songs, dances and wine, are considered the ancestors of the theater.

In the earliest Greek artifacts, Dionysus is depicted as a mature man with a beard and clothing. He usually had a staff with him. A little later, images began to appear with a naked, young Dionysus, combining the functions of the masculine and feminine principles (hermaphrodite).

Usually the god is accompanied by maenads and satyrs with erect penises, the whole procession has fun, dances and performs some kind of music. God himself often sits in a chariot drawn by tigers and lions.

Dionysus is associated with the protector of all those who were expelled or not recognized by society, so God is associated with a certain chaotic and dangerous force, the use of which can lead to unexpected consequences (it is quite possible that this was associated with the effect of wine).

He is also known as Bacchus (Bacchus) in the Roman tradition, and the mysteries dedicated to the god were called bacchanalia.

According to legend, wine, music and dancing free a person from everyday worries, fear and sadness, and also give strength.

The cult of Dionysus is also associated with the underworld: his maenads feed the dead with special offerings, and the god himself acts as a mediator between the living and the dead.

In Greek mythology, Dionysus was conceived by a mortal woman, Semele. Hera, the wife of Zeus, was angry when she learned that the supreme god was again inflamed with passion for an ordinary woman.

Having reincarnated as an ordinary mortal, Hera convinced the pregnant Semele that she was carrying the son of Zeus the Thunderer himself. The woman, succumbing to doubts, once asked Zeus to prove his greatness to her. The Supreme God refused the woman because he knew that mortals would not be able to endure the manifestation of his higher power.

However, Semele was persistent, and Zeus proved his divine nature by unleashing thunderous lightning, shaking the earth around him. Semele could not stand this action and died on the spot.

The upset Zeus did not save born son, sewing it into the thigh. A few months later, Dionysus was born on Mount Pramnos on the island of Ikaria, where Zeus hid the child from the all-seeing Hera.

In the Cretan version of the story of the birth of Dionysus, which belongs to the pen of Diodorus Siculus, the god is the son of Zeus and Persephone.

The name of Hera also appears here: according to legend, she sends the titans to the baby Dionysus so that they tear him into pieces. However, almighty Zeus saves the boy.

Childhood and youth of Dionysus

According to myth, Dionysus was cared for by Hermes during his infancy. According to another version, Hermes gave the boy to be raised by King Atamas and his wife Ino, Dionysus’s aunt. Hermes wanted the couple to hide Dionysus from Hera's wrath. There is another story: as if Dionysus was raised by nymphs.

When Dionysus grew up, he discovered that a wonderful juice could be extracted from the grapevine, which had amazing properties.

She doomed the young god to madness, and he had to wander all over the world. However, he found like-minded people and taught them how to make wine.

Dionysus was in, Spain, Ethiopia,. From these wanderings a legend was born that this is how wine literally conquered the whole world.

Dionysus was exceptionally attractive. One of Homer's hymns tells how, disguised as a mortal, sitting on the coast, several sailors noticed him, and assumed that he was a prince.

The fishermen wanted to steal him and sail away, asking for a large ransom for God. However, Dionysus turned into a lion and killed everyone on the ship.

Dionysus in mythology

The name of Dionysus is also associated with the myth of King Midas. Once, having discovered that his mentor, the wise Silenus, had disappeared, the god unexpectedly found him visiting King Midas. For the return of his beloved teacher, Dionysus offered the king to fulfill any of his wishes.

The greedy king wanted everything he touched to turn into gold. Dionysus fulfilled his request.

However, the king soon realized that food, water, and the people he touched became gold. The king begged Dionysus to return everything to normal; he was ready to give up his desire.

God had mercy: Midas plunged into the Pactolus River, and the spell was lifted. Dionysus is also mentioned in the myths of Pentheus, Lycurgus, Ampelus and others.

The cheerful and cheerful god Dionysus was especially popular among the ancient Greeks. Holidays dedicated to him were celebrated from late autumn until spring. Often these had the character of mysteries, and even more often they smoothly flowed into banal orgies.

The Appearance of Dionysus

The god Dionysus was born from the union of an immortal and an earthly woman. Once Zeus the Thunderer could not resist the beauty of the daughter of the Theban king, Semele. Being in a romantic mood, he promised his passion to fulfill any of her requests. He swore by the sacred waters of the underground river Styx that he would fulfill the will of Semele, no matter what it was.

I heard about Semele Hera. The eyes of the immortal resident of Olympus flashed with rage. She appeared to Semele and ordered:

Ask Zeus to appear before you in all the majesty of the thunder god, ruler of Olympus. If he really loves you, he will not refuse this little thing.

Semele did not dare to resist Hera’s order and turned to Zeus with this request. Zeus, who swore by the waters of the River Styx, had no choice. The father of the gods appeared before Semele in all the splendor of the ruler of immortals and people, all in the splendor of his glory. And lightning flashed in his hands. The palace of the Theban king shook from thunderclaps. Everything around flashed, ignited by the lightning of the ruler of Olympus. The flames rushed through the palace, consuming everything in its path, the walls shook, the stone slabs cracked.

Semele fell to the ground screaming, engulfed in flames. She was ruined by a request inspired by the wife of Zeus. The dying Theban princess gave birth to a son, weak and incapable of life. He should have died in the flames of the fire, but divine blood saved him. As if by magic, thick ivy reached out from the ground towards him from all sides, sheltering the unfortunate boy from the fire, thereby saving his life.

The Thunderer picked up his saved son, but seeing that he was so weak and small that he was clearly doomed to death, then, according to legend, he sewed him up in his thigh. After spending some time in the body of his parent, Dionysus was born a second time, stronger and stronger.

Then Zeus the Thunderer ordered the fleet-footed Hermes to take his little son to Ino, the sister of the Theban princess Semele, and her husband, the ruler of Orkhomenes, ordering him to raise the child.

Hera pursued Dionysus for a long time, not considering him either equal to the gods or worthy of this honor. Her anger fell on Ino and her husband Atamant for taking under their roof the child of an earthly woman she hated. For Atamant, Hera chose madness as punishment.

In a fit of madness, the ruler Orchomen kills his own son Learchus. Ino and her second child miraculously manage to escape. Her husband, who had lost his mind, pursued her and almost overtook her - at the steep, rocky seashore.

There was no escape for Ino - her mad husband was catching up behind her, and the abyss of the sea was ahead. The woman chose the elements, throwing herself and her son into the sea water with a desperate jerk. However, she did not die. The beautiful Nereids received her and her son into the sea. The teacher Dionysus and Melicertes, her son, were converted into deities of the sea and remained there ever since.

Hermes, who rushed to the rescue, saved Dionysus from the distraught Atamant. Faster than the wind, he rushed him to the Nisei Valley, entrusting him to the care of the nymphs.

The god of wine and fun grew up beautiful and powerful. He walks, sharing strength and joy with people. And the nymphs who raised Dionysus were placed in the starry sky as a reward. They appeared one beautiful dark night among other constellations in the form of the Hyades.

Greedy king

One of the most famous stories about Dionysus - the legend of Midas. The noisy Dionysus wandered with his numerous retinue into the wooded cliffs of Phrygia. Only Silenus, his wise teacher, was absent. Fairly tipsy, he wandered, stumbling through the Phrygian meadows. The peasants noticed him, easily tied him up and took him to the ruler Midas. The king recognized the teacher of the god of wine and received him with all honor, arranging luxurious feasts for nine days. On the tenth day, the king personally escorted Silenus to Dionysus. The god of wine and fun was delighted and mercifully invited Midas to choose any gift as a reward for the honor shown to the teacher.

The king asked that everything he did not touch would turn into gold. Dionysus narrowed his eyes, complained that Midas had not come up with a better reward for himself, and did as he asked.

Happy, the greedy Midas left. He walks, plucking leaves from the trees, and they turn into gold; he touches the ears of corn in the fields, and even the grains in them become golden. He touches the apple and it shines, like a fruit from the garden of the Hesperides.

Even drops of water flowing down his hands turned golden. He came to his palace, filled with joyful excitement. They served him a sumptuous dinner. And it was then that the greedy King Midas realized what a terrible gift he asked from the god of wine. Everything turned to gold from his touch - which means Midas was waiting hungry. He prayed to Dionysus, begging him to take back such a gift.

Dionysus did not refuse him, supposedly as an edification, he appeared before him and taught him how to get rid of the “golden” touch. The king, at the behest of God, went to the sources of the Paktol River. Clear waters saved him from the gift by taking it into himself.

Cult of Dionysus

Eternally young Dionysus, (Bacchus or Bacchus) in Greek mythology, the fruitful forces of the earth, viticulture and winemaking. Because he liked to turn into a mighty bull, he became known as the “god with bull horns.”

The god of wine and fun, wearing a wreath of grapes and a thyrsus decorated with ivy, travels around the world in the company of maenads, satyrs and selenites, revealing to people the secret of winemaking. The delighted and grateful Greeks organized magnificent “Dionysias,” or bacchanals, in his honor.

Over time, theater evolved from Dionysius, and from hymns of praise in honor of the god of wine - dithyrambs performed by singers dressed in goat skins, the word "tragedy" appeared from τράγος - "goat" and ᾠδή, ōdè - "song". The ancient philosopher Aristotle pointed out that initially the tragedy was playful, performed by a choir of satyrs, goat-footed companions of Dionysus, and acquired its gloomy shade later.

The god of wine and fun, Dionysus, was glorified as bringing liberation from worries and loosening the shackles of a measured life and everyday life, therefore the procession of this god of Ancient Greece was of an ecstatic nature. Maenads and bacchantes danced tirelessly, satyrs raged wildly and laughed. Girdled with snakes, the noisy retinue of Dionysus destroyed everything in its path, reveling in the blood of torn wild animals and dragging crowds of mortals behind them.

Some researchers are trying to prove that the cult of the god of wine was of Eastern origin, and in Ancient Greece it became popular much later than the cults of other deities, and was able to establish itself with some difficulty.

The name of Dionysus already appears on Cretan Linear tablets dating back to around the 14th century BC, but his cult flourished only in the 7th-8th centuries AD. By this time, the god of wine and fun began to displace other gods from the pedestals of popularity.

The god of wine and fun also did not immediately become one of the twelve Olympians. However, then he began to be revered on a par with Apollo at Delphi. In Attica, Dionysia began to be held with poetic competitions. During the Hellenistic period, the cult of the god Dionysus absorbed (or was absorbed) the cult of the Phrygian god Sabazius, receiving a new permanent name - Sabazius.

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God of wine and fun Dionysus

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The cheerful and cheerful god Dionysus was especially popular among the ancient Greeks. Holidays dedicated to him were celebrated from late autumn until spring. Often these had the character of mysteries, and even more often they smoothly flowed into banal orgies. The appearance of Dionysus God Dionysus was born from the union of an immortal and an earthly woman. Once Zeus the Thunderer could not resist the beauty of his daughter...

"Twice Born" Dionysus appeared on Olympus later than other gods. He was the son of Zeus and a mortal woman - the beautiful Theban princess Semele. Zeus swore to her to fulfill any request - and so, at the instigation of Hera, Semele asked that Zeus appear before her in all the majesty of the thunder god. This request was thoughtless: when Zeus appeared in the roar of thunder and the flash of lightning, fire engulfed the palace and Semele, who lived in it. A curious woman died, but she was soon to have a child, but could Zeus allow the death of his unborn son? He snatched the child from the fire, and since the baby was too small and weak to live on his own, Zeus sewed it into his thigh. Dionysus grew stronger in the body of his father and was then born a second time from the thigh of the thunderer Zeus. Therefore, Dionysus was called “twice-born.”

Dionysus brings his mother to Olympus. As for Semele, Dionysus, of course, could not come to terms with the fact that his mother was in the kingdom of Hades. When he received a place on Olympus, he made his descent into the world of the dead. There he found Semele and brought her to Olympus, where she became a goddess and was worshiped under the name Tiona. Therefore, Dionysus himself was sometimes called Tionian - son of Tione.

Dionysus is hidden from Hera. After his new birth, Dionysus was handed over to be raised by King Athamas and his wife Ino, Semele’s sister, with whom he lived for some time, disguised as a girl. However, even changing clothes could not hide him from Hera, who was not satisfied with the death of Semele and transferred her hatred to her child. Hoping that Athamas would kill Dionysus, she sent him mad. However, he only killed his son, mistaking him for a deer, and Hermes carried Dionysus away from danger.

Wanting to better shelter Dionysus from persecution by Hera, Hermes took him to the nymphs on Mount Nysa (at the same time, so that Hera would not notice him, Dionysus was turned into a kid by Zeus). The Nisean nymphs settled Dionysus in a cool mountain grotto, looked after him, and fed him honey. For this concern for his son, Zeus later placed the Nisean nymphs in the sky among the stars, where they can be seen to this day in the form of the Hyades star cluster in the constellation Taurus. And the child of Zeus, in memory of his stay on Nisa, received a name that consists of the name of his father (Diy, that is, Zeus) and the name of the place where he was raised; This is how his name came about.

Dionysus makes drinks. It was on Nisa that Dionysus made his most important discovery - he learned to make a soul-merrying drink from grape juice. That is why, when he grew up, he became the cheerful, powerful god of wine, giving people strength and joy. Wanting to bestow his discovery on people, Dionysus walked around almost the entire inhabited earth, teaching everywhere to grow grapes and make wine from them; and in those countries where grapes do not grow, Dionysus taught people to make another, no less fragrant, drink from barley - beer. [For this, in many countries where God made life more pleasant, he was awarded the highest honors.]

The first tragedy because of wines. The first person whom Dionysus treated to wine and taught how to make it was a farmer from Attica named Icarius. He liked the drink and decided to introduce it to other people. That's when the first tragedy happened. The shepherds to whom Icarius brought the wine were delighted - they had never drunk anything like this, and therefore drank too much of the unusual drink.

After getting drunk, they felt bad and thought that Icarius had poisoned them. They attacked him furiously and killed him. Icarius had a daughter named Erigone. When her father did not return home, the girl went to look for him and, with the help of a faithful dog, found him - but dead. Erigone's grief was so great that she hanged herself from a tree above her father's body.

But Dionysus, who treated Icarius well, did not leave his death without revenge. He sent madness to the Athenian girls, and they began to commit suicide, as Erigone did. The inhabitants of Athens asked Apollo why the gods were angry with them, and received the answer that the reason for this was the murder of Icarius. Then the Athenians punished the murderous shepherds, and in memory of Erigone, at the festival in honor of Dionysus, Athenian girls began to arrange swings in the trees and swing on them. And the gods placed the dead Icarius and Erigone in the sky, and he became the constellation Arcturus, and she became the constellation Virgo. There was also a place in the sky for the faithful dog who helped Erigone in search of her father - this is now the star Sirius.

Bacchae. On his travels, Dionysus was accompanied by a crowd of admirers, not only men, but also women. Wearing a crown of grapes, he walked or rode on a panther, and behind him and around him in a riotous dance rushed maenads (they are also called bacchantes, because one of the names of Dionysus was the name Bacchus) - women who devoted themselves to serving Dionysus. In their hands were thyrsi - wands entwined with ivy, the same as those of Dionysus himself; they were dressed in deer skins and girded with strangled snakes. In a holy frenzy they crushed everything that came their way. With exclamations of “Bacchus, Evoe!” they beat the tympanums, tore into pieces the wild animals they came across with their hands, carved milk and honey out of the ground and rocks with their thyrsi, and uprooted the trees they encountered. Their violent procession carried away all the people they met and was dedicated to Dionysus Bromius, that is, the “Noisy One.”

Satires. In addition to the maenads, Dionysus was accompanied everywhere by satyrs - creatures similar to humans, but with bodies covered with wool, goat legs, horns and horse tails. They were mischievous, crafty, always cheerful, often drunk; in life, except for wine and beautiful nymphs, they were not interested in anything. Accompanying Dionysus, they performed simple melodies on pipes and flutes, and the piercing sounds of this music echoed throughout the surrounding area, announcing the approach of the cheerful god.

Old Man Silenus. In this noisy procession, which was called fias, the old man Silenus, the teacher of Dionysus, also rides on a donkey. He is quite funny to look at - bald, pot-bellied, snub-nosed, and always sits on a donkey. Silenus likes the drink invented by his pupil so much that no one has seen Silenus sober for a long time. However, he did not drink away his mind, and sometimes, in a completely sober voice, he utters words full of wisdom. Dionysus loves his teacher very much; at his command, he is constantly watched and looked after by satyrs.

Midas. Despite these precautions, one day Silenus disappeared. When a forest hummock fell under the donkey’s feet and he stumbled, Silenus fell from him and remained lying in the roadside bushes. No one noticed this, and Silenus himself slept peacefully in the place where he fell off the donkey.

In the morning he was found by the servants of King Midas and taken to the palace. The king immediately realized who was in front of him, and therefore surrounded him with all honor, let him sleep it off, and then helped him return to Dionysus. For this, God suggested that Midas ask for any reward. He, not distinguished by any particular intelligence or imagination, asked to make everything he touched turn into gold. “I’m sorry, Midas, that you didn’t come up with anything better, but have it your way!” - With these words, Dionysus sent Midas home.

The king was beside himself with happiness. Still would! He will now become the richest man on earth! He broke a branch from a tree - and the branch in his hands became golden. He picked up a stone from the ground - and the stone turned to gold. But now it’s time for the king to have dinner. He took bread from the table - and it also became golden. Only now did Midas understand how terrible the gift of Dionysus was: all food turned into gold in his hands, and he was now in danger of starvation. Then Midas prayed to Dionysus, asking him to take his gift back, and Dionysus, without bearing any grudge against him, agreed. He ordered him to go to the Tmol River and swim in it, wash off the magical power. Midas did just that, and after bathing he could safely touch anything - he no longer turned it into gold. And since then, people began to find golden sand in the Tmol River.

The incident in Thebes. Dionysus is beautiful and eternally young; long, wavy blue-black hair falls onto his shoulders, his dark blue eyes shine. To the sound of flutes and pipes, his fias procession moves from one country to another, and everywhere Dionysus teaches people to grow grapes and make wine from their heavy, ripe bunches. Not everyone and not everywhere liked it; sometimes they did not want to consider Dionysus a god, and then he brought down terrible punishments on the wicked. This is what happened, for example, in Thebes, the homeland of Semele, the mother of Dionysus.

Semele had a sister, Agave. When she died, incinerated by the lightning of Zeus, Agave began to say that Semele died deservedly: she spread rumors that Zeus himself had honored her with marital intercourse, and as punishment he destroyed her. The son of Agave, Pentheus, who became the Theban king, said the same thing: there is no god Dionysus, all these are inventions of idle people. Then Dionysus himself decided to stand up for the honor of his mother. Taking the form of a beautiful youth, he appeared in Thebes and there infected Agave and other Theban women with a bacchanalian frenzy. With wild cries of “Bacchus, Evoe!” They rushed to the mountains and there began to lead the life of frantic maenads.

Dionysus before Pentheus. The angry Pentheus ordered that the stranger who caused this disaster be brought to him. And now Dionysus, chained in chains, stands before the king. He smiles, watching how Pentheus rages, how, wanting to bind his captive even more tightly, he binds with strong bonds a bull, which seems to him to be Dionysus. Suddenly the entire palace shook, the columns began to shake, and in the place where Semele had once died, a pillar of fire appeared, illuminating the entire palace with its radiance. Pentheus, overcome by madness, thought that the palace was on fire and ordered water to be carried to extinguish the fire, and rushed at Dionysus, so that he would not escape his vengeance, with a drawn sword. It seemed to him that he had dealt a mortal blow to the stranger, but when he ran out of the palace, he again saw him, surrounded by a crowd of bacchantes.

God Dionysus

Pentheus falls victim to madness. Pentheus becomes increasingly mad. When a shepherd came from the mountains and told about the way of life that the bacchantes lead there, the king ordered the army to prepare for a campaign - all the bacchantes would be captured by force and killed! The king himself decided, disguised as a woman, to personally look at them in the forest. However, when he came to the forest, the women noticed him.

Dionysus made it so that they did not understand that there was a man in front of them, deciding that they were seeing a wild beast. The whole crowd attacked the unfortunate man and tore him to pieces. Agave, having planted the head of Pentheus on her staff, entered the city with this booty, calling everyone to look at the head of the fierce lion that she had killed. When the madness passed and she realized what crime she had committed, Agave left her hometown and died in a foreign land, and all the Thebans from now on had no doubt that Dionysus was a real god, and Semele was the wife of Zeus.

Dionysia.

Since Dionysus was associated with the cultivation of grapes, it is natural that the holidays in his honor were largely associated with work in the vineyards. This work was completed in December; At this time the holiday of the Lesser Dionysia fell. It was a joyful holiday in honor of the god of wine and fun, full of fun and jokes. On this day, noisy processions walked through the Greek villages, in which everyone participated - both men and women, both free and slaves. Those participating in these processions carried sacred objects and symbols of Dionysus - grape branches and vessels of wine. At the temple of Dionysus, sacrifices were made, and then feasts and entertainment began. It was on this day that Icarius and Erigone were honored, on this day the youth indulged in a fun and noisy game: they had to hold on to an inflated leather bag, lubricated with oil, on one leg. The winner received the same bag as a reward, but already filled with wine.

In February, another holiday was celebrated - Lenaia, and soon after them - Anthesteria. According to tradition, it was customary to taste young wine on the days of this holiday. At this time, vessels with wine were decorated with garlands of the first spring flowers; Children were also decorated with flowers, to whom it was customary to buy and give various toys on this day. During this holiday, adults held wine drinking competitions. The winner was the one who drank his cup faster.

But the main holiday in honor of Dionysus was the Great Dionysia, which was celebrated in late March - early April. It lasted a whole week and was celebrated with great pomp. But, perhaps, what is more important for us is not this pomp, but the fact that the birth of the theater is connected with this holiday. Tragedy and comedy later arose from the skits performed by the costumed participants in the Dionysian processions. On the Great Dionysia, tragedies were played in theaters for four days, and on Lenaia, comedies were staged in theaters of ancient Greece.

What do you know about alcohol and its gods? People have been preparing alcoholic beverages since Neolithic times: people made barley beer 8,000 years ago, and drank grape wine 7,000 years ago. What gods of alcohol and drunkenness existed in history?

Late last year, archaeologists discovered artifacts in central Mexico indicating the existence of the cult of the god of drunkenness, Ometochtli, among the Acolua Indians, related to the Aztecs. In connection with this remarkable discovery, we decided to talk about the most interesting deities, in our opinion, who were responsible for the preparation of alcoholic beverages and intoxication among other peoples.

It is worth noting that people have been preparing alcoholic drinks since Neolithic times. The oldest vessels with traces of grape wine were found in the territory of modern Iran; their age is approximately 7000 years. The oldest winery with a grape press, fermentation vats and wine vessels was found in Armenia and dates back to approximately 4100 BC. The history of brewing goes back even further, as far back as 8,000 years ago people were making barley beer. The oldest image of a man drinking beer was found on a Sumerian clay tablet that is about 6,000 years old.

Mesopotamia

Beer was a staple diet in Mesopotamia. The expression "bread and beer" was a metaphor for the expression "food and drink." Beer was used not only as a drink, but also in medicine and cosmetology. It served as a substitute for money: beer was used to pay for work and was used as a bride price. The price and strength of beer were established by law in the laws of Hammurabi. Its popularity was partly due to the fact that the grains from which beer was made were easier to grow in hot, arid climates than grapes, and beer was therefore cheaper.

Beer is mentioned quite often in myths. For example, in the Epic of Gilgamesh, the wild man Enkidu, who lived on the steppe, turns into a civilized man after eating bread and drinking beer. In the myth about the ruler of the Universe and the god of wisdom Enki and the goddess of sky and love Innana, the patroness of the city of Uruk, the goddess, after getting Enki drunk with beer, begs him for a hundred “divine laws” and passes them on to people.

The goddess of beer and brewing among the Sumerians was Ninkasi. Little is known about her; no reliable images of this goddess have survived. Therefore, researchers can only speculate that the popularity and importance of beer was determined by the popularity of the goddess associated with it. Interestingly, most of the Sumerian gods of crafts were men, but the goddess of beer was a woman. Scientists attribute this to the fact that in ancient times women were home brewers. Brewing became widespread and became an industry only during the Babylonian period, and then brewing became the prerogative of men.

A poem has been preserved, “The Hymn of Ninkasi” - actually a recipe for making beer written down in poetic form. The clay tablet on which it is written dates back to 1800 BC, meaning the “Hymn” itself is apparently even older.

Ancient Egypt

IN ancient Egypt beer was known 5000 years ago and was the most popular alcoholic drink ordinary people, and so do the nobility. Along with bread and onions, it was included in the daily diet of the Egyptians.

According to one of the ancient Egyptian legends, beer was discovered by the supreme sun god Ra, who first created people and then taught them how to make beer. Moreover, according to one of the myths, beer saved humanity from death.

The Supreme Sun God Ra, the progenitor of the gods and the creator of people, reigned over the world for a very long time and grew old. People learned about his weakness and decided to rebel against God and seize power. Then Ra called his daughter, the goddess Hathor, to him and ordered her to punish the disobedient. Hathor cast a spell and turned into a fierce lioness. She left the palace and ran into the desert to look for people. Having found the rebels, the goddess pounced on them and began to kill one by one, drinking their blood and scattering pieces of meat across the desert. After some time, the sun god decided that people had been punished enough and tried to stop his daughter. But the lioness goddess replied that she would not stop until she destroyed all people and drank their blood. Then Ra extinguished the sun's rays and night fell on the earth. God ordered the maids to grind barley and brew beer from it (7,000 vessels turned out) and sent messengers to the island of Elephantine for the red mineral didi (possibly meaning granite). The Supreme God ordered the miller to grind the red mineral into powder and add it to beer. The resulting drink looked very similar to blood. The servants of Ra went to the desert, to where the goddess Hathor killed people, and spilled beer on the ground. In the morning, the lioness goddess woke up, saw puddles of “blood” around her and was very happy. She liked the red beer and drank it until she became so drunk that she could no longer distinguish people. Then the sun god approached his daughter and said: “Go in peace, my beloved daughter. From now on, the people of Egypt will bring you vessels of beer every year on the day of Hathor. And may you be called “Mistress of Intoxication.”

The cult of the goddess Hathor existed in Egypt for a very long time. In the most ancient beliefs, Hathor was the goddess of the sky and was depicted as the Heavenly Cow, who gave birth to the Sun and all the other gods. After the rise of the cult of Ra towards the end of the Old Kingdom, she began to be considered his daughter and the Eye of Ra, which by force subjugated the enemies of God, and began to be identified with all lioness goddesses acting as the Eye. Even later, Hathor becomes the deity of love, fun and music. It is known that during the New Kingdom in Egypt, drunken festivals were held dedicated to Hathor and associated with the myth of the death of people.

Ancient Greece

Viticulture began to spread in Greece during the Neolithic period and became widespread at the beginning of the Bronze Age. The inhabitants of Crete traded with Egypt and borrowed Egyptian winemaking techniques. According to some sources, the wine festival was held in Greece back in the Mycenaean era, and at that time there was already a cult of the god of the vine, winemaking and fertility of Dionysus. It is not known for certain where the cult of Dionysus appeared; according to one version, it came from Asia Minor, according to another, from Thrace (a region in the Balkans).

Dionysus's father was Zeus, the head of the Olympian gods, and his mother, according to different versions, was either one of the goddesses or a mortal woman. Zeus was a loving character and had many illegitimate children. Therefore, Zeus's wife, the goddess Hera, hated Dionysus and persuaded the Titans to kill him, but the gods resurrected the baby. Thus Dionysus became “twice-born.” Then Zeus gave his son to be raised by the nymphs who lived on the mythological Mount Nysa. It was here that Dionysus invented wine.

What locality was identified with Mount Nisa is unknown; ancient authors placed it in different places - in Ethiopia, Libya, Egypt, Anatolia (the territory of modern Turkey) or Arabia. Hera did not leave the attention of the already matured Dionysus: she instilled madness in him. In this state, the god went to travel around the world, accompanied by a crowd of satyrs and maenads armed with swords, snakes and thyrsus (ivy-covered pine branches with a pine cone on the top). First, Dionysus went to Egypt, and then to the east, to India. Through Phrygia (the territory of modern Turkey) he returned from India to Europe and began to establish his cult in the states of Greece. Not all local residents greeted Dionysus with delight and recognized his divine origin, but the god did not stand on ceremony with anyone and either killed the disobedient or sent madness upon them.

Returning from India, the god of wine established his cult in the states of Greece and the islands of the Aegean Sea. After the Greeks recognized the divine status of Dionysus, he ascended to heaven to take his place next to Zeus as one of the 12 great gods.

In honor of the god of wine, festivals and mysteries were held in different parts of Greece. During the festivities, solemn processions were organized, competitions of tragic and comic poets and choirs singing dithyrambs. Ancient Greek comedy and tragedy grew out of religious rites dedicated to Dionysus (interestingly, tragodia is translated from Greek as “song of the goats,” that is, a chorus of goat-legged satyrs who accompanied Dionysus). Only initiates could participate in the Dionysian Mysteries. The purpose of the mysteries was to free oneself for a short time from social restrictions and prohibitions and release the “animal essence” of man. Participants gathered in secluded places, forests or mountains, with the help of alcohol and ritual dances they entered a state of trance and in this state they danced, participated in orgies and even committed ritual killings of animals. Eventually people reached a state in which they identified themselves with God and believed that they had acquired divine power. Later, in ancient Rome The Dionysian mysteries began to be called Bacchanalia.

Researchers believe that in some areas of Greece, the death and resurrection of Dionysus symbolized the annual natural cycle. Scientists also believe that Dionysus was the “double” of the more ancient Phrygian god Sabazius, originally the god of beer. It is possible that spruce beer, flavored with ivy and sweetened with honey, was originally used as an intoxicating drink instead of wine. Hera's hatred of Dionysus and the hostility of the inhabitants of the countries through which the god of wine passed symbolize the rejection of wine as a ritual drink and dissatisfaction with the unbridled behavior of the maenads. But at the end of the 7th - beginning of the 6th centuries BC, the rulers of Corinth, Sicyon and Athens recognized the cult of Dionysus and established official festivals in his honor. After this, the god of wine was accepted into the Olympic pantheon.

Scandinavia

The main alcoholic drinks of the Scandinavians were beer and mead, a drink made from fermented honey and water, sometimes with the addition of fruit, spices and hops. Just like beer and wine, mead is a very ancient drink. Vessels containing traces of a fermented mixture of honey, fruit and rice were found in Northern China and date back to 7000 - 6500 BC. Honey appeared in Europe later, 3800 - 2800 years ago. Therefore, mythological characters, following people, brew and drink these very alcoholic beverages. For example, the sea giant Aegir from Scandinavian mythology arranged feasts for the gods in his palace at the bottom of the sea. Together with his daughters, he brewed ale for the feast in a cauldron a mile in diameter.

The Scandinavian epic tells about the “honey of poetry”, which was kept by the god of poets Bragi. After drinking one sip of this drink, a person acquires poetic abilities.

One day, the Scandinavian gods, the Aesir, quarreled with other gods, the Vanir. After some time, they made peace, and when peace was concluded, both the Aesir and the Vanir spat into the bowl and made the dwarf Kvasir from the shared saliva. The dwarf was very wise; there was no question that he could not answer. He traveled around the world and taught people wisdom. One day Kvasir came to visit two dwarfs, who killed him, and poured his blood into vessels and mixed it with honey. The result was a drink that, after drinking, anyone became either a poet or a scientist. After some twists and turns, the giant Suttung took possession of the honey of poetry. The Supreme God of the Scandinavians, Odin, learned about the wonderful drink and decided to take possession of it. With the help of his younger brother Suttung, he made his way into the cave where the honey was kept, seduced the giant's daughter, who was guarding the vessels with the drink, and stole it. Having turned into an eagle, Odin flew to Asgard, the abode of the aesir gods, and Suttung, who discovered the loss of honey, went in pursuit. Odin flew to Asgard before Suttung caught up with him and spat out honey into the vessel, but since the giant was already overtaking him, Odin released some of the honey through the anus. This honey can be taken by anyone and is called the "rhymer's share." Odin gave the real honey, collected in a vessel, to his son, the god of poets.

Scandinavian myths existed for centuries only in oral tradition and were written down as early as the Middle Ages, almost all of them in the 13th century. Therefore, it is very difficult for modern researchers to draw conclusions about the origin and changes of myths over time. The main sources for the study of Scandinavian mythology are the prose "Younger Edda", written by the Icelander Snorri Sturluson, and a collection of poems about gods and heroes, called the "Elder Edda". The myth of the “honey of poetry” is recorded in the Prose Edda.

Snorri Sturluson not only mentions the god Braga in the book, but also attributes a number of poems to the skald of Braga, Bogdasson the Old, a real person who is considered the first skald whose name has been preserved in history. And although in the book there are two different people, there is a version that Bragi the skald served as the prototype for Bragi the god. Researchers have discussed this topic, but have not come to a consensus, and today the question remains open.

The Younger Edda tells about King Odin; he came from the Country of the Turks and was a descendant of the Trojan king Priam. Modern researchers believe that there is a rational grain in this version. According to the trifunctional theory, Odin embodied one of the three key social functions in the Indo-European pantheon, the cult. The symbols of the other two - military and economic - were the gods Thor and Van (Frey and Njord).

Central America

In conclusion, I would like to talk in more detail about the Aztec gods of drunkenness, one of whom, Ometochtli, was mentioned at the beginning of the article. In Aztec mythology, there was a whole group of gods of fertility, drunkenness and debauchery, who were called Senzon Totchtin, “400 rabbits”. 400 meant an indefinitely large number, and the rabbit was associated with drunkenness, perhaps because each subsequent jump of this animal is unpredictable.

The 400 Rabbits were originally rural gods who protected crops and food supplies, and some of these gods took their names from the area where they were worshiped. So, Tepoztecatl was the god of Tepoztlan, and Yautecatl was the god from the city of Yautepec. These rural gods became gods of drunkenness, so to speak, in their free time “from their main work,” during periods of festivities dedicated to the harvest.

According to Bernardino de Sahagun, a Spanish monk and major explorer of pre-Columbian Mexico, there were as many rabbit gods as there were types of intoxication and their consequences. Drunken aggression, lies, drunken jokes and even murders had their own drunken patron god, and Ometochtli (“two rabbits”) was the main one in this company. All "400 rabbits" were children of the god Patecatl and the goddess Mayahuel. Patecatl is the god of fertility and medicine, who discovered the peyote cactus, which contains hallucinogenic alkaloids, and taught people how to make pulque, a mash made from agave. Mayahuel is the goddess of agave and the intoxicating drink octli made from it. She was depicted as a woman with 400 breasts, from which agave juice constantly flowed and with which she fed her children-gods.