Help Meh Noa
1.) How did the use of wine differ from that of beer in ancient Greece and Rome?
A.)Beer was for common folk and wine for the 'important' people. Beer was used as a source of barter for tradesmen and was considered an important food source. But beer was a much more different drink then tan it is today and is another answer for another question.
2.) How was wine used by the Greeks?
A.) It was their drink of choice when the water quality couldn't be guaranteed, a social lubricant, used in games at parties (like kottabos, where the contestants threw the dregs from their wine cups into the wine-mixing bowl from a distance), and for making vinegar.
3.) How and why did wine develop into a form of a status symbol in Greece?
A.) In Greece, beer was considered to be the drink of the "common" folk. Wine became the fancier, more sought after drink that eventually led it to become a sort of status symbol for those who could afford to drink it.
4.) How was wine consumed? What does this tell us about the ancient Greek culture? A.) It was the main beverage in Ancient Greece as the water was often unsafe to drink on its own so the addition of wine, ("drink a little wine for thy stomach's sake" St Paul to Timothy) helped to kill bacteria. Brewing beer had similar advantages, but grain was scarce in Greece and not to be wasted while grapes, like almonds and olives grow on otherwise useless land. The ancient tales of the coming of wine to Greece with Dionysus are full of warnings of its power, especially as women were associated with the cult. To read between the lines the message seems to be that if you let wine be your master you will be destroyed by women. The wife will give you hell. Descriptions of Greek drinking parties or "symposiums" tell us that someone was appointed Master of Ceremonies with the task of regulating the ratio of wine to water so that everyone got merry early on and no one got obnoxiously drunk as the
A.)Beer was for common folk and wine for the 'important' people. Beer was used as a source of barter for tradesmen and was considered an important food source. But beer was a much more different drink then tan it is today and is another answer for another question.
2.) How was wine used by the Greeks?
A.) It was their drink of choice when the water quality couldn't be guaranteed, a social lubricant, used in games at parties (like kottabos, where the contestants threw the dregs from their wine cups into the wine-mixing bowl from a distance), and for making vinegar.
3.) How and why did wine develop into a form of a status symbol in Greece?
A.) In Greece, beer was considered to be the drink of the "common" folk. Wine became the fancier, more sought after drink that eventually led it to become a sort of status symbol for those who could afford to drink it.
4.) How was wine consumed? What does this tell us about the ancient Greek culture? A.) It was the main beverage in Ancient Greece as the water was often unsafe to drink on its own so the addition of wine, ("drink a little wine for thy stomach's sake" St Paul to Timothy) helped to kill bacteria. Brewing beer had similar advantages, but grain was scarce in Greece and not to be wasted while grapes, like almonds and olives grow on otherwise useless land. The ancient tales of the coming of wine to Greece with Dionysus are full of warnings of its power, especially as women were associated with the cult. To read between the lines the message seems to be that if you let wine be your master you will be destroyed by women. The wife will give you hell. Descriptions of Greek drinking parties or "symposiums" tell us that someone was appointed Master of Ceremonies with the task of regulating the ratio of wine to water so that everyone got merry early on and no one got obnoxiously drunk as the