Honey
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Honey is a sweet a substance produced by bees and other similar insects.
Significance
In ancient Greece, honey was considered a 'gift from gods', as its origins were not fully understood, despite beekeeping being a part of the daily life of Greeks ever since the Minoan times.[1] Due to its mystery, honey was considered a kind of a panacea, and was widely used as medicine.[1]
Numerous poets, including Hesiod, Homer, and Virgil mention honey and bees, beehives in their works, with Virgil even going as far as dedicating an ode to beekeeping in his Georgics.[1]
Honey was also valued, and could be used as currency while trading, or when paying tributes, like Korsika did to Etruscans.[1]
Mythology
Due to the observed 'supernatural' nature of honey, it left its mark in the mythology of Greece as well. A nymph named Melissa was said to have been the very first to discover and harvest honey. When the Titan Rhea hid her son Zeus from his father Kronos on Mount Ida in Messara, Krete, Melissa took care of the infant together with her sister Adrasteia. Melissa was also connected with the goddess Demeter, into whose mysteries she was inducted.[2]
Due to the nymph, priestesses of mystery cults in the Greek world were often called Melissai, and honey was a valued offering to make to the gods.[2]
Appearances
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Assassin's Creed: Odyssey – Discovery Sites: Honey
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Assassin's Creed: Odyssey – Discovery Sites: The Mythological Significance of Honey
