Wine as a beverage has always had a significant role, both in ancient and modern civilizations. Even today, in Christian masses, consecrated wine is referred to as the “Blood of Christ,” which shows how important wine is as a concept in European cultures.
However, this tradition dates back to pre-Christian times, further confirming the connection of wine with our region and the entire Mediterranean. It is logical to expect that wine appears as an important motif in pre-Christian eras, primarily through the personifications of wine gods as essential members of pagan pantheons. Numerous cultures represented wine gods in their own ways, but as expected, wine is often associated with motifs of celebration, feasting, joy, fertility, and similar themes.
In these articles, we will explore the wine gods and their personifications.
The Slavic deities
We will start with Slavic mythology, the belief system with which the Croats originally came to these lands. At that time, literacy among the Slavs was not widespread, so we have few written sources. Fortunately, some names and customs have survived in numerous activities and traditions of today, serving as living witnesses of past times, and of course, many of those customs are associated with our favorite beverage, wine.
One of the customs when drinking good wine is to toast before the first sip if you are in good company, and one of the sayings we use, “živili” (cheers), is associated with the Slavic goddess Živa.
Of course, the Slavs also had a dedicated god of wine and alcohol, but unfortunately, sources here vary a bit, so we have several mentioned variations. In neighboring Slovenia, there is a festival dedicated to the god of wine, Kurent or Korent, who is a deity associated with wine and is depicted wrapped in vine leaves and sheep’s wool.
Even today, there is an annual festival in Ptuj where young people dress up as Kurent and walk the streets in honor of the old Slavic god of wine. Traditionally, young unmarried men would dress up as Kurent, wrapped in sheep’s wool, and give gifts to girls, thus competing for their favor. Today, this is more of a specific masquerade for young people where both boys and girls dress up as Kurent and parade through the city. This is a good example where customs in some form have preserved an otherwise lost part of the long wine history. Some of the names mentioned for the god of wine in Slavic mythology are Rujimir or Kvasura. This Slavic god of wine was associated with celebration, fertility, and joy.
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was a place of numerous wonders for humanity, and one of those wonders is one of the oldest documented wineries in the world, the winery of Pharaoh Djoser. It is mentioned that Djoser had his own vineyards and wine cellars as early as 2650 BC, making him one of the oldest winemakers in the world. Perhaps it’s not a coincidence that 40 years after the discovery of wine, the ancient Egyptians began building great pyramids.
Grapevines and wine are common motifs in Egyptian culture, as well as Egyptian deities. One of the most prominent wine deities was the Egyptian god Shesmu, the god of balms, perfumes, and wine, associated with celebrations, dancing, and singing, but also with blood, as in ancient Egypt, black wine began to be used in rituals as a substitute for blood. It is mentioned that during the process of grape harvesting and pressing, songs would be sung in honor of Shesmu. However, he was also sometimes depicted as a bloodthirsty god who kills other gods, perhaps when he wasn’t satisfied with the wine for the celebration?
Another Egyptian deity worth mentioning is the god Ash. Ash was a deity associated with desert oases and vineyards on the western banks of the Nile. This god is often referred to as the “god of Libya,” and Libya symbolized Africa for the ancient Egyptians. The association of oases and vineyards indicates that the ancient Egyptians considered the vine not only linked to the banks of the Nile but also recognized its wild form appearing in desert oases. It’s interesting to note that initially, this god was also associated with certain more dangerous deities in Egyptian culture, which definitely proves that wine can have both positive and negative effects, depending on its quality.
It’s worth noting that in ancient Egypt, the practice of wine and beer production was widespread, but wine was associated with the nobility and gods, while beer was seen as a drink for commoners. Will our beer lovers get angry if we say that it’s still the same today? Jokes aside, it’s interesting to see how wine was often associated with intellectual pursuits because of the inspiration it provided, while beer was associated with physical labor due to its high calorie content. However, unlike the ancient Egyptians, we in Croatia know well that it’s possible to do physical work even with wine, as our ancestors can testify.
Some other interesting deities
The beginning of civilization in Mesopotamia also marks the inception of viticulture in that region. Interestingly, like the Egyptians, the ancient Sumerians had deities associated with both wine and beer. Similar to the Egyptians, wine was attributed as a divine beverage, initially associated with the goddess Geshti/Geshtianna, the goddess of fertility, agriculture, and wine. Interestingly, her name itself translates loosely as “divine wine/vine from heaven,” a translation with which we at Croatian Wineries would certainly agree.
In Hinduism, the gods/deities of wine are mentioned as Varuni, a term that refers to multiple deities. One of these deities represents the goddess of wine, who interestingly, according to Hindu mythology, emerged from the churning of the ocean. It is mentioned that wine and grapevines originated from the sea itself.
Additionally, in Far Eastern pantheons such as Chinese, Korean, and Japanese, gods of wine are common motifs. The only difference is that in the Far East, wine typically refers to strong alcoholic beverages and therefore does not fall into this categorization.
We will continue with the second part, ‘Gods of Wine in Ancient Greece‘.