h u l t u e o f W i n e
Any attempt to record the history of Greek wine, although a fascinating journey through time, is an extremely complex and complicated undertaking. The culture of wine inevitably contains elements relating to the economy, religion, social life, everyday life and the places where viticulture, wine production and wine consumption developed.
References to its use can be found in the Homeric epics, Plato’s Symposium and in texts by Hippocrates. The vine was considered a divine gift to the ancient Greeks, who believed it was given to them by Dionysus, god of wine and the vine. Wine played a primary role and contributed to Greek philosophy, as expressed by the great Greek philosophers Socrates and Plato.
The main characteristic of wine appreciation is the enjoyment of wine in moderation. The Ancient Greeks drank wine mixed with water, usually in a ratio of 1 to 3 – one part wine to three parts water (= kressis). The word “wine” denotes exactly the wine mixed with water, while unadulterated wine was called akratos.
In Minoan civilization the vine and wine were one of the main products of cultivation and export, respectively. Then, during the Roman period (1st century BC – 4th century AD), Crete returned dynamically to the major centres of wine production, which from the 1st to the 3rd century AD, in the golden age of the Cretan vineyard, sent its wines not only to the Aegean, but also to Egypt, mainland Greece and all of Europe.
In Byzantium, wine unites the biblical and Greek traditions. Its ancient god, Dionysus, is always alive, albeit in disguise. Despite his expulsion from the Christian vineyard, he has lent almost all his symbols to the person of Christ and the emperor, who appear in icons as vines, and the Apostles and believers as vines and grapes.
The reference in the Gospel to “I am the true vine” (John 15:1-8) is characteristic. Byzantine and Western monasteries had extensive vineyards. In the 13th century, St. Tryphon was established as the saint of vine and wine, who is still today the saint of the vine-growers and is celebrated on 1 February, the time of the pruning of the vines, especially in the region of Thrace and Macedonia.
Unlike the Turks, the Franks and Venetians, who occupied many Byzantine regions from 1204 onwards, favoured wine production. Especially in Crete, the Venetian rulers, together with the local Greek vine-growers, produced the famous Malvasia wine (Vinum de Malvasia), originally from Byzantine Monemvasia, which soon became the most popular wine in Medieval and Renaissance Europe!
