One of the first things that man learned to domesticate during his transition from hunter-gatherer to farmer was the honey-bee. Although, this was in pre-history as Stone Age cave paintings near Valencia in Southern Spain depict scenes of a man robbing a wild bees’ nest.
Honey is produced specifically as a food , as is milk, the first food for all mammals, so it is natural that much of man’s mythology links the two. The Greek God, Zeus was hidden from his murderous father Kronus, by his mother, Rhea, and fed upon milk and honey. Milk and honey were also the two basic foods which awaited the Israelites in the Promised Land, symbolising God's promise that his children would want for nothing.
Ambrosia, the food of the Olympian Gods, was often assumed to be honey as both were believed to promote longevity. Following this belief, Democritus, the ancient Greek philosopher and physician developed a diet which included honey, to promote eternal life, and, supposedly, lived to 109 years old.
The Ancient Egyptians also used honey in cosmetics and beeswax for a, amongst other things, heat-setting process which set the paint on their sarcophagi. There were even taxes levied payable in honey. Small wonder that the first-known records of man-made hives are from Ancient Egypt, in the temple of Ni-weser-Re, dating from around 2,500BC. Ancient Mesopotamian texts relate how Shamash-Resh-Uzur, the governor of Sukhi and Ma’ar introduced bee-keeping there some 3,000 years ago, probably imported from the Hittites, who were known to be ardent bee-keepers.
Maybe because of its sweet quality, honey has long been associated with youth and love and is yet another one of the long list of foodstuffs which has been attributed with aphrodisiac powers. The ‘Honeymoon’ was the European tradition, a month during which the newlyweds could enjoy a sweet period in each other’s company before the ‘real’ marriage began.
Great beauties throughout history, including Cleopatra, have used honey to prevent wrinkling and to soften the skin, and Queen Anne of England used a ‘secret’ preparation of olive oil and honey for her famously lustrous hair.
Honey has been used in fermented drinks world-wide and these were said to have been drunk by Dionysius, the Greek god of wine and his Roman alter-ego, before the cultivation of the vine. Historians have found references to mead, the English version, dating back to 334BC and it remained the staple drink in this country until well into the 19th century.
Honey is produced specifically as a food , as is milk, the first food for all mammals, so it is natural that much of man’s mythology links the two. The Greek God, Zeus was hidden from his murderous father Kronus, by his mother, Rhea, and fed upon milk and honey. Milk and honey were also the two basic foods which awaited the Israelites in the Promised Land, symbolising God's promise that his children would want for nothing.
Ambrosia, the food of the Olympian Gods, was often assumed to be honey as both were believed to promote longevity. Following this belief, Democritus, the ancient Greek philosopher and physician developed a diet which included honey, to promote eternal life, and, supposedly, lived to 109 years old.
The Ancient Egyptians also used honey in cosmetics and beeswax for a, amongst other things, heat-setting process which set the paint on their sarcophagi. There were even taxes levied payable in honey. Small wonder that the first-known records of man-made hives are from Ancient Egypt, in the temple of Ni-weser-Re, dating from around 2,500BC. Ancient Mesopotamian texts relate how Shamash-Resh-Uzur, the governor of Sukhi and Ma’ar introduced bee-keeping there some 3,000 years ago, probably imported from the Hittites, who were known to be ardent bee-keepers.
Maybe because of its sweet quality, honey has long been associated with youth and love and is yet another one of the long list of foodstuffs which has been attributed with aphrodisiac powers. The ‘Honeymoon’ was the European tradition, a month during which the newlyweds could enjoy a sweet period in each other’s company before the ‘real’ marriage began.
Great beauties throughout history, including Cleopatra, have used honey to prevent wrinkling and to soften the skin, and Queen Anne of England used a ‘secret’ preparation of olive oil and honey for her famously lustrous hair.
Honey has been used in fermented drinks world-wide and these were said to have been drunk by Dionysius, the Greek god of wine and his Roman alter-ego, before the cultivation of the vine. Historians have found references to mead, the English version, dating back to 334BC and it remained the staple drink in this country until well into the 19th century.