E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Bees.
Jupiter was nourished by bees in infancy. (See ATHENIAN BEE, p. 72, col. 1.)
1
Pindar is said to have been nourished by bees with honey instead of milk.
2
The coins of Ephesus had a bee on the reverse.
3
The Greeks consecrated bees to the moon.
4
With the Romans a flight of bees was considered a bad omen. Appian (Civil War, book ii.) says a swarm of bees lighted on the altar and prognosticated the fatal issue of the battle of Pharsala.
5
The priestesses of Cers were called bees.
6
In Christian Art St. Ambrose is represented with a beehive, from the tradition that a swarm of bees settled on his mouth in his infancy.
a.
s were called bees.
