The Role Of Wine In Roman Culture

Beer, the first beverage appeared as a result of changed lifestyle for the early humans. Before, humans were nomads, who would follow their food (pg. 9). But starting about 12,000 years ago humans had picked up on a new lifestyle (pg. 9). These small bands of about 30 people were now settling down in more permanent areas and had abandoned their old ways of constantly traveling (pg. 9). This drastic turning point in human history seemed to primarily come from one reason, the discovery of beer (pg.11). As beer was basically formed from the gathering of barley and wheat, humans had to form some type of permanent residency, and abandon their old nomadic lifestyle (pg.11).

Beer was existent in a time where there was a great increase in social intricacy because of the creation of cities from the settling of humanity after its practice of being nomadic.

Wine has also impacted the world in many ways. If wine hadn 't been invented or discovered we would not have vineyard farming today. Wine was a very popular drink during the Roman and Grecian era. In fact wine was the main drink. Greek and Roman men would have get togethers called symposia. The sophisticated, formal, and intellectual atmosphere of the symposion reminded the Greeks of how civilized they were. It reminded that they weren 't just there to drink wine, they were there to discuss many things as well. Wine

When talking about the culture in ancient Greece and Rome we are talking about two cultures that have had a major impact on today’s society. We are also talking about two cultures that have highly similar ways of life and or beliefs. One thing that both cultures had in common was that they believed in all the same gods. Although they did have different names for some gods, they all believed in what each god stood for and the myths that they had. For example, the Greek’s called one god Zeus while the Romans called him Jupiter. Another similarity between Greece and Rome was that they both practiced agriculture. Not only did both nations both practice agriculture but they even grew some of the same crops. A few example of crops that both the Romans and Greeks grew are barley, grapes, olives, wheat and so much more. Agriculture in Rome and Greece was essential to anybody was able to grow them. For

Wine has been a part of Western history since the Neolithic Period (8,500-4,000 B.C.), when cultures first started to develop permanent communities, and stopped being nomadic hunter-gatherers (U. Penn, 2000). One of the earliest written records of the consumption of wine is recorded in the Bible and the impact of wine on Mediterranean cultures became more pronounced over the years as the geopolitical situation stabilized in the region under the Roman Empire. Roman Imperialism helped to spread the production of wine across most of the countries in the Empire, which included most of North Africa and Southern Europe (Britannica, 2000). During that same era, wine became ingrained in the Christian faith and is still used in Christian mass today. The close tie between wine and the Christian faith aided to the spread of wine production and wine consumption across Europe

1. Wine was more of a classy drink, drank by the wealthy in ancient Greece and Rome. Those who drank wine were commonly wealthier and higher in class than those who

Beer started out as gruel, and as the gruel fermented it turned into beer. Now it was not the first form of alcohol, but it was an important kind of alcohol. Beer was made from cereal crops, which were very abundant, and because it was so abundant it could be made whenever it was needed. They then found an even easier way to make beer by using beer-bread. Beer bread is basically everything needed to make beer in a loaf, making it convenient to store the raw beer materials. Beer started as just a social drink but then blossomed into a “hallmark of civilization”, as seen by the Mesopotamians. Grain was the basis of the national diet, it was

5. In Rome wine was seen as a necessity by the people and they felt like they needed to drink it while in Greece it was just seen as a leisure drink.

Beer: Beer was not invented, it was discovered. Exactly when the first beer was brewed is unknown but there was almost certainly no beer before 10,000 BCE. The rise of beer was closely associated with the domestication of the cereal grains rom which it is made and the adoption of farming. Beer originated in the Fertile Crescent in Egypt and Mesopotamia. To beer drinkers in the Neolithic period, beer’s ability to intoxicate and induce a state of altered consciousness seemed magical. This caused them to believe beer was a gift from the Gods. Since it was a gift from the gods, it was presented as a religious offering in religious ceremonies, agricultural fertility rites, and in

2C: In Greek symposion, or drinking parties, men drank as equals to discuss topics of intellect. Rome took wine more seriously, since it more strictly sets the status of a man, so much so, that the status of a person often determined which wines they were served at events like Roman convivium, the Roman equivalent of symposion. Convivium was a time to boast about your wealth rather than have intellectual discussions, and rather than drinking wine from a single bowl like the Greeks, drinkers usually drank from their own cups. This shows that the Greeks were more unified than the Romans, and, in a sense, more peaceful and accepting.

People went from foraging and hunting while living in villages, to agriculture which lead to the surplus of grain which lead to beer. Having the surplus of grain allowed for some people to specialize in other professions because not everyone was needed to produce food. Having multiple professions contributes to the development of cities. One of the developed professions was priest who collected goods in the form of taxation. Cities began to grow as priest accumulated power. Priest used taxed as a tool to expand villages into towns which got expanded into cities.

Wine was a popular drink back in ancient Rome. Many people desired the consumption of wine as it grew to be an important factor in Rome’s trade. Wine allowed Rome to control more territory. Also many new people started writing books on how wine was produced like Cato the Censor, Varro, and Columella. These works provided insight on how wine played a part in Roman culture. Consumption of wine started bringing taxes on the quantity people drank. However, wine was an essential need in everyday life. The trading of wine helped Rome many beneficial ways because it allowed the Romans to get different goods from many places and it also allowed their empire to expand in territory and influence.

Wine was originally very scarce and exotic, meaning the only people to really drink it were very powerful, prestigious, and privileged people. It was mainly drunk during public meetings and debates, or symposia’s, to express one’s self much more freely. While beer was known to have medicinal benefits, wine was known to clean wounds.

The Romans drank a lot of wine but not straight or quickly. “Diluting wine and drinking with restraint were ordinary courtesy. The purpose of a dinner party was relaxed

Beer and wine might have been one of the first drinks that caused humans to civilize and create a great community. In fact Tom Standage introduces us to this idea of these early drinks shaping human culture in his book A History of a World in Six Glasses. As Standage informs us about how beer was one of the causes in early settlement, and why farming was led to a great success because of the use of beer. Standage also mentions a start in traditions and a formation of government due to these drinks. Although beer being very important, Standage also introduces us to wine as a form of a class status that helped man distinguishing barbarism to a world of high standards and manners allowing for the community to become more cultured and