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WINE.
21
According
to
the
myth,
it
took
its
way
over
Arabia,
Egypt,
and
Libya
to
Hellas;
later
on
to
Italy,
and
finally
to
Spain
and
Gaul.
The
worship
of
Bacchus
was
corresponding
to
the
importance
of
the
wine-culture,
and
found
its
acme
in
the
Dionysians
of
the
Greeks,
and
the
Bacchanals
of
the
Romans.
Historical
traditions
call
the
Phoenicians
the
first
wine-growers;
they
brought
the
vine
to
the
islands
of
Chios,
Mitylene,
and
Tenedos.
Already,
in
the
year
550
B.
C.,
the
process
of
blend-
ing
selected
wines
was
known
to
the
Carthaginians.
Herodotus
and
Theophrastus
give
accounts
of
the
Egyptian
wine-culture,
which
has
long
since
died
out.
The
ancient
Persia
produced
the
precious
royal
wine
of
Chalybon,
and
the
valuable
brands
of
Bactriana,
Ariana,
Hyrkania,
and
Margiana.
In
India
the
priests,
and
in
Egypt
the
priests
and
kings,
were
forbidden
to
drink,
while
the
Jewish
priests
were
only
prohibited
on
days
of
religious
services.
Homerus
many
times
mentions
the
wine
as
sorrow-
breaking
and
heart-refreshing,
and
as
a
beverage
for
the
gods.
In
Italy
wine
was
first
cultivated
in
Campania.
The
most
celebrated
wines
of
ancient
Italy
were:
Falernian,
Faustinian,
Caecubian,
Massician,
Setinian,
and
those
of
Formia,
Calene,
etc.
The
old
custom
of
adding
turpentine
to
the
wine,
for
the
purpose
of
preserving,
was
followed
also
in
Italy;