Alcohol Use In The Ancient World

Image of the painting “Witches’ Sabbath”, Goya, 1798.

Hi all and welcome to Spirit’s blog. Today, I attended a bridal shower, of course the drink of the morning was “Mimosas”.

As I drank mine, I was part of a conversation about alcohol, are we the only civilizations to use it? Did the ancients use it, and if so how? Well, here I am again armed with questions, on the edge of a rabbit hole.

Etymology of Word Alcohol

So the word alcohol, some historians believe that it cam from the Ancient Arabic word “al-kuhl” . This word means to envelope or consume, then after some time of it’s use the word was shortened to “kuhl”.

That is when the word took on a more sinister meaning. As researchers believe, this meant malicious, devouring spirit.

Alcohol Use In Ancient Egypt

The main crops harvested in Ancient Egypt were wheat and barley. Both of these grains were baked into loaves and eaten on a regular basis.

Ancient Egyptians found a method of fermentation in roughly 3400 B.C. That allowed them to make wheat and barley into beer. They used this beer for medicine and as offerings to the gods. People of this time also made wine from fresh fruits being fermented. The wine was used as part of the daily diet and for worship as well.

Ancient Persian Use of Alcohol

Ancient Persia in the modern day Iran, is the location of one of the most important discoveries in wine making. Explorers have found five large jars of wine in a kitchen in the mountains. After some research they dated these jars to roughly 5400 B.C. There is no evidence telling the purpose of this wine.

Ancient Babylonians And Alcohol

As early as 2700 B.C. the Babylonians were making and consuming wine as their main beverage. In about 1750 B.C. the Code of Hammurabi was written. Some laws in the Code of Hammurabi are focused on alcohol consumption, but there is no mention of drunkenness. It seems like drinking was encouraged and intoxication simply ignored.

The Ancient Babylonians were known for using alcohol in religious offerings. They worshiped a wine goddess and other wine deities.