by Susanna Duffy
The Gods are of a higher order from mere mortals, so it follows that their sustenance too, is on a higher plane.
A favourite on Olympus was the appealing Ambrosia, culled from the regions beyond the Wandering Rocks. Ambrosia served variously as food for the gods, as an unguent, beauty cream or perfume, and, curiously, as fodder for horses.
It was often accompanied by the drink Nectar in celebrations, and indeed, nectar and ambrosia both appear in myth and literature as divine confections that were guaranteed to satisfy the hunger and thirst of any immortal resident of Mt. Olympus.
Today both nectar and ambrosia have come to mean any gourmet masterpiece, heavenly food and drink that is fit for the gods.
While we can't be entirely certain what the gods ate and drank, or what the ancient Greeks thought the gods ate and drank, we have a fair idea. These mythical snacks had some connection to a sweet treat enjoyed by mortals throughout the ages.. .. Honey.
Honey, or ambrosia, made more than just a delightful meal. There are several episodes in Greek myth in which ambrosia is used by the gods and goddesses as a sort of balm, to confer grace or even immortality (in the case of mortals) onto the recipient. One such incident that demonstrates how ambrosia was used to beautify involves Aphrodite, the beautiful goddess of love. In the Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite, the goddess prepares herself for a dalliance with the assistance of ambrosia,
"...there the Graces bathed her and anointed her with ambrosian oil such as is rubbed on deathless gods, divinely sweet, and made fragrant for her sake."
In one scene from the Iliad, the sea-nymph Thetis uses ambrosia and nectar to preserve the body of the dead warrior Patroclus. Zeus called upon Apollo to anoint another fallen hero, Sarpedon, with ambrosia. But there is a harsher side to the food of the gods.
The word 'Tantalise' comes from the plight of Tantalus, who so offended the gods that he was condemned to an eternity of hunger and thirst. It was a dreadful punishment!
He was made to stand in a pool of water in Tartarus, in the underworld. Each time he reached down for the water that beckoned to his parched lips, it drained away. Overhanging the pool were boughs laden with juicy luscious fruit. Each time he stretched to pluck one, the boughs receded from his grasp. For his crime, he was indeed tantalised. What was this great crime?
As a son of Zeus, he was invited to dinner in Olympus. There he stole nectar and ambrosia, brought them back to his people, and revealed the secrets of immortality. As Philostratus says, he was "inclined to share with his friends the immortality bestowed on him by the gods". He also cut up his own son Pelops, boiled him in a cauldron and offered him as food to Zeus and his friends.
It was said that the gods were aware of his plan for their feast, so they didn't touch the offering, only Demeter, seriously depressed by the rape and abduction of her daughter Persephone, ate of the boy's shoulder. Fate, ordered by Zeus, brought the boy to life again by collecting the parts of his body and boiling them up once more. His missing shoulder was rebuilt with an ivory replacement made by Hephaestus, and presented by the remorseful Demeter. Pelops, thus reconstituted, was brought back to life with new qualities.
The revived Pelops was then kidnapped by Poseidon and taken to Olympus to be the God's lover. The sordid tale doesn't end there, it gets progressively more sordid, and ends up as the inspiration for the Olympic Games. But that's another story.
Scholars say this tale reinforces Olympian suppression of human sacrifice, which had apparently been offered in earlier times. Perhaps it does, perhaps it reveals shamanic initiations as well. Perhaps it was used as a moral story, to teach the common people that they may not aspire to be like their Masters.
It also reveals that the ancient Greeks were very fond of honey.
Originally published in All About Myths & Legends. Reproduced here with permission.
