Honey in Ancient Greece: Gods, Athletes and Attic Thyme Honey

Honey in Greek mythology

In one myth, the infant Zeus was hidden in a cave on Crete and fed honey by bees or by a nymph named Melissa, whose name means bee. Ambrosia and nectar, the food and drink of the gods, were often imagined as honey-like. Aristaeus, a minor god, was said to have taught humans beekeeping. Researcher Rachel Carlson's University of Washington study describes how Greeks linked bees to the earth, fertility, the underworld and the gods.

The melissae

Priestesses of some Greek goddesses, especially Demeter and Artemis, were called melissae, or bees. The Pythia, the oracle at Delphi, was sometimes called the Delphic Bee. These titles show how closely bees were tied to purity, prophecy and the divine.

Attic thyme honey

The honey of Mount Hymettus, near Athens, made from wild thyme, was famous throughout the ancient world. Writers praised it as the finest honey. Thyme honey is still produced in Greece today and is prized for its strong, herbal flavor. Our thyme honey guide describes it.

Aristotle's bee observations

In his History of Animals, Aristotle wrote detailed notes on bees, describing workers, drones and what he called the king, since the queen's sex was not yet understood. He noted that bees stick to one kind of flower on each trip, now called flower constancy. Though some details were wrong, his work was one of the first scientific studies of bees.

• Described workers and drones
• Called the queen the king
• Observed flower constancy
• Discussed swarming and honey types

Honey in Greek food

Honey sweetened cakes, breads and cheese dishes. Plakous, a layered cake of dough, cheese and honey, may be an ancestor of later pastries. Athletes ate honey and figs. Honey was drizzled over soft cheese and mixed with nuts. Our baklava recipe guide shows a later descendant of these sweets.

Honey drinks

Greeks mixed honey with water (melikraton) or with wine (oinomeli). Mead, fermented honey drink, may be even older than wine in some parts of Greece. Our what is mead guide explains it.

Honey offerings

Honey was poured as an offering to the gods and to the dead. Honey cakes were given to Cerberus, the three-headed dog guarding the underworld, in some stories, giving rise to the phrase a sop to Cerberus. Honey was also used in rituals honoring Demeter and in burials.

Honey in Greek medicine

Greek physicians, including writings attributed to Hippocrates, mention honey in remedies and diets. Their ideas were based on the theory of the four humors, very different from modern medicine. Our article on the history of honey in medicine covers this period.

Greek beekeeping

Archaeologists have found ancient Greek clay hives, horizontal and cylindrical, as Eva Crane's research on ancient beekeeping notes. Athens even had laws about how close hives could be placed to a neighbor's, credited to the lawmaker Solon.

Mad honey and Xenophon

The Greek historian Xenophon described soldiers falling ill after eating honey near the Black Sea, likely from rhododendron nectar. Our mad honey guide explains this unusual honey.

Greek honey today

Greece remains a major honey country, known for thyme, pine and fir honeys. Greek yogurt with honey and walnuts is a beloved breakfast and dessert. Loukoumades, honey-soaked fried dough balls, are a festival favorite; our loukoumades guide has a recipe.

A Greek-style honey plate

Serve thick yogurt with Raw Wildflower Honey, harvested in New York State, walnuts and figs. For a herbal note similar to thyme honey, try Raw Knotweed Honey from North Dakota.

The takeaway on honey in ancient Greece

Honey in ancient Greece was food, drink, offering and symbol. It fed gods and heroes in myth, starred in cakes and wine, inspired Aristotle's studies and remains central to Greek food today.

Honey in Greek philosophy and poetry

Greek writers often compared sweet speech to honey. Homer described the words of the wise counselor Nestor as flowing sweeter than honey. Plato was said to have had bees settle on his lips as a baby, a sign of future eloquence, and the poet Pindar had a similar legend. The image of the honey-tongued speaker shows how deeply honey in ancient Greece shaped language as well as food.

Honey and the Olympic Games

Ancient athletes followed special diets, and sources mention figs, cheese, meat and honey among their foods. Honey cakes may also have been offered at Olympia's altars. Today, Greek honey producers still market honey as a natural fuel for sport.

Taste a Greek tradition

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