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Aphrodite and Eros
The Greek poet Theocritus describes in his poem the scene as the greedy little Eros is firmly engraved in his attempt to get hold of the honey
bee. With pain, he runs to his mother. However, the mother teaches him that the wounds of his love arrows are much more painful than the stings
of bees.
Trofonios
The divine child was fed in a sacred cave with honey from larvae. Trofonios is a pre-Hellenic deity (god of rain and vegetation) and possesses
healing powers and prophetic attributes. Depending on the myth Bacchus and Persephone, Apollo and Epikasti, Jupiter and Jocasta or Erginus and
Jocasta are named as his parents.
Glaucus und Polyidos
Glaucus, son of Minos and Pasiphae (or Crete) drowned while playing in a barrel filled with honey. With the help of the oracle, he was found by Polyidos.
Claucus was awakened by Polyidos by a magic herb back to life.
Hermes
The only god with wings who goes in and out in Hades is, Hermes (or the Roman Mercury). The gods of Hades, Helate and Furies were mild voted by the
sacrifice of honey. The dead were given honey cake, so that they could appease the hellhound Cerberus.
There are many, many myths, legends and lore of ancient Greece, with references to bees, honey and ambrosia. The extracts that are written here
should only represent the diversity and give an idea of how intensely the worship and the cultivation of bees has been in Greece.
Meli Malisiova
apiculture | agriculture
