O vinho, a videira e o cacho em tradições da Antiguidade: Contextos simbólicos, de culto e representação

Abstract

This study addresses the origins of the symbolism of the vine and wine. Considering its cultural evolution, the underlying models of archaic behaviours in human societies—encompassing beliefs and rituals—are likely to have influenced this symbolism. Although these early moments are not always easy to recount, there would have been initially violent rituals involved in timeless myths. Later records, however, testify to the gradual transformation of both symbolism and rituals. Religious representations mark a transition in meanings, highlighting the legacy from Mesopotamia and, most notably, what is described in fundamental books of the Old Testament. The connection between the symbolism of wine and agricultural activity and peasant tasks is evident. During fruitful harvest periods, the grape harvest and good grapes symbolised the peak of abundance in the fields, a reward for fruitful labour; also serving as an occasion for celebration. It is well known that great attention was paid to the cycles of flowering, withering, and rebirth of ecosystems—later mystically explained through the cycles of birth, death, and rebirth—paralleling the journey of divine destinies, a theme present in ancient poems and recitations.