Kykeon

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Definition

Kykeon (from the Greek “to mix, stir”) was a beverage of water and barley (sometimes flavored with mint or thyme) popular among the working, 'lower' class of ancient Greece. In Homer's Illiad it is described as a mixture of water, barley, herbs and ground goat cheese (Book XI) and the drink is also mentioned in the Odyssey Book X when the sorceress Circe uses it, mixed with honey, to make her potion.

More about: Kykeon

Timeline

  • c. 1500 BCE
    Beginning of the Eleusinian Mysteries.
  • 392 CE
    Christian Emperor Theodosius outlaws the Eleusinian Mysteries and closes the site.
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