This year for Mother’s day we thought about honoring the mothers of our office, we thought about honoring each of our staff’s mothers, but what we decided on was honoring the Mothers of Wine, Grain, and Oil.
These 3 women goddesses were told to have “the touch” such that none around them would ever starve or thirst.
The Greek god Dionysus is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, and wine. He passed his gifts for wine upon his 3 great-granddaughters, known collectively as The Oenotropae. This consisted of Spermo, Elais, and Oeno.
- Spermo was said to touch grass and make wheat appear.
- Elais was spoken upon for her ability to touch berries and convert them to olives.
- Oeno was granted the gift of touching water and converting it to wine.
When the Greeks set out for Troy to reclaim Helen from Paris, it is said the great fleet ships were stocked by the Oenotropae. With their gifts on display, they were noticed and abducted in an effort to feed the Greek army, then escaped, only to be betrayed by their brother and recaptured. As they were to become bound, their great-grandfather Dionysus turned them into white doves, and thus saved them.
These goddesses held creation power over and represent a few very important facets of modern civilization. Bread is good. Bread is better with a great olive oil. All of that is best washed down with a fine wine.
And there we have an ancient story of the Mothers of Wine, Grain, and Oil on this Mother’s Day.
As a bonus, let’s give a nod to the Modern Mothers of Wine in our times:
- Heidi Barrett
- Cathy Corison
- Helen Turley
- Mia Klein
- Dawnine Dyer
- Pauline Lhote
- Carol Shelton
- Elizabeth Vianna
- Kathy Joseph
- Ntsiki Biyela
- Kathryn Kennedy
- Darcie Kent
…and so many others…
Cheers this Mother’s Day to all the influential mothers around the world, no matter what industry, to all our reader’s mothers, and ours!