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THE NECTAR OF THE GODS
A WINE COLUMN
by Louisa Agis
"The peoples of the Mediterranean began to emerge from barbarism when they learnt to cultivate the olive and the vine."
Thucydides, Greek Historian, 5th Century BC
No one has yet determined exactly where and when mankind’s fascination with a beverage called wine began. Ancient man’s first encounter with the fermented juice was most likely an accident, hence wine was quite likely “discovered” as opposed to “invented”. After this initial discovery it is possible that wine was then made intentionally, since ancient Middle Eastern cultures were known to have made fermented, alcoholic beverages from other things such as honey, grains, and other fruits. The same process could have been applied to wild grapes before vines became cultivated. The earliest wines made from wild grapes and would only have been consumable for a short time each year. The grapes would ripen late in summer or early fall. From then, it would only take a couple of days for the juice to ferment if it came into contact with wild yeast present in the air and/or on the grape skins themselves. The wine would then have only been good for a short time, as there were no means of preserving it for future consumption in those earliest of days. These early wines were probably less alcoholic as well, due to the fact that wild grapes have less sugar content than those from cultivated vines. Though it would probably be thought of as undrinkable today, ancient wine was flavored with herbs, honey, or other additives that would have made it palatable to the people of the time.
Seeds and residue of wild grapes have been found and dated as far back as 350,000 years ago (at Terra Amata, modern day Nice in France). Other early finds include Franchthi Cave in Greece, dated to ca. 12,000 years ago, Grotta del ‘Uzzo, Sicily, mid-eight millennium B.C., and in several places in the eastern Mediterranean and near east dated between the eleventh and seventh centuries B.C. These finds were among the remains of human settlement and it is assumed that the grapes were used for food if not also wine. Earthenware jars containing evidence such as seeds, empty skins, stains and residue, possibly from wine, have been found at sites dating from the Neolithic Age (8500-4000 B.C.). Though this does not necessarily indicate that what was in these jars was wine, per se, we do know that wine was fermented from literary and pictorial sources of later periods. The earliest remains found of what we are certain to have been wine (dated ca. 5400-5000 B.C.) were found at Hajji Firuz Tepe, in the Zagros Mountains of Iran. The earthenware vessels contained not only residues of grape juice but also resin from the terebinth tree known to be a preservative used in ancient wine (and still used in Greek retsina to this day). Another find, at Godin Tepe, also in the Zagros Mountains but further south, is also, positively, that of ancient wine. The remains of an amphora dated to 3500 B.C. are certainly that of ancient wine due to the fact that the residue consisted of deposits of tartrate crystals and tannin (common residues that are found on red wine corks today). Also found at the site was a large basin, possibly used to tread grapes, and a funnel which could have been used to strain the juice before or after fermentation.
Wine making became more widespread with the cultivation of the vine and the development of better methods of storage. The grapevine was being cultivated by 4000 B.C. in the area of the Fertile Crescent where we have the early finds of residues. (However it is not clear whether these early finds are that of wine made with wild or cultivated grapes.) It is difficult to determine whether or not cultivation of the vine and wine making began in one place and spread to other regions, or began simultaneously in several regions. However, once cultivation was undertaken to provide a regular supply of fruit to make wine, an economic interest in wine making began to develop as well. Vessels with narrower tops were designed for better sealing for storage and transport. Soon, wine became a widely distributed and profitable trade commodity amongst many early cultures.
Sources:
A Short History of Wine, by Rod Phillips. The Oxford Companion to Archaeology, Edited by Brian M. Fagan.
HISTORY OF ANCIENTWORLDS
PART III
by Heraklia Aelius
In January, 1997, the small-but-faithful group following the online adventures of S.P.Q.R. at Pathfinder’s “The Rostra” board started receiving inquiries from “Emperor Hadrianus” regarding what they would like to see in an online “community” based on ancient history. Hard to believe, but this was so early in the comparative development of online sites that the idea was new and thrilling! The Cybergods were interested in developing “cities” to follow the games; obviously, Rome (for the S.P.Q.R. chapters), but also Athens (as work was proceeding on an online mystery set in the time of Pericles’ Athens) as well as old Nieu Amsterdam (yet a third online mystery was developing set in 17th century New York). These three cities, it was agreed, would be founding community areas in the new “community” of AncientSites; but what others? By April, 1997, when beta-testing was launched on AncientSites, the communities included Rome, Egypt and Athens; Babylon and New York were quickly added. The Emperor Hadrianus morphed into “jot,” tired city builder of the new site, while Eden became “Decimus” and the Pathfinder Rostrafarians slowly and suspiciously checked out the bells and whistles of the new site. Founding members initally found a choice of about five ‘surnames’ per city and the thrills of jot’s special project, “Navichat,” in which avatars could actually stroll around Ancient Rome and interact with each other. There were rudimentary “domus” areas set up, but the energy of the site was still largely its simple bulletin board structure.
In May, 1997, after jot returned from a long trip to Ireland, he brought up the idea of a Celtic community called “Tara.” By June, beta-versions of the adventures in Athens and New York began. Slowly, word filtered out and new members joined.
The “Gold Launch” of AncientSites was set for August, 1997, and Cybersites, Inc. made every effort to get out word about it through major publications (it was featured in several magazine and newspaper articles, as the idea of a “community” based on ancient history lovers was considered so novel). Julilla Sempronius agreed to be the first “demigoddess” to assist in meeting and greeting newcomers. Features in the simple version of AncientSites included individual domus homes for each “citizen” (together with their choice of profession and neighborhood), a community chat, private message boards, and instant-messaging capabilities, all of which were brand-new as far as AncientSites’ perhaps 375 “citizens” were aware.
From the official Gold Launch in August, events moved quickly. The infamous “great disk crash” on September 26, 1996, when street construction accidentally cut through AncientSites’ primary cables. Much original information from the site was lost, but a working replacement was rushed online on Monday, September 29. All posts from the site’s earlier days could not be recovered.
On the same day, 9-29, the old “Pathfinder” site rushed a new interface onto all its sites which was instantly detested by all. Members of The Rostra moved over to AncientSites en masse but, more critically, the “Roofer Invasion” occurred. Other Pathfinder groups, including science fiction fans from “Babylon5" and home-improvement fans from “ThisOldHouse.com,” not to mention political fanatics of all stripes from “The People Speak,” contacted AncientSites and asked if they could move their bulletin boards there from Pathfinder. Happy at the thought of so many new members, the Cybergods agreed - only to have civil war break out in the streets! The new members, indifferent to ancient history, immediately moved in and took over long-popular threads developed from the original Pathfinder topics, to discuss tax proposals and bathroom renovation. “War” and arguments broke out all over the place. While the Cybergods frantically created discrete communities for these new members (at “Fixerupper” and elsewhere), the conflicts between the beleaguered lovers of ancient history, those who wished to discuss roof repair, and those who wanted to argue about politics, led this period to be called “The Sack of Rome” or “The Roofer Invasion” by older Romans.
Finally peace was restored. The idea of “groups” devoted to individual subjects became popular, and “The Rostra” was the first group offered at Ancientsites in the first week of October, 1997. It was quickly followed by Campus Martius (December), developed to creative fiction in war-gaming, and “Britannia” (February, 1998), among many others. At the same time, Julilla Sempronius agreed to be the first “demigoddess” to assist in meeting and greeting newcomers, soon joined by Callistra Atrebas, the second “remote staffer.”
In January, 1998, an article about AncientSites appeared in Archeology magazine and an instantaneous influx of new members energized the entire site. With the additional of Machu Picchu, for those interested in native American cultures, and Tara for Celtic enthusiasts (created in March, 1998), the site now had well-established cities in Rome, Athens, Babylon, Egypt, Machu Picchu, New York, and Tara. In June, 1998, the site (which was already over 50,000 members an the books) was running out of money and space. The need for increased staffing and support income led to imposition of a voluntary patron subscription system, with special “patron” features such as private gardens in their homes, private chats, and other perks. Most site features, however, remained free.
The first “IRL” meeting of AncientSites members was held on August 8-9, 1998, in Chicago for a two-day convention. In December, 1998, the now-increasing demigods (including a redhead named Cornellia Cornelius, not yet with her signature chainsaw) helped celebrate the first-ever all-site festival of Saturnalia. By now, outside shareholders continued to provide money for research, development, and new programs, but it was determined to continue fast expansion of multiple other communities besides the AncientSites “flagship” model. Hence, several new communities based on the AncientSites software RAGE engine opened, including: 3-Dnation (later, merged with The Computer Vine); The People Speak; FixerUpper (later, maerged with the Home and Garden Vine), the Game Vine, Travel Vine, Money Vine, Sports Vine, Health Vine, Auto Vine, TeleVine, Outdoors Vine, and The History Vine. Many more remote staffers were hired to administer this explosion of communities under the CyberSites banner. Julilla, Cornellia, Callista and other lead remote administrators were reassigned to oversee the new communities in development.
The first “official” AncientSites convention was held in New Orleans from April 13-16, 1999, with guest speaker and famous author of the “Roma Sub Rosa” novels, Steven Saylor, and Heraklia Aelius and Zig ApilSin as party organizers. Eden came to New Orleans and also spoke on the development of AncientSites and the challenges the company faced in terms of development with its small financial support base. The first-ever “Avatar Ball” (in which prizes were awarded for Best Costume representing the citizen’s online avatar) and multiple party events created strong bonds among the citizens, and smaller conventions were held in several parts of the country thereafter, including conventions in Chicago and a meeting in Las Vegas, among others. By now, long-established members had met, fell in love, married, and produced families all due to their online involvement in AncientSites.
By now, Cybersites maintained a fully-staffed corporate office in New York’s “Silicone Alley,” and promoted its various sites at events such as the New York Is Books Fair. The site now boasted over 100,000 official citizens in its AncientSites area alone, although multiple personalities probably meant between 5,000 - 10,000 actual citizens had registered. There was a “Lindsey Davis” week, multiple other events, chats with Caesar and Cleopatra, the “staging” of Caesar’s murder, “live,” on the Ides of March, 2000, and dozens of active and semi-active groups devoted both to history, socializing, and “role playing” or creative historical fiction. At the same time, many members were being drawn to write in the competitive atmosphere of “The Vines,” where prizes for best historical and other posts were regularly awarded. But by August, 2000, financial concerns began to cause laybacks in volunteer and paid staff. Rumors in late 2000 first raised the awful possibility that the founding flagship, AncientSites, could not financially survive because of insufficient income. This was, of course, also the year in which dot-coms all over the world began to unravel.
The rumors were, alas, too true. After a dark autumn, in January, 2001, the site announced that its last day of virtual existence would be March 30, 2001. All citizens were given two months to transfer their web pages and all necessary information before the site went dark for good. The response from citizens was amazing - genuine grief and concern, recriminations and wishful thinking, please for time and desperate, if hopeful, suggestions, filled the boards. As March proceeded inexorably to its conclusion, friends who for three years had met daily online tried to accept the demise of AncientSites and find other niches online in which to keep their friendships and groups intact.
On March 30, 2001, at precisely 1 PM Eastern Standard Time, the URL for AncientSites suddenly showed “File not Found.” Those of us who were there to the last gasp were in tears all over the world. We felt like a family member had died. The very last post, by M. Didius, literally preceded the lights going off by seconds - it said, merely, “Click.”
What no one expected is that, with the demise of AncientSites, the story was yet far from ending.
THE MAN WHO COMBINED KNOWLEDGE AND FUN
GAIUS TRAIANUS MARCIUS IN MEMORIAM
by QuintusCinna Cocceius
What is it about antiquity that fascinates us so? Like centuries of archaeologists who have explored the ancient world, we have always been intrigued by the ancient cultures that populate Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas. The Regia was captivated by the peaks and declines of various empires that they encountered at every turn and found themselves turning to the third century AD. Whether in a Jewish synagogue or an Italian temple, GaiusTraianus Marcius combined the importance of knowledge with that of fun and made the Regia stunning. He was equally enchanted by those great people and obsessive historians who have taken more than just intellectual inspiration from antiquity. Having recently journeyed his way to Elysium through a terrible tragedy, Gaius explored and immersed the Regia into foreign cultures, these important people that lived afar in time. These striking posts that evoked all of the importance, seduction, and understanding of the ancient world has been preserved and continue on in the community called The Regia. Thank you for your contribution Gaius, we shall miss you and will preserve your name for what we do in life echoes in eternity.
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On This Page
THE NECTAR OF THE GODS
by Louisa Agis
HISTORY OF ANCIENTWORLDS - PART III
by Heraklia Aelius
THE MAN WHO COMBINED KNOWLEDGE AND FUN
by QuintusCinna Cocceius
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 The Campus Martius group in Rome is being re-started under new management! The Campus Martius, which many remember from earlier days, is a military roleplaying group this time situated in the year 159 BC.
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 For those of you who do not know, Arturus Rex is under new leadership. Prosperina Curius has taken over the reings and has many ideas as to how to restart the group. If you love the historical Arthur, this is the group for you!
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 Visit the Temple of Cornellia and leave offerings of chocolate for the goddess of polite behavior and good manners. The Temple for the worship of the goddess Cornellia and her chainsaw. A place to make offerings to the great goddess and to hear her words and posts of wisdom.
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