Hecataeus and the Origin of Wine

What is it about?

This note reexamines Hecataeus’ account of the origins of the grapevine in the Genealogies (F 15, Fowler). In it, Hecataeus discards the traditional narrative of the arrival of the grape with Dionysus and instead explains the vine’s portentous appearance through the birth labor of a dog. I propose to offer an interpretation of the fragment centering on Hecataeus’ exploitation of the linguistic ambiguity of the Greek ‘dog’. Hecataeus’ origin story, I argue, critiques traditional belief in divine interaction with the human sphere.

Featured Image