The Romans also mixed with their wine assafoetida, tar, myrrh, aloes, pepper, spikenard, poppies, worm-wood, cassia, milk, chalk, bitter almonds, and cypress; and they also exposed their wines to the action of smoke in a sort of kiln, which thickened and matured it. These mixed wines were taken in a peculiar kind of vessel called a "murrhine cup," which was said to impart a peculiar flavour to them; and though the substance of which these cups were made is not known, it is fair to surmise they were made of some aromatic wood similar to the "bitter cup" of the present day, which is made from the wood of quassia tree.
The customary dilution among the Greeks appears to have consisted of one part of wine to three parts of water,--the word "nympha" being used in many classical passages for water, as for example in a Greek epigram the literal translation of which is, "He delights in mingling with three Nymphs, making himself the fourth;" this alludes to the custom of mixing three parts of water with one of wine. In Greece, the wines of Cyprus, Lesbos, and Chio were much esteemed; those of Lesbos are especially mentioned by Horace as being wholesome and agreeable, as in Ode 17, Book I.:--
"Hîc innocentis pocula Lesbii Duces sub umbra."
"Beneath the shade you here may dine, And quaff the harmless Lesbian wine."
The origin of wine-making is also claimed by the Persians, who have a tradition of its accidental discovery by their king Jemsheed. The monarch being fond of grapes had placed a quantity in a large vessel in his cellar for future use. Some time afterwards the vessel was opened, and the grapes were found in a state of fermentation, and, being very acid, were believed by the king to be poisonous, and marked accordingly. A lady of his harem being racked by pain, determined to poison herself, for which purpose she drank some of the grape-juice--in fact, got very drunk. After sleeping a considerable time, she awoke perfectly well, and, being pleased with the result, managed in time to finish all the poison. The monarch discovered what she had done, and thence took the hint for his own advantage.
The Armenians claim the origin of wine because Noah planted his first vineyard near Erivan, upon the spot where Noah and his family resided before the Deluge.