KYRIAKOS D.

PAPADOPOULOS
COMMANDARIA
the Legendary wine
COMMANDARIA
The Legendary wine of Cyprus
Copyright 2009 Power Publishing Ltd
Author: Kyriakos D. Papadopoulos
Translation: Stephanos Angelides
ISBN: 978-9963-688-03-6
1. INTRODUCTION......................................................................
2. HISTORICAL FLASHBACK.........................................................
3. A GENERAL REGARD OF VINICULTURE IN CYPRUS.................
4. THE AREA OF COMMANDARIA................................................
5. THE VARIETIES..........................................................................
6. COMMANDARIA TODAY..........................................................
7. THE EXPORTATION OF COMMANDARIA................................
8. THE AROMAS OF COMMANDARIA.........................................
9. CHARACTERISTICS OF COMMANDARIA.................................
10. COMMANDARIA ON OUR TABLE............................................
11. A VALUATION OF THE QUALITY OF COMMANDARIA............
EPILOGUE........................................................................................
BIBLIOGRAPHY................................................................................
CONTENTS
5
7
37
45
49
60
76
79
81
85
90
93
95
1Kyriacou Matsi Avenue, 6th floor
1082 Nicosia, Cyprus
Tel.: 357 22 765999. Fax: 357 22 765909
e-mail: info@power-books.net
www.power-books.net
No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in
any form or by any means, without the
permission, in writing, of the Author, nor be
otherwise circulated in any form of binding or
cover other than that in which it is published
COMMANDARIA
The Legendary wine of Cyprus
Copyright 2009 Power Publishing Ltd
Author: Kyriakos D. Papadopoulos
Translation: Stephanos Angelides
ISBN: 978-9963-688-03-6
1. INTRODUCTION......................................................................
2. HISTORICAL FLASHBACK.........................................................
3. A GENERAL REGARD OF VINICULTURE IN CYPRUS.................
4. THE AREA OF COMMANDARIA................................................
5. THE VARIETIES..........................................................................
6. COMMANDARIA TODAY..........................................................
7. THE EXPORTATION OF COMMANDARIA................................
8. THE AROMAS OF COMMANDARIA.........................................
9. CHARACTERISTICS OF COMMANDARIA.................................
10. COMMANDARIA ON OUR TABLE............................................
11. A VALUATION OF THE QUALITY OF COMMANDARIA............
EPILOGUE........................................................................................
BIBLIOGRAPHY................................................................................
CONTENTS
5
7
37
45
49
60
76
79
81
85
90
93
95
1Kyriacou Matsi Avenue, 6th floor
1082 Nicosia, Cyprus
Tel.: 357 22 765999. Fax: 357 22 765909
e-mail: info@power-books.net
www.power-books.net
No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in
any form or by any means, without the
permission, in writing, of the Author, nor be
otherwise circulated in any form of binding or
cover other than that in which it is published
1. INTRODUCTION
If any wine fits the context of the verse above, then it definitely has to be
Commandaria. It is enough for someone to try it just once in his lifetime, to become an
adherent and romantic lover of it. He will be fascinated from the richness of the flavors
and aromas that each drop has to offer. Richness, that covers with incredible
explicitness the realm of all senses. Ardent color, from gold to ruby. Sophisticated
aroma, etherial, erotic. Sweet and blazing taste, full of light and fire. And then, the spirit
that penetrates the mind and the soul to wander in ethereal, sublime, mystical worlds,
that surpass the dullness of our century.
Even so though, this unique wine, which ages ago was the dearest drink of gods
and humans, which the habitants of the island merchandised up to the endings of the
then known world and the wine producers of other countries attempted to copy and
reproduce it, was forgotten for some time. Its imitations dominated in the markets
across the globe. However, eternity cannot be lost in oceans of thanklessness. Its
course goes on undefiled through the centuries, through the vineyards of the scraggy
land, through the ruins and to maturate under the hot Cypriot sun, to be fermented in
Etherial aromas wind, like a bouquet of the wild down country,
Carob, raisin and honey, with the white bloom of AZAROLE.
Blazing taste like the kiss of a virgin on the lips,
And sweet ebriety in an erotic sleep at the Aphrodites chest!
Shining ruby dazzles me from the eternal aura of my soil.
5
1. INTRODUCTION
If any wine fits the context of the verse above, then it definitely has to be
Commandaria. It is enough for someone to try it just once in his lifetime, to become an
adherent and romantic lover of it. He will be fascinated from the richness of the flavors
and aromas that each drop has to offer. Richness, that covers with incredible
explicitness the realm of all senses. Ardent color, from gold to ruby. Sophisticated
aroma, etherial, erotic. Sweet and blazing taste, full of light and fire. And then, the spirit
that penetrates the mind and the soul to wander in ethereal, sublime, mystical worlds,
that surpass the dullness of our century.
Even so though, this unique wine, which ages ago was the dearest drink of gods
and humans, which the habitants of the island merchandised up to the endings of the
then known world and the wine producers of other countries attempted to copy and
reproduce it, was forgotten for some time. Its imitations dominated in the markets
across the globe. However, eternity cannot be lost in oceans of thanklessness. Its
course goes on undefiled through the centuries, through the vineyards of the scraggy
land, through the ruins and to maturate under the hot Cypriot sun, to be fermented in
Etherial aromas wind, like a bouquet of the wild down country,
Carob, raisin and honey, with the white bloom of AZAROLE.
Blazing taste like the kiss of a virgin on the lips,
And sweet ebriety in an erotic sleep at the Aphrodites chest!
Shining ruby dazzles me from the eternal aura of my soil.
5
2. HISTORICAL FLASHBACK
the jars and get us drunk. A wine with a great tradition and history. In other words, a
legend.
Through the storm of conquests that for thousands of years tantalized, desolated
and orphaned Cyprus, Commandaria stayed intact, like the souls of its people. Intact,
like the worship of Aphrodite, Dionysus and Jesus through the centuries. The Cypriot
vineyard managed to resist against desolation from the age-long droughts, to stay
untouched from the phylloxera, and Commandaria proudly survived through the dark
ages of Turkish domination.
Despite the hard times Commandaria went through, and despite the great
competition that confronts, it has nothing to be scared of, because the imitations are
always inferior than the original. So today, whoever tastes this wine, instantly becomes
a keen friend of it.
It is a wine with controlled appellation, and it gazes with optimism its future in
Europe, but also in the rest of the world, claiming the lost glory it once had.
6 7
It would be hardly a mistake to suppose that by talking about Cyprus wine
from Homer's era (or even before that) until the recent years, we mean
Commandaria. Italian Giovanni Mariti wrote this as an introduction of his book
Del Vino di Cipro: it will be a study that will focus on the cultivation of the
grapevine that prospers in the island of Cyprus, and also on the production and
storage of the wine, known as the Cypriot wine, but in a more particular and
specialized way about the wine Koumandaria, which is so deservedly appreciated
in Europe, and that today possesses an important place at the tables that present
the most remarkable wines. (Mariti, Florence 1772).
Except for the written texts, that somehow bear witness of this fact, we have to
try to understand the technology of vinification of those years and the problems
they faced back then. Yet, what we foremostly will have to analyze and understand,
are the social conditions, the habits, the means and the needs of the people of that
time. Whereas, all these are shaped according to the ambience, the sources and
knowledge.
The ancient winebibbers were not fond of dry wines, despite the fact that later
on the Greeks accustomed to produce this kind of wines, which they called stern
wine. Hence, the gustative preferences of that era's people where the sweet
dishes and drinks. And because they did not have the knowledge of how to make
sugar, they were forced to utilize in every way sweet fruits, especially those fruits
2. HISTORICAL FLASHBACK
the jars and get us drunk. A wine with a great tradition and history. In other words, a
legend.
Through the storm of conquests that for thousands of years tantalized, desolated
and orphaned Cyprus, Commandaria stayed intact, like the souls of its people. Intact,
like the worship of Aphrodite, Dionysus and Jesus through the centuries. The Cypriot
vineyard managed to resist against desolation from the age-long droughts, to stay
untouched from the phylloxera, and Commandaria proudly survived through the dark
ages of Turkish domination.
Despite the hard times Commandaria went through, and despite the great
competition that confronts, it has nothing to be scared of, because the imitations are
always inferior than the original. So today, whoever tastes this wine, instantly becomes
a keen friend of it.
It is a wine with controlled appellation, and it gazes with optimism its future in
Europe, but also in the rest of the world, claiming the lost glory it once had.
6 7
It would be hardly a mistake to suppose that by talking about Cyprus wine
from Homer's era (or even before that) until the recent years, we mean
Commandaria. Italian Giovanni Mariti wrote this as an introduction of his book
Del Vino di Cipro: it will be a study that will focus on the cultivation of the
grapevine that prospers in the island of Cyprus, and also on the production and
storage of the wine, known as the Cypriot wine, but in a more particular and
specialized way about the wine Koumandaria, which is so deservedly appreciated
in Europe, and that today possesses an important place at the tables that present
the most remarkable wines. (Mariti, Florence 1772).
Except for the written texts, that somehow bear witness of this fact, we have to
try to understand the technology of vinification of those years and the problems
they faced back then. Yet, what we foremostly will have to analyze and understand,
are the social conditions, the habits, the means and the needs of the people of that
time. Whereas, all these are shaped according to the ambience, the sources and
knowledge.
The ancient winebibbers were not fond of dry wines, despite the fact that later
on the Greeks accustomed to produce this kind of wines, which they called stern
wine. Hence, the gustative preferences of that era's people where the sweet
dishes and drinks. And because they did not have the knowledge of how to make
sugar, they were forced to utilize in every way sweet fruits, especially those fruits
8 9
that had the ability to turn even sweeter after they were dried, like fig and grape.
The only means they had to sweeten their dishes, where, apart from the before-
mentioned, honey. Thereby, they dried grapes to collect sugar because it was
useful and needed. Sweet wine dominated in those times, so we can assume,
without conducting any big mistake, that even the first wines that were produced in
Cyprus were sweet, sort of Commandaria.
After saying this, the question that would pop on someone's mind is: When
was the first wine in Cyprus produced?
Unfortunately there is neither evidence, nor written or any other testimony for
the first wine production. Moreover, even our ancient ancestors must have had the
same question. Plato at the Symposium mentions that there was a time where not
even gods made wine, they drank only nectar. According to Greek mythology, the
art of wine was first picked up by Dionysus, who through King Icarius spread it to
the people. In any event, Cyprus was one of the few countries in the Middle Eastern
region, where wild vineyards where prospering. In Egypt, for example, where it is
believed that the viniculture first blossomed, wild vineyards never prospered. Wild
vineyard is considered to be the ancestor of the domesticated ones. Seeds from
grapes of the wild vineyard Vitis vinifera ssp. Silvestris where found in Cyprus in
varied periods of time.
Many old concepts about the birthplace of the wine productions need
readjustment, after the recent excavations at the area of Erimi. Fragments of pots
found at the wine producing area of Erimi revealed that viniculture first flourished
there more than 5.500 years ago. The ancient Greeks made the wine known to the
natives of the island. The Romans made wine known to the whole world. But the
Cypriots were the ones that showed to them how wine is made. Italian specialists
claim that they discovered evidence showing that Cypriots were not only the first to
The evolution
of Neolithic
vase to amphora
8 9
that had the ability to turn even sweeter after they were dried, like fig and grape.
The only means they had to sweeten their dishes, where, apart from the before-
mentioned, honey. Thereby, they dried grapes to collect sugar because it was
useful and needed. Sweet wine dominated in those times, so we can assume,
without conducting any big mistake, that even the first wines that were produced in
Cyprus were sweet, sort of Commandaria.
After saying this, the question that would pop on someone's mind is: When
was the first wine in Cyprus produced?
Unfortunately there is neither evidence, nor written or any other testimony for
the first wine production. Moreover, even our ancient ancestors must have had the
same question. Plato at the Symposium mentions that there was a time where not
even gods made wine, they drank only nectar. According to Greek mythology, the
art of wine was first picked up by Dionysus, who through King Icarius spread it to
the people. In any event, Cyprus was one of the few countries in the Middle Eastern
region, where wild vineyards where prospering. In Egypt, for example, where it is
believed that the viniculture first blossomed, wild vineyards never prospered. Wild
vineyard is considered to be the ancestor of the domesticated ones. Seeds from
grapes of the wild vineyard Vitis vinifera ssp. Silvestris where found in Cyprus in
varied periods of time.
Many old concepts about the birthplace of the wine productions need
readjustment, after the recent excavations at the area of Erimi. Fragments of pots
found at the wine producing area of Erimi revealed that viniculture first flourished
there more than 5.500 years ago. The ancient Greeks made the wine known to the
natives of the island. The Romans made wine known to the whole world. But the
Cypriots were the ones that showed to them how wine is made. Italian specialists
claim that they discovered evidence showing that Cypriots were not only the first to
The evolution
of Neolithic
vase to amphora
10 11
use earthen glasses and jars for the transportation of wine, but that they also
preceded their Mediterranean cousins in the art of wine for 1.500 years. It is a
staggering discovery, says Maria-Rosaria Beljiorno, head of the archaeological
team. It seems that the oldest wine is the one found in a 5.000 year old jar at Adji
Firuz in Iran, but in the Mediterranean, the oldest wine samples come from
Cyprus.
Beljiorno, of the Italian Institute of Applied Arts on the Cultural Heritage, says
that the examination of fragments of pottery showed that viniculture flourished in
Cyprus 5.500 years before. The oldest related findings discovered in Crete, are of
age 3.600. We discovered traces of tartaric acid, which is the main compound of
wine, Beljiorno explains. The fragments of the pots found at the wine producing
area of Erimi, are the oldest evidence of pots, with which the transportations of
wine was made, from Cyprus to the rest of the world. They have narrow orifices,
they are wide and their layout reminds caprice skinbags. These potteries look
almost alike with those found later at the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics. The
same pots were adopted by the Egyptians, Beljorno says. Cypriots, who were
excellent in pottery, were making pots that looked like the horns of oxes, and they
are believed to be the first drinking glasses. The Tradition of the making of such
glasses was born in Cyprus. In parallel, the Italian archaeologists discovered in the
area of Erimi a portrayal of the wine production on a Cypriot pot aging 4.000. This is
globally unique. It proved impossible to determine the kind of the wine, but it
seems more possible that it was red rather than white. At any event, the wines
people were drinking back then would be rather rough for today's palates. The
wine, people were drinking, was different. It was thick and exceptionally strong so
strong, that people had to mix it with water to drink it.
This discovery is remarkable by every aspect, because it has to do with a
productive unit, unique at its kind, even with today's conditions. A whole factory
was discovered, which consisted of a olive press, a winery
and a factory for copper processing. From the oil produced,
the Cypriots were making aromas. Firstly they produced
aromas using bayleaf, cinnamon, myrtle, aniseed, citron and
other local, which then were dissolved in the oil. The
scientists have reproduced fourteen different aromas from
the remains found in tens of earthen pots. The discovery of
huge earthen pots of containment up to five hundred liters
bears witness that it was a prospering exporting center
having as a central market the island of Crete.
At the area of Erimi is located the only Wine Museum of
Cyprus, and the owner Anastasia Guy proudly says that she
must have had divine inspiration when she decided to create
here the Wine Museum before the discovery, at the
birthplace of the European wine.
According to these and much other evidence we can
assume that while wild vineyard was in Cyprus for many
years, the domesticated vineyard started to be cultivated
only in the second millennia after Christ.
Here though we can assert that something paradoxical
is taking place, while in the countries were the cultivation of
domesticated vineyards is dating back to older times, from
the end of the fourth millennia B.C., countries like Egypt and
Syria, wild vineyard never prospered. If we assume that the
domesticated vineyard was developed from the wild one,
then how was the domesticated one found in these
countries?
The first wine drinking cups-ruton
Erimi amphora
10 11
use earthen glasses and jars for the transportation of wine, but that they also
preceded their Mediterranean cousins in the art of wine for 1.500 years. It is a
staggering discovery, says Maria-Rosaria Beljiorno, head of the archaeological
team. It seems that the oldest wine is the one found in a 5.000 year old jar at Adji
Firuz in Iran, but in the Mediterranean, the oldest wine samples come from
Cyprus.
Beljiorno, of the Italian Institute of Applied Arts on the Cultural Heritage, says
that the examination of fragments of pottery showed that viniculture flourished in
Cyprus 5.500 years before. The oldest related findings discovered in Crete, are of
age 3.600. We discovered traces of tartaric acid, which is the main compound of
wine, Beljiorno explains. The fragments of the pots found at the wine producing
area of Erimi, are the oldest evidence of pots, with which the transportations of
wine was made, from Cyprus to the rest of the world. They have narrow orifices,
they are wide and their layout reminds caprice skinbags. These potteries look
almost alike with those found later at the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics. The
same pots were adopted by the Egyptians, Beljorno says. Cypriots, who were
excellent in pottery, were making pots that looked like the horns of oxes, and they
are believed to be the first drinking glasses. The Tradition of the making of such
glasses was born in Cyprus. In parallel, the Italian archaeologists discovered in the
area of Erimi a portrayal of the wine production on a Cypriot pot aging 4.000. This is
globally unique. It proved impossible to determine the kind of the wine, but it
seems more possible that it was red rather than white. At any event, the wines
people were drinking back then would be rather rough for today's palates. The
wine, people were drinking, was different. It was thick and exceptionally strong so
strong, that people had to mix it with water to drink it.
This discovery is remarkable by every aspect, because it has to do with a
productive unit, unique at its kind, even with today's conditions. A whole factory
was discovered, which consisted of a olive press, a winery
and a factory for copper processing. From the oil produced,
the Cypriots were making aromas. Firstly they produced
aromas using bayleaf, cinnamon, myrtle, aniseed, citron and
other local, which then were dissolved in the oil. The
scientists have reproduced fourteen different aromas from
the remains found in tens of earthen pots. The discovery of
huge earthen pots of containment up to five hundred liters
bears witness that it was a prospering exporting center
having as a central market the island of Crete.
At the area of Erimi is located the only Wine Museum of
Cyprus, and the owner Anastasia Guy proudly says that she
must have had divine inspiration when she decided to create
here the Wine Museum before the discovery, at the
birthplace of the European wine.
According to these and much other evidence we can
assume that while wild vineyard was in Cyprus for many
years, the domesticated vineyard started to be cultivated
only in the second millennia after Christ.
Here though we can assert that something paradoxical
is taking place, while in the countries were the cultivation of
domesticated vineyards is dating back to older times, from
the end of the fourth millennia B.C., countries like Egypt and
Syria, wild vineyard never prospered. If we assume that the
domesticated vineyard was developed from the wild one,
then how was the domesticated one found in these
countries?
The first wine drinking cups-ruton
Erimi amphora
12 13
Independently from that, in Cyprus we continue to
discover seeds in amphorae, seeds from wild grapes and also
from domesticated ones, which are bigger and sweeter.
These findings are found in Apliki (), whilst in the
saltmarsh of Larnaca, seeds of wild grapes were found, all
dating back to the Bronze Age. In Cyprus, the wild vineyard
continued to play the same role in the life of the Cypriot
people, even in the period where domesticated vineyards
were intensively cultivated.
Further findings are the seeds and the grapes of
domesticated vineyards in Salamina. The size of these
charred findings say eloquently much about there descent.
Wine as an organic product has no time endurance. The
liquid part of its ingredients, particularly water and alcohol, is
easily evaporated and lost without residues, while the solid organic part is easily
decomposed. So, it is hard to find direct evidence for their existence. Lately, there is
a technique applied, which is called the microchemical technique, where the DNA
of the findings is examined, if there are any, and their descent is calculated. But
there are many other ways, usually direct, for the proof of wine's existence. One of
those is the pottey. In Cyprus, like in other places too, they were first used narrow-
bottomed amphorae for the storage and transfer of liquids such as oil, honey, wine
etc but also of solids, like cereals. Amphorae of this kind were sent to Cyprus from
Egypt, where they were used much earlier. The amphorae that were sent to Cyprus
had adobe caps and Cypriot-minoan writings, which are yet to be decoded, so we
cannot talk with certainty about their content.
th
The palace of Enkomi, one of the most spectacular buildings of the 12 century
B.C., (the Bronze Age), is considered by the archaeologists
to be the great hall of receptions, were many celebrations
were taking place and where wine was plenteously
consumed. This is apparent by the big jar that was found,
along with a Mycenaean glass for wine in a concavity, that it
was likely the cellar of the palace. In a neighboring room,
other big jars were found, that they possibly contained oil,
wine or wheat, which was common in the Mycenaean
palaces.
Recent excavations in Maa-Palaiokastro, a settlement
th
of the 12 century in the dinstrick of Paphos, brought to
light a great number of wine glasses of Mycenaean style.
This settlement, which was founded in 1200 B.C from
migrants from the Aegean sea, was a kind of military base, where the residents,
judged by the glasses of wine that were found there, spent their time pleasurably.
th th
In graves of the 14 and 13 century B.C., great quantities of big Mycenaean
craterss and amphorae were found, in which the ancients used to mix wine with
water. In one of those amphorae of the Geometric Period II, originated from
th
Kourion (10 century B.C.) and that today can be seen in the Cypriot Museum of
Nicosia, two images are portrayed, that have a great connection with wine
drinking. The first scene displays a human figure receiving wine from a big crater
th
and at the second one, a man playing lyre. On another crater of the 10 century
B.C., known as the amphora of Hubbard, also found in the Cypriot Museum of
Nicosia, a feminine figure is displayed, possibly a goddess, drinking wine with a
pipette from an amphora.
th th
The symposiums were possibly a regular phenomenon after the 11 and 10
Amphora
Hubbard amphora
12 13
Independently from that, in Cyprus we continue to
discover seeds in amphorae, seeds from wild grapes and also
from domesticated ones, which are bigger and sweeter.
These findings are found in Apliki (), whilst in the
saltmarsh of Larnaca, seeds of wild grapes were found, all
dating back to the Bronze Age. In Cyprus, the wild vineyard
continued to play the same role in the life of the Cypriot
people, even in the period where domesticated vineyards
were intensively cultivated.
Further findings are the seeds and the grapes of
domesticated vineyards in Salamina. The size of these
charred findings say eloquently much about there descent.
Wine as an organic product has no time endurance. The
liquid part of its ingredients, particularly water and alcohol, is
easily evaporated and lost without residues, while the solid organic part is easily
decomposed. So, it is hard to find direct evidence for their existence. Lately, there is
a technique applied, which is called the microchemical technique, where the DNA
of the findings is examined, if there are any, and their descent is calculated. But
there are many other ways, usually direct, for the proof of wine's existence. One of
those is the pottey. In Cyprus, like in other places too, they were first used narrow-
bottomed amphorae for the storage and transfer of liquids such as oil, honey, wine
etc but also of solids, like cereals. Amphorae of this kind were sent to Cyprus from
Egypt, where they were used much earlier. The amphorae that were sent to Cyprus
had adobe caps and Cypriot-minoan writings, which are yet to be decoded, so we
cannot talk with certainty about their content.
th
The palace of Enkomi, one of the most spectacular buildings of the 12 century
B.C., (the Bronze Age), is considered by the archaeologists
to be the great hall of receptions, were many celebrations
were taking place and where wine was plenteously
consumed. This is apparent by the big jar that was found,
along with a Mycenaean glass for wine in a concavity, that it
was likely the cellar of the palace. In a neighboring room,
other big jars were found, that they possibly contained oil,
wine or wheat, which was common in the Mycenaean
palaces.
Recent excavations in Maa-Palaiokastro, a settlement
th
of the 12 century in the dinstrick of Paphos, brought to
light a great number of wine glasses of Mycenaean style.
This settlement, which was founded in 1200 B.C from
migrants from the Aegean sea, was a kind of military base, where the residents,
judged by the glasses of wine that were found there, spent their time pleasurably.
th th
In graves of the 14 and 13 century B.C., great quantities of big Mycenaean
craterss and amphorae were found, in which the ancients used to mix wine with
water. In one of those amphorae of the Geometric Period II, originated from
th
Kourion (10 century B.C.) and that today can be seen in the Cypriot Museum of
Nicosia, two images are portrayed, that have a great connection with wine
drinking. The first scene displays a human figure receiving wine from a big crater
th
and at the second one, a man playing lyre. On another crater of the 10 century
B.C., known as the amphora of Hubbard, also found in the Cypriot Museum of
Nicosia, a feminine figure is displayed, possibly a goddess, drinking wine with a
pipette from an amphora.
th th
The symposiums were possibly a regular phenomenon after the 11 and 10
Amphora
Hubbard amphora
' '
,
, ,
,
' '
, , '

.
'
, ' '
,
.
( 609-617)
And when Orion and Sirius
Reach the middle of the sky
And the rose-fingered Aurora looks at
Arcturus, then, Persian,
Harvest and take home all the
Grapes. Show them to the sun
For ten days and ten nights,
Shade them for five and at the sixth
Empty in jars the presents of
Pleasing Dionysus. But
When Pleiades and Iades and
The power of Orion decline,
Then remember to till on
His time, and the seed inside the earth
Will find its way.
14 15
centuries, when the Greek aristocracy dominated in the cultural life of Cyprus. The
excavations of this archaeologist brought to light a great number of Greek type
wine glasses throughout the island. Among findings in Palaipafos and Kitium there
are also those called the peculiar or funny cups. These are wine glasses that when
they were filled up with wine, the wine passed through several secret channels
and eventually came out from a bull's mouth, whose head was placed at the edge of
the cup. It looks that the wine drinkers of that time were quite amused with this
procedure.
However, the Cypriot wine was known and dear not only among the Greeks.
King Solomon (960-925 B.C.) seems that had a specific preference for the Cypriot
wine and that he knew much about it. He mentioned Cyprus grapes and Cyprus
wine in his excelent book Song of Songs.
th
There is no evidence suggesting that the great paragraph from Hesiodus' (8
century B.C.) work Works and days refers to the way Cyprus wine was made. But
the resemblance between the described technology and the technology used to
make Commandaria is so big, that it tempts us to believe that when Hesiodus was
writing those rhymes, he had the Cypriot wine on his mind. Below you can read the
lyrics in ancient Greek and the translation.