[1481]. Theoph. Hist. Plant. i. 6. 13.
[1482]. Athen. ii. 62.
[1483]. Plut. Sympos. iv. 2. 1. who relates that the ὕδνα attained to a very large size in Elis.
[1484]. Vid. Theoph. Hist. Plant. i. 6. 13.
[1485]. Walp. Mem. i. 284.
[1486]. Valmont de Bomare, Dict. D’Hist. Nat. t. ii. p. 21, seq.
CHAPTER III.
VINEYARD, VINTAGE, ETC.
One of the principal branches of husbandry[[1487]] in Greece was the culture of the vine, probably introduced from Phœnicia.[[1488]] Long before the historical age, however, it had spread itself through the whole country, together with several parts of Asia Minor, as may be inferred from the language of Homer,[[1489]] who frequently enumerates vineyards among the possessions of his heroes. Like most things the origin of which was unknown, the vine furnished the poets and common people with the subjects of numerous fables, some of which were reckoned of sufficient importance to be treasured up and transmitted to posterity. Thus, among the Ozolian Locrians, it was said[[1490]] to have sprung from a small piece of wood, brought forth in lieu of whelps by a bitch. Others supposed a spot near Olympia[[1491]] to have given birth to the vine, in proof of which the inhabitants affirmed a miracle was wrought annually among them during the Dionysiac festival. They took three empty brazen vessels, and having closely covered and sealed them in the presence of witnesses, again opened them after some interval of time, not stated, when they were found full of wine. According to other authorities, the environs of Plinthinè, in Egypt, had the honour of being the cradle of Dionysos, on which account the ancient Egyptians were by some accused of inebriety, though in the age of Herodotus[[1492]] there would appear to have been no vineyards in the whole valley of the Nile. In reality,[[1493]] the vine appears to be a native of all temperate climates, both in the old world and the new, and will even flourish[[1494]] and produce fine grapes in various situations within the tropics, where clusters in different stages of ripeness may be observed upon its branches at all seasons of the year.
The opinions of Grecian writers respecting the soil best suited to the cultivation of the vine, having been founded on experience, generally agree with those which prevail in modern times.[[1495]] They preferred for their vineyards the gentle acclivities of hills,[[1496]] where the soil was good, though light and porous, and abounding in springs at no great depth from the surface.[[1497]] A considerable degree of moisture was always supposed to be indispensable, on which account, in arid situations, large hollow sea-shells, and fragments of sandstone[[1498]] were buried in the soil, these being regarded as so many reservoirs of humidity.