Mead of the Bell Beaker Culture (c. 2800–1800 BCE). The earliest surviving description of mead is in the hymns of the "Rigveda", one of the sacred books of the historical Vedic religion and (later) Hinduism dated around 1700–1100 BC. During the Golden Age of ancient Greece, mead was said to be the preferred drink. Aristotle (384–322 BCE) discussed mead in his "Meteorologica" and elsewhere, while Pliny the Elder (23–79 CE) called mead "militites" in his "Naturalis Historia" and differentiated wine sweetened with honey or "honey-wine" from mead. The Hispanic-Roman naturalist Columella gave a recipe for mead in "De re rustica", about
Mead of poetry Mead of poetry In Norse mythology, the Poetic Mead or Mead of Poetry (Old Norse "skáldskapar mjaðar"), also known as Mead of Suttungr ("Suttungmjaðar"), is a mythical beverage that whoever "drinks becomes a skald or scholar" to recite any information and solve any question. This myth was reported by Snorri Sturluson (Skáldskaparmál 5) . The drink is a vivid metaphor for poetic inspiration, often associated with Odin the god of 'possession' via berserker rage or poetic inspiration. After the Æsir-Vanir War, the gods sealed the truce they had just concluded by spitting in a vat. To keep a symbol of