Choē of Three Sweetnesses
A warm blend of deep red wine, honey and milk, bound with a little spring water and a pinch of toasted barley. Once poured into the earth for the dead; here, sweetened and warmed, it is shared in memory of a departed one.
A warm blend of deep red wine, honey and milk, bound with a little spring water and a pinch of toasted barley. Once poured into the earth for the dead; here, sweetened and warmed, it is shared in memory of a departed one.
Mortal, listen well, for I am the mist that one day will veil your eyes. To the gods of the sky, their rich smoke; to me and my sisters of darkness, only this is due: first dig a pit one cubit deep, turn your face away, and pour — first the milk and honey, then the black wine unmixed with water, finally the clear water on top. Sprinkle barley groats, speak the name of your dead, and taste nothing: what goes down to us never returns to you. Do it without trembling, and the shades will come to drink at the edge of the earth.
- •Uncut black wine (mélas oinos) — one cup (base of the libation, fermented and dark)
- •Hymettan honey — to taste (sweetness that soothes the dead)
- •Goat's milk — one portion (whiteness offered to the shades)
- •Spring water — a trickle (purification, poured last)
- •Toasted barley groats (alphita) — a handful (sprinkled over the libation)
Choē of Three Sweetnesses
A warm blend of deep red wine, honey and milk, bound with a little spring water and a pinch of toasted barley. Once poured into the earth for the dead; here, sweetened and warmed, it is shared in memory of a departed one.
Why this dish? Achlys, veil of the dying, touches neither nectar nor ambrosia: her portion is the dark libations poured to the dead in funeral pits. The choē mixed with black wine, honey and milk is the exact offering that Odysseus pours at the edge of the pit to summon the shades in the Odyssey — the very drink from which the deities of mourning feed.
Mortal, listen well, for I am the mist that one day will veil your eyes. To the gods of the sky, their rich smoke; to me and my sisters of darkness, only this is due: first dig a pit one cubit deep, turn your face away, and pour — first the milk and honey, then the black wine unmixed with water, finally the clear water on top. Sprinkle barley groats, speak the name of your dead, and taste nothing: what goes down to us never returns to you. Do it without trembling, and the shades will come to drink at the edge of the earth.
Ingredients (period version)
- Uncut black wine (mélas oinos) — one cup (base of the libation, fermented and dark)
- Hymettan honey — to taste (sweetness that soothes the dead)
- Goat's milk — one portion (whiteness offered to the shades)
- Spring water — a trickle (purification, poured last)
- Toasted barley groats (alphita) — a handful (sprinkled over the libation)
Ingredients
- Full-bodied red wine — 250 ml (aromatic base)
- Liquid honey (multifloral or thyme) — 2 tbsp (sweetness)
- Whole milk — 100 ml (roundness)
- Spring water — 80 ml (stretches the brew)
- Toasted barley flour — 1 tsp (garnish, toasted note)
Method
- Gently heat the milk and water without boiling.
- Dissolve the honey in the warm liquid, stirring.
- Remove from heat, then pour in the wine (gentle warmth preserves its aromas).
- Serve warm in a cup, sprinkle with a pinch of toasted barley flour just before presenting.
How it was made : The choai (libations to the dead) are described as early as the Odyssey (Book XI): Odysseus pours around the pit honeyed milk, then sweet wine, then water, and sprinkles white barley groats before invoking the dead. Unlike libations to the Olympians, these were not drunk: everything went to the earth.
The contemporary twist : Served in a small hot cup during a remembrance vigil, under the name 'Cup of Shadows' — a stick of cinnamon or a clove optional for winter comfort.
Sources : Homer, Odyssey, Book XI (the Nekyia) · W. Burkert, Greek Religion (chapter on chthonic rites)
Achlys · Charactorium
