Tragēmata / offering to the god of theater
Melitoutta, sesame and honey cake for Dionysus
OfferingEvocation🍯facile20 min
Small bites of toasted sesame bound with thyme honey, scented with a hint of cooked wine. Frankly sweet and crunchy, they evoke the sweet offerings of Dionysian festivals.
Tragēmata / offering to the god of theater
Small bites of toasted sesame bound with thyme honey, scented with a hint of cooked wine. Frankly sweet and crunchy, they evoke the sweet offerings of Dionysian festivals.
Before the crowd decides whether my verses deserve the crown, the god receives his shares of honey and grain. I mix the toasted sesame with the honey from our hills until it flows and turns golden, and I shape small portions for Dionysus, who rules over both stage and cup. Be pious, friend: a little sweetness offered appeases the gods — and perhaps it also softens the verdict of the judges.
Ingredients
- •Sesame seeds — a good measure (crunchy base)
- •Hymettus thyme honey — generously (sweet binder)
- •Cooked wine (reduced must) — a splash (flavor)
How it was made : Greeks offered the gods cakes (pelanos, popana) made from flour, honey, and seeds. Since sugar was unknown, honey was the only major sweetener; sesame, imported from the East, provided crunch — the direct ancestor of halva and today's sesame pastries.
Sources : Athenaeus of Naucratis, The Deipnosophists (Book XIV, on cakes)