Honey Popana for Dionysus
Small round cakes of barley and wheat bound with honey, sometimes marked with a pattern, offered to the gods. Inspired by the popana and pelanoi of Greek offering, here in a version to eat, sweet and fragrant.
Small round cakes of barley and wheat bound with honey, sometimes marked with a pattern, offered to the gods. Inspired by the popana and pelanoi of Greek offering, here in a version to eat, sweet and fragrant.
Before the chorus enters and my first word falls upon the tiers, I do not trust only my verses: I place for Dionysus these little honey cakes, round as the full moon. The flour is bound with Hymettus honey, marked with the thumb, and placed on the altar with a libation of pure wine. The god who gives ecstasy and the mask loves what is sweet; to please him is to attract the goodwill of the judges and the assembled people. Do likewise, in your own way, before any trial: the gods do not grant the arrogant who forgets them.
- •Barley and wheat flour — equal parts (cake base)
- •Hymettus honey — generously (binder and sweetness — signature)
- •Sesame seeds — a handful (sacred garnish)
- •Olive oil — a splash (moistness)
Honey Popana for Dionysus
Small round cakes of barley and wheat bound with honey, sometimes marked with a pattern, offered to the gods. Inspired by the popana and pelanoi of Greek offering, here in a version to eat, sweet and fragrant.
Why this dish? Before each performance, the Great Dionysia opened with sacrifices and offerings to Dionysus, god of theater. Sophocles, who won the tragic competition at the Theater of Dionysus more than twenty times, placed these little honey cakes like any poet asking the god's favor before delivering his play to the judgment of the city.
Before the chorus enters and my first word falls upon the tiers, I do not trust only my verses: I place for Dionysus these little honey cakes, round as the full moon. The flour is bound with Hymettus honey, marked with the thumb, and placed on the altar with a libation of pure wine. The god who gives ecstasy and the mask loves what is sweet; to please him is to attract the goodwill of the judges and the assembled people. Do likewise, in your own way, before any trial: the gods do not grant the arrogant who forgets them.
Ingredients (period version)
- Barley and wheat flour — equal parts (cake base)
- Hymettus honey — generously (binder and sweetness — signature)
- Sesame seeds — a handful (sacred garnish)
- Olive oil — a splash (moistness)
Ingredients
- Wheat flour — 120 g (cake base)
- Barley flour — 60 g (cake base)
- Honey — 5 tbsp (binder and sweetness — signature)
- Sesame seeds — 2 tbsp (garnish)
- Olive oil — 2 tbsp (moistness)
- Water — as needed (hydration)
Method
- Mix the flours, then incorporate the honey, oil, and just enough water to form a firm dough.
- Shape small disks about 5 cm in diameter and mark them with a fingerprint or a cross.
- Sprinkle with sesame seeds, pressing lightly to adhere.
- Bake at 180°C for 12 to 15 minutes, until golden.
- Brush with a little warm honey upon leaving the oven to make them shine.
How it was made : The Greeks offered the gods cakes (popana, pelanos, pemmata) made from cereals and honey, sometimes uncooked, placed on the altar with libations. Sesame and honey were recurring ingredients in offerings and symposion sweets. This does not reproduce a sacred rite: it is an inspired version, to eat.
The contemporary twist : Mark each cake with a small stylized theater mask: a nod to the Theater of Dionysus where Sophocles triumphed.
Sources : Walter Burkert, Greek Religion, Harvard University Press, 1985 · Andrew Dalby, Food in the Ancient World from A to Z, Routledge, 2003
Sophocles · Charactorium