On the 16th and 17th of March, the Romans celebrated the LIBERALIA, a religious festival dedicated to Pater Liber, the facet of Dionysus as the giver of liberty. The god is also known as Bacchus, or Iacchus, yet this celebration wasn't the notorious and later forbidden BACCHANALIA. This time, people celebrated with honey cakes and ...wine, as expected.Among the other various names of the deity, there is Zagreus, Lysias and Lusos, this one connected to the territory of Lusitania and its people, the Lusitanians, Camoens famously called the Lusiads, the sons of Lusos. Indeed, in the origin of the name, there is a Latin verb, which means "to rave", because the Southwest of the Iberian Peninsula was described by the ancient as the land where Dionysus had the greatest fun. That was why, after conquering it all, the god kept that part of the territory for himself and gave the rest to another god, his friend Pan, whose name originated the word Hispania, today's Spain.
I think it's very funny to find the origins of the two countries in mythology, for it's as if their existence was destined from the start. And I also find the two protecting classical deities very connected to both countries and peoples, although Spain doesn’t exactly install panic and Portugal isn’t all raving. Furthermore, many countries have got great wines, and Portuguese wines are not as well known as they should be.So, when a Portuguese red wine is considered by the French as the best in the world, in this year's competition in Paris, I believe a toast to Dionysus is due. With a glass of Syrah 2005, Casa Ermelinda Freitas, from Palmela, in the heart of the land of Lusos. Evoé!
I think it's very funny to find the origins of the two countries in mythology, for it's as if their existence was destined from the start. And I also find the two protecting classical deities very connected to both countries and peoples, although Spain doesn’t exactly install panic and Portugal isn’t all raving. Furthermore, many countries have got great wines, and Portuguese wines are not as well known as they should be.So, when a Portuguese red wine is considered by the French as the best in the world, in this year's competition in Paris, I believe a toast to Dionysus is due. With a glass of Syrah 2005, Casa Ermelinda Freitas, from Palmela, in the heart of the land of Lusos. Evoé!
.
