«History of honey»

The history of honey begins long before the appearance of writing. Over the years, people began to learn about the beneficial properties of honey.

The earliest record of bees in a hive was found in the Temple of the Sun, which was built in 2400 BC, near Cairo. The image of a bee was used in Egyptian hieroglyphs. It symbolized royal power for the pharaohs.

The ancient Egyptians used honey as a sweetener, as a gift to the gods, and even as an embalming agent.

The Egyptians and Greeks baked honey gingerbread and gave it as a sacrifice to please the gods.
However, for the Greeks, honey was not only food, but also healing medicine. In Greek recipe books, you could find candies and pies made with honey.

The Romans also used honey as a thank you to the gods and in cooking. Beekeeping became popular in the Roman Empire. The production of honey and candle wax increased after the adoption of Christianity.
Honey was a popular sweetener before the Renaissance. With the advent of sugar, people began to use honey less often, but bees remained symbols for many.

The bee was the symbol of the king of Lower Egypt during the first dynasty, a line of bees in flight was embroidered on both Napoleon’s flag and his clothes. In the 3rd century BC the bee was on coins in the Greek city of Ephesus. This insect was considered a symbol of the ancient gods Artemis and Cupid.

The first colonies of bees appeared 56 million years before the existence of mankind. Primitive people began to collect honey from wild bees. They were not afraid of the bites of these insects.

Egyptian doctors used honey as a medicine for stomach problems, tumors and open wounds.
In Russia, those who extracted honey were called bortniki. These people discovered hollows with bees, and also bred these insects, making houses for them with their own hands.

Honey was considered a privilege of the nobility. An intoxicating drink was made from it in Russia. Only churchmen and representatives of the state could make monastery honey.

Honey bees gradually began to appear on every continent. Today, beekeeping is a popular activity.