Greek gods were given human traits and characteristics by the ancients; ambrosia and nectar were the food and drink that symbolized the divine nature and immortality of the Olympians.
Ambrosia and nectar were delivered by white doves every morning to Mount Olympus and were served to the gods by their cupbearers, Hebe the daughter of Zeus and Ganymede. Mythology says that the Olympians consumed vast quantities of both in their feasts and that they were very sweet. Historians presume that they were types of honey, a food that was common in Ancient Greece.
The gods were often depicted in mythology around a table feasting on ambrosia and nectar, with doves bringing the food to their palaces.
Eating the food of the gods was vital for the immortality of the Olympians. It was believed that when drank or eaten, they turned the blood of the Olympians into a substance known as ichor. This is shown in the myths to be a divine life force that made the deities deathless. The gods had to consume ambrosia and nectar regularly to ensure that their blood continued to turn into ichor. If they did not, they would weaken and no longer be immortal
Ambrosia and nectar gave power to the gods, fueled their divine status, and were the elixirs for the immortality inherent to the gods of Greek mythology. These divine substances played an important role in various myths and stories, such as healing wounded gods, restoring vitality, and influencing the lives of mortals.
Hera, the queen of the Olympian gods and the goddess of marriage and childbirth, needed ambrosia to maintain her beauty and divine status.
Ambrosia and nectar in Greek Mythology
In Greek mythology, the gods lived on a diet of ambrosia and nectar – food and beverages symbolizing their divine nature and bestowing immortality. Consuming these substances granted the gods everlasting life and maintained their eternal youth.
Apart from being eaten, ambrosia and nectar were used for anointing and cleansing purposes. Examples of this usage can be found in the Trojan War when Zeus’ son, Sarpedon, was killed, and Apollo cleansed the body using ambrosia. Similarly, after the death of Patroclus, Thetis anointed his body with ambrosia to prevent decomposition.
Other than being an important part of the divine diet, the consumption of ambrosia and nectar was transformative. These foods could replace a being’s mortal essence with divine qualities, granting them the same immortality enjoyed by the gods.
The poet Hesiod is considered one of the earliest literary sources in Greek mythology. He documented the divine origins and significance of ambrosia and nectar in his poem Theogony.
Immortality Elixir
Consuming ambrosia and nectar was vital for the immortality of the Olympian deities. In the myths, the gods had to consume ambrosia and nectar regularly to ensure that their blood continued to turn into ichor. If they did not, they would weaken and no longer be immortal. The story of Demeter and her abducted daughter Persephone is a good example: she did not consume nectar and ambrosia, and her divine powers and immortality faded and then vanished.
These divine foods were reserved for the gods. This was because it was presumed that if mortals consumed them they would become immortal as well, and that would destroy the balance of power between gods and humans. Tantalus, the son of Zeus and a mortal woman, had tried to steal some ambrosia and nectar to make himself immortal. He was caught stealing the food and drink of the Olympians and was banished to Tartarus in the Underworld for all eternity.
There are, however, several instances where mortals were given the food of the Gods and did not become immortal. This is because large amounts of the divine foods in regular intervals had to be consumed for a mortal to become immortal. On occasion, the gods would give their foods to their favorites so that they too could become immortal. In one myth, the hero Tydeus was going to be given ambrosia by Athena. However, the goddess stopped when she learned that Tydeus in a rage had eaten the brains of a defeated enemy. Athena was appalled by the hideous act and did not see him as worthy of immortality.
There were other properties in ambrosia and nectar, such as healing. In Book V of the Iliad, when Aphrodite, the goddess of love, is wounded by the hero Diomedes, her injuries are treated by ambrosia. Later in the Iliad, we see another use of nectar and ambrosia, this time to anoint the dead. After the death of Patroclus, his body was cleansed with ambrosia, so that it would not decompose.
In the Odyssey wine and food are compared to the food of the gods. The Cyclops Polyphemus, for instance, compared wine given to him by Odysseus to nectar. In Hesiod’s Theogony, after Zeus freed the Cyclopes and Hecatonchires (hundred-handed), from Tartarus, he restored them to health by giving them Ambrosia.
Ambrosia and nectar also held a significant role as anointing fluids. In Greek myths and history, these substances were used to cleanse wounds, preserve the bodies of the deceased, and convey a sense of immortality to mortals.
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