Thank God for Coffee


Goddess of Energy and Stamina
Lady of Coffee Shops and Breakfast
Patron Goddess of coffee, tea, and other caffeinated drinks or foods

Caffeina is the Roman goddess of energy, stamina, and determination. Usually portrayed as a beautiful woman rising from a coffee cup, the goddess Caffeina gives clear thought, energy and creativity.

Here is a legend about the origins of the goddess Caffeina:

During the third century there lived a Roman nobleman named Julianus. A good and pious man, Julianus was a follower of the gods and spent a great deal of time in meditation and prayer.
A little background, this is late Roman Empire period so pagan worship had fallen out of favor with the government and worshippers were often persecuted. Consequently, Julianus prayed only at night. Often he would get so weary that he fell asleep without finishing his prayers. He prayed that the Goddess would send him a way to stay awake at night to pray.
One day while he was out for a walk Julianus met a shepherd who was surrounded by a frolicking herd of leaping and dancing sheep. Julianus had never seen sheep behave like this. Julianus asked the shepherd why the sheep were so lively. The shepherd pointed to a bush and explained that the sheep had started cavorting just after eating some of the beans growing on the bush. Julianus plucked one of the beans and popped it in his mouth. He suddenly felt so energized that he wanted to dance too! The Goddess had answered his prayers!
So Julianus boiled the beans and made a beverage from them. The drink, of course, was coffee. It was quite tasty, and he decided that he would drink it every night. Now he found it easy to stay awake to pray and meditate. He thought "This must be a miracle sent by the goddess herself."
And so began the Romans' devotion to the goddess Caffeina.
Soon Julianus became the emperor of Rome (Julianus II). Even though he had been educated as a Christian, he worked to restore the paganism.
For this reason he is often called Julianus the Apostate. Following his death in Persia in 363 A.D., no other champion of religious freedom emerged to assume leadership and the empire returned to Christianity, as the only government sanctioned religion.

The history of coffee itself I believe should be made a movie. It has espionage, romance and humor. 






Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

History of Homosexual: Ancient Greece

Image
How we from being happily accept in society to being hate and have to fight for equality? Let start begin in the ancient world work our way to the source of the problem. The Ancient Greece "The noble lover of beauty engages in love wherever he sees excellence and splendid natural endowment without regard for any difference in physiological detail." - Plutarch The ancient Greeks are widely known for their gay exploits. Many people are aware of Greek homosexual love poetry, the same-sex relations of Greek gods and heroes, and the gay relationship between Alexander the Great and Hephaestion. It is important in the beginning to define our vocabulary. The term ’homosexuality’ as it is used and understood today is not mainly applicable to Greek of ancient times for three reasons: First of all, most Greeks were bisexual. Second, homosexuality and 'gay' as sexual identities are recent developments. They were emerged only in the 2Oth Century (our idea of what i
Please read more »

Seven Wonders of the World: Colossus of Rhodes

Image
Travelers to the New York City harbor see a marvelous sight. Standing on a small island in the harbor is an immense statue of a robed woman, holding a book and lifting a torch to the sky. It is sometimes referred to as the "Modern Colossus," but more often called the Statue of Liberty. This awe-inspiring statue was a gift from France to America and is easily recognized by people around the world. What many visitors to this shrine to freedom don't know is that the statue, the "Modern Colossus," is the echo of another statue, the original colossus, which stood over two thousand years ago at the entrance to another busy harbor on the Island of Rhodes. In the late 4th century BC, Rhodes, allied with Ptolemy I of Egypt, prevented a massive invasion staged by their common enemy, Antigonus I Monophthalmus and his son Demetrius. In 304 BC a relief force of ships sent by Ptolemy arrived, and Antigonus's army abandoned the siege, leaving most of their siege equi
Please read more »

Daily life of Roman life: Slavery

Image
Slavery had a long history in the ancient world and was practiced in Ancient Egypt and Greece, as well as Rome. Most slaves during the Roman Empire were foreigners and, unlike in modern times, Roman slavery was not based on race. Slaves were considered property under Roman law and had no legal personhood. Unlike Roman citizens, they could be subjected to corporal punishment, sexual exploitation (prostitutes were often slaves), torture, and summary execution. The testimony of a slave could not be accepted in a court of law unless the slave was tortured—a practice based on the belief that slaves in a position to be privy to their masters' affairs would be too virtuously loyal to reveal damaging evidence unless coerced (yeah right). Over time, however, slaves gained increased legal protection, including the right to file complaints against their masters. How did people become Roman Slaves? People became slaves among the Romans by the following ways: Prisoners of war Sailors
Please read more »