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Aristaios / Aristaeus Blessing: Aristaeus is one of the most beneficent hero-gods of ancient Greece. He taught many useful agricultural practices, and is also known to have averted a plague and tamed the heat of the dog-star by sacrificing to Zeus, who brought cooling summer breezes. His innovations included beekeeping, cheesemaking, cultivating olive trees and pressing them for oil -- gifts to humankind which earned him high honors. Also knowledgeable in healing herbs, horsemanship and prophecy, he once chained Proteus at his sea-cave to find out how to cure his sick bees. He later joined the retinue of Dionysos, and also became associated with the cultivation of vineyards. His name may derive from aristos (best) or astraios, starry. Epithets: Agreus (hunter), Nomios (shepherd) Symbols: Beehive, honey, mead, cheese, olives, olive branch, summer breezes (especially the Etesian winds) Animal(s): Bees, sheep, goats, cattle, horses Primary Cult Center(s): Haimonia (Thessaly), Arcadia, Boeotia, Keos, Euboia, Kyrene (North Africa), Sardinia, Sicily Festivals: Unknown. However, Aristaeus first performed a sacrifice to Zeus Icmaeus and Aster Kuon (dog-star) to avert the summer heat on Keos sometime before Sirius rose in mid-July, and the priests of Keos repeated this tradition yearly. It's possible this ceremony also honored Aristaeus. Ways to honor: Keep honeybees, or a flock or herd. Taste honey. Plant an orchard, garden or vineyard. Make cheese. Hunt, especially with trained dogs or traps. Brew and drink mead. Relate star positions to agricultural cycles. Engage in permaculture. Join a Community Supported Agriculture co-op and help tend the garden. Have a feast with Aristaeus's gifts predominating. Learn about the constellations, and find Sirius in the sky. Appreciate summertime breezes. For more information: Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica Bröndsted, Reisen, &c. in Griech. i. p. 40, &c Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology Diodorus Siculus, Library of History Nonnus, Dionysiaca Pausanias, Guide to Greece Suidas s.v. Silphion Virgil, Georgics Links: Aristaios