Ambrosia

In Greek mythology, ambrosia was a honey-flavored food eaten by the gods that allowed them to remain immortal. With the ambrosia, they often drank a honey-flavored drink called nectar. According to legend, each day doves brought ambrosia to Zeus, the king of the gods, to distribute among the other deities.

Humans who ate ambrosia grew faster, stronger, and more beautiful, all qualities that were considered divine. Eating ambrosia also made humans immortal. In one Greek myth, a son of Zeus named Tantalus was punished for crimes that included stealing ambrosia from heaven and giving it to humans.

The gods used ambrosia in another way, applying it to their bodies and hair. The ancient Greeks gave the name to an oil used for anointing corpses, which they believed kept the bodies from decaying. In Homer's Iliad * , the god Apollo* anoints the body of the dead Trojan hero Sarpedon with ambrosia before handing it over for burial.

See also Apollo ; Greek Mythology ; Tantalus ; Zeus .