The ancient Greeks believed that honey had anti-aging properties and symbolized eternity and beauty. Honey was placed at Alexander the Great's burial to preserve his body. The gods of Mount Olympus dieted on honey, the Nectar of the Gods. Indeed, from Homer to Hippocrates, honey is mentioned as a foodstuff but also as a healing agent. Findings at the Palace of Nestor confirm that the pithoi vessels in the storage rooms contained honey and olive oil. In the Mycenaean Linear B tablets honey is mentioned to be offered to the gods together with wine and grains in order to appease them.
Goddess Hera, offers honey to the gods so they would stay young. The son of Hermes, God Pan, the guardian of the woods and the shepherds of Arcadia, protected apiculture. Pythagoras concludes that honey can relieve from fatigue. After intensive physical or mental strain, a little honey, either neat or with some milk relieves the tired organism offering it new strength.
According to Homer, the goddess of the dawn, Io, fed the heroes with ambrosia (milk and honey) to keep them in good shape; Apollo was not breastfed by his mother Leto so Thetis nurtured him with honey.
Apart from the mythological and legendary narrations linked to it, Mount Taygetus is famous for its rare flowers, herbs, wild greens, and mushrooms. Forest and thyme honey is collected from the beehives in the beginning of the summer when the thyme is blooming, along with the other wild flowers of the season. This blend offers the intense aroma to the honey and its luminous yellow-orange colour with reddish hues. Thyme honey acts as a sedative, helps people sleep and here, one finds the best varieties globally. It is rich in antioxidants, it protects the body from LDL (bad) cholesterol and prevents heart disease.
