sekhmet

How Wine Saved the World

In Egyptian mythology, Sekhmet was a fierce and violent warrior goddess. The sun god Ra had become angry because mankind was not following his laws, so he sent Sekhmet to destroy the people. The fields ran with blood, but the sight of the carnage caused Ra to repent. He ordered Sekhmet to stop, but she was in a blood lust and would not listen. So Ra tricked her by pouring jugs of wine in her path. She gorged on what she thought was blood and became so drunk that she slept for days. When she awoke, Sekhmet had transformed into the benevolent goddess Hathor; her blood lust had disappeared, and humanity was saved.

Every year in what is now the month of August, Egyptians held a great festival to celebrate the Drunkenness of Hathor. This massive event was the largest of its day, and coincided with the start of Akhet season – when the Nile River would begin to rise. Tens of thousands of people from all across Egypt traveled to this great event. Today, we honor the saving of mankind by releasing a new vintage of Ankh during the Akhet season, and by placing an icon representing Hathor on every bottle.