Alcohol, It's Discovery and Ramifications

Alcohol: Demon to some, a glimpse of God's grace to others. What's it really like? Many ancient religions included alcohol in it's mysteries (Mithraism, Judeao-Christian religion, Greek, Roman, Celtic, Germannic... etc), and many great artists and inventors and warriors and statesmen and soldiers in Western Civilization have been die-hard drinkers. I'll name a notable few:

Winston Churchill: The man won the Battle of Britain, coached the UK through it's second World War, and invented the Churchill Martini. He once famously said, "I've taken more from alcohol than alcohol has ever taken from me."

Samuel Adams: One of the Framers of the American Constitution. He has a beer named after him today. As an aside, many of the Framers brewed their own beer or ales on their estates, and Thomas Jefferson penned the Declaration of Independence while sitting in a tavern in Philadelphia. I have been to this tavern. They still serve Monticello ale, made to the original recipe from the 1770's.

Ernest Hemingway: I don't even think anyone needs to say anything about this fellow.

Vincent Van Gogh: The man used to get so sloshed on absinthe that he thought cutting off his ear and mailing it to his girlfriend was a good idea. Hell of an artists too, I must say.

Lord Byron: (Nominal) Hero of the War for Greek Independence, and one of the greatest lewd poets ever. He helped define the Romantic Era.

Frank Sinatra: This guy drank hard, chased women, and hand a large hand in popularizing lounge music. The Rat Pack is still famous for their exploits (both on, and off, stage today). Hob-nobbed with mobsters and politicians alike.

John F. Kennedy: Anybody who doesn't think ol' Jack didn't like a drink needs to re-read his histories.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt: Repealed prohibition (and then proceded to mix the nations first legal cocktail during his evening address, drinking it live and on the air). He re-stimulated the failing American economy with his New Deal, and helped the Allies to victory in WWII.

Note that this is a two part question: What are the ramifications throughout history of alcohol use (and abuse)? What great people can you think of who loved? What great people can you think of who never touched the stuff?
Cheers (literally!)

Here's one for you: Alexander the Great. The man was brilliant, yet some of his greatest follies occurred after the huge drinking binges he would go on. It was after one such drinking binge that the general's mind became corrupted with paranoia and he made the decision to have Parmenion killed, along with the 6,000 loyal Macedonian soldiers serving under him.

Drinking has the power to corrupt individuals, but it also has the power to facilitate constructive social engagements and friendships. The dinners hosted by the 1st-2nd century AD Roman Emperors were often ways of ensuring social harmony by inviting the most important Romans to dinner and making them feel like welcome members of the Emperor's high society. Alcohol, naturally, played its role in allowing people to loosen up and enjoy eachothers' company.

Alcohol can be beneficial or harmful, both at an individual level and across society as a whole. For individuals and societies which abuse alcohol, it becomes a source of escapism, violence and waste. For those who use it as a means to build social ties and relax, it becomes a beneficial contributor to allowing people to mix and build relationships.

I do not believe FDR helped revive the American economy. It would've gotten to it's feet on its own without his reforms. Some say the economy did so well because of it's war economy

i heard somewere that in the dark ages ale was a lot more safe to drink than water. as water sources where sometimes contaminated especially in the big cities.

To alcohol the cause of and solution to all of life's problems.

Originally posted by Decebal The average European drank several litres of alcohol (usually light wine or beer) a day, mixed with water, as clean water sources were often not available, and so drinking alcohol mixed with water was the only safe option. As a consequence though, most people were "loaded" 24/7, until around the 18th century, when better sewage systems combined with the appearance of coffee as a social drink changed that. Some historians actually believe that the replacement of alcohol with coffee as a social drink has been instrumental in the launching of the French Revolution: after all it did start in a coffee house and coffee does make one very talkative while sober.   So, in some ways, alcohol can be seen as having played a conservative role in world history, keeping the population sluggish and befuddled and unable to organize large-scale social revolts.

I had always wondered how medieval people dealt with the issue of water supply. No doubt some still had access to working aquaducts, though as the population reverted from urban to rural during the decline of Rome this meant that water supplies were no longer a matter of centralised supply to urban centres.

Decebal, do you have any good online sources on the drinking (alcohol or otherwise) habits of medieval people? I have not encountered such a study in my readings. Also, do you know how the alcohol conumption of medieval people compared to those living in the classical world?

Originally posted by Dan Carkner Isn't it true that Egypt was a huge centre of beermaking before the Islamic conquest?

Absolutely, not only that it was also the place where beer was first invented. The Nile provided an excellant basis for the farming of barley and the brewing of beer.

I believe it is part of their religion. The Koran states that Allah has forbid alcohol as "it does you more harm than good" - something like that. I presume it is almost considered a noisome drug.


Edited by werg - 27-Feb-2007 at 16:46

Originally posted by Brian J Checco Winston Churchill:  "I've taken more from alcohol than alcohol has ever taken from me."

Alcohol also has interesting socio-linguistic affects. Most people can speak a foreign language better after a few drinks than stone-sober. This may stem from the fact that alcohol tends to loosen people up and remove their self-doubts, but it's still an interesting phenomenon. I witnessed this firsthand while studying in Spain, as well as experienced it.