Product Code Database
A cup-bearer was historically an officer of high rank in , whose duty was to pour and serve the drinks at the royal table. On account of the constant fear of plots and intrigues (such as poisoning), a person had to be regarded as thoroughly trustworthy to hold the position. He would guard against poison in the king's cup, and was sometimes required to swallow some of the drink before serving it. His confidential relations with the king often gave him a position of great influence.
Egyptian hieroglyph for a cup-bearer
The cup-bearer as an honorific role, for example as the Egyptian hieroglyph for "cup-bearer", was used as late as 196 BC in the Rosetta Stone for the Kanephoros cup-bearer Areia, daughter of Diogenes; each Ptolemaic Decree starting with the Decree of Canopus honored a cup-bearer. A much older role was the appointment of Sargon of Akkad as cup-bearer in the 23rd century BC.
The position is first mentioned in Genesis 40:1, although the Hebrew word (elsewhere translated as "cup-bearer") is here sometimes rendered as "butler". The phrase "chief of the butlers" () accords with the fact that there were often a number of such officials under one as chief.compare In the Post-exilic period, Nehemiah rose to the high ranking palace position of cup-bearer to King Artaxerxes, the sixth King of the Median / Persian Empire. The position placed his life on the line every day, but gave Nehemiah authority and high pay. He was held in high esteem by Artaxerxes, as the record shows. His financial ability would indicate that the office was a lucrative one.
Cup-bearers are mentioned further in , and , where they, among other evidences of royal splendor, are stated to have impressed the Queen of Sheba with Solomon's glory. The title Rabshakeh (), once thought to mean "chief of the cup-bearers" is now given a different derivation and explained as "chief of the officers" or "princes".see BDB under the word Rabshakeh.See further on cupbearers:
Hêbê's role of cup bearer ended when she was then replaced by Ganymede. She then married the deified hero Heracles, who joined Hêbê among the gods and goddesses and started a family.
Hephaestus, Hermes, Iris, and Athena have all been depicted as cupbearers at various points in time. Hephaestus poured nectar for his mother Hera and the other gods in the Iliad. Hermes poured ambrosia for the wedding of Peleus and Thetis in the poems of Sappho. Iris poured wine for Hera across various artistic representations. And Athena may have done so in the works of Bacchylides.
The Roman mythology are also closely related to Greek mythology, with the Roman goddess of youth Juventas being the counterpart to Greek Hebe.
According to the district office hierarchy in 1768, the position in the Crown was over Łowczy and under Podstoli; In the Grand Duchy of Lithuania over Horodniczy (Gorodnyčius) and under Podczaszy (Pataurininkis).
|
|
