Ampelos

Ampelos (ἄμπελος) is the Ancient Greek for "vine".

In an etiology told by Nonnus, the vine is personified as a beautiful satyr youth, who was loved by Dionysus, and whose death was foreseen by the god. There are two versions of his death and Dionysus’s reaction to it.

According to Nonnus, Ampelos was gored to death by a wild bull after he mocked the goddess Selene, a scene described as follows:

Upset by his death, Dionysus transformed Ampelos’s body into the first grape vine and created wine from his blood.

The second version involves grape vines in a different manner. According to Ovid:

Ampelose (singular: Ampelos) were also a variety of hamadryad.

Ampelotherapy is a form of naturopathic alternative medicine that involves consumption of grapes, including seeds, and parts of the vine, including leaves.

References