This presentation will explore the mysterious intoxicant κυκέων as it exists in Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey. A longstanding belief is that Greeks did not brew beer, but evidence from the Bronze Age Aegean is proving otherwise. Moreover, the epic poems composed by Homer between 725-675 BCE tell tales of events from Greece’s Bronze Age past. κυκέων (pronounced kee-kay-own) appears in both of Homer's works as an intoxicating beverage and potion, but what was κυκέων?

Travis Rupp will deconstruct Homer’s beverage while examining evidence of beer production and consumption in Greece during the Trojan War and during Homer’s time. It will also explore the detailed process undertaken to recreate κυκέων in Rupp’s research brewery, The Beer Archaeologist.

Travis Rupp, aka the Beer Archaeologist, is a Professor of Classics, Art History, Anthropology at the University of Colorado, Boulder. He serves on the National Advisory Board for the Beer Culture Center.