Bees have been featured in myth and folklore around the world.

Honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several species of bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of pl ...

and

beeswax Bee hive wax complex Beeswax (also known as cera alba) is a natural wax produced by honey bees of the genus ''Apis''. The wax is formed into scales by eight wax-producing glands in the abdominal segments of worker bees, which discard it in o ...

have been important resources for humans since at least the

Mesolithic The Mesolithic (Ancient Greek language, Greek: μέσος, ''mesos'' 'middle' + λίθος, ''lithos'' 'stone') or Middle Stone Age is the Old World archaeological period between the Upper Paleolithic and the Neolithic. The term Epipaleolithic i ...

period, and as a result humans' relationship with bees—particularly

honey bee A honey bee (also spelled honeybee) is a eusocial flying insect within the genus ''Apis'' of the bee clade, all native to mainland Afro-Eurasia. After bees spread naturally throughout Africa and Eurasia, humans became responsible for the ...

s—has ranged from encounters with wild bees (both prehistorically and in the present day) to

keeping Keeping is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Charles Keeping (1924–1988), British illustrator, children's book author and lithographer * Damien Keeping (born 1982), Australian rules football coach * Frederick Keeping (1867 ...

them agriculturally. Bees themselves are often characterized as magically imbued creatures and their honey as a

divine Divinity (from Latin ) refers to the quality, presence, or nature of that which is divine—a term that, before the rise of monotheism, evoked a broad and dynamic field of sacred power. In the ancient world, divinity was not limited to a singl ...

gift. Bees hold a special status in some cultures: in Albanian and Lithuanian languages, the words employed to speak about a bee's death are the same as those for a human death and different from those for an animal death, underlining the sacredness of bees.

Mythology and folklore

African mythology

The

Kalahari Desert The Kalahari Desert is a large semiarid climate, semiarid sandy savanna in Southern Africa covering including much of Botswana as well as parts of Namibia and South Africa. It is not to be confused with the Angolan, Namibian, and South African ...

San people The San peoples (also Saan), or Bushmen, are the members of any of the indigenous hunter-gatherer cultures of southern Africa, and the oldest surviving cultures of the region. They are thought to have diverged from other humans 100,000 to 200 ...

tell of a bee that carried a mantis across a river. The exhausted bee left the mantis on a floating flower but planted a seed in the mantis's body before it died. The seed grew to become the first human. In

Egyptian mythology Egyptian mythology is the collection of myths from ancient Egypt, which describe the actions of the Egyptian pantheon, Egyptian gods as a means of understanding the world around them. The beliefs that these myths express are an important part ...

, bees grew from the tears of the sun god Ra when they landed on the desert sand. The

Baganda people The Baganda (endonym: ''Baganda''; singular ''Muganda''), are a Bantu people, Bantu ethnic group native to Buganda, a Administrative division, subnational Monarchy, kingdom within Uganda. Traditionally composed of 52 clans (although since a 1993 ...

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

tell the legend of

Kintu Kintu is a mythological figure who appears in a creation myth of the people of Buganda, Uganda. According to this legend, Kintu was the List of first men or women in mythology and religion, first person on earth, and the first Muganda. ''Kintu'' ...

, the first man on earth. Kintu lived alone, save for his cow. One day he asked Ggulu, who lived in heaven, for permission to marry his daughter Nambi. Ggulu sent Kintu a trial of five tests to pass before he would agree. For his final test, Kintu was told to pick Ggulu's own cow out from a group of cattle. Nambi aided Kintu in this final test by transforming herself into a bee and whispering into his ear to choose the one whose horn she landed upon.

Mayan mythology

Mayan - Cylinder Vessel - Walters 482776 - Side B

Mayan mythology Maya mythology or Mayan mythology is part of Mesoamerican mythology and comprises all of the Maya tales in which personified forces of nature, deities, and the heroes interacting with these play the main roles. The legends of the era have to be ...

, Ah-Muzen-Cab is one of the Maya gods of bees and honey. One of the

Maya Hero Twins The Maya Hero Twins are the central figures of a narrative included within the colonial Kʼicheʼ document called Popol Vuh, and constituting the oldest Maya myth to have been preserved in its entirety. Called Hunahpu and Xbalanque in the Kʼ ...

, Xbalanque, is also associated with bees and beekeeping under the name or aspect of Mok Chi'. Hobnil, the Bacab who represents the East, may be associated with bees and beehives.

Asian mythology

According to Hittite mythology, the god of

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

, Telipinu, went on a rampage and refused to allow anything to grow and animals would not produce offspring. The gods went in search of Telipinu only to fail. Then the goddess Ḫannaḫanna sent forth a bee to bring him back. The bee found Telipinu, stung him and smeared wax upon him. The god grew even angrier and it was not until the goddess Kamrusepa (or a mortal priest, according to some references) used a ritual to send his anger to the

Underworld The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underworld. ...

that Telipinu was calmed. In

Hindu mythology Hindu mythology refers to the collection of myths associated with Hinduism, derived from various Hindu texts and traditions. These myths are found in sacred texts such as the Vedas, the Itihasas (the ''Mahabharata'' and the ''Ramayan ...

, Bhramari was summoned by the gods to kill the demon Arunasura who took over the heavens and the three worlds. To kill Arunasura, she stung him numerous times with the help of innumerable black bees emerging from her body. The gods were finally able to take control of the heavens and the celestial worlds again. In addition, the Hindu love god

Kamadeva Kamadeva (, ), also known as Kama, Manmatha, and Madana is the Deva (Hinduism), Hindu god of Eroticism, erotic love, carnal desire, attraction, pleasure and beauty, as well as the personification of the concept of ''kāma''. He is depicted as a ...

's bowstring is made of sugarcane, covered in bees. In mythology found in Indian,

ancient Near East The ancient Near East was home to many cradles of civilization, spanning Mesopotamia, Egypt, Iran (or Persia), Anatolia and the Armenian highlands, the Levant, and the Arabian Peninsula. As such, the fields of ancient Near East studies and Nea ...

and Aegean cultures, the bee was believed to be the sacred insect that bridged the natural world to the underworld.

European mythology

Greek mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...

has several gods who are associated with bees.

Aristaeus Aristaeus (; ''Aristaios'') was the mythological culture hero credited with the discovery of many rural useful arts and handicrafts, including bee-keeping; He was the son of the huntress Cyrene and Apollo. ''Aristaeus'' ("the best") was a cu ...

is the god of beekeeping. After inadvertently causing the death of

Eurydice Eurydice (; Ancient Greek: Εὐρυδίκη 'wide justice', classical pronunciation: ) was a character in Greek mythology and the wife of Orpheus, whom Orpheus tried to bring back from the dead with his enchanting music. Etymology Several ...

, who stepped upon a snake while fleeing him, her

nymph A nymph (; ; sometimes spelled nymphe) is a minor female nature deity in ancient Greek folklore. Distinct from other Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature; they are typically tied to a specific place, land ...

sisters punished him by killing every one of his bees. Witnessing the empty hives where his bees had dwelt, Aristaeus wept and consulted

Proteus In Greek mythology, Proteus ( ; ) is an early prophetic sea god or god of rivers and oceanic bodies of water, one of several deities whom Homer calls the "Old Man of the Sea" (''hálios gérôn''). Some who ascribe a specific domain to Prote ...

who advised him to honor the memory of Eurydice by sacrificing four bulls and four cows. Upon doing so, he let them rot and from their corpses rose new bees to fill his empty hives. Prophecy in

Ancient Greece Ancient Greece () was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity (), that comprised a loose collection of culturally and linguistically r ...

seems to have been associated with bees. The

Homeric Hymn The ''Homeric Hymns'' () are a collection of thirty-three ancient Greek hymns and one epigram. The hymns praise deities of the Greek pantheon and retell mythological stories, often involving a deity's birth, their acceptance among the gods ...

to Hermes acknowledges that Apollo's gift of prophecy first came to him from three bee-maidens, usually but doubtfully identified with the

Thriae The Thriae (; ) were nymphs, three virginal sisters, one of a number of such Triad (religious), triads in Greek mythology. They were named ''Melaina'' ("The Black"), ''Kleodora'' ("Famed for her Gift"), and Daphnis (nymph), ''Daphnis'' ("Laurel") ...

, a

trinity The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, thr ...

of pre-Hellenic Aegean bee goddesses. In addition, the

Oracle of Delphi An oracle is a person or thing considered to provide insight, wise counsel or prophecy, prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by Deity, deities. If done through occultic means, it is a form of divina ...

is referred to as "the Delphian bee" by

Pindar Pindar (; ; ; ) was an Greek lyric, Ancient Greek lyric poet from Thebes, Greece, Thebes. Of the Western canon, canonical nine lyric poets of ancient Greece, his work is the best preserved. Quintilian wrote, "Of the nine lyric poets, Pindar i ...

. In

Mycenaean Greek Mycenaean Greek is the earliest attested form of the Greek language. It was spoken on the Greek mainland and Crete in Mycenaean Greece (16th to 12th centuries BC). The language is preserved in inscriptions in Linear B, a script first atteste ...

and

Minoan The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age culture which was centered on the island of Crete. Known for its monumental architecture and Minoan art, energetic art, it is often regarded as the first civilization in Europe. The ruins of the Minoan pa ...

myth, the bee was an emblem of Potnia, an ancient equivalent of 'Dulcis Virgo' also referred to as the "Pure Mother Bee".G.W. Elderkin (1939) "The Bee of Artemis" ''The American Journal of Philology'' 60 pp. 203–213 Her priestesses received the name of ''

Melissa Melissa is a feminine given name. The name comes from the Greek language, Greek word μέλισσα (''mélissa''), "bee", which in turn comes from μέλι (''meli''), "honey". In Hittite language, Hittite, ''melit'' signifies "honey". Meliss ...

'', ("bee").

Artemis In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Artemis (; ) is the goddess of the hunting, hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, transitions, nature, vegetation, childbirth, Kourotrophos, care of children, and chastity. In later tim ...

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

was in particular designated by the adjective 'Britomartis' (Βριτομάρτις) as 'vrito-' had the meaning of 'sweet' and was used interchangeably to signify 'melissa' (bee). According to the Neoplatonic philosopher Porphyry, the priestesses of

Demeter In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Demeter (; Attic Greek, Attic: ''Dēmḗtēr'' ; Doric Greek, Doric: ''Dāmā́tēr'') is the Twelve Olympians, Olympian goddess of the harvest and agriculture, presiding over cro ...

were also called "Melissae", and ''Melissa'' was a name of Artemis. This name also designated the goddess's priestesses in the temple of Artemis Ephesia Melisseus was the god of honey and bees, whose daughters Ida and Adrasteia fed the infant

Zeus Zeus (, ) is the chief deity of the List of Greek deities, Greek pantheon. He is a sky father, sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, who rules as king of the gods on Mount Olympus. Zeus is the child ...

with milk and honey when his mother hid him from

Cronus In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Cronus, Cronos, or Kronos ( or ; ) was the leader and youngest of the Titans, the children of Gaia (Earth) and Uranus (mythology), Uranus (Sky). He overthrew his father and ruled dur ...

. In European folklore and custom, telling the bees of important events in the family (particularly births and deaths) was vital to keep the bees content and happy in their hive. In Britain and Ireland there is a folklore where if a bumblebee buzzes around your window at home, there is a guest that will arrive soon. The bumblebee even tells to the gender of the visitor based of the tail of the bee. Red means the visitor is male, white means the visitor is a female. It is even said that if you are to kill the bee, the visitor well bring nothing but bad luck. The Ancients had several Bee Gods and Goddesses, such as the Lithuanian Bee Goddess Austėja and her husband the Bee God Bubilas, the Roman Goddess Mellonia and the Slavic God Zosim; bees were also associated with other Deities such as Artemis, Aphrodite, Brighid, Rhea, and Vishnu. Bees have a special status for

Albanians The Albanians are an ethnic group native to the Balkan Peninsula who share a common Albanian ancestry, Albanian culture, culture, Albanian history, history and Albanian language, language. They are the main ethnic group of Albania and Kosovo, ...

. The bee is considered a sacred animal, associated with human life. When an animal ceases to live, Albanians use the verb '' ngordh'' or ''cof''; when a bee ceases to live, they use the verb '' vdes'' (which is used to refer to human death). Meaning that for Albanians bees are beings of a higher caste, like humans. The bee also has a special status in the Albanian customary law – the Kanun – which dedicates specific laws that deal with beehive possession, damage and theft, the value of the bee, and the ownership of swarms of bees.

Mythology and folklore

African mythology

Mayan mythology

Asian mythology

European mythology

See also

Explanatory notes

References

Citations

General and cited sources

Further reading