A cup-bearer was historically an officer of high rank in

royal court A royal court, often called simply a court when the royal context is clear, is an extended royal household in a monarchy, including all those who regularly attend on a monarch, or another central figure. Hence, the word "court" may also be appl ...

s, 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 must have been 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. The position of cup-bearer has been greatly valued and given only to a select few throughout history. 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 The Rosetta Stone is a stele composed of granodiorite inscribed with three versions of a decree issued in Memphis, Egypt, in 196 BC during the Ptolemaic dynasty on behalf of King Ptolemy V Epiphanes. The top and middle texts are in Ancient ...

for the

Kanephoros The Kanephoros (, , pl. Kanephoroi (Greek: ); latinate plural form Canephorae; lit. "Basket Bearers") was an honorific office given to unmarried young women in ancient Greece, which involved the privilege of leading the procession to sacrifice at ...

cup-bearer Areia, daughter of Diogenes; each Ptolemaic Decree starting with the

Decree of Canopus The Decree of Canopus is a trilingual inscription in three scripts, which dates from the Ptolemaic period of ancient Egypt. It was written in three writing systems: Egyptian hieroglyphs, demotic, and Greek, on several ancient Egyptian memorial s ...

honored a cup-bearer. A much older role was the appointment of

Sargon of Akkad Sargon of Akkad (; akk, ''Šarrugi''), also known as Sargon the Great, was the first ruler of the Akkadian Empire, known for his conquests of the Sumerian city-states in the 24th to 23rd centuries BC.The date of the reign of Sargon is high ...

as cup-bearer in the

23rd century BC The 23rd century BC was a century that lasted from the year 2300 BC to 2201 BC. Events *2334 BC – 2279 BC: (short chronology) Sargon of Akkad's conquest of Mesopotamia. *c. 2300 BC: Indus Valley civilisation (Harappan) flourishing in modern-d ...

Cup-bearers in the Bible

Neemias apresenta píxide a Artaxerxes (Biblioteca Nacional de Portugal ALC

Cup-bearers are mentioned several times in the Bible. The position is first mentioned in

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book o ...

40:1, although the Hebrew word (elsewhere translated as "cup-bearer") is here sometimes rendered as "

butler A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantry. Some al ...

". The phrase "chief of the butlers" () accords with the fact that there were often a number of such officials under one as chief. In the Post-exilic period,

Nehemiah Nehemiah is the central figure of the Book of Nehemiah, which describes his work in rebuilding Jerusalem during the Second Temple period. He was governor of Persian Judea under Artaxerxes I of Persia (465–424 BC). The name is pronounced ...

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 The Queen of Sheba ( he, מַלְכַּת שְׁבָא‎, Malkaṯ Šəḇāʾ; ar, ملكة سبأ, Malikat Sabaʾ; gez, ንግሥተ ሳባ, Nəgśətä Saba) is a figure first mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. In the original story, she bring ...

with Solomon's glory. The title ' (), once thought to mean "chief of the cupbearers" is now given a different derivation and explained as "chief of the officers" or "princes".

Cup-bearers in Greek myth

Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities of ...

Hêbê Hebe (; grc-gre, Ἥβη), in ancient Greek religion and mythology, is the goddess of youth or the prime of life. She is the beautiful daughter of Zeus and his wife, Hera. Hebe was the cupbearer for the gods and goddesses of Mount Olympu ...

, the goddess of youth, was the original cup-bearer to the

Greek gods The following is a list of gods, goddesses, and many other divine and semi-divine figures from ancient Greek mythology and ancient Greek religion. Immortals The Greeks created images of their deities for many purposes. A temple would house th ...

Mount Olympus Mount Olympus (; el, Όλυμπος, Ólympos, also , ) is the highest mountain in Greece. It is part of the Olympus massif near the Thermaic Gulf of the Aegean Sea, located in the Olympus Range on the border between Thessaly and Macedonia, be ...

, serving them nectar and ambrosia. Hêbê is the daughter of

Zeus Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label=genitive Boeotian Aeolic and Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label=genitive el, Δίας, ''Días'' () is the sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion, ...

and

Hera In ancient Greek religion, Hera (; grc-gre, Ἥρα, Hḗrā; grc, Ἥρη, Hḗrē, label=none in Ionic and Homeric Greek) is the goddess of marriage, women and family, and the protector of women during childbirth. In Greek mythology, she ...

and is described performing her duties as cup-bearer in the ''

Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the '' Odys ...

'': : "The gods were seated near to Zeus in council, : upon a golden floor. Graciously Hêbê : served them nectar, as with cups of gold : they toasted one another, looking down : toward the stronghold of Ilion." :::: — Hêbê's role of cup bearer ended when she was then replaced by Ganymede. She then married the deified hero

Heracles Heracles ( ; grc-gre, Ἡρακλῆς, , glory/fame of Hera), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adopt ...

, who joined Hêbê among the gods and goddesses and started a family. The

Roman gods The Roman deities most widely known today are those the Romans identified with Greek counterparts (see '' interpretatio graeca''), integrating Greek myths, iconography, and sometimes religious practices into Roman culture, including Latin lit ...

are also closely related to Greek mythology, with the Roman goddess of youth ''

Juventas Juventas, also known as Iuventus or Juventus (Greek equivalent: Hebe), was the ancient Roman goddess whose sphere of tutelage was youth and rejuvenation. She was especially the goddess of young men "new to wearing the toga" ''(dea novorum t ...

'' being the counterpart to Greek ''Hêbê''.

Cup-bearers in Byzantium

Cup-bearers as palatine officers in Visigothic Spain

One of the palatine officers who was in the service of the Visigothic kings was called ''Comes Scanciorum'', or "Count of the Cup-bearers." The count headed the ' (singular '), which in English would be called cellars or buttery and in French ', which is a cognate to the Latinized Gothic term used in Spain. The count would have poured the king's wine or drink personally while the other cup-bearers served other distinguished guests at the royal table.

Cup-bearers as a Great Office in the Holy Roman Empire

The

King of Bohemia The Duchy of Bohemia was established in 870 and raised to the Kingdom of Bohemia in 1198. Several Bohemian monarchs ruled as non-hereditary kings beforehand, first gaining the title in 1085. From 1004 to 1806, Bohemia was part of the Holy Roman ...

ranked as Arch-Cupbearer of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...

. His duties were normally performed only during coronations. At other times, the Count of Limburg and, after 1714, Count of Althann served as cupbearers for the

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother ( e ...

Cup bearers in Anglo-Saxon England

The office of butler or cup-bearer (''pincerna'' in

Medieval Latin Medieval Latin was the form of Literary Latin Classical Latin is the form of Literary Latin recognized as a Literary language, literary standard language, standard by writers of the late Roman Republic and early Roman Empire. It was used f ...

) in Anglo-Saxon England was occupied by aristocrats who were in charge of drinks at royal feasts. In the tenth and eleventh centuries they were appointed from among the

thegn In Anglo-Saxon England, thegns were aristocratic landowners of the second rank, below the ealdormen who governed large areas of England. The term was also used in early medieval Scandinavia for a class of retainers. In medieval Scotland, there ...

s, the third rank of nobles, after the king and

ealdormen Ealdorman (, ) was a term in Anglo-Saxon England which originally applied to a man of high status, including some of royal birth, whose authority was independent of the king. It evolved in meaning and in the eighth century was sometimes applied ...

Cup-bearer in Shakespeare

Camillo in ''

The Winter's Tale ''The Winter's Tale'' is a play by William Shakespeare originally published in the First Folio of 1623. Although it was grouped among the comedies, many modern editors have relabelled the play as one of Shakespeare's late romances. Some cri ...

'' is cupbearer to Leontes, King of Sicily, and Polixenes, King of Bohemia. When Leontes becomes convinced of his wife Hermione's infidelity with Polixenes, he entreats Camillo to use his privileged position as his cupbearer to poison Polixenes: ::Ay, and thou ::his cupbearer, whom I from meaner form ::have benched and reared to worship, who mayst see ::plainly, as heaven sees earth sees heaven, ::how I am gallèd, might bespice a cup ::to give mine enemy a lasting wink ::which draft to me were cordial. :::::: —

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

, ''

'' (1.2)

Cup-bearers in Ireland

Theobald Walter Theobald Walter (sometimes Theobald FitzWalter, Theobald Butler, or Theobald Walter le Boteler) was the first Chief Butler of Ireland. He also held the office of Chief Butler of England and was the High Sheriff of Lancashire for 1194. Theobald ...

was the first Chief Butler of Ireland. Although the terms "cup-bearer" and "butler" are sometimes used interchangeably, they were two distinct roles at the coronation feast.National archives
/ref>

Kingdom of Hungary

The ''pohárnokmester'' (

Master of the Cupbearers The master of the cupbearers or master of the cup-bearers (german: Königliche Oberst-Grossmundschenke, hu, főpohárnok, sk, pohárnik and la, pincernarum regalium magistri or magister pincernarum) was one of the high officials of the royal ho ...

), also called the ''főpohárnok'', was the supervisor of the cupbearers at court and across the royal court system, a chief court officer/dignitary. The first mention of him dates from 1148.

Poland and Lithuania

The cup-bearer () was a court office in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill