The significance of wine, as a religious symbol, existed long before the days of Jesus. Wine was the beverage of choice for the ancient Greeks, and although they used fairly different ingredients than what know today, the symbolic implications remain the same. As an active substance that would enliven the body, wine was the typical “party drink” of the time. However, due to its intoxicating effects, it contained a darker appeal associated with strange mystical followings. Cults such as the Dionysian Mysteries, as well as the more observable religious festivals and community carnivals, were in honor of Dionysus, the Greek god of wine.