HALLOWEEN 2:

Prelude to an Ancient Myth.

For more than seven millennia prehistoric man was already cultivating the cereals. That agrarian activity became an ancient myth in metaphor. That metaphor became the basis of several later myths that still exist in folklore. The cereals, mainly corn/wheat and barley, became known as the Noble Grasses due to their importance in averting periodic famine.

Hesiod, writing in the classical era, paints a clear and detailed picture on the cultivation of the cereals. On timing Hesiod says "When the Pleiades, daughters of Atlas, are rising, begin your harvest, and your ploughing when they are going to set". The first stage in grain cultivation is the ploughing of the land, in autumn. The grain is then sown after the first rains. The rise and set of the Pleiades indicated when to sow; the bursting of the ripe pomegranate indicated the humidity of the soil.

Hesiod also instructs on the tools; primarily the plough. Hesiod says "Hew also many bent timbers, and bring home a plough-tree when you have found it, and look out on the mountain or in the field for one of holm-oak; for this is the strongest for oxen to plough with when one of Athena's handmen has fixed in the share-beam and fastened it to the pole with dowels."

The ploughing of the land, and the proper timing of the work, are the prelude to successful grain cultivation and a bountiful harvest. The first rains of the season determine if the sown seed would be viable.