The Egyptians had several kinds of wine, even as early as the fourth dynasty (above 6000 years ago, according to Mariette), when four kinds of wine, at least, were known. Pliny and Horace say that the wine of Mareotis was most esteemed. The soil, which lay beyond the reach of the alluvial deposits, suited the vine, and extensive remains of vineyards near the Qasr Karóon, still found, show whence the ancient Egyptians obtained their wines. Athenæus says, “the Mareotic grape was remarkable for its sweetness;” and he thus describes the wine made therefrom: “Its colour is white, its quality excellent, and it is sweet and light, with a fragrant _bouquet_; it is by no means astringent, nor does it affect the head.... Still, however, it is inferior to the Teniotic, a wine which receives its name from a place called Tenia, where it is produced. Its colour is pale and white, and there is such a degree of richness in it, that, when mixed with water, it seems gradually to be diluted, much in the same way as Attic honey when a liquid is poured into it; and besides the agreeable flavour of the wine, its fragrance is so delightful as to render it perfectly aromatic, and it has the property of being slightly astringent. There are many other vineyards in the valley of the Nile, whose wines are in great repute, and these differ both in colour and taste; but that which is produced about Anthylla is preferred to all the rest.” He also commends some of the wines made in the Thebaïd, especially about Coptos, and says that they were “so wholesome that invalids might take them without inconvenience, even during a fever.” Pliny cites the Sebennytic wine as one of the choice Egyptian _crûs_, and says it was made of three different sorts of grapes. He also speaks of a curious wine called _Ecbolada_. Wine took a large part in the Egyptian ritual, and was freely poured forth as libations to the different deities; and in private life women were not restricted in its use. In fact, the ungallant Egyptians have left behind them several delineations of ladies in a decided state of “how came you so?” It was probably put down to the Egyptian equivalent for Salmon.[2] But if they noticed the failings of their womankind, they equally faithfully portrayed their own shortcomings, for we see them being carried home from a feast limp and helpless, or else standing on their heads, and otherwise playing the fool.