Naspercene wine and Sinopean amphorae at the Ptolemaic court
Vasilica Lungu
According to Pliny (N.H.), Apollodorus of Alexandria, a physician and most probably physician of Ptolemy, “laudavit in Ponto Naspercenite”, praised in the Black Sea the Naspercenite wine. The aim of this presentation is to locate the origin of this wine and to investigate the association between the wine of Naspercene and its supply in Sinopean amphorae to the Ptolemaic court in the 3rd c. BC. The role of imported wines from Sinope and its chora on the Egyptian market during the Graeco-Roman period is testified by number of amphorae found in Egypt. This lecture seeks to trace the supply and demand, as well as the ways of distribution of this specific wine.