Pagan symbolism: Drinking horns

Today, drinking horns are often regarded as iconic accessories of the Vikings. In this blog, we delve into the fascinating history of drinking horns and reveal the symbolic meaning attached to them. Additionally, we show why the use of drinking horns at modern festivals aligns so well with this historical tradition.

A drinking horn is a cattle horn used as a 'drinking vessel'. Drinking horns have been used since the prehistoric times. They were not intended for everyday use and thus not an alternative to cups or goblets. Their purpose was purely ceremonial.

Drinking horns were used by Indo-European peoples such as the Greeks, Scythians, Thracians, Celts, Romans, Germans and later by the Vikings, Anglo-Saxons and even well into the Middle Ages.

Virtually all European cultures largely originate from Proto-Indo-European peoples. They were the ancestors of the Greeks, Romans, Germans, Celts, and Vikings. 

The speakers of Proto-Indo-European were semi-nomadic herders from the Pontic-Caspian steppe. Cattle was their main source of livelihood. From Ireland and Scandinavia to India and Persia, cattle therefore play an important role in daily life and mythology. Many rituals, such as the offering of white bulls or the horn of plenty, can be traced back to this shared Proto-Indo-European heritage.

Indo-European peoples had a dharmic nature religion and the aurochs played an important role in the creation story. It is therefore not surprising that horns had an important ritual role in society. They were, for example, used in offerings. 

The society was oath-bound and hierarchical. This arose because some gentlemen had larger herds of cattle than others. Possibly, drinking horns were used during oath-taking ceremonies to confirm the relationship between patron and client.

Even into the Middle Ages, drinking horns symbolized power among aristocrats. There are many known rituals where, for example, an aristocrat was the only person allowed to drink from a particular horn.

The rhyton was used in a large area, from India and Persia to Greece and the Balkans. It was primarily a status symbol, used to strengthen the bond between host and guest and also for making libations to the gods.

The word rhyton is derived from the Greek word ῥυτόν (rhytón), which means "stream," referring to the way liquid flows from it. The rhyton was not made of horn, but of other material, such as ceramics or metal.  Rhyta were sometimes in the shape of a horn, but often in the shape of an animal's head. 

The offerer scooped the liquid for the libation, such as wine, oil, or blood, from a storage vessel. The rhyton often had a hole at the bottom, which the offerer closed with his thumb. Then he let the liquid flow onto sacred ground, or let the liquid flow into his mouth. The control with which the liquid flowed through the opening at the bottom made the pouring a solemn act. 

In Minoan Crete, rhyta were made in the shape of a bull's head. An example of this is the Bull's Head Rhyton from the palace of Knossos, but the design is also depicted on a mural in a tomb in Thebes, Egypt, depicting gifts from the Minoans.

During royal banquets, rhytons emphasized the status and power of the host. In the Persian Empire, for example, gold and silver rhytons with animal and mythical forms were used by the king and his court. These objects not only enhanced the grandeur of the occasion but also symbolized the connection between the king and the cosmic order . One of the most beautiful examples is an Achaemenid rhyton with a griffin, symbolizing power and protection. The king used it during banquets to emphasize his hospitality and dominion over the empire. One of the oldest examples comes from Susa in Persia, where a silver figurine from the 3rd millennium BC shows a combination of a cow and a woman offering a vessel. 

During feasts centered around wine and abundance, such as the Dionysian rituals in ancient Greece, rhytons were used to celebrate the ecstatic connection with the god Dionysos. Greek vase art shows us images of participants drinking from horn-shaped rhytons, often decorated with images of satyrs and maenads, the followers of Dionysos. These rhytons, sometimes designed so that one had to drink the contents without spilling, required a certain skill, which enhanced both the enjoyment and the symbolism of control and release. Nonnus describes in his Dionysiaca (5th century AD) that satyrs first made wine and drank it from ox horns, introducing the use of rhyta.

Mythology also underscores the importance of rhytons in ceremonial contexts. According to some interpretations of Persian mythology, rhytons were used in rituals where King Achaemenes, the legendary founder of the Achaemenid Empire, strengthened his bond with Ahura Mazda, the supreme god. The ritual pouring of sacred liquids emphasized not only the cosmic justice of the king but also his role as a protector of order and harmony in a chaotic world.

It seems that the Scythians had a much more practical approach to the drinking horn. They drank from horns during banquets and included them as grave goods.

The Scythians is a collective name for various steppe peoples often of Indo-European descent. They spoke an Indo-European language related to Old Persian. In classical antiquity, the Thracians and Scythians were known for drinking from horns, which was an important part of their drinking customs. This practice is described by the Greek writer Xenophon, who told how the Thracians used their horns during banquets. Diodorus also mentions how the Getic leader Dromichaites used horns of wood and horn to serve drinks during a feast for Lysimachus and other prisoners.

The Scythian elite also used rhyta made of gold or silver. A famous example of this is a gold and silver rhyton in the shape of a Pegasus from the 5th century BC, found in Ulyap, a location in Russia just north of the Caucasus.

Archaeologists have identified two basic types of Scythian drinking horns: one with a strong curvature and one with a slight curvature, based on the shape of the horns of an aurochs. 

The oldest physical remains of drinking horns in Scythian graves date from the 7th century BC. In the 6th century, there are only sporadic indications of the use of drinking horns. However, in the 5th century BC, drinking horns make a clear comeback, especially in the Pontic region, where they are left as grave goods, often with precious metal decorations. This practice seems to have originated in the Kuban region, where drinking horns played a prominent role in the funeral rituals of warriors. By the 4th century BC, this practice spreads across the Pontic steppe, with a new type, strongly curved silver drinking horn, emerging. Although rhytons of Achaemenid or Thracian origin are still found, it is mainly the Scythian drinking horns that dominate the grave goods. However, by the end of the 4th century BC, this tradition slowly declines.

Just like their Proto-Indo-European ancestors, the Scythians buried their dead in kurgans or burial mounds. At these kurgans, they erected stelae, upright stones with human depictions. The images of drinking horns on kurgan stelae follow a somewhat different chronology. The earliest examples date from the 6th century BC, a period when actual grave finds of drinking horns are still relatively rare. During the 5th century BC, the frequency of these images increases significantly, in line with the renewed presence of drinking horns as grave goods. In the 4th century BC, the images on stelae become scarcer, while the physical burial of drinking horns reaches its peak. 

On the Crimean Peninsula, such images appear slightly later, from the 5th century BC, but they are more common there than elsewhere. These patterns indicate a dynamic relationship between the material culture and its symbolic representation, where drinking horns played a key role in both grave goods and art in Scythian rituals and identity.

Drinking horns thus played an important role in Scythian funeral rituals. They are often found in the graves of warriors and may be associated with their royal and martial cult. It is possible that Scythian rulers received a drinking horn from a deity as a symbol of their kingship.

Among the Celts, the drinking horn was a true status symbol. Julius Caesar describes in his Commentarii de Bello Gallico how the Gauls used drinking horns, made from the horns of aurochs. He writes that these horns, which were decorated with silver, served as drinking vessels during great feasts.

Probably, cattle horns were used. These have decayed over time, but the horns were often adorned with gold or bronze. These metal details have been archaeologically preserved.

In Hochdorf, the grave of the 50-year-old chieftain was arranged for a feast in the afterlife. His grave contained, among other things, a gilded torc and arm ring, jewelry, a dagger, and a luxurious chariot. At his feet stood a cauldron with a capacity of 400 liters, filled with mead. The grave contained nine bronze bowls and nine drinking horns. The largest of the horns was 5.5 liters and made of bronze, iron, and gold. The other 8 horns were made of organic material, but the bronze fittings have remained. Hemp was also found in the grave, which was often used during Indo-European rituals.

Women also received such rich grave goods. The 'Princess of Reinheim' was buried with a torque, bracelets, rings, fibulae, a box with glass and amber beads, a mirror, bronze bowls, a jug, and gold drinking horn fittings.

Drinking horns in Celtic culture were strongly connected to rituals of hospitality, honor, and religion. Their use during feasts served to strengthen social bonds and emphasize the host's status. In a religious context, drinking horns may have been used to make offerings to the gods or to unite the community during important ceremonies. They were often buried with the deceased, suggesting that the Celts believed these objects were useful in the afterlife or symbolically represented the status of the deceased.

An example of a later Celtic drinking horn is an image on the Pictish Bullion stone from the 10th century AD. It possibly depicts a chieftain. He drinks from a drinking horn with a bird's head end while sitting on a horse.

Also, the Germanic tribes in the Migration Period used drinking horns and made them from cattle horn, but also from precious metals and glass, modeled after Roman designs. 

A beautiful example is the two Gallehus horns from South Jutland, Denmark, of which unfortunately the originals have been lost. These horns feature runes ("I, Hlewagast, made this horn"), warriors, horses, and possibly the ulfheðnar ritual and the horned spear dancer depicted. The horned spear dancer thus connects the horns with kingship, the warrior class, and the tradition of the koryos. Also, the horns likely depict the gods Tyr, Odin, Thor, and Freyr.

In the Germanic tradition, the symbel (a ceremonial drinking ritual) played a central role, where drinking horns were used to make oaths or to emphasize community bonds. This tradition is described in Old English texts such as the Beowulf epic, where mead is drunk from drinking horns, associated with the sacred role of feasting and the strengthening of loyalty and honor.

Drinking horns were also included in graves. Examples are the drinking horns from the Anglo-Saxon ship burial of Sutton Hoo and the royal tomb from Taplow, Buckinghamshire.

A lot is known about the use of drinking horns by Vikings, through archaeological finds, myths, and sagas, and images on stones. The drinking horn was a symbol of hospitality, but they were also associated with strength and magic.

Horn fragments of drinking horns from the Viking Age are rare, but archaeological finds of decorative metal ends and fittings suggest that drinking horns were widespread. Both cattle and goat horns were used, with an average capacity of less than half a liter. 

In the Scandinavian sagas, drinking horns are mentioned regularly. 

In the mythical competition between Thor and the giant Útgarða-Loki, Þór must drink from a magical drinking horn that is impossible to empty. Later it turns out that the horn is connected to the sea, and Thor's attempt to drink caused ebb and flow. This story emphasizes the strength and magic attributed to drinking horns.

In a fragment of the poem Gudrúnarkviða II, Gudrún drinks from a horn, in which magical earth, ice-cold sea, and boar's blood were mixed. This horn has 'all kinds of runes, engraved and colored', suggesting that runes were carved and colored to stand out more. In the context of Norse tradition, runes were often engraved on objects as magical signs, intended to provide protection, activate curses, or connect specific properties to the object. In this case, the horn or the drink caused Gudrún to forget her husband Sigurd.

The Egils saga tells the story of Egil Skallagrímsson, a famous skald from Iceland. Egil visits Bárðr, a relative of Queen Gunnhildr, who, although he provides food, apologizes for not having beer or other better drinks in the house. That same evening, King Eiríkr Bloodaxe and his wife arrive at Bárðr's to hold a feast and make offerings to the dísir, female guardian spirits comparable to the norns. Egil is invited to participate in the banquet, where beer flows abundantly.

Bárðr did not behave as a good host towards Egil, and Egil decides to ridicule him by drinking horn after horn without becoming sated. Annoyed, Gunnhildr and Bárðr decide to poison Egil's drink. Egil, seeing through their plan, pricks his hand until it bleeds, carves magical runes into the horn, and smears it with his blood. As he recites a poem, the horn bursts, causing the poisoned drink to spill onto the ground. Egil then leaves the feast. Bárðr subsequently offers him another filled horn, upon which Egil pierces him with his sword.

This story not only illustrates the use of drinking horns during feasts and offerings but also emphasizes the importance of hospitality, a fundamental value in Indo-European culture.

Drinking horns are depicted on numerous Viking rune stones, being used by both men and women. This is particularly in the context of banquets, such as the Tängelgärda IV stone from Gotland. The Snoldelev Stone from Denmark shows a kind of triskelion or Valknut, possibly formed by three drinking horns.

The famous Bayeux Tapestry also depicts a banquet where drinking horns are used for drinking. One of the drinking horns has a decorative edge and end.

In today's world, Viking drinking horns have undergone a revival, seamlessly connecting history with modern creativity. These iconic objects have found a new place in contemporary festivals, celebrations, and rituals. Whether it is the vibrant authenticity of historical reenactments, the enchanting atmosphere of festivals, or pagan rituals, drinking horns have become more than just utensils – they symbolize the revival of our unity, our ancestors, and their mythology.

Drinking horns are symbolic and iconic. They can be raised in a toast to the past or used to create unforgettable moments in the present. These timeless objects continue to inspire. They connect us with the rich past while simultaneously celebrating the boundless creativity of modern culture.