Fac Potiones Excellens

Patrons of the Bar-tender

Sanctus Amandus

To both Catholicism and Orthodox Christianity, Sanctus Amandus (Saint Armand, circa AD 584 to 675) is the patron saint of the vineyard, the production and service of alcoholic beverages, hospitality, and business. He is thought of as the bishop in France who converted northern France and the low countries to Christendom. He also is believed to have founded the monasteries that have produced some of the best beers and wines that Europe has known. Catholic - and probably a few Orthodox - bar-tenders are known to honor him.

Dionysos-Bacchus

If the religion of the classical Greco-Roman world had survived, Dionysus (known as Bacchus to the Latins) would be the main patron deity for bar-tenders. The images above are of him. He was the god of grapes, wine, and divine ecstasy. As reasonable and responsible professionals, bar-tenders would probably pair devotion to Dionysus-Bacchus with that to Hermes (known as Mercury to the Latins). He is shown below, being served at an inn while pretending to be a mortal man. Many of us have felt a little like Hermes when we have stepped up to a bar as customers. Hermes was the god of business, hospitality, the wheel, fleet-footedness, and good luck.
In Greece, Italy, and scattered elsewhere, there are about half a million people, world-wide, who profess the old Greco-Roman religion. Are many of them bar-tenders? If so, are any of them especially devoted to these two gods? One can only guess.

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