Grape Tattoo

Grape Tattoos and Tattoo Designs

Thursday 15th of January 2009 08:46:13 PM [Add To This Article]

The grape is fruit that grows on woody vines and can be eaten either raw or used in making jam, juice, jelly, vinegar, wine or grape seed extracts. They grow in clusters of six to 300 and come in a wide range of colors including red, black, dark blue, yellow, green and pink. ("White" grapes are actually green in color.) Most of the grapes of the world come from the European grapevine native to the Mediterranean and Central Asia. However, grapes can also come from American and Asian species. Nearly 71% of the world's grapes are used for wine, 27% as fresh fruit, and 2% as raisins.

The Greeks knew the grape to be sacred to the god of wine, Dionysus. (He is known as Bacchus to the Romans.) The carefree god inspired rituals of madness and ecstasy that liberated Greeks from their normal selves. His divine mission was to bring an end to care and worry.
In some religious writings, the grape is thought to be the symbol of gladness, fruitfulness and a healthy harvest. The Old Testament associates grapes with immorality. In the New Testament, the grape and the vine's many branches symbolize the union between Christians and Christ.

In tattoos, a single cluster of grapes represents a 'joi de vivre''. When the grape is shown with the vine and its spiraling tendrils and leaves, a grape tattoo design becomes a sensuous body-covering motif. Grape tattoos can often be found draped around the arm, the shoulder or around the wrist.