page_title: Mastic (plant resin)
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Mastic (plant resin) / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Mastiha tree in Chios
context_page_description: Mastic is a resin obtained from the mastic tree. It is also known as tears of Chios, being traditionally produced on the island Chios, and, like other natural resins, is produced in "tears" or droplets.
  Mastic is excreted by the resin glands of certain trees and dries into pieces of brittle, translucent resin. When chewed, the resin softens and becomes a bright white and opaque gum. The flavor is bitter at first, but after some chewing, it releases a refreshing flavor similar to pine and cedar.
context_section_description: Mastic has been harvested for at least 2,500 years since Greek antiquity. The word mastic is derived from Greek: μαστιχεīν, romanized: mastichein "to gnash the teeth", which is also the source of the English word masticate. The first mention of actual mastic 'tears' was by Hippocrates. Hippocrates used mastic for the prevention of digestive problems, colds and as a breath freshener. Roman emperors used mastic along with honey, pepper, and egg in the spiced wine conditum paradoxum. Under the Byzantine Empire, the trade of mastic was made Emperor's monopoly. In the Ottoman Empire, the Sultan gathered the finest mastic crop to send it to his harem.
  During the Ottoman rule of Chios, mastic was worth its weight in gold. The penalty for stealing mastic was execution by order of the sultan. In the Chios Massacre of 1822, the people of the Mastichochoria region were spared by the sultan to provide mastic to him and his harem. Sakız Adası, the Turkish name for the island of Chios, means "island of gum". The mastic villages are fortress-like, out of sight from the sea, surrounded by high walls and with no doors at street level (meaning that the villages were entered only by ladders), in order to protect the sap from invaders.
  Although the liqueur is much younger, it is still tied up with Greek history. Digestive liqueurs, similar to Mastichato (Mastika), but made with grapes, were known as Greek elixirs before the French Revolution.
  The production of mastic was threatened by the Chios forest fire that destroyed some mastic groves in August 2012.
caption: Traditional collecting of mastic on the island of Chios
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