Ancient civilizations had saved ice for cold foods for thousands of years. Mesopotamia has the earliest icehouses in existence, 4,000 years ago, beside the Euphrates River, where the wealthy stored items to keep them cold.
The pharaos of Egypt had ice shipped to them. In the fifth century BC, ancient Greeks sold snow cones mixed with honey and fruit in the markets of Athens.
Persians, having mastered the storage of ice, ate ice cream well into summer. Roman emperor Nero (37–68) had ice brought from the mountains and combined with fruit toppings.
Today's ice treats likely originated with these early ice delicacies.
Painting by Will Cotton
Ice Cream Cavern
2003 ~ Oil on Linen
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