Holy Sponge
Videos
The Holy Sponge is one of the Instruments of the Passion of Jesus. It was dipped in vinegar, most likely posca, a regular beverage of Roman soldiers, and offered to Jesus to drink from during the Cruc
James Tissot's depiction. Here, the hyssop stick is used as a kind of straw, and "Stephaton" squeezes the sponge. (c. 1880, gouache over graphite on grey wove paper)
Posca
Videos
Posca was an ancient Roman drink made by mixing water and wine vinegar. Bracing but less nutritious and generally less palatable than wine, it was typically a drink for soldiers, the lower classes, an
Holy Sponge
…the Instruments of the Passion of Jesus. It was dipped in vinegar (Ancient Greek: ὄξος, romanized: oxos; in some translations sour wine), most likely posca, a regular beverage of Roman soldiers, and offered to Jesus to drink from during the Crucifixion, according to Matthew 27:48, Mark 15:36, and John…
A Roman soldier (conventionally called "Stephaton") feeds Jesus with posca, from the Rabbula Gospels, AD 586.