Notes: "The alcoholic beverage of choice for both the ancient Greeks and Romans was wine, customarily distilled with water, except perhaps in the case of the Macedonians who were reputed to drink their wine akratos, or unmixed. Distilled spirits, such as brandy and whisky, had not yet been invented, and beer was looked upon as a swinish potation better left to barbarians." Source: Oxford Classical Dictionary (OCD, 3rd ed. revised).
Both the Greeks and Romans were aware of the destructive effects of excessive drinking and chronic intoxication, according to the OCD. "In the Odyssey, Homer makes a speaker note that wine is a bane to those who drink it excessively and identifies overindulgence as the cause of the Centaur Eurytion's vile behavior. In Hades, Homer's Elpenor admits that heavy drinking was a key factor in his fatal plunge from Circe's roof."
There were actually two centaurs named Eurytion and they were both lushes who came to bad ends after making violent threats and lusting after human females. As for Elpenor, he was one of Odysseus's companions on the island of Circe. He got plastered and decided to spend the night on Circe's roof, only to fall off in a drunken stupor and break his neck.
The Romans were familiar with alcoholism as well. "In On the Nature of Things, Lucretius writes that wine's fury disturbs the soul, debilitates the body and provokes quarrels. The younger Seneca warns that habitual drunkenness so weakens the mind that its consequences are felt long after the drinking has stopped. He notes that some men become so tolerant of wine that even though they are inebriated they appear to be sober." (OCD)
According to the OCD, several famous Romans were accused of being drunks. They include Sulla, Cato, Mark Antony (no surprise there), Cicero's son, Augustus' daughter, Julia, "and the emperors Tiberius, Claudius, Vitellius and Commodus."
As noted above, beer was known as the "Barbarian's Beverage" in the ancient world, but the stuff the barbarians swilled didn't have much in common with the distilled beers we have today:
"We know of ancient European beverages combining various fruits, or fruits and honey, fruits and cereals, honey and cereals, or even fruits, honey, and cereals. Furthermore, numerous types of plants, spices and other substances (such as narcotic drugs) could be added to the beverage before or after fermentation." Source: The Barbarian's Beverage: A History of Beer in Ancient Europe, by Max Nelson (PDF). This book is also available on Amazon.
The history of guzzling and overindulging in various fermented drinks probably goes all the way back to the Stone Age. It appears to be a natural human impulse. Even Conan the Barbarian couldn't resist the urge to get hammered after a long day fighting wizards and smashing heads.