Ancient Greek cuisine was characterized by itsfrugality for most, reflectingagricultural hardship, but a great diversity of ingredients was known, and wealthy Greeks were known to celebrate with elaborate meals and feasts.[1]: 95(129c)
The cuisine was founded on the "Mediterranean triad" ofcereals,olives, andgrapes,[2] which had many uses and great commercial value, but other ingredients were as important, if not more so, to the average diet: most notablylegumes. Research suggests that the agricultural system ofancient Greece could not have succeeded without the cultivation of legumes.[3]
Modern knowledge of ancient Greek cuisine and eating habits is derived from textual, archeological, and artistic evidence.
In the Homeric epics of theIliad andOdyssey, three meals are mentioned.
Ariston was the early meal, while dorpon was the late meal. Deipnon could be either, without reference to time.[4][5]
In the later age Greeks had the below meals:
Acratisma was the early meal (similar to the ariston of the homeric age), ariston was the middle meal and deipnon was the evening meal (similar to the dorpon of the homeric age).[4][5]
Prochoos (πρόχοος) or prochous (πρόχους) was ajug orewer used for washing the hands before and after meals.[6][7]
Breakfast (ἀκρατισμόςakratismós and ἀκράτισμαakratisma,acratisma[8]) consisted ofbarley bread dipped in wine (ἄκρατοςákratos), sometimes complemented byfigs,dates orolives.[9] They also ate a sort ofpancake calledτηγανίτης (tēganítēs)[10] orταγηνίας (tagēnías),[11] all words deriving fromτάγηνον (tágēnon), "frying pan".[12] The earliest attested references ontagenias are in the works of the 5th century BCE poetsCratinus[13] andMagnes.[14]
Tagenites were made withwheat flour, olive oil,honey andcurdled milk, and were served for breakfast.[15][16][17] Another kind of pancake wasσταιτίτης (staititēs), fromσταίτινος (staitinos), "of flour or dough ofspelt",[18] derived fromσταῖς (stais), "flour of spelt".[19]Athenaeus in hisDeipnosophistae mentionsstaititas topped with honey,sesame and cheese.[20][21][22]
A quicklunch (ἄριστονáriston[23]) was taken around noon or early afternoon.[24]
Dinner (δεῖπνονdeīpnon), the most important meal of the day, was generally taken at nightfall.[24] An additional light meal (ἑσπέρισμαhespérisma) was sometimes taken in the late afternoon.[24]Ἀριστόδειπνον /aristódeipnon, literally "lunch-dinner", was served in the late afternoon instead of dinner.[25]
Epideipnis (ἐπιδειπνίς) was a second course at dinner.[26]
Men and women took their meals separately.[27] When the house was small, the men ate first and the women afterwards.[28] Respect for the father who was the breadwinner was obvious.[29]Slaves waited at dinners.Aristotle notes that "the poor, having no slaves, would ask their wives or children to serve food."
The ancient Greek custom of placingterracotta miniatures of furniture in children's graves gives a good idea of its style and design. The Greeks normally ate while seated on chairs; benches were used for banquets.[30] Tables - high for normal meals, low for banquets - were initially rectangular. By the 4th century BCE, most tables were round, often with animal-shaped legs (for example lion's paws).
Loaves of flat bread were occasionally used as plates; terracotta bowls were more common.[31] Loaves were usually flat, circular and indented into four or more parts, but there are instances which were also made in other forms, such as cubes.[32]Dishes became more refined over time, and by the Roman period plates were sometimes made out of precious metals or glass. Cutlery was not often used at the table. Use of thefork was unknown; people ate with their fingers.[33] Knives were used to cut the meat.[31] Spoons were used for soups and broths.[31] Pieces of bread (ἀπομαγδαλιαίapomagdaliai) could be used to spoon the food[33] or asnapkins to wipe the fingers.[34]In Greek dining customs, guests washed their hands before and after meals. Slaves assisted by carrying a basin (λέβης, χέρνιψ, χειρόνιπτρον) to catch the water poured from a jug (πρόχους). Another slave provided a linen napkin (χειρόμακτρον, ἐκμαγεῖον) for drying the hands.[7]
As with modern dinner parties, the host could simply invite friends or family; but two other forms ofsocial dining were well documented in ancient Greece: the entertainment of the all-malesymposium, and the obligatory, regimentalsyssitia.
Thesymposium (συμπόσιονsympósion), traditionally translated as "banquet", but more literally "gathering of drinkers",[35] was one of the preferred pastimes for Greek men. It consisted of two parts: the first dedicated to food, generally rather simple, and a second part dedicated to drinking.[35] However, wine was consumed with the food, and the beverages were accompanied by snacks (τραγήματαtragēmata) such aschestnuts,beans, toasted wheat, or honey cakes, all intended to absorb alcohol and extend the drinking spree.[36]
The second part was inaugurated with alibation, most often in honor ofDionysus,[37] followed by conversation or table games, such askottabos. The guests would recline on couches (κλίναιklínai); low tables held the food or game boards.
Dancers, acrobats, and musicians would entertain the wealthy banqueters. A "king of the banquet" was drawn by lots; he had to direct the slaves as to how strong to mix the wine.[37]
With the exception ofcourtesans, the banquet was strictly reserved for men. It was an essential element of Greek social life. Great feasts could only be afforded by the rich; in most Greek homes, religious feasts or family events were the occasion of more modest banquets.
The banquet became the setting of a specific genre of literature, giving birth toPlato'sSymposium,Xenophon's work of the same name, theTable Talk ofPlutarch'sMoralia, and theDeipnosophists (Banquet of the Learned) ofAthenaeus.
Thesyssitia (τὰ συσσίτιαtà syssítia) were mandatory meals shared by social or religious groups for men and youths, especially inCrete andSparta. They were referred to variously ashetairia,pheiditia, orandreia (literally, "belonging to men").
They served as both a kind of aristocraticclub and as a militarymess. Like the symposium, the syssitia was the exclusive domain of men – although some references have been found to substantiate all-femalesyssitia. Unlike the symposium, these meals were hallmarked by simplicity and temperance.
First she set for them a fair and well made table that had feet of cyanus; On it there was a vessel of bronze and an onion to give relish to the drink, with honey and cakes of barley meal.
— Homer, Iliad Book XI[38]
Cereals formed the staple diet. The two main grains werewheat (σῖτοςsītos) andbarley (κριθήkrithē).[39]
When Greece was conquered by Rome during the 2nd century B.C., commercial bakeries were well known and spread. In factPliny the Elder suggests that the production of bread moved from the family to the "industrial" thanks to the work of skilled artisans (according to Pliny, starting from 171 BCE).[40]Plato favored home production over commercial production and inGorgias, described Thearion the baker as an Athenian novelty who sells goods that could be made at home.[41]
In ancient Greece, bread was served with accompaniments known asopsonὄψον, sometimes rendered in English as "relish".[42] This was a generic term which referred to anything which accompanied this staple food, whether meat or fish, fruit or vegetable.
Cakes may have been consumed for religious reasons as well as secular.Philoxenus of Cythera describes in detail some cakes that were eaten as part of an elaborate dinner using the traditionaldithyrambic style used for sacredDionysian hymns: "mixed with safflower, toasted, wheat-oat-white-chickpea-little thistle-little-sesame-honey-mouthful of everything, with a honey rim".
Athenaeus says thecharisios was eaten at the "all-night festival", but John Wilkins notes that the distinction between the sacred and secular can be blurred in antiquity.[41]
Melitoutta (Ancient Greek:μελιτοῦττα), was a honeycake[43][44][45] andoinoutta (οἰνοῦττα) was a cake or porridge of barley mixed with wine, water, and oil.[46]Placenta cake was a thin, flat cake of flour, mixed with cheese and honey.[47]
Itrion (ἴτριον), was a biscuit/cake made with sesame seeds and honey, similar to the modernSesame seed candy.[48]
Kopte sesamis (κοπτὴ σησαμίς), sometimes called simply κοπτὴ, was a cake made from pounded sesame.[49]
Psammeta (ψάμμητα) were a kind of a cake.[50]
Crepis (κρηπίς) was a type of cake or pancake filled with fruit.[51]
"Diakonion" (διακόνιον) had multiple meanings in ancient sources. Some described it as the crust of a pastry. The writerMenekles explained that during the Athenian festival forApollo, when theEiresione was made, round pastries were included and called diakonion. Similarly,Amerias noted that diakonia (διακόνια; plural of diakonion) were pastries prepared for Apollo during this ritual. However, other sources describe it as a type of broth, while some say it was a kind of barley cake.[52]
Wheat grains were softened by soaking, then either reduced intogruel, or ground into flour (ἀλείαταaleíata) and kneaded and formed into loaves (ἄρτοςártos) or flatbreads, either plain or mixed with cheese or honey.[53] The small loaf was calledartidion (ἀρτίδιον).[54]Leavening was known; the Greeks later used analkali (νίτρονnítron) andwine yeast asleavening agents.[55] Dough loaves were baked at home in a clay oven (ἰπνόςipnós) set on legs.[56]
Bread wheat, difficult to grow in Mediterranean climates, and the white bread made from it, were associated with the upper classes in the ancient Mediterranean, while the poor ate coarse brown breads made fromemmer wheat andbarley.[57]
A simpler baking method involved placing lighted coals on the floor and covering the heap with a dome-shaped lid (πνιγεύςpnigeús); when it was hot enough, the coals were swept aside, and dough loaves were placed on the warm floor. The lid was then put back in place, and the coals were gathered on the side of the cover.[58]
The stone oven did not appear until the Roman period.Solon, anAthenian lawmaker of the 6th century BCE, prescribed that leavened bread be reserved for feast days.[59] By the end of the 5th century BCE, leavened bread was sold at the market, though it was expensive.[60]
Barley was easier to grow than wheat, but more difficult to make bread from. Barley-based breads were nourishing but very heavy.[61] Because of this, it was often roasted before being milled into coarse flour (ἄλφιταálphita). Barley flour was used to makeμᾶζαmaza, the basic Greek dish. Maza could be served cooked or raw, as a broth, or made into dumplings or flatbreads.[53] Like wheat breads, it could also be augmented with cheese or honey.
InPeace,Aristophanes employs the expressionἐσθίειν κριθὰς μόνας, literally "to eat only barley", with a meaning equivalent to the English "diet of bread and water".[62]
Millet was growing wild in Greece as early as 3000 BCE, and bulk storage containers for millet have been found from theLate Bronze Age inMacedonia and northern Greece.[63]Hesiod describes that "the beards grow round the millet, which men sow in summer."[64][65]
Millet is listed along with wheat in the 3rd century BCE byTheophrastus in his "Enquiry into Plants"[66]
Black bread, made fromemmer (sometimes called "emmer wheat"), was cheaper (and easier to make) than wheat; it was associated with the lower classes and the poor.[3]
Legumes were essential to the Greek diet, and were harvested in the Mediterranean region from prehistoric times: the earliest and most common beinglentils - which have been found in archeological sites in Greece dating to theUpper Paleolithic period. As one of the first domesticated crops to be introduced to Greece, lentils are commonly found at regional archaeological sites from the Upper Paleolithic.[67]
Lentils and chickpeas are the most frequently mentioned legumes in classical literature.[67]
In ancient Greece, fruit and vegetables were a significant part of the diet, as the ancient Greeks consumed much less meat than in the typical diet of modern societies.[72] Legumes would have been important crops, as their ability to replenish exhausted soil was known at least by the time ofXenophon.[73]
Hesiod (7th-8th century BCE) describes many crops eaten by the ancient Greeks, among these are artichokes[65] and peas.[71]
Vegetables were eaten assoups, boiled or mashed (ἔτνοςetnos), seasoned with olive oil,vinegar,herbs orγάρονgáron, a fish sauce similar toVietnamesenước mắm. In thecomedies of Aristophanes,Heracles was portrayed as a glutton with a fondness for mashed beans.[74] Poor families ate oakacorns (βάλανοιbalanoi).[75]Olives were a common appetizer.[76]
In the cities, fresh vegetables were expensive, and therefore, the poorer city dwellers had to make do withdried vegetables. Lentil soup (φακῆphakē) was the workman's typical dish.[77] Cheese, garlic, and onions were the soldier's traditional fare.[78] In Aristophanes'Peace, the smell of onions typically represents soldiers; the chorus, celebrating the end of war, singsOh! joy, joy! No more helmet, no more cheese nor onions![79]Bitter vetch (ὄροβοςorobos) was considered afamine food.[80]
Fruits, fresh or dried, andnuts, were eaten asdessert. Important fruits werefigs,raisins, dates andpomegranates. In Athenaeus'Deipnosophistae, he describes a dessert made of figs and broad beans.[81] Dried figs were also eaten as an appetizer or when drinking wine. In the latter case, they were often accompanied by grilledchestnuts,chick peas, andbeechnuts.
In the 8th century BCE,Hesiod describes the ideal country feast inWorks and Days:
But at that time let me have a shady rock andBibline wine, a clot of curds and milk of drained goats with the flesh of a heifer fed in the woods, that has never calved, and of firstling kids; then also let me drink bright wine…[82]
Meat is much less prominent in texts of the 5th century BCE onwards than in the earliest poetry[citation needed], but this may be a matter of genre rather than real evidence of changes in farming and food customs. Fresh meat was most commonly eaten at sacrifices, though sausage was much more common, consumed by people across the economic spectrum.[83] In addition to the flesh of animals, the ancient Greeks often ate inner organs, many of which were considered delicacies such aspaunches andtripe.
But above all I do delight in dishes
Of paunches and of tripe from gelded beasts,
And love a fragrant pig within the oven.
— Hipparchus (c.190 – c.120 BCE),[84]
Hippolochus (3rd Century BCE) describes a wedding banquet in Macedonia with "chickens and ducks, and ringdoves, too, and a goose, and an abundance of suchlike viands piled high... following which came a second platter of silver, on which again lay a huge loaf, and geese, hares, young goats, and curiously moulded cakes besides, pigeons, turtle-doves, partridges, and other fowl in plenty..." and "a roast pig — a big one, too — which lay on its back upon it; the belly, seen from above, disclosed that it was full of many bounties. For, roasted inside it, were thrushes, ducks, and warblers in unlimited number, pease purée poured over eggs, oysters, and scallops"[1]: 95(129c)
Spartans primarily ate a soup made from pigs' legs and blood, known asmelas zōmos (μέλας ζωμός), which means "black soup". According to Plutarch, it was "so much valued that the elderly men fed only upon that, leaving what flesh there was to the younger".[85] It was famous amongst the Greeks. "Naturally Spartans are the bravest men in the world," joked a Sybarite, "anyone in his senses would rather die ten thousand times than take his share of such a sorry diet".[86] It was made withpork,salt,vinegar and blood.[31] The dish was served withmaza, figs and cheese sometimes supplemented with game and fish.[87] The 2nd–3rd century authorAelian claims that Spartan cooks were prohibited from cooking anything other than meat.[88]
The consumption of fish and meat varied in accordance with the wealth and location of the household; in the country,hunting (primarily trapping) allowed for consumption of birds andhares. Peasants also had farmyards to provide them with chickens and geese. Slightly wealthier landowners could raise goats, pigs, or sheep. In the city, meat was expensive except for pork. In Aristophanes' day a piglet cost three drachmas,[89] which was three days' wages for a public servant. Sausages were common both for the poor and the rich.[90] Archaeological excavations atKavousi Kastro,Lerna, andKastanas have shown that dogs were sometimes consumed in Bronze Age Greece, in addition to the more commonly-consumed pigs, cattle, sheep, and goats.[91]
Herodotus describes a "large fish... of the sort called Antacaei, without any prickly bones, and good for pickling," probablybeluga[92] found in Greek colonies along theDnieper River.[93] Other ancient writers mentionskipjack tuna (pelamys);tuna (thynnoi);swordfish (xifiai);sea raven (korakinoi);black carp (melanes kyprinoi),porpoise (phykaina), andmackerel (scomber).[92]
In the Greek islands and on the coast, fresh fish and seafood (squid,octopus, andshellfish) were common. They were eaten locally but more often transported inland.Sardines andanchovies were regular fare for the citizens of Athens. They were sometimes sold fresh, but more frequently salted. A stele of the late 3rd century BCE from the small Boeotian city ofAkraiphia, onLake Copais, provides us with a list of fish prices. The cheapest wasskaren (probablyparrotfish) whereasAtlantic bluefin tuna was three times as expensive.[94] Common salt water fish wereyellowfin tuna,red mullet,ray,swordfish orsturgeon, a delicacy which was eaten salted. Lake Copais itself was famous in all Greece for itseels, celebrated by the hero ofThe Acharnians. Other fresh water fish werepike-fish,carp and the less appreciatedcatfish. In classical Athens, eels,[95] conger-eels, and sea-perch (ὈρΦὸς) were considered to be great delicacies, whilesprats were cheap and readily available.[96]
Ancient Greeks consumed a much wider variety of birds than is typical today. Pheasants were present as early as 2000 BCE. Domesticchickens were brought to Greece from Asia Minor as early as 600 BCE, and domesticatedgeese are described inThe Odyssey (800 BCE).Quail,moorhen,capon,mallards,pheasants,larks,pigeons and doves were all domesticated in classical times, and were even for sale in markets. Additionally,thrush,blackbirds,chaffinch,lark,starling,jay,jackdaw,sparrow,siskin,blackcap,Rock partridge,grebe,plover,coot,wagtail,francolin, and evencranes were hunted, or trapped, and eaten, and sometimes available in markets.[97]: 63
Greeks bredquails andhens, partly for theireggs. Some authors also praisepheasant eggs andEgyptian goose eggs,[98] which were presumably rather rare. Eggs were cookedsoft- or hard-boiled ashors d'œuvre ordessert.Whites,yolks and whole eggs were also used as ingredients in the preparation of dishes.[99]
Hesiod describes "milk cake, and milk of goats drained dry" in hisWorks and Days. Country dwellers drankmilk (γάλαgala), but it was seldom used in cooking.[citation needed]
Butter (βούτυρονbouturon) was known but seldom used: Greeks saw it as a culinary trait of theThracians of the northernAegean coast, whom theMiddle Comic poetAnaxandrides dubbed "butter eaters".[100]
Cheesemaking was widespread by the 8th Century BCE, as the technical vocabulary associated with it is included inThe Odyssey.[97]: 66
Greeks enjoyed otherdairy products.Πυριατήpyriatē andOxygala (οξύγαλα) were curdled milk products, similar tocottage cheese[101] or perhaps toyogurt.[102] Most of all, goat's and ewe'scheese (τυρόςtyros) was a staple food. Fresh cheeses (sometimes wrapped indragon arum leaves to retain freshness) and hard cheeses were sold in different shops; the former cost about two thirds of the latter's price.[103]
Cheese was eaten alone or with honey or vegetables. It was also used as an ingredient in the preparation of many dishes, including fish dishes (see recipe below byMithaecus).[104] However, the addition of cheese seems to have been a controversial matter;Archestratus warns his readers that Syracusan cooks spoil good fish by adding cheese.
The first spice mentioned in Ancient Greek writings iscassia:[105]Sappho (6th-7th Century BCE) mentions it in her poem on the marriage ofHector andAndromache.[106]: 44, ln 30 The ancient Greeks made a distinction betweenCeylon cinnamon and cassia.[66]
Ancient Greeks used at least two forms of pepper in cooking and medicine:[107] one of Aristotle's students,Theophrastus, in describing the plants that appeared in Greece as a result ofAlexander's conquest of India and Asia Minor,[108]listed bothblack pepper andlong pepper, stating "one is round like bitter vetch...: the other is elongated and black and has seeds like those of a poppy : and this kind is much stronger than the other. Both however are heating...".[69]
Theophrastus lists several plants in his book as "pot herbs" includingdill,coriander,anise,cumin,fennel,[109]: 81 rue,[109]: 27 celery and celery seed.[109]: 125
Homer describes the preparation of a wine and cheese drink: taking "Pramnian wine she grated goat's milk cheese into it with a bronze grater [and] threw in a handful of white barley meal."[110] (Book 11 of theIliad)
One fragment survives of the first known cookbook in any culture, it was written byMithaecus (5th Century BCE) and is quoted in the "Deipnosophistae" ofAthenaeus. It is a recipe for a fish called "tainia" (meaning "ribbon" in Ancient Greek - probably the speciesCepola macrophthalma),[111]
Archestratus (4th Century BCE), the self-titled "inventor of made dishes",[113] describes a recipe for paunch and tripe, cooked in "cumin juice, andvinegar and sharp, strong-smellingsilphium".[84]
The most widespread drink was water. Fetching water was a daily task for women. Though wells were common, spring water was preferred: it was recognized as nutritious because it caused plants and trees to grow,[114] and also as a desirable beverage.[115]Pindar called spring water "as agreeable as honey".[116]
The Greeks would describe water as robust,[117] heavy[118] or light,[119] dry,[120] acidic,[121] pungent,[122] wine-like,[123] etc. One of the comic poetAntiphanes's characters claimed that he could recognizeAttic water by taste alone.[124] Athenaeus states that a number of philosophers had a reputation for drinking nothing but water, a habit combined with avegetarian diet (seebelow).[125] Milk, usuallygoats' milk, was not widely consumed, being considered barbaric.
The usual drinking vessel was theskyphos, made out of wood, terra cotta, or metal.Critias[126] also mentions thekothon, a Spartan goblet which had the military advantage of hiding the colour of the water from view and trapping mud in its edge. The ancient Greeks also used a vessel called akylix (a shallow footed bowl), and for banquets thekantharos (a deep cup with handles) or therhyton, a drinking horn often moulded into the form of a human or animal head.
The Greeks are thought to have madered as well asrosé andwhite wines. Like today, these varied in quality from common table wine to valuable vintages. It was generally considered that the best wines came fromThásos,Lesbos andChios.[127]
Cretan wine came to prominence later. A secondary wine made from water andpomace (the residue from squeezed grapes), mixed withlees, was made by country people for their own use. The Greeks sometimes sweetened their wine with honey and made medicinal wines by addingthyme,pennyroyal and other herbs. By the first century, if not before, they were familiar with wine flavoured with pine resin (modernretsina).[128]Aelian also mentions a wine mixed with perfume.[129] Cooked wine was known,[130] as well as a sweet wine from Thásos, similar toport wine.
Wine was generally cut with water. The drinking ofakraton or "unmixed wine", though known to be practised by northern barbarians, was thought likely to lead to madness and death.[131] Wine was mixed in akrater, from which theslaves would fill the drinker's kylix with anoinochoe (jugs). Wine was also thought to have medicinal powers. Aelian mentions that the wine from Heraia inArcadia rendered men foolish but women fertile; conversely, Achaean wine was thought to induce abortion.[132]
Outside of these therapeutic uses, Greek society did not approve of women drinking wine. According toAelian, aMassalian law prohibited this and restricted women to drinking water.[133] Sparta was the only city where women routinely drank wine.
Wine reserved for local use was kept in skins. That destined for sale was poured intoπίθοιpithoi, (large terra cotta jugs). From there they were decanted intoamphoras sealed with pitch for retail sale.[134] Vintage wines carried stamps from the producers or city magistrates who guaranteed their origin. This is one of the first instances of indicating the geographical or qualitative provenance of a product.
The Greeks also drankkykeon (κυκεών, fromκυκάωkykaō, "to shake, to mix"), which was both a beverage and a meal. It was a barley gruel, to which water and herbs were added. In theIliad, the beverage also contained gratedgoat cheese.[135] In theOdyssey,Circe adds honey and a magic potion to it.[136] In theHomeric Hymn toDemeter, the goddess refuses red wine but accepts a kykeon made of water, flour, andpennyroyal.[137]
Used as a ritual beverage in theEleusinian Mysteries, kykeon was also a popular beverage, especially in the countryside:Theophrastus, in hisCharacters, describes a boorish peasant as having drunk much kykeon and inconveniencing theAssembly with his bad breath.[138] It also had a reputation as a good digestive, and as such, inPeace,Hermes recommends it to the main character who has eaten too much dried fruit.[139]
Food played an important part in the Greek mode of thought. Classicist John Wilkins notes that "in theOdyssey for example, good men are distinguished from bad and Greeks from foreigners partly in terms of how and what they ate. Herodotus identified people partly in terms of food and eating".[144]
Up to the 3rd century BCE, the frugality imposed by the physical and climatic conditions of the country was held as virtuous. The Greeks did not ignore the pleasures of eating, but valued simplicity. The rural writer Hesiod, as cited above, spoke of his "flesh of a heifer fed in the woods, that has never calved, and of firstling kids" as being the perfect closing to a day. Nonetheless,Chrysippus is quoted as saying that the best meal was a free one.[145]
Culinary andgastronomical research was rejected as a sign of decadence: the inhabitants of thePersian Empire were considered so due to their luxurious taste, which manifested itself in their cuisine.[146] The Greek authors took pleasure in describing the table of theAchaemenid Great King and his court:Herodotus,[147]Clearchus of Soli,[148]Strabo[149] andCtesias[150] were unanimous in their descriptions.
In contrast, Greeks as a whole stressed the austerity of their own diet. Plutarch tells how the king ofPontus, eager to try the Spartan "black gruel", bought aLaconian cook; 'but had no sooner tasted it than he found it extremely bad, which the cook observing, told him, "Sir, to make this broth relish, you should have bathed yourself first in the river Eurotas"'.[151] According toPolyaenus,[152] on discovering the dining hall of the Persian royal palace,Alexander the Great mocked their taste and blamed it for their defeat.Pausanias, on discovering the dining habits of the Persian commanderMardonius, equally ridiculed the Persians, "who having so much, came to rob the Greeks of their miserable living".[153]
In consequence of this cult of frugality, and the diminished regard for cuisine it inspired, the kitchen long remained the domain of women, free or enslaved. In the classical period, however, culinary specialists began to enter the written record. Both Aelian[154] and Athenaeus mention the thousand cooks who accompanied Smindyride ofSybaris on his voyage toAthens at the time ofCleisthenes, if only disapprovingly.Plato inGorgias, mentions "Thearion the cook,Mithaecus the author of a treatise on Sicilian cooking, and Sarambos the wine merchant; three eminent connoisseurs of cake, kitchen and wine."[155] Some chefs also wrote treatises on cuisine.
Over time, more and more Greeks presented themselves as gourmets. From theHellenistic to theRoman period, the Greeks — at least the rich — no longer appeared to be any more austere than others. The cultivated guests of the feast hosted by Athenaeus in the 2nd or 3rd century devoted a large part of their conversation to wine and gastronomy. They discussed the merits of various wines, vegetables, and meats, mentioning renowned dishes (stuffed cuttlefish, redtuna belly,prawns,lettuce watered with mead) and great cooks such as Soterides, chef to kingNicomedes I ofBithynia (who reigned from the 279 to 250 BCE). When his master was inland, he pined foranchovies; Soterides simulated them from carefully carved turnips, oiled, salted and sprinkled with poppy seeds.[156]Suidas (an encyclopaedia from theByzantine period) mistakenly attributes this exploit to the celebrated Roman gourmetApicius (1st century BCE) —[157] which may be taken as evidence that the Greeks had reached the same level as the Romans.
Orphicism andPythagoreanism, two commonancient Greek religions, suggested a different way of life, based on a concept of purity and thus purification (κάθαρσιςkatharsis) — a form of asceticism in the original sense:ἄσκησιςaskēsis initially signifies a ritual, then a specific way of life.Vegetarianism was a central element of Orphicism and of several variants of Pythagoreanism.
Empedocles (5th century BCE) justified vegetarianism by a belief in the transmigration of souls: who could guarantee that an animal about to be slaughtered did not house the soul of a human being? However, it can be observed that Empedocles also included plants in this transmigration, thus the same logic should have applied to eating them.[158] Vegetarianism was also a consequence of a dislike for killing: "For Orpheus taught us rights and to refrain from killing".[159]
The information fromPythagoras (6th century BCE) is more difficult to define. TheComedic authors such asAristophanes andAlexis describedPythagoreans as strictly vegetarian, with some of them living on bread and water alone. Other traditions contented themselves with prohibiting the consumption of certain vegetables, such as the broad bean,[160] or of sacred animals such as the whitecock or selected animal parts.
It follows that vegetarianism and the idea of ascetic purity were closely associated, and often accompanied bysexual abstinence. InOn the eating of flesh,Plutarch (1st–2nd century) elaborated on the barbarism of blood-spilling; inverting the usual terms of debate, he asked the meat-eater to justify his choice.[161]
TheNeoplatonicPorphyrius (3rd century) associates inOn Abstinence vegetarianism with theCretanmystery cults, and gives a census of past vegetarians, starting with the semi-mythicalEpimenides. For him, the origin of vegetarianism wasDemeter's gift of wheat toTriptolemus so that he could teach agriculture to humanity. His three commandments were: "Honour your parents", "Honour the gods with fruit", and "Spare the animals".[162]
Aelian claims that the first athlete to submit to a formal diet was Ikkos of Tarentum, a victor in the Olympic pentathlon (perhaps in 444 BCE).[163] However, Olympic wrestling champion (62nd through 66th Olympiads)Milo of Croton was already said to eat twenty pounds of meat and twenty pounds of bread and to drink eight quarts of wine each day.[164] Before his time, athletes were said to practiceξηροφαγίαxērophagía (fromξηρόςxēros, "dry"), a diet based on dry foods such as dried figs, fresh cheese and bread.[165] Pythagoras (either the philosopher or a gymnastics master of the same name) was the first to direct athletes to eat meat.[166]
Trainers later enforced some standard diet rules: to be an Olympic victor, "you have to eat according to regulations, keep away from desserts (…); you must not drink cold water nor can you have a drink of wine whenever you want".[167] It seems this diet was primarily based on meat, forGalen (ca. 180 CE) accused athletes of his day of "always gorging themselves on flesh and blood".[168] Pausanias also refers to a "meat diet".[169]
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
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