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The Odyssey of Ancient Greek Diet

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The Odyssey of Ancient Greek Diet The Odyssey of Ancient Greek Diet the hearts of all Greeks" (Marrou 1956:146). I will then look at the According to myth, Promethius archaeological record for confirmation of was caught stealing fire from the gods and whether or not the foods mentioned by consequentially brought the harsh Homer were actually consumed by the necessity of agricultural labour upon the Ancient Greeks; specificallywine, cereals, Greeks. It was seen as a punishment olive oil, meat, fruits, and dairy (milk and imposed by a vengeful Zeus because cheese) (Garnsey 1999). without this labour seeds could not be converted into edible plants (Garnsey 1999). While this myth is concerned with the origins of ancient Greek agriculture, Before I proceed, an apparent what is of greater interest to the aims of contradiction in my thesis must be this paper is the actual diet of classical explained and justified. The Otfyssf!)' by Greece. Homer, in short, is an epic poem about Historians and archaeologistshave the homecoming of the Greek Odysseus long been interested in the study of food after the Trojan War. Here is where the in classical antiquity. From the research I contradiction is evident; why am I have done, it is clear that the majority of searching in a text conceived around evidence related to food in classical 750BC that is based on events that are Greece is archaeological in nature. Of supposed to have occurred around 1250 course this would be expected when BC when I am looking for clues about dealing with a civilizationthat existedover food being consumed in the classical two thousand years ago. I propose that, period, approximately 480-300 BC? The although archaeological evidence should answer to this question is simple, but remain the primary source of information, often overlooked. The Otfyssf!)', as it can be accompanied by classicalliterary mentioned, is an epic poem and was material as well. For example, no one therefore recited orally for centuries and would argue that Virgil's Aeneid, or the not written down until the invention of story of Promethius mentioned above, are the book in the classical period. The legends. These legends, however, were poem was recited by rhapsodes (song- written by real people, in real space, and stitchers) from the time of Homer until time and I believe that they can reveal the classicperiod (Marrou 1956). No one certain cultural truths that existed. knows for certain when Homer lived or I will be using Homer's Otfyssf!)'as composed The Otfyssf!)'and The Iliad, but it my literary source because not only is it is fashionable to place the date around the abundant with references to food, but also middle of the eighth century BC (Rieu because it continued "through all the 1950).This implies that during the almost centuries of the classicaltradition, to fire three hundred years that it was being Maher - Ancient Greek Diet 8 recited orally, these song-stitchers could quantity of seeds, it is assumed that they add their own cultural touches depending were used in the production of wine on where and when they were located. (Vickery 1936). Further evidence of the Therefore, I believe the version of The use of grapes in making wine is furnished Otfyssry with which we are all familiar and by a discovery made by British the food mentioned within it is the archaeologists near Sparta, where they accumulation of centuries of cultural found a seal from the mouth of a jar. The elements from approximately 750 BC up clayimprints clearlyshow that it had been to and including the classical period. Of covered with leaves that have been course the food mentioned in The Otfyssf!Y identified as grape leaves (Vickery 1936). is not fully representative of all the food Although this doesn't prove the presence choices available to the classical of wine, the evidence of grape leaves in populations but their reference and this context certainly allows for that repetition in the poem lead me to suspect possibility.. that they were the most significant. Another place to look for evidence of the presence of wine is pottery. There are numerous amphora reliefs showing the consumption of wine. "... and a herald, going back and forth, One such example is an Attic black-figure poured the wine for them ... " (Lattimore amphora dated to approximately 500 BC 1965:143). showing Dionysus, the god of wine, "... grape cluster after grape cluster ... " consuming his drink from a large cup. (Lattimore 1965:121). Besides the reliefs found on pottery, sometimes the actual shape of the pottery The only drinks that were available can dictate its function. For example, the to the Greeks in antiquity were water, rhyton is a ritual pouring vessel that wine, milk, and fruit juice (Craik 1997). sometimes appeared in the shape of an Wine is mentioned over ten times in The animal head and is believed to have been Otfyssry, and most involved feasts or used to pour wine (pedley 1993). There religious ceremonies of some sort. In are numerous examples of these types of these ceremonies, the men drank the wine vessels; specifically,a rhyton in the shape in moderation and only when mixed and of a bull's head from Crete and one consumed with the food. Wine, cereals, showing a hilltop sanctuary from the city and olives are what Braudel called the of Zakro (pedley 1993). eternal trinitl and they provided the base of By examining the archaeological the traditional Greek agricultural and data, supplemented by paleobotanical dietary system (Garnsey 1999). evidence, pottery art, and pottery Excavations on the island of Crete function, it is clear that wine was known have provided archaeologists with many prior to and into the classicalage. clues regarding the making, storage, and consumption of wine. There they have found residues in jars that indicate that they had once contained liquids, most " ... housekeeper brought in the bread... " likely olive oil or wine. Moreover, on the (Lattimore 1965:175). mainland in the ancient city of Tiryns, the " ... there is wheat and millet here and only physical remains of food discovered white barley, wide grown ... " (Lattimore were grape seeds. Because of the large 1965:604). Maher-Ancient Greek Diet 9 Cereals are the second group of According to archaeological and Braudel's eternal trinity and must be seen as historical data, Garnsey (1999) believes a whole group of seed crops, the most that over the years barley lost ground to important cultigens being wheat and wheat, husked grains lost ground to naked barley (Garnsey 1999). The ancient grains, and eventuallybread was preferred Greeks used cereals not only as over porridge. Nonetheless, it is clear that domesticate food, but also and more cerealsplayedan important role in ancient importantly, for bread. There is a Greek diet. significant amount of archaeological evidence to show the importance of cereals. At Knossos there are a number of "... oozes the limpid olive' oil.. ." indications that the ancient Greeks were (Lattimore 1965:107). heavy cereal eaters. In a smallroom later "... and the flourishing olive... " discovered to be a stable, archaeologists (Lattimore 1965:116). found stores of wheat, and it is interesting to note that it was not kept in a container Olives represent the third and (Vickery 1936). Vickery also claims that finar element of what Braudel labeled the "wheat and barley certainly were the eternal trinity and were seemingly very principle grains of the Aegean world" important to the ancient Greeks' (Vickery 1936:112). In the north, in traditional agricultural dietary regime Thessaly and Olynthus, samples of millet (Garnsey 1999). The olive needs a dry have been found as well as what might be season in which to develop its oil content, rye (Vickery 1936). Moreover, German and a cool winter in which to rest. archaeologists working near Melos have Moreover, they are intolerant to frost and discovered what they believe to be a to elevationsabove 800 meters (Mattingly model of a granary (pedley 1993). The 1996). Thus in Greece, the olive thrived cereals used in ancient Greece are a and soon found itself an integral part of reflection of the variable Greek climate the Aegean diet. The cultivation of the and soil quality; for example, barley is olive, and use of its oil, dates back to the tolerant to poorer soils and a range of early part of the bronze age, and climactic conditions and was, therefore, fortunately there are many strands of probably grown in Greece;whilethe more archaeological evidence pertaining to the intolerant wheat was most likelyimported olive: paleobotanical data, traces of (Craik 1997). ancient orchards, olive mills and presses, Bread was a staple commodity to and plenty of amphorae that were used to the ancient Greeks. Archaeological transport and store oil (Mattingly1996). discoveries of certain pottery covers On the island of Naxos, the actual suggest that they had been used in ovens. remains of olive oil were found in a jug Bread could be placed on a slab of stone discovered in a tomb. Interestingly, two or pottery ware, covered with a lid of the lampswere found alongside the oil leaving sort referred to, and placed in an oven or archaeologiststo wrestle with the idea that over coals. There is an ongoing argument the oil was actually fuel. Putting that to whether these ovens were known in thought aside, the discovery of an olive Homeric times because mention of them press and great quantities of storage jars is absent in his work (Vickery1936). leads us to believe that the oil was probably a Greek export (Vickery 1936). Maher - Andent Greek Diet 10 It appears that the olives themselves were these sacrifIcialelements are hard to trace prepared for eatingwhile the oil was used in the archaeologicalrecord, but the actual for cooking, salad oil, and applied to the consumption itself is easier to distinguish.
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