The sacrifice of a boar shown on an Attic kylix, a drinking cup from the region around Athens. Painted by the Epidromos Painter, c. The Greeks kept no count of their daily calorific intake. They did not have to. Most of them probably came up seriously short compared with what we normally consume. For that reason there were not many obese people in ancient Greece.
The only Spartan dish we hear about is black soup. What gave it its distinctive flavour, however, was the blood in which these ingredients swilled around. Oranges, lemons, tomatoes, potatoes and rice had not been discovered. Salt was available, but pepper and other spices were not. A variety of utensils made out of terracotta were used for cooking, including saucepans, frying pans, grills and kettles.
Food was boiled, roasted or steamed, with charcoal and dried twigs being the most common fuels. If the food was cooked indoors smoke would fill the house as there were no chimneys.
Bread was baked in a pottery oven on top of a charcoal brazier. Grinding the grain by rolling a stone back and forth in a mortar was a backbreaking job that might take several hours every day. It was a task invariably performed by women.
Figurine of a woman kneading dough at trough c. They woke and had breakfast, broke from midday work for lunch, and ended the day with dinner. Most Ancient Greeks had the same thing: bread dipped in wine. As a matter of fact, wine was safer than water and consumed more than it, too. Even young children enjoyed a glass or two. The bread that went along with their wine in the morning was made from barley, the main source of all bread in ancient times. It was probably hard, so the wine would loosen it up and make it easier to eat.
Could they have used something else to go with their bread? These were made with wheat flour, olive oil, honey and curdled milk and were usually topped with honey or cheese. I should try making this soon. After the Ancient Greeks went out and performed their various labors, they would break at midday to eat and rest so they could continue working after.
It then comes as no surprise that this meal included, yes, wine. The afternoon meal for the Greeks had them enjoying more of that bread and wine from breakfast, however the difference here is that they also were drinking it a bit more as well.
Normally, they did not drink the morning wine, but from lunch on, it was happy hour and they indulged a bit more. Thus, they consumed small servings of thinks like: figs, salted fish, cheeses, olives, and bread. These small plates of different foods I believe transformed into what Greeks have today — mezedes. A collection of small dishes or appetizers. In many other countries in Europe and the Middle East, this is very much part of the culture, too. Who started it first?
After a long days work, the appetite had grown and now it was time to really eat. Another contrast is dinner. The ancients showed a special preference for pork and beef, while they rarely ate goat and lamb. Mushrooms, fennel, asparagus, and even tender nettles were sought after in rivers and fields. In any case, the ancients were on a diet. On special occasions and celebrations, the Spartans boiled pork, drank wine and ate some pie.
They ate vegetables in the form of soups, but also smashed or simply boiled. Pretty boring, no? Well, maybe not: they always added dressings and seasonings, like vinegar, oil, coriander, dill, mint, oregano, saffron, and thyme.
Olives, which are technically a fruit, were one of the primary foods in Ancient Greece. The Greeks used oil to cook and olives were also a common appetizer. Other important fruits included figs, pomegranates, apples, pears, and grapes. What about dessert? Well, they ate most of their fruits, fresh or dried as desserts.
And honey was perfect to sweeten foods and make cakes. The Greeks loved their seafood. The islands and the cities on the coast ate and transported every kind of fish, including squid, octopus, sardines, and anchovies. However, the Ancient Greeks consumed far less meat than we do today.
When available, they would sometime eat chicken, deer, wild hare and pork.
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