Eating habits in the civilization of ancient Greece presentation: Pantelaki Margarita (teacher of Art in 3d Primary School of Serres) translation :Irene Michali (teacher of English in 3d Primary School of Serres) Κυριακή, 11 Νοεμβρίου 12
How can an archeologist, an artist and several scientists be related? archeologist artist scientist Κυριακή, 11 Νοεμβρίου 12
When an archeologist studies his/her findings, he/she may sometimes turn to other scientists in order to form a complete view on his research. Such teams cooperate towards a more successful achievement of their goals.
In Knossos, Crete, for example, where food leftovers were found in ceramic utensils, specialists undertook their study. Through these findings they were able to draw conclusions about the eating habits of those people. A variety of ceramic houseware, cooking and storage utensils. Κυριακή, 11 Νοεμβρίου 12
Ancient greek art has bequeathed us a number of images of people s everyday life. Among these images there are a lot of elements showing the eating habits of ancient people. We come across such images in different kind of art : in ceramic pots, wall paintings (fresco), jewellery, sculptures etc. In this way, art becomes our source of information.
So, what did the ancient people in Greece use to eat? Do you think they ate... Κυριακή, 11 Νοεμβρίου 12
French fries and pizzas???????
NO! OXI (ochi) means no in greek Κυριακή, 11 Νοεμβρίου 12
Ancient Greeks were frugal and particularly proud of the austerity of their eating habits. They didn t incidentally hare the moto: A healthy mind in a healthy body!
They considered any gastronomical exaggeration to be unacceptable.
Food examples
Cereals were among the basic foods of ancient. In this wall painting a young woman is holding bunches of wheat. Mycenaean wall painting. Κυριακή, 11 Νοεμβρίου 12
The picture on the left shows a woman kneading bread ( ceramic sculpture) The picture on the right is an image of harvest (bronze pot) Κυριακή, 11 Νοεμβρίου 12
Olives were a must in the ancients everyday diet. From the crop they produced oil. The olive tree was considered sacred, that is why in the Olympic Games they used to crown the winners with a branch of olive tree ( called kotinos )
Kotinos is a crown made of a branch of the olive tree.
Ancients cultivated vineyards. Apart from the plummy grapes, they produced their favorite wine, white and red.
Wine in those days was heavier than the one we consume nowadays, so they used to dilute it with water.
Greens, herbs and several plants belongs to the main food groups of the ancients. In this fresco from Thera ( Santorini Island) a young lady is picking safran. Safran is a flower that can be dried and added to our food, or it can be drunk (like tea).
Do you know Kozani s safran?
Ancient Greeks favourite sweet was honey. They admired bees hard work so much that they made even jewel which depicts this hardworking insects.
Many are the coastal areas of Greece; those that are located near to the sea. This fact made the inhabitants of such areas great connoisseurs of the sea world, avid sailors and fishermen. In such places, as a matter of fact, the consumption of sea food was fundamental to diet. Fresco from Thera ( Santorini) Κυριακή, 11 Νοεμβρίου 12
In this wall painting a young fisherman is holding his catch of, probably, tuna fish. Fresco, Minoan art, Crete. Κυριακή, 11 Νοεμβρίου 12
Here, several kinds of fish decorate a red-figure plate.
They used to eat a variety of sea food, such as shellfish, squids, octopuses etc.
Meat was rarely consumed, particularly in special occasions such as religious ceremonies. Rich people had the possibility of maintaining herds of sheep, goats or cows. Poorer ones rarely ate meat because it was too expensive to buy. Black-figure vessel Κυριακή, 11 Νοεμβρίου 12
In religious ceremonies there were sacrifices of animals in order to honor the gods. The god s portion (fat and bones) are delivered to the fire while people s portion (the meat) was eaten
Ancient Greeks organized symposiums, where they gathered to discuss, drink and eat. There they used to lie down in couches so as to be more confortable.
Farmer families used to eat more rabbit meat. They existed in abundance and people hunted them.
They also hunted birds and they ate their meat as well as their eggs.
They used to consume a lot of fruit, but among their most favourite ones were figs and pomegranates. Here a craftsman has made a marvelous necklace whose beads are tiny pomegranates.
Pulses, vegetables, nuts were their basic types of food.
The ancient Greek diet is regarded to be one of the healthiest all over the world! We still know and consume many foods that ancient people used to eat. Κυριακή, 11 Νοεμβρίου 12
Bon appetite!