Nutrition in Ancient Greece (until the time of Homer).

Our knowledge of the diet until the time of Homer varies. There are findings in Palaeolithic and Neolithic sites , archaeologist and university studies and of course the works of Homer.

As for Homer and his works , the dates go as following :

Homer lived around 900 BC.

He wrote about the Trojan war that was about 400 years before his time.

Combining the diet of his era , with rhapsodies he heard and learned it is safe to assume that the diet he reported during the Trojan war contain many elements of his era .

The oldest findings we have for seeds in Greece are dated between 11,000 BC and 7300 BC and show us the usage of wild plants such as barley , oats , lentils and peas and also of wild animals such as goats , cattle , hares etc.

Signs of farming in Greece date back to the period 6200 to 5300 BC where most systematically cultivate of barley , millet , oats , wheat , lentils , peas and acorns is stated . Alongside they used many wild plants ,trees and their products such as olives, almonds , peanuts , grapes , cherries , plums and pears . Later we find evidence of findings for other species cultivated or found in the wild such as apples , figs , blackberries , wild strawberries , pomegranates , dill , capers , oregano, coriander etc.

Domesticated animals play an important role in the Neolithic period . We know of domesticated goats , pigs and cows in Crete since 6,000 BC by Bone artefacts . Indeed, from then until the modern era there is a widely usage of goats in Crete .

We also know that during the Neolithic period in Greece , animals were bred for meat but not for dairy byproducts . However towards the end of the Neolithic period there is a “turn” to these by-products (milk and wool ) , also known as " second...

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..." dorpon " , breakfast , lunch and supper respectively . What someone ate depended on the social class where he/she belonged.Bread and wine played a dominant role in everyone's diet and so did fish .

For the rich class meals were hearty . At feasts they ate mainly meat cooked on the grill , in spits or boilers.

The common people were restricted to products of wheat and barley such as batters , bread and so on . Surely in all classes they used in meals vegetables , cheeses and fruits of the season, depending of course on the region they lived within.

Works Cited

Matala A. , History and Geography of Nutrition, Athens, Harokopio University, 2003,

Soulis Sophia, Tastes of Ancient Greek Cooking, Athens, 2004.

Mamalakis Elias , Greek Cheese, Athens, 2000.

Giannoulis H, Milk and its products: an archaeological trip. www.wikipedia.org Homer's Iliad & Odyssey