Ancient Greek Dinner
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Ancient Greek dinner. Cooking in historical times, traditional greek ingredients and dishes, greek cooking recipes.
Ancient Greek dinners often led to symposiums. A people who enjoy companionship, eating with others, followed by singing, dancing or conversation and who hate a lonely meal, could do lettle else but invent the symposium. It is the logical next step in a coherent view, an existential pholosophy: I eat, discuss, sing, dance, therefore I am.
These gatherings usually took place on the occasion of some festive or social event. However, there is evidence that in some cases a symposium would occur following a sudden invitation from the host, for no particular reason. After the meal, the wine drinking would commence (hence the original meaning of the word, "drinking in company"), with some conversations, music and dancing by a group of flutists and singing by the guests. Often this would continue until everyone was asleep, right where they were seating, as described by Plato in Symposium or when the guests were taken, half-drunk, to their homes by slaves.
In earlier times the guests sat on stools or benches; later, however, the rules of luxury dictated the introduction of special couches, or anaklintra (recliners). On each one of those, two guests would be seated, using pillows as supports, so that they could lean on one elbow, while the other arm remained free, as depicted in vase paintings. Generally, next to the guests, small tables were placed, square, rectangular or round, on three legs, so that the food could be distributed more easily.
After the guests had taken their places, the servants brought a wash basin for them to wash their hands. The dinner often began with libations to the gods and with a toast, as we would say today, drinking from a large bowl of wine that was passed from one to another.
The symposiarch or host or a respected guest with suitable knowledge, decided on the mixture of wine and water that the guests would drink. The mixture usually held more water and less wine during the meal, while the opposite was true before and later.
They usually ate with their hands, using spoons to eat stuffing and knives for the meat. Forks were unknown at the time. They often used bread to wipe their fingers between the various courses, for lack of napkins, which they then tossed to the dogs that roamed among the couches patiently waiting for their share.
When the guests had finished eating, the servants removed the tables, swept the crumbs off the floor and brought water, scented oils and perfumes so that the guests could refresh themselves.
As for the food they ate, what follows here is but a small sample of ancient Greek cuisine and the dishes that were usually prepared for a symposium: legumes, birds, entrails, dried fruits and nuts are among the basic food stuffs of Greek tradition.
Chickpeas, according to Athenaeus, were introduced by Poseidon (II.55b). He does not offer further information, presumably because he considered it basic knowledge among his readers. Pomegranates, that follow in the list of ancient Greek dinner cooking recipes, apart from their distinctive color also have a sweet and sour taste, and are equally old. A pomegranate was offered by Pluto, the god of the underworld to Persephone. When Demetra's daughter was unable to resist the temptation, she was forced to return and spend a part of the year with the ruler of Hades.
The pomegranate in ancient Greek polytheism is the apple of the Judaic-Cristian religion. Both are tainted be deceit. The ancient Jews held the woman responsible for the (original) treachery. Greeks, being more realist, found no reason for denying men another useful weapon. After all, who would identify the wily Ulysses with the gullible Adam?
The recipe for chicken with cracked wheat bears the signature of the knowledgeable Nicandrus, an epic poet from Kolofonas. Having given the necessary instructions, he adds, that when the dish is lukewarm, it should be eaten with hollow bread (Athenaeus III. 126cd).
Sotades of the period of Middle Comedy mentions tope (shark, dogfish) in mulberry sause. It is part of the narration by an arrogant cook, who recounts an endless story of fish eating and concludes by stating with no trace of modesty: "I have no need for written recipes or notes" (Athenaeus VII.293b).
Entrails are wrapped in skepi (lamb or giglet caul), because they are ashamed of its black-red color, jests Alexis (Athenaeus, III.293b).
Finally, dry figs were among the basic delicacies of ancient Greeks. Figs were considered indispensable for proper nutrition, to the extent that Solon strictly prohibited the export of figs from Attica, when he rose to power in 594 BC. Naturally such prohibitions offered an excellent opportunity for the development of a "black" market. The Athenian merchants did not hesistate to meet the challenge. Some other Athenians, however, discovered that there were rewards to be had for substantiated charges. Those men were called sikophants, namely those who "showed the figs" (siko = fig, phaino = show).
It is truly ironic that the noun sikophant, which today is used to describe a lying or malicious accuser, stems from the word that signified the man who called a spade a spade, or rather a fig a fig.
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Ancient Greek Cuisine
- list of ancient Greek recipes:
- Stewed chickpeas with pomegranate seeds (Revithia me rodia)
- Chicken ancienne (Myma me kotopoulo)
- Chicken with cracked wheat (Kota me pligouri)
- Tope in mulberry sauce (Galeos me saltsa apo moura)
- Liver in lamb caul (Sikoti se skepi)
- Stuffed dried figs (Xera sika)
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Traditional Greek Cooking
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