Worldschooling

Hi everyone! You’re probably wondering how I got this topic, and no, it was not just a coincidence. When we were touring around Delphi (the town in Greece we’re visiting now), an obvious question popped into my mind. To survive, the ancient Greeks would have to eat. What did they eat? How did they do it? What, why, when, where, how? I am writing to answer those questions. Hope you enjoy reading!

What did the ancient Greeks eat?
The ancient Greeks had a mostly healthy diet, but they still ate really good food. Growing is one of the best ways to make food, and the ancient Greeks knew that. The ancient Greeks grew lots of crops. These include figs, olives, and grapes. The ancient Greeks also loved meat. As one of the most popular foods ever eaten, meat has been around for a long time. Fish was also eaten in ancient Greece wherever there was water. Since Greece was surrounded by lots of water, fishing was big. The Greeks ate all kinds of fish. As among the healthiest things to eat, vegetables were one of the main things the Greeks ate in ancient times. It was a good idea for keeping their warriors healthy. There are a few other things that I should mention about ancient Greek food. A little Greek something to eat.

Why are you talking about olives?
Because of it’s many uses! One of ancient Greece’s main resources that had to be grown, was olives. They made press mechanisms out of wood and stone. Later in Roman times, the Romans also used the idea of olive oil presses and we saw one in Diocletian’s palace. (Remember from my report on him?) Olives were very important because they could do a lot of necessary things. For example, olives served as food, and could be pressed into olive oil, which would serve as food and medicine too. Olives were one of the only and best materials for making medicine.

Why grapes?
Because of the wine! Grapes were also a very important food for the Greeks. This was mainly because of wine. Whenever there was a special celebration, the wine would be brought out in a large barrel for all the guests. Before filling up the glasses from the barrel, water would be added to the wine. This was because at a party, nobody wanted to get drunk, the point of the party was mainly to talk. If you got drunk, you would not be able to do that. This tradition was all about wine, and wine came from grapes. because of this, grapes were a very important food to the ancient Greeks.

Didn’t the Greeks eat meat?
Well… yeah! Many humans live off of other animals! Mostly only the rich and important people would eat meat, but on special occasions (for example, the Panathenian festival dedicated to the goddess Athena) all or most of the ancient Greek citizens would sacrifice animals and offer the meats to their gods and then be able to barbecue and feast on the offerings. So usually only in special times would the lower classes be able to eat meat. It was an honor for years to eat meat. The ancient Greeks bred lots of goats and ate many other varieties of meat.

You forgot fish!
Yes and no. Up until this point I delayed this topic, but here I am. And yeah, fish was eaten at this time. It was a very important to the ancient Greeks. Fish was cheaper to buy and catch than meat. Fishermen used very sophisticated techniques to catch their fish. Sometimes, fresh fish was transported inland where there was no water. but since Greece was surrounded by lots of water, it was handy for fishing.

Weren’t vegetables important?
Of course they were! I’m not trying to turn you into a vegetable lover or anything, but they are healthy! And the Greeks must have known that back then, because that was one of their most eaten foods! But don’t forget vegetables! They grew and ate lots of vegetables! Because it was so much farming land, veggies were key. The ancient Greeks grew almost every single vegetable that you can imagine. Like carrots, lettuce, beats, cabbage…ex… Ancient Greeks knew that if they wanted to survive, they would have to eat… vegetables.

What about everything else?
Yes, there are a few more things I want to cover in this report. first, bread was very important. I know I keep on saying stuff like that, but really, it was! Today, bread is eaten almost every second in the world! I can’t really explain all about ancient bread, but what I can tell you, is that (just like now a days) the ancient Greeks were big on bread! Second of all, cheese. The Greeks ate cheese with honey and fruit, and liked salting their cheese as well. So if they got the chance, the ancient Greeks would love to feast on some cheese!

A lovely snack.
While I was researching, I came across something that looked good. now here it is: If you want to have something very Ancient Greek, have this. An assortment of Greek cheeses with honey on the side to dip with, and fresh fruits to make it taste better (especially apples). I think it would also taste good with some crunchy bread.

Thanks for reading my blog post on ancient Greek food, I got this idea when my family was touring Delphi, Greece. So since it was such an interesting and obvious question, I wrote about it. If you’re really interested in this topic, then you can visit these websites that I used in my studying by clicking the links down below.
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http://www.primaryhomeworkhelp.co.uk/greece/
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greek_cuisine
https://www.britannica.com/search?query=Ancient+Greek+food+

Please feel free to leave a suggestion, or just a note in the comment section below.

On a final note, if you haven’t already, please subscribe and like the post. Also, we have a YouTube channel called ON THE ROAD WITH LJ and you can access our channel page by pressing the link down below.
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https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCheQcg1OwJ-v-eUV4SNhVwA