The Ancient Greek diet consisted of foods that were easily cultivated in the rocky terrain of Greece’s landscape. Breakfast was eaten just after sunrise and consisted of bread dipped in wine. Lunch was again bread dipped in wine along with some olives, figs, cheese or dried fish. Supper was the main meal of each day. It was eaten near sunset. It consisted of vegetables, fruit, fish, and possibly honey cakes. Sugar was unknown to ancient Greeks, so natural honey was used as sweetener.

In ancient Greece, the references in mythology talk about apples in the Garden of the Hesperides and reports on the cultivation of apples start in the 7th century BC. According to ancient Greek tradition, apples were an integral part of wedding ceremonies and throwing an apple to a woman was considered a marriage proposal.

Apples

In ancient Greece, cabbage was used as a medicine for diseases or wounds. It wasn’t eaten!

CrocusCabbageCrocus was used in Minoan and Classical Greece as a flavoring and a pigment. Ancient Greeks were familiar with the medicinal properties of the crocus, as they used it to face insomnia and the unpleasant effects of wine intoxication. Also, they used it as fragrance in bathrooms and as an aphrodisiac .

Perhaps the most important food to the ancient Greeks was the olive. It was not simply a food. It was also a big part of Greek history. Greeks believed that the goddess Athena gave the first olive tree to Athens before it eventually spread to the rest of Greece. Olives were used in many recipes. They were also crushed and their oil was used for lamps. Olive oil was also used as a beauty product. Women rubbed it onto their skin to make it soft and shiny.

Olives

Honey was another important Greek food. It was used much like we use sugar, as a sweetener in many different foods. It was also used as a medicine. Greeks were fond of honey because they believed that Zeus was fed milk and honey as a baby. For them, honey was almost magical. Many families kept beehives and took good care of their bees!

Honey

Ancient Greeks didn’t eat much meat. But since Greece is surrounded by sea, fish were easy to get. Many varieties were available in the markets. Many Greeks thought of eating meat as something that barbarians did. The Greeks believed they were more civilized than that. As a result, they hardly ate meat at all.

Fish

Fruit, fresh or dried, and nuts, were eaten as dessert. Important fruit were figs, raisins, and pomegranates. Dried figs were also eaten as an appetizer or when drinking wine. In the latter case, they were often accompanied by grilled chestnuts,chick peas,and beechnuts.

Fruit and nuts

Vegetables were an important part of the Greek diet. Most Ancient Greeks were almost vegetarian. Among the most common vegetables and plants eaten by Greekswere asparagus, cucumbers, chickpeas and celery. They also gathered and boiled dandelions to eat.

The end..Sofia MariaSofia Maria3rd Corinth High School3rd Corinth High School