ARCHAEOLOGY AND GASTRONOMY

The alimentation of the Greeks is something that has given rise to a degree of curiosity and now, thanks to analysis of literary sources, images on ceramics and tomb paintings, we are able to provide some basis for a reconstruction of Ancient Greek culinary habits.
From the analysis of texts, it can be deduced that meals were frugal and prepared either by the lady of the house or by slaves. With regards the cooking of food, this took place outside the home, in the courtyard. It was not until the IV century B.C. that specialist cooks appeared. The banquet is one of the events which are most portrayed on pottery and funeral monuments.
There were three meals a day: breakfast (akràtisma), lunch (àriston) and dinner (déipnon), and all three involved the consumption of barley bread and cheese.
Banquets were organised for different occasions: weddings, religious celebrations or just in order to spend some time with friends. The rite of the banquet was reserved for men only and the only women allowed were dancers, flute players or courtesans. Thanks to images on ceramics, it is possible to reconstruct how guests would be arranged during a banquet. The room would be adorned with crowns, ribbons and, sometimes, theatrical masks hung on the walls. The guests, after having taken off their cloaks and shoes, would recline on couches (klinai) and would wash their hands in bowls of water brought around by the servants.
In the course of the dinner itself, the food would be sliced and arranged on little, low tables (trapezai) and was eaten with the fingers.
During the banquet only a moderate amount of wine would be consumed to accompany the food while, at the end of the meal, the symposium would begin and this could continue until dawn. This symposium would involve the consumption of wine, spicy foods and exotic fruit.
The  symposiarch, who was usually decided by rolling dice, decided on the rules of the feast such as the proportions for the wine and the number of cups which each of the guests was to have. On those occasions when the formal role of host was not necessary because it was simply a gathering of friends, each person would bring a basket (spyrìs)  with ready prepared food: these were known as basket meals ( apò spyrìdos) and, in the representations of these events on pottery,  the scenes are characterised by wickerwork baskets hanging on the walls.
Music, song, games and discussion about various topics would accompany the banquets.
The most common food to be served was fish, especially in coastal cities. Evidence of fishing activity comes from the various-sized, bronze hooks and tools for repairing nets which have been found. Consumption of shellfish is also indicated by the finding of shells in the settlements; one emblematic case is that of Locri where a rubbish dump full of shells, some even stuck to the bottom of a saucepan, has been discovered.
Meat, on the other hand, was consumed less frequently and was something that only the rich could afford. Livestock was bred principally for agricultural reasons, although they did provide milk and dairy products. The principle foodstuffs consumed were products of the land: vegetables, fruit, almonds, nuts and pulses. The protein in pulses made them particularly important in the Greek diet given the fact that the people could not all eat much meat. In the territory of Kroton, five types of pulses were cultivated and the broad beans were cited in inscriptions found at Locri. The excavations at Locri have brought to light deep pots with handles and lids for cooking pulses. These are clay vessels which are particularly resistant to heat and, therefore, suitable for the protracted cooking necessary for pulses.
With regards fruit, archaeological and historical sources show that it was consumed during daily meals, holy ceremonies and burial rites. The most consumed fruits were figs, apples, pears, pomegranates, and grapes. Dates, pistachios, poppies and pine nuts were also eaten, albeit less frequently. The Locri pinakes show offerers with plates and baskets of fruit. A famous form of pinax has a female figure picking pomegranates from a tree in the company of the godess Persephone.
In the vegetable garden, on the other hand, the cultivation of cabbage ( caule) was very common.
The most common nourishment was a type of polenta, or bread made from barley or spelt, kneaded with water, wine, oil or honey depending on the circumstances or possibilities, and accompanied with, greens or pulses, bulbs, roots or olives, cheese and figs, normally dried.
During a banquet, the meat would be consumed minced usually or in the form of sausages, especially in the area of Sybaris where, sources indicate that the longest and most delicious banquets were to be found.
Elaborate dishes such as kàndaulos were also served. This was a sort of meatloaf, originally from Lydia, made with boiled meat, breadcrumbs, Phrygian cheese, anise and fatty stock.
The consumption of cheese was closely linked to that of honey, the only sweetner available to the Greeks. It was often used as a sauce-condiment to accompany cheese or as an ingredient for sweet pies.
Cakes, besides as part of a meal, were a religious element and were linked to religious ceremonies, and familial and public festivities. Then, just as today, they might have different forms according to the occasion. We know the names and ingredients of some of these cakes: the pyramis, of a conical shape, was made of roasted grain and bound together with honey; the plakus was flat and round, like our cakes of today, and was made of flour, walnuts pistachios and dates.
Tableware was normally of terracotta and was often decorated. Containers differed in size and shape according to what they were destined to contain: fish plates were characteristic with their fish, crustacean or mollusc designs arranged in a circle around a small, central well for holding the condiment. Wine cups were also of diverse shapes, kylides or skyphos, and there were also cups for pouring the wine,  oinochòai, and containers for conserving or mixing the wine (amphorae and mixing-bowls).  Only the richest could afford tableware in metal, sometimes precious metals. There were no napkins, tablecloths or cutlery. Several examples of banquet vessels, from the necropolis at Locri, are exhibited in the National Museum of Reggio Calabria. These are generally prestigious and expensive, imported ceramics.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Petrolino I., Aspetti di vita quotidiana nella società mano greca. Una giornata tipo a Locri Epizefiri, in, Calabria Sconosciuta, Rivista Trimestrale di Cultura e Turismo, Luglio-Settembre 2005. pp. 27-29
Iannelli M.F., L’alimentazione magno greca e romana, in, (a cura di Vito Teti), Mangiare Meridiano. Le culture alimentari di Calabria e Basilicata, 1996 Carical.  pp. 72-85.
Pellegrino M., Utopie e Immagini Gastronomiche nei Frammenti dell’Archaia, Patron Editore- Bologna 2000. pp.7-41.
Pugliese Caratelli G. (a cura di), Megale Hellas. Storia e civiltà della Magna Grecia, Milano 1983; pp. 672-713.