Spartan Greek

What kind of diet/foods did the Greeks eat a long time ago? Like during the spartan/persian wars?

I know they ate VERY healthy, and a Mediterranean diet is proven to be the healthiest of all.

olives [especially olive oil was used and eaten with everything]
figs
cheese
breads [barley & wheat]
fish
eggs [chicken and quail]
raisins
pomegranates
honey
seafood [oysters, lobster, mussels, squid, octopus]
onions
lentils
peas [garden, sweet, chick, etc.]
venison [including wild birds and hares]
cabbage
nuts
poultry [chicken, goose, duck, quail]
pork [especially sausages made from pork meat]

spices used – cumin, coriander, oregano, dill, parsley, mint, pine cones, fennel, aniseed, poppy seed, garlic

beef, goat & lamb – was expensive and the poorer populace only ate it on festival days. Fish, seafood, poultry and wild game were their main sources of protein.

milk [goat, ewe, cow] – was very rarely drunk, it was considered barbaric and milk was used for making cheese. Pyriatē was a thick rather sour milk that was drunk and is today commonly mistaken for yogurt.

wine – was drunk every day, even with breakfast. It was however always watered, drinking it “straight” like we do today, was considered barbaric by the Greeks [or Hellenes as Herodotus called them].

tomatoes – were not eaten in ancient Greece, since they didn’t have them. Tomatoes originally came from South America and were introduced to Europe by either Columbus and/or Cortés during the 1500′s.

You should look into the Turkish and Italian diets as well if you want a fuller range of Mediterranean cooking. It is healthy and delicious! You could also check on the Spanish and Algerian diets.

Edit: also remember that the modern Mediterranean diet and the ancient Greco-Roman diets differ considerably. There are many more foodstuffs [such as tomatoes] available and used in Mediterranean cooking today.

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