Cuisine and traditions of eating food in ancient Greece. Cuisine of ancient Greece: what and how the ancient Greeks ate

7 (55700) 6 57 133 7 years

The composition of the food of the ancient inhabitants of Hellas depended on the economic condition of the country, on the fertility of the land, and on the level of development of cattle breeding. As social life changed, ties with other countries expanded, and foreign trade grew, the nature and composition of food changed, and new dishes appeared. As in any other sphere of the life of the ancients, in their diet there were great differences between individual city-states and between wealthy people and the poor, who, of necessity, were content with more than modest food.

In the era of Homer, the Greeks had breakfast early in the morning. Breakfast consisted of wheat or barley cakes soaked in wine diluted with water. Around noon it was time for dinner: meat dishes, bread and wine were served at the table. The last, evening meal consisted of the same dishes as for lunch, but in smaller portions.
The basis of the morning meal was cakes. Note that as early as the 6th century BC. e., in the era of Solon, bread was considered a luxury. It was replaced by a more affordable porridge made from some kind of cereal or flour, usually barley or wheat. Bread was baked at home. Professional bakers who supplied the cities with fresh bread did not appear in Athens until the 5th century BC. Flour was made from barley, millet, wheat and spelt*. Thanks to connections with other, more sophisticated peoples in cooking, the Greeks met and adopted new types of baked goods. The ancient Greeks considered the best varieties of bread to be Phoenician, as well as Boeotian, Thessalian, bread from Cappadocia and from the islands of Lesbos, Cyprus and Aegina. Special types of bread were baked for festive feasts, for example, at the end of the harvest, or for certain dishes. Bread was baked from sour, yeast dough or without sourdough. Dietary bread was also used, baked without adding salt. The other staple food of the Hellenes was meat. The heroes of Homer, who did not shy away from birds, feasted on beef and lamb, meat of deer or boar. The carcass was fried on a spit, without any seasonings, and then divided into pieces according to the number of guests, giving the best to the most distinguished and worthy. For example, touched by the singing during the feast, Odysseus gave the singer Demodon "the backbone of a sharp-toothed boar full of fat" (Homer, Odyssey, VIII, 474).
Later, the meat table of the Greeks became more diverse: they willingly devoured sausages or goat's stomachs stuffed with blood and fat. Of the vegetables, onions, garlic, lettuce, and legumes were most often consumed. The latter, that is, vegetables, belonged to the main food of the poor. From the VI century BC. e. under the influence of oriental fashion and customs that prevailed in the Greek colonies, where the standard of living was especially high, more and more dishes appear on the tables of the Greeks. Only Sparta retained the ancient simplicity of manners and harsh life. The Spartans remained faithful to their famous dish - black stew: according to Plutarch, in Sparta at the time of Lycurgus, "the old people even refused their share of meat and gave it to the young, while they themselves ate plenty of stews."

The luxurious feasts of Persia and Lydia, the splendor of Egypt and Babylon influenced the Greek table. Experienced chefs from Sicily instilled in the Greeks a love for delicate dishes. With the expansion of trade relations with other peoples, the cuisine of the ancient Hellenes became richer and more diverse, being increasingly influenced by foreign gastronomic fashion. In the shops around the agora one could buy not only the usual onions, garlic and lettuce, but also a variety of fish, rare foreign roots and spices. In comedy of the 5th century BC. e. Hermippa "Porters" lists products brought to Greece from all over the world: beef, cheese, raisins, figs, coconuts and almonds.
In Antiphanes' comedy Cyclops, the gentleman gives instructions to the cook about fish dishes: on the table there should be sliced pike, stingrays with sauce, perch, mackerel, stuffed cuttlefish, frog legs and belly, herring, flounder, moray eels, crabs - let everything be enough. Frequent in the comedies of Antiphanes, Alexis, Sotada and other comedians of the 4th century BC. e. references to fish dishes and recipes for their preparation show that fish was still largely a novelty on the menu of the inhabitants of Greek policies. Poultry dishes and ways of preparing them were varied. The Greeks used roasted pigeons, sparrows, larks, pheasants, thrushes, quails, and even swallows. These dishes were seasoned with olive oil, vinegar, various sauces and spices. In general, the description of culinary recipes in Greek comedies exactly corresponds to the "technologies" of cooking that existed at that time and are described in numerous cookbooks. In one of Sotada's comedies, the description of how to cook and serve fish on the table, put by the author into the mouth of the cook, completely coincides with what is said about this in the well-known culinary book of that time - Polluk's Onomasticon (II century): “Mix milk with melted bacon and grits, add fresh cheese, egg yolks and brains, wrap the fish in a fragrant fig leaf and boil in chicken or young goat broth, then take it out, remove the leaf and put the finished dish in a vessel with boiling honey ".
Dessert in those days was very simple; in the era of Macedonian rule, it was, as it were, a second dinner with game and poultry, and they ate fresh or dry fruit and then cheese. To induce thirst, they used garlic, onions, salt mixed with cumin and other herbs, salted pies with various spices. There was also no shortage of cookies. Attica was famous for its biscuits, in which honey replaced sugar; they were made with cheese, poppy seeds and sesame seeds.

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GREEK CUISINE and the FOOD CULTURE that exists in this country in general, which has become the basis of the most useful Mediterranean cuisine in the world, is a subject of special national pride for the Greeks, along with the Acropolis, Homer and Alexander the Great.

The ancient Greek diet consisted of foods that did not raise blood sugar levels, that is, did not lead to weight gain. That's why the Greeks were so slender and beautiful! And all this is still very useful for us (and not only in fitness clubs!)

The ancient Greeks used olives and olive oil extensively in their diet.

Since ancient times in Greece, olives have been preserved with sea salt. A little natural wine vinegar and olive oil were added to the black olive brine. Olives were flavored with various herbs and spices. Olives were salted, marinated and used as an appetizer, garnish, seasoning for fish and many other dishes - the addition of just a few olives gives dishes a special taste. According to modern views, olives perform the function of a kind of biochemical regulator for the absorption of salt and fats.

Olive oil was produced from mature olives by cold pressing (modern Extra virgin). This oil is extremely valuable and beneficial to health and contains a maximum of useful substances. It is important to note that any olive oil, unlike other oils, does not emit carcinogens when heated!

Bread was then baked not white, but coarse, from semi-processed flour (which contributed to better digestion of other products).

In ancient Greece, the first mention of "sour" bread, i.e., bread made from fermented dough, dates back to the 5th century. BC. However, such bread was considered a delicacy, it cost much more than unleavened bread, it was consumed only by wealthy people. Homer, who described the meals of his heroes, left us evidence that the aristocrats of Ancient Greece considered bread to be a completely independent dish.

In those distant times, as a rule, two dishes were served for lunch: a piece of meat fried on a spit, and white wheat bread. Each of these two dishes was eaten separately, and the most significant and honorable role was assigned to bread. Homer compares wheat to the human brain, referring to its importance in people's lives. He says that the richer the owner of the house, the more plentiful the treat in his house with white bread. The following curious fact speaks of the superstitious reverence with which bread was treated in ancient Greece. The Greeks were firmly convinced that if a person eats his food without bread, he commits a great sin and will certainly be punished by the gods.

The bakers of ancient Greece were able to bake many varieties of bread, using mostly wheat flour. Part of the bread products the Greeks baked from barley flour. Bread of inexpensive varieties was made from wholemeal flour, with a large amount of bran. Such bread served as the main food for the common people. The bakers of ancient Greece also traded in rich bread products, which included honey, fat, and milk. But such "sweet bread" was more expensive than ordinary bread and belonged to delicacies. It is curious to note that among the harsh Spartans, bread was considered the greatest luxury, and it was put on the table only on the most solemn occasions.

In ancient Greece, as in ancient Egypt, stale bread was given a special role. It was believed that it helps with diseases of the stomach. It was prescribed as a medicine for patients suffering from indigestion and other diseases. Some ancients believed that just licking the crust of stale bread helps to stop stomach pains.

Vegetables and fruits were served with bread, and beans of all kinds (because of their prevalence and cheapness), olives and figs (figs) were especially popular. Only olive oil was used, there was no butter. They willingly drank milk, especially sheep's milk, and also made white, soft sheep's cheese from it, more like cottage cheese.

And, most importantly, they ate a lot of fish and seafood of all kinds: oysters, squids, mussels, scallops - there has never been a lack of complete animal protein! After all, Greece is washed by the sea, has many islands, and the sea is full of fish.

Once the Greek philosopher Demonax was going on a sea voyage. The weather was not favorable to him - a storm was approaching. One of his friends turned to Demonax: “Aren't you scared? After all, the ship can sink, and the fish will eat you! The philosopher Demonax only smiled in response: "I have eaten so many fish in my life that it will be quite fair if they eventually eat me."

The art of cooking fish has been highly valued since ancient times. It was based on the experience and culinary skills of the peoples living on the Mediterranean coast.

Paradoxically, in the early history of Ancient Greece, surrounded on all sides by seas, there was a period (XI-VIII centuries BC) when fish was considered food only for poor people. Confirmation of this can be found on the pages of Homer's Iliad. (Much later in Europe, a similar thing happened with oysters.)

The development of fish cuisine began much later, during the heyday of Ancient Greece. Already the myths about the Argonauts tell about the travels of the Greeks for fish to the unknown shores of Pontus Euxinus (the so-called Black Sea), since there was a shortage in the Greek markets. Tuna fish were most valued, the second place was occupied by sturgeons, which is mentioned by Herodotus: “Large fish without a backbone, called sturgeons, are caught for salting.”

The characters of Epicharm's comedy "Hebe's Dinner Party" - carefree revelers, gods and goddesses, great lovers of delicious food - receive special pleasure from sea fish. They are on friendly terms with the sea god Poseidon, who delivers them on ships a large amount of fish and shellfish - a divine delicacy.

The secrets of cooking other ancient Greek dishes have not been unraveled to this day. How, say, can a whole fish be served at the table, one third of which was fried, one third boiled, one third salted?

Sea fish was held in high esteem in ancient Rome (here it was salted, pickled, smoked), and in Asia. The Greek comedian Aristophanes, who at one time was an ambassador to the Persian court, wrote that the king of the Persians gave a generous reward to those who invented a new fish dish.

The Greeks ate a lot of game meat (animals and birds), which in those days was found in unimaginable abundance. But even rich people ate little meat of domestic animals: it is too expensive every day to cut a lamb that gives so much milk and wool. Therefore, lamb dishes were served only on holidays, when sacrifices were made to the gods.

One of the ancient Greek myths tells how the titan Prometheus, who brought fire to people, butchered a lamb for sacrifice and spread the meat into two piles: first he dumped all the bones, covering them with fat from above, and the second - all the meat, covering it with offal and skin . After that, the cunning Prometheus suggested that Zeus, the father of the gods, choose a bunch for himself. He, of course, chose a pile of fat. And he miscalculated, but it was too late. Since then, the cunning Greeks sacrificed useless garbage and bones to the gods, and ate everything tasty themselves so that the good would not disappear. In general, the Greeks are very smart people!

The ancient Greeks did not have a number of products familiar to us on the table: rice, melons and watermelons, peaches and apricots, lemons and oranges (later arrived from Asia), tomatoes, potatoes, corn (imported from America). Pumpkins and cucumbers were rare and expensive. Nuts, which we now call walnuts (that is, Greek), were an imported delicacy.

There was no sugar, instead they used honey, which is much healthier than sucrose. And there was a lot of honey in Ancient Hellas.

The groats, which we call buckwheat (“Greek groats”), the Greeks did not know (they practically do not eat it even now).

What did the ancient Greeks drink? They had no tea, no coffee, no cocoa. Only one wine. It was always diluted with water in a ratio of 1:2 (a measure of wine to two measures of water) or 1:3; for this, there were even special vessels, bell-shaped craters. But they diluted the wine with water not at all in order not to get drunk: they simply tried to disinfect the well water with wine. Most often they drank not from cups and goblets (although they were also there), but from special vessels called “kylik” - such a saucer with handles on a long leg.

After olive oil, wine has always been the main source of pride in Greece."Wine is the mirror of the human soul," said Alcaeus, the famous poet from Lesvos.

Greece is the birthplace of European winemaking. On the island of Crete, grapes have been cultivated for four thousand years, on mainland Greece - three thousand.

Grapevine grows on terraces, piled on the slopes of the mountains, throughout Greece. In the valleys it is planted, between fruit trees, and it stretches from one tree to another. Like the olive, the vine is unpretentious and does not need artificial watering. The Cretans brought grapes from the coast of Asia Minor and cultivated it. They quickly learned the secret of grapes - judging by the cellars of Kpos palaces, in the 2nd millennium BC. e. wine production flourished here. And the myth tells that the god of winemaking Dionysus married the Cretan princess Ariadne.

The most famous and ancient Greek wine is Retsina. And to this day, this is the only wine that has a strong aroma and taste of resin (retsina in Greek means resin). The name is associated with the ancient tradition of hermetically sealing amphoras with wine with a mixture of gypsum and resin. So the wine was stored longer and absorbed the smell of resin. Nowadays, resin is specially added to this wine at the fermentation stage. It would be more correct to say that Retsina does not belong to the category of wines. This is a white or pink drink with a strength of 11.5 degrees for everyday use. Drink chilled, served with appetizers.

In ancient Greece, 150 varieties of grapes were cultivated, adapted to various soils and climatic conditions. The Greeks preferred dark thick red wine. In large vessels (pithoi) it was placed in cellars for six months - to ferment. Then the wine was fixed with raisins, which were always in abundance, or with honey. Samos and Rhodes wines were considered the best. The wines from the islands of Chios and Lesvos were not much inferior to them. To this day, the tart wine from the island of Santorini (Thira) from grapes cultivated on volcanic ash is especially famous. In a glass of good Greek wine - a sip of the sun and the sea, the dope of millennia and a taste of the eternal mystery of Hellas.

Already in antiquity there was a huge variety of Greek wines, ranging from light whites, sweet or dry, to rosés and reds, semi-sweet and sweet. Each city-polis produced its own wines.

In Ancient Hellas, raisin grape varieties were also grown, and Greek raisins from that time to our time have always been recognized as the best in the world.

Plato says that a person who eats alone simply fills up a waterskin called the stomach. Therefore, the ancient Greek feasts (symposiums) were held necessarily in the companies of comrades. Even the Greek word for “comrade” (syntrophos) itself, in its origin, means “a person with whom you eat together.” It was believed that in the company of "syntrophs" there should be "no less than the number of Charites, no more than the number of Muses", that is, from 3 to 9, so that it would not be either boring or crowded.

Descriptions of symposia feasts can be found in the most famous Greek writers and especially in philosophers: after all, at the symposia, conversations were held on a wide variety of topics. The most famous philosophical dialogue of Plato with the participation of Socrates is called “Feast”, and the question of what true love is is discussed there. And Plutarch has a whole book called Table Talk.

Many ancient Greek dishes have survived to this day almost unchanged, except that vegetables and spices also appeared in their composition, which were not in Ancient Greece (potatoes, tomatoes, black pepper, etc.) And many now so-called "Turkish sweets" on in fact, it also comes from Ancient Hellas.

And now the ancient recipe for cooking fish - “salamis”, which even the Spartan mentioned above would not refuse:
Laton says: a person who eats alone simply fills up a waterskin called the stomach. Therefore, the ancient Greek feasts (symposiums) were held necessarily in the companies of comrades. Even the Greek word for “comrade” (syntrophos) itself, in its origin, means “a person with whom you eat together.” It was believed that in the company of "syntrophs" there should be "no less than the number of Charites, no more than the number of Muses", that is, from 3 to 9, so that it would not be either boring or crowded.

The ancient Greeks ate lying down, more precisely, reclining, and not on ordinary sleeping beds, but on special apoclintra seats (from the word "apoklino" - "I unbend the body, back"). The apoclintras were made in such a way that the people sitting on them would hardly need to move at all. At the same time, they always relied on the left side of the body, because it is on the left that the stomach is located.

For a meal, three apoclintra were shifted with the letter "P", and from the fourth side, the slaves brought small tables with food, treats and wine. There were no spoons and forks, and no knives were used at the table. They just ate with their hands, and the leftovers were thrown right on the floor. Before taking a sip of wine, it was necessary to wash your hands in a bowl specially designed for this, decorate your head with a wreath and make a libation to the gods - splash a little bit of wine from the bowl as a sacrifice.

After reading all these literary works, one might think that the ancient Greeks at the symposiums dealt exclusively with high matters. No, they were the same people as you and me: they loved to make a fuss, they beat dishes with pleasure in a fit of fun (this strange custom is still preserved among them), and even wrote on the walls, and more - on clay bowls and dishes. In one house, archaeologists during excavations found fragments of kiliks with inscriptions made by obviously drunken hands. Read the inscriptions. The most decent word there was the word "lick", the rest are simply unprintable.

But in addition to philosophical table conversations, the ancient Greek classics have also preserved for us the recipes of ancient dishes! Plato himself described with pleasure the dishes served on the table and the ingredients from which they were prepared. Now many of these recipes have been restored, and a chain of restaurants called Archeon Gevsis (Tastes of the Ancients) has been opened in Greece. They only serve ancient Greek cuisine. And so that visitors do not doubt the authenticity of the recipe, next to each dish on the menu there is an excerpt from the treatise where the recipe was taken from.

Of course, it is difficult to fully restore the atmosphere of the ancient Greek meal. No one mixes wine with water in craters (craters), most likely because the hand does not turn to pour water into modern wine. For example, have you ever eaten kreokakavos? (Deciphering: KREOKAKAVOS is pork in a sweet and sour sauce of honey, thyme and vinegar, served with a side dish of lamb peas with garlic.)

And here is a rather simple RECIPE OF ANCIENT GREEK SWEET, which Plato preserved for us in his work called "Atlantis":
“You take dry fruits (plums, figs, almonds, black and golden raisins, walnuts), chop all this finely and pour over Attic honey - the kind that flows from a spoon (fresh, not candied - good honey candied no later than November!). Now you mix this mass with natural Greek yogurt, and ... "
Oh yes, the ancient Greeks knew a lot about food!

Greek culinary traditions are deeply rooted in the past. They have been formed over more than four millennia. Greek cuisine has absorbed the traditions of Italy, France, the Middle East, as well as the culinary preferences of residents of local provincial cities.

Recipes for most national dishes are passed down from generation to generation, so Greek dishes are literally time-tested.

general characteristics

Greek culture is considered the cradle of all European civilization, and its gastronomic sphere is no exception. It was in Greece in 320 BC that the first ever cookbook was written. Later, the culinary heritage of Greece passed to the Roman Empire, and then the traditions of Greek cuisine spread throughout the European continent and beyond.

The cuisine of Ancient Greece was characterized by modesty and simplicity - today these same qualities are inherent in modern Greek cuisine. It was in ancient Greece that the so-called "Mediterranean triad" was formed: three pillars on which Greek cooking stands to this day. This is , and . It is noteworthy that the ancient Greeks used meat quite rarely: the climate and relief did not contribute to the breeding of cattle, so goat meat was also present in the diet of the local population.

Most Greek dishes are easy to prepare and include vegetables, spices and olive oil. It is noteworthy that even in the most expensive restaurants and taverns, the main dishes up to this day are dishes that were present in the diet of the ancient Greeks.

During the period of its development, Greek cuisine absorbed the traditions of the Arabic, Slavic, Italian and Turkish culinary schools, but managed to maintain its originality, becoming one of the country's attractions. Over the long millennia, the local population has developed a special approach to food, a very peculiar philosophy. The meal is considered here not just as a process of eating, but primarily as a way to have a good time.

Therefore, although in the modern world the rhythm of life is impetuous, the Greeks do not rush. A day in Greece starts with a fairly light breakfast, which usually includes a cup of sandwiches or crackers. Around noon, the same light lunch follows, and around 15:00 it's time for lunch. Unlike most Mediterranean countries, meals in Greece are very hearty and hearty. Dinner is taken between 20:00 and 23:00. At the same time, the evening meal is usually lighter. Greeks usually dine in restaurants or taverns, in good company.

Characteristics

In order to understand what Greek cuisine is, one should dwell on its characteristic features.

Dishes in Greece are usually prepared exclusively from very fresh products, and the requirements for the quality of the ingredients are quite strict.
Herbs and spices in Greek dishes are present in a very significant amount. Oregano, and cloves, as well as thyme, are used by local culinary specialists more often than their counterparts from other Mediterranean countries.
One of the "chips" of Greek cuisine is a very small amount. Oddly enough, it acts as an alternative. This fruit is added to soups and sauces, it is also served with meat, fish, vegetables. Greek culinary specialists believe that lemon is much more effective than salt, helping to emphasize the taste of the dish and make it more refined.
Greek is another one of the local delicacies. It is characterized by high fat content, and due to its dense consistency, it is more similar to. As a rule, it is added to vegetable dishes, and is also used to make sauces.
The "calling card" of Greek cuisine is olive oil. An interesting fact: almost every Greek family, even living in the city, is the owner of several olive trees, which can grow even tens of kilometers from the residence of their owners. Olives, of which more than fifty varieties are known in Greece, are usually harvested from November to January.
Another "feature" of the local cuisine is the so-called "meze". Under this definition lies a wide selection of light snacks, which are prepared from vegetables, meat, fish and herbs. They are served before each meal as an independent dish.
The Greeks are not too fond of sauces. A traditional addition to meat or fish is a mixture of olive oil and vinegar with herbs. Also popular are scrambled eggs with and "tzadiki" - a dish of Greek yogurt, garlic, olive oil, vinegar and cucumber pulp with salt and pepper.
The main drink in Greece is coffee. They drink it in all forms: cold, hot, with the addition of spices and alcohol.

Main dishes

The range of dishes of traditional Greek cuisine is quite wide. It is noteworthy that most of them are not too difficult to prepare, but at the same time they have a wonderful taste.

vegetable dishes

Vegetable dishes are incredibly popular in Greece. When preparing them, culinary specialists are guided by three basic rules: the original product must be fresh, in the dish it must be correctly combined with other ingredients, and its original taste must be preserved. That is why the Greeks use minimal heat treatment for vegetable dishes.

The "kings" of Greek cuisine are. They are fried, caviar is prepared from them and stuffed with meat and (this dish is called "melitsanes" or "melizanes").

Bread and flour products

The Greeks consume relatively little bread. The main requirement that locals make to any pastry is that it must be fresh.

The most common in Greece are pita cakes, which are baked from or. Rolls with various fillings are prepared from them, or they are simply used as raw materials for chips or crackers (the cake is cut into small squares and dried).

It is noteworthy that pies are also made from the same dough that is used to make cakes, so most of the names of Greek pastries contain the phrase “pita”: “spanakopita” (pie with cheese and spinach), “creatopita” (pie with meat filling) , "tiropita" (cheese pie), etc.

In addition, it is Greece that is the birthplace, which is used to make baklava and strudel. The thinnest stretching dough can be compared with a sheet of paper in thickness.

Dessert

A variety of jams and marmalades are also popular in Greece. It is prepared not only from berries and fruits, but even from vegetables. You won’t surprise anyone here with carrot, pumpkin or eggplant jam.

Greek ice cream is also famous for its taste. They sell it both by weight and in special containers.

Beverages

During meals in Greece, fruit juices, mineral water or regular drinking water with the addition of lemon juice are usually served. At the same time, coffee is considered the subject of national pride in Greece. Its preparation is a real ritual.

The traditional “kafes elliniko” is made exclusively from freshly ground Robusta grains. The obligatory characteristics of Greek coffee are thick foam - "kaymaki" and no less thick sediment that remains at the bottom of the coffee cup.

At the same time, coffee in Greece is usually drunk in its “natural” form, without milk and. It is believed that any flavoring additives turn this noble drink into an element of fast food, and therefore coffee with milk is usually served in mini-cafes or fast food establishments.

Greek wines are not well known outside the country. This is due to the fact that the productivity of most wineries is limited, and therefore the best varieties often do not even “leave” the region.

A kind of "calling card" of Greek winemaking is retsina. This is one of the oldest varieties of wine on the planet, the production method of which has remained unchanged for more than two thousand years. Retsina is a rather strong wine, which is prepared by the method of oxygen-free fermentation. This drink owes its very specific taste to the pine resin that is used to purify it. Retsina is prepared exclusively in Greece and is not exported outside the country, since its taste is very specific, and after opening the bottle, the wine sours very quickly, turning into vinegar.

Benefit for health

According to nutritionists, Greek cuisine is incredibly healthy. First of all, the chemical composition of most local dishes contains, and, which have a beneficial effect on the health of the heart and blood vessels, help to remove the “harmful” from the body and reduce the risk of developing obesity and diabetes.

In addition, thanks to gentle heat treatment, most Greek dishes retain the minerals and vitamins present in the original ingredients.

According to a 2003 study by scientists from the University of Athens in Greece and Harvard University, those who follow the traditional Greek diet are 33% less likely to die from heart disease and 24% less likely to die from cancer.

Cooking Salamis (Greek fish fillet)

To prepare the traditional Greek dish salamis, you will need: 500 grams of fish fillet, one clove of garlic, one onion, two tablespoons of lemon juice and the same amount of olive oil, a couple of tomatoes, the same amount, two, two tablespoons of white wine, herbs, and also and salt to taste.

Peel the fish fillet from the skin, remove the bones. Drizzle with lemon juice and salt.

Pour a tablespoon of olive oil into the pan. Heat up and fry finely chopped onion and garlic. Put the fillet in the pan, pour over with wine and sprinkle with chopped herbs. Stew under the lid for a quarter of an hour.

Cut the pepper into thin rings and fry in another pan in the remaining oil for ten minutes. Peel the cucumber, cut into slices and add to the pepper along with the halved ones. Season with salt and pepper and simmer for five minutes.

Put the prepared vegetables on top of the fish and simmer for five minutes. Serve hot.

Cooking marinated cheese

To prepare a traditional Greek snack, you will need: 350 grams, olive oil, or thyme, one bay leaf, eight coriander seeds, two cloves of garlic and 0.5 teaspoon of pepper.

Cut the cheese into cubes, garlic into slices. In a mortar, lightly grind the coriander seeds with pepper. Put a bay leaf on the bottom of the jar, and then start laying out the cheese in layers, alternating it with layers of spices. After laying out the last layer, pour the cheese with olive oil so that it is completely covered with it.

Close the jar tightly and leave to infuse for two weeks.

Ready marinated cheese can be used to make toast.

CUISINE OF ANCIENT GREECE What and how the ancient Greeks ate

Ancient Greece
CUISINE OF ANCIENT GREECE
What and how did the ancient Greeks eat?

Ancient Spartan joke:
“One wandering Spartan, having gone to the inn to spend the night, gave the owner the fish that he had brought with him and asked him to cook it for dinner. The owner agreed, but said that at least butter and bread would still be needed to prepare dinner. To which the Spartan objected: "If I had butter and bread, I would mess with this fish."
Fortunately, not all Greeks are Spartans, and in general, Greek cuisine has never adhered to such asceticism.

The history of Hellas dates back to the mists of time. The significance of Greek civilization for the modern world is priceless. Art, philosophy, science, politics, language are rooted in Greek culture. Whatever happens in today's century, we can find a prototype of this millennia ago, if not in real historical events, then in myths and legends for sure.

Studying the foundations of modern civilization makes it possible to avoid naive disappointments in the human race, to understand the driving forces of history, to know the meaning of the past and to learn to foresee the future.

Where did the Greeks get the strength for great things in their glorious and entertaining history?
What did they eat in ancient times?

The ancient Greeks used olives and olive oil extensively in their diet.

Bread was then baked not white, but coarse, from semi-processed flour(which contributed to better digestion of other products).

The bakers of ancient Greece were able to bake many varieties of bread, using mostly wheat flour. Part of the bread products the Greeks baked from barley flour. Bread of inexpensive varieties was made from wholemeal flour, with a large amount of bran. Such bread served as the main food for the common people. The bakers of ancient Greece also traded in rich bread products, which included honey, fat, and milk. But such "sweet bread" was more expensive than ordinary bread and belonged to delicacies. It is curious to note that among the harsh Spartans, bread was considered the greatest luxury, and it was put on the table only on the most solemn occasions.

Why is bread called bread. We owe the very origin of the word "bread" to the bakers of Ancient Greece. Greek craftsmen used specially shaped pots called "klibanos" to produce this product. From this word, according to experts, the ancient Goths formed the word "khlaifs", which then passed into the language of the ancient Germans, Slavs and many other peoples. In the old German language there is the word "khlaib", which is similar to our "bread", the Ukrainian "khlib" and the Estonian "leib".

The saying about bread, which is the head of everything, was also in use in Ancient Hellas: it was bread that was considered the main dish on the table (because there was not enough of it), everything else was supposed to be only abundant supplement to scarce bread (but what an addition!).

So not only bread was not eaten. And what was supposed to be served with bread?

Vegetables and fruits were served with bread, and beans of all kinds (because of their prevalence and cheapness), olives and figs (figs) were especially popular. Only olive oil was used, there was no butter. They willingly drank milk, especially sheep's milk, and also made white, soft sheep's cheese from it, more like cottage cheese.

Once the Greek philosopher Demonax was going on a sea voyage. The weather did not favor him - a storm was approaching. One of his friends turned to Demonax: “Aren't you scared? After all, the ship can sink, and the fish will eat you! The philosopher Demonax only smiled in response: "I have eaten so many fish in my life that it will be quite fair if they eventually eat me."

The art of cooking fish has been highly valued since ancient times. It was based on the experience and culinary skills of the peoples living on the Mediterranean coast.

The development of fish cuisine began much later, during the heyday of Ancient Greece. Already the myths about the Argonauts tell about the travels of the Greeks for fish to the unknown shores of Pontus Euxinus (the so-called Black Sea), since there was a shortage in the Greek markets. Tuna fish were most valued, the second place was occupied by sturgeons, which is mentioned by Herodotus: “Large fish without a backbone, called sturgeons, are caught for salting.”

The secrets of cooking other ancient Greek dishes have not been unraveled to this day. How, say, can a whole fish be served at the table, one third of which was fried, one third boiled, one third salted?

The Greeks ate a lot of game meat (animals and birds), which in those days was found in unimaginable abundance. But even rich people ate little meat of domestic animals: it is too expensive every day to cut a lamb that gives so much milk and wool. Therefore, lamb dishes were served only on holidays, when sacrifices were made to the gods.

There was no sugar, they used it instead honey which is much healthier than sucrose. And there was a lot of honey in Ancient Hellas.

The groats, which we call buckwheat (“Greek groats”), the Greeks did not know (they practically do not eat it even now).

After olive oil, wine has always been the main source of pride in Greece."Wine is the mirror of the human soul," said Alcaeus, the famous poet from Lesbos.

Greece is the birthplace of European winemaking. On the island of Crete, grapes have been cultivated for four thousand years, on mainland Greece - three thousand.

No god was revered in Greece like Dionysus! In ancient Greece, the holidays were timed to the beginning of the harvest - Dionysius. It was a time of crazy dancing and wild fun. Dionysus, or Bacchus, marched with a cheerful retinue, consisting of goat-footed satyrs and Bacchantes. Wine flowed like a river. Bacchus honored, mainly, the common people. The God-liberator gave them oblivion from worries and sorrows. At the annual stormy festivities in his honor, even the spirits, as the Hellenes believed, paid tribute to the young wine, and then, naturally, demanded a snack. Therefore, the residents who walked up locked themselves in their homes from sin, and left stew on the doorstep for the drunken spirits.

As already mentioned, wine in those days was diluted with water at the rate of 1 part wine + 3 parts water, in extreme cases 1:2. Mixing parts equal in volume was considered the lot of "bitter drunkards". (Moreover, there was no fortified wine then.)

Athenian statesman Eubulus in 375 BC so he said about the measure in the use of wine: "I must mix three cups: one for health, the second for love and pleasure, the third for good sleep. After drinking three cups, wise guests go home. The fourth cup is no longer ours, it belongs to violence ; the fifth to noise; the sixth to drunken revelry; the seventh to black eyes; the eighth to peace officers; the ninth to suffering and the tenth to madness and the collapse of furniture.

The most famous and ancient Greek wine is Retsina. And to this day, this is the only wine that has a strong aroma and taste of resin (retsina in Greek means resin). The name is associated with the ancient tradition of hermetically sealing amphoras with wine with a mixture of gypsum and resin. So the wine was stored longer and absorbed the smell of resin. Nowadays, resin is specially added to this wine at the fermentation stage. It would be more correct to say that Retsina does not belong to the category of wines. This is a white or pink drink with a strength of 11.5 degrees for everyday use. Drink chilled, served with appetizers.

In ancient Greece, 150 varieties of grapes were cultivated, adapted to various soils and climatic conditions. The Greeks preferred dark thick red wine. In large vessels (pithoi) it was placed in cellars for six months to ferment. Then the wine was fixed with raisins, which were always in abundance, or with honey. Samos and Rhodes wines were considered the best. The wines from the islands of Chios and Lesvos were not much inferior to them. To this day, the tart wine from the island of Santorini (Thira) from grapes cultivated on volcanic ash is especially famous. In a glass of good Greek wine - a sip of the sun and the sea, the dope of millennia and a taste of the eternal mystery of Hellas.

Already in antiquity there was a huge variety of Greek wines, ranging from light whites, sweet or dry, to rosés and reds, semi-sweet and sweet. Each city-polis produced its own wines.

In ancient Hellas they grew and raisin grape varieties, and Greek raisins from that time to our time have always been recognized as the best in the world.

HOW DID THEY EAT?

Plato says that a person who eats alone simply fills up a waterskin called the stomach. Therefore, the ancient Greek feasts (symposiums) were held necessarily in the companies of comrades. Even the Greek word for “comrade” (syntrophos) itself, in its origin, means “a person with whom you eat together.” It was believed that in the company of "syntrophs" there should be "no less than the number of Charites, no more than the number of Muses", that is, from 3 to 9, so that it would not be either boring or crowded.

Here's a pretty simple one for you. ANCIENT GREEK SWEET RECIPE, which Plato preserved for us in his work called "Atlantis":
“You take dry fruits (plums, figs, almonds, black and golden raisins, walnuts), chop all this finely and pour over Attic honey - the kind that flows from a spoon (fresh, not candied - good honey candied no later than November!). Now you mix this mass with natural Greek yogurt, and ... "
Oh yes, the ancient Greeks knew a lot about food!

And now the ancient recipe for cooking fish - “salamis”, which even the Spartan mentioned above would not refuse:

SALAMIS
(fish fillet in ancient Greek)

Ingredients :
- 500 g fresh fish fillet of sea fish,
- 1 tbsp. a spoonful of wine vinegar
- 4-6 tbsp. spoons of olive oil,
- 1 medium sized onion
- 1-2 cloves of garlic,
- 3 glasses of white wine,
- 2 tbsp. tablespoons chopped herbs
- 250 g of fresh cucumbers (in ancient Greece, cucumbers were a delicacy!),
- 2-3 pods of sweet pepper,
- salt (black pepper was not known in Ancient Hellas, and it will be superfluous here).

Cooking

Sprinkle the fish fillet with wine vinegar, salt and let stand for 10-15 minutes. Pour half of the olive oil into the pan and fry the finely chopped onion and garlic in it, then put the fish, pour over the wine and sprinkle with herbs. Simmer for 10-15 minutes covered. Cut the pods of sweet pepper into thin rings and fry separately in the remaining oil.
After 10 minutes, add the cucumber, peeled and cut into small slices. Season with salt (and black pepper).
When all the vegetables are ready, put them on the fish and simmer them together for another 5 minutes under a lid over low heat.
Serve hot with wholemeal bread.

TABLE OF THE ANCIENT GREEKS
Historical overview

The composition of the food of the ancient inhabitants of Hellas depended on the economic condition of the country, on the fertility of the land, and on the level of development of cattle breeding.

As social life changed, ties with other countries expanded, and foreign trade grew, the nature and composition of food changed, and new dishes appeared.

As in any other sphere of the life of the ancients, in their diet there were great differences between individual city-states and between wealthy people and the poor, who, of necessity, were content with more than modest food.

Over time, the customary hours of meals also changed - after all, free citizens of the Greek policies were increasingly involved in solving state affairs, which, as a rule, delayed them in the agora in the pre-noon and noon hours.

In later centuries, when the free citizen began to spend most of his time in the agora, the meal routine changed. Breakfast, as before, was early, but now it was not forbidden to serve pure wine, not mixed with water.

Dinner time was moved to later hours and even to the evening, but between breakfast and dinner, one could have another meal at any time - something like a second breakfast, and men often ate right on the spot, in the agora, when it was free from public affairs. minute.

Finally, in the Hellenistic era, the second breakfast became more solemn and plentiful, and, since citizens paid less attention to social activities, it became possible to arrange a second breakfast at a strictly defined time.

So, the basis of the morning meal was cakes. Note that as early as the 6th century BC. e., in the era of Solon, bread was considered a luxury. It was replaced by a more affordable porridge made from some kind of cereal or flour, usually barley or wheat.

Bread was baked at home. Professional bakers who supplied the cities with fresh bread did not appear in Athens until the 5th century BC. Flour was made from barley, millet, wheat and spelt.

[Spelled, or spelled wheat, is a group of wheat species with a brittle spike and filmy grain. Differs in unpretentiousness, precocity, resistance to diseases. Valuable source material for breeding.]

Thanks to connections with other, more sophisticated peoples in cooking, the Greeks met and adopted new types of baked goods. The ancient Greeks considered the best varieties of bread to be Phoenician, as well as Boeotian, Thessalian, bread from Cappadocia and from the islands of Lesbos, Cyprus and Aegina.

Special types of bread were baked for festive feasts, for example, at the end of the harvest, or for certain dishes. Bread was baked from sour, yeast dough or without sourdough. Dietary bread was also used, baked without adding salt.

The other staple food of the Hellenes was meat. Beef and lamb, deer or boar meat were enjoyed by the heroes of Homer, who did not shy away from birds. The carcass was fried on a spit, without any seasonings, and then divided into pieces according to the number of guests, giving the best to the most distinguished and worthy.

For example, touched by the singing during the feast, Odysseus gave the singer Demodon "the backbone of a sharp-toothed boar full of fat" (Homer, Odyssey, VIII, 474).

A wonderful scene of the feast of the ancient inhabitants of Hellas was drawn by Homer, telling about the reception by Achilles in his tent of ambassadors from Agamemnon - Odysseus, Ajax Helamonides and Phoenix:

He himself laid a huge lot by the fiery light,
And the ridges laid out in it sheep and fat goats,
He also threw the ham of a fat boar, shiny with fat,
Automedon held them, dissected the noble Achilles,
After skillfully crushed into pieces and stuck them on a skewer.
A hot fire, meanwhile, was kindled by God-like Menetides.
A little the fire weakened and the crimson flame faded,
Raking the coals, Pelid spit over the fire stretches
And he sprinkles with sacred salt, raising it to support.
So frying them all around, the dining table shakes.
That sometimes Patroclus on the table, in beautiful baskets,
He arranged the bread; but the food for the guests noble Achilles
He himself divided and against Odysseus, like a god,
Sat down on the other side while donating to the inhabitants of the sky
Patroclus ordered his friend, and he threw the firstfruits into the fire.
The heroes stretched out their hands to the sweet dishes offered ...
(Iliad, IX, 206 - 221)

Later, the meat table of the Greeks became more diverse: they willingly devoured sausages or goat's stomachs stuffed with blood and fat. Of the vegetables, onions, garlic, lettuce, and legumes were most often consumed. The latter, that is, vegetables, belonged to the main food of the poor.

From the VI century BC. e. under the influence of oriental fashion and customs that prevailed in the Greek colonies, where the standard of living was especially high, more and more dishes appear on the tables of the Greeks.

Only Sparta retained the ancient simplicity of manners and harsh life. A Spartan who was allowed to participate in joint meals had to make a contribution equal to the portion of food due to him for a month: 7.3 liters of flour, 36 liters of wine, 3 kg of cheese and 10 obols of silver for the purchase of meat. Two obols were usually enough for a modest subsistence of one person during the day.

It can be seen from this that the meals of the Spartans composed of such contributions were more than meager. The Spartans also remained faithful to their famous dish - black stew: according to Plutarch, in Sparta at the time of Lycurgus, "the old people even refused their share of meat and gave it to the young, and they themselves ate plenty of stews" (Comparative Biographies. Lycurgus, XII).

Drinking parties, rampant feasts in Sparta were not allowed: “Our law expels from the country that under the influence of which people most of all fall into the strongest pleasures, outrages and all kinds of recklessness. Neither in the villages, nor in the cities ... you will not see feasts anywhere ... and everyone who meets a drunken reveler immediately imposes on him the greatest punishment ... ”(Plato. Laws, I, 637).

However, except for Sparta, they drank plenty of wine throughout Hellas. The inhabitants of Boeotia and Thessaly were famous in Greece for especially refined culinary art. The luxurious feasts of Persia and Lydia, the splendor of Egypt and Babylon influenced the Greek table.

Experienced chefs from Sicily instilled in the Greeks a love for delicate dishes. With the expansion of trade relations with other peoples, the cuisine of the ancient Hellenes became richer and more diverse, being increasingly influenced by foreign gastronomic fashion.

In the shops around the agora one could buy not only the usual onions, garlic and lettuce, but also a variety of fish, rare foreign roots and spices.

In comedy of the 5th century BC. e. Hermippa "Porters" lists products brought to Greece from all over the world: beef, cheese, raisins, figs, coconuts and almonds.

Apparently, in ancient Greece there were two types of cooks. There were free professional cooks who were hired for the preparation of the upcoming feast, and forced cooks, or slaves.

In spite of their low position, the Athenian cooks played a prominent role in the city, judging by the derision with which they were persecuted by the comic poets. The type of slave-cook, rogue and braggart, became from the beginning of the 4th century BC. e. very common in the Greek scene.

In Antiphanes' comedy Cyclops, the gentleman gives instructions to the cook about fish dishes: on the table there should be sliced pike, stingrays with sauce, perch, mackerel, stuffed cuttlefish, frog legs and belly, herring, flounder, moray eels, crabs - let everything be enough.

Frequent in the comedies of Antiphanes, Alexis, Sotada and other comedians of the 4th century BC. e. references to fish dishes and recipes for their preparation show that fish was still largely a novelty on the menu of the inhabitants of Greek policies.

Poultry dishes and ways of preparing them were varied. The Greeks used roasted pigeons, sparrows, larks, pheasants, thrushes, quails, and even swallows. These dishes were seasoned with olive oil, vinegar, various sauces and spices.

In general, the description of culinary recipes in Greek comedies exactly corresponds to the "technologies" of cooking that existed at that time and are described in numerous cookbooks.

In one of Sotada's comedies, the description of how to cook and serve fish on the table, put by the author into the mouth of the cook, completely coincides with what is said about this in the well-known culinary book of that time - Polluk's Onomasticon (II century): “Mix milk with melted bacon and grits, add fresh cheese, egg yolks and brains, wrap the fish in a fragrant fig leaf and boil in chicken or young goat broth, then take it out, remove the leaf and put the finished dish in a vessel with boiling honey ".

The ceremonial and etiquette of the meals differed depending on whether they had a family character or whether guests were present. At everyday home meals, women sat at the table with men. More precisely, the men reclined during dinner, the women sat on chairs.

This rule did not apply to hetaerae. In meals that did not have a family character, women did not take part. The feasts took place in the male half of the house.

Those invited were carefully dressed; usually they took a bath and perfumed themselves. Politeness demanded great accuracy from them, and they sat down at the table without expecting latecomers. Each box accommodated one or two people; they were put one on top of the other, thus forming something like a sofa. They were covered with beautiful blankets and were often so high that they were climbed with the help of a small bench.

The guests had pillows behind them, resembling our ordinary pillows or cross-rollers, and covered with flowers and patterned pillowcases; sometimes they brought them with them. The diners leaned with their left elbow on the pillow and thus were in a half-sitting, half-lying position.

The guests, placed on the same bed, turned their backs to each other; but it is highly probable that, leaning on the same arm, they gave a different inclination to their bodies, with one slipping the elbow closer to the back, and the other closer to the chest.

The number of boxes and tables varied. They were arranged in such a way as to bring guests as close as possible to each other, placing them, no doubt, in a semicircle or in the shape of a horseshoe around the tables. Tables, at first square, and later round, were made slightly lower than the beds. Near each bed there was a special table.

A well-known order was observed in the accommodation of guests. The most honorable place was on the right hand of the owner; the least honorable was considered the furthest from it. Disputes often took place between the guests on this subject, as a result of which Plutarch recommends that the host himself appoint each guest his place.

The guests first of all took off their shoes, which they put on again only when they left. Slaves washed everyone's feet and sometimes strangled them; then they served water for the guests to wash their hands. Only after that they brought the tables, already completely served. Each guest only had to lend a hand to take the food cooked on the dishes.

There were no forks and knives; a spoon was used only for liquid food and sauces, but it was also willingly replaced with a crust of bread. Almost everyone ate with their fingers. There were also no tablecloths or napkins; wiped with a crumb of bread or a special dough - they were rolled between the fingers, so as to make balls.

Every guest was allowed to bring his slaves with him; otherwise, the master's slaves served. To dispose of all these personnel, a special person was appointed. In some houses it was the rule that the list of dishes should be presented by the cook to the host.

We have little information as to the general order of the great Greek dinners. One might think that dinner did not begin, as with the Romans, with cold cuts and sweet wines, at least until the time of the Empire.

Until this era, although dishes were used at the beginning of dinner that could excite the appetite, they were not necessarily cold. Then meat, fish, herbs and sauces of all sorts were served. After that, the slaves brought water and towels; the guests choked themselves, laid wreaths of flowers on themselves and made libations to the Good Genius, while drinking a sip of pure wine.

Then the tables were taken away and replaced by others on which dessert was served. Dessert in those days was very simple; in the era of Macedonian rule, it was, as it were, a second dinner with game and poultry, and they ate fresh or dry fruit and then cheese. To induce thirst, they used garlic, onions, salt mixed with cumin and other herbs, salted pies with various spices.

There was also no shortage of cookies. Attica was famous for its biscuits, in which honey replaced sugar; they were made with cheese, poppy seeds and sesame seeds.

Wines in Greece produced a lot. Particularly famous in the ancient world were wines from the islands of Lesvos, Kos, Chios, Rhodes and Samos. Wines were classified according to color: dark, red, white, golden. Great importance was attached to taste and strength.

Distinguished wine strong, sweet, thin and light. Wealthy people preferred old, long-aged wines.

After the main part of the dinner or feast, the conversation began - symposion. Its participants were served wine in three craters where the wine was mixed with water. From one crater wine was sacrificed to the gods, from another to the heroes, from the third to Zeus.

Sacrifices were performed solemnly, to the accompaniment of a flute. The religious, ritual part of the feast made it possible to invite flutists there, who remained there even after the sacrifices, entertaining the chatting companions with playing the flute.

At the feasts, they chose from those present the supreme manager of the feast - symposiarch, who directed the course of conversations, determined the outcome of the competition by the number of cups drunk and assigned awards to the winners. Wine did not prevent the participants of the feast from having conversations on philosophical or literary topics, to show off a well-aimed witticism, a well-found poetic line, an impromptu pun, to come up with and offer those present an intricate puzzle or a vulture - a riddle.

In addition, the participants in the feast were not deprived of female society - they were entertained by their performances of dancers, acrobats, flutists. Hetaerae skillfully maintained conversations - well-read, witty and charming women.

The fascination of wealthy citizens with wealth and pompous feasts acquired such a wide scale over time that the state was forced to intervene in order to prevent abuse and waste through the strictest regulations.

In Athens, officials sitophilaki- had to control the supply of food to the city, in particular, to fight speculation and other abuses in the trade in products.

Food inspectors regulated market prices and enforced trade rules. It was forbidden to stockpile grain for speculative purposes in the hope of raising prices in the event of interruptions in grain supplies.

The role of sitophilacs was very great in times of war, crop failures and during periods of economic difficulties experienced by the state.

In the Hellenistic era, the administrative apparatus greatly expanded, while the staff of food inspectors increased. By periodically rotating them, they tried to avoid abuses and the establishment of hidden connections between officials and merchants, between sellers and buyers.

Prices were controlled, the quality of bread baking was checked.

When the standard of living in ancient Greece increased, the difference in the property status of different categories of citizens became much more noticeable. Dreaming of fairy tale lands, “where honey and milk flow,” the heroes of the comedies responded in their own way to the deepening gulf between those who dreamed of a piece of bread and those whose tables were bursting with exquisite, overseas dishes.

The poet Heleklid in the comedy "Amphictyons" depicts a wonderful country with pigeons Cup (Mycenae, II millennium BC), where the waves of the rivers carry cookies and pies with cottage cheese, meat, sausages, fried fish. At the same time, the food itself enters the house, lies on the table, and then itself enters people's mouths.

However, for the rich Greeks this picture was not fantastic, because it was very similar to their real life: the hands of the slaves prepared dishes, set the table, catered to the tastes of the owners in every possible way.

Historical references

1. GREEK DANCE "SIRTAKI"
A popular dance among modern Greeks Sirtaki appeared only in the middle of the 20th century (composer Mikis Theodorakis, music for the film "Zorba the Greek"), therefore it is ridiculous when it is danced in various "quasi-historical" films, especially those depicting antiquity. After all, this is even more ridiculous than Julius Caesar opening a tin can with a knife.

2. ARCHIMEDES
According to the widespread version, Archimedes climbed into the bath, discovered the law of Archimedes and joyfully ran naked through the streets shouting "Eureka!" ("Found!").
In fact Archimedes (c. 287-212 BC), the greatest scientist, the creator of the modern differential and integral calculus (“higher mathematics”), much later re-understood and formalized by Leibniz and Newton, found a mathematical connection between an integral over a closed surface and an integral over a volume bounded by this surface. What is known as "the law of Archimedes" is only one of the special cases of this dependence. Later, such a connection between integrals was rediscovered only in the 19th century and now has the name of the Gauss-Ostrogradsky formula. Then they were able to understand the meaning of this part of the mathematical works of Archimedes that have come down to us.
Of the work of Archimedes, Leibniz wrote: "Reading Archimedes, one ceases to be surprised at all the latest achievements in mathematics."

4. MYTH AND TRUTH ABOUT THE MARATHIN RUNNER
A common misconception is that a marathon runner ran 39 km and died from overexertion.
Actually 02/09/490 BC. e. Greek warrior Fitipid(otherwise Philippides, Philippides) was the first to bring the news to Athens about the victory of the Greeks over the Persians in the Battle of Marathon and later died of exhaustion and blood loss (most likely from a blood infection as a result of his injuries, but reliable information about the date and causes of his death No).
As the best runner, shortly before the battle, Fitipides was sent to Sparta with a request to send the Spartan army to help in case of defeat. Running out in the morning, in less than a day he overcame 1,240 stadia (238 km) on mountain roads, reaching his goal “early at the dawn of the next day,” reports Herodotus, a contemporary of the battle. Then, not having received an intelligible answer, he immediately ran back. It became clear to the Greeks that there would be no help and it was impossible to lose the battle.
Not having enough time to rest, Fitipides, like all men (at that time the Greeks fought in the ranks until the age of 60), took part in a fierce 6-hour battle with an enemy outnumbered by 10 times and immediately after the victory was wounded and exhausted, he fled to Athens, where women and children fearfully awaited the decision of their fate.
The Greeks considered the right to bring the news of victory an honorary reward worthy of heroes, and the courageous Phitipides deservedly demanded this right. Several runners carried the news to Athens, but Fitipides, who was not accustomed to losing, did his best to be the first. And he succeeded.
The feat of Fitipida seems absolutely fantastic for modern athletes. When the first modern Olympic Games were held in Athens in 1896, at the suggestion of the French philologist Michel Breal, the first sports race between Marathon and Athens was arranged in honor of the great hero. During the Olympic Games in London, the distance was slightly increased to 42 km 195 m, so that the finish line was near the royal palace.
Autumn 1982 John Foden with four like-minded people went to Greece to repeat the historical run of Fitipides (but one way and on an asphalt road). Early on the morning of October 8, they ran out of Athens, and after 35 and a half hours, John Skolten (John Scholten) was already in Sparta. John Foden himself finished second, also within 36 hours. The third to reach the goal was John Macarthy, who spent a little less than 40 hours to overcome 246 km. And a year later, in September 1983, 45 runners from 11 countries took part in the second run of Athens - Sparta. This was the beginning of the run along the historical route of Fitipida, which is now held annually in September and is called Spartathlon (Spartathlon) .
Four times since 1983, the winner of the Spartathlon has become the legendary Greek Janis Kouros(Yiannis Kouros), and still the unsurpassed world record holder in daily running (for 24 hours). His unique record at the Spartathlon distance is 20 hours 21 minutes, installed in 1984 on this track, has not yet been beaten. Janis Kouros proved that Herodotus' message about Fitipides' run is not a historical myth, and a person is able to run this distance in less than a day, which before that all sports experts considered absolutely impossible. Russian Alexander Falkov in 2005 ran this distance in 34 hours and 48 minutes.
Only the best runners are allowed to the Spartathlon distance, men and women start together.
In 2002 the phenomenal Irina Reutovich from Kaliningrad was the first among women, overcoming the entire distance of Spartathlon in 28:10:48 - it was the best female result in the history of the competition, and it has not been beaten so far. She became world famous in 2000. Then, during a super-marathon in the American Death Valley at a temperature of plus 54 degrees, she ran more than 200 kilometers and overtook all American men. After this triumph, Irina Reutovich was recognized by the whole world, and she received the right to start in Spartathlon. In 2006, she also set a world record in a two-day run (in France), running over 337 kilometers in 48 hours (the previous record was 332 kilometers).
Victory in Spartathlon is one of the most prestigious in world sport.

OTHER COMMON ANECDOTIC STORIES THAT MANY ALREADY ACCEPT AS REALITY

Mendeleev had a dream about the periodic table of elements.
When Dmitry Ivanovich Mendeleev heard this anecdote composed about him, he said: "It would be good if it were so, only I spent 20 years solving this problem."
Mendeleev invented vodka.
Mass production of vodka has existed in Rus' since at least 1505 (then vodka had a strength of 46-48 degrees), and the 40-proof vodka standard was legally approved by the Russian government in the middle of the 18th century, i.e. long before the birth of Mendeleev.
The history of the sandwich sandwich.
An anecdotal version of the origin of the sandwich is the story of the Englishman John Montague, the fourth Earl of Sandwich. According to a well-known anecdote, he was very fond of playing cards - so much so that he could sit for a long time at the gaming tables in the pubs of London. Once, in 1762, the game went on for a whole day, and since it was difficult to simultaneously play cards and eat at the table with a knife and fork, the count asked the cook to serve him two pieces of fried bread with a slice of roast beef between them. Thus, he could hold the cards with one hand and eat with the other. It was a very convenient decision, and since then the sandwich has begun its triumphant march around the world. But this is just a popular anecdotal legend.
In fact Earl John Montagu Sandwich (1718-1792) invented the sandwich in order to be able to eat cheaply while working on serious projects, so as not to take precious time from hard work. After all, he was a member of the British Parliament, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of the Navy of the British Empire. He also supervised the preparation of Captain Cook's geographical round-the-world expedition in 1778. As a result of that expedition, the Hawaiian Islands were discovered, which were originally named after the Earl of Sandwich - the Sandwich Islands. But Count Sandwich did not play cards and considered the card game a stupid and senseless waste of time. In addition, the very constrained Earl of Sandwich simply did not have money for card games. Due to lack of money, he invented inexpensive food that was convenient for his work.
An apple fell on Isaac Newton's head and he discovered the law of gravity.
In fact all the materials of the Law of universal gravitation discovered by him on the basis of his many years of astronomical observations were handed over in writing to Newton, as the best mathematician of the Royal Scientific Society, who discovered the Law, the great Robert Hooke, reporting, among other things, the inverse square law of distance and asking Newton on the basis of the transmitted information write a mathematical formula. This letter has survived to this day. It remained a mystery why, having verbally described in detail the formula of the Law of Universal Gravity, Hooke did not write the formula itself.
When Newton compiled the formula, other academicians suggested that he deduce from it the well-known law of ellipticity of planetary orbits. Newton stated that he would derive this dependence in 3 days. But neither after 3 days, nor after a week, it was not possible to remove the addiction. Newton lost the promised case of beer. This dependence for two bodies ("the problem of two bodies") was derived by Newton from the formula he compiled only after 3 years of hard mathematical work, and this is his great merit. An analytical formula for the motion of three bodies ("three-body problem") or more does not exist to this day.
Gorky and Chaliapin entered the church choir together in their youth, and then Gorky was accepted, but Chaliapin was not.
In fact they first met at the height of their fame.
Columbus sailed to India and ended up in America.
In fact Columbus was one of the greatest cartographers and scientists of the time. He was well aware of both the size of the Earth and the geographic coordinates of India. As an experienced navigator, he knew that on the then existing ships from Spain to India, if there is an ocean between them, it is impossible to swim in a westerly direction - the distance is too great.
But Columbus was a great scientist of his time - he was the first in the world to discover the principle of the movement of winds, i.e. planetary air mass circulation systems, incl. and what we today call the trade winds.
While doing scientific work and studying the records of many ship logs of ships sailing in the Atlantic, he noticed the predominant seasonality of the winds - six months in one direction, and six months in the other. The explanation for this, according to the theory of winds developed by Columbus, could be only one - somewhere halfway to Asia, in the middle of the ocean there is a huge mainland, and possibly more than one. Having carefully processed all the available data, Columbus even managed to very accurately determine the distance to the proposed mainland.
It was to this unknown land that Columbus planned his expedition, and with the idea of a commercial voyage to India, he only convinced the royal court and large merchants to provide the necessary funding. (It was impossible to find funds for new geographical discoveries in Spain, impoverished by the war.)
When determining the time of departure and in the further voyage, he used the seasonality of the winds discovered by him. The expedition members were then surprised that during the entire voyage both back and forth, they were moving with a fair wind - this is how Columbus used his discovery, which allowed sailing ships to quickly sail to America and return back without tacking against a headwind.
With a fresh fair wind, the ships sailed quickly, the distance to the abandoned land quickly increased. In order not to frighten the commanders and crews of the ships and not cause a riot, Columbus from the very beginning forbade measuring the distance traveled on all ships, making them only personally, and then reporting half the data to the crew of the flagship and the captains of other ships of the expedition.
For the last two and a half days before meeting with the earth, he hardly slept, peering intently at the horizon line, where, according to his calculations, the earth was about to appear - that's why he saw it first.
Based on the results of his research and calculations, Columbus deliberately took a mortal risk - if the proposed land did not exist, the ships would no longer be able to return due to the exhaustion of supplies. Going on this voyage, only one Columbus knew that the expedition would be either successful or missing.
Fortunately, Columbus's calculations turned out to be correct, and we got the opportunity to use potato soup and blame America for all sins.
At all times, schoolchildren about great discoveries and events in every possible way refined in anecdotal wit. In particular, they composed the original formulation of the law of Archimedes: "A body stuck in water bulges out as much water as it sticks out there."
Of course, it is ridiculous to get acquainted with the liberation movement of slaves in Ancient Rome from Khachaturian's ballet "Spartacus" or to study the history of the Civil War from funny anecdotes about Vasily Ivanovich Chapaev, Petka and Anka.
All sorts of anecdotes and common speculation about historical events should not be taken seriously. After all, historical science itself is no less interesting and entertaining than various "historical" anecdotes.

Also about the history of cuisine, historical feasts and the menu of kings, see:

Alexandr Duma

In ancient Greece, there were no spoons and forks; knives were not used at the table. They just ate with their hands, and the leftovers were thrown right on the floor. Before taking a sip of wine, it was necessary to wash your hands in a bowl specially designed for this, decorate your head with a wreath and make a libation to the gods - splash a little bit of wine from the bowl as a sacrifice. Of course, now the food culture has changed significantly and it is difficult to fully restore the atmosphere of the ancient Greek meal. The restaurants do not have apoclintras, instead they have traditional Greek wicker chairs. No one mixes wine with water, most likely because the hand does not turn to pour water into the signature sweet white wine with honey and spices. For convenience, you have to serve spoons and knives (there are still no forks), as well as napkins.

In Greece and Cyprus, it is not customary to spend time reading the menu, so you will not find it in small taverns. Just ask the waiter what is currently available, and he will tell you everything. For a normal Greek lunch, everyone is supposed to take a salad and one dish for each. It should be noted that salads are served here on one common plate. It is understood that you, like the Greeks, will take pieces of cucumbers and tomatoes directly from there with your personal fork. In the same way, it is customary to treat all snacks on the table that are served on common plates. Perhaps this will offend you, after all, it is not customary for us to stick our fork into a common dish. Well, in the company of compatriots, you can do as you like, but keep in mind: if you are at the same table with the Greeks, you will have to eat the same as they do. At any attempt to put a portion of salad from a common dish on a plate, the sons of Hellas are terribly offended.

Food prohibitions

Food taboos have always been associated with a person's desire to stand out from nature, to stop being an animal. Most of the food rituals are somehow connected with an attempt, if not to gain immortality (this was unsuccessfully done by some nutritional alchemists), then at least to prolong life and slow down the process of dying in the body as much as possible. Therefore, many cleansing rituals are associated with the rejection of perishable food, primarily meat, and replacing it with one that would be minimally susceptible to decay, for example, bread. Sometimes milk (whiteness is a symbol of purity) or fish (according to some peoples, fish are long-lived, and ancient and even immortal fish are found in myths) were sometimes attributed to clean food.

Vegetarianism originated in ancient Greece precisely as a search for immortality. The first vegetarians were Pythagoras and his students. The most strict followers of the Pythagorean teachings completely excluded any meat from the diet and even avoided contact with butchers, hunters and cooks. It was believed that the vegetarianism of the Pythagoreans is due to the fact that they believed in the transmigration of souls, including from man to animal. In any case, on their altars they burned only food that was considered absolutely pure - honeycombs, grain and incense.

Less strict Pythagoreans ate pork and goat meat - while the meat of a draft bull or lamb was taboo. Casuists argued that pork and goat meat do not belong to the category of flesh because both animals sinned by partaking of the food intended by the gods for people. The goat grazed in the vineyards of Dionysus, and the pigs ate the crops in Demeter's field. The point, however, is not even in differences in the definition of flesh. The fact is that vegetarianism also has a clear social function: vegetarian groups, as a rule, use a food ritual to emphasize their isolation from the surrounding world, sinful and dirty.

Name of the dish

Snacks

Tartlets with king crabs

Canape with salmon

Canape with chicken breast

Canape with cheese and olives

Canape with banana and strawberries

White wine Bordeaux Charles Dulac.AOC, France, 11%

Champagne Louis Roderer. Brut Premier, France, 0.3%

Cold snacks

Red caviar

Scallops and shrimps in Sambuca cream sauce

Tenderloin carpaccio

(Veal tenderloin marinated in basil sauce)

Eggplant rolls stuffed with cheese, herbs and nuts

Pear with Provencal herbs and honey caramel

Caesar salad"

(Chicken fillet, lettuce, tomatoes, olives and croutons)

Salad "Quail's Nest"

Salad with shrimp

(Shrimp with pine nuts, avocado, mango)

Vodka Russian Standard, 40%

Red wine Villa Donoratico, Italy, 11%

Dry white wine Chablis. La Chablisienne, France, 11%

Hot appetizers

Tongue with spinach sauce

Vegetables in a pot

Potato casserole with crispy cheese crust

julienne mushroom

Red wine Belcore. IGT, Italy, 9%

Dry white wine Chablis. La Chablisienne, France, 11%

Hot dishes

Sterlet

(Baked sterlet with caviar sauce and fruit)

(Salmon fillet with ratatouille with lingonberry sauce)

from eggplant)

Meatballs in mint tomato sauce

Veal tenderloin

(Juicy tenderloin baked in crispy dough with mushrooms and tartare

Rack of lamb

(Lamb loin with vegetables and fragrant sauce)

Lamb marinated with garlic

Duck stuffed with oranges and pineapples

Red wine Bardolino DOC, Italy, 12%

White wine Terre di Giaia, Italy, 11%

Dessert

Honey cake with yogurt

Eclairs with chocolate cream and fresh strawberries

(Cheese Cake with Orange Sauce)

strawberry perinka

(Strawberry soufflé, biscuit, strawberry)

(A fluffy yoghurt mousse with fresh berries and strawberry and blackcurrant sauces)

New romance

(Creamy ice cream with berry sauces and fresh fruits)

Beverages

Digestives

Coffee

Espresso (50 ml)

Espresso double (100 ml)

Americano (120 ml)

Cappuccino (120ml)

Latte with syrup

Chocolate, vanilla, nutty, caramel (190ml)

Mineral water

Bon Aqua (0.5 l)

Reserve Beshtau (0.33 l.)

San Pellegrino (0.25 l)

Varadero (50 ml/0.7 l)

Bacardi Carta Blanca (50 ml/0.75 l)

Tequila

El Charro Silver (50 g/1 l)

El Charro Gold (50 ml/1 l)

Liqueurs

Sambuca (50 ml/0.7 l)

Irish Cream Brogans (50 ml./1 l.)

Lemonel (50 ml/0.5 l)

Cuisine and traditions of eating food in ancient Greece. Cuisine of ancient Greece: what and how the ancient Greeks ate

Answers

general characteristics

Characteristics

Main dishes

vegetable dishes

Bread and flour products

Dessert

Beverages

Benefit for health

Cooking Salamis (Greek fish fillet)

Cooking marinated cheese

Ancient Greece
CUISINE OF ANCIENT GREECE
What and how did the ancient Greeks eat?

TABLE OF THE ANCIENT GREEKS
Historical overview

Historical references

Food prohibitions

Chopped tomatoes with butter for the winter

Appetizers with crab sticks

What to cook for the new year

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Cuisine and traditions of eating food in ancient Greece. Cuisine of ancient Greece: what and how the ancient Greeks ate

Answers

general characteristics

Characteristics

Main dishes

vegetable dishes

Bread and flour products

Dessert

Beverages

Benefit for health

Cooking Salamis (Greek fish fillet)

Cooking marinated cheese

Ancient Greece CUISINE OF ANCIENT GREECE What and how did the ancient Greeks eat?

TABLE OF THE ANCIENT GREEKS Historical overview

Historical references

Food prohibitions

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Latest Articles

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Ancient Greece
CUISINE OF ANCIENT GREECE
What and how did the ancient Greeks eat?

TABLE OF THE ANCIENT GREEKS
Historical overview