Most of the vocabulary about ancient Greek diet comes from the poem Hedypatheia written by the poet Archestratus in the middle of 4th century BC. Because he was a big eater, his exploration of his own taste overwhelmed the objective records of the times (for example, he liked fish very much, but the ancient Greeks didn't like it very much), so if he wanted to study the diet of ancient Greece in depth, archaeologists had to study the bones, feces and what they left behind.
Aegean Islands, West Coast of Asia Minor and ionian islands are located in the Eurasian seismic belt. The plates are squeezed to form many mountains, few plains and barren land. This natural environment and the Mediterranean climate, which is hot and dry in summer and cold and rainy in winter, made the ancient Greeks grow only a limited number of crops, such as a small amount of barley, wheat, olives and grapes. Olives are pressed into olive oil and grapes are made into wine, juice and jam.
Barley porridge is the main food in the vast rural areas. Some people even joked that the diet of the ancient Greeks was two dishes, the first was barley porridge, and the second was barley porridge. If you want to change your taste, it can only be bread. Bread was more than food in the hands of the ancient Greeks. After they have had enough wine and bread for breakfast, they also wipe their mouths and faces with bread. Yes, bread was one of the main cleaning products in ancient Greece.
Meat is rarely eaten in rural areas. Birds such as chickens and ducks are relatively easy to get, while pork, beef and mutton are relatively scarce. The hot climate in Greece is not suitable for the preservation of meat, so once the livestock are slaughtered, they must be eaten immediately. Cities with a large population can do this, but it is more difficult in rural areas. Except for pigs, deer and rabbits caught by chance, other meats are rare.
The difference between urban and rural carnivores lies in their species. Eating meat is often associated with sacrifice. Greek sacrifices like large animals, such as cattle, sheep and pigs. The Odyssey describes such a scene:
The population of the city gathers, and the meat left after sacrificing the bull can be distributed immediately. In addition, there is evidence that the wealth of cities keeps the price of meat at a low level. In aristophanes's time, a pig was worth three drachmas, which was equivalent to the salary of an ordinary civil servant for three days. Rural areas can only turn to smaller animals, such as newborn goats or all kinds of game.
Rabbits are the first choice for private daily meat in rural areas. Rabbits breed rapidly, and a pair of rabbits can create a great miracle of life, so they have won wide respect from Greek society. The image of goddess in Greek mythology is often associated with rabbits. For example, Aphrodite is always accompanied by rabbits, and the sacrifices offered to her are also rabbits. This phenomenon not only exists in ancient Greece, but also widely exists in the vast areas from Asia Minor to ancient Egypt, which fully illustrates the importance of rabbits. Archaeological excavations found that in the Bronze Age, Greeks sometimes ate dogs.