To most Greeks, Zea is an unknown food. Not unjustly, one might say, since for many years the grain had disappeared from the country. In the early 1930s, for some unknown reason, a law banned not only the cultivation of Zea in the country but even its mention as a term in dictionaries. So, as expected, the grain fell into oblivion over the years, while later generations did not even know of its existence.
Thus, for many years, the Greeks were deprived of a valuable commodity that other countries naturally continued to cultivate and enjoy. Many conspiracy theories have been formulated from time to time around this disappearance. However, it is important to note that in recent years the grain has been slowly and steadily returning to the country, it is just a matter of getting to know it and using it.
Why were our ancient ancestors so wise? The answer for many is one and is based on the principles of the father of Medicine Hippocrates, who said "a sound mind in a sound body" and "your medicine is your food".
Zea is perhaps the oldest grain and staple of the diet of the ancients. It is rich in magnesium, which is the "food" of the brain.
Another substance that this grain has is the amino acid lysine, which strengthens the immune system and has minimal gluten ".
In terms of meat consumption, this was minimal and only if the person was healthy. If there was a disease, no meat was consumed.
Zea is one of the oldest grains known to man.
Specimens have been found in excavations of prehistoric settlements throughout Greece, with the oldest specimen at Asia Minor dating to 12000 years BC. It was one of the first grains "domesticated" by man and a basic crop of the early agriculture of the Fertile Crescent, i.e. Palestine, Syria, the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers to the Persian Gulf. Specimens of its use dating back 10,000 years have also been found in North Africa.
Homer refers to the cultivation of Zea in the Laconic Plain. It dominated among crops but in the course of time, more efficient and simpler crops, such as wheat and rice, were selected. Thus, the cultivation of Zea almost disappeared.
For thousands of years, it remained the main crop of the Middle East and North Africa. Later it was replaced by Triticum turgidum (Durum). Farmers preferred these new crops because the seed separated more easily from the hull. The cereal Triticum dicoccum, or emmer or aja as it is called in Africa, arrived in Ethiopia 5,000 years ago or more and has survived to the present day. It has also survived on a small scale in Yugoslavia, India, Turkey, Germany (Bavaria), France and elsewhere.
Briza (spelled in the ancient text) was used to make bread in the days of famine because it was a second-class grain. This occurred during the seventh plague in Egypt(Isaiah 28:25). It also served as horse food when it was not yet ripe.
Zea may have been used as food for horses, but for the Romans, it was campaign food. During the Homeric era, Zea was probably used as animal feed. Herodotus (5th century BC) reports that the Egyptians made bread exclusively from Zea and despised wheat and barley. Theophrastus (4th century BC) clearly emphasizes Zea, characterizing it as the most efficient among many other grains. According to Pliny the Elder and Dionysius of Bodrum, Zea was the only grain cultivated by the early Romans at the beginning of their history, as evidenced by its use in all their religious ceremonies.
