One of the most interesting gastronomic "fights" has always been about regional cuisine, meaning the challenge of the best local cuisine.

By Giorgio Pintzas Monzani

And we are talking about any state in the world; in no country is there a single culinary identity and there is no one voice in unison on traditional tastes.

On the other hand, one must also make an "average" when intending to talk about national cuisine, otherwise research on the recipes and flavors of each flag would lead to a long and difficult job to represent.

Today, however, let us take a step BEYOND.

We treat and talk about ancient Greek cuisine with an overall and generalist view, a radical "mistake", knowing that we are not talking about a unified territory but an area of several city states. 

Let us therefore see today the gastronomic traditions of 4 important ancient Greek poleis.

DISCLAIMER

It will not only be cities that are part of the Greek state today, but also territories and cities belonging to the ancient Greek world.

SPARTA

Myth and legend, the land of warriors, the home of duty and sobriety.

But did this custom set on maximum surrender in war also have a reflection on gastronomy?

Absolutely.

Food in the capital of the Laconi was aimed at maximum energy output and strengthening the spirit of unity and brotherhood.

Suffice it to say that one of the most important political measures in Sparta's history was the Sissizi.

A measure of popular distribution of food, which for centuries was the centerpiece of ration management and Spartan society..

Food distributed through the Sissizi:

-bread, called maza, thin wheat flatbread

-melan zomo, literally black broth, made from pork and its blood, which gave the characteristic color.

-fichi

-cheese

A culture that imposed a view purely of sustenance of food, and very rarely of entertainment, taking into account that even during banquets little room was left for new recipes and various delicacies.

That was until the arrival of the Romans, whose understanding of gastronomy radically changed Spartan thinking.

Athenaeus, in fact, in an ironic passage in his most famous work pointed to the new and luxurious gastronomic current as the reason for the decay of the spirit of the Laconians.

TEBE 

One of the oldest cities, born approximately in the first centuries of the Bronze Age, and most important in the military history of the Greek peoples.

Birthplace of Hercules, but characterized by sober customs and a dutiful, quiet spirit.

Despite little and sparse information about the culinary world of Thebes, we have Athenaeus, a Greek writer of Egyptian descent, to thank for handing down important tales.

Better known as Athenaeus of Naucratis, given his origins, he left very little biographical information about himself except the few and uncertain ones that can still be extrapolated from his texts today.

One of the most important works is a compilation of fifteen books, of which the first 3 were lost, called "Δειπνοσοφισται" (Deipnosophistae).

A work that brings back to us very important information about the banquets, customs and traditions of the then culinary world.

An account to his friend Timocrates, where he tells of symposia, manias and delicacies of the then world.

Thanks to that manuscript we also have today some information about the culinary customs of the Thebans, who, despite their great history, have left us very little information about their food and customs during symposia.

In volume IV of the work, Athenaeus tells how the Thebans were quite sober in their menus (Deipnosophistae, IV, 148). Habits much closer to the Spartan world than to the nearest Athenians.

Athenaeus tells us of tables set with soups and purees of legumes, whitebait, ribs, and sausages.

Nothing too processed, by the grace of cooks who had less work to fulfill bizarre habits.

Nevertheless, Athenaeus, again, calls their banquets endless, and the Thebans as great eaters, though not gourmands.

According to a fictional account by Eubulus, an Athenian political statesman, in a meeting between Hercules and the Misi(Indo-European people), the latter referred to him as "You who have left Thebes, land of the best mussel-eaters."

Another "nice" as well as strange piece of information reported to us by Athenaeus through his texts is that of a particular "organization of space" in the halls of the Theban symposia:

In fact, we are told that during these long and interminable symposia, it was usually customary for the participants to do their "needs" right by the entrance door, which according to Athenaeus also triggered embarrassment and laughter from all the diners.

Practical choice? Laziness to go to the bathroom?

Who knows, but it remains a bizarre detail, perhaps confronting us with the simplicity and superficiality of organized banquets.

ATHENS

The most economically advanced city of the ancient Greek world and the capital of the then known world.

The artistic, technological, political and economic splendor of the city has always been a source of study and research.

We also know a great deal about the gastronomy of the Athenians, especially about the size and level of the symposia and banquets organized by the aristocrats, the so-called "eupatrids" (sons of glorious fathers.

As we can well imagine, the level of wealth and the pageantry in their customs had an important reflection on their gastronomy: both speaking of Athens as a center for the gathering and employment of some of the best cooks in the world, and as a commercial landing of the finest and most sought-after products on the market.

Meat, unlike many other regions, was the order of the day, mainly pork and cow, and secondarily goat and sheep.

Already a substantial difference from cultures that preferred to eat goats or lambs to use cows and oxen as work animals.

A special place on Athenian tables was reserved for the catch.

Mullet and sea bream were on menus practically every day, while for the poorer population sardines made up the daily diet.

From the sea also came some of the most sought-after products that drove Athenian symposia crazy, such as oysters and especially eels from the region of "Κωπαιδα" (Kopaida).

Kykeon, a drink made from barley infused in water with various herbs, played an important role in Athenian daily life.

It is thought that in addition to its use in various ecclesiastical rites, due to some of its psychedelic properties, the citizens of the "capital" drank it during their breakfasts, called "ακρατισμα" (akràtisma), along with bread dipped in wine.

Very important in daily life, as throughout the ancient world, were vegetables: the difference with other large cities, however, where they were almost exclusively traded by local farmers, was the almost certain presence of small horticultural gardens in the homes. 

This feature of Athenian homes, despite the rural area, allowed citizens to produce and use vegetables and herbs: legumes, onions, artichokes, celery, dill, and mint.

SIBARI

As mentioned earlier, the ancient Greek world was not limited to today's borders; many cities in other Mediterranean territories spoke the Greek language and were of the same religion and culture.

An example of these is Sybaris, one of the major cities of Magna Graecia.

Located in the present-day region of Calabria, it founded the foundations of traditional Calabrian cuisine, one of the most popular on the Italic peninsula.

Again Athenaeus tells us of a daily reality where the glitz and laziness of the Sybarites went hand in hand.

A city mainly marked by rest, good food and the ostentation of its wealth.

The fortune of the city came to be defined by its location, the land where it stood produced some of the best wines in the Mediterranean: not to mention the gardens of exquisite herbs and strawberries or the wonderful amount of honey that year-round gave the Sybarites a superior product.

Just as the Athenians felt a special love for fish and marine products, especially the eels they fished in the waters of the Crati River.

The importance given by the Sybarites to the figure of the cook is explained and figured in the words of Athenaeus, who tells us of a kind of "culinary patent" that was awarded to every cook who invented a new combination, a new recipe.

For the course of an entire year only the cook himself could create that dish.

A city certainly very extravagant, worldly and dedicated to the pleasures of life, but undoubtedly open-minded and ahead of many other regions of ancient times.

(So, in which one of these cities you’d like to travel back in time, for a food-trip?)

Author Bio:

Giorgio Pintzas Monzani is a Greek-Italian chef, writer and consultant who lives in Milan. His Instagram page can be found here