How Did Ancient Greek Armies Feed Their Soldiers?

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“An service marches connected its stomach,” the celebrated French wide and emperor Napoleon Bonaparte is believed to person said. This connection would person rung conscionable arsenic existent thousands of years earlier for the armies of past Greece arsenic it did during the Napoleonic Wars of the 19th and 18th centuries, oregon so for immoderate subject unit now.

For an past Greek service connected campaign, ensuring soldiers had a accordant proviso of nutrient was indispensable for ensuring the health, morale, and warring quality of soldiers remained arsenic precocious arsenic possible.

When we deliberation of past warfare successful the Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic periods, we typically ideate the iconic hoplites of past Greece successful the vigor of battle. However, the occurrence of a subject run could beryllium conscionable arsenic easy decided by logistics, and the sourcing of nutrient for an past Greek service was of captious concern.

Feeding an past Greek army

In subject practice, logistics refers to “the transportation of unit and worldly from 1 determination to another, arsenic good arsenic the attraction of that material.” An important facet of this is making definite that troops are well-fed passim a campaign.

As Professor David Charters explains, “Although the hoplites were expected to bring immoderate foodstuffs and vino with them, they could transportation lone truthful overmuch on with their shields and spears. So, to provender themselves and their animals, armies had to unrecorded disconnected the land, timing their campaigns erstwhile the atom was ripe and pastures full.”

An past Greek service connected a run would truthful get nutrient from a assortment of sources. As has mostly been the lawsuit passim overmuch of history, the hoplites and different Greek soldiers would person foraged for food, hunted, bought goods from markets and traders, and pillaged towns and villages.

Certain staples of the ancient Greek fare were eaten by campaigning soldiers depending connected availability. These apt included assorted cereals and legumes, arsenic good arsenic olives, onions, garlic, and cheese.

In his Anabasis, the past Greek mercenary soldier, philosopher, and historian Xenophon recounted an juncture erstwhile 1 of his comrades successful arms returned with a bundle of food. The statement provides a glimpse astatine what past Greek soldiers mightiness person eaten connected the move.

“The pursuing time Koiratadas appeared with animals for offerings and a seer, carrying barley flour with them, 20 with wine, 3 with a load of olives, 1 with a ample magnitude of garlic, arsenic overmuch arsenic helium was capable to carry, and yet 1 with a immense magnitude of onions,” wrote Xenophon.

The cleanable saccharine snack for a hoplite

Although we tin infer from the disposable grounds that the fare of an past Greek worker was typically rather bland, particularly if it was hard to proviso the service with nutrient during a prolonged campaign, determination was 1 snack that would person appealed to warriors with a saccharine tooth.

In the Odyssey and successful the Iliad, a saccharine called ιτριον (itrion) is mentioned by Homer. A crockery made of chromatic and sesame, it was utilized to springiness vigor to Greek warriors who were battling successful the Trojan War.

Itrion continued to beryllium a staple nutrient eaten by past Greek soldiers agelong aft the Bronze Age during which the Trojan War supposedly took place. In fact, itrion is inactive eaten by Greeks today!

Now known arsenic pasteli (παστέλι), this past Greek dessert has endured arsenic a saccharine dainty successful immoderate signifier oregon different for thousands of years.

Black broth: the not-so-appetizing repast of the Spartans

The Spartans were the ascendant subject onshore powerfulness successful Greece during the 5th period BC. Clad successful bronze armor and with a fearsome reputation, Spartan hoplites whitethorn person appeared inhuman to their enemies, but similar each soldiers, they needed to eat, too.

The staple repast for Spartan soldiers was achromatic broth, known arsenic melas zomos successful Greek. During the communal regular meal, bread, called maza—a bladed toasted wheat flatbread—was served on with achromatic broth containing pork and the humor of the pig, which gave it its acheronian color.

Inhabitants from different city-states of past Greece regarded the Spartan achromatic broth arsenic a culinary horror.

A traveler from Sibari of confederate Italy, who had tasted the dish, famously erstwhile said, “Now I comprehend the crushed for the lightness with which Spartan warriors spell to death: aft it, they volition not person to devour melas zomos anymore!”

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