Food in ancient Greece and Rome Quiz

Answer: Sparta

Spartans were known for their simple and basic tastes that suited the military stereotype of their society. "Black broth" (melas zomos) was a stew made up of boiled pork, salt, vinegar, and blood. A visitor to Sparta tasted the stew and remarked, "Now I know why Spartans do not fear death".

Answer: Bread

Bread in ancient Greece was of two types: the superior artos was made from wheat flour (sitos), while the coarser maza was made from barley flour (krithe). Leavened bread (using wine yeast) was known, but reserved for special occasions. The usual accompaniment for bread was cheese or honey.

Answer: Beef

While the heroes in Homer seem to dine constantly on beef, in actual fact beef was rare at a Greek dinner, partly because ancient Greece did not have the ranges and pastures necessary for grazing cattle. Butcher's meat in any form seems to have been reserved for sacrifices, when the average citizen got a chance to eat meat.

Answer: Wine

Growing grapes and making wine goes back for millennia in the ancient Greek world. They made both red and white wines, although the former were more common. Homer calls the colour of the sea "wine-dark". Ancient wine was very strong and had to be diluted with fresh water, usually in equal proportions. Only barbarians drank their wine neat.

Answer: False

The ancient Greeks ate a light meal in the morning (akratismos), usually bread dipped in wine with figs and olives and sometimes pancakes, a light snack at midday (ariston), and the main meal (deipnon) at the end of the day. This deipnon could be extended into a male drinking party (symposion) that might last well into the night.

Answer: Tomatoes

The Romans had access to foods from all parts of their vast empire. But as tomatoes were not introduced to Europe until the discovery of the New World, they would not have been known in the ancient world. Other vegetables that the Romans would not have consumed include spinach, eggplant, and peppers.

Answer: Fish sauce

Fish sauces were a distinctive feature of ancient Roman cooking and had different names for the various qualities of the product. Fish sauce could be used in the cooking process, as a condiment, or as a side sauce. The finest quality ("garum") came from sauces based on tuna or mullet or sea-bass, but the very best came from North African mackerel.

Answer: Pears

The Romans ate pears both cooked and raw. One Roman writer distinguishes between 36 different varieties and another gives careful instructions on how properly to grow and tend pear-trees.

Answer: True

The main meal of the day was called a "cena", and would be held in the afternoon and often on into the evening. In rich houses there was a special room (triclinium) with three couches facing a central table on three sides, each holding three men. Thus nine could dine at one table. Wives and daughters would sit opposite the men on backed chairs.

Answer: Dormouse

One variety of the "glis" or dormouse, a small squirrel-like creature, is still known as the "edible dormouse". The Romans would trap these creatures, force feed them on nuts, and then serve them roasted with honey or stuffed with pine nuts. They were a special sign of wealth and status among the rich.