obtaining it of good quality, combined with the tremendous production of
wine, made the latter the national drink. It was, however, seldom drank
in an undiluted condition, and the Northerners, who were in the habit of
drinking it neat, were denounced as unappreciative barbarians. But this
is not very strange, as the large amount of fir resin which is still
added to most Greek wines, makes them too strong and bitter for the
civilized palate to drink unless tempered by water.
The first juice extracted from the press before treading was set apart
as choice wine, the pressed grapes being then used for the making of the
commoner variety or vinegar.
The wine was often boiled and mixed with salt for exportation, and
aromatic herbs and berries were added to impart different flavors. It
was then placed in earthenware jars sealed with pitch.
The various kinds may be roughly classed by colors. The black was the
strongest and sweetest; the white was the weakest, and that of golden
color was dry and very fine in flavor.
The wines grown in the districts of Lesbos, Chios, Sikyon, and Phlios
were the most esteemed. Age was considered when estimating the value of
wine, but the preference for any special year of vintage seems to have
been unknown.
Even in those early days epicures whenever possible cooled their jars
with snow before pouring out the wine.
Cow's milk was not liked, but the first milk of goats and sheep was
often drank, although more generally used for the manufacture of cheese.
The morning meal seldom consisted of more than bread dipped in wine and
water, resembling closely the morning coffee of the Continent. The
principal meal of the very early Grecians, as in the case of nearly all
young nations, was served about noon, but as civilization advanced, the
hour grew later, until 5 o'clock became most popular, a light luncheon
then being served in the middle of the day.
Although Homer represents his chiefs as being always ready to sit down
and gorge themselves with meat, the Grecian gentleman was not a disciple
of "high living" or indolence. He desired and appreciated the charm of
sober conversation and intellectual stimulus. Homer recognized this when
he said, "Nor did the mind of any stand in want of an equal feast."
The social instincts and the warmth of feeling amongst the Hellenic race
made dinners and festival events of every day occurrence, and caused
them to fill a prominent part in the lives of all, but the diet of the
Homeric age was wonderfully simple (in those early days the most
elaborate dinners consisted of only two courses--the first of meat,
usually roasted sheep, oxen or pigs, and vegetables; the second of
cakes, sweetened with the honey of Hymettus, and dried and fresh
fruits), for appetites were held subordinate to the love of music and
the dance.
"* * * Nor can I deem
Aught more delightful than the general joy
Of a whole people, when the assembled guests,
Seated in order in the royal hall,
Are listening to the minstrel, while the board
Is spread with bread and meats, and from the jars
The cup-bearer draws wine and fills the cups.
To me there is no more delightful sight."
(Plato.)
Invitations were generally given a few days in advance by the host in
person in the market or any other place of common sojourn.
Unlike the Egyptians, the Grecians made their toilets and anointed
themselves before arriving at their host's house.
But before eating,
"* * * In a bowl
Of silver, from a shapely ewer of gold,
A maid poured water o'er the hands and set
A polished table near them."
Then, if any had traveled from a distance, their feet were bathed in
perfumed water and wine.
Meanwhile the male attendants were not idle--
"* * * Some in the bowls
Tempered the wine with water, some cleansed
The table with light sponges and set
The banquet forth and carved the meats for all."
A separate table was in those days usually provided for each guest,
though the rule was not strictly observed.
In some cases, diners-out were accompanied and attended by their own
servants. In a few districts in modern Greece this is still habitual.
Chairs and stools were generally used as seats, the custom of reclining
on couches not being introduced until a later date.
As napkins were then unknown, the guests wiped their fingers on towels
and in pieces of specially prepared dough, which were thrown under the
table after being used.
There were spoons (of metal, often of gold--Athenaeus), but hollow
pieces of bread were generally used in their stead.
The carver presided at a table and cut the meats into small pieces, as
individual forks and knives were then unknown. The portions were usually
of uniform size, although any very honored person was presented with
larger or choicer morsels.
The diluted wine was then transferred by ladles to the drinking cups or
beakers, to be distributed by boy servants. The first cup was handed
from one to another of the guests untouched as a sort of salutation.
It was not customary to drink before the meal had been served.
Bread was handed round in little baskets woven from slips of ivory.
Moderation was universally observed. It was deemed gluttonous to linger
long over a repast, and contemptible to imbibe too freely of wine.
"* * * When the calls of thirst
And hunger were appeased, the diners thought
Of other things that well become a feast.
Song and the dance."
But here again all ribaldry was debarred. Tender hymns and rhapsodies
were sung to the accompaniment of the harp by trained singers, who were
seated at special tables on silver-mounted thrones.
Games of various kinds usually followed, and with conversation filled
out the time until the gathering dispersed.
House picnics were much in vogue:
"* * * * Meantime came
Those who prepared the banquets to the halls
Of the great monarch. Bringing sheep
And strengthening wine they came. Their wives, who on their brows
Wore snowy fillets, brought the bread, and thus
Within the halls of Menelaus all
Was bustle setting forth the evening meal."
Among the dining room utensils should be mentioned the various baskets
of copper, silver, gold and ivory wire; vessels for mixing wine, usually
of silver, but sometimes of the more precious metal, and cups of
elaborate design and costly workmanship.
[Illustration: Drinking vessels: Bowls, beakers and rhyta.]
The cups were of various shapes and sizes. The "depas" had two handles
and was made of wood, thickly covered with gold studs. Another, the
"kypellon," was broad and shallow, made of various metals, usually gold.
The "phiate" was very similar in appearance to the kypellon. The
"kotyle" was so small as to merely hold "a scanty draught, which only
wet the lips, but not the palate."
The "sykphos" and "kissybion" were simple wooden cups in use amongst the
peasantry. They were usually made of the wood of the cypress.
Skilled cooks were seldom regularly employed on the domestic staff. They
usually congregated in the market places and when any particular
occasion necessitated their services they were hired by the day. As also
nowadays they generally represented several nations, and they gained in
social importance as the love of luxury gradually overcame the custom of
simple fare.
The regular staff of household servants, slaves in fact, were under the
management of a general steward, himself a slave, who attended
personally to the buying and superintended the details of all the other
departments.
[Illustration: Wine jugs or oinochoai.]
But besides these private dinners, occasion often brought about banquets
on a much larger scale, sometimes in honor of religion or of death.
"* * * There upon the ocean's side
They found the people offering coal black steers
To dark haired Neptune. On nine seats they sat,
Five hundred on each seat; nine steers were slain
For each five hundred there."
There was also a great difference between the foods of the ordinary
people and that of the heroes described in the classics. According to
Homer, who was probably guilty of exaggeration, the athletes consumed
enormous quantities of various meats (roasted or broiled, by the
way--never boiled), which comprised their entire diet with the exception
of wine and bread. Beef, mutton, venison, and especially pork, were
mentioned.
"He spake and girt his tunic round his loins
And hastened to the sties in which the herds
Of swine were lying. Thence he took out two
And slaughtered them and scraped them, sliced the flesh
And fried it upon spits and when the whole
Was roasted, brought and placed it reeking hot,
Still in the spits and sprinkled with white meal."
Fish and cheese were only considered worthy of the athletic when animal
flesh was scarce. Nor were these giants possessed of very fastidious
palates.
"* * * * At the fire
Already lie the paunches of two goats
Preparing for our evening meal, and both
Are filled with fat and blood."
"* * * * As one turns and turns
The stomach of a bullock filled with fat
And blood before a fiercely blazing fire
And wishes it were done * * * *."
The hospitality of the early Grecians was unbounded. The high moral and
social standard of the masses of the people rendered it possible to
extend greater courtesy towards strangers than would have been deemed
prudent in later days. Every stranger or traveller who knocked at the
door of a residence was sure of a welcome. No questions were asked him
until he had been generously entertained in every feasible manner, for
he stood under the protection of Zeus Xenios, guardian of the guest.
This lavish friendliness was probably caused by, or was perhaps itself
the cause of, the scarcity of hostelries of reputable character. A
spirit of compassion also existed, as it was then considered an ill
fortune that made one journey far from home.
As the centuries of increasing wealth and power relaxed the rigidity of
the morals of these ancient inhabitants of Greece, the love of luxury
gradually supplanted the absorbing desire for intellectual enjoyment
which had at first raised them so far above the people of the
neighboring territories. Gluttonous devotion to the table, in
conjunction with numerous vices, undermined the physical as well as the
moral constitution, and the country which had astounded the ages with
the valor of its sons, which had proved invulnerable to numerous martial
forces, succumbed to the influence of sensual tastes and passions,
suggested by the idleness of worldly success. And as their worship of
their palates grew, the trained cook obtained an even greater influence
until his position became one of extreme importance, and was so recorded
by the poets and dramatists of the time.
Little difference, in fact, was there between the habits of the latter
day Greeks and the Romans in the days of their great wealth, for Grecian
luxuries and Grecian habits were the models that Rome took as its
models, so we will pass on to the next chapter, inferentially describing
the former while depicting the latter.
ROME IN THE DAYS OF HER GREATEST PROSPERITY.
The food of the early Romans resembled to a great extent that of the
Greek heroes (their national dish was pulmentarium, a porridge made of
pulse), but to avoid repetitions we will pass over the first centuries
of Roman history, choosing as our subject Rome in the days of
prosperity.
It should, however, be mentioned that Greece never attained such
enormous wealth as Rome, and that even in her greatest recklessness she
was more refined. Goethe said that in the days of their highest
civilization the Romans remained parvenus; that they did not know how to
live, that they wasted their riches in tasteless extravagance and vulgar
ostentation--but it must be remembered that, whereas the civilization of
the nineteenth century is industrial, that of Rome was militant, and to
that should be attributed the fact that some of the simplest means of
comfort were then unknown.
Many moderns are inclined to doubt the assertions made concerning the
countless riches and marvellous expenditures of those days. They read
with skepticism the writings of Juvenal, Seneca and the elder Pliny.
But, though in some cases exaggeration was doubtless resorted to,
sufficient proof remains to convince the observing mind that the wealth
of the Roman far surpassed the wildest dreams of the richest man of the
present day. The ruins of the Colosseum and of the baths of Caracalla,
two structures raised solely for pleasure, impress us with their
stupendous magnificence, and even the twentieth century has failed to
equal the palaces of the nobles.
Moreover, it must be remembered that the wealthy Roman owned many
mansions. Each of the larger ones was a miniature city, sheltering a
small army of slaves. The buildings were surrounded by parks, vineyards,
woods and artificial lakes. The atria and peristyles were embellished
with valuable paintings and statues. The walls and ceilings of the
chambers were decorated with gold and precious stones. Nowhere else,
recorded in the history of the world, with the possible exception of the
palaces of the Incas, has gold ever been so lavishly used. On the
furniture and ornaments alone, millions were expended. A single cup of
murra brought 1,000,000 sesterces ($40,000). A small citrus wood table
cost a similar sum--yet Seneca owned 500 of them, an outlay on that
class of furniture alone of $20,000,000.
All Italy was covered with the country residences of the patricians.
They were found in numbers on the coast of Campania, the Sabine hills
and the lakes of the North.
The most esteemed members of the household staff were the coqui (cooks)
and the pistores (fancy bakers). They often amassed large fortunes from
their salaries and the many presents they received. All the other
servants (who were usually slaves) were under the jurisdiction of a
headman, an _atriensis_.
The first meal (_ientaculum_) was light, consisting ordinarily of bread
and wine with honey, dates, olives or cheese. At the prandium (their
_déjeuner à la fourchette_, which took the place of their noon dinner of
former days), meats, vegetables, fruits, bread and wine were provided.
After the second meal, the meridiato (or in modern language, the siesta)
was enjoyed, as it is in the Italy of this century--although, unlike the
sleepy town we know, business Rome then never slept.
After the short midday rest came games and exercises. The youth betook
themselves to Campus Martius. The older members of the family made use
of the sphaeristerium, a private gymnasium and ball room, which was
found in every house. With it were connected the private baths.
The cena, the principal meal, commenced at 3, 4 or 5 o'clock in the
afternoon. Seldom less than four hours were spent at table. Pliny, the
elder, who was considered a very abstemious man, sat down to his meal at
4 o'clock, and remained there "until it began to grow dark in summer and
soon after night in winter," at least three hours. The amount of food
consumed would be incredible were it not for the explanation recorded by
Seneca, "Edunt ut vomant; vomant ut edunt."
The dinner menu given below was of a very ordinary affair:
_Gustus._
Sorrel
Lettuce
Pickled Cabbage and Gherkins
Radishes, Mushrooms, etc.
Oysters
Sardines
Eggs
_First Course._
Conger Eels
Oysters
Two kinds of Mussels
Thrushes on Asparagus
Fat Fowls
Ragout of Oysters and other Shellfish with black and white Maroons.
_Second Course._
Shellfish and other Marine Products
Beccaficos
Haunches of Venison
Wild Boar
Pastry of Beccaficos and other Birds.
_Third Course._
Sow's Udder
Boar's Head
Fricassee of Fish
Fricassee of Sow's Udders
Various kinds of ducks
Roast Fowl
Hares
Sausages
Roast Pig
Peacocks
_Fourth Course._
Pastry in wonderfully elaborate forms and colors
Pirentine bread
_Fifth Course._
Fruits and wines.
The "gustus," or appetizer, was also variously known as the "gustatio."
A favorite drink served with it was a mulsum of Hymetian honey and
Falernian wine.
Toothpicks made from the leaves of the mastich pistachio were in common
use.
All the dishes were carved at the sideboards by expert carvers who were
trained in schools by practice on jointed wooden models.
Salt was much used in the flavoring of dishes and also to mingle with
sacrifices.
[Illustration: A Roman bakery.]
Fowls were fattened in the dark. Ducks and geese were fed on figs and
dates. Pigs were cooked in fifty different ways. Boars were cooked
whole; peacocks with their tails. Sausages were imported from Gaul.
Vitellius and Apicius feasted on the tongues of flamingoes, and
Elagabalus on their brains.
The greater the waste at a dinner, the more absurd the extravagance, the
more successful it was deemed. This idea was carried out in every
department. A mullet of ordinary size was cheap--one that was rather
heavy easily brought 6,000 sesterces ($240.00).
[Illustration: Frame work of a Roman dining couch.]
In order to lengthen the time, jugglers, rope-dancers, buffoons and
actors were introduced between courses. Beautiful Andalusian girls
charmed the dinners with their voluptuous dances. Even gladiators were
engaged. Games of chance concluded the entertainment when the condition
of the revellers permitted.
At any large affair, an archon, or toastmaster, was selected by ballot
or acclamation. His duty it was to regulate the proportions of water and
wine and the size of the cups in which it was served. It was usual to
commence with the smallest and end with the largest.
At the table, the somber togas were exchanged for gay-colored garments
(_syntheses_), and the shoes for sandals. Some of the more ostentatious
changed their costumes several times during the progress of a meal. The
head and breast were sometimes wreathed with flowers and ornaments.
The tables first used were of quadrangular shape--three sides being
decorated for the guests and the fourth left vacant to facilitate the
movements of the attendants. They, however, were soon supplanted by
small tables of marble, bronze or citrus. These and a large sideboard
supported an amount of heavy gold and silver utensils.
The diners reclined on costly sofas, inlaid with tortoise shells and
jewels, and the lower parts decked with embroidered gold. The pillows
were stuffed with wool and covered with gorgeous purple. The cushions
which supported the elbows were covered with silk stuffs, often marked
to designate the places of the various guests.
Three people occupied each sofa. The lowest place on the middle sofa was
the seat of honor.
The room or hall was illuminated by lamps and candles, set on individual
and very expensive stands or massed in candelabras of great
magnificence. The oils and fats used for illumination were diluted with
substances which under the influence of heat gave forth odors of great
fragrance.
Each guest brought his own napkin.
Ivory-handled knives were manufactured, but seldom used, as the
reclining position rendered the spoons (_ligulae_) more convenient.
The dessert was arranged on the sideboards under the supervision of the
pistor and structor before the meal commenced.
A nomenclator was the regular employe of every patrician. His sole
office was to prompt his master on the names of his guests and clients,
or hangers-on.
Much care was devoted by the wealthy to their private stores of wines.
They were sealed in jars or bottles of baked clay, with labels attached
bearing the year of the consulship during which they were made. Some old
wines were very expensive. That of Campania was considered the best. The
Caecuban Falernian was very good. He was pitied who was forced to drink
the Vatican!
[Illustration: A banquet in the days of ancient Rome (original taken
from a stone carving excavated from the site of Pompeii).]
Greek wines were popular and were found in many Roman cellars.
In winter, wine was heated with water, honey and spices in a caldarium,
a vessel fitted with a small charcoal furnace, closely resembling the
Russian samovar.
Being unable to sensibly decrease their riches by ordinary methods, many
novel ideas were put in use, often at great expense.
Nero constructed in his golden house a vaulted ceiling which turned
continuously on its axis.
At a banquet given by Otho, tubes of gold and silver suddenly protruded
from various parts of the hall and sprinkled perfumes on the assembly.
Petronius describes a rather fanciful affair given by Trimalchio.
After the company had taken their places and young Egyptian slave girls
had bathed their hands and feet in scented snow water, there was placed
on the table a gold salver, inlaid with tortoise shell, in the middle of
which stood an ass of bronze bearing silver panniers, one filled with
white and the other with black olives. On his back sat a Silenus pouring
from a wineskin the favorite sauce the _garum_; at one side were
sausages on a silver gridiron, under which were plums and red
pomegranate kernels to represent glowing coals, and placed around were
trays bearing vegetables, snails, oysters and other appetizers.
When that course had been removed, another dish was brought in, of which
the central feature was a hen of carved citrus wood with expanded wings,
brooding over a nest of peafowls' eggs. These eggs were handed around on
silver egg-spoons weighing each more than half a pound. When the shells
were broken, some of the guests were horrified to find within them
half-hatched chicks; but on closer inspection these proved to be
beccaficos cooked in egg sauce.
As the plates were being removed, a chorus of Oriental beauties chanted
their strange songs. A slave by accident let fall a silver dish; he
stooped to pick it up--the atriensis boxed his ears and bade him sweep
it out with the other fragments.
Wine of rare virtue and great age was then brought in and distributed
with almost obtrusive extravagance.
The first heavy course again surprised many of those who were present.
It consisted apparently of the most ordinary dishes and joints. But
these proved to be merely cleverly designed covers, which on being
lifted, disclosed roasted pigs, field fares, capons, noble bartels and
turbots. In the centre was a plump hare which, by the addition of a pair
of wings, had been made to resemble a Pegasus. The carving was done in
the presence of the diners and to the strains of slow music.
Next came a huge boar roasted whole, with two palm twig baskets filled
with dates, hanging from his tusks. By his side were eight small pigs,
cleverly molded in paste, which were presented to guests as remembrances
of the occasion.
Following the boar was a large swine, also cooked whole. After much
acclamation, the carver was about to do his work, when with a look of
disgust he announced that it had not been disemboweled. The cook was
called and severely chided. He feigned regret and made many excuses;
then seizing a heavy knife, ripped the animal open, letting fall into
the dish a mass of sausages and rich puddings.
After the pig had been carried away and while the dessert was being
placed on the table, the ceiling opened and a silver hoop descended
bearing gold, silver and alabaster phials of essences, silver and jewel
coronets and many other things of similar character.
The pastry had been made to resemble shellfish, field fares, etc.
Quinces were stuck full of almonds to imitate sea urchins.
Surrounded by flowers was a figure of Vertumnus, with its bosom piled
with fruits. The guests were invited to help themselves, and the
pressure of their hands on the fruit caused a shower of the daintiest
perfume.
When all had partaken to repletion of the goods served, the spirit of
Bacchus was given full sway, half nude dancers and singers threw off all
restraint, and there were enacted scenes of riotous carousing for which
Rome in its decadence became notorious.
A weird dinner was once given by the Emperor Domitian. He invited a
number of senators and knights to dine with him at a late hour. When
they arrived they found that the banquet room had been draped in somber
black. At each seat had been placed a tombstone bearing the inscription
of a diner and naked black slaves danced weird dances and served up
funeral viands on black dishes. When the company had been dismissed, its
members found that all their slaves had disappeared and unknown bearers
carried them to their homes. Each found on his return a message and a
souvenir awaiting him--a silver tombstone bearing his name.
THE ANCIENT JEWS.