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See how Ancient Greeks gew and cultivated one of the most important parts of their diet.
Markos:Greets, my friend! Welcome to Arkadia, home of shepherds, sheep and shi — er, manure.
("Who are you?")
("What do you think of this place?")
Markos:I recently made an offer to buy some nearby farmland. Unfortunately, the owner refused based on completely unsubstantiated rumors that I once burned down three farms in Kos. Can you believe it? I've never burned down a farm in my life! I may have once paid someone to do so, but I assure you my reasons were entirely acceptable and in the best interest of everyone involved.
("Let's begin the tour.")
Markos:Arkadia was well-known for its sublime natural vistas. Farmers and shepherds were seduced by its beauty, and it's easy to see why! I have to leave for now, but I'll meet you again when you finish your visit. Until then, my friend!
Ear of barley on a stater of Metapontion in Lucania / 530-510 BCE (Archaic Greece)
Grain was a staple of the Greek diet, to the point where Homer referred to his compatriots as "mortal eaters of bread".
Grain farming was a meticulous process.
Due to dry summers, artificial irrigation was impossible, so farmers had to rely on rainfall to water their crops.
This gave them very narrow windows for sowing and harvesting.
On a farm of this size, only half of the field would be planted every year, while the other half would lie fallow to avoid exhausting the soil.
According to the poet Hesiod, the best time to sow grain was in autumn, and the best time to harvest it was in May.
Fortunately, if farmers missed their opportunity, they also had a chance to plant millet in the spring.
Learn More:
Hesiod was a farmer-turned-poet from the town of Askra in Boetia. In the 7th century BCE, he composed the Theogony, an epic poem dedicated to telling the origins of the gods.
He also wrote a poem on how to live justly called "Works and Days". The poem included a detailed agrarian calendar that outlined when to plant and harvest, in addition to addressing subjects like the ideal time to marry.
Hesiod's poetry was so famous in Antiquity that Herodotos credits him with teaching the Greeks about their gods.
Plowing scene from a black-figure cup attributed to the painter Nicothenes / 530-520 BCE (Archaic Greece)
Before planting in a field, the land needed to be plowed a total of three times:
Once in the spring to remove weeds, again in the summer to aerate the soil, and a final time in the winter to plant the seeds in the moist earth.
The plow was pulled by two oxen, while the sowing of seeds was done by hand.
After the seeds were planted, a boy turned the soil with a hoe to protect them from hungry birds.
Once the sowing was finished, the farmers waited for winter rains to irrigate the field.
They also prayed to the goddess of agriculture, Demeter, and her daughter, Persephone, in the hopes of being favored with a bountiful harvest come springtime.
Learn More:
Demeter, the goddess of grain, was a sister of Zeus. When her daughter Persephone was chosen to be Hades's bride without Demeter's permission, the goddess withheld all crops until Zeus pledged to release Persephone.
Demeter's actions lead to famine, and forced Zeus to relent. He allowed Persephone to spend half the year underground as queen of the underworld, and the other half above ground with her mother.
The story draws parallels to the planting of grain, which also spends time underground before growing from the soil.
Markos:My friend, good to see you again! You must feel hungry! I know I would, spending all that time watching farmers working themselves to the bone. Now, what else can I do for you?
("I'm ready for the quiz.")
("Take on the next suggested tour.")
("Take me on a random tour.")
([LEAVE] "That's all for now.")
Markos:Safe travels, my friend! We'd better be seeing each other again soon.
