| How was oil used in Wining, Dining and Dying? | |
Oil in its many varieties was an important staple to the Ancient Greeks' lifestyle. Whether perfumed for personal embellishment during a Symposium, consumed within a meal, poured as offerings to the gods, or used as fuel to light a lamp, the Greeks found ample ways to make use of one of the ancient world's consummate domestic product. Painted scenes on Greek pots are one of the many tools archaeologists use to determine oil's function in Wining, Dining and Dying in Antiquity.
The most well-known type of oil in Ancient Greece was olive oil. The olive tree, native to the Mediterranean, is a highly resilient plant that can survive through a variety of environmental conditions. Despite its abundance throughout the region, it presented a significant challenge for farmers since it cropped only once every other year, rendering the olive and its oil an expensive and highly sought-after product. Ancient Greeks believed that high quality oil came from green olives, picked early before they fully ripened, even though ripe black olives contained a significantly higher amount of oil in them. Oil coming from the green olive was not only much more valuable, but considered a luxurious delicacy among the Greeks. Olive oil was used in a variety of ways such as cooking, perfume and even as medicine. While the majority of oil was probably consumed locally, the finest quality oil was often exported as a luxury item in amphorae. It is possible to view the export of fine oil throughout the Mediterranean as equivalent to modern day export of vintage wines.
A special type of vase, the Panathenaic Amphora was typically awarded to winners of the Panathenaic Games, the yearly festival honoring Athena. This type of amphora gives us an in-depth perspective regarding the importance of the prizes given to the winners. Large quantities of olive oil were awarded: 500 gallons for the winner of the boys' 200-meter sprint, and 1000 gallons for the men's winner. Often this oil was resold for roughly twelve drachmas per ten-gallon vessel. If a typical carpenter collected approximately one drachma per day (according to inscriptions found on the Acropolis); an athlete could potentially earn up to three years worth of wages in a very short period. This is a vivid example of the social importance and economic value of olive oil in Ancient Greece.
In addition to olive oil, the ancient Greeks made extensive use of vegetable, sesame and fish oils. All three types were essentially used in supplementing wheat and barley in order to create meals rich in fat and carbohydrates. The use of butter and most milk products was considered barbarian and hardly a regular part of the Greek diet. Vegetable oils were often used in addition to animal fats for a variety of medical, cosmetic and aromatic purposes. They were often seen as replacements for their more exotic and hence expensive counterparts, frankincense and cinnamon, which had to be imported from Egypt or Arabia.
Author: Sarah Thomas
John Boardman, Athenian Black-Figure Vases (London: Thames & Hudson 1974):167-170.
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Nigel Spivey, "Greek vases in Etruria" Looking at Greek Vases (Cambridge: Cambrige University Press 1991):131-150.
A.D. Trendel, "Farce and Tragedy in South Italian Vase-Painting" Looking at Greek Vases (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 1991):151-182.
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