Familiar Studies in HomerClerke, Agnes M. (Agnes Mary)
History
Familiar Studies in Homer
Clerke, Agnes M. (Agnes Mary)
Epic poetry, Greek -- History and criticism; Homer -- Criticism and interpretation
They include, however, the mention of two additional kinds of grain,
varieties, it is supposed, of spelt. And of these one, _olura_, is
limited to the Iliad, the other, _zeia_, belongs properly to the
Odyssey, occurring in the Iliad only in the traditional phrase
‘zeia-giving soil.’ The expression doubtless enshrined the memory of
spelt-eating days, as did, among the Romans, the appropriation of this
species of corn for the _mola_ of sacrifices.[268] But neither _zeia_
nor _olura_ served within Homer’s experience for human food; both were
left to horses, whose fodder was moreover enriched by the addition of
‘white barley’ and clover, nay, in exceptional cases, of wheat and wine.
With these restoring dainties the steeds of Hector were pampered by
Andromache on their return from battle; while the snowy team of Rhesus
shared with the ‘Trojan’ horses of Æneas, the generous wheaten diet
provided for them in the opulent stables of their new master, the
intrepid king of Argos.
Footnote 268:
Potter, _Archæologia Græca_, vol. i. p. 215.
One of the unaccountable Egyptian perversities enumerated by
Herodotus[269] was that of rejecting wheat and barley as bread-stuffs,
and adopting spelt (_olura_). The grain indicated, however, must have
been either rice or millet, since spelt does not thrive in hot
countries.[270] Millet, too, which was unknown in primitive Greece, was
specially favoured by Celts, Iberians, and other tribes.[271] It was
also cultivated with barley and several kinds of wheat, by the
amphibious villagers of Robenhausen. And the discovery of caraway and
poppy seeds mingled in the _débris_ of their food[272] suggests that
varied flavourings were in prehistoric request. It suggests further a
non-æsthetic, hence a probable, motive for the cultivation of the poppy
by the early Achæans.[273] The flower was in fact actually grown in
classical times for the sake of its seeds, which were roasted and strewn
on slices of bread, to be eaten with honey after meals as a sort of
dessert.[274]
Footnote 269:
Lib. ii. cap. 36.
Footnote 270:
De Candolle, _Cultivated Plants_, p. 363.
Footnote 271:
Hehn, _op. cit._ pp. 439-40.
Footnote 272:
Dawkins, _Early Man in Britain_, pp. 293, 301.
Footnote 273:
_Iliad_, viii. 306; cf. _ante_, p. 166.
Footnote 274:
Dierbach, _Flora Mythologica_, p. 117.
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