Black soup

Black soupwas a dish in thecuisineof ancientSparta, made with boiledporkmeat andblood, using onlysaltandvinegarto flavour. Thesoupwas well known duringantiquityin theGreekworld, but no originalrecipeof the dish survives today.The earliest recorded mention of the soup can be dated to the fifth century BC, in acomedytitledThe Miners, written byPherecrates.The ancient sources provide contradictory accounts on whether the soup was a luxurious meal served only at banquets or a dish that could be afforded by allSpartiates. Throughout history, black soup has been praised by and associated with figures such asBenjamin RushandAdolf Hitler, although Hitler was (debatably) vegetarian.
The ancient Greek author,Plutarch, who wrote in the first and second century AD, mentioned a Spartan dish in hisLife of Lycurgusnamedμέλας ζωμός,mélas zōmós.Today, the phrase has been translated to "black soup" or "black broth".In other ancient sources, this same dish was also known asαἱματία,haimatía,which means "blood soup", andβαφά,bapha,which can be translated as "dip sauce".Other times, this dish was simply referred to asζωμός,zōmós.
InAncient Greek, the termμέλας,mélasmeans black,whileζωμός,zōmóscould refer to any soup cooked using animal products.The 1st-century AD medical writerDioscuridesrecorded that there were many variations ofzomós. For example, it could be cooked using frog,crayfish,rooster,beef,deer fat,and fish.The 5th–4th-century BC philosopherPlatoalso used the termzōmóswhen referring to a meat dish.Aristotle, writing around the 4th century BC,stated in hisHistoria Animaliumthatzōmóscould be made using horse, pork,mutton, or goat.Contrarily, the ancient Greeks had another designated name for soups made primarily withvegetables, which wasἔτνος,étnos.
The majority of the ancient sources that describe black soup were written by non-Spartan authors. These authors includePherecratesof the fifth century BC,Alexisand Matro of Pitane of the fourth and third century BC,Nicostratusof the fourth century BC, and Euphron of the third century BC.For example, in Pherecrates' comedy,The Miners, a woman returning from theunderworldstates that she saw black broth free-flowing through the streets.Antiphanes, a contemporarycomedianof Alexis, had also noted that black soup was a staple of the Spartan culture in a play titledThe Archon.A fragmentary anecdote indicates that Nicostratus once ridiculed a cook for not knowing how to prepare the Spartan black soup, along with other dishes such as"thríon"(θρῖον:stuffed leaves),"kándaulos"(κάνδαυλος: aLydiandish), and"mattýe"(ματτύη: a type ofdessert).
Other references to black soup are indirect. For example, inAristophane'sKnights,one of the lines in this comedy is "He has had tasty stews exported fromAthensfor the Spartan fleet."Although the reference is not explicit, the fifth century BC poetwas suggesting that the Spartan version of stew was not as good as the stew cooked by theAthenians.ClassicsscholarDavid Harvey stated that theplaywrightwas likely making fun of Spartan black broth in this passage.
SudaLexicon, aByzantineGreek historicalencyclopediacompiled much later during the tenth century AD,states thatzomóswas a stock cooked using pig, cow, goat, sheep, or bear meat.Julius Pollux'slexicographicwork,Onomasticon, notes that the black broth was a Spartan dish cooked with meat and blood.
According to what Euphron (a third-century BC comedy poet)had written in one of his fragmentarycomedies, titledThe Brothers, a cook mentions that a man named Lamprias was responsible for inventing the Spartan black soup.However, this claim would be impossible to verify today.
No recording of black soup's exact recipe exists today. Ancient literary sources, including historical, medical, andlexicographic, contain descriptions of black soup and its ingredients.Through interpreting these sources, it can be concluded that the Spartans cooked this dish using pig's blood and meat, with salt and vinegar as the onlycondiments.According toPlutarch's descriptions, the solid meat chunks in the soup were to be taken out and served separately to the younger attendees during banquets.
Plutarchis one of the ancient authors that alluded to this dish in his writings, such as in theLife of Lycurgus. In a passage explaining the Spartan society's dining and banqueting culture, Plutarch states thatSparta's most famous dish was black soup. The text also suggests that the elders would save the meat for the younger attendees, and they themselves would drink only the liquid.From Plutarch's account,"μέλας ζωμός"can be interpreted as a soup dish made primarily using meat.
In another work of Plutarch,De Tuenda Sanitate Praecepta, the author states that theLacedaemonian(Spartan) cooks could only use vinegar and salt to prepare their food and were supposed to utilize all parts of a sacrificed animal.The historian Maciej Kokoszko theorized that Spartans did not use vinegar to marinate the meat. Instead, the vinegar was mixed with the animal's blood during cooking. As the vinegar was added to the blood, it would slow down the clotting process and prevent the blood from spoiling.
Dicaearchus, writing in the fourth and third centuries BC,stated that one of the dishes once served in Classical Sparta was a"ζωμός"made using boiled pork.The pork was paid for using the money collected from each member eating at the Spartan mess (syssitia) to purchase the pigs at the market.The mess (syssitia) was a membership-based institution that Spartan adults would join upon completing their military training and was essentially a dinner club where men would banquet together.According to Plutarch, each Spartan mess member's monthly contribution included different kinds of produce and cash. This money was specified as "tenAiginetanobols."The sum collected would allow them to purchase up to a dozen piglets per month as the raw ingredients for cooking black soup.The German scholar, Link, has also theorized that black soup was the contribution made by the poor Spartans to theepaiklon,the extra voluntary donations of pre-prepared dishes and wheat bread.
The British Hellenistic scholarW. Geoffrey Arnotthas also raised the speculation that Spartan black soup was meatless, made using a black variety ofchickpeaorBengal gram,but this theory has been refuted byclassicistssuch as Maciej Kokoszko.
How often theSpartansconsumed black soup and whether it could be considered a delicacy are both debated questions in ancient sources. Seventh-century BC Spartan poetAlcmaninferred that the food ordinary people in Sparta consumed was a pea soup, not the meat-based black soup. On this basis, the historian, Hans Van Wees, suggested that black soup could not be a dish that the average Spartans regularly consumed since it would entail the slaughtering of an animal.For example, it was during royal sacrifices that pigs were part of the offerings.There is also other contrary evidence suggesting that black soup was, in fact, a modest dish. In one of Matro of Pitane's poems, black soup appeared in the text alongside a dish namedakrokólia(ἀκροκώλια).Akrokóliawere boiled animal off-cuts, such as the skin, ears, and snouts, suggesting black soup belonged in the category of inexpensive dishes.
According toDicaearchus'Tripoliticus, inClassicalSparta, the dishes served for communal banquets were themázaand the following sides dishes: black soup, modest servings of boiled pork meat, olives, cheese, figs, and additional courses such as fish, hare, and pigeon.Spartans also consumed seasonal produce, such as birds and game.Modern scholars have interpretedmázaas a type ofbarleybread,gruel, or flat griddle cake.The writings ofPherecratesandAlexisconfirm that Spartans likely served black soup along withmáza.Mázawas a common food among the ancient Greeks, and the poor would consume it when they could not afford anything else. Because of its flat shape,mázacould also be used as plates when no utensils were available.Based on Alexis andPlutarch's account, Maciej Kokoszko has inferred that both the black soup andmázawere unsophisticated foods and were not delicacies.
During the Spartan banquets, the meal would end withdessert(ἐπαῖκλα).Plutarch asserts that Spartans also servedwineat these banquets.One of the fragmentary poetries written by the poet, Alcman depicts that Sparta once had a luxurious feasting tradition.Plutarch'sLife ofCleomenesprovides a contradictory account, stating that the banqueting culture inSpartawas "unsophisticated" and Spartans served neither side dishes (karykeíai:καρυκείαι) nor baked goods.Herodotus'Historiescontains a story of the Spartan general,Pausanias, ordering his servants to prepare him aLaconian(Spartan) dinner when visiting the lavish military camp of the Persian leader,Mardonius. This anecdote also suggests that the typical meals in Sparta were much less extravagant.
Ascholiareference further implies thatzomóswas made using the leftovers from cooking the sacrificial meat during the Panathenaea celebrations. While the soup was served to the poor, the wealthier individuals could receive servings of the meat.Several ancient fragmentary poetries, includingPhilyllius'The Island TownsandEpilycus'Coraliscus, have noted that during the Cleaver festival (kopis), black soup was served at the temple ofApolloinAmyclae, a city located inLaconiathat was at the time under Spartan control. The same sources also recorded that aside from the soup, barley cakes and wheat loaves would be served as well.
There is no recording of the Spartans consuming black soup on military campaigns. The fifth century BC historian,Thucydides' account of the Spartan attack onPylosin 425 BC includes a description of the Spartan army ration: ground corn, cheese, wine, and "any other food useful in a siege," which was not further specified in the passage.WhileSpartiatesoldiers were typically well-nourished, there is no ancient literary evidence that suggests that black soup was part of their regular diet on military campaigns.
Notably, the ancient sources do not provide accounts of whether black soup was cooked or served in domestic settings. The attendance of Spartan banquets was exclusive to male adult citizens.Therefore, there is no ancient recording of whether younger children or women in Sparta also had the chance of tasting and consuming the soup. Sparta's citizen class, known asSpartiates, was also restricted to approximately 6 percent of Spartan society, limiting the dish's potential range further.
TheSpartanblack soup was known to the other Greeks duringantiquity.
Plutarchmentions that one of the kings ofPontushad once purchased aLacedaemoniancookbook to recreate this dish. After the king has stated his dislike of the dish, the cook responded that one could only appreciate this broth after having swum in theEurotas River, a famous landmark located withinSparta,suggesting that one could not develop a palate for this particular dish unless raised in Spartan society.Plutarch probably recorded this account, drawing from the earlier writings ofXenophon.Cicero'sTusculan Disputationsretells the same story, although the figure of the king ofPontushas changed to theDionysios of Syracuse.
Plutarch also tells of an account of the Athenian general,Alcibiadesattempting to fit into Spartan society by eating black soup when he fled to Sparta from Athens due to political pressure.
Plutarch'sLife ofPelopidashas recorded that an inhabitant ofSybarishad once claimed, "it was no great thing for the Spartans to seek death in the wars in order to escape so many hardships and such a wretched life as theirs."Historians such as Maciej Kokoszko and Joan P. Alcock have interpreted this claim as supporting evidence of ancientSparta's unbearable customs and food.
The broth's unique taste can be cross-referenced by a narration of how willing the Spartans were to share this dish with outsiders, as detailed in another work of Plutarch,the Life of Cleomenes.Cleomenes, a Spartan king who lived in the third century BC, once had a disagreement with his friend over serving the black soup to foreign visitors, who he argued could not appreciate the flavour.Maciej Kokoszko theorized that the Spartans were reluctant to introduce this dish to those who were not part of their community likely because the soup had a unique taste.
AsSpartanhistory gained popularity in theUnited Statesin the late 18th-century,Benjamin Rush, one of the signatories ofthe Declaration of Independence, is recorded to have praised the Spartan black broth.
Adolf Hitler, avegetarianin his later years, was an admirer of aspects of the ancient Spartan society, and noted their fondness for black soup. He compared the broth toSchwarzsauer, a regional dish of theGermanstateSchleswig-Holstein.However, it was the example of Roman soldiers eating fruits and cereals and the importance of raw vegetables that he promoted.Shortly beforeWorld War II, a paper titled "SpartanPimpfe" circulated in Germany. The essay claimed that Spartan youths would have black soup as lunch before attending sporting competitions.
W. Geoffrey Arnott, a British Hellenistic scholar, suggested that "theGypsiesstill served this dish at fairs in northernEnglandup to the 1940s."