Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1890-01-15

The Marquis de Cussy, among others,
says on this subject: 'tIn spite of many
trials, Athens never had q ordnds
cuisine, the reason being that too much
IS sacrificed to sweets, to fruits and to
flowers. sit had neither the fine wheat
bread of the Rome of the Caesars, nor
the Italian spices, nor the white wine of
the Rhone."
The Greeks used salt, pepper, sill
l0hto7l, which some authorities believe
to have been opium, sesame, cumin,
capers, fennel, mint, coriander, saffron,
xoymel, dill, parsley, marjoram, etc.
The oil of Attica, the vinegar of
Decelie, the bay tree of Crete and the
thyme OF Hymettus were In great favor
The garlic, to tell the truth, was des-
pissed. Entrance to the temple of
Cybele was forbidden to those who had
eaten It, but II was sometimes used for
seasoning. With all these condiments,
the Athenians were able to make deli
cious sauces.
so, mighty Hercules" &" cried Hydros-
phiante, "how much trouble, how much
soap and how much TlntrliDl has 1t cost
me to clean my garments over which a
dish of sticky sauce had been spilled.
Sauces were much used with fish. Some
tunes 1t was a mixture of vinegar,
cheese, fresh grapes, garlic, onions and
leeks minced fine; sometimes combi-
nation of oil, yolks of eggs, garlic and
cheese. The firm meated fish, previous
ly with cheese and vinegar was roasted
or boiled; delicate meated fish after
having been salted, and sprinkled with
few drops of oil, were covered with
the leaves of marioram or figs and
cooked under the ashes; then it served
with one of the two sauces of which we
have spoken or with a third that we can
scarcely credit, for 1t was composed of
honey, dates, cumin, etc. The Athen-
lans also knew how to make force men.
They served pigs roasted whole at a
stuffed, sometimes with blood pudding
and with sausages, sometimes with
thrushes, fg peckers, yolks of eggs,
oysters and other shell fish. Certain
fish were also stuffed; they were opened
and drawn, then filed with silphiOn,
cheese, salt and marjoram. Eels were
prepared with beet roots, while
sardines were cooked in boiling oil
Hares were put on the spit and served
while bleeding. Small birds were soak
ed III a cold soup made of grated cheese,
oil, vinegar and siLyohiOR. Large ra-
dishes were bruised in vinegar and a
sort of mustard. Finally, the Greeks
ate food called HlyHia and which re-
sembled the OlLapodrida of the Span
Iards- 1t was made of all sorts of meat
and fowls; the meat was well chopped
and kneaded with blood, then seasoned
with vinegar, toasted cheese, lasar-
wort, green and dry coriander seed,
onions, poppy seed, dry raisins, honey
and the sour seeds of the pomegranate.
The decline of the empire was marked
by the same exaggeration of luxury.
Oriental customs influenced those of
Greece and modified them, but they
were tempered and restrained by the
good taste of the most spirituelle peo-
pie on earth Asiatic luxury, its ex-
travagance and enormity, astonishec,
the Greeks without awakening their
envy An eastern monarch had given a
queen all Egypt for her possessions;
Artaxerxes had presented to ThemIs-
tocles three cities; Magnesia for his
bread; Lampsaque for his wine; Myonte
tor his meat, and two others, Percote
and Palescepeis, for his clothing and
furniture. These follies were scorned
because coming from barbarians- And,
meanwhile, the customs of these bar
barlans crept IN at last among the
Greeks They entered the charming
and well regulated civilization of the
Grecians by attacking 1t in the islands
ana colonies cyprus was the first to
be conquered and its kings threw them
selves with ardor into the researches
for luxuries, of which the PhenecIan
princes and the Persian satraps had
given them the example. We find
proof of this in a comedy of Antiphanes
entitled, 1.-The Soldier" where two
persons carry on the following conver-
sation:
Tell me have you been in Cyprus a
long time? During the war.
But, if you please, in what part?
In Paphos- There, exists softness,
a voluptuousness so refined that it is
almost Incredible.
What voluptuousness?
When the king is at the table, there
are doves which fan him and no one
thinks of it.
How is this? Explain it to me.
The king is anointed with a perfume
which comes from Syria and which is
obtained from a fruit of which the pig
cons are very fond. Coming, on the
wing, to tine odor of this perfume they
dare to alight on the head of the king;
the slaves, who stand beside him, drive
them off; they rise slightly in the air
without turning to one side or the
other, and thus they fan him by agita
ting the air lightly and yet without
causing him to feel it too much"