In the Greece of Homeric heroes, the meal revolves around maza (barley flatbread, the nourishing base), opson (what accompanies the bread: fish, cheese, olives, vegetables), and, for grand occasions, a meat sacrifice shared among companions. Wine mixed with water opens and closes the feast. No starter/main/dessert: bread is the foundation, with accompaniments, and honey sweetens the end.

Barley (krithê) is the grain of heroes and sailors: from it they make maza, a flatbread that travels. Honey, offered to gods and mortals, marks Greek sweetness before any sugar. These two ingredients cross Jason's table, from the deck of the Argo to the altars of Colchis.