Odysseus at the table

In the age of Greek heroes, the meal revolves around the *sîtos*, the staple food made from barley (flatbread or porridge), accompanied by *ópson* — what is eaten "with" it: goat cheese, olives, fish, or roasted meat on special occasions. Neither starter nor dessert in the French style is served: everything arrives together on low tables, and the feast ends with wine diluted with water in the krater, first poured to the gods in libation. Eating alone is almost shameful: one shares, offers, and tells stories.

Toasted then ground barley is the heart of every archaic Greek table, from the poor shepherd to the king of Ithaca. Honey — harvested from hillsides — serves as the only known sweetener, an offering to the gods, and a preservative. These two ingredients weave together the unity of this meal: they are found in the morning flatbread as well as in the drink of the enchantress Circe.