Жертвенная еда

На одном из многочисленных сайтов нашла информацию о жертвенных продуктах, которые преподносили эллины в дар какому-либо божеству по случаю какого-либо праздника, — это всякая разная съестная всячина, включая хлебобулочные изделия, если говорить на нашем простом языке. 

В той статье, что я нашла и прочитала на сайте, в частности, говорится:

"... Апполону приносили «попаниа» (др.-греч. πόπανον), что пеклись из слоеного теста с начинкой из меда или мягкого сыра; и «фтоидес» (др.-греч. φθόϊς), — вероятно, что-то наподобие клецок. Но в качестве угощения Аполлону годится и любая другая выпечка из пшеничной муки с медом, сыром или петрушкой.

Помимо овец и коз (особенно белых), Аполлону приносили в жертву быков и волов с позолоченными рогами. Этому богу угодны и заместительные жертвы: например, можно испечь лепешки в форме ягнят и коз, а затем сжечь их все на жертвенном огне. Стоит также упомянуть самые простые подношения — благовония и вино".

Жертвенные продукты питания

1) μαγίδες -  род хлеба или лепешки, форма и состав которого неизвестны;

2) μαινίς- анчоусы;

3) σκόροδα - чеснок;

4) τρίγλη - барабулька;

5) ψάμμητα - жертвенная лепешка, по описанию «похожая на псаистон;

6) яйца;

7) сыр;

8) вероятно, (βασυνίας) — разновидность лепешек.

Yesterday, I introduced the concept of popana (ποπανα), loaf-like cakes which were solely made for sacrifices. They were an integral part of the Delphic sacrifices, and there is much more to them. For instance, they varied in size and shape, depending on who they were dedicated to. Today I would like to tell you more about the different types of cakes the ancient Greeks consumed and offered as sacrifices.

Amphiphon 

This cake was specific to Athens. It was a cheese pie with candles lit on it, offered to Artemis on the full moon day in the month of Munichion. Philokorus says that amphorae would be brought to temples of Artemis, or to crossroads, because the moon sets and the sun rises at the same time on this day, and the sky is illuminated by both.

Animal-shaped cakes

Cakes in the form of animals were offered to deities who were particularly suited to them. A cake made from wheat, called 'Elaphus', with honey and sesame, shaped like a deer, was offered to Artemis during her Elaphobolia festival. A big loaf filled with lard, shaped like a goat, was presented to Demeter Achaina (Sorrow) at the Meagalartia (Large Loaves) Festival in Boiotis. Another cake decorated with horns, said to represent the new moon or ox, was given to Apollo, Artemis, Hecate, Selena, Demeter and Kronos. It seems that this cake could replace an actual ox.

Ames

Ames is often translated as 'milk cake'. The smaller versions are called 'ametiski' pastries.

Arister

The artist was a cake that was burned in a fire in honour of Helios, Mnemosyne, and the Fates as described by Pollux.

Basynias

This cake was native to Delphi, so to speak. It was made from dough of wheat flour, cooked with honey. Pomegranate seeds, dried figs, and three nuts were added to it. It was served to Iris on the island of Hades.

Diakonion

This cake is connected to the Pythic festival in honour of Apollo. It appears that these cakes formed part of the sacrifices offered to him on this day, as well as part of the decorations for the Eirene. It is likely that it was a barley-flour cake.

Empeptas

It was a cake made with various cheeses.

Enkris

This was a doughnut that was fried in oil or lard and dipped in honey.

Gastris

This kind of cake has a flattened, oblong shape, which can represent a fruit cake or a nut cake that has been compressed with honey. Common ingredients (especially on Krete) include walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds, and roasted poppy seeds. These ingredients are roasted, mashed, and softened with boiling honey and peppers, and then white sesame is added to create a contrasting white layer that is placed above and below the dark, flattened layer of poppy seeds and nuts.

Glykina

Kretan cakes are made from sweet wine and olive oil.l.

Itrion

A light dough made from sesame and honey.

Kollyba

These are the smallest of all cakes. They are called Kollybas, which means "little coins" in Greek. Kollybos were used in ceremonies to welcome new members of the family or slaves, who were given various treats such as dates, kollyba, figs, and nuts. Kollybs were offered as offerings to Zeus, the foreign gods, Men, Damia, and Ausia. These goddesses were often associated with Demeter, the goddess of agriculture.

Kreion

The kreion is a type of sweet bread and in Argos brides give them to their husbands, it is served with honey

Kribanai

These are a kind of cheesecake that Athenaeus described as being shaped like a breast. It seems that the Spartans would use them during women's festivals and the members of the chorus would lead them in procession when they were going to sing an ode to the bride.

Maza (also known as neelata, prokonia, or ompai)

This type of cake is a shapeless flat mass with round incisions or dots, which seem to represent coarse texture. Due to its lack of height and shape, it looks like a bowl of porridge or cooked grain. Maza is first mentioned by Hesiod in his description of early summer pleasures, where he describes sitting in the shade, drinking wine and eating Maza as it runs dry. Traditionally, Maza is made with goat's milk, but can also be prepared with other ingredients, such as water or oil, or even the bile of young calves. Coarsely ground, uncooked barley flour, or groats are often used as the grain, and Maze can be made with boiled wheat and honey, figs, and walnuts as well. In Delos Maza was dedicated to the goddess Iris; in Sparta, it was dedicated to Apollo; and in another version, wheat soaked in honey was burned as an offering to Demeter.

Pelanos

The pelanos was a cake which was also used as an offering. It was made from wheat flour from Rharus' plains and was offered to the goddesses during great mysteries.

Phthois

These were round cakes used in sacrifices, consisting of wheat flour, cheese and honey. They were eaten with the meat from the animals sacrificed and inscriptions associated them with the gods, Hestia, Zeus, and Apollo.

Plakous

This type of cake has a thick, single knob and deep scoring or ribbing on the sides and top that meet under a large, central knob. The cake is light and fluffy, made from honey and goat cheese, with thin layers of pastry inside a firm outer shell. Varieties of this cake include those scored evenly into four or three sections, sometimes with a central knot or not. It is often offered as an offering to Apollo.

Popanon

This is a larger, round, flat cake with a central knob that protrudes upwards. Knobbed versions were offered to Zeus and Georgos, while flat versions were offered to Anemoi and Herakles. The flat version was also offered to Poseidon and Cronos. The size is specified in sacred law, and the cake must contain a choinix of flour. Other ingredients include soft cheese. A flat version of this cake was also sacrificed to Kronos and Poseidons.

Popanon polyomphala

This type of cake is the same as the flat cake mentioned before, but it has more than one knobs, which are also called 'popanons'. The number of these knobs is usually five. They are arrThe cake is arranged in such a way that it has one knob in the center and four evenly spaced knobs around the edges. Often, two strips of dough bisect the cake, connecting the knobs. The cake resembles a hot cross bun in appearance. Clement of Alexandria refers to multi-knobbed popanons as Dionysius, Gaea, and Themis, while cakes with twelve knobs, known as Popana Dodeconphale, are offered to Demetre, Persephon, Apollo, Arthemis, Zeus Arotris, Poseidon, and the Winds

Sesame (or sesamis)

This type of cake is spherical and consists of small seeds. It is made with roasted sesame seeds, honey and oil. According to Clement of Alexandria, this cake was used for rituals dedicated to Dionysus and Gaia. The Spartans also offered a sesame-based cake to Demeter, possibly Kore (who may have been known as Despoina), on the chthonian calendar. Another variation was a honeycake made from crushed sesame cakes that were boiled, formed into small spheres, and wrapped in papyrus before being offered to Zeus, the farmer god, on a personal calendar in the first century.

Pemma

The term 'Pemma' refers to a small cake with or without a grain element. This element can be replaced by other ingredients, such as nuts or dried fruits. The word 'Pemma' is generally used to describe the cakes offered to Demeter, Zeus, and Athena.

Pyramis and Pyramous

These were pyramids in shape. It was a cake made from wheat, sesame, and honey, which was given as a prize or reward for religious events, sporting events, and dance competitions. This is associated with Thesmophoria, and it seems to have been the main dish at banquets, and was often used in worship of heroes.

Tagenites, taganies, or tagenias

A sort of crepe or pancake, consisting simply of flour and water, could be eaten or prepared with sesame seeds.

Tolype

Another round cake is made from maza. As tolype is also a ball of yarn, it can be assumed that it is a round cake, but it is not made from seeds, so its appearance does not match that of the round seed cakes previously described. I am not certain what it is made of.

Other cakes:

There are various other types of cake that I don't know the names of, and I'm not sure about the names, but I have very little information about them:

- Cone-shaped breads or cakes with a rich filling, made with honey, ground raisins, and almonds

- A type of cake called "nastos" (пышный), which is mentioned in the comic cult calendar of Aristophanes in his play "Birds". The comic calendar prescribes offering a honey-based nastos to the cormorants (бакланы, жадины). In the Attic cult of Zeus the Farmer, a nastos is made from a choinix of flour  (хеник - мера объема сыпучих). The Asiatic goddess Men also receives a nastos made from flour.

- Melipekton, melitouta, names that mean "curdled honey" and "tasting of honey", cakes about which nothing else is known except their names.

- Oinouta, which has wine and cheese as its main ingredients.