Feeding a Greek Hoplite - Ancient Rations

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[t.k.]

Max is one of the few cooks that really means it when the recipe calls for "only two ingredients"

[GringatTheRepugnant]

My brother made a linothorax as part of a historical recreation project at college, and compared it to the composite lamellar silk armour worn by samurai. The big difference for the linothorax is it was made from relatively cheap materials and quite often the linen would have been woven by the mother or spouse of the hoplite that wore it. It was made for that hoplite and that hoplite alone. The layers of linen would have little charms and prayers or coins or flowers pressed between the layers for luck and divine protection. And with use it would mold and shift in the heat to fit the wearer perfectly.

My brother's friend managed to both graze his knuckles and dislocate a finger punching him while wearing it! So it was pretty effective. He also tested some squares of the material with a bow and arrow though sadly was never able to make the squares of silk lamellar to compare because he couldn't source the laquer needed.

[LuciaFiero]

My mother used to give me this as a child. She called it sesame candy. My father was Italian but he was obsessed with Greek culture, played the bouzouki, and drank ouzo, so I guess that's why we had sesame candy, too. It's really good.

I still have his bouzouki.

[lhfirex]

King Leonidas looking at his camp: "This is where we snack!" (gestures to the Athenians' mess tent) "And that is where they DINE!"

[andythames]

There was an ultra distance runner, Dean Karnazes. In an interview discussing his diet 15 years ago he mentioned he snacked on sesame and honey since he was Greek and wanted to embrace his heritage. He used the bars for fast energy on runs lasting several hours

[Fofos]

In the Island of Rhodes (Rodos), we have our own local variation of "Pasteli", we call "Melekouni", literally meaning "honey and seeds". It consists of honey, sesame, orange zest, cinnamon and a raw almond placed in the center of the bar. It's way softer than Pasteli and thus more pleasant to consume. We usually give them away for free at weddings.

[Mister_Greek-qw]

Fun fact:

In the Greek Land Forces, the term "Hoplite" is still used to describe the equivalent of the "Private" class.

Old habits rarely die

[zenkakuji]

One of my history teachers in school always had these on her desk as a commercially made candy. They were individually wrapped and one would enjoy as a candy. I thought of them as old fashioned candy but never realized how really old fashioned they are. Thanks again for this tidbit from history. Fascinating as always! 🙏

[origami_dream]

My best friend's Punjabi mom made basically this, all the time. We used to have it as snacks playing D&D and at band practice constantly. It's so simple and so good that much of the world's said "Hell yes" to it. They'd usually throw a couple spices in, maybe some dates, maybe nuts, but it was always super easy and super delicious. Can't go wrong with honey and toasted seeds/nuts.

[unclefester]

Well ... this is strange, I'm from Romania and my mom made this since i was a child, we can also find this exact sesame treat at most corner stores, I'm glad this recipe traveled so far because it's delicious!

[arrrressss]

This is so interesting to me because I grew up eating Sesame Snaps, which is a commercial version of this. They were a common lunchbox addition and you can still find them in gas stations across Canada.

[Saksikoipi]

Back when I was a conscript in the Finnish army, we had Greek "Itrion" bars in our field rations. So basically it was just like 2500 years ago, but at least we got our gear and food from the state!

[cammobunker]

Xenophon's "Anabasis" is one of the first, if not the first accounts we have of ancient warfare written by a commander, or somebody who was actually there. In a remarkable change from most histories of this time period, there is no ridiculousness, no melodrama, no heroic derring-do...just a soldier's story of what happened to them, and how they escaped after being double crossed.

[chiapetkat]

this video is proof that there is an inherent primal need for a sweet little treat

[lukasbocker]

The fact that body armor made out of fabric was used from the ancient world with the Linothorax up to the late middle ages with the Gambeson just shows us how effective fabric armor can be. Also it's quite affordable and when you have to ear it an extended period of time pretty comfortable compared to heavier material.

[McWelly]

I've made sesame honey cookies like these several times and I definitely recommend adding just a few pinches of salt. It tastes really good and balances out the sweetness of the honey.

[joshuabear]

I'm also fascinated with the raisin cakes that fueled King David's army in Samuel. This Greek delight is crossed between lembas bread and an MRE. Cool video.

[November_Terra]

This video made me realize 3 things.
1. Your channel is awesome.
2. Itrion taste fantastic.
3. Im allergic against sesame :(

[stellak.]

Greek here! As you said, these are still around, so simple yet so delicious! Thanks for covering this recipe! 💛

[damiensebastian]

So it's like Ancient Greek Rice Krispie Treats almost but with honey and sesame instead of puffed rice and marshmalllow? That's really neat! Thank you for sharing!