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An ear of barley, symbol of wealth in the city of Metapontum in Magna Graecia (i.e. the Greek colonies of southern Italy), stamped stater, c. 530–510 BCE. During the early time of Greek history, as shown in the Odyssey, Greek agriculture - and diet - was based on cereals (sitos, though usually translated as wheat, could in fact designate any type of cereal grain).
Helios, who in Greek mythology is the god of the Sun, is said to have had seven herds of oxen and seven flocks of sheep, each numbering fifty head. [3] In the Odyssey, Homer describes these immortal cattle as handsome (ἄριστος), wide-browed (εὐρυμέτωπος), fat, and straight-horned (ὀρθόκραιρος). [4]
In ancient Greece and Rome, the captive breeding of livestock, particularly the rearing of cattle, was an integral part of the economy. In both the Greek and Roman economies of antiquity, cattle were seen as a determiner of wealth, and herds often served as a dowry in certain arranged-marriage scenarios, as they still do today in many African ...
Agriculture in ancient Greece was hindered by the topography of mainland Greece that only allowed for roughly 10% of the land to be cultivated properly, necessitating the specialised exportation of oil and wine and importation of grains from Thrace (centered in what is now Bulgaria) and the Greek colonies of Pontic Greeks near the Black Sea.
The shopping centres in Ancient Greece were called agoras. The literal meaning of the word is "gathering place" or "assembly". The agora was the centre of the athletic, artistic, spiritual and political life of the city. The Ancient Agora of Athens was the best-known example. Early in Greek history (18th century–8th century BC), free-born ...
Cattle played other major roles in many religions, including those of ancient Egypt, ancient Greece, ancient Israel, and ancient Rome. In some regions, especially most states of India , the slaughter of cattle is prohibited and their meat ( beef ) may be taboo .
Animal sacrifice was general among the ancient Near Eastern civilizations of Ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt and Persia, as well as the Hebrews (covered below).Unlike the Greeks, who had worked out a justification for keeping the best edible parts of the sacrifice for the assembled humans to eat, in these cultures the whole animal was normally placed on the fire by the altar and burned, or ...
In ancient Greece, a hecatomb (UK: / ˈ h ɛ k ə t uː m /; US: / ˈ h ɛ k ə t oʊ m /; Ancient Greek: ἑκατόμβη hekatómbē) was a sacrifice of 100 cattle (hekaton "one hundred", bous "bull") to the Greek gods. In practice, as few as 12 could make up a hecatomb. [1]