development of a taste for the piscatory tribes; and the skill of the
Greek cooks was so great, that they could impart every variety of relish
to the dish they were called upon to prepare. Athenaeus has transmitted
to posterity some very important precepts upon their ingenuity in
seasoning with salt, oil, and aromatics.
At the present day the food of the Greeks, through the combined
influence of poverty and the long fasts which their religion
imposes upon them, is, to a large extent, composed of fish,
accompanied with vegetables and fruit. Caviare, prepared from
the roes of sturgeons, is the national ragout, which, like all
other fish dishes, they season with aromatic herbs. Snails
dressed in garlic are also a favourite dish.