Spartan Cuisine, Clothing and Entertainment

• Spartan Broth--The broth consisted of pork, blood, salt and vinegar. The ingredient in question is blood, but I suppose this would give it its black nature. I've never cooked blood, but know that it is an ingredient in other cultures.

• Plutarch tells the story of King Pontus who wanted so desperately to try this soup that he hired a cook from Lakonia. However, once he tried it, he commented, 'this soup should only be taken after a dip in the Eurotas.' (Greeks, even the Spartans, used to bath before dinner).

• Varieties of lettuce, cucumber, apples and figs were all named after Lakonia

• Alkman names five or six different vintages of wine from Lakonia: 'Alcman somewhere calls 'unfired wine, flower-scented' the vintage of Five Hills, a place seven stadia from Sparta, and that of a vineyard called Denthiades and that of Oenus and that of Onogli and Stathmi: these near Pitane- he says 'Oinountias wine and Denthis and Karystios and Onoglis and Stathmitas-that of Carystus which is near Arcadia. By unfired he means unboiled: they did use boiled wines also.' (Epitome of Athenaeus)

• Plutarch states that Spartan children, 'wore no tunic after the age of twelve, and only had one coat to last them the whole year through.' Even though this was to make them stronger, there is one author--modern, of course--who suggests that there were Athenians who copied this and who, I suppose, were lakonizing.