Ritual butchering in Ancient Greece

Here's your trivia for the day. One of the reasons so little red meat was eaten in Ancient Greece was that all meat animals had to be ritually dedicated to the Gods before they could be slaughtered. No exceptions!

So if you wanted chicken for dinner, you had to catch your chicken, and then hold the equivalent of a church service before you were allowed to wring its neck and start plucking. This was a pain in the neck for more than just the chicken.

The same rule did not apply to fish. Seafood was just plain easier if you were a Greek.

1 comment:

Travis Erwin said...

I'd be a hell of a lot skinnier if I lived in ancient Greece.