Daily Life

Makhayla Rose
Mr. Whitson
Humanities 9R
Dec. 4, 2009

Farming in Ancient Greece

In Ancient Greece, ownership of land shows levels of wealth. Therefore, faming is the most respected occupation, because farmers usually have a lot of land for their crops and livestock. In the late 400s BC, about fifty percent of the Athenian population was involved in one form of farming or another. Farming may look like an easy occupation, but in reality, there are many challenges that are hard to overcome.

Did you know that in Ancient Greece there are very few patches of flat land? About four-fifths of Greece is covered in mountains. There is only flat land in between the mountains, which makes farming even more hard. The farmers often have trouble producing enough food to go around. Even though being a farmer is a very respectable occupation, most farmers were not wealthy. A majority of farmers only owned about three acres. Only a small minority were wealthy landowners, whose estates occupied several hundred acres (Robert Garland).

Having an abundance of land does not necessarily make farming an easy job. The quality of the soil was very poor, and on top of that, the soil could not be used every year. The crops had to be rotated, because when crops are grown, they absorb all of the nutrients out of the soil. Depending on how much land the farmer owns, they will usually give the soil one to two years to replenish its self. Finding crops that could successfully grow under these tough conditions was difficult, but possible.

What once was thought to be an impossible mission, was made possible by local farmers in Ancient Greece. They found that olive trees, grape vines, and grains, such as wheat, were suitable for growing in the particular conditions that were brought upon them. They were also able to grow fruits and vegetables. In order to use the available space wisely, the farmers plant grape vines in between rows of fruits and vegetables. “As a general rule, the cultivation of olives and grapes, along with animal husbandry, was more profitable than that of wheat and vegetables.” (Joyce E. Salisbury and Gregory S. Aldrete) Farmers also raise abundant amounts of livestock. Some examples of their livestock include goats, bees, and oxen. The goats were raised for milk so that they could produce milk products such as cheese. The bees were raised for honey because honey was one of their only types of sweeteners. Last-but-not-least, the oxen were raised for plowing. Sometimes farmers are taken for granted, but without them we would more than likely starve. Farmers are extremely important and they deserve the up-most respect.