Since city-states were divided by mountains, people in ancient Greece found it difficult to trade food with people from other Greek city-states. Therefore, agriculture was very important in ancient Greece. This is because the Greeks needed to eat the crops farmers grew and the animals they raised.

What kind of food would I have eaten?

The ancient Greeks ate many different kinds of foods. Since they lived near the Mediterranean Sea, they often caught fish, squid, and octopus for their meals. The other kind of meat that they ate was the meat of small birds. In addition to these meats, ancient Greeks grew a lot of their own food. The crops that they grew and ate most were radishes, celery, beans, olives, and different kinds of fruit. They also grew wheat to make bread and cakes. Since sugar was not available in ancient Greece, they had to travel to the marketplace to buy honey if they wanted to make sweet cakes.

What was a farmer's life like?

All of the farmers in ancient Greece lived in the country. Their jobs were difficult because many people depended on them for food and the weather was often not the best for growing crops. It always rained too much in the winter and not enough in the summer. Since most of the soil was rocky and lacked nutrients, many crops wouldn't grow. Another problem the farmers faced was that they had to pay a large tax to the government. Click here to learn more about the farmer's year.

If I was a farmer, what crops would I grow and what animals would I raise?

There were three major crops that farmers in ancient Greece grew. If you had hilly land, you would grow grapes because grapevines grow on the side of hills. If you had poor or rocky soil, you would grow olives. If you were lucky enough to have good soil, you would grow corn.
Most farmers didn't only grow crops, but also raised animals that they later killed for food. Donkeys, sheep, and goats were raised most often in ancient Greece.