Imagine the world of ancient Greek athletes, where trainers and doctors spared no effort to find the best ways to improve their performance through various training and eating strategies. Not very much different from today’s world of sports, isn’t it? Except garlic was considered a magical ingredient and wine mixed with spices and honey - an energy drink. But let’s start from the beginning.

Ancient Greeks highly valued physical fitness and athletic abilities. They believed there is no healthy mind without a healthy body and considered achieving your full physical potential as an exceptional virtue. Most athletic competitions, like the Olympic Games, were held for religious purposes and the winner would be seen as the one favored by gods. It is no wonder that athletes did all they could to maximize their performance and get the glory and honor of being crowned champion. And having the right diet was considered to be a crucial element of success.

In the beginning, the diet of Greek athletes was not much different from the average Greek diet. They ate barley porridge, fresh cheese, fresh vegetables and fruits, occasionally, fish and meat. The earliest records of an athlete’s special diet are those of Charmis of Sparta who trained and competed eating dried figs. As a sprinter, he found the sugar in dried figs extremely useful and won the sprint race at the Olympic Games in 668 BC.

According to Pausanias, Dromeus of Stymphalus started the meat craze. He won the Olympics as a long-distance runner and his diet was almost entirely based on meat. Another account attributes this innovation to Eurymenes of Samos, a heavyweight champion who allegedly based his diet solely on meat upon the advice of the famous mathematician and philosopher Pythagoras. Since it is well-known that Pythagoras was a vegetarian, it is more likely that Eurymenes was given that advice by a sports trainer of the same name.

Milo of Croton was the most successful Olympian in history. He won the wrestling championship in six Olympic Games and seven Pythian Games. He was known as a meat lover and his dietary habits were often exaggerated. The Deipnosophists brings an incredible tale of Milo of Croton. It describes how Milo put a four-year-old bull on his shoulders, carried it around the stadium, killed it with a single punch, and then cut it and ate it all alone in a single day!

There is not much information on spices and herbs used specifically by athletes, but ancient Greeks highly valued them for their health benefits, recovery qualities, and strength-enhancing properties. The collection of texts attributed to Hippocrates contain many references to the medicinal properties of different foods, herbs, and spices. Galen of Pergamon wrote about humoral theory and the benefits of balancing bodily fluids through diet. Certain herbs and spices were considered very important for health and vitality.

Ancient Greek trainers and athletes were very well aware of the importance of nutrition for performance and endurance. While primary sources do not explicitly mention the use of spices, we can say without a shadow of a doubt that they had knowledge about the health and performance benefits of spices and herbs. Here are some specific spices that ancient Greeks used which are known for their health benefits.

Ancient Greeks associated thyme with strength and courage. The name “thyme” is most likely derived from the Greek word “thymon”, which means “courage,” or “thymiama”, which means “incense.” Athletes used thyme oil because they believed it would give them strength and it is known that soldiers bathed in thyme-infused water to evoke courage.

Thyme is a good source of vitamin C, vitamin A, and iron. It is rich in antioxidants which protect the body from oxidative stress. It can boost the immune system and has anti-inflammatory effects which can help in reducing pain.