Research Ramblings: The Spartan Citizenry, Part 13

As noted in my May 2, 2014 post, Spartan warriors were an interesting bunch, and I’m continuing my series on them with today’s fact:

“Black soup” was a staple of their diet.

This dish consisted of boiled pig blood and vinegar. According to one story, a non-Spartan Greek visited their dining messes, and when they served this up to their Epicurean guest, he said, “No wonder you Spartans are so eager to die.”

Tune in next week for more about the Spartans!