Greek herbs belong to the hillsides and kitchens of Greece. Outings with a host run across the country. Topics below include oregano, mint, dittany of Crete, mountain tea, basil and Greek sage. Cretan dittany grows wild on that island alone. Related pages cover Greek food, Greek honey and Olive oil tours in Greece. More outings and trips sit under Greece tours.
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What are Greek herbs?
Greek herbs are the leafy plants that flavour the cooking of Greece. Oregano, mint, dill and bay laurel leaves appear there more than in other Mediterranean kitchens. Basil, thyme and fennel seed are also common, and parsley serves as a garnish.
Among Greek herbs, oregano has a name with old roots. The English word traces back to the Classical Greek origanon. One disputed theory joins the Greek words for mountain and joy. In Greek mythology, the goddess Aphrodite created the plant as a symbol of happiness. Her garden on Mount Olympus was its first home.
Mint ranks among Greek herbs with its own myth. The word traces back to the Greek mintha. Greek mythology tells of Minthe, a nymph beloved by Hades and turned into a mint plant. Ancient Greeks spread mint on their arms in the belief that it built strength. Myth also calls it the herb of hospitality.
Greek cooks add dried oregano to the lemon and olive oil sauce for grilled fish or meat. That sauce also accompanies casseroles. The ancient Spartans added bay leaf to their black soup, called melas zomos. Marjoram, a close relative of oregano, tastes different because its essential oil lacks certain compounds.
- Plant family: Mint and basil both belong to Lamiaceae, the family of mints.
- Mint species: Botanists estimate that 18 to 24 species of mint exist, with unclear lines between them.
- Early mint use: Mint first served as a medicinal herb for stomach ache and chest pains.
Greek herbs also served around the home in early times. One of the first known uses of mint in Europe was as a room deodoriser. People strewed it across floors to hide the smell of hard-packed soil. Stepping on the leaves spread the scent.
Why does dittany of Crete stand out among Greek herbs?
Greek herbs include dittany of Crete, a small plant found wild only on that island. Its stems and round green leaves wear a soft, woolly coat of white-grey hair. Cretans call it erontas, from eros, the Greek word for love.
In antiquity, this one of the Greek herbs added flavour to wine and adorned temples and gardens. It also served as a cure for every ill, known as a panacea. Hippocrates, the ancient Greek physician, thought it useful for stomach aches and digestive complaints. He also used it in a poultice, a soft healing paste, for wounds.
Aristotle reported a story about wild goats in Crete. Wounded by an arrow, the goats were said to seek out dittany. The plant was thought to push the arrow out of the body. Theophrastus, another Greek scholar, agreed in his Enquiry into Plants and called the plant peculiar to Crete.
Collecting wild dittany was dangerous work even in recent times. Gatherers climbed precarious rock faces and were named erontades after the plant. Among Greek herbs, the wild plant holds the label rare, with protection under European law. Cultivation now centres on Embaros and nearby villages, south of Heraklion. Its Greek name is diktamo.
- Uses today: Growers supply herbal tea and natural beauty products from the cultivated plants.
- Exports: Gathered in bloom in summer, it goes into pharmaceuticals, perfume, vermouth and absinthe.
- The Aeneid: Virgil’s epic has Venus pluck a stalk to heal the wounded Aeneas.
Greek herbs can face real risk, and dittany is listed as vulnerable on the 1997 Red List. It is a tender perennial, growing 20 to 30 centimetres high. Its tiny rose-pink flowers sit among brighter purple-pink bracts, the leaf-like parts around a flower.
How does mountain tea fit with Greek herbs?
Greek herbs include Sideritis, the plant group behind mountain tea, also called ironwort and shepherd’s tea. Its members stand 8 to 50 centimetres tall and grow at high elevation, with little or no soil. Mountain tea appears on the Greek breakfast table.
Botanical schemes for these Greek herbs list up to 319 species, subspecies and other forms. Its flowers grow in a verticillaster, meaning whorls around the stem. Sideritis syriaca occurs naturally in Albania, Turkey, Syria, Greece and Crete, around the eastern Mediterranean. The subspecies Sideritis syriaca syriaca belongs to Crete.
Sideritis scardica, one of these Greek herbs, ranges from the Sharr Mountains to Bulgaria and Greece. Sideritis clandestina and Sideritis perfoliata also serve as herbs in Greece and nearby lands. The wider group also reaches Central Europe and temperate Asia. Sideritis raiseri grows on Mount Tomori in Albania. Sideritis elica belongs to the Rhodope Mountains of Bulgaria.
Mountain tea is made by simmering the stems, leaves and blossoms in a pot of water. This method is a decoction, meaning a drink drawn out by boiling the plant. Honey and lemon are common additions to the cup. Greek coffee, hot milk and fruit juice share the breakfast table.
- Island relatives: Sideritis barbellata belongs to La Palma, and Sideritis candicans to Madeira.
- Wide spread: Sideritis montana ranges across Eurasia from Spain to China, and reaches the Maghreb.
- Iberian kin: Sideritis hyssopifolia grows in the mountains of the Iberian Peninsula.
Greek herbs in this group have close relatives abroad. Sideritis cypria is found only on Cyprus. Sideritis syriaca is critically endangered in Bulgaria. Bulgaria’s Strandzha herbal tea, from dried Sideritis, holds a protected origin status in the European Union.
What gives basil its place among Greek herbs?
Greek herbs include basil, a name that comes from the Greek for royal or kingly plant. The plant was possibly used long ago in making perfumes for royalty. A cultivated form, Greek basil, carries the botanical name Ocimum basilicum var. minimum.
Among Greek herbs, basil carries its royal link into other languages. French speakers sometimes call it l’herbe royale, the royal herb. The Latin name was confused with basilisk, a legendary serpent. The plant was supposed to be an antidote to the venom of that creature. An antidote is a substance that stops a poison.
Beliefs around the plant ran in opposite directions. The ancient Greeks and ancient Egyptians believed basil opened the gates of heaven for the dying. The herbalist Nicholas Culpeper later viewed it with dread and suspicion. He cited warnings against eating it from the ancient writers Galen and Chrysippus.
Among Greek herbs, basil still holds a place in worship. The Greek Orthodox Church uses it to sprinkle holy water. Greek Orthodox Christians sometimes avoid eating it, due to the legend of the Elevation of the Holy Cross. Serbian and Bulgarian Orthodox churches use it to prepare holy water too.
- Origins: Basil is native to tropical and subtropical Asia and Australasia, from India to northern Australia.
- Tender plant: It is a tender plant used in kitchens around the world.
- Scent: European basil oil holds high levels of linalool and estragole, two aromatic compounds.
Greek herbs like basil also vary in form. Cultivars, meaning bred varieties, include sweet basil and Thai basil. The plant can cross-pollinate with other Ocimum species, producing hybrids such as lemon basil. Scents differ because aromatic compounds vary between cultivars, so each has its own smell.
Which traits mark Greek sage among Greek herbs?
Greek herbs include Greek sage, named Salvia fruticosa by botanists. Its leaf shape varies widely, and this once caused confusion over its name. Western Crete plants have flat, entire leaves with dark green upper sides. Plants on the eastern side have far smaller leaves.
Those eastern leaves split into three deep lobes and look yellowish-green, with wavy edges. Earlier botanists named leaf variants as separate species, including Salvia libanotica and Salvia cypria. Carl Linnaeus the Younger called the plant Salvia triloba in 1781. Philip Miller’s name of 1768 won out, because earlier names receive preference.
Among Greek herbs, this plant hosts a gall, a swelling caused on a plant by an insect. Galls were once thought to be limited to Salvia pomifera, and gall-bearing Greek sage was misidentified. In 2001, researchers traced its galls to a previously undiscovered genus of gall wasp. Local names include sage apple.
Theophrastus, the ancient Greek writer on plants, described two sages among Greek herbs of his day. He called the wild undershrub sphakos and the cultivated plant elelisphakos. Pliny the Elder said the Romans called that cultivated plant salvia. Greek sage grows within maquis, a dense Mediterranean shrubland. Populations made up entirely of this plant are not uncommon.
- Bee food: In Ottoman Palestine, honey bees harvested its pollen in the making of honey.
- Gardens: It grows as an ornamental shrub, preferring full sun and well-draining soil.
- Rituals: It has a long tradition in Muslim rituals for newborn children, weddings and funerals.
Greek herbs can be hardy, and Greek sage survives down to minus 7 degrees Celsius. The plant likes good air circulation as well. A cross with Salvia officinalis, called silver leaf sage, is used in cooking. That cross was developed in the Middle East.
What do travellers ask about Greek herbs, and what are the answers?
Greek herbs include Greek Kaliteri, a group of oregano strains whose name means the best. Its small, hardy, compact leaves are thick and silvery-haired, with purple undersides. These plants hold a strong reputation for flavour and pungency, meaning a sharp bite.
Which oregano counts among Greek herbs from Crete?
Origanum onites goes by the names Cretan oregano, Greek oregano and pot marjoram. In Greek it is Elliniki rigani. The species grows in Sicily, Greece and Turkey. It contains thymol, carvacrol and cedrol, three natural chemical compounds. It has antimicrobial activity, meaning it acts against germs.
How does rosemary connect with Greek herbs?
Rosemary was considered sacred by the ancient Greeks, Egyptians and Romans. Pedanius Dioscorides, an ancient Greek botanist, wrote about it, as did Pliny the Elder. Dioscorides discusses the plant in De materia medica, a book title meaning on medical material. That work ranks among the leading herbal books in history.
Where does dill appear among Greek herbs?
In Greece, dill goes by the name anithos. In antiquity it flavoured a wine known as anithites oinos, meaning wine with dill. Modern Greek cooks add it to salads, soups, sauces, and fish and vegetable dishes. The botanical name Anethum comes from Greek words that once meant both dill and anise.
Why was bay laurel prized among Greek herbs?
Bay laurel supplied the wreath of ancient Greece, a sign of the highest status. A bay wreath was the prize at the Pythian Games, which honoured Apollo. Laurel branches and leaves also served in cleansing rituals, linked to sacred spaces and the cult of Apollo. Such use reached the purification of homes.
Featured photo: Uoaei1, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.