Spices and seasonings The first spice mentioned in Ancient Greek writings is cassia: Sappho (6th-7th Century BCE) mentions it in her poem on the marriage of Hector and Andromache. The ancient Greeks made a distinction between Ceylon cinnamon and cassia. Ancient Greeks used at least two forms of pepper in cooking and medicine: one of Aristotle's students, Theophrastus, in describing the plants that appeared in Greece as a result of Alexander's conquest of India and Asia Minor, listed both black pepper and long pepper, stating "one is round like bitter vetch...: the other is elongated and black and has seeds like those of a poppy : and this kind is much stronger than the other. Both however are heating...". Theophrastus lists several plants in his book as "pot herbs" including dill, coriander, anise, cumin, fennel, rue, celery and celery seed. Recipes Homer describes the preparation of a wine and cheese drink: taking "Pramnian wine she grated goat's milk cheese into it with a bronze grater [and] threw in a handful of white barley meal." (Book 11 of the Iliad) One fragment survives of the first known cookbook in any culture, it was written by Mithaecus (5th Century BCE) and is quoted in the "Deipnosophistae" of Athenaeus. It is a recipe for a fish called "tainia" (meaning "ribbon" in Ancient Greek - probably the species Cepola macrophthalma), "Tainia": gut, discard the head, rinse, slice; add cheese and [olive] oil. Archestratus (4th Century BCE), the self-titled "inventor of made dishes," describes a recipe for paunch and tripe, cooked in "cumin juice, and vinegar and sharp, strong-smelling silphium". Drink The most widespread drink was water. Fetching water was a daily task for women. Though wells were common, spring water was preferred: it was recognized as nutritious because it caused plants and trees to grow, and also as a desirable beverage. Pindar called spring water "as agreeable as honey". The Greeks would describe water as robust, heavy or light, dry, acidic, pungent, wine-like, etc. One of the comic poet Antiphanes's characters claimed that he could recognize Attic water by taste alone. Athenaeus states that a number of philosophers had a reputation for drinking nothing but water, a habit combined with a vegetarian diet (see below). Milk, usually goats' milk, was not widely consumed, being considered barbaric. The usual drinking vessel was the skyphos, made out of wood, terra cotta, or metal. Critias also mentions