In ancient Sparta warriors built mental and physical toughness with a dish known as the black broth. This infamous melas zos, a broth made from boiled pigs legs, blood, salt and vinegar, was less about flavor and more about instilling discipline. Spartans valued frugality and endurance, and the harsh meal embodied these principles. Outsiders were often repulsed by its taste, as one guest remarked it explained why Spartans did not fear death. Although the exact recipe is lost, ancient historians