Herodotus wrote that the ancient Egyptians preferred zea to wheat or barley in Histories.
Dioscorides wrote that Greeks and Romans prepared krimnon, made from ground zea and wheat berries, to make poltos, a porridge-like drink.
[2][1] Despite its probable popularity in ancient times, zea was most likely replaced by barley in the classical period.
In Greece, there is an urban legend that zea bread was banned in the 1930s, so that the wheat market would not suffer.
[3] The majority of these farms use the Italian farro seed, known as "Dikokko Sitari" in Greek.