Description
Book SynopsisIn Food in the Ancient World, a respected classicist and a practising world-class chef explore a millennium of eating and drinking. * Explores a millennium of food consumption, from c. 750 BC to 200 AD. * Shows the pivotal role food had in a world where it was linked with morality and the social order.
Trade Review"[A] fascinating tour through Greek and Roman eating habits."
The Guardian "This learned and often amusing work will help to establish the importance of this field of study [food history]. Covering the period of antiquity from 750 BC to AD 200, it is a fruitful joint effort between a classicist, Wilkins, and Hill, a distinguished chef... By contrasting the ancient world with our own, this book shows how little human nature has changed in three millennia." BBC History Magazine
"A delight in every sense -- learned, but written with a real delight in its subject matter, packed with beguiling information and drawing cunning parallels between the ancient and modern food worlds." Matthew Fort, Food & Drink Editor, The Guardian
“A clear and comprehensive introduction that will be useful both for teachers and for anyone wishing for an overview of a complex, but absolutely central, aspect of Greek and Roman life. This book will certainly whet the reader’s appetite to learn still more.” Susan Alcock, Brown University
"A delicious feast of a book... Unlike many other books of its type, Food in the Ancient World has been written with the combined talents of a respected classicist and a world-class chef to cover a millenium of food consumption from c.750 BC to 200AD... a valuable addition to any writer's reference collection." The New Writer
“Outstanding Title… The authors incorporate an impressive range of ancient sources, modern classical scholarship, and studies in the history of food… Highly recommended”
Choice
Table of ContentsJohn Wilkins is responsible for the chapters and Shaun Hill
for the Introductions and recipes
Figures vii
Preface ix
Timeline xii
Map of the Mediterranean xiv
Introduction 1
1 An Overview of Food in Antiquity 4
Introduction 39
2 The Social Context of Eating 41
Introduction 79
3 Food and Ancient Religion 81
Introduction 110
4 Staple Foods: Cereals and Pulses 112
Introduction 140
5 Meat and Fish 142
Introduction 164
6 Wine and Drinking 166
Introduction 185
7 Food in Ancient Thought 187
Introduction 211
8 Medical Approaches to Food 213
Introduction 245
9 Food in Literature 247
Recipes 277
Bibliography 281
Index 290
