Food in the Ancient World (eBook)

John M. Wilkins is Professor of Greek Culture at the University of Exeter. He is the author of Euripides: Heraclidae (1993) and The Boastful Chef: The Discourse of Food in Ancient Greek Comedy (2000) and has edited several books on Greek literature and food in the ancient world. Shaun Hill is Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Exeter. He is chef and former owner of the Michelin-starred Merchant House and works as an independent food writer. His books include Cooking at the Merchant House (2000), How to Cook Better (2004), and Cook (with others, 2005). John Wilkins and Shaun Hill have co-written several books and articles including Archestratus: The Life of Luxury (1994)

John 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

"[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