Food and drink in antiquity : readings from the Graeco-Roman World : a sourcebook

310 Pages·2015·13.18 MB·English

by  Donahue

Food and Drink in Antiquity
Bloomsbury Sources in Ancient History
The Bloomsbury Sources in Ancient History series presents a
definitive collection of source material in translation, combined
with expert contextual commentary and annotation to provide a
comprehensive survey of each volume’s subject. Material is drawn
from literary, as well as epigraphic, legal, and religious sources. Aimed
primarily at undergraduate students, the series will also be invaluable
for researchers, and faculty devising and teaching courses.
Greek and Roman Sexualities: A Sourcebook, Jennifer Larson
Women in Ancient Rome, Bonnie MacLachlan
Food and Drink in Antiquity
Readings from the Graeco-Roman World
A Sourcebook
John F. Donahue
Bloomsbury Sources in Ancient History
Bloomsbury Academic
An imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
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London New York
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www.bloomsbury.com
Bloomsbury is a registered trade mark of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
First published 2015
© John F. Donahue 2015
John F. Donahue has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act,
1988, to be identified as the Editor of this work.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any
form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or
any information storage or retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the
publishers.
No responsibility for loss caused to any individual or organization acting on or refraining
from action as a result of the material in this publication can be accepted by Bloomsbury or
the author.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN: 978-1-44112-223-0
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.
Typeset by Fakenham Prepress Solutions, Fakenham, Norfolk NR21 8NN
Contents
Acknowledgments vi
Translations Used by Permission vii
Figure List viii
1 Introduction 1
2 Eating, Drinking, and Reading: Food and Drink in Ancient Literature 5
3 Grain, Grapes, and Olives: The Mediterranean Triad and More 51
4 Eating, Drinking, and Believing: Food, Drink, and Religion 111
5 Eating, Drinking, and Sharing: The Social Context of Food and Drink 157
6 Eating, Drinking, and Fighting: Food and Drink in the Military 207
7 Eating, Drinking, and Living Healthy: Food, Drink, and Medicine 231
Notes 261
Works Cited 273
Index 289
Acknowledgments
I am grateful to Michael Greenwood, now of Ashgate Publishing, for his encour-
agement and assistance in the critical early stages of this book; to Charlotte
Loveridge and Chloe Shuttlewood of Bloomsbury Press for their cheerful
expertise; and to the anonymous readers of the original manuscript, whose
comments and suggestions have greatly improved this volume.
I would also like to thank the College of William and Mary for its support,
especially the Plumeri Award for Faculty Excellence and the Craig W. Broderick/
Goldman Sachs Faculty Research Investment Fund, both of which provided
welcomed financial assistance to complete this project. I would be remiss as
well if I did not thank the many students at William and Mary who have put up
with my teaching for the past 15 years and who have patiently endured while I
formulated many of the ideas that have now found their way into the pages to
follow. For my colleagues, too, who make our department such a pleasant place
to work each day, I owe a great debt of gratitude.
Finally, this book simply would not have been possible without the continuing
support of my wife Jaime and my two children, Catherine and Jack … Familiae
carissimae.
Translations Used by Permission
Beck L. 2005. Pedanius Dioscorides of Anazarbus, De Materia Medica. Hildesheim:
Georg Olms, 70 (7.20), 129–30 (7.18), 140–1 (7.19).
Powell, O. 2003. Galen: On the Properties of Foodstuffs. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 56 (3.14), 76 (7.10).
Grant, M. 2000. Galen on Food and Diet. London: Routledge Press, 78–9 (3.7), 152
(7.8), 155 (5.53), 157 (7.9).
Figure List
Chapter 2
Figure 1. Banquet of Dido and Aeneas. Faience plate on stem, ordered
by Isabella d’Este. Nicola da Urbino (fl. 1520–37/38). Musée du Louvre,
Paris, France. © RMN-Grand Palais/Art Resource, NY. 9
Figure 2. Shell of an Attic red figure kylix (drinking cup) depicting
drunken revelers, some with musical instruments, including the lyre,
which was closely associated with drinking. Capua, Dokimasia Painter,
c. 490 bce. Antikensammlung, Staatliche Museen, Berlin, Germany.
Credit: Art Resource, NY. 11
Chapter 3
Figure 3. Ruins of a bakery, featuring grinding mills and oven. Pompeii,
Italy, first century ce. Photograph, c. 1875. Photo Credit: Adoc-photos/
Art Resource, NY. 65
Figure 4. Calendar mosaic for the month of September depicting
wine pressing during the grape harvest. Detail from The Seasons and
the Months, the House of the Months at El Djem, Tunisia (ancient
Thysdrus), third century ce. Museum, Sousse, Tunisia. Photo Credit:
© Gilles Mermet/Art Resource, NY. 67
Figure 5. Charred olives from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Pompeii,
Italy, first century ce. Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Naples, Italy.
Photo Credit: Erich Lessing/Art Resource, NY. 86
Chapter 4
Figure 6. Slaughter of a sacrificial animal. Workshop of red-
figured skyphos. Douris Painter, fifth century bce. National Museum,
Warsaw, Poland. Photo Credit: Erich Lessing/Art Resource, NY. 116
Figure List ix
Figure 7. Mosaic from the “House of the Gladiators” of two gladiators
facing each other and ready for fight. Their names, Hellenikos and
Margareites, appear in Greek above their heads. The composition was
probably commissioned after gladiatorial games, which took place in the
Kourion theatre. Kourion, Cyprus, third century ce. Photo Credit: Edgar
Knobloch/Art Resource, NY. 144
Figure 8. Detail of the Marriage at Cana, the blessing of water and
changing it into wine. From the back of the pulpit of Archbishop
Maximian. Carved ivory plaque, sixth century ce. Museo Arcivescovile,
Ravenna, Italy. Photo Credit: Erich Lessing/Art Resource, NY. 152
Chapter 5
Figure 9. Terracotta kylix (drinking cup) of a Greek drinking party
(symposium) featuring reclining male drinkers with musical and female
accompaniment. Signed by Hieronas potter, attributed to Makron, c. 480
bce. Metropolitan Museum of Art, Images for Academic Publishing. 163
Figure 10. Banquet scene depicting people eating and drinking at a
convivium (feast) beneath a portico. Roman fresco from House of
Triclinium, Pompeii, first century ce. Museo Archeologico Nazionale,
Naples, Italy. Photo Credit: Erich Lessing/Art Resource, NY. 173
Figure 11. Mosaic of the Unswept Floor. Roman copy of a Greek original
depicting the remains of a feast, second century ce. Museo Lateranense,
Vatican Museums, Vatican State. Photo Credit: Alinari/Art Resource, NY. 185
Figure 12. Roman wine bar/café (thermopolium), Via dell’Abbondanza
(Street of Abundance), Pompeii, Italy. Photo Credit: Gianni Dagli Orti/
The Art Archive at Art Resource, NY. 190
Chapter 6
Figure 13. Writing-tablet with a letter from Octavius, an entrepreneur
supplying goods on a considerable scale to the army at the fort in
Vindolanda, Roman Britain. Food items typically would have been
among these supplies, late first or early second century ce. © The
Trustees of the British Museum/Art Resource, NY. 212