Food in the Ancient World from A to Z

by Steven Dudley

Sensual yet pre-eminently functional, food is of intrinsic interest to us all. This exciting new work by a leading authority explores food and related concepts in the Greek and Roman worlds.In entries ranging from a few lines to a couple of pages, Andrew Dalby describes individual foodstuffs (such as catfish, gazelle, peaches and parsley), utensils, ancient writers on food, and a vast range of other topics, drawn from classical literature, history and archaeology, as well as looking at the approaches of modern scholars.Approachable, reliable and fun, this A-to-Z explains and clarifies a subject that crops up in numerous classical sources, from plays to histories and beyond. It also gives references to useful primary and secondary reading.It will be an invaluable companion for students, academics and gastronomes alike.

Genres: Food, History

432 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 8, 2003

Reviews

[Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

Haven't read the whole thing cover to cover, but have thoroughly browsed it and used it for reference. It's mostly great for my purposes, i.e. searching for quick inspiration or for a high-level view of a topic, like 'Egg' or 'Aromatics.' However, I have absolutely no idea what system the author was using to determine if something was worthy of its own category or not? I was searching for 'Dessert' and found nothing, not even a cross reference (ultimately found what I was looking for by finding 'Sweets' and being redirected to 'Cakes'), but 'Cannibalism' has an entry? As do 'Architecture,' 'Economics,' and 'Children'??? I mean, I understand how these are at least tangentially related to food, but you'd think if you were trying to increase your text's utility as a reference material, you might reprioritize a bit. Really no complaints beyond the petty, though, and the wish that there were more illustrations implemented more judiciously.