Empire of Pleasures

by Andrew Dalby

Empire of Pleasures presents an evocative survey of the sensory culture of the Roman Empire, showing how the Romans themselves depicted their food, wine and entertainments in literature and in art.
This fascinating journey envelops the reader in a world devoted to the titillation and fulfilment of the senses, allowing them to recapture the Empire as it was sensed and imagined by those who lived in it. It will fascinate and entrance anyone with a love of the classical world

Genres: History

352 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2000

About the author

Andrew Dalby (born Liverpool, 1947) is an English linguist, translator and historian who most often writes about food history.

Dalby studied at the Bristol Grammar School, where he learned some Latin, French and Greek; then at the University of Cambridge. There he studied Latin and Greek at first, afterwards Romance languages and linguistics. He earned a bachelor's degree in 1970. Dalby then worked for fifteen years at Cambridge University Library, eventually specializing in Southern Asia. He gained familiarity with some other languages because of his work there, where he had to work with foreign serials and afterwards with South and Southeast Asian materials. In 1982 and 1983 he collaborated with Sao Saimong in cataloguing the Scott Collection of manuscripts and documents from Burma (especially the Shan States) and Indochina; He was later to publish a short biography of the colonial civil servant and explorer J. G. Scott, who formed the collection.[1] To help him with this task, he took classes in Cambridge again in Sanskrit, Hindi and Pali and in London in Burmese and Thai.

Reviews

[dejah_thoris · Rating 3 out of 5]

This reads like Dalby's second magnum opus after Siren Feasts. It's equally detailed but with terms written in Latin instead of Greek and longer quotes. I found the latter actually more enjoyable than the shorter quotes in most of his other books because it allows you to immerse yourself in Roman culture more. And this book isn't just another food history. It also includes aromatics (a big fad among ancient Romans), furniture, animals, clothing, and everything exotic that their empire brought to Rome. It is extremely detailed, however, and probably better as a reference than a long non-fiction read because he often repeats himself in other sections but it's quite interesting if you can stick with it.

For those interested in women's history or sex history, skip to the middle of the last chapter for a short section on women's choice and preferences in regards to sexual partners. it's surrounded by similar information for men, who were the primary writers whose work survived, but incredibly compelling in its own right. Terrible you have to read almost the entire book to get to that point though.

[Roman Clodia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a lovely book with high production values that suit its subject admirably. It describes the physical and material world of the Roman empire as it appeared, smelled, felt and tasted to the Romans who lived then. It covers a period from the end of the Republic to about midway through the Principate and is nicely sited within the sources.

Dalby says in his introduction that he intended the book as a companion to reading the original literature and sources, and to that extent it works admirably. It really gives a sense of the sensuality of the Roman world: roses, cinnamon oil, juicy peaches.

Well worth a read if you're either studying classical antiquity or are simply interested in the look, feel, smell and touch of the Roman world.

[Kara · Rating 4 out of 5]

A more scholarly text than I expected, given the title. A good reference if you want to get into the real nitty-gritty of the economics and geographics of the Roman Empire.