Food and Society in Classical Antiquity (Key Themes in Ancient History)

This is the first study of food in classical antiquity that treats it as both a biological and a cultural phenomenon. The variables of food quantity, quality and availability, and the impact of disease, are evaluated and a judgement reached which inclines to pessimism. Food is also a symbol, evoking other basic human needs and desires, especially sex, and performing social and cultural roles which can be either integrative or divisive. The book explores food taboos in Greek, Roman, and Jewish society, and food-allocation within the family, as well as more familiar cultural and economic polarities which are highlighted by food and eating. The author draws on a wide range of evidence new and old, from written sources to human skeletal remains, and uses both comparative historical evidence from early modern and contemporary developing societies and the anthropological literature, to create a case-study of food in antiquity.

A general study of food in antiquity, broadly based and comprehensive.

Times Literary Supplement - John D'Arms

Garnsey's new book, though brief and written for an introductory series aimed primarily at students and teachers, is a small triumph. One virtue, especially conspicuous in the masterly chapter on malnutrition, is his ability to keep the dietary staples, needs and conditions of the common people, both urban and rural, steadily in view, despite literary, documentary and archaeological sources that concentrate overwhelmingly on the practices and attitudes of the rich...A second strength is the author's synthetic approach to food as a biocultural phenomenon, both substance and symbol.

This is the first study of food in classical antiquity that treats food as both a biological and a cultural phenomenon. The variables of food quantity, quality and availability, and the impact of disease, are evaluated and a judgement reached on the health of the population which inclines to pessimism. Food is also a symbol, evoking other basic human needs and desires, especially sex, and performing social and cultural roles which can be either integrative or divisive. The book explores food taboos in Greek, Roman and Jewish society, and food-allocation within the family, as well as more familiar cultural and economic polarities which are highlighted by food and eating. This is a broad-based, comprehensive general study of food in antiquity. The book deals with food as food or nutrition, the discussion revolving around the concrete issues of food availability and the nutritional status of the population. It also treats the nonfood uses of food, focusing on the role of food in forming and marking the social hierarchy. Food defines the group, whether social, religious, philosophical or political. Based upon a wide range of source material and evidence, the author examines food, the taboos surrounding it, its allocation within the family and its social and cultural significance within Greek, Roman and Jewish societies