From Feasting To Fasting, The Evolution of a Sin: Attutudes to Food in Late Antiquity

In this highly original study, Veronika Grimm discusses early Christian texts dealing with food, eating and fasting. Modern day eating disorders often equate food with sin and see fasting as an attempt to regain purity, an attitude which can also be observed in early Christian beliefs in the mortification of the flesh. Describing first the historical and social context of Judaism and the Greco-Roman world, the author then proceeds to analyse Christian attitudes towards food. Descriptions of foods found in the Pauline Epistles, the Acts of the Apostles, Tertullian or Augustine are compared to contemporary Jewish or Greco-Roman pagan texts. Thus, a particular Christian mode of fasting is elaborated which influences us to the present day: ascetic fasting for the suppression of the sexual urges of the body. This Study Discusses Texts, Written Between The First And Fifth Centuries Ad, That Address Christian Conduct With Respect To Food, Eating And Fasting, By Setting Them Into The Historical And Social Contexts In Which Their Authors Lived. From Feasting To Fasting, The Evolution Of A Sin Traces The Early History Of Conflicting Attitudes To Food. It Will Be Of Interest Not Only To Historians Of Late Antiquity, But Also To Those Searching For Historical Roots Of Modern Attitudes. 1. The Jewish Background -- 2. The Graeco-roman Background -- 3. Food And Fasting In The Pauline Epistles -- 4. Food And Fasting In The Acts Of The Apostles -- 5. Clement Of Alexandria -- 6. Food And Fasting In The Works Of Tertullian -- 7. Food And Fasting In Origen And Eusebius -- 8. Jerome And Ascetic Propaganda -- 9. Augustine And Ascetic Practice. Veronika E. Grimm. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 264-277) And Index. In this highly original study, Veronika Grimm discusses early Christian texts dealing with food, eating and fasting. Modern day eating disorders often equate food with sin and see fasting as an attempt to regain purity, an attitude which can also be observed in early Christian beliefs in the mortification of the flesh. Describing first the historical and social context of Judaism and the Graeco-Roman world, the author then proceeds to analyse Christian attitudes towards food. Descriptions of food found in the Pauline Epistles, the Acts of the Apostles, Tertullian or Augustine are compared to contemporary Jewish or Graeco-Roman pagan texts. Thus a particular Christian mode of fasting is elaborated which influences us to the present day; ascetic fasting for the suppression of the sexual urges of the body. Winner of the 1995 Routledge Ancient History Prize Veronika Grimm discusses early Christian texts dealing with food, eating and fasting. It will be of interest to all students of Early Christianity and to those searching for historical roots of modern attitudes.