Food and Society in Classical Antiquity

Food and Society in Classical Antiquity PDF Author: Peter Garnsey
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521645881
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 194

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Book Description
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.

Food and Society in Classical Antiquity

Food and Society in Classical Antiquity PDF Author: Peter Garnsey
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521645881
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 194

Get Book Here

Book Description
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.

Cities, Peasants and Food in Classical Antiquity

Cities, Peasants and Food in Classical Antiquity PDF Author: Peter Garnsey
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521892902
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 360

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Book Description
Sixteen essays in the social and economic history of the ancient world, by a leading historian of classical antiquity, are here brought conveniently together. Three overlapping parts deal with the urban economy and society, peasants and the rural economy, and food-supply and food-crisis. While focusing on eleven centuries of antiquity from archaic Greece to late imperial Rome, the essays include theoretical and comparative analyses of food-crisis and pastoralism, and an interdisciplinary study of the health status of the people of Rome using physical anthropology and nutritional science. A variety of subjects are treated, from the misconduct of a builders' association in late antique Sardis, to a survey of the cultural associations and physiological effects of the broad bean.

Food in Antiquity

Food in Antiquity PDF Author: John Wilkins
Publisher: Liverpool University Press
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 488

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Book Description
Food as a cultural symbol was as important in antiquity as in our own times and Food in Antiquity investigates some of the ways in which food and eating shaped the lives and thoughts of the indigenous peoples of the ancient Mediterranean. In this volume thirty contributors consider aspects of food and eating in the Greco-Roman world. This is the most comprehensive exploration of questions relating to food in antiquity in this country. The authors, some specialists in this field, others with expertise in other areas, use a range of approaches to investigate the production and distribution of food, social, religious and political factors, medicine and diet, cultural identity and contrasts with neighbouring cultures, and food in literature. The volume is designed for both Classicists and those interested in the history of food. The aim is both to illuminate and to entertain, and at the same time to remind the reader that the Greeks and Romans were not only philosophers and rulers of empires, they were also peasant farmers, traders and consumers of foods who considered that what and how they ate defined who they were.

Trade and Famine in Classical Antiquity

Trade and Famine in Classical Antiquity PDF Author: C. R. Whittaker
Publisher: Cambridge Philological Society
ISBN: 191370114X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 133

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Book Description
Trade in antiquity - its scale, status, pattern and context - is the subject of lively debate among historians. But no analysis has made a special investigation of trade in essential food stuffs. Famine and food crisis are also neglected subjects. This collection of essays is structured around the two focal points of trade and famine. A theme of the volume is that a combination of natural and artificial shortages made inevitable the bulk movement of staples between regions in all periods of antiquity. Novel contributions are offered in addition in relation to the cost of shipping, the extent of long-distance trade in wine, the relative demand for wheat and barley, the incidence and gravity of food crises, the efficiency of famine relief measures and the part played by food shortages in the collapse of the late Roman frontier system.

Food

Food PDF Author: Paul Freedman
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 9780520254763
Category : Cooking
Languages : en
Pages : 380

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Book Description
This richly illustrated book applies the discoveries of the new generation of food historians to the pleasures of dining and the culinary accomplishments of diverse civilizations, past and present. Freedman gathers essays by French, German, Belgian, American, and British historians to present a comprehensive, chronological history of taste.

Courtesans and Fishcakes

Courtesans and Fishcakes PDF Author: James N. Davidson
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226137430
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 400

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Book Description
As any reader of the Symposium knows, the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates conversed over lavish banquets, kept watch on who was eating too much fish, and imbibed liberally without ever getting drunk. In other words, James Davidson writes, he reflected the culture of ancient Greece in which he lived, a culture of passions and pleasures, of food, drink, and sex before—and in concert with—politics and principles. Athenians, the richest and most powerful of the Greeks, were as skilled at consuming as their playwrights were at devising tragedies. Weaving together Greek texts, critical theory, and witty anecdotes, this compelling and accessible study teaches the reader a great deal, not only about the banquets and temptations of ancient Athens, but also about how to read Greek comedy and history.

The Classical Tradition

The Classical Tradition PDF Author: Anthony Grafton
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 9780674035720
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 1188

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Book Description
The legacy of ancient Greece and Rome has been imitated, resisted, misunderstood, and reworked by every culture that followed. In this volume, some five hundred articles by a wide range of scholars investigate the afterlife of this rich heritage in the fields of literature, philosophy, art, architecture, history, politics, religion, and science.

Baths and Bathing in Classical Antiquity

Baths and Bathing in Classical Antiquity PDF Author: Fikret K. Yegül
Publisher: MIT Press (MA)
ISBN:
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 516

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Book Description
This text reviews and analyzes the structure, function and design of baths, seeking to integrate their architecture with the wider social and cultural custom of bathing, and examining in particular the changes this custom underwent in Late Antiquity and in Byzantine and Islamic cultures.

Food

Food PDF Author: Jean-Louis Flandrin
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 023111155X
Category : Cooking
Languages : en
Pages : 642

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Book Description
When did we first serve meals at regular hours? Why did we begin using individual plates and utensils to eat? When did "cuisine" become a concept and how did we come to judge food by its method of preparation, manner of consumption, and gastronomic merit? Food: A Culinary History explores culinary evolution and eating habits from prehistoric times to the present, offering surprising insights into our social and agricultural practices, religious beliefs, and most unreflected habits. The volume dispels myths such as the tale that Marco Polo brought pasta to Europe from China, that the original recipe for chocolate contained chili instead of sugar, and more. As it builds its history, the text also reveals the dietary rules of the ancient Hebrews, the contributions of Arabic cookery to European cuisine, the table etiquette of the Middle Ages, and the evolution of beverage styles in early America. It concludes with a discussion on the McDonaldization of food and growing popularity of foreign foods today.

Money in Classical Antiquity

Money in Classical Antiquity PDF Author: Sitta von Reden
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 0521453372
Category : Antiques & Collectibles
Languages : en
Pages : 261

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Book Description
A comprehensive analysis of the impact of money on the economy, society and culture of the Greek and Roman worlds.