A Companion to Food in the Ancient World - (Blackwell Companions to the Ancient World) by John Wilkins & Robin Nadeau (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

A Companion to Food in the Ancient World presents a comprehensive overview of the cultural aspects relating to the production, preparation, and consumption of food and drink in antiquity.

- Provides an up-to-date overview of the study of food in the ancient world

- Addresses all aspects of food production, distribution, preparation, and consumption during antiquity

- Features original scholarship from some of the most influential North American and European specialists in Classical history, ancient history, and archaeology

- Covers a wide geographical range from Britain to ancient Asia, including Egypt and Mesopotamia, Asia Minor, regions surrounding the Black Sea, and China

- Considers the relationships of food in relation to ancient diet, nutrition, philosophy, gender, class, religion, and more

From the Back Cover

A Companion to Food in the Ancient World presents a comprehensive overview of the cultural aspects relating to the production, preparation, and consumption of food and drink in antiquity. Featuring original essays contributed by influential scholars in relevant specialties, essays focus on the history of food, eating, and drinking in antiquity from the time of Homer to the later periods of Islam, Byzantium, and the Mediaeval West. Topics covered include the latest findings related to food in ancient literature; food and its relationship to diet, nutrition, philosophy, gender, class, and power; archaeological and anthropological food studies; the production, transport, and preparation of food; food cultures beyond the Greek and Roman worlds; the role of food in ancient religious practices; and considerations of "great food cultures." Offering illuminating insights into the role of food in ancient civilizations, A Companion to Food in the Ancient World is an indispensable resource to shape our understanding of the development and influences of culinary culture in the ancient Greco-Roman world and beyond.

Review Quotes

"Food and drink reveal to us the heart of a culture. Much can be learnt through the essays in this significant and important study." (Reference Reviews 2016).

'Whether one's passion is cookery books, baking, sacrifice, or butchery, or if kitchens, viniculture, and archaeobotany are more to your taste, readers of all types will find something relevant to dip into here.' (Tyler Jo Smith, Religious Studies Review, Vol 43, No 2, June 2017).

About the Author

John Wilkins is Professor of Greek Culture at the University of Exeter. His books include Food in Antiquity (1995), Food in the Ancient World (Wiley-Blackwell 2006) and Galien: Sur les facultés des aliments (2013).

Robin Nadeau is Assistant Professor of Classical Studies at Thorneloe University College (Laurentian University), Canada, and an Honorary University Fellow at the University of Exeter, UK. He is the author of Les manières de table dans le monde gréco-romain (2010).