Food and Society in Classical Antiquity

by Peter Garnsey

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521641821
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	04/22/1999
Series:	Key Themes in Ancient History
Pages:	192
Product dimensions:	6.18(w) x 9.29(h) x 0.63(d)
Lexile:	1450L (what's this?)

Table of Contents

List of illustrations; Acknowledgements; Abbreviations; Preface; Introduction: food, substance and symbol; 1. Diet; 2. Food and the economy; 3. Food crisis; 4. Malnutrition; 5. Otherness; 6. Forbidden foods; 7. Food and the family; 8. Haves and havenots; 9. You are with whom you eat; Conclusion: choice and necessity; Bibliographical essay; Bibliography; Index.

Editorial Reviews

"...this reviewer found the book most valuable, especially in its findings on (mal)nutrition. Its engaging and honest style, moderate price in paperback, and brevity make it a sensible choice for undergraduate courses on classical antiquity, and its bold position on the nutritional status of most individuals in antiquity has made an important contribution to a vital scholarly debate." The Historian

From the Publisher

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.
—Times Literary Supplement

John D'Arms