Abstract: Chapter 3 Food in Latin Literature Matthew Leigh, Matthew LeighSearch for more papers by this author Matthew Leigh, Matthew LeighSearch for more papers by this author Book Editor(s):John Wilkins, John WilkinsSearch for more papers by this authorRobin Nadeau, Robin NadeauSearch for more papers by this author First published: 30 June 2015 https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118878255.ch3Citations: 16 AboutPDFPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShareShare a linkShare onEmailFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Summary Perched at the top of the hierarchy of genres are tragedy and epic. Neither is any too comfortable with detailed evocations of food. Precisely what epic obscures, satire brings into brilliant focus. From Lucilius writing in the late second century BC onwards, satire is composed in the same dactylic hexameters as epic and can often attain to dimensions bordering on those of that loftiest of forms. The earliest exponent of Roman satire was the poet Ennius, whose works date from the late 3rd and early 2nd Centuries B.C. To a significant strand of Roman writers, changes in food and culinary practices become a crucial measure of their nation's change through the acquisition of empire and the eventual collapse into luxury. The conflict between morality and the profit-motive is most strikingly visible in the third book of the De Re Rustica. Food in Latin literature can be a very dangerous thing. Further Reading Gowers (1993) is the seminal work in this field and remains a fundamental point of reference. Gowers is particularly strong on the metaphorical and metaliterary aspects of food in Latin literature. Google Scholar The Loeb Classical Library offers easily accessible editions of Ennius, Cato, Varro, Pliny the Elder, and Macrobius. In the case of Nepos and Fenestella, I continue to cite them according to the numbering of Peter (1893) because the fragments of the former on Roman dining habits are excluded from Cornell (2013). Google Scholar There are helpful commentaries available on many of the more familiar texts cited. For Horace, Satires 2.4 and 2.8, see Muecke (1993). For Juvenal, Satires 3–5, see S. M. Braund (1996). For dining in Petronius, see Smith (1975). Google Scholar For Roman comedy and the Atellane farce, Manuwald (2011) offers a reliable introduction and guide to further reading. For more specialized studies, see Lowe (1985) and Damon (1997). Google Scholar Citing Literature A Companion to Food in the Ancient World ReferencesRelatedInformation
Publication Year: 2015
Publication Date: 2015-06-30
Language: en
Type: other
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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Cited By Count: 19
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