Feasting with the Greeks : Towards a Social Archaeology of Ritual Consumption in the Greek World

Feasting with Greeks takes the reader beyond the confines of the symposion hall into the open where caves and sanctuaries served as venues for ritual consumption, shifting the focus from elites to masses, from males to females, and from drinking to eating.

The Greek symposion is widely regarded as one of the fundamental socio-political and cultural institutions of Archaic and Classical Greece. Yet this male-oriented wine-drinking event is notthe only form of feasting. Feasting with Greeks takes the reader beyond the confines of the symposion hall into the open where caves and sanctuaries served as venues for ritual consumption, shifting the focus from elites to masses, from males to females, and from drinking to eating. Specialists reflect on the diversity of ancient Greek consumption patterns, zooming in on the social role of food, its preparation, portioning, and consumption, ranging from practicalities to sensory experiences. Zooming out, this book explores the geography of feasting, from a semi-imaginary world of the exotic to contexts where cosmopolitan and traditional consumption styles met and clashed. Feasting with Greeks is among the first books to provide a holistic perspective on Greek feasting and ritual consumption.