Roman Food Poems

Roman sources are full of information on, references to, advice and comment on all aspects of food, from the raw foodstuffs to ingredients, food preparation, eating, etiquette, morality and so on. Here, Alistair Ellito has selected a whole host of Latin texts, from poetry to graffiti, from Ennius to Juvenal.

All the major poets of Rome can be represented by something they wrote about food. They tell us how we taste it, where to get it, how to serve it, how and with whom to eat it, what and how much to drink with it, and how to get or avoid invitations to meals. Their subjects include vegetarianism, food-snobs and mythology. They also considered the idea of forbidden food. After all, the main preoccupations of human beings in any age can be brought in on the same trays as the food and drink. Sex, death, slavery, gardening, religion and the family are included, one way or another, in the verses printed and translated here. Alistair Elliot has chosen widely from Latin literature, from humble graffiti to the most famous and most memorable; from the oldest (Ennius) to those writing at the high-point of Empire (Juvenal). The lover of poetry will admire the vigorous translations; the student of Latin will welcome the many styles and means of expression contained within a short compass.