Guides
Long before cookbooks became household objects, cooks in Mesopotamia prepared dishes from instructions pressed into wet clay. In the cities of ancient…
A pot of onions simmered with beer may sound simple, yet it opens a remarkable window onto Old Babylonian food culture. Around 1750 BCE, cooks in southern…
Roman sausage was practical food, but it was never merely a way to use up scraps. A botulus could carry the character of a household, a tavern, a military…
In classical Athens, the Panathenaia was far more than an athletic competition. It was a major civic and religious celebration dedicated to Athena Polias, the…
Chance has always shaped the way people play. In ancient societies, dice, lots, knucklebones, and marked tokens were used in games, rituals, and acts of…
The ancient Greek word mageiros (μάγειρος) is usually translated as “cook,” but that short definition conceals a much wider profession. A mageiros could…
Posca was a sharp, refreshing drink made by diluting sour wine or wine vinegar with water. It is often associated with Roman legionaries, whose daily…
Across ancient Etruria, death did not end a person’s place at the table. Tombs, painted with banqueting scenes and equipped with vessels, furniture, and…
Along Italy’s central Adriatic coast, bread belonged to a landscape shaped by mountain grain fields, Roman roads, market towns, and older local traditions.…
At the mouth of the Tiber, Ostia connected Rome with a maritime world of grain ships, merchant vessels, warehouses, sailors, customs officials, and food…
