Food, Identity and Cross-Cultural Exchange in the Ancient World

Greco-Roman diet and cuisine has recently received considerable attention, resulting in a wide array of studies on food production and consumption, cooking techniques, purchasing power and idealized diets. The current volume brings together a collection of papers investigating the nexus between food and identity in cross-cultural settings from Classical Greece until the rise of Christianity. Whenever different cultures engage in a process of exchange, food and cuisine are among the first aspects of identity to meet, clash and enrich each other. The authors analyse the various channels of mutual influence between different cultures and the deliberate choices made by producers and consumers. Because choice always carries information on people's standing in society, their willingness (or refusal) to adapt and their view on the 'other', this volume contributes to the study of cultural interaction and integration in Antiquity through the lens of one of the most accessible items of exchange, viz. food.