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

Greco-Roman diet and cuisine have recently received considerable

attention, resulting in a wide array of studies on food production and

consumption, cooking techniques, purchasing power and idealised 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.