Translated from french (please notify us of errors) Lentils have been cultivated since the dawn of agriculture in Mesopotamia, around 10,000 years ago. Thanks to their high nutritional value, particularly their rich protein content, these leguminous seeds formed a staple food for many ancient societies: Egyptians, Jews, Greeks and Romans. The biblical episode of Esau […]
Roman doctors and cooks in the service of health
Translated from french with Deepl (please notify us of errors) French historian Dimitri Tilloi d’Ambrosi is a specialist in Roman food. In his latest book, which has just been published, he looks at the intimate links between cuisine and health in ancient Rome. He answers our questions. Nunc est bibendum: Isn’t it anachronistic to talk […]
The fork, an utensil with teeth for success
Translated from french with Deepl (please notify us of errors) Two, then three, then four: the fork doesn’t lose its teeth over time like humans do. Contrary to popular belief, the fork is not a medieval or Renaissance invention. Its existence is attested in the Roman Empire, between the 1st and 4th centuries AD. Although […]
In search of the lost torch
Translated from french with Deepl (please notify us of errors) It’s an object almost as mysterious as the famous Roman dodecahedron[1]… A handle about a cubit long, with five or seven claws at the top, arranged in a star shape around a ring. Many museums have examples on display, including the Musée d’Art et d’Histoire […]
Roman finger game, from fun to fate
Translated from french with Deepl (please notify us of errors) We have our ‘Rock Paper Scissors’, the Romans had their digitis micare[1], literally ‘waving your fingers around’. The principle is very simple: two people face each other, fist clenched. At the same time, they extend a certain number of fingers while shouting out a number […]
Grapes on his heels
Translated from french with Deepl (please notify us of errors) Ancient job advertisement: “prestigious Peloponnesian city seeks young single men under 30 to organise a festival for four years in a row, during which they will be required to run around dressed in bunches of grapes”. In Sparta, this curious custom of the staphylodromoi (σταφυλοδρόμοι, […]
An uninviting but much-loved ruta
Translated from french with Deepl (please notify us of errors) Beware if you rub yourself against it: it can cause severe skin burns. The rue we’re talking about here is a plant with an ambivalent reputation, but one that was nevertheless much appreciated by the ancient peoples: ruta graveolens. With its finely-cut, green leaves, sometimes […]
Too much water in wine is cheating
Translated from french with Deepl (please notify us of errors) It’s common knowledge that the Romans cut their wine with water, either hot or cold, depending on the occasion. Not to do so was to run the risk of sinking quickly into uncontrolled drunkenness, and above all to be seen as a barbarian ignorant of […]
‘At the cauldrons’, customers aren’t jugs
Translated from french with Deepl (please notify us of errors) From the top of these four jugs, almost 2,000 years look down on us. The fresco was discovered in a street in Herculaneum in 1961, at eye level, i.e. 1.70 metres above the ground. It is almost certainly a shop sign[1], a rare find since […]
Institutio alimentaria: children, let’s eat!
Translated from french with Deepl (please notify us of errors) A skilful military strategist, a sensible statesman, loved by his soldiers and the people. And generous. Emperor Trajan was highly praised, both by his contemporaries and by ancient historians. In fact, it was under the reign of Optimus Princeps that the Empire reached its territorial […]