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[German version] (Greek πλακοῦς, plakoûs, Latin placenta), mostly individual sweets, found in many varieties in ancient tradition according to region and period, fashion and purpose (cf. the lists in Ath. 14,643-648). They consisted without exception of fine meal (initially barley, later predominantly wheat), water, milk or shortening and (usually) a raising agent. Other ingredients, such as eggs, fruit, spices, (cream-)cheese, nuts and sweeteners supplied the typical aroma and flavour of a kind of pa…

[German version] I Greek (Ῥουφῖνος/ Rhouphînos). [German version] [I 1] Epigrammatist Greek epigrammatist; dating uncertain (Neronian/Flavian era? [2; 4]; 2nd cent. AD? [3]; late 4th cent. AD? [1]); origin unknown (Anth. Pal. 5,9: residence in Ephesus). 37 erotic poems are extant, all in Anth. Pal. 5,2-103 (on this so-called Sylloge Rufiniana, perhaps also from the 4th cent. AD, cf. [5]). With the exception of the paederastic poem 28 (cf. also 19), R.' epigrams, in which 13 women's names are mentioned (two further fictitious ones in 44,1), tr…

[German version] (δεῖπνον; deîpnon). In the early Greek period a term applying to every daytime meal. But during the 5th cent. BC in Athens, probably as a consequence of urbanization, the meaning of deîpnon had become restricted to the main meal, which began at sunset. There was a set order to the deîpnon. This comprised the actual meal, with the possibility of several courses, and the dessert, which might lead on to the drinking session ( sympósion); not until the second part of the deîpnon was any amount of wine drunk. As the Greeks saw the deîpnon as the expression of a link with the go…

(μέλι: méli, Latin mel). [German version] I. Ancient Orient In the ancient Orient and Egypt not always terminologically distinguished from types of syrup (date or fig). With a value of a shekel of silver for 1-2 litres (21st cent. BC), honey was one of the most valuable foods in Mesopotamia and was the entitlement particularly of the gods (sacrifices) and high officials. Literary tradition regards honey as a delicacy especially together with the highly regarded butter oil (‘milk and honey’). Englund, Robert K. (Berlin) Bibliography H. A. Hoffner, Alimenta Hethaeorum, 1974, 123 J. Lec…

[German version] (βούτυρον; boútyron, butyrum). Fat mainly from cow's milk, less commonly extracted from sheep's or goat's milk; unlike today it was mostly used in liquid form. Many peoples on the northern and southern edge of the ancient world (especially the Thracians and Scythians but also the Lusitanians, Gauls, Germanic tribes and Arabs) used butter intensively as cooking fat and ointment (Plin. HN 28,133f.). In the Mediterranean Sea area, people preferred to use olive oil instead, the cost of …

(Λεόντιος; Leóntios). [German version] [1] Ptolemaic commander of Seleucid Pieria, late 3rd cent. BC Ptolemaic commander of Seleucea Pieria; in 219 BC, he surrendered the city to Antiochus [5] III after initial resistance in a hopeless position. Ameling, Walter (Jena) [German version] [2] General of peltasts, 3rd cent. BC Macedonian, named general of peltasts by Antigonus [3] Doson in his will. Together with Megaleas, L. opposed the pro-Achaean politics of Philippus V and his mentor Aratus [2]; after inciting the elite troops against the k…

[German version] (Greek ἅλμη/ hálmē). Brine used from the earliest Roman period (Fest. 141) to conserve perishable foodstuffs. Although natural brine was also used (Plin. HN 31,83), muria was predominantly mixed from salt and water. To the spicier muria dura (Colum. 12,6) fish, meat, vegetables and fruit were added and eaten when marinated ( salsamenta: Plin. HN 31,83). A milder muria, occasionally mixed with honey (Colum. 12,25,3) was added to wine and milk products to extend their durability (Plin. HN 14,78). Muria was also considered a condiment in the narrower sense (Api…

[German version] [1-2] See Ap(p)uleius [I 10-11]. Franke, Thomas (Bochum) [German version] [3] Emperor for a short time, 3rd cent. Was elevated to emperor by the army at the time of Gallienus, but killed by the soldiers a short time afterwards because of his severity (SHA Tyr. Trig. 23; cf. SHA Firmus 11,1; SHA Gall. 9,1). Franke, Thomas (Bochum) Bibliography Kienast 2, 230  PLRE 1, 805 no. 1. [German version] [4] Imperator Caesar C. Iulius S. Augustus of Moorish extraction, followed a military career (Zos. 1,66,1; SHA Quatt. tyr. 9,5; Zon. 12,29), until Aurelianus [3] appointed him dux l…

[German version] Praefectus praetorio Orientis under Constantius II. Life and career are poorly attested. Coming from a curial family from the East, he had a meteoric rise in his career (Lib. Ep. 1510) which reached its peak with the praetorian prefecture. He presumably held this office between the summer of 344 and 28 July AD 346 (Cod. Theod. 11,22,1: first certain evidence for his supposed successor Flavius Philippus) with his headquarters in Antioch [1]. He died shortly before 357 (Lib. Ep. 560) …

[German version] (Greek ἄλευρον/ áleuron, Lat. farina). Fine-grained to powdery product resulting from grinding, crushing or pounding certain grains or seeds. The most important source product in the Greek period was barley (Ath. 3,111e-112a) and in the Roman period it was wheat (Plin. HN 18,74; 85-90); depending on the region, flour was also made from millet (Gal. De alimentorum facultatibus 1,15) and rye (Plin. HN 18,141) and in areas with no grain cultivation or in times of emergency even from starch-containing fruits such as beans or acorns (Plin. HN 16,15; 18,117). Flour was diff…

[German version] Meals, i.e. drink and food taken at particular hours, are at the centre of ancient table culture. The type and sequence of meals and their position in the larger order and that of the overarching rhythm of life are so complex that they cannot be discussed here in their entire structural, spatial and temporal differentiation. In the Greek and Roman world, daily meals were subject to a fixed order that was at first primarily guided by the natural environment, especially sunrise and sunset (cf. the names of the meals: ἄριστον/ áriston, morpheme: ‘early’ and vesperna, morpheme…

[German version] Praefectus praetorio Orientis in AD 383. An orthodox Christian from the West, P. rose above various otherwise unknown officials to the praetorian praefecture of the East (Greg. Naz. Epist. 173). He took up office at the beginning of 383  (Cod. Theod. 9,42,10), but held it only until the end of the year (Cod. Theod. 16,5,12). After returning to the west he was entrusted from 395 to 396 with a legation from the city of Rome's Senate to the emperor (Symmachus Ep. 6,22,3; 6,26,2). Gutsfeld, Andreas (Münster) Bibliography W. Enßlin, s. v. P. (2), RE 22, 890  PLRE 1, 718 (P. 2); c…

[German version] (Greek γάλα/ gála; Latin lac). The milk of various mammals (donkey, camel, cow, sheep, mare, goat) was used in ancient times; the concept was thus not, as today, limited to cow's milk. Cow's milk was rather unpopular in the Mediterranean region, and was consumed in large quantities only in northern regions of the ancient world (Aristot. Hist. Ant. 3,20). The favourite kind of milk among the Greeks and Romans was that of sheep, also the only kind to appear in the Edictum [3] Diocletian…

[German version] In antiquity there were countless types of drinks depending on the time and region and they were drunk undiluted, mixed together or mixed with additives (fat, spices, sweet substances), hot or cold. They can be divided into three groups according to their basic components: 1. Beverages made of water. Water (Plin. HN 31,31-72) was an indispensable nutritional substance (Pind. Ol. 1,1; Vitr. De arch. 8,1,1; Plin. HN 31,31-72) and also an essential component of two important drinks c…

('praetorian prefect'; Greek ἔπαρχος/ éparchos or ὕπαρχος τῆς αὐλῆς/ hýparchos tês aulês). Holder of one of the most important posts in the administration of the Roman empire. [German version] A. Principate Augustus [1] established the post in 2 BC when he placed two men of equestrian rank ( equites Romani ) at the head of his bodyguard, the praetorians ( cohortes praetorianae) (Cass. Dio 55,10). The PP's original task was to command the imperial bodyguard that protected the emperor in his headquarters ( praetorium ). As early as the reign of Tiberius [II …

[German version] I Greek (Φίλιππος/ Phílippos). Macedonian kings P. [3-7], including P. [4] II, P. [7] V; the apostle and evangelist P. [28]; philosophers and poets P. [29-32]. [German version] [I 1] Spartan naval leader in 411 BC Spartiate, commander at Miletus in 412 BC (Thuc. 8,28,5), sent in 411 with two triremes to Aspendus to move, with the support of Tissaphernes, the Phoenician fleet to fight Athens (Thuc. 8,87), but soon told the naúarchos Mindarus that his mission would be unsuccessful (Thuc. 8,99; [1. 244]). Peloponnesian War Welwei, Karl-Wilhelm (Bochum) Bibliography 1 B. …

[German version] Flavius N., praefectus praetorio Galliarum AD 390. N., a novus homo , began his career in the west of the Empire. In 366 he probably went as tribunus et notarius of Valentinian I. to North Africa (Amm. Marc. 26,5,14). He became a close friend of Theodosius, who took N. with him to his part of the Empire after his nomination as emperor and entrusted him with the post of praefectus praetorio of the East from AD 380 to 381. Although criticism of his conduct in office was voiced loudly (Lib. Or. 2,72-73), Theodosius I. held onto N.. He sent him back to …

[German version] (ᾠόν; ōión, ovum). In the ancient kitchen eggs of all domestic birds, such as ducks, pheasants, geese, chicken, peafowl, partridges and pigeons and occasionally even wild fowl, were used. In general usage the meaning of ‘egg’ was narrowed to chicken egg, which was known in Greece no later than the 6th cent. BC and was later much esteemed in the Roman world. The chicken egg was a quite affordable food (Edictum Diocletiani 6,43), which was popularly served as an appetizer at meals (Hor. Sat. 1,3,6f.: ab ovo usque ad mala). It also had a place in haute cuisine:  Apicius …

[German version] I. Ancient Orient Cheese, together with grain and fish, was one of the most important foods for the people of the ancient Orient. After the oil in the butter (Sumer. ì.nun, Akkad. ḫimētu) had been completely removed, the buttermilk was processed into a fat-free cheese that therefore kept well for a long time; it is similar to the hard cheese called kašk in the modern Middle East. Cheese was also mixed with various ingredients (grain, dates, wine and numerous spices) and then brought as an offering to the gods, often, as is to be expected, t…

[German version] Fluid, semi-solid or solid material obtained from vegetable or animal cells, and of great importance to human  Nutrition as a source of energy and vehicle of flavour. In early antiquity  Butter, lard and suet predominated. Use of these animal fats subsequently remained at a high level in antiquity, especially in northern regions; in the Mediterranean region, olive oil eventually gained absolute pride of place. Although relatively expensive (CIL III 2, p. 827 3,1-3; 4,10-11; p. 828…