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[German version] A collective term for dishes made from the muscle tissue and innards of mammals and birds. In Antiquity, a minor number of meat dishes was made using birds (e.g., blackbird, thrush, duck, goose, chicken, pigeon, quail) and game (especially rabbit, red deer ( Deer), wild boar ( Pig); in the Roman period also rabbit and dormouse). However, most meat dishes were prepared from domestic animals - sheep, pig, cattle and goat. The pig must be particularly emphasized in this group because…

(Θαλάσσιος; Thalássios). [German version] [1] Follower of Constantius [2] II, 4th cent. AD (Thalassius). Praefectus praetorio Orientis 351-353, from a family of curiales [2] of the East. Little is known about his career, but T. was obviously a loyal follower of Constantius [2] II: in 345, he acted as the emperor's comes in Aquileia; in 351, he held a high office at his court in Cibalae (Zos. 2,48,5); still in the same year, T. - probably a Christian - entered into the office of praetorian prefect of the East (Artemii Passio…

[German version] (Greek ἐδέσματα/ edésmata; Lat. cibi, esca). A classification of dishes in antiquity is unknown to us and can be deduced only from antique  cookery books. They generally organize dishes according to their basic ingredients, thus according to such food groups as fish, meat (quadrupeds), poultry, vegetables, grains and legumes [1]. Ancient sources attest to a variety of dishes; apart from cookery books, comedies (Aristophanes; Plautus) are especially informative sources of information, a…

[German version] (Greek ἡδύσματα/ hēdýsmata; Latin condimenta). Flavouring ingredients of food and drink, mostly from particular parts of indigenous wild and garden plants and exotic ones. A great abundance of spices was known in antiquity, although availability and use differed from period to period to a considerable exte…

generally a 'representative' (Cic. Verr. 4,81; Liv. 29,1,8 f.; Quint. Decl. 9,9; CIL I 202). [German version] [1] Military-political office (military-political office). In the realm of the Roman political administration (VIII.), vicarii began to appear especially in the High Imperial Period when state responsibilities were increasing and individual civil and military officials were no longer able to single-handedly carry out the duties of their jurisdiction. The emperor assigned men to replace or represent them in certain si…

[German version] (τροφαί / trophaí; Lat. alimenta). Name for nutritious solid and liquid substances which can sometimes be eaten or drunk raw, but which are not normally suitable for consumption without preparation and are therefore further processed into meals in the kitchen. A systematic classification of food is offered by Galen's treatise ‘On the Powers of Food’ ( De alimentorum facultatibus libri III), one of the few ancient dietary specialized writings that are completely extant. Galen classifies food on the principle of its place in natural history in the following way: (1) seeds of plants (grain and pulses; ibid. 1,2-37); (2) fruits of plants (especially fruits and nuts, but also olives; ibid. 2,1-38); (3) roots, tips and shoots of plants (ibid. 2,39-69); (4) food originating from snails, four-legged animals, birds and aquatic animals, and …

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[German version] (ὄξος/ óxos, acetum). Means of flavouring and conserving, usually obtained by fermenting wine, occasionally also the juice of fruits such as dates and figs. Vinegar existed in various qualities, with that from Alexandria being particu…

[German version] I. Ancient Orient In the ancient Orient, beer was a well-known and popular drink that had been brewed in Mesopotamia and Egypt since the end of the 4th millennium BC at the latest. The basic ingredient in manufacture was above all barley malt [1. 322-329], other ingredients were emmer and sesame. In the 1st millennium BC a type of date beer became important in Babylon [2.155-183]. In Egypt texts from the older period mention not just date beer but also carob tree beer and poppy beer.…

Common Roman cognomen, originally designating the second-born child. Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) [German version] [1] Saturninius S. Salutius Praef. praet. Orientis 361-365 and 365-366 ( iterum), from a non-senatorial family in Gallia, a non-Christian. Between 324 and 3…

[German version] was prepared by boiling solid food (such as corn, veget…

Late antique personal name in the Anicii family: Anicius [II 13] Hermogenianus O. ( cos. in AD 395), Q. Clodius Hermogenianus O. [1] ( cos. in 379), the emperor of the year 472, Anicius [II 15] O. and Flavius Anicius O. ( cos. in 526). Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) …

[German version] [1] Imperator Caesar M. Aurelius Probus Augustus Roman emperor AD 276-282 Roman emperor 276-282 AD. Born on 19 August 232 AD in Sirmium; the information about his father in SHA Probus 3,2 and in [Aur. Vict.] epit. Caes. 37,1 is probably fictitious. P.'s career prior to his elevation to emperor in the East in the summer of 276 (Zos. 1,64) (in SHA Probus he is confused with a dux Tenagino P.) is unknown. During his six-year reign ( cos. I-III 277-279, cos. IV 281, cos. V 282) he fought first on the Rhine against the Alamanni, then against the Franci, Burgundiones an…

[German version] (Town prefect <of Rome later also of Constanti…

[German version] [1] Sab(inius?) M. Governor of the province of  Moesia inferior in AD 241, documented by coins of the city of Nicopolis [1. 504-518 nos. 2040-2107]. Accordingly he must previously have held the office of suffect consul. …

[German version] The main daily meal of the Romans. Over the cents. it was largely influenced by Greek table culture: it shifted from midday to evening-time; while it was originally consumed sitting in the atrium or the kitchen, the upper cl…

[German version] Overall term for meals prepared from fish, crustaceans and molluscs. The large range of varieties of fish and seafood in the Mediterranean was very different, depending on the season and area of the catch; consumer taste also changed over time. Of the large number of species used for fish dishes (cf. the catalogues in Plin. HN 9,43-104; Ath. 3,30-36; 7,277-330; 8,355-358; Auson. Mos. 75-149) we should emphasize not only  tuna but particularly  crustaceans,  molluscs,  snails and  …

[German version] (ὀπῶραι/ opôrai, Lat. poma). Collective term for edible fruits or seed kernels (hazelnut, almond, pine kernel, etc.), usually from fruit trees. Ancient authors distinguish, according to the time…

[German version] (ὄψον; ópson) referred to any kind of cooked, fried or raw food that was served with staple foods (Nutrition) consisting of grains and pulse, namely vegetables and fruit as well as fish, meat, eggs and milk products (Hom. Od. 3,480; Athen. 7,277a; 14,648f); also opsónion, Lat. obsonium. In classical times, the term acquired the special meaning of “fish” (Athen. 7,276e) because, in the coastal areas of the Mediterranean, that was quite simply the standard accompaniment to staple foods (Fish dishes). Depending on context, opson could mean cheap, often preserved fi…

[German version] A. Ancient East In the Ancient East bread was a staple form of  nutrition. As far as may be judged from epigraphical and archaeological evidence,  barley was the principal bread grain in Mesopotamia from the 3rd millennium,  emmer and  wheat being less important. In Asia Minor, Syria/Palestine and Egypt wheat seems to have played a greater role than barley. Institutional establishments looked after their members and the workforce in their employ with regular rations of bread grain (e…