Famine And Food Supply In The Graeco Roman World

The first full-length study of famine in antiquity. The study provides detailed case studies of Athens and Rome, the best known states of antiquity, but also illuminates the institutional response to food crisis in the mass of ordinary cities in the Mediterranean world. Ancient historians have generally shown little interest in investigating the material base of the unique civilisations of the Graeco-Roman world, and have left unexplored the role of the food supply in framing the central institutions and practices of ancient society.

Roman wars, like those of later times, took place in a landscape - a landscape not only consisting of mountains, plains and rivers, but also of men tilling the soil, travelling across sea or land, or employing other means in their struggle for survival (and even happiness). This book undertakes to examine Roman wars in this context of the natural and human environment. Roman warfare is generally examined from the vierpoint of the ancient authors on whose narratives our understanding depends. As a consequence, however, Roman wars seem to have become events that took place on the pages of a book rather than in the environment of the Mediterranean world. The way Roman wars were fought was determined by the geography and climate of the Mediterranean peninsulas, by the ecological restraints on agriculture and transport, and by the economic and social structures of the society of which the armies were a significant part. This book relates warfare to one of the main conditions of survival: it examines on the one hand the food supply of the many thousands that manned the Roman armies, and on the other the impact of war on the food supply of those people not waging war.

The results of our rapidly expanded historical and archaeological knowledge have here been brought to bear on the Book of Acts to stunning effect. Outstanding as Jackson and Lake was in its day, this volume on the Graeco-Roman setting of Acts holds out the promise of equaling if not surpassing that great achievement. Paul Barnett, Bishop of North Sydney, Australia This well-written volume offers a remarkable, up-to-date collection of relevant new data to assist in scenario formation for a considerate reading of the Book of Acts . The largely Australian and British team of authors must be congratulated for preparing this very useful data set. There are authoritative descriptions of travel, of food supply, of domestic and political religion, of urban elites, and of the Eastern Mediterranean provinces and their leadership. Such information about the realm of the Graeco-Roman world will enable the interpreter of Acts to bring these data to bear in the process of interpretation.... Of great use to ancient historians, classicists, and biblical scholars, yet written and presented in such a way that it will be fascinating to intelligent nonprofessionals as well. Bruce J. Malina, Creighton University

Did a Roman imperial economy exist under the Late Republic, the Roman Principate and the Later Roman Empire? And if so, what type of economy was it? Another equally important question is: did the Roman Empire, by specific actions, the creation of infrastructures, or its very existence, trigger a transformation of economic life in the regions which it dominated? Or was the Empire a marginal affair in the regions that belonged to it, and did economic developments take their own course, independently of the Empire? Questions like these, which are of great consequence to any student of Roman history, archaeology, and Roman law, are treated in this volume, which in its successive parts focuses on: 1. The character of the Roman economy. 2. Economic life in particular regions of the Roman Empire. 3. The economy of the Later Roman Empire.

This book explores the economic, social and political forces that shaped the grain market in the Roman Empire. Examining studies on food supply and the grain market in pre-industrial Europe, it addresses questions of productivity, division of labour, market relations and market integration. The social and political aspects of the Roman grain market are also considered. Dr Erdkamp illustrates how entitlement to food in Roman society was dependent on relations with the emperor, his representatives and the landowning aristocracy, and local rulers controlling the towns and hinterlands. He assesses the response of the Roman authorities to weaknesses in the grain market and looks at the implications of the failure of local harvests. By examining the subject from a contemporary perspective, this book will appeal not only to historians of ancient economies, but to all concerned with the economy of grain markets, a subject which still resonates today.

From Archaic Greece until the Late Roman Empire (c. 800 BCE to c. 500 CE), food was more than a physical necessity; it was a critical factor in politics, economics and culture. On the one hand, the Mediterranean landscape and climate encouraged particular crops – notably cereals, vines and olives – but, with the risks of crop failure ever-present, control of food resources was vital to economic and political power. On the other hand, diet and dining reflected complex social hierarchies and relationships. What was eaten, with whom and when was a fundamental part of the expression of one's role and place in society. In addition, symbolism and ritual suffused foodstuffs, their preparation and consumption. A Cultural History of Food in Antiquity presents an overview of the period with essays on food production, food systems, food security, safety and crises, food and politics, eating out, professional cooking, kitchens and service work, family and domesticity, body and soul, representations of food, and developments in food production and consumption globally.

An historical study of piracy in the ancient Greek and Roman world.