Siren Feasts: A History of Food and Gastronomy in Greece [Paperback]

Andrew Dalby (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0415156572 | ISBN-13: 978-0415156578 | Publication Date: January 29, 1997 | Edition: Reprint

Cheese, wine, honey and olive oil - four of Greece's best known contributions to culinary culture - were already well known four thousand years ago. Remains of honeycombs and of cheeses have been found under the volcanic ash of the Santorini eruption of 1627 BC. Over the millennia, Greek food diversified and absorbed neighbouring traditions, yet retained its own distinctive character.
In Siren Feasts, Andrew Dalby provides the first serious social history of Greek food. He begins with the tunny fishers of the neolithic age, and traces the story through the repertoire of classical Greece, the reputations of Lydia for luxury and of Sicily and South Italy for sybaritism, to the Imperial synthesis of varying traditions, with a look forward to the Byzantine cuisine and the development of the modern Greek menu. The apples of the Hesperides turn out to be lemons, and great favour attaches to Byzantine biscuits.
Fully documented and comprehensively illustrated, scholarly yet immensely readable, Siren Feasts demonstrates the social construction placed upon different types of food at different periods (was fish a luxury item in classical Athens, though disdained by Homeric heroes?). It places diet in an economic and agricultural context; and it provides a history of mentalities in relation to a subject which no human being can ignore.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'A must. Even if you didn't that this was the book you were waiting for, you will know when it is in your hands. The sensationally good cover is both alluring and surprising; and the same may be said of Andrew Dalby's text.' - Petit Propo Wlinaires

'It will surely remain for some time the definitive work on Greek food and gastronomy, and as a standard reference work, it will be regularly plundered via its quite excellent indexes every time anyone wants to know, as Dalby himself once did, how the Greeks ate.' - Times Literary Supplement

'Siren Feasts is a fascinating book and the first of its kind. It is not only for the scholar - although scholarly in approach - but also for the food enthusiast.' - Rena Salaman, Hampstead and Highgate Express

'No review can do justice to the packed detail in this unique book, drawing on the archaeology of prehistoric sites, the inventories of shipwrecked cargoes, ruined storerooms, vase-painting and literature' - Financial Times

'This is one of those books you'll find yourself using time and time again and it will seldom let you down. I was also impressed by the high standard of production and by the illustrations' - Greece & Rome Volume 43

'If you're at all interested in what the ancient Greeks ate, this is the book.' - LA Times

About the Author

Andrew Dalby trained as a classicist and linguist and is now librarian of the London Goodenough Trust for Overseas Graduates

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; Reprint edition (January 29, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415156572
• ISBN-13: 978-0415156578
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,472,430 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #97 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Regional & International > European > Greek

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not a casual read, September 5, 2002

By 

A. Schneider (BC ,Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Siren Feasts: A History of Food and Gastronomy in Greece (Paperback)

All of Andrew's Dalby's Books tend to be scholarly, and it's a little like reading somebodies doctoral thesis.
He gives a comprehensive list of the foods available from Neolithic Greece to Byzantium times and quotes several plays that made referances to Greek food (from the Classical times). The problem is, he makes the usually fascinating subject of food history a dry read and it feels somewhat like a chore plowing through the material. I would have liked a description of the Dionysian Cult and how that tied into alcohol comsumption. I never did figure out if meat was only eaten after if was sacrificed or not. I've read far better descriptions of Symposiums and Banquets, and there wasn't much information on the Agora. I would have liked to have a whole section on Archestratus (the first great food writer) and what he wrote rather than have quotes scattered throughout the Classical Greece section. Lasty, after reading Reah Tannahills "Food in History" (still the best overall book on this topic IMO, I looked for any mention of the envirnomental degradation by the earliest populations which she writes about, and the effect that Solon's ruling on no exports except olive oil had on agriculture - but failed to see any referance to these topics.

If however you want a very complete and well researched book on what foods where available during these times, then this is the book for you.