This edited volume aims to use food, cuisine and cooking techniques and the concept of ‘transferts culturels’ to illustrate connections between ancient cultures – a way of investigating cross-cultural exchange that has, according to the editors, received little attention thus far. However, this seems to be changing – as indicated by this volume and events like the conference on food at the frontiers of the Roman Empire (Ghent, May 2016 – organised, among others, by B.).
The volume consists of an introduction and seven articles. The editors first introduce the topic and emphasise that identity and cultures are dynamic and flexible concepts concerned with both the individual and the group. Food is a particularly interesting way to study these concepts because ‘food culture negotiates between tradition and change’ (p. 9). Trade and cross-cultural exchanges across borders and regions as zones of transition may provide a new perspective to explanations about dynamism inherent in identity and culture (p. 11). The editors argue that ‘-isation’ words (such as Romanisation, creolisation or globalisation) all have their limitations and do not cover the cultural exchanges we distinguish through the study of food. Instead, the term ‘transferts culturels’ may offer possibilities because it is neutral and does not convey a presupposed ideology (p. 12). In short, ‘The aim of this volume is to show how ancient Greece and Rome, though great civilizations, were strongly influenced by foreign cultures and incorporated exogenous elements to make life easier’ (p. 12).
The three editors – who each contribute an article – have selected four other contributors: their fields of expertise range from the Classical period to the second and third centuries a.d. The argument given for this diversity is that the complex subject requires scholars from as many backgrounds and specialities as possible (p. 12).
N. contributes ‘Chicken à la perse’: is the ‘Persian bird’ a ‘designation of origin’, signifying that the chicken came to Greece from India via Persia – as the common opinion now seems to be? N., with Zeuner, dates the introduction of the chicken to the eighth century and its wider spread to the sixth century. We know it as the ‘Persian bird’ from the fifth century onwards, when authors started to liken the chicken to the Persians, and especially to the Persian king. In conclusion, this does not necessarily make ‘Persian’ a ‘designation of origin’. Use of archaeological evidence may have strengthened the argument even further.
E. Botte investigates the origins of fish processing in Greek workshops on Sicily and asks whether they ‘were influenced by those of the northwestern coast or were the result of an independent technological innovation’ (p. 25). In other words, in this case: whether they are ‘Greek’ or ‘Punic’. Botte argues that Punic influence is unlikely.
The role played by export wine in shaping and reflecting Cretan identity in Roman culture is the topic of the paper by S. Gallimore. He is especially interested in Cretan wine as part of medical treatments in the context of other cures and treatments from Cretan medicinal plants.
L. Passet discusses responses to the import of ‘foreign’ foodstuffs into Rome in the second century b.c. For example, the senatus consultum from 161 b.c. is discussed in its historical context – Passet distinguishes between the relatively negative ideas about imported animal source foods and the relatively positive ones about other foodstuffs, explicitly considering this to support the validity of the concept of ‘transferts’.
B. shows – in an outstanding article – that consumption of fish sauces along the northern limes may indicate ethnic changes in local communities. The spread of wine, oil and fish sauces as a consequence of Roman expansion is discussed, and the particular development of fish sauces (a quick spread in the first century, then a late second century disappearance from the records, after which a renewed popularity is visible from the third century onwards). The development is explained in the context of failing supply systems of imported foodstuffs in the second century and a rise in local production. Long-distance trade was simply no longer profitable.
Galen and his ideas about the healthy Greco-Roman body are the subjects of the paper by W. How does Galen incorporate imported foodstuffs into his remedies? ‘Galen has a health care system that outside emergency cases places the Greek or Roman body in its own urban setting’ (p. 97).
Early Christian food and foodways, and their importance for social and identity formation, are discussed in the context of Greco-Roman traditions – especially the symposium – by D. Smith.
Each paper has its individual merits and refers back to the theoretical questions posed to a certain extent; however, the book would have benefited from an explicit conclusion in which the editors explained the research outcomes in terms of ‘transferts’. Do historical examples show that the use of this concept contributes to our understanding? This book certainly opens up a new avenue of research, and I for one am looking forward to further conferences and written contributions on the topic of ‘transferts’ in the context of cross-cultural exchange.
