The boastful chef
Subtitle: the discourse of food in ancient Greek comedy
By: John Wilkins.
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: 2000
Place of publication: Oxford; New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 465
Subjects: Greek drama (Comedy) -- History and criticism; Dinners and dining -- Greece -- History; Food habits -- Greece -- History; Dinners and dining in literature; Cookery -- Greece -- History; Food habits in literature; Gastronomy in literature; Cookery in literature; Cooks in literature
Description: "It is well known that ancient Greek comedy is interested in food and wine; many plays conclude with a feast. Further, they were produced at festivals of Dionysus where eating and drinking took place. This book explains the importance of food to comedy: it was a medium through which comedy could represent the material, social, agricultural, political, and religious worlds to the Greek city-state. Comedy was a powerful cultural commentator and the foods that it represented were resonant markers of the culture. There could be no comedy without food and wine. Related genres and artefacts are also considered. The text contains translations of hundreds of comic fragments; and it reassesses the division of comedy into Sicilian and Attic Old, Middle, and New."--Jacket.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [423]-436) and indexes.