Athenaeus and his World Reading Greek Culture in the Roman Empire

Subtitled Reading Greek culture in the Roman Empire' these essays provide the first sustained attempt to understand and explore the work of Athenaeus as a whole and in its own right. It emerges as no mere compendium of texts but as a vibrant work of complex structure and substantial creativity. The book makes sense of the massive and polyphonous Deipnosophistae, the quarry upon which classicists and ancient historians depend for their knowledge of much of ancient literature, particularly Comedy, and also the source of much of the data used by modern historians for the social history of the Classical and Hellenistic worlds. Forty-one chapters, by an international gathering of literary specialists and historians each tackling a significant feature; foreword by Glen Bowersock.

David Braund is Professor of Ancient History, University of Exeter. His particular specialism lies in the Black Sea region, especially Russia, Ukraine and Georgia, and he speaks Russian and Georgian fluently.His books include The Administration of the Roman Empire (Exeter, 1988); Georgia in Antiquity: A History of Transcaucasian Georgia, 550 BC-AD 562 (Oxford, 1994); Ruling Roman Britain: Kings, Queens, Governors and Emperors from Caesar to Agricola (Routledge, 1996). John Wilkins is Reader in Greek Literature, University of Exeter. He is a specialist in the history of food in Greco-Roman culture, with current interests in literature (especially comic drama) and medicine (especially nutrition). His books include Food in Antiquity: Studies in Ancient Society and Culture (Exeter, 1996).