1. + Meals in Ancient Rome

2. + Bread, cheese, honey, milk, and fruit Fairly simple Meals during the Monarchy and Early Republic -

3. + Puls Kind of porridge Simplest kind would be made from emmer (a cereal grain very much like wheat), water, salt, and fat More sophisticated kind was made with olive oil, with an accompaniment of assorted vegetables when available The richer classes ate their puls with eggs, cheese, and honey, and it was occasionally served with meat or fish

4. + Conquest of Greece After the conquest of Greece, the Romans began to favor more elaborate meals Around the 2 nd century BC Upper-class Roman Citizens broke their meals up into 3 parts Lower classes kept to more traditional dishes

5. + I ē nt ā culum Breakfast served at dawn Piece of bread Water or wine Cf. “Continental” rolls and coffee

6. + Prandium Midday Meal (lunch) at around 11 am Leftovers from the previous night’s cena Snack

7. + C ē na Eaten in the late afternoon, while it was still daylight around 2 pm after the baths and lasted until late in the night The most substantial meal of the day 3 courses: 1. Gustatio (1 st course) 2. Primae Mensae (main course) 3. Secundae Mensae (dessert) – fruit and seafood

8. + Gustatio Appetizers 1. Mushrooms (fungi) 2. Olives (oliveae) 3. Spinach (acetaria) 4. Snails (cochleae) 5. Clams (paelores) 6. Dormice (glires)

9. + Primae mensae porcus (pig), bubulae (beef), anseres (geese), pavones (peacocks), lepores (rabbits), pisces (fish)

10. + Panis Bread was sometimes served with meat during the primae mensae

11. + Secundae Mensae Dessert course 1. Grapes (uvae) 2. Fig (fici) 3. Dates (palmulae) 4. Pomegranate (mala granata) 5. Nuts (nuces) 6. Tarts (scriblitae) 7. Cakes soaked in honey (placentae)

12. + An Offering After the main course, an offering was made to the Lares, the spirit of the house This offering normally consisted of meat, cake and wine

13. + Comissatio A round of drinks following cena Wine was consumed at all meals at varying levels Wine mixed with honey was known as mulsum

14. + Table Culture

15. + Etiquette Feet and hands were washed before the cena Food would be taken with the fingertips and 2 kinds of spoons for snails and mollusks After each course, fingers were washed again People wiped their faces with napkins (mappae) or used them to bring home uneaten food Everything that couldn’t be eaten was thrown onto the floor It was considered rude to excuse oneself during the course of cena

16. + Entertainment During a dinner for guests, musicians, acrobats, poets, or dancers would perform and dinner conversation played an important role

17. + Homework Answer the following question: If you were living in ancient Rome, what kind of foods would you put on your menu?