Sensual yet pre-eminently functional, food is of intrinsic interest to us all. This exciting new work by a leading authority explores food and related concepts in the Greek and Roman worlds. In entries ranging from a few lines to a couple of pages, Andrew Dalby describes individual foodstuffs (such as catfish, gazelle, peaches and parsley), utensils, ancient writers on food, and a vast range of other topics, drawn from classical literature, history and archaeology, as well as looking at the approaches of modern scholars. Approachable, reliable and fun, this A-to-Z explains and clarifies a subject that crops up in numerous classical sources, from plays to histories and beyond. It also gives references to useful primary and secondary reading. It will be an invaluable companion for students, academics and gastronomes alike.

This fascinating book envelops the reader in a world devoted to the titillation and fulfilment of the senses, recapturing the Roman Empire as it was sensed and imagined by those who lived in it. Dalby presents an evocative survey of how the Romans themselves depicted and visualised their food, wine and entertainments in literature and in art, inspired as they were by their extraordinary desire for worldly pleasures.
With numerous illustrations and tempting descriptions that conjure up the exotic aromas and flavours of the Roman World, Empire of Pleasures is a worthy follow up to Dalby's previous work, the award winning Siren Feasts.

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.

Sensual yet pre-eminently functional, food is of intrinsic interest to us all. This exciting new work by a leading authority explores food and related concepts in the Greek and Roman worlds.
In entries ranging from a few lines to a couple of pages, Andrew Dalby describes individual foodstuffs (such as catfish, gazelle, peaches and parsley), utensils, ancient writers on food, and a vast range of other topics, drawn from classical literature, history and archaeology, as well as looking at the approaches of modern scholars.
Approachable, reliable and fun, this A-Z explains and clarifies a subject that crops up in numerous classical sources, from plays to histories and beyond. It also gives references to useful primary and secondary reading.
It will be an invaluable companion for students, academics and gastronomes alike.

Empire of Pleasures presents an evocative survey of the sensory culture of the Roman Empire, showing how the Romans themselves depicted their food, wine and entertainments in literature and in art.
This fascinating journey envelops the reader in a world devoted to the titillation and fulfilment of the senses, allowing them to recapture the Empire as it was sensed and imagined by those who lived in it. It will fascinate and entrance anyone with a love of the classical world

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.

The Treatise of Walter of Bibbesworth is a didactic poem in Anglo-Norman which surveys a host of practical matters, ranging from childbirth and our passage through life, to estate management and life in fields, workshops, to activities in the home, the kitchen and the dining-hall, to the flora and fauna (and even the weather) of thirteenth-century England. Its didactic purpose was to teach the French language, in other words, it was not so much the topics discussed but the Anglo-Norman or French words used to describe them. It was a vocabulary, albeit a creative one. To this end, many of the words were glossed, in the original manuscript and subsequent versions, with their Middle English equivalents. The author and the intended audience for this poem are discussed in the introduction, as are also its date, the language, modern interpretations and its bibliography. Anglo-Norman text with parallel translation.

Approximately how many languages compose the Bantu language group of central and southern Africa? What is the name of the language spoken in Hawaii by an estimated two thousand people? What Western European language is not known to be related to any other language family in the world -- and is considered by linguists to be one of the most difficult to learn?

These are only a few of the questions language lovers, linguists, and lay readers will be able to answer with the "Dictionary of Languages" -- an easy-to-navigate, authoritative guide to the world's languages and language groups at the end of the twentieth century. Andrew Dalby had the needs and interests of general readers in mind when he compiled this comprehensive reference work -- most other language guides are written for scholars, and many include little or none of the absorbing social, cultural, geographic, and historical details that are brought together here.

In the "Dictionary of Languages, " readers will find:

-a selection of four hundred languages and language groups, arranged alphabetically, with rich, detailed descriptions of the genesis, development, and current status of each;

-more than two hundred maps displaying where the languages are spoken today;

-sidebars showing alphabets, numerals, and other enriching facts

-a comprehensive index listing additional languages, guiding readers to the nearest language groups with full writeups and maps;

-charts breaking down large language groups -- such as Bantu or Austroasiatic languages -- by geographic region and approximate number of speakers.

In a world where geopolitical boundaries often explain little about the people that live within them, where we may read about Kurd and Khmer in the same newspaper and be expected to be conversant about each -- if not conversant in each -- Dalby's single, information-packed volume helps us make sense of the rich mosaic of world languages.

Geoponika is one of the most celebrated texts to come out of the Byzantine renaissance promoted by the 10th-century emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus. It was a gathering together of many classical and post-classical agricultural works, from Pliny in ancient Rome to the 7th-century Cassianus Bassus and the 4th-century Vindonius Anatolius. Many of these no longer survive, making the Geoponika the more valuable. It is a source both for ancient Roman agricultural practice in the West, and for understanding Near Eastern agriculture and what went on in Byzantine Anatolia. It was once translated into English, in the early 19th century, but has usually only been accessible to scholars of Greek. The history of the manuscript is extremely complicated. Andrew Dalby provides a modern and intelligent translation. He does not explore in any detail textual and linguistic matters, wishing to concentrate on questions of agriculture and food production (meanwhile a definitive Greek text is in preparation elsewhere). This will be an essential tool for students of the classical and medieval worlds.

For centuries, the food and culinary delights of the Byzantine empire - centred on Constantinople - have captivated the west, although it appeared that very little information had been passed down to us. Tastes of Byzantium now reveals in astonishing detail, for the first time, what was eaten in the court of the Eastern Roman Empire - and how it was cooked. Fusing the spices of the Romans with the seafood and simple local food of the Aegean and Greek world, the cuisine of the Byzantines was unique and a precursor to much of the food of modern Turkey and Greece. Bringing this vanished cuisine to life in vivid and sensual detail, Dalby describes the sights and smells of Constantinople and its marketplaces, relates travellers' tales and paints a comprehensive picture of the recipes and customs of the empire and their relationship to health and the seasons, love and medicine. For food-lovers and historians alike, Tastes of Byzantium is both essential and riveting - an extraordinary illumination of everyday life in the Byzantine world.

What do we think about when we think of Greek food? For many, it is the meze and traditional plates of a typical Greek island taverna from summer holidays or from Greek restaurants at home. This book takes us into and beyond the taverna to offer us a unique, comprehensive history of the foods of Greece. Andrew and Rachel Dalby discuss how the land was first settled, what was grown, and how certain fruits, herbs and vegetables came to be identified. Moving through prehistorical and classical Greece, and the Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman empires, they explore the variety of Greek foods among communities outside the national borders as well as the food culture of the regions and islands of Greece itself. Through a synthesis of modern Greek food, with all that it owes to Christianity and to Greeks of the diaspora, they lead us into a discussion of Greek hospitality. Greek food is brimming with thousands of centuries of history, lore and culture. With many superb illustrations, and traditional recipes that blend historical and modern flavours, Gifts of the Gods is a fine account of this rich and ancient cuisine.

Every two weeks the world loses another indigenous language. Evolving over hundreds or even thousands of years, distinct languages are highly complex and extremely adaptable, but they are also more fragile and endangered than we might expect. Of the approximately 5,000 languages spoken around the globe today, Andrew Dalby predicts that half will be lost during this century. How will this linguistic extinction affect our lives? Is there a possibility that humanity will become a monolingual species? Should we care?

"Language in Danger" is an unsettling historical investigation into the disappearance of languages and the consequences that future generations may face. Whether describing the effects of Latin's displacement of native languages in the aftermath of Rome's imperial expansion or the aggressive extermination of hundreds of indigenous North American languages through a brutal policy of forcing Native Americans to learn English, Dalby reveals that linguistic extinction has traditionally occurred as a result of economic inequality, political oppression, and even genocide. Bringing this historical perspective to bear on the uncertain fate of hundreds of pocket cultures-cultures whose languages are endangered by less obvious threats, such as multinational economic forces, immigration, nationalism, and global telecommunications -- "Language in Danger" speaks out against the progressive silencing of our world's irreplaceable voices.

More than an uncompromising account of the decline of linguistic diversity, "Language in Danger" explains why humanity must protect its many unique voices. Since all languages represent different ways of perceiving, mapping, and classifying the world, they act as repositories for cultural traditions and localized knowledge. The growing trend toward linguistic standardization -- for example, politically designated national languages -- threatens the existence of more marginalized cultures and ethnic customs, leaving only a few dominant tongues. The resulting languages become less flexible, nuanced, and inventive as they grow increasingly homogenized. Dalby argues that humanity needs linguistic variety not only to communicate, but to sustain and enhance our understanding of the world. People do not simply invent words out of thin air: our creativity and intelligence are, to a significant degree, dependent on other languages and alternate ways of interpreting the world. When languages intermix, they borrow and feed off each other, and this convergence catalyzes the human imagination, making us more intelligent and adaptable beings.

The Greek Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos (1864-1936) was one of the stars of the Paris Peace Conference, impressing many of the Western delegates, already possessed of a romantic view of 'the grandeur that was Greece', with his charm and oratorical style. He won support for his country's territorial ambitions in Asia Minor, the 'Great Idea' of a revived Hellenic empire controlling the Aegean and stretching to the Black Sea. Venizelos had won this support by bringing Greece into the war on the Allied side, but in doing so he had split his country, and in order to secure his government's position he had to deliver territorial gains at the expense of the Ottoman Empire. It was the Greek occupation of Asia Minor, however, that spurred the Turks to support Mustafa Kemal and resulted not in the creation of a Greater Greece but the modern Republic of Turkey. The conflict between Greece and Turkey began the tension between the two states that has continued for the past 90 years and is most clearly seen in the dispute over the divided island of Cyprus. The Paris Peace Conferences were where the modern Near East, with all its problems of competing nationalisms and ethnic divisions, was created, and Venizelos' Greece was the key player in this process.

310 Nights at Anchor (and holding) describes the life of a couple who sold their house and bought a sailing yacht to live at sea off the west coast of Scotland. Based upon the journal they kept it seeks to illustrate the advantages and challenges of an "off-grid", semi nomadic existence. Effecting radical life changes involves risk and the possibility of disappointment or of making a disastrous mistake. This true story addresses these issues offering advice and encouragement for others who would follow suit. The day to day chronicle is interspersed with comments on news events, points of historical interest, literary quotations and some of the author's own poems. As atypical as its creator, this book is hard to categorise for it is part travel writing, part poetry, part confessional and part philosophy; but above all it is thought provoking!

373 Days Afloat (and counting) is the true story of an ordinary couple dissatisfied with the daily 9 to 5 routine who sold their house, bought a sailing yacht and took to a life at sea for fun and adventure initially off the west coast of Scotland. This book is based upon the journal that they kept and begins with an account of the events that forged their desire to do something different and ends at the conclusion of their first complete cruising season. Sometimes tragic and occasionally amusing, this quirky tale is punctuated by comments, observations, literary quotations and a few of the author's poems, which he describes as ditties and doggerel. Like the author, this book is hard to pin down and pigeon hole, for it is part travel writing, part poetry, part confessional and part philosophy; but the one thing it certainly is, is different!

More than 400 living and extinct languages are detailed in this information-packed reference. Each article covers the political, social, and historical background of the language by stating the number of speakers; the countries where it is spoken; how many dialects it spawned; its origins, characteristics, and examples of both words and the alphabet; and pronunciations. Anecdotes, literary quotations, and charts of script and numerals appear in sidebars to illustrate the cultures connected to the languages. This is an essential guide to the languages of the world."----"Outstanding reference sources 2000", American Libraries, May 2000. Comp. by the Reference Sources Committee, RUSA, ALA.

The updated edition of this best-selling cookbook features a delicious collection of recipes from every strata of classical civilization, all accessible to the contemporary cook. Using a subtle mix of sweet and sour flavours, fragrant herbs, creamy cheesecakes and hearty red wines, ancient Mediterranean cuisine is brought to life. Pioneering the exploration of menus and manners of ancient Greece and Rome, "The Classical Cookbook" features adaptations of 49 sumptuous dishes. Sitting alongside sun-soaked recipes are rich illustrations of murals, marbles and mosaics, plus lively commentary painting a vibrant picture of everyday wining and dining in the ancient world. "The Classical Cookbook" will prove that we can still enjoy Terrine of Asparagus, Sweet Wine Cakes, Olive Relish or even Toronaean Shark. Featuring step-by-step instructions, the modern cook will be able to tackle everything from simple meals and street food through to lavish banquets and wedding feasts with an authentic Ancient Greek and Roman flair.

Southeast Asia needs to be dealt with as a whole, because, although the one national delegation from the region (Siam) took a minor part, nationalist movements in several Southeast Asian countries reached an early climax significant though inconclusive in the years 1919-1920. The planned Peace Conference, Wilson's Fourteen Points, and the victory of Communism in Russia, all contributed to this activity, and in spite of national differences it needs to be seen as a whole. The focus of the book will be on developments around 1919; thus it will bring out for the first time the unexpected significance for South-east Asia of the 1919 milestone. It will also have a biographical bias taking a special interest in the personalities of major figures in this important period, in order to show the influences and the patterns of thought that underlie their activities at the time of the Peace Conference. Following a brief introduction making the link between world events in 1919 and South-east Asia, the book sets the scene in the region. Succeeding chapters deal with the five countries Siam, Vietnam, Burma, Indonesia, Philippines in which the years 1919 21 were of special significance, as well as the impact of the peace conferences in relationships with their neighbours, the growth of international Communism and global politics in later years.

Scholar Andrew Dalby delves into the world that first heard the Odyssey and the Iliad, asking new questions about the poet named Homer. Rediscovering Homer follows the growth of the legend of Troy from a kernel of historical truth into an unforgettable story that a succession of singers re-created for generations of audiences. Dalby asks why and how the two great epics crossed the frontier from song to writing while finding new approaches to the personality of Homer and showing how the earliest evidence has been misread. He makes a powerful case that both poems are the work of a single poet, but it is his conclusion that will surprise even serious classical scholars: Homer was most likely a woman.

Scholar Andrew Dalby delves into the world that first heard the "Odyssey" and the "Iliad", and asks new questions about the poet Homer. Dalby follows the growth of the legend of Troy from its kernel of historical truth and retraces the succession of singers who re-created the unforgettable story for generations of audiences. He asks why the two great epics at last crossed the frontier from song to writing and how this astonishing transformation from the singer's mouth to the goatskin page was achieved. A gifted detective of the classical world, Dalby finds new approaches to the personality of Homer, showing how the earliest evidence has been misread. He makes a powerful case that both poems are the work of a single poet and comes to an ultimate conclusion that will surprise even serious classical scholars: Homer was probably a woman.