of a myth involving a fi sh eating the phallus of the god Osiris
aft er his evil brother Seth mutilated him. Although fi sh do
not frequently appear depicted on off ering tables, many spe-
cies of fi sh are seen in representations on tomb walls as well
as in fi shing scenes, indicating that the Egyptians did indeed
enjoy fi sh as part of their diet.
Many species of birds, both domesticated and wild, were
consumed by the ancient Egyptians, including most oft en
duck and goose but also ostrich, pigeon, quail, partridge,
and dove. Containers in the shape of prepared (strangled and
plucked) birds from funerary contexts survive; these recep-
tacles contain cooked or preserved fowl for the deceased to
enjoy in the aft erlife. Bird eggs included those from many
species, even ostrich.
Th e ancient Egyptians both hunted mammals in the
wild and bred them in captivity. With the exception of the
upper classes, most individuals consumed meat only on spe-
cial occasions and during religious festivals. Th e rich could
aff ord meat from cows, bulls, and oxen, while the less affl u-
ent may have eaten solely sheep and goat meat. Tomb scenes
depict captive animals being force-fed to produce more meat
per animal. Despite rare representations and Herodotus’s
claim that swine were taboo to the Egyptians, archaeologi-
cal evidence suggests that Egyptians domesticated pigs and
consumed pork. Smaller and perhaps more abundant animal
food sources may have included mice, hedgehogs, and hares.
No part of a food animal was wasted; animal products and
by-products included milk (from goats and cows), cheeses,
fats, medicines, and oils used for fragrance and cooking.
THE MIDDLE EAST
BY KAREN RADNER
Evidence about the ancient Near Eastern diet comes from two
sources. One is the analysis of the remains of foodstuff s and
human skeletons discovered in archaeological excavations.
Th e other is information found in ancient texts and, to a
lesser extent, images. Th ese materials add up to a surprisingly
detailed picture, and the ancient Mesopotamian menu is one
of the best known of antiquity. Th e basic diet of an ordinary
person consisted mostly of plant products, with only about
10 percent derived from animals, usually domesticated ones.
Th e members of the elite, because they had access to luxury
foods, could have a substantially higher proportion of animal
products, including milk and milk products and eggs in their
diet.
Th e emergence of ancient Near Eastern civilization is
closely connected to the development of agriculture. It is
therefore not surprising to fi nd that cereals constituted the
most important part of the diet, with barley being predomi-
nant and wheat occupying a distant second place. Barley
was either ground into fl our to make bread or porridge or
used to brew beer, which was drunk habitually by people of
all ages. Although regular beer had a low alcohol content, it
nevertheless had enough to kill germs in the water during fer-
mentation. Beer was therefore the solution to the dangers of
drinking contaminated water. Stronger beer, oft en fl avored
with sweet or spicy ingredients, was reserved for recreational
drinking and served during festivals and in taverns. Typically
beer was drunk through straws from large vessels resting on
pot stands.
Th e palm tree was present throughout southern Mesopo-
tamia, and its fruit, the date, played an important role in the
Near Eastern diet and economy, in antiquity as today. Unpro-
cessed dates could be stored and transported easily and, once
dried, kept for a considerable time, making them ideal provi-
sions for the road. Date syrup was widely used as a sweetener;
because the climate of southern Mesopotamia was not favor-
able for bees, the use of honey was largely restricted to the
north. Vegetable oil constituted an important element of the
diet, with pronounced regional diff erences: Whereas olive oil
was common in Anatolia and along the Mediterranean coast,
where the olive tree found ideal conditions, sesame oil was
used in the rest of the Near East.
From the fi rst millennium b.c.e. Babylonian texts re-
cord the movements of the stars (hence their modern des-
ignation as “astronomical dairies”), important events, and
the fl uctuation of prices for key products. It is a testament
to the importance of barley, dates, and sesame to fi nd these
foodstuff s among them, together with two popular spices,
cardamom and mustard. Many other spices were used as
well, oft en imported from faraway countries; together with
locally grown herbs, they were used to fl avor food. Salt came
primarily from desert salt beds and the sea, but rock salt of
a much higher quality was also imported from salt mines in
the area of modern-day Iran and beyond. Salt was used as a
fl avoring and to preserve meat. It was a far less costly alter-
native to refrigeration, the method used in palaces, which
imported ice at great expense from the mountain regions to
stock icehouses. In the early second millennium b.c.e. ice-
houses enabled King Zimrilim of Mari to treat his guests to
refreshing fruit sorbet.
Th e basic diet also included various vegetables. Most im-
portant were garlic and onions, which could be stored eas-
ily, and fruit such as fi gs, apples, pomegranates, and peaches,
which were grown in dedicated fruit groves. Vineyards were
widespread in regions with enough natural rainfall, such
as along the foothills of the mountain ranges surrounding
Mesopotamia and in the coastal regions of the Mediter-
ranean Sea, but they could not be established in southern
Mesopotamia. Consumption of grapes and grape products
such as raisins and especially wine was always the privilege
of the ruling elite; because of its exclusivity, wine, in com-
mon with all luxury foodstuff s, was also an appropriate item
to sacrifi ce to the gods. Th e high prestige of wine drinking
was refl ected in the highly elaborate vessels, oft en made from
precious metals, used to serve it, mix it with water, pour it,
and drink it. In Assyria wine was more widely available to a
wider section of society: A letter from the correspondence of
King Sargon II of Assyria (r. 721–705 b.c.e.) documents thefood and diet: The Middle East 475