Food: A Cultural Culinary History

Lecture 6: The Alexandrian Exchange and the Four Humors

lazy and slothful, cholerics are prone to violent outbursts of anger,

and melancholics are sad.

New Philosophical Schools

 There are a few new philosophical schools that pop up in the

Hellenistic period and remain infl uential in Roman times that

also have interesting attitudes toward food. The fi rst of these are

the Stoics, people who think that you don’t show your emotions

because it makes you weak and that you shouldn’t get too attached

to things that are ephemeral. It is a strange philosophy—but also

one that called for austerity, simplicity, and denial of luxuries.

 Another school is the Epicureans. The word “epicurean” later came

to be associated with luxury and gluttony, but in fact, Epicurus

espoused exactly the opposite. Epicurus had the audacity to suggest

that everything we do should be directed toward maximizing our

pleasures and minimizing our pain. However, some things, though

very pleasurable in the short term, cause greater pain in the long

term. Ironically, Epicurus espouses a doctrine of simplicity—in the

attempt to maximize pleasure.

Athenaeus, Deipnosophists.

Dalby, Dangerous Tastes.

Galen, Galen: On the Properties of Food.

Galenic Meal

Just as today, there is no way of knowing if the ancient Greeks followed

their physicians’ instructions when it came to eating a healthy diet, but

Galen of Pergamum’s writings became so popular—and dominated medical

thought for 15 centuries following his death—that it is safe to assume that

people knew a great deal about what was considered best to eat. While

Galen doesn’t offer recipes, his comments about specifi c ingredients are so

Culinary Activity

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