Dining at the End of Antiquity

"In this engaging and highly readable book, Nicholas Hudson weaves together literary and material evidence for dining in the Roman world from the Principate to the Dominate. Through careful attention to all evidence, he marks how dining practices evolved and transformed with shifting social goals of the Empire. He brings new insights to the form of Late Antique Roman dining by reconstructing the ancient atmosphere of dining events of various types--a truly innovative approach to understanding the experience of the past." --Kathleen M. Lynch, author of The Symposium in Context: Pottery from a Late Archaic House near the Athenian Agora "House parties and shared meals get welcome scrutiny in this stimulating exploration of the social worlds of Late Antiquity. Drawing on classical texts and comparative research, Hudson's deft synthesis of theory, history, and material culture leads to fresh insights into daily life in a transformative age." --Marcus Rautman, Professor Emeritus of Art History and Archaeology, University of Missouri "Hudson illuminates small group dining--its objects, furniture, spaces, atmospheres--and how it changed in Late Antiquity. His innovative study of tableware spotlights human behavior, complementing an analysis of texts, architecture, and images. Who dined with whom, and how, mattered. This book is a model of compelling social history through material culture." --Nathan Arrington, Professor of Classical Archaeology at Princeton University and author of Athens at the Margins: Pottery and People in the Early Mediterranean World