| dc.description.abstract | The aim of this thesis is to explore the dining habits of ancient Athens in the 5th and 4th centuries BC, through the concept of haute cuisine. Using Goody’s (1982) conditions necessary for an elevated form of cooking to appear in a society, I am investigating literary and archaeological sources. The literary sources hint to a change in food attitudes in the 4th century BC. For instance, in comedies, the character of the cook appears. Moreover, the first cookbooks are also written around this time. In the archaeological material, when elite and non-elite contexts from Archaic, Classical and Early Hellenistic periods are quantified, an increase in table vessels is also noticeable around the same time. The wine of the symposium, so important in earlier times, starts to lose its dominance; food consumption becomes more visible in pottery assemblages. In addition, I will present more evidence for the presence of haute cuisine, following Goody’s conditions. I will investigate an increase in the innovation and the complexity of kitchen equipment, such as new shapes (e.g., fish-plates) and new cooking techniques (e.g., frying). Furthermore, as a center of trade networks, Athens receives new and foreign ingredients and foodstuffs (e.g., wine, spices, etc.). New people, ideas, and attitudes are also streaming in, creating favorable circumstances for new cuisines. I conclude that, according to Goody’s ideas, haute cuisine was, to a certain degree, present in 4th century BC Athens. I will also suggest that the spark for such a transformation may have originated in Athenian taverns, probably run by non-locals. The further culinary developments of later Hellenistic and Roman times have their roots in the 4th century BC Athenian changing dining habits. | |