Milly Gaines
The Roman diet changed significantly over time, influenced by political shifts, trade, and expansion. By the late Roman Republic, the diet of ordinary Romans was quite different from that of the wealthy. While the rich indulged in lavish banquets with exotic dishes, ordinary Romans ate more modestly, with most people buying their bread from commercial bakeries. The main meal of the day, known as the cena, was eaten around midday in the country and sunset in the city, followed by a lighter supper called vesperna. The cena could be a grand social affair lasting several hours, with entertainment such as poetry, music, and acrobatics. While the wealthy dined on reclined couches, most women and the poor likely sat on chairs during meals.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Meal timings | Breakfast (ientaculum) was served at daybreak, followed by a small lunch (prandium) at around 11 am. The main meal of the day, cena, was eaten around sunset. |
| Meal format | Meals consisted of three parts: an appetiser (gustatio), a main course (primae mensae), and a dessert (secundae mensae). |
| Typical foods | Meat (hare, snails, boar, beef, mutton, pork), fish, vegetables, eggs, cheese, grains (bread), legumes, nuts, fruits |
| Drinks | Wine, spiced and mixed with water |
| Food sources | Commercial bakeries, restaurants |
| Sumptuary laws | Sumtuariae Leges (sumptuary laws) were designed to limit extravagance and the amount spent on meals, directly impacting how much wealthy Romans could eat. |
| Social context | Upper-class males dined reclining on couches, while most women and the poor sat on chairs. Banquets were grand social affairs with entertainment and could last for hours. |
| Food waste | Food leftovers, shells, and bones were thrown onto the floor and later burned on the household shrine by a slave. |
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What You'll Learn
Roman soldiers' staple foods
The Roman legions' staple ration of food was wheat. In the 4th century, most legionaries ate as well as anyone in Rome. They were supplied with rations of bread and vegetables along with meats such as beef, mutton, or pork. Rations also depended on where the legions were stationed or were campaigning. For example, mutton was popular in Northern Gaul and Britannia, but pork was the main meat ration of the legions.
Roman soldiers were also provided with cheese, which was part of their standard rations. Emperor Diocletian (284–305 CE) fixed maximum prices for cheese. Roman authors Pliny the Elder and Varro both mention the dietary and medicinal uses of cheese, with the former describing it in Book 28 of Historia Naturalis and the latter comparing soft, new cheeses with drier, aged cheeses in De Agricultura. The most extensive description of Roman cheesemaking comes from Columella's treatise on Roman agriculture, De Re Rustica.
Roman soldiers also ate a lot of pulses, which were made from a mixture of cooked wheat grains, water, salt, fat, and olive oil or milk. Sometimes vegetables or spices were added to this mash. Pulses were ideal military food as they could be made easily and quickly, and the ingredients could be carried by the soldiers as they marched. They also ate flatbreads made from grains.
Roman soldiers drank diluted wine and posca, a drink made from vinegar, water, and herbs. Posca was long-lasting, easy to obtain, and said to have a healing effect, giving the soldiers lots of energy.
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Roman meals and mealtimes
The main meal of the day was known as the cena and was eaten around midday in the early Republic. Over time, the heavy cena was pushed later and later into the day, and the vesperna (a light supper) was omitted. A light lunch or prandium was introduced between breakfast and cena. Cena was typically eaten around sunset. It could be a grand social affair lasting several hours, with entertainment such as poetry, music, acrobatics, juggling, and dancing. The meal was served in the triclinium, the dining room, on low tables with couches on three sides. The fourth side was left open for servants to serve the dishes. The triclinium was richly decorated and was a place to showcase wealth and status.
The diet of ordinary Romans included meat, fish, vegetables, eggs, cheese, grains (also as bread), and legumes. Meat included dormice (an expensive delicacy), hare, snails, boar, thrushes, chickens, and pheasants. Beef was not popular, and any farmed meat was a luxury; game was much more common. Meat was usually boiled or fried as ovens were rare. A type of clam called telline, oysters (often farmed), and octopus were also part of a rich seafood mix. The Romans grew beans, olives, peas, salads, onions, and brassicas (cabbage was considered healthy and good for digestion). They also ate nuts such as walnuts, almonds, pistachios, chestnuts, and hazelnuts.
Breakfast (ientaculum) was eaten at daybreak and consisted of salted bread, milk or wine, and sometimes dried fruit, eggs, or cheese. Poor Romans ate mostly cereal grains at all meals, either as porridge or bread. Women engaged in daily grain-to-flour grinding, using a "thrusting mill" made of a concave stone and a smaller stone roller.
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Roman food for the wealthy
The Roman diet changed significantly over the duration of the civilization's existence, with political changes, trade, and expansion exposing Romans to new foods and culinary habits. By the late Roman Republic, the wealthy would have had access to a wide variety of foods, including meat, fish, vegetables, eggs, cheese, grains, and legumes.
The elite sought to showcase a diverse menu, with various types of meat, seafood, and produce from across the empire. They also consumed fruits, vegetables, cheese, and olives, and while bread was a staple for all Romans, the wealthy would have eaten white bread, with darker varieties consumed by the middle and lower classes.
The cena, the main meal of the day, was an important social occasion for the wealthy. They would gather in the triclinium, a richly decorated dining room with a fine mosaic floor, where the host would display his wealth and status. The meal was served in three parts: an appetiser (gustatio), main course (primae mensae), and dessert (secundae mensae).
Wealthy Romans would have eaten meat such as hare, snails, boar, and dormice (an expensive delicacy). Smaller birds like thrushes, chickens, and pheasants were also consumed, as were seafood and fish, including oysters, octopus, and red mullet (a highly prized and expensive dish).
The wealthy also had access to a variety of produce, including olives, beans, peas, salads, onions, and brassicas. Cabbage was considered particularly healthy, and was eaten both raw and cooked. Honey was widely used in recipes, as it was the main source of sweetening and a preservative for meat and fruit. It was also a common ingredient in sauces, such as oxymel, a mixture of honey, vinegar, salt, and water used to prepare vegetables.
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Roman food for the poor
The Roman diet changed significantly over the duration of the civilization's existence, with dietary habits being influenced by political shifts and exposure to new foods, culinary practices, and trading partners as the empire expanded. While dietary differences between social classes were not initially significant, disparities emerged as the empire expanded.
The poor in ancient Rome primarily consumed a porridge called "puls," made by mixing ground wheat and water. Puls was sometimes accompanied by small amounts of vegetables, fruits, or meats. Poor Romans relied heavily on cereal grains, particularly millet, which is now primarily used as animal feed. Barley, emmer (farro), and oats were also consumed. They also ate legumes, including dried peas, fava beans (broad beans), chickpeas, lentils, and lupins. Puls was likely seasoned with garum, a fermented fish sauce that was widely used in Roman cooking, even by the poorest Romans.
By the late Republic period, most Romans, including the poor, purchased their bread from commercial bakeries. The government provided free or cheap grain for the poor, known as the "grain dole," which was used by politicians to gain favour with the lower classes. The poor also had access to vegetables such as cucumbers, onions, garlic, and lettuce, as well as fruits like apples and figs. They consumed nuts and, occasionally, cheese and eggs.
Meat was a rare part of the poor Roman's diet, but they may have eaten some meat from restaurants, including exotic meats like giraffe. Fish was more common, particularly shellfish and small fish, which were used to make garum. Oysters were also popular among all classes, with large-scale oyster farming operations in place.
The typical Roman diet included three meals a day: ientaculum (breakfast), prandium (lunch), and cena (the main meal). The poor likely ate their meals sitting on chairs, while the wealthy reclined on couches surrounding a low table, known as a triclinium.
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Roman food taboos and rituals
The religious calendar of ancient Rome was dotted with festivals and rituals, many of which involved food. The Roman calendar, as introduced or modified during the Etruscan kings, contained 58 regular festivals, including 45 Feriae Publicae, the Ides of each month, sacred to Jupiter, and the Kalends of March, which belonged to Mars.
Food was also shared with household gods. Romans would throw shells or bones from their meals onto the floor behind them. After the guests had left, a slave would burn the remains on the household shrine.
Graves and tombs were considered inviolable, protected by supernatural powers and taboos. Romans believed that the future welfare of the soul depended on the comfortable repose of the body.
The Vestals, a group of six priestesses, tended the shrine and fire of Vesta and lived in the House of Vestals. They were chosen as young girls from patrician families and were subject to a formidable array of taboos.
The augures, meanwhile, were tasked with discovering whether the gods approved of an action through divination. They interpreted divine signs in the movements of birds (auspicia). Divination was elevated to a preliminary requirement for state acts, though the responsibility for the decision rested with presiding state officials.
In the Imperial period, around 1 AD, bread made of wheat was introduced, and over time, more and more wheaten foods began to replace emmer loaves. White bread was baked for the elite, with darker bread for the middle class and the darkest bread for peasants.
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Frequently asked questions
By the end of the Republic, meals were served in three parts: an appetiser (gustatio), main course (primae mensae), and dessert (secundae mensae). The main meal of the day was called the cena, eaten around sunset. For those who could afford it, breakfast (ientaculum) consisted of salted bread, milk or wine, and perhaps dried fruit, eggs, or cheese.
The ancient Roman diet included many items that are staples of modern Italian cooking. They ate meat, fish, vegetables, eggs, cheese, grains (also as bread) and legumes. Meat included animals like dormice (an expensive delicacy), hare, snails and boar. They also ate nuts, including walnuts, almonds, pistachios, chestnuts, hazelnuts (filberts), pine nuts, and sesame seeds.
Poor Romans ate mostly cereal grains at all meals as porridge or bread. They also ate large amounts of millet, barley or emmer (farro). This porridge, or puls, would be livened up with whatever fruit, vegetables or meats could be afforded.
