Meals at Home
Many movies set in ancient Rome have a meal scene, and many people have a picture in their minds of what this looks like. In some respects and regarding the Pompeian cream of the crop, they aren't totally wrong.
Many of the more luxurious houses had a triclinium, or dining room, in one of their rooms. These often had three stone couches, set into the walls and arranged so that the guests all lay down, propped on their left hand, and ate off of a table in the center of these cushioned couches. The ideal set up was three guests per couch, but in most cases this would have left the guests cramped and the table overcrowded with cups and plates. Eating this way was reserved for fancy parties and gatherings, and often involved fancy, but small, meal options. Esteemed citizens like having strange and exotic foods as part of their meals, like fattened dormice, and stuffed boar. However, this was not a reality for many of the citizens; their diet consisted mainly of bread, olives, cheese, wine, garden vegetables, and fruits, along with the occasional meat in the form of fish, pork or chicken. These simple meals required few cooking utensils, or much space to prepare. |