Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities 2.23.

2-5

Maxim Possek

HIST 4161

Robin Nadeau

December 18, 2019

For this text commentary, I will be analyzing a passage by the ancient Greek historian Dionysius

of Halicarnassus, with regard to the connection between food and political identity in a religious

context in ancient Rome. In what way this political form was exercised in terms of festivity and

rituals will be discussed below in further detail, with focus on the accounts provided by

Dionysius of Halicarnassus in his second book of the Roman Antiquities.

External Critique

 This translation was done by John F. Donahue in his book, Food and Drink in Antiquity,

published in 2015.

 Born before 53 BCE, Dionysius of Halicarnassus went to Italy before 29 BCE. He taught

rhetoric in Rome while learning the Latin language, collecting and writing material for a

Rome biography. The appearance of his Roman Antiquities began in 7 BCE. This great

work went down to the start of the First Punic War in twenty books. Dionysius used the

myths of the founding of Rome to prove that it was a Greek city and that its history is an

erudite panegyric of Roman virtues.1

 Dionysius claims his goals were to appease lovers of noble deeds in writing history and

to pay back for the rewards he had received in Rome. He studied the best literary sources

available (mainly annalistic and other historians) and possibly some public papers. His

dissertation is one of early Roman history's few continuous and detailed independent

narratives.2

 Without a proper account of early Roman history, the Greeks dismissed the noble origins

of Rome and believed the claims that Rome was built by poor wanderers, barbarians or
1
Hornblower, Simon. Who's who in the Classical World. OUP, 2000.
2
Hill, Herbert. "Dionysius of Halicarnassus and the Origins of Rome." The Journal of Roman
Studies 51, no. 1-2 (1961): 88-93. Hill, Herbert. "Dionysius of Halicarnassus and the Origins of
Rome." The Journal of Roman Studies 51, no. 1-2 (1961). p. 90
 slaves. Dionysius sought to reconcile Greek readers by presenting a detailed and

historically accurate account of early Roman history. Roman Antiquities tried to show

that Rome's settlers were not nameless nomads, but in fact Greeks from well-known

tribes. He addresses the courage and piety of the early Roman leaders who, through the

traditions and institutions they passed down, laid the foundations for the great rulers of

the present. 3

 It has been generally held that Dionysius' intended audience was a Greek one, but there

are also belief that, apart from the fact that he wrote in Rome and was well known to

many famous Romans, his history would also be of interest to the Romans. This is a topic

all Romans were interested in: the origins of Rome. This is what Dionysius is mainly

concerned with showing in his first book, in which he reveals, at least to his own

satisfaction, that every item that went to make up the early population of Rome-

Aborigines, Pelasgians, Arcadians, followers of Hercules and Aeneas Trojans-was of

Greek extraction.4

Internal Critique

 The passage begins with Dionysius explaining how their assigned sacrifices were

performed by priests and curia leaders, and feasted on their own tables on holy days.

Curia5 was the Roman people's oldest group, which already existed under the kings. The

number of the curiae was 30. The membership of the curiae was determined by birth, but

3
Gabba, Emilio. Dionysius and the history of archaic Rome. Vol. 56. Univ of California Press,
1991. p. 2-3
4
Hill, H. "Dionysius of Halicarnassus and the Origins of Rome." The Journal of Roman
Studies 51 (1961): 88-93. doi:10.2307/298840. p. 88
5
Dictionary, Oxford Classical, and Roman Law. "The Oxford Classical Dictionary." (1968).
 since they also seem to have been local groups, each with its own meeting place, it is

possible that they initially included the resident of the family in specific locations. 6

 The text then goes on to describe how each curia had its own banqueting hall, and as in

the Greek prytanea, there was a common table devoted to all members of the curia. A

Prytaneion7 (the single form of prytanea) was the seat of the Prytaneis (executive) and

thus the seat of government in ancient Greece. The term is used to describe any of a

number of old structures where officials meet (usually related to a city's government).

Usually, the Prytaneion was in the center of the city, in the agora. This passage seems to

be a twist on the assumption of Dionysius that Roman civilization has originated from

Greek ideals and can be seen clearly in the example of their rituals and practices, thus

allowing the Greek reader to make the connection.

 The next passage states that such halls of banqueting carried the same name as the curia

itself, and for a long time the title remained as such. Dionysius claims that in the case of

their phiditia this custom was borrowed by Romulus from the Spartans. Romulus8 was

Rome's famed leader and first king. Different traditions assign to Romulus and his

successors the establishment of many of the oldest legal, economic, religious and social

institutions in Rome. While many of these traditions incorporate elements of folklore and

it is not clear to what extent the mythical Romulus is underpinned by a historical figure,

the events and institutions attributed to him were central to the myths surrounding the

origins and cultural traditions of Rome. Although the origins and history of Romulus is

continually discussed by scholars, it seems as if Dionysius was of the opinion that

6
Palmer, Robert E., and Robert EA Palmer. The archaic community of the Romans. Cambridge
University Press, 1970. p. 156
7
Dictionary, Oxford Classical, and Roman Law. "The Oxford Classical Dictionary." (1968).
8
Bremmer, Jan N., and Nicholas M. Horsfall. "Roman myth and mythography." Bulletin
Supplement (University of London. Institute of Classical Studies) (1987). p. 25-26
 Romulus was of a Greek origin9, so this passage by Dionysius can be seen as a way for

him to further claim that the foundation of Rome is in fact a source of Greek tradition and

culture, rather than of primitive and uncultured roots.

 Phiditia10, also known as syssitia, is the generic term for citizens' mess organizations in

different Greek cities, especially in Sparta and Crete. The term can be seen as

descendants of ancient warrior clubs traditional messes, and as a result of turning

informal symposia into mandatory community associations. Mess membership, which

can only be gained by the unanimous vote of its members, was a nationality prerequisite.

Each member received a set monthly quantity of products they had to supply to the

messes. By definition, most poor citizens were inferiors.11

 The last section of the passage by Dionysius describes the setting in which the food being

sacrificed is placed on modest earthen plates and consists of barley bread, cakes and

spelt, some fruits and other foods that all together are inexpensive and lacking all vulgar

display. This passage is interesting because just as in the case of the phiditia, the messes

were public, and food was the same for all involved regardless of their status and rank.

The food in the phiditia consisted of subsistence foodstuffs, such as barely (inferior type

of cereal).12 This allowed Dionysius to showcase his Greek audience the similarity of

Roman sacrificial traditions and Greek ones during public messes.

9
J. P. V. D. Balsdon. "Dionysius on Romulus: A Political Pamphlet?" The Journal of Roman
Studies 61 (1971): 18-27. doi:10.2307/300004.
10
Dictionary, Oxford Classical, and Roman Law. "The Oxford Classical Dictionary." (1968).
11
Hodkinson, Stephen. Property and wealth in classical Sparta. ISD LLC, 2009. p. 217
12
Hodkinson, Stephen. Property and wealth in classical Sparta. ISD LLC, 2009.
The significance of this passage is how, through their rituals of public gatherings, mess

memberships and food sacrifices, Dionysius was able to showcase the parallels between Greek

and Roman traditions. Through clear examples of comparison through Greek prytanea and

Spartan phiditia, Dionysius was able to showcase the connection that has existed between the

two cultures since the rise of the Roman empire.

References

Bremmer, Jan N., and Nicholas M. Horsfall. "Roman myth and mythography." Bulletin

Supplement (University of London. Institute of Classical Studies) (1987).

Dictionary, Oxford Classical, and Roman Law. "The Oxford Classical Dictionary." (1968).
Donahue, John. Food and Drink in Antiquity: A Sourcebook: Readings from the Graeco-Roman

World. Vol. 13. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2015.

Gabba, Emilio. Dionysius and the history of archaic Rome. Vol. 56. Univ of California Press,

1991.

Hill, H. "Dionysius of Halicarnassus and the Origins of Rome." The Journal of Roman

Studies 51 (1961): 88-93. doi:10.2307/298840.

Hodkinson, Stephen. Property and wealth in classical Sparta. ISD LLC, 2009.

Hornblower, Simon. Who's who in the Classical World. OUP, 2000.

J. P. V. D. Balsdon. "Dionysius on Romulus: A Political Pamphlet?" The Journal of Roman

Studies 61 (1971): doi:10.2307/300004.

Palmer, Robert E., and Robert EA Palmer. The archaic community of the Romans. Cambridge

University Press, 1970.

Wilson, Nigel. Encyclopedia of ancient Greece. Routledge, 2013.