Apicius (2nd century AD)
Encyclopedia
According to the Deipnosophistae
of Athenaeus
, Apicius is the name of a cook who found a way of packing fresh oyster
s to send to the emperor Trajan
while he was on campaign in Mesopotamia
around 115 AD. The information comes by way of the Epitome or summary of the Deipnosophists, since the full text of this part of Athenaeus's work does not survive. If the information is correct, this is the third known Roman food specialist who was named Apicius, the earliest being the luxury-loving Apicius
of the 1st century BC.
The late Roman cookbook Apicius
gives a recipe for preserving oysters. This is possibly the only detail in which the cookbook has a relationship with historical information about any of the people named Apicius.
Deipnosophistae
The Deipnosophistae may be translated as The Banquet of the Learned or Philosophers at Dinner or The Gastronomers...
of Athenaeus
Athenaeus
Athenaeus , of Naucratis in Egypt, Greek rhetorician and grammarian, flourished about the end of the 2nd and beginning of the 3rd century AD...
, Apicius is the name of a cook who found a way of packing fresh oyster
Oyster
The word oyster is used as a common name for a number of distinct groups of bivalve molluscs which live in marine or brackish habitats. The valves are highly calcified....
s to send to the emperor Trajan
Trajan
Trajan , was Roman Emperor from 98 to 117 AD. Born into a non-patrician family in the province of Hispania Baetica, in Spain Trajan rose to prominence during the reign of emperor Domitian. Serving as a legatus legionis in Hispania Tarraconensis, in Spain, in 89 Trajan supported the emperor against...
while he was on campaign in Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia is a toponym for the area of the Tigris–Euphrates river system, largely corresponding to modern-day Iraq, northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey and southwestern Iran.Widely considered to be the cradle of civilization, Bronze Age Mesopotamia included Sumer and the...
around 115 AD. The information comes by way of the Epitome or summary of the Deipnosophists, since the full text of this part of Athenaeus's work does not survive. If the information is correct, this is the third known Roman food specialist who was named Apicius, the earliest being the luxury-loving Apicius
Apicius (1st century BC)
Apicius is the name of a Roman lover of luxury who lived in the 90s BC and was said to have outdone all his contemporaries in lavish expenditure...
of the 1st century BC.
The late Roman cookbook Apicius
Apicius
Apicius is the title of a collection of Roman cookery recipes, usually thought to have been compiled in the late 4th or early 5th century AD and written in a language that is in many ways closer to Vulgar than to Classical Latin....
gives a recipe for preserving oysters. This is possibly the only detail in which the cookbook has a relationship with historical information about any of the people named Apicius.
Sources
- Epitome of Athenaeus 1.7d
- Apicius 1.12