Food

The Politics of Breadmaking

	Bread as a political tool A poor Roman's diet consisted mainly of wheat. In 122 B.C. a tribune, Gaius Gracchus, sponsored legislation to lower the price of grain. The grain, shipped from Sicily, Egypt or Africa was to be stored in public warehouses in the harbor city of Ostia and sold at low cost to Roman citizens on a monthly basis. In 58 B.C., the legislation of Publius Clodius made grain free for those who qualified for the welfare assistance in form of a grain dole. Clodius was courting the plebeians, seeking to buy their political support. Because of this availability of free grain, scholars describe Rome as a consuming city rather than a producing city. The lower class became dependent on this food, leading satirical poet Juvenal to write that (Juvenal, Satire X.81) the city mob in Rome was only interested in panem et circenses. Although a satirical exaggeration, it demonstrates the importance of the food dole and frequent games. The amount of grain handed out every year depended on factors such as the weather and soil conditions in the farming regions. Ships that transported goods to Rome sometimes wrecked which led to the loss of grain. The government tried to ensure a consistent supply of grain for the poor but due to these reasons, a shortage could not always be avoided. Preparation of the grain by the poor was usually different from the upper class' method of baking. Most Romans did not have easy access to ovens. When they cooked food of any kind or heated their living areas, they used a brazier similar to this one in the Archaeology Museum in Naples. Ovens were occasionally found in the homes of the wealthy, especially in their country homes. Infrequently, the poor did gain access to a public oven and baked the grain into bread. More often, the grain was crushed and boiled to make porridge or puls, similar to polenta today. Most city dwellers either bought their bread from bakeries or used a communal oven. Ovens were circular domed structures in which a fire was lit. When the wood had burned down, the coals were raked out. The flour was then mixed with water and other ingredients to create dough. The dough was then made into small loaves, and placed in the heated chamber. Whether boiled or baked, bread was not a side dish for the Romans as it is today. In fact, it was common to have grain as their only dish. In good weather, a poor Roman would gather nuts, berries and fruit to add to his bread. If he lived by the sea, he might add some fish or snails. After bread was baked in a commercial bakery, it was sold from the front of a bakery itself (pistrina) or shop (taberna) or take away food shop (thermopolium).	Double oven found in a house in Herculaneum (J. Jahnige 1998)
Brazier - used to provide heat (from National Archaeological Nuseum of Naples - J. Jahnige 1998)		Bread shop, from a fresco in Pompeii (from A Taste of Ancient Rome, by IIaria Gozzini translated by Ana Herklotz, 1992)
		Thermopolium

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