Anyone who has taken an art history class knows that there was far more to the Ancient Roman lifestyle than just war and politics. There were also feasts, celebrations, and indulgence (overindulgence, really) that propelled their culture forward, and the upper class was particularly skilled in basking in the glories of all that aristocracy brought with it. Food was seemingly endless, the wine flowed like water, and no one blinked an eye when the resident of a villa decided to let some flatulence fly (it was believed that holding gas in could be fatal) or leave the room to go purge in between meals. That's right... The Romans had some interesting dinner habits.

Nothing that was done in Ancient Rome was anything like what would occur at a high-end dinner table today but for the Romans, this was just common practice. There were no means of medicine or proven science to reflect that anything they did was unhealthy or purely just superstition, two things that feasting and celebrations were founded on. Even when it came to the act of putting for into their mouths, something such as a fork wasn't even a thought. Their etiquette - or lack thereof - would have gone something like this.

Once The Table Was Set, It Was Game, Set, Go

While the average Roman was given a daily ration, many also went to street vendors for dinner, but the truly wealthy were known for their extravagant dinner parties. These feasts were set with the fanciest and rarest of silverware and potteries, complete with meals that were far from anything we could imagine eating today. While a general menu of meat, nuts, and fruit were always present, the types of each varied greatly from table to table. It was through this that the aristocratic Romans were able to show off all their wealth and they made no secret of their ability to afford such things.

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While the lower class would have eaten meals such as porridge and wholly vegetarian dishes (meat was a thing of value) such as stew, the wealthy were permitted to broil and grill meat, making their feasts wildly more appealing. Of the meats that were eaten, it was common to see things such as venison, boar, and shellfish such as oysters (which were eaten raw). Occasionally, exotic meats such as camel and songbirds were enjoyed, but this would have been for special occasions only. The upper class had a yearning for the best and most ostentatious of meals, so it also was not unheard of to have something such as parrot tongues or game animals that were cut up and spliced together, such as a rabbit and wings from a poultry meat.

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The Practices Were Slightly Outrageous

It's not entirely unheard of for the upper class to engage in behavior that is the utmost in both gluttony and overindulgence. While it's rumored that the Romans would have used 'vomitoriums' in order to rid themselves of one meal (for lack of better wording) before overindulging in the next, this is not quite the case. While it's true that food and drink were staples of Roman feasts and they did eat and drink to excess, they didn't willingly purge anything before or after in order to make room for more decadent foods. What is true, is that the Romans owned slaves and did have them cut up their meals for them so that they could lay on their stomachs, holding themselves up with the left hand while eating with the right. It was believed that this aided in digestion but it's the sheer act of sloth and gluttony which makes this such a striking visual.

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In terms of drinking, it has been written about that these same slaves would have had to clean up after the Romans, which meant that if they happened to drink too much, the aftermath was not a pleasant experience. This is likely the only way that anything was ever 'purged' from the stomachs of the Ancient Romans. Additionally, they would party into the wee hours of the night, making feasts much more of a sport than an actual dinner. The Romans had no issue throwing their wasteful celebrations in the faces of others, and when it came to feasts, they wanted everyone to know exactly what they had and how much of a difference there was between the class systems. Serving whole animals - a definitive symbol of wealth and status - would be on the menu, along with the finest spices and decor.

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