Deipnosophistai

work by Athenaeus

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July 19, 2026

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Deipnosophistai, meaning "The Gastronomers," is a work by the Greek grammarian Athenaeus, who flourished around 200 AD. The text is structured as an aristocratic symposium where learned men gather at a banquet to discuss food and various other subjects.1

The surviving portion of the Deipnosophistai is divided into 15 books and offers immense value by preserving numerous quotations from ancient works that are now lost. It provides a wide array of unusual information covering all facets of life in the ancient Greco-Roman world. Athenaeus quotes nearly 800 writers, including lyric poets, comic dramatists, and Hellenistic historians. A "deipnosophist" is defined as a person skilled in table talk.12

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Athenaeus
…Greek grammarian and author of Deipnosophistai (“The Gastronomers”), a work in the form of an aristocratic symposium, in which a number of learned men, some bearing the names of real persons, such as Galen, meet at a banquet and discuss food and other subjects. In its extant form the work…
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…Greek grammarian and author of Deipnosophistai (“The Gastronomers”), a work in the form of an aristocratic symposium, in which a number of learned men, some bearing the names of real persons, such as Galen, meet at a banquet and discuss food and other subjects. In its extant form the work…
Read More

cookbook
…the early ones is the Deipnosophistai (“The Learned Banquet”), a treatise on food and food preparation written in the 2nd century bce by Athenaeus, a Greek gourmet. The treatise is presented in the form of a dialogue between two banqueters, who talk for days and relate recipes for dishes such…
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…the early ones is the Deipnosophistai (“The Learned Banquet”), a treatise on food and food preparation written in the 2nd century bce by Athenaeus, a Greek gourmet. The treatise is presented in the form of a dialogue between two banqueters, who talk for days and relate recipes for dishes such…
Read More