Food and Transformation in Ancient Mediterranean Literature

Whether we recognize it or not, taste informs our interactions with the world, filtering information through our cultural lenses and signifying all manner of social meanings. Eating brings about unexpected results, such as the transformation of the eater or the opening of windows into another realm. Such examples in ancient literature are relatively common, but neither the pattern itself nor the reason for the pattern has been investigated until now. In this book Meredith J. C. Warren identifies and defines a new genre in ancient texts that she terms hierophagy, a specific type oftransformational eating where otherworldly things are consumed. Multiple ancient Mediterranean, Jewish, and Christian texts represent the ramifications of consuming otherworldly food, ramifications that were understood across religious boundaries. Reading ancient texts through the lens of hierophagy helps scholars and students interpret difficult passages in Joseph and Aseneth, 4 Ezra, Revelation 10, and the Persephone myths, among others.