"Tell me what you eat and I will tell you who you are”: a mosaic depiction of xenia in Roman Africa
Resumo
In classical societies, xenia was originally related to hospitality: it was a gift of food offered to guests. By extension, it was generically used in relation to still life paintings, that decorated the dining and reception rooms. In Roman Africa, there was a diffusion of these type of decorative mosaics. We selected one of them to analyze its cultural implications.
Nas sociedades clássicas, xênia relacionava‑se originalmente à hospitalidade: era um presente em alimentos ofertado aos hóspedes. Por extensão, foi empregado genericamente às pinturas de naturezas‑mortas, que decoravam as salas de jantar ou de recepção. Na África Romana, houve uma difusão deste tipo decorativo em mosaicos. Selecionamos um deles visando analisar suas implicações culturais.