The Secret Sacred explores the hidden religious practices of the classical world. These cults, shrouded in secrecy, promised initiates a transformative afterlife. While many rituals remain mysterious, artworks and historical texts provide glimpses of their underlying beliefs.The book examines Greco-Roman religious traditions and their divergence into mystery cults, including Bacchic ceremonies depicted in frescoes, Orphic gold tablets guiding souls in the underworld and the...

Juicy, crunchy, tart: with its multitude of seeds and juice akin to blood, it’s not hard to see why the pomegranate has so appealed to the imagination. After being held in high esteem in the rituals of the polytheistic religions of the ancient world, the pom-egranate came to be revered in Christianity, Islam and Judaism. This book explores how people throughout history interacted with pomegranates, featuring a cast of well-known characters from the Ashurnasirpal to Anne Boleyn, from Sandro...

Famed for their skill in battle, the Hittites flourished in central Anatolia from the seventeenth to the thirteenth century BCE. They were much more than a military power, however – their religion held particular reverence for the sun and storms that provided fertility to their land, and their eclectic art produced some of the most unique rock-cut relief carvings of the Bronze Age.The Hittites is a fine introduction to the culture and art of this vibrant civilization. The b...

What elevates 'teaching my mother how to give birth', what gives the poems their disturbing brilliance, is Warsan Shire's ability to give simple, beautiful eloquence to the veiled world where sensuality lives in the dominant narrative of Islam; reclaiming the more nuanced truths of earlier times - as in Tayeb Salih's work - and translating to the realm of lyric the work of the likes of Nawal El Saadawi. As Rumi said, "Love will find its way through all languages on its own"; in 'teaching m...

A deeply resonant memoir for anyone who has loved and lost, from acclaimed poet and Pulitzer Prize finalist Elizabeth Alexander.In The Light of the World, Elizabeth Alexander finds herself at an existential crossroads after the sudden death of her husband. Channeling her poetic sensibilities into a rich, lucid price, Alexander tells a love story that is, itself, a story of loss. As she reflects on the beauty of her married life, the trauma resulting from h...

From the popular "Kitchen Witch Collection"... A holiday hodge-podge of facts, fun, and food. Recipes and tales for the Halloween season. Includes savory dishes and sweet treats, strange stories and odd lore. Great reading and great eating for a magical night!

A "funny and fascinating" cultural history about one of our favorite pastimes: eating ( The Village Voice).This is a delightful and intelligent look at the food we eat, with a cornucopia of incredible details about the ways we do it.Presented like a meal, each chapter of Since Eve Ate Apples Much Depends on Dinner represents a different course or garnish, which Margaret Visser handpicks from the most ordinary American dinner: among them co...

This Mediterranean travel memoir offers "an engaging mix of history, food travelogue, and botany lesson . . . There is much to enjoy here" ( Library Journal).Inspired by her Syrian forebears' intimate relationship with the olive, Julie Angus embarks on a voyage around the Mediterranean to unlock the secrets of the fruit that meant so much to them. Accompanied by her husband and their ten-month-old son, Angus collects samples from ancient trees to determine...

The author of Front Yard Gardens celebrates the joy of garlic—from its culinary history to advice on growing and cooking with the indispensable ingredient.Liz Primeau's love affair with garlic began when her teenaged boyfriend took her to an Italian restaurant for spaghetti served with heavenly garlic-laced meatballs, a sublime escape from the bland English dinners she was used to at home. Here, Primeau celebrates that culinary love, discussing garlic's cen...

Discover why Roman gladiators were massaged with onion juice before battle, how celery contributed to Casanova's conquests, how peas almost poisoned General Washington, and why some seventeenth-century turnips were considered degenerate. Rebecca Rupp tells the strange and fascinating history of 23 of the world's most popular vegetables. Gardeners, foodies, history buffs, and anyone who wants to know the secret stories concealed in a salad are sure to enjoy this delightful and informative c...

"Olive Oil" contains information about the olive tree, planting, harvesting and pressing olives, different grades of olive oil, terminology, infusions, health benefits, recipes using olive oil and resources for further study. "Olive Oil" is Book #29 in Food Fare's Culinary Collection. Recipes in "Olive Oil" are also freely available at the Food Fare web site.

The idea that gastronomy and sex are related is not new. Its been expressed through art, literature, early science, in locker rooms, beauty salons and on the street. Some examples of these expressions are included as context for the aphrodisiac recipes which follow. For millennia, cooks have prepared dishes enriched with ingredients they judged to be sensually invigorating, and this tradition continues today. Some approaches are humorous, while others are doubting and satirical. Yet others...