Why Did Romans Eat To Eat?

Breakfast in ancient Rome was light, and one of the smaller meals of the day. Also, there wasn’t that much food that the Romans ate at breakfast, “To start the day, breakfast or ientaculum, was also light, sometimes merely bread and salt but occasionally with fruit and cheese” (Cartwright). “The Romans ate a breakfast of bread or a wheat pancake eaten with dates and honey” (Barrow). “This would be eaten early, probably as soon as the sun rose and would include bread and fresh fruit” (History On The Net). Breakfast was very small and usually was eaten at sunrise. The main foods would be bread, fruit, wheat pancakes, dates, and occasionally cheese. The Romans didn’t eat much at breakfast or dinner, because the biggest meal of the day was ironically
They had a very small amount of food to eat; barely enough to give them nutrients for a couple hours. They ate with their fingers, for knives and utensils were too expensive. Next, the middle class Romans had enough food to last them for around 5 hours. They were well fed, and some had enough money to feast with utensils, but most also ate with their fingers. Lastly, the rich were famished. They had enough food and wine to last them for days. They laid down on beds and blankets and slowly ate. They even had servants that stayed right by their side, “‘When we recline at a banquet, one [slave] wipes up the spittle while another, situated beneath [the table], collects the leavings of the drunks.’” (Cross). “‘They vomit so that they may eat and eat so that they may vomit.’” (Cross). These quotes from Seneca show how rich these Romans were. They vomited so they could eat more. The rich used the finest utensils and plates made out of antlers. To top it off, they guzzled wine endlessly out of jugs. Furthermore, breakfast was small, but the meaning small depended on the class you were
The typical dinner meal, “was light, consisting of fish or eggs with vegetables” (Cartwright). “So most people in the Roman Empire lived mainly on the usual foods of people living around the Mediterranean Sea – barley, wheat, and millet, olive oil, and wine, which we call the Mediterranean Triad” (Carr). “...they ate a light meal of fish, cold meat, bread and vegetables. Often the meal consisted of the leftovers of the previous day's cena” (Barrow). These excerpts conclude that the small meal at dinnertime was made up of fish, meat, and some vegetables. Leftovers from the previous day’s largest meal was commonly consumed also. On a side note, dinner, vesperna, and lunch, cena, shifted over time. The biggest meal of the day started to move closer to the evening and the smaller meals transferred to around