Athenaeus (ca. AD 200) CE was a Greek author. He is also called Athenaeus of Naucratis, since he was born and lived in Naucratis, Egypt. Little is known about him, except from what his books tell. Athenaeus wrote a history that has been lost, but is remembered primarily for his anthological anecdotal collection Deipnosophistae or (Banquet of the Learned) in which a variety of characters debate a wide spectrum of topics. Conversations upon food, luxury, diet, health, sexual relationships, pornography, music, humour and linguistics are all recorded in it. Without the works of Athenaeus much valuable information about the ancient world would be missing.
The most valuable recent publication about Athenaeus and The Banquet of the Learned is Athenaeus and his world: Reading Greek Culture in the Roman World, edited by David Braund and John Wilkins, ( University of Exeter Press) 2000. The book is a collection of 41 essays by literary specialists and historians upon various aspects of the Deipnosophistae
