Talk:Ancient Rome and Wine

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A fact from Ancient Rome and Wine appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page in the Did you know? column on 1 February 2008.

[edit] Secondary sources

I have a suspicion this is full of nonsense, taken from secondary sources. I removed the most egregious item I saw on my quick fly-by: the bit about Pliny the Elder saying that Pompeiian bathers ran out of the baths naked to git them some wine. Nowhere does Pliny say anything of the sort, whether about Pompeii or any other baths. The closest he comes is a general remark (23.29) that must should not be drunk immediately after a bath without a breather, it'll kill you. As far as I can tell, he never mentions the baths at Pompeii at all; and I haven't found any story about anyone running naked out of baths. Bill (talk) 19:55, 30 January 2008 (UTC)

Yes, I did use secondary sources from some of the most respected and reliable wine historians and experts. The particular Pliny references comes from Hugh Johnson's Vintage pg 64 where he describes Pliny being amused by the Pompeians and then quotes Pliny directly-

“

...unable to wait to get to the table, no, not even to put on their clothes, but still naked and panting, they snatch up huge vessels as if to show off their strength, and pour down the whole of the contents, so as to bring them up again at once, and then drink another draught. And this they do a second and third time, as if they were born for the purpose of wasting wine, and as if it were impossible for liquor to be poured away unless by using the human body as a funnel.

”

While Johnson doesn't say which section of Pliny's work it came from in the source (Outside of noting he was using Rackham's 1938 translation), a google search quickly found this. In reading that section I do note that Pompeii itself is not mentioned in this particular part. I can accept that Johnson might have been combining sources to say that this Pliny quote was describing Pompeiian bathers and will gladly accept correction and improvement. However I do think it is a bit of a stretch to have suspicions that this entire article is full of nonsense. While no source is infallible, I think if you take the time to look a little deeper, you will find that this sources are very credible and reliable. Agne^Cheese/^Wine 20:38, 30 January 2008 (UTC)