<P>This special issue of the <I>American Journal of Philology</I> illuminates the nature and function of food and dining in the Roman world, offering historical, sociological, literary, cultural, and material perspectives.</P><P>The articles collected here explore topics from diverse fields to analyze Roman culture and material practice, including the dietary practices and nutritional concerns of the Romans, dining and its links to ideology during the early imperial period, public banqueting and its social function in Roman society, and the emphasis placed on the waiting servant in both domestic and funerary settings.</P><P>The <I>American Journal of Philology</I> is renowned for its role in helping to shape American classical scholarship. Today the <I>Journal</I> has achieved worldwide recognition as a forum for international exchange among classicists by publishing original research in Greco-Roman literature, and culture.</P>