English summary: This work deals with food as a sign or symbol in ancient Roman society. Of major relevance for such a field of research is the mos maiorum, the construed but normative way one's forebears were said to have lived. Especially encounters with Greek culture lead the Romans to become aware of their own identity. Considering above all the mos maiorum, this book undertakes an examination of the various fields in which food worked as a social sign. Under scrutiny are, amongst others, questions of prestige, gift exchange, and identity. These fields are approached mostly from a dichotomic angle, e.g. with regard to social and cultural differences between city dwellers and the rural populace or Romans and non-Romans. Further attention is paid to phenomena of transgression. This regards gender and sexuality of the eaters as well as the substance and the quantity of the things consumed. To sum up, in every field described, food worked as a social symbol through which all kinds of meaning could be communicated, both in reality by the ancient Romans and in literature by the Roman writers. German description: Das Essen wird in der romischen Literatur haufig als Symbol fur nicht-kulinarische Sachverhalte verwendet. So reprasentiert die Erwahnung besonders zubereiteter Speisen gewisse Verhaltensweisen des Verzehrenden. Werner Tietz untersucht den Zeichencharakter von Essen in der romischen Gesellschaft und dessen Bedeutung fur die soziale Kommunikation unter besonderer Berucksichtigung des Diskurses uber den mos maiorum, die um 200 v. Chr. erstmals zu beobachtende Auseinandersetzung mit den Kulturgutern der hellenistischen Welt. Dabei geht er u.a. auf Prestige und Gabentausch, die Unterschiede zwischen Romern und Nichtromern sowie zwischen Stadtern und Landbewohnern und auf die Definitionen von Ubermass und Ekel ein. Auf diese Weise erschliesst das Buch neue Aspekte der romischen Kulturgeschichte.