eating and drinking in classical antiquity

8/10/2019 Eating and Drinking in Classical Antiquity

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Throughout Greek history and culture, one of the most interesting parts of Greek society was their

relation to entertainment and drinking. Encouraged in some ways,, such as frescos featuring the cult

of Dionysus worshiping the god of wine and theatre, and shunned in others such as the myth of the

Centauromachy. One of the most important ways of understanding how the Greek Symposium was

conducted was via surviving Ancient Greek iterature. Surviving literature !y writers such as "lato

and "lutarch are prime e#amples of how modern scholars learn a!out the Symposium from ancient

times. E$ually, what we cannot learn from literature, such as the format of the room or where

dancers, servant or even the wine was located, images on %raters or frescoes on walls help us

understand the rest. The main aspects of the Greek Symposium which we can !e re&discovered !y

modern historians can !e split into three !asic aspects. The first is possi!ly the most important the

!asic rules and courtesies of the event such as who was invited and what was e#pected of them.

'hile many of these rules are e#plored in "lutarch(sMorals, they are not e#clusive to this !ook,

and various Greek societies often had differing rules. The second is what made the Symposium a

symposium ) wine. The traditions of how the refreshments were served and how much was drank

on average are important to those attending, as if one makes a fau# pas in relation to wine, one was

often not invited to another Symposium. *inally, the entertainment of the night was almost as

important as the drinking during the gathering. E$ually, it is important to note how each section of

the symposium adapted from the previous "ersian traditions, and thus evolved when delivered to

the future +omans.

'hile the Symposium was a social event meant to gather the influential aristocrats of Greek society

together, it would often have important rules to dictate how the gathering would progress. *or

e#ample, unlike in other similar social gatherings found in other societies such as the onvivium in

+ome, or the Etruscan eating festival, females were not allowed to -oin in the festivities of the

Symposium. "lutarch mentions in his morals that this festival was not for the wives of the

participants, claiming to (command the custom of the "ersian, who never let their wives appear, !ut


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drink, dance, and wanton with their whores.(/owever, this does not mean the event was solely for

men. 0mage one shows that women were sometimes invited to attend the Symposium, not as guests,

!ut as entertainment. On top of this, rules were clearly defined as to where the Symposium could !e

held and the format in which participants would !e placed. Symposiasts would gather in the Andron

and would recline on pillowed couches against three of the walls, found in the format shown in

image two. 'hile the positions are not set, allowing the participants ) regardless of position in

society ) to choose where they sit, usually the host would sit closest to the door.

E$ually, only the most influential of Greek society were a!le to attend, !eing an event for the elite

as the poor could not afford, nor were not important enough, to attend. /owever, the Symposium

was not merely a!out rules of the gathering. 0t was designed as a means of discussion and there

were e#pectations on what was to occur. *or e#ample, the Symposium was meant as a gathering of

influential Greeks and as such was meant to encourage conversation on a variety of su!-ects.

/omer(s account of the Symposium of 1enalaus in theDeipnisophistaehad the company have

philosophical de!ates among other learned men2while "lato(s Symposium had length de!ates on the

meaning of love. Often these accounts and de!ates would !e shown on images of the Symposium,

such as in image three, where men gather in the circle, raising their cups to the conversation.

/owever, the !asic rules and concepts of discussion of the Symposium are not the only parts of the

Symposium as guests were often invited with the intent of drinking and games.

Alongside the rules for how the Symposium would !e held, there are additional rules regarding the

most important part of the Symposium ) the wine. /owever, the wine drank at a symposium went

under certain rituals !efore the Symposium could !egin. To start, li!ations must !e offered to the

gods. The offering of li!ations connected the attendees of the Symposia to the Gods whose pastime

included !an$ueting, drinking from phialai, and as such, must !e offered !y pouring the wine on the

ground utilising a phialai.3Secondly, the Symposium was meant to !e a communal event and as

"lutarch,Plutarch's Morals. Trans. 'illiam '. Goodwin 4am!ridge, 5678 ..2 1elitta 'eiss Adamson and *rancine Segan.Entertainment: From Ancient Rome to the Super Bowl: An

Encyclopeia. 4'estport, 29958 p. 73 %im!erley "atton.Reli!ion o" the #os: Ritual, Parao$, an Re"le$i%ity. 4:ew ;ork, 299


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such the wine would !e mi#ed together with water into an giant krater in the centre of the room. As

this was the centre of the Andron, and e$ually that of the Symposium, evidence of the central krater

can !e found in literature ) and indeed on the kraters that were used during the Symposium.

E$ually, the wine would have to !e mi#ed. Evidence throughout the Greek world differs from that

of the closely related +oman customs in that those who did not mi# their wine were seen as vulgar

and uncouth7.This is !ecause while the Symposium revolved closely around the consuming of

alcohol, drunkenness was shunned. 0n Semele or Dionysus, Dionysus warns the participants of the

dangers of over&consumption of alcohol. /e states that (Three %raters only do 0 propose for sensi!le

men, one for health, the second for love and pleasure, and the third for sleep( !ut continues up to

ten, warning that the tenth !rings ( madness and people tossing furniture around.(=/owever, despite

warnings from the gods, drunkenness did occasionally occur. 0mage four shows how Symposiums

can get out of hand as a servant, holds !ack the hair of a participant who had consumed enough

alcohol. E$ually, "lato(s Symposium details how his symposium was ruined as the une#pected

guest, Alci!iades as he encouraged mindless drinking, as the guest Ery#imaches states ('hat is this

Alci!iades> Are we to have neither conversation nor singing over our cups? !ut simply to drink as if

we were thirsty>(@/owever, like many things in Greek society, this was not always !lack and white.

Often the rule of three kraters was !roken at these Symposiums, as most literature, such as "lato(s

Symposium, feature characters which come in completely drunk. E$ually, this is further !acked up

!y the commonness of kraters featuring images of guests vomiting. *urthermore, while it was

shunned to have drank so much, the concept of drunkenness was often used for entertainment(s sake

as the act of %omos ) or a drunken procession and dance ) was often seen in ancient te#ts, and

often on amphoraes such as in image five. /owever, while a large part of the Symposium, alcohol

was not the only means of entertainment for the evening, !ut would only put the participants in the

mood of -oy and laughter.

7 'illiam Slater.Dinin! in a Classical Conte$t. 41ichigan,


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E$ually, at the Symposium, participants were not only e#pected to -oin in the festivities of

discussion and drinking, !ut entertainment and games would !e a huge part of the Symposium . One

of the most important sections of entertainment at the Symposium is e#actly what connects the

modern scholars to the event ) literature and poetry. Often at the Symposium literature and poems

would often !e shared, and participants would compete in contests against one another. This

competitive act of reciting poetry accompanied !y yre, known as Skolion, is often descri!ed !y

ancient sources when discussing the Greek Symposium.6The Skolion would often allow a guest to

thank the gods for fortune, praising gods such as Dionysus or "an for the events of the future when

(the gifts of Dionysus 'ine sends men(s thoughts soaring(5or even create a mockery without !eing

criticised. This is !ecause while some Skolion were positive, many could !e satirical such as

"roclus( hrestomathia which ridicules men,


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possi!le. Aside from entertaining oneself during these events with Skolions and !alancing acts, the

host would often invite people along to entertain his company. This would vary from different tasks,

!ut the most common would involve dancing and singing. During enophon(s Symposium,

enophon tells of Ariadne, who came to a Symposium (appareled as a !ride( to play (acchic music

played on a flute.(2E$ually, some of these women, called /etairai, who attended the Symposium

were not only desired for their musical talents !ut also their emotional. This allowed them to !e

hired for their company throughout the Symposium alongside their a!ility to fulfill se#ual desires3.

0n fact, it was $uite common for /etairai to attend the Symposium, and are depicted on a variety of

pottery of the era, such as in 0mage seven. The variety of entertainment shown in archaeological

evidence that occurred during the Symposium meant that there would always !e things to do

throughout the evening. E$ually, it shows that the Symposium truly did let the participants rela# and

en-oy themselves with conversation and games.

The Symposium was an important part of Greek society. The gathering of the aristocratic mem!ers

in society allowed for discussions to take place and was often the main location for philosophical

de!ates to occur. After all, despite his philosopher status, even "lato and Socrates would use the

Symposium as a means to discuss ideas and concepts. E$ually, the archaeological evidence shows

the other activities that occurred during the Symposium, such as games and possi!ly the over&

indulgence of alcohol was a common procedure in the Symposium, even if some practices were

shunned. /owever, the evidence for the Symposium is important as it allows us to understand how

the elite Greek society functioned as well as the "ersian custom evolved into the Greek, and further

evolved into the +oman onvivium in later years.

2 enophon, Symposium. Trans. 'illiam /einemann. 4ondon,


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4ma!es

4ma!e 5ne

Symposium Scene in +ational Archaeolo!ical Museum o" Spain. Circa 678. Marie20an +!uyen,

7889.

4ma!e wo

S(etch o" the Anron a%aila&le "rom

http:www.stan"or.euclassihum6Symposiumima!es6anron.;p! < accesse at =rMay, 78=.
http://www.stanford.edu/class/ihum14/Symposium/images/4andron.jpghttp://www.stanford.edu/class/ihum14/Symposium/images/4andron.jpg


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4ma!e hree

)yli$ with a Symposium Scene in Staatliche Museen, Berlin. Maria Daniels.

4ma!e Four

A run( men %omitin!, while a youn! sla%e is holin! is "orehea. Bry!os Painter, 8826>8 &.C.

+ational Museum o" Denmar(. Picture &y Ste"ano Bolo!nini.


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4ma!e Fi%e

Crater Comasts, 0ou%re. Attic &lac(2"i!ure (rater, ca. 8 BC?68 BC. 3illar, C3A 0ou%re 7*-9/, 444@e pl. 6,726.

4ma!e Si$

Drun( ca%ortin! satyrs in Main "loor, room 6, #ree( Rome, British Museum. Circa 88, Marie2

0an +!uyen 788.


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4ma!e Se%en

A scene "rom the interior &owl o" a re2"i!ure (yli$ or stemme rin(in! cup *6-82698 BCE/

epictin! a symposiast an hetairai 2 hi!h2class prostitute. *Museum o" Fine Arts, Boston/ Se!astiF

Giralt. 78=.


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Bi&lio!raphy

acchylides, (Encomium( in Complete Poems.Trans. +o!ert *agles 4;ale,

eating and drinking in classical antiquity

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