What exactly was an ancient Greek symposium - More complicated than you think
The symposium in classical Athens was a social event, attended only by men, and had a private or public character. Symposiums were held on the occasion of family celebrations, city festivities, athletic victories, poetic competitions, due to the arrival or departure of a friend, while very often men of the mainly aristocratic class gathered to dine together. The symposium had two phases: the meal and the symposium itself. In the first phase, wine was consumed in limited quantities, while in the second, which lasted longer, the banqueters drank wine, which they accompanied with tragedies.
- Published in Greece
