THE ANCIENT GREEK AND HELLENISTIC WORLD: ca. 700 BC – AD 100
Symposia varied significantly, from friendly gatherings to political events and venues of intrigue. They also became sites for self-positioning and self-identification. Depictions and retellings of symposia developed into a rich literary and philosophical tradition.
Traditionally, they have been seen as Greek events, particularly in Athenian and later Hellenistic culture; however, they had many precursors and variants in the Near East, such as the Judaic ‘marzeah’ or the banquets represented in Lydian, Median, Persian, and Phoenician sources and material remains. At its core, the symposium was a gathering of men (initially aristocratic, although it was later adopted by lower socio-political groups) who would come together in a specific room of an individual’s home or palace, named the andron (literally “men’s room”), to drink wine, sometimes eat food, listen to music, play games, have sex, and engage in serious or playful conversation. However, symposia did not always contain all of these elements at once. On many occasions, it would be followed by the Komos, where the revelry and drinking would take to the streets. Symposia, or closely related drinking parties, could also be incorporated into more expansive events, such as palatial banquets or royal dinners.
The symposium in action
In aristocratic Greece, the seem to have been inspired by sequestered square rooms in the back of ancient Greek temples, dat ing from as early as the seventh century BC. We know that from the fifth century BC they had become a common component of an aristocratic Greek’s home and were used primarily for sympotic events.
