🍷 Symposium

The symposium was an ancient Greek evening party for men, with wine, music and conversation. It took place after the main meal in the host's house. Guests reclined on couches along the walls and drank wine in small portions through the evening. It was not just a drinking bout but an important part of social life.

In Greece wine was drunk diluted with water. It was mixed in a large vessel, the krater, and poured into cups. People drank from wide shallow cups called kylikes. A leader of the party, the symposiarch, was chosen to decide in what proportion to dilute the wine and how many cups to drink. This kept the evening orderly. Guests sang, recited poems, played games and talked about politics and philosophy. The best-known description of such a party is Plato's Symposium.

The symposium is tied to the krater, the kylix and to ancient Greece and wine in general. The hosts' wives did not attend: male guests and hired musicians came. Today the word symposium means a scholarly meeting, though originally it meant just such a party. In antiquity alcohol was drunk in moderation, which was seen as a sign of a well-bred person.