Everything about Symposium totally explained
Symposium originally referred to a drinking party (the Greek verb
sympotein means "to drink together") but has since come to refer to any
academic conference, whether or not
drinking takes place. The sympotic elegies of
Theognis of Megara and two
Socratic dialogues, Plato's
Symposium and
Xenophon's
Symposium all describe symposia in the original sense.
Symposium as a social activity in antiquity
The Greek symposium was a key Hellenic social institution, one that was also adopted by the
Etruscans. It was a forum for men to debate, plot, boast, or simply to party with others. They were frequently held to celebrate the introduction of youths into aristocratic society, much like
debutante balls today. Youth would attend as the companion and
eromenos of an adult with whom he was involved in a
pederastic relationship. Symposia were also held by aristocrats to celebrate other special occasions, such as victories in athletic and poetic contests.
Symposia were usually held in the men's quarters of the household. Singly or in pairs, the men would recline on
couches arrayed against the three walls of the room away from the door. Free boys who participated didn't recline but sat. Food was served, together with wine. The latter, usually mixed with water in varying proportions, was drawn from the
krater, a large jar designed to be carried by two men, and served by nude servant boys from
pitchers. Entertainment was provided, and depending on the occasion could include games, songs, flute-girls, slaves performing various acts, and hired entertainments. A symposium would be overseen by a
symposiarch who would decide how strong or diluted the wine for the evening would be, depending on whether serious discussions or merely sensual indulgence were in the offing. Certain formalities were observed, most important among which were the
libations by means of which the gods were propitiated.
In keeping with Greek notions of self-restraint and propriety, the symposiarch would prevent matters from getting out of hand. The playwright Euboulos, in a surviving fragment of a lost play has the god
Dionysos describe proper and improper drinking:
For sensible men I prepare only three kraters: one for health (which they drink first), the second for love and pleasure, and the third for sleep. After the third one is drained, wise men go home. The fourth krater isn't mine any more - it belongs to bad behaviour; the fifth is for shouting; the sixth is for rudeness and insults; the seventh is for fights; the eighth is for breaking the furniture; the ninth is for depression; the tenth is for madness and unconsciousness.
One of the more popular games at symposia was
kottabos, in which drinkers swished the dregs of their wine in their
kylixes (platter-like stemmed drinking vessels) and flung them at a target. Another feature of the symposia were
skolia, drinking songs of a patriotic or bawdy nature, which were also performed in a competitive manner with one symposiast reciting the first part of a song and another
expected to finish it.
What are called flute-girls today were actually prostitutes or
courtesans who played the
aulos, a Greek woodwind instrument most similar to an
oboe, hired to play for and consort with the symposiasts while they drank and conversed. When string instruments were played, the
barbiton was the traditional instrument.
Symposiasts could also compete in rhetorical contests, for which reason the term symposium has come to refer to any event where multiple speeches are made.
As with many other Greek customs, the framework of the symposium was adopted by the Romans under the name of
comissatio. These revels also involved the drinking of assigned quantities of wine, and the oversight of a master of the ceremonies appointed for the occasion from among the guests.
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