Introduction to the symposium

The word symposium literally means drinking (-posis) together (syn-). Strictly speaking it was an activity that happened after the meal when communal drinking took place between men. It was not only a practice, that of drinking together, but also a social institution with various political, ritual and cultural implications. Most of all it was a private form of association between individuals, thus distinct from public life.

The symposium was exclusively a male citizen event. Others present where slaves, music players, dancers, prostitutes and young boys. One could say that it was elitist because the sympotic groups were made up by a select number of men. In the archaic period, the symposium was indeed an expression of the aristocratic mode of life.

As to when exactly the symposium originated, there has been some debate. Oswyn Murray claims that it originated around the 8th century BC but others claim that it was during the 7th century. It reached its high point as a social event in the archaic period; it was subject to controversy during the Classical period but survived into the Hellenistic times. It continued even further in a different form and context when the Romans adapted it into their culture. Thus, through the times symposia were not static in their exact nature, function and significance. Their form changed, however their basic aim remained unchanged: that of bringing a specific group of men together, to drink together.

The symposium is undoubtedly an important characteristic of Greek society and culture. It occupies a significant place and can serve, through the multiple functions it fulfils, as a sort of organ of social control, exercised by the aristocracy on the city.

Due to the limitations of sources on the symposium our work is based mainly upon Athenian sources and this is reflected in our work. The primary sources used are quite diverse. We used works of Plato, Xenophon, Homer, Thucydides, Aristophanes, Theopompus, Theocritus, Petronius and Athenaeus, as well as using many visual sources (imagery from pots, cups, vessels, etc.)

In this presentation we hope to give you a general overview of the origins, the ritual aspects, the social significance, the political dimension, the architectural features and the entertainment of the symposium. We also hope to go beyond the preconception that a symposium is just an ancient drunken party, and demonstrate that it was an important social element of Greek society, where status and alliances could be forged.

Research by the whole group. Text by Laure Kellens