![]() Klinai were long and often elaborately decorated. The andron was usually located close to the front entrance of a house to limit visitors' access to the more private parts of the house. In the andron, participants of the symposium, called symposiasts, would recline on couches called klinai that were arranged around the borders of the room. They were often held in private houses in a purpose-built room called the andron. ![]() Symposia in ancient Greece were hosted by aristocratic men for their peers. Symposia are sometimes defined as banquets, but the official symposium usually occured after the consumption of food and is best understood as a drinking party (1). Our evidence for symposia comes from illustrations on various types of Greek vases, archaeological remains of houses and of vessels used during symposia, and discussions and descriptions in ancient texts, such as Plato's Symposium and Xenophon's Symposium, both written around 360 B.C.E. Its name, "symposium," literally refers to a "drinking together," a hint for the defining activity shared by participants of the symposium: the consumption of wine. A symposium is a ritualized drinking event in ancient Greece. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |