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EÈerge!¤a! xãrin

pp. 337!361

Marek W!cowski

TOWARDS

A DEFINITION OF THE SYMPOSION*

THE COURSE OF THE LAST CENTURY, such scholars as Jacob Burckhardt, ArthurW. H. Adkins, and Hermann Strasburger have taught us that one of the most

important factors of ancient Greek civilisation was the extremely fruitful tensionbetween two vital forces of Greek life: the competitive or ÒagonisticÓ spirit of the Greekson the one hand and their collective ideals, or, to put it otherwise, their widelycherished notion of equality on the other.1 Today, as the previously neglected sphere of

* Versions of this paper were read at Brown University in April 2001 and at Columbia

University in May 2001; on both occasions many helpful comments were made by my respectiveaudiences. I am grateful to Prof. Roger S. BAGNALL, who invited me to spend three wonderfulmonths at Columbia, and to the Kosciuszko Foundation for its Research Fellowship in the UnitedStates. I should also like to thank Kurt A. RAAFLAUB and Deborah BOEDEKER " Dept. of Classics,Brown University # as well as Gareth WILLIAMS " Dept. of Classics, Columbia University # forinviting me to read my paper at their Departments and for their remarkable hospitality. Specialthanks are extended to all those who have kindly commented upon different drafts of my current works on the symposion " needless to say, often without necessarily sharing my views #, provided me with books and articles or improved my English: Benedetto BRAVO, Sean CORNER, JackieELLIOTT, Andrew FORD, Marina DAWN HAWORTH, W"odzimierz LENGAUER, FranoisLISSARRAGUE, Adam RABINOWITZ, Suzanne SAìD, Pauline SCHMITT PANTEL, William J. SLATER,Aleksander WOLICKI, Anna ZAWADZKA, and Adam ZIî#KOWSKI. Last but not least, I am indebted to Mr Franois LISSARRAGUE for his kind permission to use some of his excellent drawings in mypaper " Þg. nos. 1!3, 5, and 6 #.

1 J. BURCKHARDT, Griechische Kulturgeschichte " a posthumous edition by J. OERI #, vols. I!IV,Berlin $ Stuttgart 1898!1902 " see also, recently, O. MURRAY, ÒEditorÕs IntroductionÓ, %in:& J.

IN



338 MAREK W$COWSKI

Greek ÒcommensalityÓ, which long belonged merely to the realm of antiquarianresearch, becomes ever more fashionable among classical scholars of anthropologicalinterests, and thanks most of all to some fundamental studies by Oswyn Murray,2 wetend to consider the Greek symposion a kind of microcosm of the Greek life, especiallythat of the ÒAgonistic AgeÓ of Greek civilisation, i.e. of the archaic period. During thesymposion, the ostentatious equality of male aristocratic participants of the night!time wine feast combined with their competitive performances in the Þeld of poetry, music, witty jokes, love discourse etc. What is more, some fundamental phenomena of theGreek culture of that period $ such as individual lyric poetry, moral thought or subtle vase painting 3 $ were involved there.

BURCKHARDT, The Greeks and Greek Civilization %trans. S. STERN&, Glasgow 1998, pp. XI!XLIV #; A.W. H. ADKINS, Merit and Responsibility. A Study in Greek Values, Oxford 1960. Cf. also, e.g., H.STRASBURGER, ÒDer Einzelne und die Gemeinschaft im Denken der GriechenÓ, %in:& IDEM, Studien zur Alten Geschichte I, Hildesheim $ New York 1982, pp. 423!448.

2 See above all O. MURRAY, ÒThe Greek symposion in historyÓ, %in:& Tria Corda. Scritti in onore di Arnaldo Momigliano, ed. E. GABBA, Como 1983, pp. 259!262; IDEM, ÒThe Symposion as SocialOrganisationÓ, %in:& The Greek Renaissance of the Eight Century B.C.: Tradition and Innovation. Proceedings of the Second International Symposium at the Swedish Inst itute in Athens, 1! 5 June, 1981, ed. R.H€GG, Stockholm 1983, pp. 195!199; IDEM, ÒSympotic HistoryÓ, %in:& Sympotica. A Symposium on theSymposion, ed. O. MURRAY, Oxford 1990, pp. 3!13; IDEM, ÒHistories of pleasureÓ, %in:& In vino

veritas, ed. O. MURRAY & M. TECUSüAN, London $ Rome 1995, pp. 3!16.3 For the symposion as the central phenomenon in the development of Greek vase painting, see

in general the studies of Franois LISSARRAGUE and Pauline SCHMITT!PANTEL quoted below. Forthe moralistic aspect of the sympotic poetry, see below, n. 36. For the relationship between thesymposion and Greek archaic poetry, see above all J. TRUMPF, Ò†ber das Trinken in der Poesiedes AlkaiosÓ, Zeitschrift fŸr Papyrologie und Epigraphik 12 " 1973 #, pp. 139!160 " for the sake ofconvenience, from now on I will quote this paper in its Italian translation %in:& M. VETTA %ed.&, Poesia e simposio %see n. 4&, pp. 43!63 #; W. R…SLER, Dichter und Gruppe. Eine Untersuchung zu den Bedingungen und zur historischen Funktion frŸher griechischer Lyrik am Beispiel Alkaios, MŸnchen 1980;L. E. ROSSI, ÒIl simposio greco arcaico e classico come spettacolo a se stessoÓ, %in:& Spettacoliconviviali dallÕantichitˆ classica alle corti italiane delÕ 400, Viterbo 1983, pp. 41!50; E. L. BOWIE, ÒEarlyGreek Elegy, Symposium and Public FestivalÓ, The Journal of Hellenic Studies 106 " 1986 #, pp. 13!35; J.LATACZ, ÒDie Funktion des Symposions fŸr die entstehende griechische LiteraturÓ, %in:& IDEM, Er ! schlie§ung der Antike, ed. F. GRAF et alii , Stuttgart $ Leipzig 1994, pp. 357!395. Cf. also O. MURRAY,

ÒNestorÕs Cup and the Origins of the Greek SymposionÓ, Annali di archeologia e storia antica, N.S. 1" 1994 # " APOIKIA. Scritti in onore di G . Buchner #, pp. 47!54.



TOWARDS A DEFINITION OF THE SYMPOSION 339

Curiously enough, as the attention of contemporary scholars focuses above all on thesymposion as an object of the study of ÒmentalitiesÓ, and despite the laboriousantiquarian efforts by some nineteenth! and early twentieth!century scholars, we stilllack a precise deÞnition of what the symposion was. 4 Consequently, the notion ofsymposion today covers a very wide and somewhat confusing range of commensal orconvivial activities of the Greeks. In my paper, I shall try to narrow the scope of the ap !

plication of the term by pointing out that some essential particularities of thesymposion have been neglected so far.5 In the following argument, I shall restrict myinvestigation to the archaic and classical periods, assuming that the last decades of theÞfth and the Þrst half of the fourth century BC witnessed some profound changes in

Greek sympotic customs, changes that deserve a separate inquiry.

4 It is so despite numerous books and collections of papers on the symposion. Cf. Poesia e simposio nella Grecia antica. Guida storica e critica, ed. M. VETTA, Bari 1983 " where some importantstudies on the subject are conveniently gathered together #; Homo edens. Regimi , miti e pratiche dell Õ alimentazione nella civiltˆ del Mediterraneo, ed. O. LONGO & P. SCARPI, Verona 1989; MURRAY

" ed. #, Sympotica " cit. n. 2 # " with ample bibliography #; Dining in a Classical Context , ed. W. J. SLATER,Ann Arbor 1991; OINHRA TEUXH. Studi triestini di poesia conviviale , ed. K. FABIAN et alii , Alessandria1991 " with a useful up!to!date bibliography #; MURRAY & TECUSüAN " eds. #, In vino veritas " cit. n. 2 #.Cf. also Storie del vino. Ò Homo edensÓ II , ed. P. SCARPI, Milano 1991; La sociabilitŽ ˆ table. Commen!

salitŽ et convivialitŽ ˆ travers les ‰ges, ed. M. AURELL et alii , Rouen 1992. See further below, n. 6.5 An exact deÞnition of the symposion is not an evident issue, as we can see, e.g., thanks to M.

LOMBARDO, ÒPratiche di commensalitˆ e forme di organizzazione sociale nel mondo greco: symposion e syssitiaÓ, %in:& LONGO & SCARPI " eds. #, Homo edens " cit. n. 4 #, pp. 311!325 " cf. esp. p. 316 # and P. SCHMITT PANTEL, La citŽ au banquet . Histoire des repas public dans les citŽs grecques, Rome 1992,esp. pp. 46!52. My approach owes much to the above mentioned works by Oswyn MURRAY,Pauline SCHMITT PANTEL and Mario LOMBARDO, as well as to E. PELLIZER, ÒOutlines of aMorphology of Sympotic EntertainmentÓ, %in:& MURRAY " ed. #, Sympotica " cit. n. 2 #, pp. 177!184; W. J. SLATER, ÒSympotic Ethics in the OdysseyÓ, ibidem, pp. 213!220; ROSSI, ÒIl simposio greco arcaico eclassicoÓ " cit. n. 3 #; M. VETTA, ÒIntroduzione: Poesia simposiale nella Grecia arcaica e classicaÓ,%in:& IDEM " ed. #, Poesia e simposio " cit. n. 4 #, pp. XI!LX, and B. BRAVO, Pannychis e symposio. Feste private notturne di donne e uomini in testi letterari e nel culto, Pisa $ Roma 1997, esp. pp. 119!122. Cf. alsoP. VON DER M†HLL, ÒDas griechische SymposionÓ, %in:& AusgewŠhlte Kleine Schriften, Basel 1975, pp.483!505 " from now on I will quote this paper in its Italian translation %in:& M. VETTA %ed.&, Poesia e simposio, pp. 3!28 #; K. BIELOHLAWEK, ÒGastmahls! und Symposionslehren bei griechischenDichtern. Von Homer bis zur Teognissammlung und KritiasÓ, Wiener Studien 58 " 1940 #, p. 11!30

" cited below in its Italian translation, ibidem, pp. 95!116 #. See further below, pp. 353!354 " with nn.40!43 #.



340 MAREK W$COWSKI

It is not enough to say that the symposion, seen as a commensal custom, was a night !

time wine gathering of aristocratic males banqueting on equal terms, nor that, as a formof social organisation, it was a Ògroup of men which expresses its identity through theritual drinking sessionÓ " thus O. Murray #. To my mind, to arrive at a relevant deÞnitionof the symposion a twofold approach is required. To grasp its nature as a social and as ahistorical phenomenon, we need Þrst a description of the symposion or that of theÒsympotic momentÓ and the Òsympotic groupÓ " both categories introduced by Murray #.That has already been done with most satisfactory results.6 Then, however, we need, soto speak, a touchstone, or a Òtracer elementÓ, that would enable us to identify thiscustom, i.e. to differentiate between the symposion and other commensal or convivial

practices of the Greeks, and also, possibly, to date the moment of its appearance in theGreek world. We must of course remember that our choice is in its turn determined byour overall view of the place of the symposion at a particular stage of the developmentof Greek civilisation. According to O. Murray, the symposion was the centralphenomenon of the life!style of the archaic Greek leisure class or aristocracy of leisure.Consequently, MurrayÕs ÒtouchstoneÓ of the symposion is the custom of reclining whilefeasting " see below, p. 353 #, a custom which allegedly points to the existence of the so !

phisticated ÒorientalizingÓ luxury and of the Òpleasures of AphroditeÓ, and thus revealingthe importance of the principe du plaisir in the symposion.

In my attempt to deÞne the symposion, I shall be looking for a differentÒtouchstoneÓ. In my view, our starting point here should be the above mentioned

tension between the sympotic principle of competition and the sympotic ideal ofequality, well documented in sympotic literature and sympotic customs. May this shortpreliminary attempt to cast some light on the nature of the symposion be mycontribution to the book offered to Ewa Wipszycka and Benedetto Bravo. Theysucceeded in creating around them a friendly and highly collaborative ¶ranow gathering anumber of archaeologists, epigraphists, historians, papyrologists, philologists and roma !nists, without ever trying to suppress the competitive spirit of its members.

6 See the works listed in the previous note. Recently, cf. also a very important book by J. DAV!IDSON " below, note 37 #, as well as D. MUSTI, Il simposio nel suo sviluppo storico, Roma $ Bari 2001.




I. EPIDEJIA,OR THE PRINCIPLE OF SYMPOTIC ENTERTAINMENT

Among the images evoking the symposion in Greek literature,7 one is of a particularimportance. While reading Greek sympotic poetry, we Þnd that poets very often chose,as a Þgure of the symposion and that of its favourable or blameworthy consequences formen, the image of the circulation of wine cups in the banquet!hall. Thus for instance, inorder to stress the difference between the Spartan convivial customs and the symposion,Critias writes thus " fr. 6 West2 % IEG 2&, ll. 1!4; trans. Ch. B. Gulick #: Òthis is also acustom at Sparta and a set practice, to drink from the same wine!bearing cup, and not to

give toasts, pledging them by name, nor send them round in the circle of the party fromleft hand to rightÓ " ll. 2!4: É p¤nein tØn aÈtØn ofinofÒron kÊlika, | mhdÕ épodvre›syaipropÒseiw Ùnomast‹ l°gonta, | mhdÕ §p‹ dejiterån xe›ra kÊklƒ yiãsou #. The same imagerecurs in a beautiful visionary fragment of Bacchylides " fr. 20B Snell, ll. 5!10 #, where it isused, alongside the topical Ògifts of DionysosÓ and Òhopes of AphroditeÓ, to evoke the very essence of the symposion: Ò" É # an adornment for banquets at the monthÕs end, when the sweet compulsion of the speeding cups warms the tender hearts of the youngmen " ll. 6!7: É eÔte n°vn è[palÚn] gluke› Õ énãgka | seuomençn kul¤kvn yãlphsi yumÒn #,and hope of the Cyprian, mingling with the gifts of Dionysus, makes their hearts ßutterÓ" trans. D. A. Campbell #.8 In Alcaeus too, a famous exhortation of an imaginarysymposiarch to start the banquet is rightly summed up by the closing phrase Ò %É& let one

cup jostle anotherÓ " trans. Campbell; fr. 346 Lobel $ Page, ll. 5!6: <é> dÕ ét°ra tånét°ran kÊlij | »yÆtv #.9 Also in Phocylides " fr. 14 Gentili $ Prato #, Òit behooves one at asymposium, as the cups go round and round " xrØ dÕ §n sumpÒsiƒ kul¤kvn

7 Cf., e.g., W. J. SLATER, ÒSymposium at SeaÓ, Harvard Studies in Classical Philology 80 " 1976 #, pp.161!170. Regrettably, I have not seen S. NANNINI, Simboli e metafore nella poesia simposiale greca,Roma 1988. For the Òsympotic LeitmotiveÓ, see above all G. GIANGRANDE, ÒSympotic Literatureand the EpigramÓ, %in:& LÕŽpigramme grecque " Entretiens Fondation Hardt , XIV #, VandÏuvres $ Genve 1968, pp. 91!177. Cf. also E. L. BOWIE, ÒGreek Table!Talk before PlatoÓ, Rhetorica 11" 1993 #, pp. 355!373.

8 See also a commentary ad loc. %in:& Liryka grecka, ed. J. DANIELEWICZ, vol. II: Melika " by J.DANIELEWICZ #, Warszawa $ Pozna% 1999 " a selection of texts with a commentary #.

9 For this fragment of Alcaeus, see in particular R…SLER, Dichter und Gruppe " cit. n. 3 #, pp. 245!247, esp. p. 246 n. 328.



342 MAREK W$COWSKI

perinisomenãvn #, to sit and chat pleasantly while he drinks his wineÓ " trans. Ch. B.Gulick #. We may conclude, then, that for some lyric and elegiac poets, the cups thatcirculate, Ògo round and roundÓ, ÒspeedÓ or Òjostle one anotherÓ in the dinning !hall dur!ing the banquet stand for one of the key elements of their sympotic imaginary.10

For some Greek playwrights too, Òdrinking in circleÓ was a very important sympoticprocedure, as it is clear from EuripidesÕ Women of Crete " fr. 468 Nauck2: tå dÕ êlla xa›rekÊlikow •rpoÊshw kÊklƒ #: ÒAs for all else, rejoice while the cup goes circling round!Ó

" trans. Ch. B. Gulick), or from The Girl from Perinthus by Menander " fr. 397 Kšrte = 4Sandbach: oÈdem¤an ≤ graËw ˜lvw | kÊlika par∞ken, éllå p¤nein tØn kÊklƒ #, where anexemplary Òold crone never misses a single cup, but drinks from the circling bowlÓ " trans.

10 Furthermore, although it might be risky to take the images of Greek vase painting forillustrations of the actual course of the symposion " see below, part II #, we may perhaps assumethat a scene on an Athenian cup " c. 520 BC # by Oltos " Þg. 1 # indicates the sympotic gesture ofpassing the cup Òfrom left to rightÓ " see also F. LISSARRAGUE, Un ßot dÕimages. Une esthŽtique dubanquet grec, Paris 1987, p. 59 #. We can see there two hetairai ; one of them is passing her kylix tothe other " while still holding another cup in her left hand #, who is playing aulos at the moment, with the words of a simple sympotic toast " Òdrink you tooÓ # inscribed on the vessel. Cf. also anAttic black!Þgure eye!cup in the manner of the Lysippides Painter, now in Oxford " Ashmolean

Museum, 1974.344 # and a red!Þgure psykter attributed to the Kleophrades Painter " The ArtMuseum, Princeton University, y 1989!69 #, cited below " n. 51 #.

Fig. 1.Athenian red!Þgure cup by Oltos" Madrid, No 11267; ARV 2, 58/59 %53&#, c. 520 BC " courtesy of F. Lissarrague #




Gulick #. Athenaeus, who quotes the two above mentioned fragments " Deipnosophistae,XI 504a !b #, cites also the sympotic command Òto rush it aboutÓ, or perisobe›n '§nkÊklƒ(,11 which presumably means simply tÚ kÊklƒ p¤nein, Òto drink in a circleÓ " 504a #.The command is directed to a young cup!bearer who successively pours wine to theparticipants of the symposion as they drink it Òin a circleÓ passing their cup " s # from oneto another Òto the rightÓ.12 This procedure is well illustrated by a character ofXenophonÕs Symposium, who compares good servants to skilled charioteers, since theyshould be capable of Òdriving the cups round fasterÓ " II 27: yçtton perielaÊnontaw tåwkÊlikaw #.13

At the very end of PlatoÕs Symposium, Socrates, Aristophanes and Agathon, while

Òdrinking to the right using a big phialeÓ " 223c: p¤nein §k fiãlhw megãlhw §p‹ dejiã #, discusssome literary problems put forward by Socrates. This passage is undoubtedly intendedto symbolise the restoration of a well!ordered symposion after a ÒdegenerateÓ one, whichopens Þrst with the arrival of Alcibiades " 213e!214b # and is Þnally established by theentry of a large group of drunken kvmasta¤ " 223b #. In both scenes Plato stresses the factthat the intruders impose their own rules of more and more severe drinking upon the guests of Agathon. In both cases the new rules tend to marginalize chatting, singing ortalking while drinking " 214b and 223b #.14 Thus, the Þnal scene of the Symposium restores

11 Where §n kÊklƒ ) perhaps rightly deleted by A. NAUCK ) may well be a pedantic gloss. Cf.

Athenaeus, IV 130c" from now on, I quote Athenaeus in the Loeb translation by Charles B.Gulick #, Menander, fr. 224 Kšrte " The Inspired Woman, fr. 3 Sandbach #, and Hesychios, s.v.

perisobe›n. Cf. also A. W. GOMME & F. H. SANDBACH, Menander . A Commentary, Oxford 1973, p.407.

12 Despite the doubts expressed by some modern scholars, this certainly means the anti!clockwise movement, as it is indicated by a scene of AristophanesÕ Wasps " ll. 1235!1236 #, where acertain Theoros ÒcapsÓ the skolion put forward by Kleon " for this procedure, see below, pp. 345!346 #, while Òreclining at his feetÓ.

13 Cf. B. HUSS, Xenophons Symposion. Ein Kommentar , Stuttgart $ Leipzig 1999, ad loc.; see alsoPindar, fr. 124A!B Maehler " ll. 1!4 #. During a symposion, the enunciator sends to Thrasybulus aÒchariot of lovely songsÓ. This Òchariot of songsÓ is supposed to be a Òsweet horse! goadÓ to thebanqueters as well as to the ÒAthenian cupsÓ.

14 Both cases of drinking under constraint, but also the Þnal scene where we Þnd a Òbig phialeÓplaying a signiÞcant role, can be compared to the above mentioned scene of AlcaeusÕ fr. 346,

where large cups Òjostle one anotherÓ, or to the proposal to introduce a big phiale, put forward byPhilip in XenophonÕs Symposium " II 23 #. It should be noted, however, that whereas the rules



344 MAREK W$COWSKI

the equilibrium of wine and speech. Yet, the course of the banquet in the house ofAgathon was determined by the opening decision to suppress this equilibrium. Theparticipants decided not to drink in a compulsory manner, but only for pleasure, todismiss a hired ßute girl " 176e #, and so, as it were, to get rid of sympotic music andpoetry. Instead of drinking and singing, they were going to devote themselves to thesunous¤a t«n lÒgvn " 176e ad Þn. #, and to deliver their encomia of Eros Òto the rightÓ" 177d: §p‹ dejiã #. Their logoi were then supposed to circulate in the dinning !hall preciselyas wine normally does.15

This is of course not a regular symposion, perhaps not even a conceivable one. Itstrongly resembles the ÒpureÓ symposion of Xenophanes " fr. 1 West2 #, where heavy

drinking and ÒhybristicÓ poetry are strictly prohibited.16 Nevertheless, the idea ofdelivering speeches Òto the rightÓ is a natural one and the Platonic play on somesympotic customs brings us to another fundamental feature of the symposion. As wehave already seen in CritiasÕ fr. 6 West2 " ll. 1!4 #, the circulation of the cup is closelyrelated to sympotic toasts which ÒcirculateÓ together with the wine cups during thesymposion. Later on in the same poem of Critias we read the following lines " ll. 5!7;trans. Gulick, slightly changed #: ÒBowls they have, a Lydian hand, Asiatic!born,

introduced by Alcibiades " incidentally instructed by Eryximachus # still observe the principle of thecirculation of vessels from left to right " cf. 214b ad Þn., 214c and 222e #, those imposed by theaggressive kvmasta obviously ignore them " 223b: ka‹ oÈk°ti §n kÒsmƒ oÈden‹ énagkãzesyai % sc.

Òall of themÓ, as Sir Kenneth J. DOVER, Plato, ÒSymposiumÓ, Gateshead 1995, ad loc., rightlyobserved& p¤ nein pãmpolun o‰non #, thus, perhaps, ÒatomisingÓ the sumpÒtai into smaller drinking groups. Hence the Þnal three!men discussion over wine.

15 Likewise, in the Symposion of Xenophon the logoi of the banqueters Ògo roundÓ " e.g. IV 20; 64 ad Þn. # the dinning !room in the house of Callias ) here, however, without replacing wine thatcirculates too " cf. II 26!27 #.

16 For the ÒphilosophicalÓ symposion of Xenophanes and that of Plato, see in general J.DEFRADAS, ÒLe banquet de XŽnophaneÓ, Revue des Žtudes grecques 75 " 1962 #, pp. 344!365; H.HERTER, ÒDas Symposion des XenophanesÓ, Wiener Studien 69 " 1956 #, pp. 33!48; cf. M. MAR!

COVICH, ÒXenophanes on Drinking !Parties and Olympic GamesÓ, Illinois Classical Studies 3 " 1978 #,pp. 1!26; H. SENG, ÒTå d¤kaia beim SymposionÓ, Quaderni Urbinati di Cultura Classica n.s. 30 " 1988 #,pp. 123!131, and R. BRUNET, ÒVin et philosophie: le Banquet de Platon. Esquisse dÕune sympotiqueplatonicienneÓ, %in:& AAVV , Le vin des historiens, Suze!la !Rousse 1990, pp. 21!48. Cf. also P.BOYANCƒ, ÒPlaton et le vinÓ, Bulletin de l Õ Association Guillame BudŽ , dŽcembre 1951, 4, pp. 3!19, and

M. TECUSüAN, Ò Logos sympotikos: Patterns of the Irrational in the Philosophical Drinking: PlatoOutside the SymposiumÓ, %in:& MURRAY " ed. #, Sympotica " cit. n. 2 #, pp. 238!260.




invented,17 as well as toasts they pass from left to right, and the custom of challengingby name him to whom one dedicates the toastÓ " ka‹ propÒseiw Ùr°gein §pid°jia, ka‹prokale›syai | §jonomaklÆdhn ⁄ propie›n §y°lei #. The, so to speak, bitter!sweetprÒposiw,18 intended to provoke or challenge and at the same time to please theaddressee, circulates then together with wine in the dining !hall. In a fragment of Diony !sius Chalcus " fr. 1 West2, ll. 1!3; trans. Gulick, adapted #, we get another conÞrmation ofthe habit of doing things notoriously §pid°jia during the symposion: ÒReceive,Theodorus, this poem pledged as a toast from me. I send it from left to right to theeÞrst of our company " §g∆ dÕ §pid°jia p°mpv | so‹ pr≈tƒ # etc.Ó This time, it is not a simpletoast but a sophisticated poem requiring a response that is sent to the neighbour on the

right.19 In a famous and much debated passage of the Wasps of Aristophanes " ll. 1219!1248 #, a

character of the play instructs another one how to behave during an elite symposion.20 Here, the most important sympotic competence is to be able to d°xesyai tå skÒlia " ll.1222, 1225, and 1242 #, or to Òcap the skoliaÓ. One should literally ÒcatchÓ and continue thefragment of skolion struck up and unexpectedly broken off by oneÕs predecessor. Ascholion to this passage of the Wasps " 1222b #, probably based on the work On musical com!

petitions by Dicaearchus, comments upon the expression tå skÒliÕ ˜pvw d°jei kal«w,Òmake sure you take up the songs wellÓ " l. 1222 #, as follows: Ò˜pvw parad°j˙.Ó §n kÊklƒgår ¬don tå skÒlia, ë efisi d¢ paro¤niai ”da¤, Ò" É # for they used to sing the skolia, i.e.

17 The poet is of course ascribing the invention of some important sympotic procedures " andperhaps even the invention of the symposion itself # to the Lydians in order to emphasize hisdisapproval for these allegedly effeminate customs. But see below, pp. 348!349, for quite adifferent view of the symposion and that of its fundamental procedures in CritiasÕ fr. 8 Gentili $

Prato.18 For propÒseiw, see, e.g., line 22 of the same poem, as well as Critias, fr. 8 Gentili $ Prato, l. 8

" propÒseiw circulating §pid°jia during the ideal symposion #; Anacreon, fr. 356a PMG lines 2!3 andschol. Pind. Ol. VII 4, s.v. prop¤nein. Cf. also Plutarch, Septem sapientium convivium 155e.

19 Cf. above, n. 13.20 See above all M. VETTA, ÒUn capitolo di storia di poesia simposiale. " Per lÕesegesi di Aris!

tofane, ÇVespeÈ 1222!1248 #Ó, %in:& VETTA " ed. #, Poesia e simposio " cit. n. 4 #, pp. 117!131, as well as thecommentary ad loc . by D. M. MACDOWELL " Aristophanes, ÒWaspsÓ, Oxford 1971 #. In general, cf. E.L. BOWIE, ÒWine in Old ComedyÓ, %in:& MURRAY & TECUSüAN " eds. #, In vino veritas " cit. n. 4 #, pp.

113!125, and A. M. BOWIE, ÒThinking with Drinking: Wine and the Symposium in AristophanesÓ,The Journal of Hellenic Studies 117 " 1997 #, pp. 1!21.



346 MAREK W$COWSKI

wine!songs, in a circleÓ. This kind of Òwine!songsÓ called skolia " which is by the way notthe skÒlion, or skoliÒn, in its original meaning, as Dicaearchus and his contemporaryAristoxenus already felt in the third quarter of the Fourth Century BC #21 circulated inthe dining !room being performed by the sumpÒtai Òby turnsÓ, or tå •j∞w " cf. schol.Aristoph. Vespae, 1222a, 1227a, 1238c ad Þn. #, which undoubtedly means here Òsuccessivelyfrom left to rightÓ. This is further conÞrmed by a gloss in Hesychios " s.v. tØn §pidejiãn #:peri°feron §n to›w sumpos¤oiw §p‹ dejiå tÚ pãlai kiyãran, e‰ta mur¤nhn, prÚw ∂n ¬don ,Òduring the symposia, in ancient times they used to carry round to the right a kithara,then a myrtle twig, according to which they sangÓ. Indeed, alongside lyre and myrtletwig, Pollux adds a cup " ¶kpvma # to our list of the objects that used to be carried round

§p‹ dejiã, thus regulating the succession of songs " Onomasticon, VI 108 #.22 An elegy ofDionysius Chalcus is more revealing yet " fr. 4 West2, line 1 #: Òpour out hymns " i.e.Ò poetryÓ in general " M.W. # like wine $ from left to right " Ïmnouw ofinoxoe›n §pid°jia # $ for you and for us etc.Ó

This is much the same idea as that of PlatoÕs sunous¤a t«n lÒgvn, where speechescould even pretend to replace wine " 177d # during a philosophical symposion. For mypurpose, it is enough to stress that the circular movement of toasts, songs, poetry, and

21 As I hope to show elsewhere. For the pitiful remains of the teaching of Dicaearchus and ofthat of Aristoxenus, see respectively schol. Plato, Gorgias, 451e " preserved also, with some minormodiÞcations, in the Suda and in Photius, s.v. skoliÒn #; Plutarch, Quaestiones conviviales, 615b;Athenaeus, 694a " for Dicaearchus, fr. 88 Wehrli #, and schol. Plat. Gorg . 451e " cf. Suda and Photius s.v. skoliÒn #; Plutarch, Quaest . conviv. 615b!c " for Aristoxenus, fr. 125 Wehrli #. Recently, there hasbeen an interesting, though rather inconclusive discussion concerning the ÒtrueÓ etymology of the word skÒlion " S.!T. TEODORSSON, ÒThe Etymology of scolionÓ, Eranos 87 %1989&, pp. 127!132; G.LAMBIN, ÒLÕorigine du skÒlionÓ, Eranos 91 %1993&, pp. 32!37; V. LIAPIS, ÒDouble entendres in skolia:the etymology of skolionÓ, Eranos 94 %1996&, pp. 111!122 #. Some of the classical treatments of thesubject are still most valuable, see above all R. R EITZENSTEIN, Epigramm und Skolion. Ein Beitrag zurGeschichte der alexandrinischen Dichtung , Giessen 1893, especially pp. 3!44, and A. SEVERYNS,ÒProclos et la Chanson de tableÓ, %in:& MŽlanges Bidez, Bruxelles 1934, pp. 835!856. Cf. M. VETTA,ÒUn capitolo di storia di poesia simposialeÓ " previous note #, passim. Cf. further below, n. 35 and 52.

22 An interesting fragment of Eupolis " 361 Kock = 395 Kassel $ Austin # may well hint at a similar

procedure: dejãmenow d¢ Svkrãthw tØn §pid°jÕ <õdvn> | SthsixÒrou prÚw tØn lÊran, ofinoxÒhn¶klecen.




speeches follows the rules of the distribution of wine,23 served §pid°jia to the feasters.Another scene at the end of PlatoÕs Symposium can help us to estimate the importanceand some possible implications of this sympotic principle. There is a very interesting ex !change of erotic jokes between Alcibiades and Socrates " 222e #, who amusingly try toestablish who should be praised by whom after the speech of the former praising thelatter. To determine that, they ought to decide who should recline beside whom ontheir couch, since the succession of their performances is still regulated by the rule ofdoing things §pid°jia. In fact, what it is all about is who should praise the beautifulAgathon and, of course, who should recline next to him.

Now, it is very well known that the habit of drinking wine mixed with water was a

mark of Greek cultural identity and even one of a civilised life: one needed to be abarbarian to drink undiluted wine. Meanwhile, we should not forget some other traits ofGreekness as far as convivial habits are concerned. In Book IV of his Deipnosophistae " 151e!152d init . # Athenaeus quotes a long passage of PoseidoniusÕ Histories " FGrHist 87 F

15 #, where the Stoic philosopher presents the most striking convivial customs of theCelts. First of all, while drinking, the Celts eat large quantities of meat in a ratherunsophisticated manner. In their cooking they do not use olive oil, which they dislike.When a number of Celts dine together, they sit in a circle, but in a very special manner:the mightiest among them " distinguished for his bravery, wealth, or pedigree # sits in themiddle, Òlike a chorus leaderÓ. Armed men can well participate in their banquets " ashocking thing in itself! #, where they drink unmixed wine " Òsometimes a little water is

addedÓ # or " most often # beer. PoseidoniusÕ description ends in a very peculiar way: Òtheslave carries the drink round from left to right and from right to left; this is the way in which they are servedÓ " 152d init .: perif°rei d¢ ı pa›w §p‹ tå dejiå ka‹ tå laiã: oÏtvwdiakonoËntai #.

In this, so to speak, Òmirror of PoseidoniusÓ, the Greeks could look at themselves,easily detecting strange and barbarian opposites of their own habits.24 For us, this rather

23 Furthermore, in the above mentioned entry of PolluxÕ Onomasticon " VI 107 # we Þnd perhapsan indication suggesting that riddles, or gr›foi, also used to circulate in the dinning !hall just as wine usually did. Cf. perhaps also Athenaeus, 457e!f.

24 See in general SCHMITT PANTEL, La citŽ au banquet " cit. n. 5 #, esp. pp. 425!438, and L. BRUIT &

P. SCHMITT!PANTEL, ÒCiter, classer, penser: ˆ propos des repas des Grecs et des repas des Autresdans le livre IV des Deipnosophistes dÕAthŽnŽeÓ, Annali dellÕIstituto Universitario Orientale di Napoli .



348 MAREK W$COWSKI

neglected passage could be a very good starting point for an attempt to determine whatthe symposion is. Unlike the Greeks, who used to eat meat during the deipnon organisedbefore the symposion, the Celts consume meat and alcohol at the same time; they donot observe the separation between drinking and dining, which is the very essence of thesymposion. The wine they drink is undiluted, but they drink also beer, and both customsare undoubtedly marks of their barbarism. $ Up to this point everything is clear, butthere are two more elements in PoseidoniusÕ description. Like the Greeks, the Celts eatand drink while sitting in a circle " §n kÊklƒ #, but $ strangely for the Greek eye $ in theircircles there is always a Òchorus leaderÓ " we shall return to this important point later on #.The last remark of Poseidonius seems to me a crucial, although at Þrst sight a rather

unexpected one. Unlike the Greeks, the Celts are served with their drinks in bothdirections: not only Òfrom left to rightÓ, but also Òfrom right to leftÓ.

A striking parallel to PoseidoniusÕ " implicit # view of the symposion can be found infr. 8 Gentili $ Prato of Critias. Whereas in the fragment 6 West2 of the same poet wehave already seen some crucial features of this custom as opposed to the feasts of theGreek ÒOthersÓ " see above, p. 341 #, here Critias gives us a, so to speak, positive image ofthe symposion " ll. 6!10; trans. Gulick #. ÒNever shall love of thee " i .e. of Anacreon " M.W. # grow old or die, so long as a slave!boy solemnly bears round water and wine mingled forthe cups, dispensing toasts from left to right " ll. 5!7: É ¶stÕ ín Ïdvr o‡nƒ summeignÊmenonkul¤kessin | pa›w diapompeÊ˙, propÒseiw §pid°jia nvm«n # etc.Ó Alongside two otherthings, i.e. the feminine choirs of pannychis and the kottabos game,25 this compressed

image of the ideal symposion contains two elements that we Þnd also in Poseidonius:the habit of mixing wine with water and the circulation of cups and that of convivialtoasts §pid°jia. This similarity is not a matter of mere coincidence. What is more, thelatter element appears also in CritiasÕ fr. 6 West2, in a black picture of the symposion,this time as the ultimate source of evil.

Sezione di archeologia e storia antica 8 " 1986 #, pp. 203!221. Cf. also J. MALITZ, Die Historien des Poseidonios, MŸnchen 1983, pp. 188!190.

25 For the pannychis, see in general BRAVO, Pannychis " cit. n. 5 #, passim, where Critias fr. 8 Gentili

$ Prato is also discussed " pp. 25!29 #. Although I must admit that at Þrst sight Òfeminine choirsÓseem not quite appropriate here, I am not convinced by B. BravoÕs view that the whole fragmentmentioning pannychides must have belonged once to Òuna lista poetica di pr«toi eÍreta di vari

generi di poesiaÓ " p. 29 #. I would rather suggest that this particularly solemn genre Þts well intothe image of the ideal symposion. For kottabos, see below, part II.




For some Greek poets $ in elegy, lyric, comedy and tragedy alike $ the image ofcirculating cups, and more generally the habit of doing things §n kÊklƒ and §pid°jia,could be used as the most evident Þgure " so to speak, a pars pro toto # of the symposion.For a Greek ethnographer too, this habit, alongside that of drinking wine diluted with water, is " implicitly # one of the touchstones of Greek conviviality. We could of coursedismiss these testimonies arguing that, during the symposion or at any other occasion,doing things Òto the rightÓ equals doing them in a right or happy direction.26 However, itshould be noted, Þrst, that virtually all the sympotic activities were organised accordingto this principle, which is most striking if we consider how rarely we hear of thisprinciple in any other context. Secondly, during the symposion, one does certain things

not just §pid°jia, but Òfrom left to right $ as wine is poured outÓ. We may have theimpression that a happy direction of movement is not as important in itself as the factof the subordination of all the sympotic activities to the rule of the distribution of wine,i.e. the fact that almost every sympotic activity was subordinated to wine and itsmanipulations.

This is evidently a very appropriate solution for the banquet called sumpÒsion, orÒdrinking in commonÓ, where wine is a central thing, but to understand thisphenomenon we should adopt a much more general and, so to speak, structural point of view.

As it has been observed long ago by Bruno Snell,27 in Alcaeus and Sappho, the wordsumpÒsion belongs to a very peculiar group of sun ! compounds, which tend to express

the cohesion of the community. In using such words, its members felt that they wereemphasising their unity, but also the fact that they were gathered on an equal footing.The rigorous equality of a narrow group of friends gathered in a small andron, or ÒmenÕsroomÓ, was one of the principal features of the symposion. Within this circle, there wereof course better and worse benches on which the participants could recline according to

26 For Òhappy directionÓ in general, cf., e.g., a commentary on Critias, fr. 6 West2, l. 4, %in:& K.BARTOL, ÒJamb i elegiaÓ " = Liryka grecka, ed. J. DANIELEWICZ, vol. I #, Warszawa $ Pozna% 1999(see also n. 8). Cf. also L. GERNET, ÒLa notion mythique de la valeur en GrceÓ, %in:& IDEM, Anthropologie de la Gr•ce antique , Paris 1982, pp. 131!132.

27 B. SNELL, Dichtung und Gesellschaft . Studien zum Einßu§ der Dichter auf das soziale Denken undVerhalten im alten Griechenland , Hamburg 1965, pp. 71!72 " with n. 24 #. In general, see also R…SLER,

Dichter und Gruppe " cit. n. 3 #, pp. 33!36 " esp. n. 25 #; cf. already TRUMPF, Ò†ber das TrinkenÓ " cit. n.3 #, pp. 43!63.



350 MAREK W$COWSKI

their status as guests of honour, hosts, symposiarchs etc.,28 but the symposion was allbut a hierarchical banquet, dominated by the king or some other person clearlydistinguished among the feasters.29 That is why for Poseidonius it is a very strange thingthat among the Celts the fact of banqueting Òin a circleÓ does not involve the equality ofthe participants. One of them, the most important one, Òsits in a middleÓ, …w ínkorufa›ow xoroË, with the host beside him, and their central position furtherÒhierarchisesÓ all the rest of the feasters " Athenaeus, IV 152b: É §fej∞w dÕ •kat°rvye katÕ éj an ∏w ¶xousin Íperox∞w #. For the Greeks, drinking §n kÊklƒ always means drinking onequal terms.30 The custom of pouring out wine §pid°jia, and the procedure of doingthings Òfrom left to rightÓ in general, assures the cohesion of the group and the equality

of the feasters. In the ideology of the Greek symposion, it is the crater full of wine, andnot one of the feasters, that is placed Òin the middleÓ, so that each participant can easilyhave access to it and all the sumpÒtai can get equal shares of their wine. As in the Greekpolitical imagery the equality of citizens required that the power was put or placed

28 In PlatoÕs Symposion, for instance, Agathon, the host, reclines in the lowest place, ¶sxatow

" 175c #, while the beautiful Phaedrus occupies Òthe topmost place at table " pr«tow #Ó " 177d # $ trans.W. R. M. LAMB. See also Plutarch, Sept . sap. conv. 148f $ 149a !b, 149f, and 150a !b.

29 The most instructive here is the contrast between the conventional Homeric feast on the onehand and the classical symposion on the other. To put it brießy, in the symposion, there is noroom for geras, or Òpart of honourÓ " be it meat or wine #, distributed to the feasters by their host

and leader. The geras of the Homeric feasts tends to ÒhierarchiseÓ the community of the feastersÒfrom aboveÓ, whereas in the symposion we have a dynamic situation, with a changing hierarchy ofpeers regulated ad hoc by their respective performances of various sort. For the Òheroic feastÓ in general, see recently H. VAN WEES, ÒPrinces at Dinner: Social Event and Social Structure inHomerÓ, %in:& Homeric Questions. Essays in Philology, Ancient History and Archaeology, including the Papers of a Conference Organized by the Netherlands Institute at Athens " 15 May 1993 #, ed. J. P.CRIELAARD, Amsterdam 1995, pp. 147!182; J. RUNDIN, ÒA Politics of Eating: Feasting in earlyGreek SocietyÓ, American Journal of Philology 117 " 1996 # pp. 179!215; and the above mentioned works of Oswyn MURRAY " above, n. 2 and 3 ad Þn. #. It must be stressed, though, that I do notconsider the ÒHomeric banquetÓ to conform precisely to any historical reality. See below, p. 353!355 and n. 40!44.

30 In the ideology of the symposion, natural inequalities of wealth, birth etc. used to be sup !

pressed, as it is implied, e.g., by Pindar, fr. 124A!B Maehler or Bakchylides, fr. 20B Snell, ll. 10!16.For these inequalities, see in general B. BRAVO, Ò AretŽ e ricchezza nella polis dellÕetˆ arcaica

secondo le testimonianze dei poetiÓ, Index 17 " 1989 #, esp. pp. 54!76. For the ideal of sympoticequality, see most of all Plutarch, Sept . sap. conv. 154c!d.




geometrically Òin the middleÓ " §w m°son $ §n m°sƒ # of the city,31 the organisation of thesympotic space, i.e. the fact of drinking Òin circleÓ and Òto the rightÓ from a crater placedÒin the middleÓ constitutes the fundamental equality of the feasters.32

To be sure, while drinking §pid°jia, nobody can be omitted by the ÒspeedingÓ cup,but at the same time nobody can avoid the circulating hymns, songs, toasts or jokes, by which a feaster challenges his neighbour to the right, thus provoking him to react. As arule, then, this procedure not only involves the rigorous equality but also regulates thecompetition of the participants of the symposion. In CritiasÕ fragment 6 West2 " ll. 6!7 # the toasts circulating §pid°jia are closely connected with the word prokale›syai, toÒcall outÓ or ÒchallengeÓ " LSJ #,33 not only to drink the cup, but also to respond

appropriately to the toast. In Dionysius ChalcusÕ fr. 1 West2 " l. 4 #, the poem circulatingÒfrom left to rightÓ invites a certain Theodorus to respond with Òanswering songsÓ" trans. Gulick #. The Platonic competition of speeches praising Eros is organised in muchthe same way: the encomia move §pid°jia round the dinning !hall " Symposion, 177d #. The well known phenomenon of sympotic catenae34 can also be understood as a series ofcouplets, which participants of the symposion join in singing and so pick up the songcirculating Òfrom left to rightÓ. A similar competition which we hear of in the Wasps ofAristophanes concerned the " improperly speaking # skolia.35

31 See above all a famous passage of Herodotus " III 142.3 ad Þn. #. Cf. esp. J.!P. VERNANT, Lesorigines de la pensŽe grecque, Paris 1962, pp. 121!125 " cf. also p. 95 #, and M. DETIENNE, ÒEn Grcearchaque: GŽomŽtrie, Politique et SociŽtŽÓ, Annales E.S.C. 20 " 1965 #, pp. 425!441. In general, cf.also P. LƒVæQUE & P. VIDAL!NAQUET, Clisth•ne lÕAthŽnien, Paris 1973, passim.

32 For the ideal organisation of the sympotic space, see below, note 56. For banqueting as theonly bodily pleasure openly put forward Òin the middleÓ and shared with others, see Plutarch, Sept . sap. conv. 158f.

33 Cf. also a commentary of BARTOL, ÒJamb i elegiaÓ " cit. n. 26 #, ad loc.34 See, in general, M. VETTA, ÒIl simposio: la monodia e il giamboÓ, %in:& Lo spazio letterario della

Grecia antica, ed. G. CAMBIANO et alii , vol. I: La produzione e la circolazione del testo, t. I: La polis,Roma 1992, esp. pp. 196!197; see further M. VETTA, ÒIdentiÞcazione di un caso di catenasimposiale nel Corpus teognideoÓ, %in:& Lirica greca da Archiloco a Elitis. Studi in onore di F . M . Pontani ,Padova 1984, pp. 113!126. Cf. also R. PRETAGOSTINI, ÒAnacr. 33 Gent. = 356 P.: due modalitˆsimposiali a confrontoÓ, Quaderni Urbinati di Cultura Classica N.S. 10 " 1982 #, pp. 47!55.

35 The original meaning of the word skolion, as applied to a certain type of sympotic poetry, is

likely to be ÒzigzagÓ or Òdistorted % sc. song &Ó " I shall deal with this problem elsewhere; see above,note 21 #, which most probably meant Òdisorderly songsÓ as compared to the songs performed in



352 MAREK W$COWSKI

All in all, the custom of Òdrinking in circleÓ and that of doing other things §pid°jia during the banquet seems to be one of the fundamental principles of the Greeksymposion, as it assured the equality of the sumpÒtai while at the same time stimulatingand regulating their competition in toasts, poetry, jokes, speeches, love discourse ordalliances. As such, it belongs to the very core of the symposion, for it involves thecrucial tension between the agonistic spirit and the egalitarian principle operatingoverwhelmingly within the aristocratic society of the archaic period. In, so to speak,socio!dynamic terms, but also from the ethical point of view, the symposion ischaracterised by the precarious equilibrium between proper and improper behaviour, where each of the sumpÒtai is all the time in danger of hybris, once he goes too far

beyond the sumpotiko‹ nÒmoi " repeatedly stated by poets36 # in his attempts to surpass hispeers.37 As Ezio Pellizer once put it, Òthe real spectacle which the symposion offers untoitself is, then, a disciplined display of individual and collective passions, in search of a

the customary order. I assume that this generic term was born in the context where all the othertypes of poetic performances were obligatorily executed epidexia. If so, we have got here yetanother proof of the central importance of that procedure during the symposion.

36 It is enough to mention here XenophanesÕ fr. 1 West2, a long elegy from the Theognidea, ll.467!496, a section of the Theognidea, ll. 757!764 " cf. also Ion of Chius, fr. 26 West2 = 1 Gentili $

Prato, and Solon, fr. 4 West2, ll. 9!10 #, Panyassis, frr. 16, 17, and 19 BernabŽ " = 12, 13, 14 Kinkel #, a well known poem of the adespota elegiaca, fr. 27 West2 = 12 Gentili $ Prato " P. Berol. inv. 13270; forthe sympotic fragments which can be read on this papyrus, see BRAVO, Pannychis %cit. n. 5&, pp. 43!

99 #, or, last but not least, a famous fragment of Eubulus, fr. 94 Kock " = 92 Kassel $ Austin # " cf.Panyassis, fr. 17 BernabŽ #. See further D. E. GERBER, ÒThe Measure of Bacchus. Euenus Fr. 2West, Gent.!Pr. = Anth. Pal . 11,49Ó, Mnemosyne 41 " 1988 #, pp. 39!45, where some interesting poeticcommonplaces are adduced. In general, cf. W. J. SLATER, ÒPeace, the Symposium and the PoetÓ, Illinois Classical Studies 6.2 " 1981 # pp. 205!214; IDEM, ÒSympotic Ethics in the OdysseyÓ " cit. n. 5 #; E.PELLIZER, ÒOutlines of a MorphologyÓ " cit. n. 5 # and IDEM, ÒDella zuffa simpoticaÓ, %in:& VETTA " ed. #, Poesia e simposio " cit. n. 4 #, pp. 29!41; D. B. LEVINE, ÒSymposium and the PolisÓ, %in:& Theognisof Megara. Poetry and the Polis, ed. Th. J. FIGUEIRA & G. NAGY, Baltimore $ London 1985, esp. pp.180!186; cf. also BIELOHLAWEK, ÒGastmahls! und SymposionslehrenÓ " cit. n. 5 # and SENG, ÒTåd¤kaiaÓ " cit. n. 16 #.

37 Here, I cannot agree with a short remark in the excellent book by James DAVIDSON,Courtesans and Fishcakes. The Consuming Passions of Classical Athens, Glasgow 1998, p. 44 " ÒWine, songand conversation went around the room from Ôleft to rightÕ, that is, probably, anti!clockwise. Thearrangement was less a static circle of equality than a dynamic series of circulations %É&Ó #. I would

argue that the author failed to grasp here the true nature of the sympotic equality. See also above,nn. 28!30.




norm to regulate the epithymiai and social tensions at the same time as it offers them anoutletÓ.38

If that is so, I would even venture to say that the habit of doing things §pid°jia Òas wine is poured outÓ " and not that of reclining, as it is generally assumed nowadays39 # during the banquet $ as a clear indication of the existence of the tension between theegalitarian principle of the symposion and the agonistic one $ is the safest way todifferentiate between the symposion and other forms of Greek masculine conviviality,and gives us a useful key that makes it possible to date the appearance of the symposion.As we have already seen in CritiasÕ fr. 6 West2 quoted above, it was not only lack ofmoderation in drinking, but most of all the egalitarian competition assured by the

procedure of drinking in a circle and sending cup as well as toasts Òto the rightÓ thatconstitute the fundamental difference between the symposion and the sober Spartanconviviality.40 As far as the origins of the symposion are concerned, it is clear nowadaysthat we have to assume the existence of its full !ßedged form at least as early as the last

38 ÒOutlines of a MorphologyÓ " cit. n. 5 #, p. 183.39 See most of all J.!M. DENTZER, Le motif du banquet couchŽ dans le Proche!Orient et le monde grec du

VII e au IV e s. av. J .!C., Rome 1982. Cf. in general MURRAY, ÒNestorÕs Cup and the Origins of theGreek SymposionÓ " cit. n. 3 #. See further below, n. 42.

40 See also Athenaeus, XI 463e!f " = Critias, testimonium 14 Gentili $ Prato #. Cf., e.g., Athenaeus,

IV 141a !b " = Dicaearchus, fr. 72 Wehrli, from his TripolitikÒw #; see further 142a ad Þn.!b;Xenophon, Constitution of the Lacedaemonians 5.2!9; Plutarch, Lycurgus 12. In his paper ÒWar and theSymposiumÓ "%in:& SLATER %ed.&, Dining in a Classical Context %cit. n. 4&, pp. 83!103 #, Oswyn MURRAY tries to challenge PlatoÕs opposition between the %Athenian& symposion on the one hand and theSpartan " and Dorian in general # military syssitia " cf., e.g., Laws I, 637a $ 639d # on the other. ForMURRAY, the aristocratic symposion of the archaic period is a continuation of the Òwarrior feastÓof MŠnnerbund type, allegedly present in Homer. Both institutions would not, then, be mutuallyincompatible, as they are for Plato. In my opinion, however, the historical value of the Homericimage of the Òheroic feastÓ is not an evident issue " see below, with note 43 #. Furthermore, I wouldrather consider the Spartan syssitia to be not so much a relict of the Dorian past, as a Òpseudo!

archaicÓ institution of its own, introduced during the period of the profound mutation of theLaconian society " say, a few generations before c. 550 BC, when the Laconian pottery lost its vigour # in order to replace the previously existing aristocratic symposion. I shall try to develop myargument elsewhere " but cf. already VAN WEES, ÒPrinces at DinnerÓ %cit. n. 29&, p. 178 n. 66 #. For a

different and more general criticism of MurrayÕs ideas, cf. LOMBARDO, ÒPratiche di commensalitˆÓ" cit. n. 5 #.



354 MAREK W$COWSKI

quarter of the Eighth Century BC.41 Now, as things stand today, no traces of the customof reclining during the banquet in truly Greek environment before the end of theSeventh Century BC have been found, even if the dating of the appearance of thiscustom to the Þrst decades of the Seventh Century cannot be completely ruled out. 42 Bethat as it may, I have already tried to show elsewhere that the sympotic habit of doingthings §pid°jia " or §nd°jia, which is the same # is well attested already in Homer" although it is present backstage, so to speak #.43 Strikingly, Homer knows not only thecustom of serving and drinking wine Òto the rightÓ, but also reßects a sympoticcompetition of peers, a game of skill and dexterity organised according to the rules ofthe circulation of wine in the dinning !hall. I am thinking here of the bow competition of

the Suitors of Penelope " Odyssey XXI 140!142; trans. R. Lattimore #: ÒNow Antinošs theson of Eupeithes said to them: ÒTake your turns in order from left to right, my

41 This is evidenced above all by recent studies on the famous Òcup of NestorÓ fromPithecoussai, a vessel carrying a piece of sympotic poetry. See most of all MURRAY, ÒNestorÕsCupÓ " cit. n. 3 #; cf. LATACZ, ÒDie Funktion des SymposionsÓ " cit. n. 3 #, and G. DANEK, ÒDerNestorbecher von Ischia, epische Zitiertechnik und das SymposionÓ, Wiener Studien 107!108" 1994/95 #, pp. 29!44.

42 As I hope to argue in a paper I am currently preparing " ÒThe Greek symposion between Eastand WestÓ; its Þrst draft has been read at the conference Ancient Palestine. Archaeological and historical research, Institute of Archaeology, Warsaw University, 26 October 2000; currently:< http://www.historia.uw.edu.pl/verhtml/Artykuly/Palestyna/wecowski ! referat.html > in Polish #. For a

contrary view, see MURRAY, ÒNestorÕs CupÓ " cit. n. 3 # and most of all H. MATTH€US, ÒThe Greeksymposion and the Near East. Chronology and mechanisms of cultural transferÓ, %in:& Proceedings ofthe XVth International Congress of Classical Archaeology, Amsterdam, July 12!17, 1998: Classical Archaeology towards the Third Millennium: Reßections and Perspectives, ed. R. F. DOCTER & E. M.MOORMANN, vol. I " Text #, Amsterdam 1999, pp. 256!260. I wish to thank Professor VassosKARAGEORGHIS for kindly drawing my attention to this important article. Its Þnal conclusions,however, seem to me not entirely convincing, as they tend to extrapolate on the basis of someisolated archaeological objects from the Idean Cave of Zeus in Crete, arguing that the habit ofreclining while feasting must have been introduced in the Greek world in LG period. I shall deal with this problem in due course in my paper.

43 See above all Iliad I 597!598 " where, furthermore, the image of a young and charming cup!

bearer is implied #; Odyssey XVII 365!366, and XXI 140!142 " for which see below #. In general, seemy forthcoming paper entitled ÒHomer and the origins of the symposionÓ, %in:& Omero tremila anni dopo. Atti del congresso di Genova 6 !8 luglio 2000, ed. F. MONTANARI, Roma 2002, pp. 625!637. Cf.

also, e.g., Iliad II 123!130 " a ten!men gathering during a wine party served by a cup!bearer #; Odyssey VII 98!102 and XVIII 313!319 " night!time feasts implied #.




companions all, beginning from the place where wine is served outÓ " ̂ rnusyÕ •je¤hw§pid°jia pãntew •ta›roi, | érjãmenoi toË x≈rou ˜yen t° per ofinoxoeÊei #.44

II. HOW DID THE GREEKS PLAY KOTTABOS

Despite the well known passage of AthenaeusÕ Deipnosophistae devoted to the famousGreek sympotic game called kottabos " XI 479c!e #45 and many other appearances of the game in ancient literary sources, and despite its numerous images provided by Greek vase painting, we do not know exactly how the Greeks played that game. Among thestudents of the subject, there has been little agreement either about its rules or aboutthe actual shape or names of the objects that served as goal to the players. 46 It is how !ever striking that, to my knowledge, scholars did not in fact try to establish what rulesregulated the succession of throws executed by kottabos players. As we shall see, theanswer to this question could have some important implications for our understandingof the game and of its social as well as ideological setting.

A Homeric analogy mentioned above, i.e. the ill!fated dexterity competition in thehouse of Odysseus, executed according to the rules of the circulation of wine, cansuggest to us a possible answer. Nevertheless, how can we check this idea? To begin with, we may turn to some sympotic images of Greek vase painting.

First of all, though, we need to remember that the iconography of Greek vasepainting does not depict, illustrate, or ÒmirrorÓ the actual course of the symposion or any

44 Not very far away from this idea is the sympotic exhortation of Dionysius Chalcus " fr. 4West2 # to Òpour out hymns like wineÓ " quoted above #.

45 See also X 427d; XI 487d!e, and XV 665c!668f. Cf., e.g., Pollux, Onomasticon VI 109!111.46 Cf., e.g., Ch. BOEHM, De cottabo " diss. #, Bonn 1893; G. LAFAYE, ÒKottabosÓ, %in:& Ch.

DAREMBERG & E. SAGLIO, Dictionnaire des antiquitŽs grecques et latines, vol. III,1, Paris 1899, pp. 866!

869; B. A. SPARKES, ÒKottabos: An Athenian After Dinner GameÓ, Archaeology 13 " 1960 #, pp. 202!207; LISSARRAGUE, Un ßot dÕimages " cit. n. 10 #, pp. 75!82; P. JACQUET!RIMASSA, ÒKOTTABOS.Recherches iconographiques. CŽramique italiote. 440!300 av. J.!C.Ó, Pallas 42 " 1995 #, pp. 129!165;A. SCH€FER, Unterhaltung beim griechischen Symposion. Darbietungen, Spiele und WettkŠmpfe von

homerischer bis in spŠtklassi sche Zeit , Mainz 1997, esp. pp. 48!49. Non vidi : K. SARTORI, Das Kottabos!Spiel der alten Griechen " diss. #, MŸnchen 1893.



356 MAREK W$COWSKI

other kind of banquet.47 The images we possess give us a rather idealised and evenÒideologicalÓ view of the banquet, synthesising different moments of the symposion" and, as it were, different moments that constitute the noble life of its participants #48 into a coherent picture, which expresses some important ideas the Greeks had in mind while thinking of the symposion $ most of all that of the rigorous equality of itsparticipants. What is true for instance in the case of the quantity of food served to thesumpÒtai " each table in the picture often being loaded with the same number of cupsand of objects identiÞed as meat, cakes etc. #,49 applies also to the way of representingthe kottabos. The striking thing, when we look at Greek vases, is that they give us quitean incredible picture of the game. In numerous cases, provided that what we have is an

image of a group of sumpÒtai, we can see men and women simultaneously throwing wine!lees from their cups at the target.50 This is of course a pure absurdity, if we wish tounderstand it as a picture of a real sympotic habit. As in the case of all competitions thatconsist in accuracy of shots, it is impossible that more than one person should throw hisor her shot at a time. Otherwise, how are we supposed to decide who is the winner? " Justimagine a football or a basketball match with many balls being used at the same time. # In addition, as Athenaeus puts it in his treaty, it was not enough to hit the target; one

47 This idea, universally accepted in present!day scholarship, is due most of all to ClaudeBƒRARD and some members of the so!called ƒcole de Paris, such as Pauline SCHMITT PANTEL, Alain

SCHNAPP, Franois LISSARRAGUE, and Franoise FRONTISI!DUCROUX. It is enough to read someotherwise very solid iconographic analyses of slightly earlier times " e.g. B. FEHR, Orientalische und

griechische Gelage, Bonn 1971, or DENTZER, Le motif du banquet couchŽ %cit. n. 39&, which stems from adoctoral thesis defended in 1975 # to estimate the debt we owe to these scholars. See, however, T.SINI, ÒA Symposion Scene on an Attic Fourth!Century Calyx !krater in St. PetersburgÓ, %in:& GreekOfferings. Essays on Greek Art in honour of John Boardman, ed. O. PALAGIA, Oxford 1997, pp. 159!165,for a detailed analysis of an exceptionally realistic vase from the Hermitage Museum " B 2338 #.

48 P. SCHMITT & A. SCHNAPP, ÒImage et sociŽtŽ en Grce ancienne: les reprŽsentations de lachasse et du banquetÓ, Revue archŽologique 1982/1, p. 57!74, remains an exemplary study of thesubject.

49 See P. SCHMITT PANTEL, ÒSacriÞcial Meal and Symposion: Two Models of Civic Institution inthe Archaic City?Ó, %in:& MURRAY " ed. #, Sympotica " cit. n. 2 #, esp. pp. 16!20 and 27!30.

50 See for instance " I choose at random # a red!Þgure Athenian cup of Macron, of the Metro!

politan Museum of Art " New York 20 246; ARV 2, 467 %118&#, a red!Þgure hydria of Phintias " Þg. 2 #,

a red!Þgure cup by Douris " Þg. 3 #, and a very interesting red!Þgure rhyton of c. 480 BC " inRichmond, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 79.100 #.




should also do it in a proper way, i.e. with a skilful elegance of the gesture " XI 479e; cf.XV 667a !e #, which can easily be identiÞed on numerous vases. And since the assignmentof the victory to a player was a matter of common decision by the sumpÒtai, we can besure that the attention of all the participants had to be focused on one player at a time.

What we see in our iconography is of course a synthesis of different moments of the game. I would incidentally suggest that this kind of representation of the kottabos servesthe same objective as some other features of the images under consideration do, i.e. to

Fig. 2.A red!Þgure hydria by Phintias " Munich, Museum antiker Kleinkunst,No 2421; ARV 2, 23/24 %7&#, c. 520 BC " courtesy of F. Lissarrague #

Fig . 3.A red!Þgure cup by Douris " Florence 3922; ARV 2, 432 %55&#,c. 480 BC " courtesy of F. Lissarrague #



360 MAREK W$COWSKI

As we have already seen, Greek poets readily choose the image of the circulating cupas the simplest pars pro toto Þgure of the symposion. What is true about the sympoticpoetry may well be true in the case of the vase painting. The second cup held bydifferent characters on our images does not ÒillustrateÓ this particular aspect of thesymposion, but apparently focalises the attention of the painter and that of the viewerof the picture. This object too seems to be intended to emphasise the equality and thecompetition of the sumpÒtai, thus contributing, so to speak, to the ÒideologicalÓmessage of the picture. The additional cups that can be seen on numerous vases are thuslikely to have been very important for both sides of this Òvisual communicationÓ, whichis the very essence of sympotic iconography. And there is of course a subtle gamebetween the circulating cup shown on the vase and the actual circulation of the vesselthat carries this image among the participants of the current symposion.54

There is perhaps yet another, although indirect, analogy to support the opinion thatthe kottabos throws circulated in the banquet!hall in the very same way as wine, thus justlike poetry, songs, and toasts did. As Franois Lissarrague once observed, there is aspecial link between the status of the sumpÒtai, wine they drink, and the spatialorganisation of the feast. The centrally placed crater, being equally distant from eachparticular participant of the symposion, constitutes the rigorous equality of the

54 Cf., e.g., F. LISSARRAGUE, ÒAround the Krater: An Aspect of Banquet ImageryÓ, %in:& MURRAY " ed. #, Sympotica " cit. n. 2 #, esp. p. 206.

Fig. 6. A red!Þgure Athenian psykter by Euphronios

" Leningrad, No

644 %1670&; ARV 2

, 16 %15&#, c. 520 BC " courtesy of F. Lissarrague #




sumpÒtai.55 We may observe that the same is true about the position occupied in thedining !room by the target of the kottabos throws. As Athenaeus " XI 479d!e #, quoting the

Hypomnemata of Hegesandros of Delphi " fr. 32 FHG IV, p. 419 #, puts it, Ò" É # circularrooms were constructed in order that when the kottabos was set in the centre, all mightcompete for the victory at an equal distance and from similar positions " É ·na pãntew §wtÚ m°son toË kottãbou tey°ntow §j épostÆmatow ‡sou ka‹ tÒpvn ımo¤vn égvn¤zointo per‹t∞w n¤khw #Ó. It does not matter whether the ancient erudite was right or wrong in hisspeculation about the circularly shaped rooms for playing kottabos.56 What is importanthere is the fact that, in the ÒideologyÓ of the symposion, the game of kottabos wasstrongly associated with the structural and functional unity consisting of diverse

procedures intended to stimulate competition among the sumpÒtai, while assuring atthe same time their equality. And here, once again, the habit of doing things §pid°jia was a central issue.

Marek W !cowski

Department of Ancient HistoryInstitute of HistoryWarsaw UniversityKrakowskie Przedmie&cie 26/2800!927 Warsaw 64POLAND

e!mail: [email protected]

55 See LISSARRAGUE, Un ßot dÕimages " cit. n. 10 #, esp. pp. 23!48, and IDEM, ÒAround the Krater Ó" previous note #, pp. 196!209.

56 For the sympotic architecture and Òsympotic spaceÓ in general, see above all B. BERGQUIST,ÒSympotic Space: A Functional Aspect of Greek Dining !RoomsÓ, %in:& MURRAY " ed. #, Sympotica " cit. n. 2 #, pp. 37!65; K. M. D. DUNBABIN, ÒUt Graeco More Biberetur : Greeks and Romans on theDining CouchÓ, %in:& Meals in a Social Context , ed. I. NIELSEN & H. S. NIELSEN, •rhus $ Oxford1998, pp. 81!101; E. WILL, ÒBanquets et salles de banquet dans les cultes de la Grce et de lÕEmpireromainÓ, %in:& MŽlanges d Õ histoire et d Õ archŽologie offerts ˆ Paul Collart , Lausanne 1976, pp. 353!362, and

C. B…RKER, Festbankett und griechische Architektur , Constance 1983. Cf. already A. FRICKENHAUS,ÒGriechische BanquetthŠuserÓ, Jahrbuch des Deutschen ArchŠologischen Instituts 32 " 1917 #, pp. 114!133.

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