Archaeology Abridged: A Toast to Ancient Greek Wine Drinking with Prof. Kathleen Lynch

The ancient Greeks took their wine drinking seriously. The symposium was a drinking party for men with rules and expectations. They kept the group small so that all could participate in a single conversation, and the wine flowed, but watered down so that the drinkers stood on the edge of tipsy and drunk. Naturally, a formal drinking event needed special equipment, and in fact the symposium inspired the creation of the majority of ancient Greek pottery shapes. We will consider the importance of a “set” of pottery, its decoration, and the role this peculiar group drinking event played in the social life of ancient Athens. We will peer into the cupboards of a late Archaic house from downtown Athens to see the symposium in action.