Pottery in the Symposium

     Going back to talk about the Symposium, along with the many decorations and foods that were there, pottery and the images on it were very significant to the Symposium. They are one of the main reasons why we know what went on in these social gatherings.

     There was many forms of pottery that were used at the symposium, and they usually had images of different events that took place on them.
      The most common design used was that of red figure painting. Here are a few red figure images from  the pottery of the symposium.

     This is an example of one image that was shown on a piece of pottery.  The image depicts Hetaere and a guest socializing at the "drinking party".
source: http://lib.lbcc.edu/handouts/greece.html

     On this example shown, a slave boy draws wine from a krater to serve to the guests of the symposium.
source: http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/Pottery2.htm

    This krater, which was used to store wine, has an image of an Aulos player entertaining males guests while they talk and drink.
source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symposium

     These along with many other images helped us learn what exactly went on during the meetings at the symposium; from discussions, to entertainment, eating, drinking, or even acts of the slaves.

Libum

     For my next desert and final post I made another lovely ancient dish called Libum, or sweet cheese cake.  This desert was super easy to make and did not take a lot of time at all!

     Changes I made to this recipe are that instead of making small individual cakes, I made a thinner giant cake in a round pan... All other steps are the same.

LIBUM (SWEET CHEESECAKE)

Libum was a sacrificial cake sometimes offered to household spirits during Rome's early history. The recipe below comes from the Roman consul Cato's agricultural writings, which included simple recipes for farmers. Libum, sometimes served hot, is a cheesecake he included.

Ancient Roman Libum Recipe
Libum to be made as follows: 2 pounds cheese well crushed in a mortar; when it is well crushed, add in 1 pound bread-wheat flour or, if you want it to be lighter, just 1/2 a pound, to be mixed with the cheese. Add one egg and mix all together well. Make a loaf of this, with the leaves under it, and cook slowly in a hot fire under a brick.

Modern Roman Libum Recipe (serves 4)
1 cup plain, all purpose flour
8 ounces ricotta cheese
1 egg, beaten
bay leaves
1/2 cup clear honey


Sift the flour into a bowl. Beat the cheese until it's soft and stir it into the flour along with the egg. Form a soft dough and divide into 4. Mold each one into a bun and place them on a greased baking tray with a fresh bay leaf underneath. Heat the oven to 425° F. Cover the cakes with your brick^* and bake for 35-40 minutes until golden-brown. Warm the honey and place the warm cakes in it so that they absorb it. Allow to stand 30 minutes before serving.

^*The Romans often covered their food while it was cooking with a domed earthenware cover called a testo. You can use an overturned, shallow clay pot, a metal bowl, or casserole dish as a brick.

I had my roommate and friend try this desert and get their opinion on it.

"It tastes so sweet like sugar, and has the consistency of bread"- Emily Shaffer

"This is really good. It reminds me of a sweet version of pancakes"- Ryanne Baker

    I tasted the desert myself and I would have to agree ith the both of them. It is particularly sweet and reminds me of a pancake, especially with the honey drizzle acting like syrup. 

     Here are some pictures of the process....

     I would definitely make this desert again, it was very easy and delicious!