Proper Etiquette in Ancient Greece

     Banquets had always been very important in the culture of the Ancient Greeks, but how exactly did one act at these festivals/banquets? What were the norms and what did they consider improper etiquette? 

     
     By the turn of the seventh century B.C. Greeks slowly showed more interest in the actual meal than just the conversation and talks of the Symposiums. “Banquets had become an elegant party during which people, leaning on comfortable pillows, reclined on the precious cloths laid over soft mattresses; a luxurious surroundings” (Ricotti). But the elegance of this period was not always like this. 

Hero eating his meal

     Some behavior that was tolerated, surprisingly, was fighting. If two men were to get in a verbal argument at a banquet, it was acceptable for the two to start to fight. This behavior was also brought up in many writings of Homer and Aeschylus. Men were also susceptible to getting very intoxicated at the banquets, also causing violent action. Aeschylus described the Homeric heroes assembling for dinner, getting so drunk that they broke their chamber pots on the head of their contestants. Since arguments and conversation were a regular thing at the symposium, it only had to be accepted as normal behavior and not taken as a bad thing. 

Men in conversation at the Symposium

     Although some rowdy behavior happened at the banquets, home life and meal times where completely different for the Greeks. They had three meals a day, not unlike us today; breakfast, lunch and dinner. Lunch was always eaten around noon or early afternoon and dinner was at nightfall. Unlike how we eat our meals today, men and women of Ancient Greece ate their meals separately from one another and if the house was too small for them to eat in separate rooms, the man would eat first followed by the woman and children. After everyone else was finished with their meal, the slave, if any, could then eat. The use of forks was not known at this time so people ate their meals with their hands. Although they did have knives to cut their meats.  

Setting Up Dinner

Woman and Child eating in separate room

    

     In manys ways these ideas have been passed on to our generation, such as the “three meals a day”, but could you imagine verbally arguing and starting a fight at your dinner table?

Source:

http://www.espr-archeologia.it/GoodandBadtablemanners