(symposio derives from syn and
posis, where syn=together, posis=drinking)
 Plato’s
immortal “Symposium” reveals the role of wine in the
daily life of Greeks.The Greek symposium consisted of two parts: the meal with wine, (“posis"), and the discussion in which the diners spoke in turn on the topics of the day, punctuated by entertainment.
Wine,
the gift man received from Dionysus, fertilized the literature and arts of
Ancient Greece.
This divinity
was one of the main factors in Greek civilization, any study of which shows
that wine was an inseparable part of a way of life of the Greeks for the
last few thousand years. |
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| a Symposio
scene depicted on a Red figure Attica kalyx crater (Red figure kalyx crater, circa 400 B.C., National Museum Athens) |
Ariadne
consoled by wine god Dionysos. Here is a tender scene among Erotides,
Satyrs, and Maenads. (Red figure vase, circa 380 B.C., Archeological Museum Athens) |
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Symposio; initiated and
used widely in the Great Dionysian festivals to celebrate Dionysos the God of
Wine and Theatre.
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