Symposium, the ancient Greek drinking parties

Symposium, the drinking party, was an important part of ancient Greek life.

A Symposium like this could last all night and only men could go to these..

Guests might just talk, or they might be entertained by dancers and musicians, or sing and dance themselves.

There were special types of pots used at the symposium. An amphora was a jar which was used for storing wine. A big mixing bowl – called a krater – was used to prepare the mixture of wine and water.

Then it was poured into jugs to serve to the guests. Kraters were often decorated with scenes of parties, like the black figure krater in the last section, or of scenes connected with wine and drinking.

Pictures of Dionysos, the god of wine (right), were popular decorations for kraters and drinking cups.

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