Why Did Ancient Greeks Recline to Eat and Drink?

A symposium country connected an past Kylix, oregon drinking cup. Credit: Wikimedia Commons/ Public Domain

Kline (Greek Ανάκλινδρο) was a benignant of furnishings utilized by the past Greeks successful their symposia and by the Romans successful their somewhat antithetic convivia.

Surviving images connected countless works of art, including pottery, frescoes, vino cups, and sculptures, often picture past Greeks reclining connected 1 broadside to devour and portion astatine a symposium.

The wont of reclining to dine successful ancient Greece began astatine slightest arsenic aboriginal arsenic the 7th period B.C. and was aboriginal picked up by the Romans.

Strangely, Greeks are ever pictured lying connected their near side—never their right.

The crushed for this contented is not wholly clear, but historians and classicists person debated the taxable for decades.

Some reason that lying connected this peculiar broadside leaves the close manus escaped to grasp vessels utilized to devour and drink; yet determination are examples of Greeks reclining connected their near broadside and inactive utilizing their near hands to devour and portion successful past art.

Did past Greeks devour and portion lying down to assistance successful digestion?

Others, citing quality anatomy, contend that the signifier has a nonstop narration with the mode we digest food.

The tummy curves upon itself, and often, erstwhile lying down, the gastric acids that assistance interruption down nutrient really splash up toward the esophagus and origin heartburn.

When lying connected the near side, however, digestion is really improved.

As the near broadside of the tummy is curved, lying connected the near broadside of the assemblage portion eating and drinking really provides much country for other food, arsenic well, without causing acerb reflux.

Regardless of the reason, it indispensable person been some comfy and convenient since reclining during meals caught connected successful the Mediterranean and survived for millennia.

Dining habits differed on class, sex lines successful past Greece

Symposium. Credit: Jastrow /Wikimedia Commons/CC BY 2.5

Some experts besides reason that eating portion lying down arsenic you were served by others was a motion of powerfulness and luxury enjoyed by the elite.

People further down the societal ladder copied the laid-back eating benignant if they could spend to.

Greek eating couches of the archaic and classical periods were intended for men and, little commonly, females, who served arsenic slaves, musicians, and entertainers astatine meals.

Women didn’t mostly get invited to banquets but connected uncommon occasions specified arsenic wedding feasts—and adjacent past they were expected to beryllium upright.

It was lone successful past Rome that customs changed, allowing upper-class women to lounge alongside men.

Ancient Greek Symposium: eat, drink, philosophize

Credit: Public Domain

The couches were “single beds” that could accommodate an further person, particularly during a symposion (symposium), the after-dinner antheral drinking party.

Seven to 15 beds were arranged against the walls of the andron, the antheral eating room, with a tiny array and occasional measurement stool for each bed.

Rather than really lying down, the men reclined connected their near elbows and utilized their close hands for eating and drinking.

Individuals propped themselves up rather precocious connected pillows and maintained their equilibrium by bending their close knees and bracing them against the left.