The kylix was an ancient Greek shallow ceramic drinking cup with two handles, made to drink wine from, and an essential item in every symposium.
The word symposium (symposia or symposiums in plural form) comes from the Greek noun symposion (συμπόσιον), the word ancient Greeks used for a drinking party that follows a banquet. Symposiums were social events for the upper class, like today’s parties.
The word originates in sympinein (συμπίνειν), a verb that combines pinein, meaning “to drink,” with the prefix syn-, meaning “together.” People drinking together.
The ancient Athenian aristocracy held symposiums where men ate and drank while discussing politics and philosophy or reciting poetry. A symposium usually included the company of hetairai (εταίραι, companions), who were educated women similar to modern-day escorts. The participation of musicians playing the flute or the lyre was often part of the entertainment.
The kylix (plural kylikes) was elaborately decorated with painted scenes. Sometimes, they depicted scenes of a symposium and sometimes included the figure of Dionysus, god of wine and frolicking.
The kylix created a connection between storytelling and feasting. Telling stories was part of a symposium. A story painted on the ancient Greek drinking cup was sometimes discussed at the symposium. While the participant at the symposium enjoyed a kylix of wine, he could simultaneously enjoy the story being told on the cup. The large surface of the cup allowed for the layers of wine to be thin, and the art painted at the bottom to appear while drinking.
Another essential item in a symposium was the krater, a usually tall, column-shaped bowl with a big mouth that was used to mix wine with water. The krater transported the wine, the wine was diluted with water in the vessel and was poured into the kylix. The ancient Greeks only drank wine mixed with water.
The krater was also decorated with finely painted symposium scenes. In the depictions, males are drawn with beards when they are older and without beards when they are younger.
The ancient Greek symposium was often a serious affair. It was a gathering of cultivated individuals who discussed philosophy, politics, poetry and other serious subjects after dinner, while consuming wine. The guests were “upper class” citizens with good social skills. Handling a kylix and drinking from it was one of the skills, something like a part of the savoir vivre of antiquity.
The cultivated participant in a symposium knew how to drink from a kylix and handle it while conversing, without spilling his wine. Since it was a wide and shallow drinking cup, which was obviously impractical for drinking, it was very easy for the wine to spill on the drinker’s chest. It was a skill that participants had to possess. If one could not handle the kylix properly, it meant that the person was not an aristocrat and most likely did not belong in the symposium.
A good example of the importance of such a symposium is Plato’s Symposium, the manuscript describing a friendly contest of spontaneous speeches between philosopher Socrates, statesman Alcibiades and playwright Aristophanes on what is love.
Symposiums were also social celebrations that did not include philosophical discussions but were mere feasts. The word symposium is used today to describe a conference to discuss a particular subject.
@tristanancients The most difficult drinking cup ever created? The kylix was used at ancient Greek dinner parties called ‘symposiums’. It was almost designed to be difficult to drink from. Because it was a test… Professor Michael Scott explains Listen on The Ancients
How to Party Like an Ancient Greek #archaeology #symposium #ancientgreece #history #kylix #ancient
Kottavos was an ancient Greek drinking game of skill very common at the symposiums of classical era Athens. The participants marked a certain target (usually a vessel) with the wine that remained at the bottom of their kylix while pronouncing the name of a loved one. If the wine fell into the vessel, it was considered a favorable omen for their lovemaking. Courtesans also often played kottavos at the symposiums.
Gradually, many variations of the game were invented. Often the vessel that served as the target was filled with water, on the surface of which smaller clay vessels floated. In this case, the participants had to aim their wine at the small vessels in a skillful way, so that they overturned. The one who managed to overturn the most was awarded a prize.
In a second variation, a tall metal pole with a small disc balanced on its end was fixed at some point in the room. The player had to knock the disc down, throwing the drops of wine that had remained in his kylix. The hit was considered particularly successful if, as it fell, the disc hit another vessel (a lamp or an upside-down drinking vessel) which was fixed at a point on the pole at two-thirds of its height.
Kottavos was played at banquets, but also in public places, such as the baths. The prize for the winner might be eggs, apples, sweets, sandals or a necklace. The player was judged not only by his skill in hitting the target, but also by the elegance with which he held the glass and with which he poured out the wine that was left in it.
