Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0199684014 ISBN 13: 9780199684014

Verlag: Oxford University Press, 2014

In The Rise of the Greek Aristocratic Banquet, Wecowski offers a comprehensive account of the origins of the symposion and its close relationship with the rise of the Greek city-state, or polis. Broadly defined as a culture-oriented aristocratic banquet, the symposion--which literally means "drinking together"--was a nocturnal wine party held by Greek aristocrats from Homer to Alexander the Great. Its distinctive feature was the crucial importance of diverse cultural competitions, including improvising convivial poetry, among the guests. Cultural skills and abilities were a prerequisite in order for one to be included in elite drinking circles, and, as such, the symposion served as a forum for the natural selection of Greek aristocracy.

About the Author:

Marek Wecowski is an Assistant Professor of Ancient History at the University of Warsaw. His research interests include archaic Greek poetry, early Greek historiography, and archaic and classical Greek history.

Review:

"...[M]uch here is commendable for learning and mastery of the evidence.... Wecowski excels at criticizing and nuancing his predecessors' work, being very well at home in the general bibliography on commensality. ... [T]his work will prove useful to students of Greek
commensality for its rich documentation and guidance about earlier work." --Mnemosyne