Entertainment and Recreation in Ancient Greece | Early European History And Religion

ENTERTAINMENT IN ANCIENT GREECE

Banquet scene
Traveling puppets provided entertainment in ancient Greece and Rome. Magic as a form of entertainment was known to the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans. The Greeks were one of the first people to use advertising. Announcers shouted announcements during the lulls of cattle actions and handbills made of papyrus were tacked up at community bulletin boards. Prostitutes at Ephesus advertised their services outside the doorway of the brothel with an inscription of a foot and a woman with a mohawk haircut.◂

Ancient entertainers seem to have known as many tricks and performed at fairs and other festivals. There were sword swallowers and fire-eaters. A feat unknown today was writing on a quickly-revolving potter’s wheel, or reading something written on it. It was very common to invite entertainers to weddings or after feasts, but it was undoubtedly a confession of weakness to have recourse to such trivialities instead of carrying on an intellectual and interesting conversation. On a similar low level were the official “clowns,” who in ancient times took the place of the Court fools of the middle ages. The jokes of these clowns, who travelled from house to house, from meal to meal, who were always hungry, and glad to supply their jokes in return for entertainment and payment, were as a rule very poor, and their chief point seems to have consisted in leading the young men to make fun of each other, and to submit good-humouredly to jokes practised upon them. [Source “The Home Life of the Ancient Greeks” by Hugo Blümner, translated by Alice Zimmern, 1895]

Rich citizens performed voluntary public services, which consisted partly in entertaining the people by providing scenic or choric representations, gymnastic games, torchlight processions, etc., partly in important services to the State, such as equipping a man-of-war at their own expense. These voluntary services not only imposed on the rich citizens considerable money burdens, which in later times, when the Athenian wealth had diminished, could no longer be met by one individual, but also took up a great deal of their time, since they had not only to supply the necessary money, but also to superintend and arrange the work. Another change in the monotony of daily life was supplied by the religious festivals, in which the Attic calendar was unusually rich, and the theatrical and other performances connected with them.

Socializing in Ancient Greece

There were also plenty of festive occasions which gave opportunities for these common banquets; a public or private sacrifice was a very common excuse, if only because the flesh of the victim — of which, as a rule, only the entrails were burnt — could be best made use of in this manner. There were also birthdays, funerals, victories in some contest or game, departure or return from a journey of a friend, etc.; all these occasions were celebrated by feasts, and there were also great public banquets, which were usually of a simpler character, owing to the number of guests and the fact that the expenses were publicly defrayed. Besides these meals, to which individuals invited their friends or relations, picnics were very common. Very often all who participated sent baskets of provisions into the house of one who gave up his rooms for the purpose; but it was even commoner for each to contribute a certain share of money, and thus to defray the expenses of the meal, which was taken at the house of one of the participants, or of some obliging hetaera. We do not know what arrangement was made about the wine, and whether the expenses of this were also defrayed out of the general charge. [Source “The Home Life of the Ancient Greeks” by Hugo Blümner, translated by Alice Zimmern, 1895]

Generally speaking, in the fifth and fourth centuries there was a great deal of simple and pleasant social intercourse; friends were invited without any ceremony, during the course of the day, to come to the evening meal. If they did not appear at the appointed hour, the meal began without them, and if the guest put in his appearance later on, this was regarded as a matter of course. It seems not to have been unusual to go even uninvited to the meal or to the Symposium which followed it, and one of the speakers in Plato’s “Symposium” suggests the following version of a line in Homer: “To the feasts of the good, the good unbidden go.”

Sometimes idle fellows, such as the parasites who were always hunting for a dinner, made too liberal use of this hospitality, or persons made their appearance who did not suit with the rest of the company and would have disturbed the general harmony. In such cases the door keeping slave received the order to send away certain persons, saying, “My master is not at home,” or else, “He has already retired to rest.”

Ancient Greek Parties and Symposia

A “ symposium “ was a dinner party with family, friends or associates. It generally began with a bout of drinking, followed by a big meal. There were often rules to ensure equality. Conversation topics included philosophy, politics, gossip. For a short period Greeks used birthday cakes.

The word symposia was used to describe the party and the place were it was held and is the source of the modern word symposium. The parties were usually lead by a feast master. Sometimes the guests wore garlands. Some people drank heavily; others held back.

There are vivid description of party entertainment in Xenophon’s dialogue “Symposium” (380 B.C.). The host pays a man from Syracuse to bring traveling performers (probably slaves), a girl flutists, acrobats, a dancing girl and a boy who dances and plays the “kithara”, a kind of lyre. The group played music and did performances involving music, dance, acrobatics and mine. The girl juggled hoops, performed acrobatic stunts over a hoop rimmed with knives, and acted out mythical love scenes with the boy. Socrates, one of the guests, was quite taken with the boy.

The citizens of Sybaris in present-day southern Italy were such big partiers they reportedly banned roosters so the populous would not be woken to early in the morning. They also supposedly had wine piped directly from the vineyards to the city.

Banquets in Ancient Greece

In Athens and elsewhere in ancient Greece it seems large common banquets were relatively frequent among men and were different from the usual family meal. The custom of entertainments for men alone was far more common in antiquity than at the present day; for these banquets took the place not only of our parties and other social gatherings, but they also gave the men an opportunity, especially in the drinking which followed, while sitting together over their wine, to discuss at their leisure both serious and frivolous matters. [Source “The Home Life of the Ancient Greeks” by Hugo Blümner, translated by Alice Zimmern, 1895]

The usual course of proceedings at one of these banquets was as follows. The invited guests, who according to custom had previously attended the bath, first took their places sitting on the couches placed ready for them. The slaves of the host, or even of the guests, who often brought them to help wait at table, then took off their masters’ sandals or shoes, and as the dust of the street might have soiled their feet, which were but slightly protected by the soles, these were washed once more by the slaves, a proceeding which was the more necessary, as in lying down they often rested on couches covered with very valuable coverlets.

Hereupon they lay down, as a rule two guests on one sofa, but the monuments often show us three or even more persons on a single couch, and we cannot always determine with certainty whether the artist has adhered to the actual practice or introduced arbitrary changes of his own. In lying down they rested on their left elbow, or on numerous cushions at their back; the right arm was left free, in order to take the food from the table and reach it to the mouth; but plates, dishes, cups, etc., were also taken in the left hand. When the guests had all lain down and washed their hands in bowls handed round for the purpose, the little three-legged dining tables were brought in, which were always a little lower than the sofas. On these the food was arranged in dishes or plates.

Food and Drink at a Banquet in Ancient Greece

The meat was primary focus of banquet meals. Most often it was from sacrificial animals, especially oxen, sheep, goats, and swine; this last was very popular, both roast and salted or smoked, and was also used for sausages.

The second course, which played an important part at large dinners, consisted of cheese (butter was not in use for food), all kinds of fruit, and cakes. Athens was especially distinguished for its cakes, because the excellent honey of Hymettus supplied good material for it; confectioners knew how to make the most various kinds of cakes, and often produced them in the shapes of animals, human beings, and other objects.

It is commonly supposed that the Greeks did not drink at all during their meals, but this is an untenable opinion. The great number of salt or highly-spiced dishes which they had, must of necessity have induced thirst. In fact, many allusions in the writers show us that some drinking went on during dinner, but in a very moderate degree when compared with the symposium which followed the meal, and only with a view to quenching thirst. In any case, when the last course was brought in, they took a draught of unmixed wine in honour of the “good genius.” Then the tables were taken away, and, if no drinking party followed, the guests arose from their couches after once more washing their hands. Usually, however, these banquets were followed by a symposium.

Games in Ancient Greece

“Five-lines” was a game of skill, with an element of chance . The defence of the stones on their lines or squares depended on the throwing of dice. But even here there seem to have been modifications, which would enable a skilful player to compensate himself for an unfavorable throw, by the choice of various moves open to him.

Dice, identical to ones in use today, were found in Egyptian tombs dating back to 2000 B.C. Almost all the ancient civilizations used dice, which developed from astragali — six sided bones, with four flat sides, that came from the ankle bones of hoofed animals. Astragali were used in board games by Egyptians, possibly as early as 3500 B.C. The bones from sheep were most commonly used. Those from antelope were particularly prized.

There were several ways of playing with astragals, or knuckle-bones, which were really the ball of the ankle-joint of a lamb, or else were artificially imitated in other material. One way of playing, chiefly used by children, but also sometimes by grown-up people, was a real game of skill, and consisted in throwing up a number, usually five, of knuckle-bones, pebbles, beans, coins, etc., and catching them again on the back of the hand, Meanwhile picking up with the stretched-out fingers those which had fallen down. Sometimes they only played “odd or even,” and one of the players had to guess straight away whether the other had an odd or even number of these astragals, which took the place of our counters, in his closed hand. [Source “The Home Life of the Ancient Greeks” by Hugo Blümner, translated by Alice Zimmern, 1895]

Traveling in Ancient Greece

Herodotus is sometimes considered the first author of tourist guides. The ancient Greeks were big souvenir collectors. Silver images of Diana and her temple were sold on the streets of Ephesus like miniature Eiffel towers and Statues of Liberty are sold today. During the festival of Artemis images of Diana were placed on the steps of her temple for worshipers to kiss.

Traveling played a far less important part in the life of the Greeks than it does at the present day. In ancient times almost the only inducement for travelling was business. The merchant plied his trade chiefly as a sailor, the small shopkeeper travelled about the country as a pedlar. In the heroic period we also find artisans and travelling singers on their wanderings, and in the first centuries of the development of art, and to some extent even afterwards, sculptors and architects were summoned from a distance to execute commissions under the orders of the State, or some special board of officials. But those who were neither merchants nor artisans had less inducement to travel; for military expeditions, which of course were numerous, can hardly be included among journeys. [Source “The Home Life of the Ancient Greeks” by Hugo Blümner, translated by Alice Zimmern, 1895]

There were also official embassies and pilgrimages to celebrated shrines, or visits to the great national festivals. Again, Solon, Herodotus, and others travelled for political or scientific purposes, with a view to study history or ethnography, that they might learn to know foreign nations, their manners and customs, countries and buildings. In the Alexandrine period, journeys were also undertaken for purposes of natural science. Our modern custom of visiting foreign lands for the sake of their natural beauty was unknown in Greek antiquity, but we must not on that account suppose that the ancients had no feeling for natural beauty. The Odyssey gives a picture of travel in heroic times; the common man trudges along on foot, while the rich man goes in his carriage, drawn by horses or mules, and the fact that the latter was possible even in the mountainous Peloponnesus, proves that even at that period good roads must have existed there.

The Greeks never attained as great perfection in road-making as the Romans; apparently those roads were kept in best condition which led to the national sanctuaries, and here regular tracks were cut out of the rocky ground, and there were places for passing other carriages, halting places, etc. This was not, however, the case with all the roads, and we must not assume that ancient Greece possessed a well-kept complicated network of streets

If it was necessary to spend the night anywhere on a journey of several days, the widespread beautiful custom of hospitality which prevailed in ancient times, and made men regard every stranger as under the protection of Zeus, enabled them to find shelter; and, though this custom could not maintain itself in later times in its full extent, yet the effects of it still remained, and many people entered into a sort of treaty of hospitality with men in other towns, which was usually handed on to the descendants.

Still this custom of “guest-friendship” was not sufficient to supply shelter for all travellers; therefore inns were opened in large trading cities, near harbours, and places of pilgrimage, such as Delos, Delphi, Olympia, etc., where strangers were entertained for payment. These inns were of very various character — some of them apparently supplied only rooms and a little furniture, especially bedsteads, while the stranger brought his own bed and coverlets, and had to provide his own food; others supplied food and drink, and were often houses of ill-fame, and in consequence it is natural that the position of inn-keeper should have been generally looked down upon in Greek antiquity.

Probably these inns were not particularly pleasant places to stay in; very often the landlord cheated the travellers, and it was customary to arrange the price of everything beforehand; there were also inns which were used as hiding-places by robbers and thieves, and thus might prove dangerous quarters for the guests. Another disagreeable accompaniment of southern inns, even in the present day, is hinted at by Aristophanes in the “Frogs,” when Dionysus, on his journey to Hades, inquires for the inns in which there are fewest fleas. Travellers do not seem to have troubled themselves about passports; a legitimation was only necessary when the town to which they were going was engaged in war, or when they went into a hostile country in time of war. But to travel at all at such times was not advisable, for the roads, which at no time were specially safe, were then infested by travelling mercenaries or marauders. Sometimes travellers had to submit to an examination of their luggage. Officials generally farmed out the tolls to private undertakers, and these therefore had, or at any rate took, the right, if they suspected travellers of trying to smuggle dutiable articles, to stop them and examine their luggage, and sometimes even to open letters which they had by them.

Pets in Ancient Greece

5th century BC monkey figurine

Monkeys and dogs were kept as pets, and a few lucky children even got to have pet cheetahs. Representations of pet animals from ancient Greece include an old gentleman walking with his sharp-nosed Melitean dog on interior of the kylix by Hegesiboulos. Cocks and quails were kept for fighting by boys and young men. Ganymede on an amphora carries his cock on his arm. [Source: “The Daily Life of the Greeks and Romans”, Helen McClees Ph.D, Gilliss Press, 1924]

Quails, cranes, small birds, and rabbits were also household favorites. On the perfume vases you can see quails, cranes, and a rabbit appear among the groups of women. Cats were probably introduced from the East or from Egypt in the late sixth or the early fifth century B.C. , but they were rare and seemed to have been looked upon as curiosities rather than as pets. The goose was perhaps the commonest pet and children are often represented playing with one. Some small boys with two goats harnessed to a little chariot appear on an oinochoë

The ancient Greeks and Romans possessed hounds that hunted using scent. The Greeks used mastiff-like dogs to track lions in Africa. In 350 B.C., Aristotle described three kinds of dogs, including swift Laconians used to chase and kill rabbits and deer.

Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons, The Louvre, The British Museum

Text Sources: Internet Ancient History Sourcebook: Greece sourcebooks.fordham.edu ; Internet Ancient History Sourcebook: Hellenistic World sourcebooks.fordham.edu ; BBC Ancient Greeks bbc.co.uk/history/; Canadian Museum of History, Perseus Project - Tufts University; perseus.tufts.edu ; MIT Classics Online classics.mit.edu ; Gutenberg.org, Metropolitan Museum of Art, National Geographic, Smithsonian magazine, New York Times, Washington Post, Live Science, Discover magazine, Natural History magazine, Archaeology magazine, The New Yorker, Encyclopædia Britannica, "The Discoverers" and "The Creators" by Daniel Boorstin. "Greek and Roman Life" by Ian Jenkins from the British Museum, Wikipedia, Reuters, Associated Press, The Guardian, AFP and various books and other publications.

Last updated September 2024