Though the main object of the symposium was, undoubtedly, the drinking, yet we must not compare the Greek symposia with the wild drinking bouts customary in Germany during the middle ages, which continued till the 17th century. In consequence of the weakness of the mixture, it must have taken some time for the intoxicating effects to make themselves apparent. Moreover, there were various kinds of amusement which caused the drinking to fall somewhat into the background, but these naturally varied a good deal according to the degree of culture and character of the guests. Symposia, such as those described by Xenophon and Plato, at which there was very deep drinking, but also really intellectual conversation and discussion of deep problems, are, of course, idealised; and, even in Plato’s Symposium, the presence of the flute girl shows that the sensual element was regarded as well as the intellectual entertainment. As a rule, music played an important part at the symposia. Even in the Homeric period, song was an important feature of the banquet. The cunning singer, who sang the stories of gods and heroes to the accompaniment of the “lyre,” and who was listened to eagerly by all, was never absent from any banquet at which a great number of guests were present. In historic times, the musical entertainment took a different character, for the guests, instead of merely listening, took part in it themselves, singing generally as well as playing. There were three kinds of singing; choruses, sung by all together, such as the Paean already mentioned; part songs, in which all shared, not together, but each in his turn; and solos, sung by those who had special musical ability and education. These solos were especially popular; the singer accompanied himself with the harp, and here, too, they adhered to the custom of always passing to the right the harp and the myrtle bough, which the singer had to hold in his hand during the performance. Of especial importance among these solo songs, from a literary point of view, were the “Scolia,” which were usually of a serious character, either religious, patriotic, or of a general moral nature. A well-known scolion sang the praises of the two conspirators who murdered the tyrant Hipparchus; it began as follows:—
“In myrtle veiled, I will the falchion wear;
For thus the patriot sword
Harmodius and Aristogeiton bare,
When they the tyrant’s bosom gored;
And bade the men of Athens be
Regenerate in equality.
Beloved Harmodius, oh, never
Shall death be thine, who livest for ever.
Thy shade, as men have told, inherits
The islands of the blessed spirits,
Where deathless live the glorious dead,
Achilles, fleet of foot, and Diomed.”[E]
Other songs celebrated the praise of wine, the joys of love, the happiness of friendship; there were also special drinking songs, some composed by very great poets, such as Alcaeus, Sappho, Anacreon, Simonides, Pindar, who composed them in various metres. A vase painting shows us a reveller lying on a couch with a wreath on his head, holding a lyre in his hand, and singing, while raising his head as though inspired; the words written underneath by the vase painter show us that he is singing an ode by Theognis in praise of a beautiful boy. Here, too, changes in taste took place in the course of time; many of the old songs were regarded as old-fashioned, even in the time of Aristophanes, and he who when his turn came sang a song by Simonides, instead of some grand air from Euripides, was regarded as quite behind the times.
Very commonly flute or harp girls were present at the symposium, and entertained the guests by playing and singing, and probably also by dancing. These girls were either specially invited and paid by the host for the evening, or else entered of their own accord a house where they imagined there was a merry company, or they were sometimes introduced by guests who came late in the evening. Thus, in Plato’s Symposium we find a flute girl present at the beginning; she accompanies the introductory libation with her playing, but one of the guests suggests that they should send her away, and let her either play to herself or to the women in their own apartments, since men preferred to entertain each other by sensible conversation. But Plato was almost alone in this opinion, which he expresses far more strongly in another place, saying that educated men did not require flute or harp girls or dancers, or any such foolish entertainment while drinking. Most people regarded these playing girls as equally indispensable at the symposium with the entertainments and wreaths, and accordingly in Plato’s banquet, towards the end of the evening, Alcibiades, coming from another drinking party, already in a state of intoxication, is supported by a flute girl who accompanies him. On the vase pictures these girls are seldom wanting; and these pictorial representations, as well as other allusions to the symposia, show that the presence of these girls was not due only to a desire for music. The flute and harp girls were almost always hetaerae, and liberties of various kinds were taken with them; for instance, a guest might be ordered to carry the flute girl several times round the room, or she might be put up for auction, and handed over to the highest bidder as his property for the evening; and in consequence of the presence of these girls the drinking parties often became veritable orgies, in which Eros was honoured no less than Dionysus. The vase painters sometimes give us a picture almost too truthful, though this degeneracy of custom seems to have increased rather than diminished in later times.
Fig. 99.
Other kinds of amusements were also offered to the guests at the symposia. In the “Banquet” of Xenophon, at an early stage of the proceedings, a Syracusan appears, who has been invited by the host, with a flute girl, a dancing girl, and a beautiful boy who plays a harp and dances. They play and perform pantomimic dances; in particular, there is a full description of one such dance, which represents in very graceful fashion the meeting of Ariadne with Dionysus. Conjurers, too, so-called “Thaumaturgists,” show their skill on these occasions. The dancing girl in Xenophon’s “Banquet” throws twelve rings into the air while dancing, and catches them all in turn; then she performs a bold sword dance, turning head over heels into a stand round which sharp knives are set, and out again in the same fashion. We often find similar representations on vase paintings; thus, Fig. [99] shows a girl walking on her hands and performing a dangerous dance between sharp swords. In a similar posture the woman represented in Fig. [100] shoots an arrow with her toes from a bow held between her feet. The ancient jugglers seem to have known all the many tricks which are still admired at fairs and other popular festivals, such as swallowing swords, eating fire, etc.; a feat unknown at the present day was writing on a quickly-revolving potter’s wheel, or reading something written on it. It was very common to invite such jugglers at 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 “entertainers,” who in ancient times took the place of the Court fools of the middle ages. The jokes of these “entertainers,” 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 shallow, 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.
