1. SOUP’S ON! The Do’s and Don’t of Roman Dinner Parties
By: Colleen and Kelsey

2. DON’T… Go Out to Eat Ancient Rome didn’t have any restaurants.
They did have “cook shops”, where one could go buy and eat prepared meals.
These, however, were thought to be as nasty as brothels by the “refined” (cough RICH cough) Romans.
Roman literature normally portrays these places as sketchy and where the food was unhealthy and there was shady business being plotted.
The respectable Roman ate at home and had slaves to do the shopping, cooking, and serving of meals.

3. DO… Try to Socialize
Rich Romans were VERY social, often spending more evenings entertaining or attending dinners at their friend’s house than with their own family.
However, to go out and socialize without any bit of company (not even a single slave) wasn’t decent at all.
Starting at the second century B.C., Roman dinner parties were beginning to become more stylized after the all-nighter Greek dinner parties.
By first century B.C., such dinners were a ritual. By first century A.D., they had become an art form.
For a comparison, think to them as like a traditional Japanese tea ceremony.

4. DO… Stick to the Dinner Schedule
For any dinner party, the first thing to do for the host and the guests was to go to the baths to wash and exercise to build up an appetite.
Afterwards the guests would proceed to the host’s house, where they would take in the artwork, ancestral busts, and political memorabilia before entering the dining room.
From there the dinner proceeded in several perfectly timed stages, in which food was served in four or more courses and entertainment was given.
Against popular belief, visiting a vomitorium between courses was thought to be unprincipled.

5. DON’T… Confuse the Waiters with Slaves
Slaves were brought along by their masters to be attendants. They helped out at the bathes and the before dinner games, then tag along to the host’s house and sit on the floor in front of their master’s chair. For the whole meal, they would perform small tasks for their master in return for small bits of food, which essentially could end up being the main source of food.
Hired waiters served the food and took away the dirty dishes after each course. They were well- dressed, pretty to look at, and skilled and well-trained in their job.
There were also hanger-ons that attended these dinners for food. They were free but poor people who “stuck” themselves onto the hose or one of the guests.

6. DO…Sit in the Right Spot
The arrangement of the furniture was usually three long couches, big enough for three people to sit on. These was placed on three sides of one very big table or a group of small tables.
The guests laid down, facing each other with their heads propped up by their elbows. Unlike in Greece, men and women got to eat together, with couples sitting right next to each other.
The couches and the positions they were in had names of “low”, “medium”, and “high” (although they were all the same size/height). Where you sat reflected your social status.
In Trimalchio’s dinner party, for example, he had the right number of couches and places to sit. However, he places himself on the “highest” place on the “high” couch when that seat should be given to the guest of honor. His proper seat would’ve been the “freedman’s seat”, aka the “middle” seat on the “low” couch.

7. DINNER TIME!
Considered a delicious treat, garum was a tangy, popular sauce made from rotted and fermented fish (no wonder the Romans didn’t live long). XP

8. DON’T… Be a Picky Eater
The food, in the early days of the Republican period, was rather plain.
The menu for any dinner party would have:
Boiled eggs
Meats
Breads
Cheeses
Olives and other vegetables
Apples (For dessert.)
And the guests would receive nuts or a small sweet at the end of the meal to take home as a party favor.
The imperial/rich chefs got to be more creative with their wider range of fishes, sauces (remember the garum), exotic fruits, and pastries.
The dishes and silverware became increasingly valuable as the art of dinner parties grew.
One such sought-after piece were anything made of bronze from Corinth (like Trimalchio’s donkey).

9. DO…Watch the Entertainment
Romans loved a show during their meals. While eating, they would listen and recitations, and watch dance and drama. Many time the guests felt the need to contribute to the show, and would themselves entertain with singing, reciting, dancing, and compose short poems.
Dinner conversation circled around the current culture. While talking, a expert wit, theoretical insight, and sharp literary skills were displayed.
The host would also present hired musicians, conjurors, dwarfs, and acrobats.

10. This is What it Looked Like

11. DO…Make your Party Awesome
It is suggested that some of Petronius’s ideas for the more fancy delights of Trimalchio’s dinner party was inspired by actual dinner parties hosted by Emperor Nero (that Petronius, by and by, might have been in charge of).
Nero had a love of the flamboyant. For example: the roof of the Golden House (Nero’s palace) had shifting panels that rained flower petals and perfume onto the guests.
He also staged innovative plays. One such incident had an actor playing the role of Icarus falling and dying at the emperor’s feet (like the acrobat falling onto Trimalchio).

12. DON’T…Go Against Taste
Trimalchio’s dinner in The Satyricon, while realistic in its outline, is not what the ancient Romans would call tasteful; it’s not what he does, but rather how he does it.
The tone of a dinner party was meant to be acutely premier.
Since he’s a freedman with no knowledge of his ancestors, Trimalchio bungled the art and political symbols in his foyer. The result is an improvisation of lowly pop culture that makes him look like a braggart.
Though to be fair, he had some sort of idea what his house should look like.
He also, remember, screwed with the seating arrangements.
Trimalchio crudely combines the entertainment and the dinner service together.
He flubs the conversational part of dinner, rambling about cultural aspects when he doesn’t know anything about culture (unlike Agamemnon, who he’s always upstaging).
He, along with the other freedmen, talk about their personal problems and histories with little regard of the other guests.
These faux pas were due to bad manners mixed with tons of wine.

13. DON’T…Get Drunk The Romans drank a TON of wine.
They never had just plain water with their food.
Diluting the wine and a showing of restraint was a common courtesy at dinners.
So getting drunk was a bad thing, since dinner parties were supposed to supply relaxing entertainment, NOT for getting intoxicated.
It was believed getting drunk made one reckless, with in turn lead to isolation (remember the ancient Romans are a social people).
The Romans liked their social life to be balanced and reciprocated, and being a drunk ruined that ideal.
In the case of Trimalchio’s dinner party, everybody’s drunk, and therefore isolated: talking about themselves, amusing themselves, and interrupting when something’s boring.

14. AND FINALLY… DO Cite your Resources
Pictures
"Roman Dinner." Roman Dinner. Web. Apr
“Petronius." 25 Famous Writers Who Killed Themselves. Web. Apr themselves/Slideshow?oid= &autoplay=true.
"Garum." Roman Food and Drink. Web. Apr < oddrink.htm>.
Books
Petronius. The Satyricon, 2000 (S. Ruden, Trans.). Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc. (Original work from circa 65 C.E.)