Role of Eroticism in Greek Symposium

Classical Sympotic Poetry
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Classical Sympotic Poetry
The symposium was a ritualized drinking event where aristocratic men and their peers would often hold in private houses to socialize, converse, and enjoy themselves in a hospitable atmosphere. Standing women were not allowed into these symposiums, and the gatherings were exclusively male. These choreographed social gatherings were typically held in a purpose-built room called the andron, usually situated close to the front entrance to prevent visitors from accessing the more private sections of the house. In the andron, the symposiasts would lounge on long and elaborately decorated couches stretched around the borders of the room. Bedecked in garlands, participants would drink diluted wine (the master of ceremonies would determine the strength of the wine) from particular drinking cups made from expensive metals or terracotta. The men discussed various topics, although the most common ones were philosophy, politics, and poetry. Professional dancers, courtesans, flute girls, and acrobats would enliven the evening.[R. Osborne, “Intoxication and Sociality: The Symposium in the Ancient Greek World,” Past & Present 222, no. suppl 9 (January 1, 2014): 34–60, https://doi.org/10.1093/pastj/gtt028.]
The symposium was a distraction from everyday stressors and restraints and an avenue to transmit traditional values. Although these two functions were supposed to be conducted in a carefully regulated environment, it was not uncommon for eroticism to take centre stage. For instance, archaeological evidence of associated drinking cups draws striking vestiges of the decadent activities during the ceremonies. The few drinking vessels that survived to this day are decorated with subject material from erotic scenes personally witnessed by the artists at these symposia. The cups have decorative motifs of graphic sexual behaviour, including scenes of romantic love between symposiasts and courtesans, simultaneous homosexual relations between older males and young boys, hedonistic scenes of group sex involving men and women, and even violent sexual scenes between various actors. These erotic and violent scenes raise important questions regarding the nature of Greek sexual relations, which are often challenging to interpret owing to the disjointed, uneven, and largely circumstantial nature of gathered evidence.[Oswyn Murray, Sympotica: A Symposium on the Symposion : Oxford, 4-8 September 1984 (Oxford: Clarendon, 1990).] [Zinon Papakonstantinou, “‘A DELIGHT and a BURDEN’ (HES., Sc. 400): WINE and WINE-DRINKING in ARCHAIC GREECE,” Ancient Society 42 (2012): 1–32, /stable/44079957?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents.]
One of the most recurring questions regarding the sexual scenes displayed on Greek symposium drinking cups was the purpose of such eroticism in relation to the male aristocratic activity. Given the limited capacity of demographic statistics to provide useful information that can help answer the question, it is only possible to identify the role of eroticism from available texts. The Greeks of the classical period did not think that erotic desire and related sexual behaviour as a functio...