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The Aesthetics of the Greek Banquet The Aesthetics of the Greek Banquet Images of Wine and Ritual (Un Flot d'Images) Frangois Lissarrague Translated by Andrew Szegedy-Maszak PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS Princeton, NewJersey Originally published as Uη Flot d'images: une esthetique du banquet grec © 1987, Editions Adam Biro, Paris, France Copyright © 1990 by Princeton University Press Published by Princeton University Press, 41 William Street, Princeton, NewJersey 08540 In the United Kingdom: Princeton Uiiiversity Press, Oxford All Rights Reserved Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Lissarrague, F. (Fra^ois) [Flot d'images. English] The aesthetics of the Greek banquet: Images of Wine and Ritual / by Francois Lissarrague : translated by Andrew Szegedy-Maszak. p. cm. Translation of' Un flot d'images. ISBN 0-691-03595-4 (alk. paper) : i. Vase-painting, Greek. 2. Dinners and dining in art. 3. Aesthetics, Ancient. 4. Greece—Social lifeand customs—Pictorial works. I. Title. NK4645.L5713 1990 738.3^2^938—dc2o 89-70263 Publication of this book has been aided by a grant from the Paul Mellon Fund of Princeton University Press This book has been composed in Linotron Garamond Princeton University Press books are printed on acid-free paper, and meet the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources Printed in the United States of America by Princeton University Press, Princeton, NewJersey 1 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Contents Abbreviations Used in Notes vii 1. The Greek Experience of Wine 3 2. The Space of the Krater 19 3. Manipulations 47 4. Drinking Games 68 5. Reflections 8j 6. Wine and the Wine-Dark Sea 107 7. Song and Image 123 Epilogue. Drink to Me with Thine Eyes 140 Sources of Illustrations 145 Index 149 Abbreviations Used in the Notes Beazley, ABV: J. D. Beazley, Attic Black-Figure Vase-Painters. Oxford, 1956. Beazley, ARV: J. D. Beazley, Attic Red-Figure Vase-Painters. Oxford, 1963. CVA: Corpus Vasorum Antiquorum (followed by the number of the fascicle and the plate by city and, between parentheses, by the numbers of the fascicle and the plate by country). The Aesthetics of the Greek Banquet

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In deepening our understanding of the symposium in ancient Greece, this book embodies the wit and play of the images it explains: those decorating Athenian drinking vessels from the sixth and fifth centuries B.C. The vases used at banquets often depict the actual drinkers who commissioned their production and convey the flowing together of wine, poetry, music, games, flirtation, and other elements that formed the complex structure of the banquet itself. A close reading of the objects handled by drinkers in the images reveals various metaphors, particularly that of wine as sea, all expressing a wide range of attitudes toward an ambiguous substance that brings cheer but may also cause harm. Not only does this work offer an anthropological view of ancient Greece, but it explores a precise iconographic system. In so doing it will encourage and enrich further reflection on the role of the image in a given culture. Originally published in 1990. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.