The Elite Dining: A Brief History Of Rome

The convivium is the elite banquet that took place in major cities like Rome or Carthage. Wealthy and respected people composed the elitist circle. Philosophical, historical, and political discussions would be spoken during these events. The recipes were highly experimental and Romans would mix unusual food types together. They would also consume something similar to absinthe and they had recipe books. One underlying aspect of these ceremonies is the vessels used. As Stephenson mentions, the convivium is all about performance, showing your wealth and using it as a spectacle. He quotes Carlin Barton that says that “Being, for a Roman, is being seen.” . The meaning of the vessels would define the holder’s place in the society. It appears that

Dining became an art both literally and physically. Roman people took seriously the role and purpose of the banquet without leaving behind the visual aspect of the ceremonies. Citizens had to wear nice cloth and use embellished and personalized vessels. The elite would lean on a triclinium which is a triple couch and discuss in an intimate manner . They would eat in plates that had nature mort or still life paintings on them . The Lycurgus cup or the silvers from Berthouville are perfect examples of this practice of embellishing and showing wealth as well as referencing myths and Greece in order to appear educated in front of your colleagues. The elite banquets in primary agglomerations are bubbles to show wealth and abundance while getting an

By having more traditional and smaller banquets, mostly dedicated to special events like burial rituals and inaugurations, Romans in secondary cities were able to customize and slightly change the main aspects of the convivium. The cena is the family dinner that Romans engaged in. It was considered the main meal of the day and was often eaten in the evening. Thanks to the accounts of Pliny, we learn that a cena might become a convivium depending on the importance and the number of people. The use of triclinium would still be effective and on average nine people were part of a cena . These dinners were spread all over the empire and are much more likely to happen in smaller cities due to the accessibility of it. Again, Keith Bradley mentions the important discussion Romans had to participate in in order to be accepted. Also, the strict set of rules on how to behave at a Roman banquet is similar to contemporary practices . It seems that the cena was a challenge and struggle to develop fama in the society . Fama is the fame a certain person has in the society and in the empire. The boost of fame had to be addressed through the use of fine vessels and educated imagery in public as well as private places. The role of the cena in the Roman empire seem to spread the values nested in the convivium to a larger audience and the material objects that result from these practices