Harry Thurston Peck, Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities (1898)

---

Cena

less correctly Coena (δεῖπνον). The principal meal of the Greeks and Romans, corresponding to our dinner rather than supper. As the meals are not always clearly distinguished, it will be convenient to give a brief account of all of them under the present head.

I. Greek. The materials for an account of the Greek meals, during the classical period of Athens and Sparta, are almost confined to incidental allusions of Plato and the comic writers. Several ancient authors, termed δειπνολόγοι, are mentioned by Athenaeus; but, unfortunately, their writings only survive in the fragments quoted by him. His great work, the Deipnosophistae, is an inexhaustible treasury of this kind of knowledge, though very ill-arranged. See Athenaeus.

The poems of Homer contain a real picture of early manners, in every way worthy of the antiquarian's attention. As they stand apart from all other writings, it will be convenient to exhibit in one view the state of things which they describe. It is not to be expected, however, that the Homeric meals should at all agree with the customs of a later period. Athenaeus (i. 8), who has entered fully into the subject, remarks on the simplicity of the Homeric banquets, in which kings and private men all partake of the same food. It was common enough for royal personages to prepare their own meals, and Odysseus ( Od. xv. 322) declares himself no mean proficient in the culinary art.

Three names of meals occur in the Iliad and Odyssey—ἄριστον, δεῖπνον, δόρπον or δόρπος. The word ἄριστον uniformly means the early as δόρπον does the late meal; but δεῖπνον, though generally meaning the mid-day meal, is sometimes used where we should expect ἄριστον ( Od. xv. 397) or even δόρπον ( Od. xvii. 170). We should be careful, however, how we argue from the unsettled habits of a camp to the regular customs of ordinary life.

In the Homeric Age it was usual to sit at table; and this custom, we are told, was kept up in historical times by the Cretans. Each guest had generally his own table, and an equal share of food was placed before each (hence δαὶς ἐΐση), except when a specially distinguished guest was honoured by getting a larger portion ( Il. vii. 321). What strikes us as peculiar in the Homeric dinners is their religious character. They partake more or less of the nature of a sacrifice, beginning with an offering of part of the meat to the gods, and both beginning and ending with a libation of wine; while the terms for slaughtering animals for a meal (ἱερεύειν, θύειν) and for the slaughtered animals (ἱερήϊα) are borrowed from the language of religious ceremony. The description of the dinner given by Eumaeus to Odysseus ( Od. xiv. 420) gives a good picture of a dinner in the Homeric Age in humble society; and that given by Achilles to Odysseus ( Il. ix. 219 foll.) may be taken as typical of the banquets of the great in the same period.

Beef, mutton, swine's and goat's flesh were the ordinary meats, generally eaten roasted, though sometimes boiled ( Il. xxi. 363). Fish and fowls were almost unknown (Eustath. ad Homer Od. xii. 330). Many sorts of wine are mentioned, notably the Maronean and the Pramnian. Nestor had wine eleven years old (Homer Od. iii. 391). A small quantity was poured into each guest's cup to make a libation with (ἐπαρξάμενοι δεπάεσσιν), before the wine was regularly served out for drinking. The guests drank to each other ( Od. iii. 40), and a second libation to the gods closed the repast ( Od. iii. 332).

The Greeks of a later age usually partook of three meals, called ἀκράτισμα, ἄριστον, and δεῖπνον. The last, which corresponds to the δόρπον of the Homeric poems, was the evening meal or dinner; the ἄριστον was luncheon; and the ἀκράτισμα, which answers to the ἄριστον of Homer, was the early meal or breakfast.

The ἀκράτισμα was taken immediately after rising in the morning (Aves, 1286). It usually consisted of bread dipped in unmixed wine (ἄκρατος), whence it derived its name (Athen. i. 11).

Next followed the ἄριστον or luncheon. The time at which it was taken is uncertain, though we may conclude from many circumstances that it was about the middle of the day, and that the meal answered to the Roman prandium. The market time, at which provisions seem to have been bought for the ἄριστον, was from nine o'clock till noon. In Aristophanes ( Vesp. 605-612) Philocleon describes the pleasure of returning home after attending the courts, and partaking of a good ἄριστον. It was usually a simple meal, but of course varied according to the habits of individuals (Xen. Oecon. xi. 18).

The principal meal, however, was the δεῖπνον. It was usually taken rather late in the day, frequently not before sunset (Lysias, de Caed. Eratosth. 22).

The Athenians were a social people, and were very fond of dining in company. Entertainments were usually given, both in the Heroic Age and later times, when sacrifices were offered to the gods, either on public or private occasions; and also on the anniversary of the birthdays of members of the family, or of illustrious persons, whether living or dead. Plutarch ( Symp. viii. 1.1) speaks of an entertainment being given on the anniversary of the birthdays of both Socrates and Plato.

Dining clubs were very common, the members of which contributed each a certain sum of money, called συμβολή, or brought their own provisions with them. When the first plan was adopted, they were said ἀπὸ συμβολῶν δειπνεῖν, and one individual was generally intrusted with the money to procure the provisions and make all the necessary preparations (Terence, Eunuch. iii. 4). When the second plan was adopted, they were said ἀπὸ σπυρίδος δειπνεῖν, because the provisions were brought in baskets. This kind of entertainment is spoken of by Xenophon ( Mem. iii. 14.1). In Homer the word ἔρανος corresponds with the later ἀπὸ συμβολῶν δεῖπνον, while εἰλαπίνη denotes a public entertainment on a festival or some such occasion (Athen. viii. 362 e).

The most usual kind of entertainments, however, were those in which a person invited his friends to his own house. It was expected that they should come dressed with more than ordinary care, and also have bathed shortly before; hence, when Socrates was going to an entertainment at Agathon's, we are told that he both washed and put on his shoes—things which he seldom did (Plato, Symp. 174A). As soon as the guests arrived at the house of their host, their shoes or sandals were taken off by the slaves, and their feet washed (ὑπολύειν and ἀπονίζειν). In ancient works of art we frequently see a slave or other person represented in the act of taking off the shoes of the guests, of which an example is given on the next page from a terra-cotta in the British Museum. After their feet had been washed, the guests reclined on the κλῖναι or couches.

Sitting at meals was, as has already been remarked, the practice of the Heroic Age, but in the classical period was confined to Crete. Women, however, when admitted to banquets on extraordinary occasions, such as a marriage (for they were generally excluded from table when guests were invited), took the sitting posture (Lucian, Conv. 13), and so did children ( Symp. i. 8). A very common representation on funeral monuments is the family meal, with the husband reclining, and the wife and children sitting at his side. Where women are represented as reclining at a meal, they are meant for hetaerae.

It was usual for only two persons to recline on each couch. In ancient works of art we usually see the guests represented in this way, but sometimes there is a larger number on one long κλίνη. The guests reclined with their left arms on striped pillows (ὑπαγκώνια), and having their right arms free. (Cf. Aristoph. Vesp. 1210.)

Slave taking off the Shoes of a Guest. (British Museum.)

After the guests had placed themselves on the κλῖναι, the slaves brought in water to wash their hands; and then the dinner was served up, the expression for which was τὰς τραπέζας εἰσφέρειν ( Suet. Vesp. 1216). By τὰς τραπέζας εἰσφέρειν we are to understand not merely the dishes, but the tables themselves (Philoxen. ap. Athen. iv. 146 f). It appears that a table, with provisions upon it, was placed before each κλίνη: and thus we find in all ancient works of art which represent banquets or symposia, a small table or tripod placed before the κλίνη: and when there are more than two persons on the κͅλίνη, several such tables. These tables were evidently small enough to be moved with ease.

In eating, the Greeks had no knives or forks, but made use of their fingers only, except in eating soups or other liquids, which they partook of by means of a spoon (μύστρον), or a piece of bread scooped out in the shape of a spoon (μυστίλη) (Suidas, s. v. μυστίλη). After eating, they wiped their fingers on pieces of bread, called ἀπομαγδαλιαί, which were then thrown to the dogs (Aristoph. Eq. 415). Napkins (χειρόμακτρα) were not used till the Roman period.

It appears that the arrangement of the dinner was intrusted to certain slaves. The one who had the chief management of it was called τραπεζοποιός or τραπεζοκόμος (Athen. iv. 170 e; Pollux, iii. 41; vi. 13). The Greek word for a menu was γραμματίδιον (Athen. ii. 49 d).

It would exceed the limits of this work to give an account of the different dishes which were introduced at a Greek dinner, though their number is far below those which were usually partaken of at a Roman entertainment. The most common food among the Greeks was the μάζα, a kind of soft cake, which was prepared in different ways, as appears by the various names which were given to it (Pollux, vi. 76). The φυστὴ μάζα, of which Philocleon partakes on returning home from the courts (Suet. Vesp. 610), is said by the Scholiast to have been made of barley and wine. The μάζα continued to the latest times to be the common food of the lower classes. Wheaten or barley bread was the second most usual species of food; it was sometimes made at home, but more usually bought at the market. The vegetables ordinarily eaten were mallows (μαλάχη), lettuces (θρίδαξ), cabbages (ῥάφανοι), beans (κύαμοι), lentils (φακαῖ), etc. Pork was the favourite animal food, as was the case among the Romans. Sausages also were very commonly eaten. It is a curious fact, which Plato ( Rep. iii. 13, 404) has remarked, that we never read in Homer of the heroes partaking of fish. In later times, however, fish was one of the favourite foods of the Greeks, insomuch so that the name of ὄψον was applied to it κατ̓ ἐξοχήν. A minute account of the fishes which the Greeks were accustomed to eat is given at the end of the seventh book of Athenaeus, arranged in alphabetical order.

The ordinary meal for the family was cooked by the mistress of the house, or by the female slaves under her direction; but for special occasions professional cooks (μάγειροι) were hired, of whom there appear to have been a great number (Diog. Laert. ii. 72). They are frequently mentioned in the fragments of the comic poets, and those who were acquainted with all the refinements of their art were in great demand in other parts of Greece besides their own country. The Sicilian cooks, however, had the greatest reputation, and a Sicilian book on cookery by one Mithaecus is mentioned in the Gorgias of Plato (p. 518 B); but the most celebrated work on the subject was the Γαστρολογία of Archestratus (Athen. iii. 104 b).

A dinner given by an opulent Athenian usually consisted of two courses, called respectively πρῶται τράπεζαι and δεύτεραι τράπεζαι. Pollux (vi. 83), indeed, speaks of three courses, which was the number at a Roman dinner; and in the same way we find other writers under the Roman Empire speaking of three courses at Greek dinners; but before the Roman conquest of Greece and the introduction of Roman customs, we read of only two courses. The first course embraced the whole of what we consider the dinner—namely, fish, poultry, meat, etc. (ἐδέσματα); the second, which corresponded to our dessert and the Roman bellaria, consisted of different kinds of fruit, sweetmeats, confections, etc. (τρωγάλια). The Roman first course of salads, vegetables, etc., was unknown to the Greeks in the time of their independence.

When the first course was finished, the tables were taken away (αἴρειν, ἐκφέρειν, βαστάζειν τὰς τραπέζας), and water was given to the guests for the purpose of washing their hands. Crowns made of garlands of flowers were also then given to them, as well as various kinds of perfumes. Wine was not drunk till the first course was finished; but as soon as the guests had washed their hands, unmixed wine was produced in a large goblet, called μετάνιπτρον or μετανιπτρίς, of which each drank a little, after pouring out a small quantity as a libation. This libation was said to be made to the “good spirit” (ἀγαθοῦδαίμονος), and was usually accompanied with the singing of the pæan and the playing of flutes. After this libation mixed wine was brought in, and with their first cup the guests drank to Ζεὺς Σωτήρ (Xen. Symp. ii. 1). With the σπονδαί the δεῖπνον closed; and at the introduction of the dessert (δεύτεραι τράπεζαι) the πότος, συμπόσιον, or κῶμος commenced, of which an account is given in the article Symposium.

II. Roman. The Roman meals were ientaculum (ἀκράτισμα), prandium (ἄριστον), merenda, and cena (δεῖπνον).

Ientaculum, also called silatum ( Fest. p. 346) because the wine used was sometimes perfumed with seselis or silis, was a slight morning meal taken at different times by early and late risers. Thus we find it taken by schoolboys at cock-crow (Mart.xiv. 233); but generally the Romans used to eat it about the third hour, certainly not later than the fourth (Mart.viii. 67, 9). The schoolboys had a kind of pancake (adipata); but usually the meal consisted of bread seasoned with salt or with honey, or dipped in wine, or of dates and olives. Alexander Severus used to have milk, eggs, and mulsum (Lamprid. Alex. Sev. 30). Bread and cheese (Ov. Met. i. 18), and even meat, appear to have been sometimes taken (Mart.xiii. 31); but to make the ientaculum a heavy meal was not in accordance with Roman manners.

As with our own fathers noon was the time for the principal meal of the day—viz., dinner—so with the primitive Romans this was the time for cena (Fest. 54; cf. p. 338, Müll.). It was only in later times that prandium became customary ( Orig. xx. 2, 14). We may fairly translate this word “luncheon.” When city life pushed the dinnerhour later and later, a mid-day meal became essential. It was taken about the sixth hour (Anth. Pal. x. 43, and scholiast), not so early as the fifth nor so late as the seventh. But if one took no ientaculum, he must needs take the prandium earlier, and this is the reason why we find Ausonius eating his prandium a little after the fourth hour (Ephemeris in Corp. Poet. Lat., ed. Weber, p. 1217). Prandium seems to have been properly the name of the soldier's morning meal ( Orig. xx. 2, 11). For the ordinary citizen, the meal varied from a piece of bread eaten in the hand (Plin. Ep. 83, 6) to an elaborate entertainment, with hot and cold fish, fowl, and meat, with vegetables and fruit. (Cf. Mayor on Plin. Ep. iii. 5, 11.) The meats were rather savoury dishes than solids—e. g. they were kernels of pork (glandulae, glandia, “sweetbreads”?). Often, as at our luncheons, the meat of the previous day's dinner was served cold or warmed up (Plaut. Pers. i. 3.25). Wine (Tac. Ann. xiv. 2), hot wine and water (Mart.viii. 67, 7), and mulsum (Cluent. 60, 166) were drunk at it. This latter passage refers to a large wedding breakfast which is called prandium.

Merenda was in ancient times an afternoon meal, given to workmen, also called antecenium (Nonius, p. 59). If prandium was not taken at mid-day, merenda was a late prandium taken in the afternoon (Calp. Ecl. v. 60).

The principal meal of the day was cena, “dinner.” The eighth hour in summer and the ninth in winter was sometimes the time for the bath (Plin. Ep. iii. 1, 8), and after that came dinner; but probably the bath was usually a little earlier. The ninth was considered the normal dinner-hour (Cic. Fam. ix. 26), though business must have often deferred it till after the tenth, and even later (Mart.iii. 36Mart., 5). These were homely repasts; for the more fashionable banquets were, the earlier they began (Palmer on Hor. Sat. ii. 8, 3). Banquets which began earlier than the ninth hour were called tempestiva convivia, or de die cenare (Catull. 47, 5). The cena always lasted for what would seem to us a very long time. Even Pliny the Elder, who was so miserly of his time, used to spend three hours at his dinner (Plin. Ep. iii. 5, 13), while old Cato used to remain conversing over this meal until late at night (Cic. Sen. 14, 46). The business of the day was done, and the time for enjoyment had arrived; there was, accordingly, no necessity to break into the meal till bedtime, which was much earlier than with us, as the Romans got up at daybreak. Symposia, of course, lasted till midnight, and even morning. The ancient Romans, like the ancient Greeks, used to sit at dinner ( Orig. xx. 11, 9), and Columella (xi. 1, 19) thinks the vilicus should not recline except on holidays; and Cato the Younger, in sign of mourning, always sat at meals after the battle of Pharsalia (Cat. Min. 56).

Symposium. (Millin.)

However, in the times with which we are best acquainted, the Romans dined in the atrium ( Serv. on Aen. i. 730), in the circle of the family—the men reclining; the wife sitting on the lectus (Val. Max. ii. 1, 21); the children beside the couches (Claud. 32), or on a lower couch (Suet. Aug. 64), and with a separate and more frugal table (Tac. Ann. xiii. 16); the subordinate persons (Plaut. Capt. iii. 1.11) and slaves on benches (subsellia). It was customary for the wife and children to dine with the men, except, apparently, in times of mourning (Calig. 24), though, of course, there were gentlemen's dinner-parties ( Hor. Sat. ii. 8).

On the other hand, we find cases of women reclining where there was conceived to be nothing bold or indelicate in their posture. Thus, in the following illustration, taken from Montfaucon (Ant. Exp. Suppl. iii. 66), which seems intended to represent a scene of perfect matrimonial felicity, the husband and wife recline on a sofa of rich materials. A three-legged table is spread with viands before them, and their two sons are in front of the sofa, one of them sitting, in the manner above described, on a low stool, and playing with the dog. Several women and a boy are performing a piece of music for the entertainment of the married pair.

A Family Feast. (Montfaucon.)

The very wealthy Romans built separate diningrooms, and to the article Triclinium and those on Lectus and Pulvinus the reader is referred for the arrangement of the couches and of the guests at table. For the tables, see Mensa.

During the later Republic and the Empire the number of guests at a private dinner-party was usually nine, and sometimes less (Gell. xiii.11.2), but to have more was considered unseemly (Cic. Pis. 27, 67). Generally uninvited guests (umbrae) were brought by one of the invited guests to make up the nine (Epist. i. 5.28); or perhaps a client was asked, in order not to leave a place empty (Juv.v. 17). The guests used to dress for dinner—the dinner dress (vestis cenatoria) being generally a light, highly ornamented coloured tunic (prasina synthesis, Mart.x. 29.4). It cannot be supposed that the changing of one's synthesis during dinner was other than vulgar ostentation (Mart. v. 79, 2), but it was sometimes required by religious ceremonials. Dresssandals (soleae) were generally worn in the house of the host, but were taken off (demere soleas) before reclining for the meal. They were taken charge of by the guest's own slave whom he brought with him, for each guest had his own footman (servus a pedibus) to wait on him at table (Plaut. Truc. ii. 4.16; Petron. 58 and 62). If the guest did not come in a litter, but walked, he often wore boots (calcei, Plin. Ep. ix. 47Plin. Ep., 3). The regular expression for rising from table was soleas poscere ( Hor. Sat. ii. 8.77).

The places were pointed out to the guests by the nomenclator (Athen. ii. 47 e); and when they had taken up their reclining position (accumbere, discumbere) at table, water was brought round and poured over the hands of each guest (Plaut. Pers. v. 1.17), and the hands wiped in a towel or napkin (mantela, mappa) provided by the host, though sometimes brought by the guest, in order to carry away the presents that the host frequently gave. (See Apophoreta.) Later mantele was used for a table-cloth ( Orig. xix. 26.6). It was not till towards the end of the first century A.D. that table-cloths began to be used. Martial appears to be the first to allude to them (ix. 59, 7). Some times, apparently, grace was said (Quintil. Declam. 301, p. 583, ed. Burmann), and then the first of the three parts of the meal was proceeded with.

This was called promulsis or gustatio, gustus; also frigida mensa. The cold dishes of this part of the meal used in early times to occupy a place at the conclusion (Quaest. Conviv. viii. 9, 28). It consisted rarely of substantial meats, mostly of hors d'œuvres which whetted the appetite, and also served the purpose of the modern dinner-pill— e. g. shell-fish ( Sat. ii. 4.28), vegetables with savoury sauces (Mart. iii. 50, 4), olives (Hor. Sat. ii. 2, 46), mushrooms (Juv.v. 147), and also eggs; from which came the expression ab ovo ad mala (Hor. Sat. i. 3, 6), to signify from the beginning to the end of the meal. See further for the edibles which constituted the gustus, Apicius, 4, 5; Plin. Ep. i. 15; Macrob. Sat. l. c.; Celsus, ii. 29; Mart.x. 48, 7-12; v. 78, 3-5. The drink was mulsum, “mead”—a mixture of wine and honey; for plain wine was thought too strong (Hor. Sat. ii. 4, 26). Hence the term promulsis—i. e. the mulsum taken before the chief portion of the meal.

After this, followed the cena proper, which in early times, and even later in simple families, was the whole dinner (Mart.x. 48.3). It is from Lucullus that Athenaeus dates the beginning of extravagance in dining. When this part of the meal consisted of several courses (fercula, missus）—we hear of six, Augustus never had more (Suet. Aug. 74), and seven (Juv.i. 94), but the usual number was three (Mart.xi. 31）—the separate courses were called prima, altera, tertia cena, and appear to have followed in a regular order (Lucian, De Merc. Cond. 15). Each course was brought in on a tray (repositorium, Petron. 33), which was generally of wood, but sometimes of silver; and the arrangement of the viands on each dish and of the dishes on these trays was a branch of art (Juv.vii. 184), the artist being called structor. Indeed, the arranging of the whole dinner was so important a function that it required a special majordomo called tricliniarcha (Henzen, Index, p. 189), with his special servi tricliniarii (Henzen, 6367). It was probably only at the imperial court that there were tasters (praegustatores). Between the promulsis and the cena, as well as after each course of the cena, the repositorium was carried away and brought back with the following course, the table having been previously wiped down (Hor. Sat. ii. 8.11), and the bits that had fallen having been gathered up by the analecta (Mart.vii. 20.17). Occasionally the carver (carptor, diribitor, scissor), whose function the structor sometimes fulfilled (Mart.x. 48.15), carved the meat (Petron. 36 and 40) at the open side of the table, and it was carried round by slaves (Petron.33 and 40). Carving, too, was a branch of art and had its learned professors (Juv.xi. 137; cf. v. 120). Sometimes the course was put on the table and the guests themselves took what they desired, and in the way they did so it was easy to see what guests had the manners of good society (Lucian, De Merc. Cond. 15). There appear to have been menus (γραμματίδια, Athen. ii. 49 d). Between each course the guests washed their hands (Lamprid. Heliog. 25), for it must be remembered that the Romans used to eat with their fingers (Mart.v. 78Mart., 6), except in the case of soup, eggs, and shell-fish, for which a coclear (q. v.) and a ligula (q. v.) were used.

The viands served up at luxurious dinner-parties are far too numerous to be described. Elaborate descriptions will be found in Hor. Sat. ii. 8; Macrob. Saturn. ii. 9, 12; Petron.33 foll.; also in Becker-Göll, Gallus, chap. 8. They contained, as Philo says, “all the products of land and sea, rivers and air.” Copious accounts of the different kinds of foods and drinks are given in Gallus, iii. 331-367, 412-442; Marquardt, Privatleben, 398-448; Daremberg and Saglio, s. v. Cicaria. To admit of the gluttony required to consume such dinners, vomiting was resorted to, rules for which were laid down by physicians (Cels. i. 3, 29, ed. Krause; Galen, vi. 391)—an indirect proof of the prevalence of over-eating among the wealthy. But such extravagance must have been confined to the upper classes, and can give us no idea of ordinary family meals. The bill of fare of a plain dinner is to be found in Martial (x. 48, 13 foll.). The main course consisted of kid, cutlets (ofellae), beans, early sprouts (prototomi), chicken, and cold ham. While eating, wine was usually drunk (Petron. 34), but in small quantities, for it was thought to blunt the taste (Hor. Sat. ii. 8, 38).

After the cena proper was taken away, and the tables were removed, the offerings to the gods (the mola salsa, etc.) were thrown into the hearth; and when a slave announced that the gods were propitious, silence for a short time was observed in respect for the gods ( Serv. on Aen. i. 734). The gods were the Lares, and if they were not in the dining-room, they used to be carried in and placed on the table (Petron. 60), or a special table with a salt cellar and some meat was placed before their shrine (Arnob. adv. Gentes, ii. 67).

Thereafter followed the dessert, mensae secundae (Hor. Sat. ii. 2, 122), also called bellaria (Gell. xiii.11.7), just as “second course” and “sweets” (in England) signify the same part of the meal. Other names were impomenta, ἐπιδειπνίς. It consisted of all sorts of pastry (see Becker-Göll, Gallus, iii. 363- 367), fresh and dried fruits, apples, grapes, etc. The mensae secundae formed the transition to the commissatio (q. v.).

At distinguished dinner-parties the company was amused in various ways. These amusements were called acroamata. (See Reid on Cic. Arch. 9, 20.) Respectable and cultivated hosts used to afford readings by their anagnostae (Mayor on Juv.xi. 180), often of their own works, and we can well believe that this became an insufferable nuisance. It was no doubt a mark of culture to ask for some charming poetry (Pers. i. 30). The practice of reading during meals is still kept up in Roman Catholic colleges. Music, too, used to be introduced, sometimes choral and orchestral performances (symphonia, Verr. iii. 44, 105; and Wilkins on Ars Poet. 374). There used to be actors also (Plin. Ep. i. 15.2), and story-tellers (aretalogi, Suet. Aug. 74). At “fast” entertainments there were introduced girls to play, sing, and dance (Liv.xxxix. 6; Hor. Sat. i. 2, 1; Mayor on Juv.xi. 162), gymnasts (petauristae), fools (moriones), “amusing vagabonds” (scurrae), etc. Formal speech-making was unknown. These amusements were produced during the cena and continued on into the commissatio, if such followed.

On Roman meals, see especially Marquardt, Privatleben der Römer, 257-260, 289-321; Becker-Göll, Gallus, iii. 311-370; Daremberg and Saglio, s. v. Coena, in which works all the literature on the subject is collected.