Wine and Water
The Greeks and Their Symposium
The Greeks almost never drank wine undiluted. They mixed it with water in large vessels. In doing so, they celebrated the symposium, a carefully structured drinking gathering with conversation, music, and set rules. Through their trading ships and colonies, they carried viticulture across the Mediterranean, from Sicily to southern France.
The Krater at the Center of the Room
At the heart of a Greek drinking party stood a large mixing vessel, the krater. In it, a host diluted wine with water, often at a ratio of one part wine to two or three parts water. Anyone who drank wine unmixed was considered uncivilized, even barbaric, an accusation directed mainly at their northern neighbors. The dilution was more than mere etiquette; it also kept guests sober enough for serious conversation for longer.