An ancient Greek skyphos. Wikimedia
One of my most prized possessions is a Greek skyphos, a two-handled drinking cup. I was told that young Greek men would use the skyphos to play a drinking game.
They would drink wine from the skyphos before throwing the dregs over a wooden beam and into a bucket or at a mark on the ceiling and into a bucket.
They would drink wine from the skyphos before throwing the dregs over a wooden beam and into a bucket or at a mark on the ceiling and into a bucket. They played for slaves or kisses. By today’s standards slaves weren’t worth a lot. My skyphos is made out of terracotta (I think).
While searching for information on the drinking habits of early Greeks and Romans I came across a fascinating piece of text by Florentinus, a writer of the early third century.
When and how to taste wine: from Florentinus
Some people taste wines when the wind is in the north because then the wines remain unchanged and undisturbed. Experienced drinkers prefer to taste when the wind is from the south, because this has the most effect on the wine and reveals its nature. One should not taste when hungry, because the sense of taste is blunted, nor after heavy drinking or a large meal. The person tasting should not do so after consumption of food with a sharp or very salty taste, or anything which affects the sense of taste strongly, but should
This Article was originally published on The Real Review
