In considering the meals of the historical period, particularly at Athens, we must remember that we are dealing specially with large common banquets, which were very frequent among men, and not with the usual family meal, which the master of the house took in the circle of his family. We know very little of the proceedings at these family dinners, and that only from works of art. On Greek reliefs on tombstones we often find, from the classical to the Imperial period, representations of the family meal, where the master of the house lies on his couch, his wife sitting on it at his feet, for it was not considered correct for women to lie down at meals as the men did, and when we see on works of art women lying down along with the men, we may be certain that these are hetaerae, who were not bound by the same rules of custom. The children of the house sat round the table on chairs. But as a rule, the wife and children only dined in the most intimate family circle; when guests were invited they dined alone in the women’s apartments, and only on some few occasions, especially weddings and family festivals, were the women allowed to appear before the men. The custom of entertainments for men alone was far more common in antiquity than at the present day; for these banquets took the place not only of our parties and other social gatherings, but they also gave the men an opportunity, especially in the drinking which followed, while sitting together over their wine, to discuss at their leisure both serious and frivolous matters. There were also plenty of festive occasions which gave opportunities for these common banquets; a public or private sacrifice was a very common excuse, if only because the flesh of the victim--of which, as a rule, only the entrails were burnt--could be best made use of in this manner. There were also birthdays, funerals, victories in some contest or game, departure or return from a journey of a friend, etc.; all these occasions were celebrated by feasts, and there were also great public banquets, which were usually of a simpler character, owing to the number of guests and the fact that the expenses were publicly defrayed. Besides these meals, to which individuals invited their friends or relations, picnics were very common. Very often all who participated sent baskets of provisions into the house of one who gave up his rooms for the purpose; but it was even commoner for each to contribute a certain share of money, and thus to defray the expenses of the meal, which was taken at the house of one of the participants, or of some obliging hetaera. We do not know what arrangement was made about the wine, and whether the expenses of this were also defrayed out of the general charge.