Though the main object of the symposium was, undoubtedly, the drinking, yet we must not compare the Greek symposia with the wild drinking bouts customary in Germany during the middle ages, which continued till the 17th century. In consequence of the weakness of the mixture, it must have taken some time for the intoxicating effects to make themselves apparent. Moreover, there were various kinds of amusement which caused the drinking to fall somewhat into the background, but these naturally varied a good deal according to the degree of culture and character of the guests. Symposia, such as those described by Xenophon and Plato, at which there was very deep drinking, but also really intellectual conversation and discussion of deep problems, are, of course, idealised; and, even in Plato’s Symposium, the presence of the flute girl shows that the sensual element was regarded as well as the intellectual entertainment. As a rule, music played an important part at the symposia. Even in the Homeric period, song was an important feature of the banquet. The cunning singer, who sang the stories of gods and heroes to the accompaniment of the “lyre,” and who was listened to eagerly by all, was never absent from any banquet at which a great number of guests were present. In historic times, the musical entertainment took a different character, for the guests, instead of merely listening, took part in it themselves, singing generally as well as playing. There were three kinds of singing; choruses, sung by all together, such as the _Paean_ already mentioned; part songs, in which all shared, not together, but each in his turn; and solos, sung by those who had special musical ability and education. These solos were especially popular; the singer accompanied himself with the harp, and here, too, they adhered to the custom of always passing to the right the harp and the myrtle bough, which the singer had to hold in his hand during the performance. Of especial importance among these solo songs, from a literary point of view, were the “Scolia,” which were usually of a serious character, either religious, patriotic, or of a general moral nature. A well-known scolion sang the praises of the two conspirators who murdered the tyrant Hipparchus; it began as follows:-- “In myrtle veiled, I will the falchion wear; For thus the patriot sword Harmodius and Aristogeiton bare, When they the tyrant’s bosom gored; And bade the men of Athens be Regenerate in equality. Beloved Harmodius, oh, never Shall death be thine, who livest for ever. Thy shade, as men have told, inherits The islands of the blessed spirits, Where deathless live the glorious dead, Achilles, fleet of foot, and Diomed.”[E]