#DeadClassics Party: A Wonderful, Terrible Idea

P. Oxy. 1485.

“The Exegete would love for you to dine today, the ninth day, at the temple of Demeter at the seventh hour”

Ἐρωτᾷ σαι διπν[ῆ-]σαι ὁ ἐξηγητὴ[ς] ἐν τῷ Δημητρίῳ σήμερον ἥτις ἐσ-τὶν θ ἀπὸ ὥρ(ας) ζ.

Today we started something a little silly (after being serious for a few hours this morning). I think I was hungry, but I tweeted the following:

Let's do this: #DeadClassics party. Resurrect Greeks and Romans for a dinner

Rule 1: At least one from each world.

Rule 2: see rule 1

— sententiae antiquae (@sentantiq) October 17, 2017

As you can probably imagine, the responses were fast coming, erudite and funny. I probably should have not been surprised by the eagerness of the responses. Unlike the other classics game which requires and even prizes a knowledge of the obscure–where people talk about the lost texts from antiquity–this one is fair game for almost anyone.

And it also has the imprint of antiquity: think of all the banquets that are settings for the remains of ancient literature, the Symposia of Xenophon and Plato, Petronius’ absurd feast, the imagined, endless meals of Athenaeus’ Deipnosophists and Plutarch’s Dinner of the Seven Wise Men. Who doesn’t fantasize about a perfect, endless, raucous meal?

Seneca, Contr. 9.11

“A man was killed so that this asshole might dine more pleasantly with his girlfriend?”

Ut iste cum amica cenaret iucundius homo occisus est.

Martial, 2.18

“Eh, I am ashamed, but I’m looking, I’m looking for a your dinner invitation, Maximus.
And you’re looking for a different one. Now, for once, we are equal.”

Capto tuam, pudet heu, sed capto, Maxime, cenam.
tu captas aliam: iam sumus ergo pares.

Here are just a few below. I storified the first few hours’ worth

Here are just a few tweets, to get you going.

Seating chart not necessary if you task this to Simonides (and pay as agreed). #ArsMemoriae #ClassicsHumor

— Helen Sonner (@helensonner) October 18, 2017

Table 1: Clodius, Fulvia, Clodia, Atticus and Cicero
Table 2: Aeschylus, Euripides & Seneca and we are going to DISCUSS the house of Atreus https://t.co/394qHnyDPp

— 𐌄𐌃𐌕𐌍𐌔𐌙𐌋𐌄 (@duckyaisha) October 18, 2017

https://twitter.com/njalbanese/status/920446992198918145

https://twitter.com/LacusCurtius/status/920439201925038080

Everyone knows that Catullus made the best dinner invitation ever. Here’s a post about Simonides’ memory and a disastrous dinner.