Abstract: Bodily Display in the Context of the Banquet

 Dr Anastasia Meintani, Universität Wien

Bodily Display in the Context of the Banquet

This paper examines the display of deformed people in the Hellenistic and Roman periods in the context of the banquet on two grounds: archaeological finds and literary sources. Though both sources have inherent problems, they are still invaluable in that they both refer to the same context.

As far as the archaeological finds are concerned, legions of small-scale grotesque figurines were produced in the Hellenistic and Roman periods. A great number of them found their place in the banqueting room. Contra to all propounded theories, whose underlying common denominator is that the purpose of these images was the lampoon and degradation of the dregs of society and of the physically deformed, I argue that such statuettes carried deeply positive meanings.

Turning to the living counterparts of these artefacts, we should keep in mind that besides the cases of the Roman emperors and wealthy Romans having deformed individuals in their households, a number of them made their living as ‘professional’ entertainers (as dancers and musicians) on festive occasions. They belonged to troupes that were hired under contracts. But even in the former cases, a number of passages reveal that some of them enjoyed a privileged treatment as confidants of emperors or as favourites of the elite. What is more, other extracts point to the immunity of the jesters even when their scathing comments were directed at an emperor or at banqueters of high status.

True, ancient texts were not written by people with impairments and disabilities. As such, they do not provide us with a first-person perspective. More than that, in many instances authors bend the truth for their own ends. There are many conventions in play and we have to be on our guard. Nevertheless, the baby should not be thrown out with the bathwater. Far from disparaging them as unreliable, we have to read these sources from various angles and with caution.

All in all, this paper does not suggest that people with disabilities were treated with the outmost reverence and led felicitous lives in the Graeco-Roman antiquity. This would be a foolhardy conclusion. However, it does point to a more nuanced examination rather than perpetuating the sweeping generalization that those with physical defects were loathed and scathed.