According to Roman fashion, feasts were organized in the so-called triclinium. In the middle of the room, the table was set up, and the sofas around it, leaving one side “unmarked” (something like a horseshoe was created).
Triclinia could have different sizes – in the picture we can see the smallest possible triclinium, consisting of three sofas. Most often, however, it consisted of nine couches arranged around the table.
What was the order of sitting at triclinium?
Standing on the side “free of beds”, from the left side the so-called sofas lower (lectus imus), the next were the middle sofas (lectus medius), and finally, on the right – the highest sofas (lectus summus). The most honorable was the middle place among lectus medius (in the case of a 9-person triclinium). At the feasts of Roman officials the best places were occupied by high officials, honorary guests and a host at whose feast it was held.
Initially, square tables stood in the center of the triclinium, but from the beginning of the empire, they began to displace the round tables. With the appearance of this type of tables, semi-circular sofas, called sigma or stabadium, were also introduced.
