syssitia

(sɪˈsɪtɪə)

(Historical Terms) (in ancient Greece) a communal meal for youths and men

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

syssitia

the practice or custom, as among the ancient Spartans and Cretans, of eating the main meal of the day together in public to strengthen social and political bonds.

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References in periodicals archive ?

Given the room's architectural attributes and the finds from both A800 and the adjoining buildings, we suggest that A800 was one part of an andreion, or "men's dining hall," which, according to later authors, was the context for the syssitia, or common mess of the urban elite (e.g., Strab.

Excavations at Azoria, 2002

In their late teens they would be admitted to a syssitia, or mess, which would be the center of their lives until they reached the age of thirty.