In Homer's Achaean kingdoms, the meal is the *dais*: a ritual sharing where each receives an equal portion of roasted meat, a sign of honor and rank. The feast opens with a libation to the gods, continues around spits planted in the hearth, and ends with wine mixed with water drawn from a large krater. No starter or dessert: everything consists of meat, barley bread, cheese, honey, and wine, arranged according to the dignity of the guests.

Two gestures define the Mycenaean table: meat skewered and turned over the embers (*obelos*), and wine always mixed with water in the krater before serving. Drinking pure wine was considered barbaric; sharing a portion from the spit was to recognize each person's place in the order of men.