Daedalus and Icarus at the table

The ancient Greek meal is organized around the deipnon, the main evening meal: a base of sitos (the grain food, especially barley maza) accompanied by opson (the 'that-which-goes-with': fish, vegetables, cheese, olives). Then comes the symposion, a drinking session where watered wine and tragemata (figs, nuts, honey cakes) are shared. People eat seated or reclining, without the starter/main/dessert grid: sweet and savory coexist, and the gods receive their share as an offering before humans.

Two poles of the Greek table: golden honey, linked to the sun and offerings (and thus to Icarus's fall toward the star), and garos, the fermented fish sauce from the Aegean coasts that gives umami punch to savory dishes. One perfumes the offering cakes, the other enhances the fish of Cretan fishermen.