The ancient Greek meal is not divided into starter-main-dessert but into two complementary poles: sitos, the cereal staple (barley flatbread maza, wheat bread), and opson, the "accompaniment" — fish, vegetables, olives, cheese — eaten in small bites placed on the bread. The main meal, deipnon, is taken at the end of the day, reclining on couches; it is often followed by the symposion, a time of wine mixed with water, honey sweets, and conversation, where a philosopher like Demetrius shone as brightly as in the Agora.

The dark, fragrant honey harvested on Mount Hymettus, above Athens, was renowned throughout the Mediterranean. It sweetens flatcakes, glazes fish, softens wine, and coats offerings: it is the golden thread linking the daily table, the banquet, and the altar of the gods.