In 5th-century Athens, the evening meal (deipnon) was organized around two poles: the sitos, the staple cereal food (barley maza, wheat bread), and the opson, the relish accompaniment (fish, legumes, olives, cheese) that was dipped or placed on top. After the meal, tables were removed and the symposion began, a banquet of wine mixed with water where tragēmata — figs, nuts, honey cakes — were passed around while reciting and debating. It was in this order, from humble grain to shared wine under the gaze of Dionysus, that a wealthy citizen like Sophocles lived.

The thyme honey from the hives of Mount Hymettus, above Athens, was the Greeks' sugar: it bound cakes, sweetened wine, perfumed offerings. Together with garos (fermented fish brine, ancestor of Roman garum), it forms the flavor duo that defines the Athenian table — the sweetness of the gods and the salty umami of the sea.