Men and women were separated at table, and, if there was not enough room at the table, the men ate first and the women after the men had finished. The ancient Greeks ate four meals:
-breakfast (akratisma), which consisted of barley bread, often dipped in wine, accompanied by figs or olives;
-lunch (ariston), which usually consisted of fish, legumes, or simply a combination of bread and cheese, olives, eggs, dried and fresh fruit;
-afternoon snack (esperisma)
-supper (deipnon), the richest meal of the day, often enjoyed in the company of friends, and usually consisting of fish, poultry, vegetables, pies, cheese, and some kind of sweet course (tragema or trogali).
The sweet course was taken as an accompaniment to wine. It usually consisted of fresh and dried fruit, roasted chestnuts, and a type of cake (plakous). The ancient Greeks used spoons or pieces of bread as spoons (apomagdalia) but no forks. Meat and other foods had to be cut into bite-sized pieces and eaten with the fingers.