It is argued, moreover, that contradistinctive representations of feasting and warfare or religion in the archaeological, visual and textual record of this world reflects the social tensions and ideological conflicts that punctuated the way to an entirely new social order and political geography in the eastern Mediterranean. It is argued that the growing emphasis on luxurious leisure activities, during which exotica were also displayed and used, marks the emergence of new elite groups that based their claims to authority on the conspicuous consumption of wealth accumulated through commercial enterprises. The present paper explores how feasting practices and socio-political structures shaped one another in the rapidly changing world of the Mediterranean Early Iron Age. In the same sources, uneasiness on the part of traditional elite groups over the assignment of social, cultural and ethical value to such delights is a recurring theme. 390-380 BCE (Late Classical) terracotta red figure (Ancient Greece ) This red-figure bell krater depicts satyrs and maenads revelling on the front.

Different threads of archaeological, visual and textual evidence especially from the Aegean, Cyprus and the Levant point to ritualised behaviours revolving around eating and drinking, body movement and music making, beauty maintenance, sport and sexuality as dynamic newcomers to established definitions of personal achievement and social status through warfare or the supernatural. Download Image Zoom slide 1 to 4 of 4 Bell Krater with Satyrs and Maenads and Three Draped Men Walters-Dresden Painter (Greek, active early 4th century BCE) () (Artist) ca. After the collapse at the end of the Bronze Age, most parts of the eastern Mediterranean experienced the rise of new forms of statehood, for which new social identities were essential.

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