At the convīvium in chapter 30, we are told that Orōntes and Paula are on the lectus imus; Iūlius and Aemilia are on the lectus medius; and Cornēlius and Fabia are on the lectus summus. In the companion book (and elsewhere) I see that the host was usually on the imus, the guest(s) of honor on the medius and the lower status guest(s) on the summus. I am trying to untangle the (mixed?) messages behind this seating arrangement. Is Iūliusʻ position an implied statement that his status is superior to both of the other guests? And why is Orōntes, a freedman and a Greek, placed in what appears to be a higher status position than Cornēlius?
You may want to read the voice TRICLI´NIUM in A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities (1890), William Smith, LLD, William Wayte, G. E. Marindin, Ed.
Thank you, bedwere. This is a useful and comprehensive article.
I read this chapter today, and had read the article bedwere posted earlier, and the Oxford Classical Dictionary article the other day. My understanding is that Orberg set this up with no “guest of honor” at the meal, and the host sat in the middle, lectus medius to be next to both pairs of guests. They are said at the beginning to be close friends that can drop in at any time. There was a line in the chapter about the freed slaves (though they seemed wealthier than Cornelius) sitting on the lectus imus. But nothing is explicitly said about that being lower honor than the lectus summus.
Whether this is all realistic detail or not, I get the feeling that Orberg did think about the arrangement carefully.