<b>Symposium by Plato</b> - In&nbsp;ancient Greece, the&nbsp;<b>symposium</b>&nbsp;(Greek:&nbsp;&sigma;&upsilon;&mu;&pi;?&sigma;&iota;&omicron;&nu;&nbsp;<i>symposion</i>&nbsp;or&nbsp;<i>symposio</i>, from &sigma;&upsilon;&mu;&pi;?&nu;&epsilon;&iota;&nu;&nbsp;<i>sympinein</i>, &quot;to drink together&quot;) was a part of a banquet that took place after the meal, when drinking for pleasure was accompanied by music, dancing, recitals, or conversation.<br /><br />Literary works that describe or take place at a symposium include two&nbsp;Socratic dialogues,&nbsp;Plato&#39;s&nbsp;<i>Symposium</i>&nbsp;and&nbsp;Xenophon&#39;s&nbsp;<i>Symposium</i>, as well as a number of&nbsp;Greek poems&nbsp;such as the&nbsp;elegies&nbsp;of&nbsp;Theognis of Megara. Symposia are depicted in&nbsp;Greek&nbsp;and&nbsp;Etruscan art&nbsp;that shows similar scenes.<br /><br />In modern usage, it has come to mean an&nbsp;academic conference&nbsp;or meeting such as a scientific conference. The equivalent of a Greek symposium in&nbsp;Roman society&nbsp;is the&nbsp;Latin&nbsp;<i>convivium.</i>