ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the anthropological roots of the banquet as well as its connection with hospitality. We describe the elementary forms of hospitality and its historical evolution over time. The figure of the banquet has occupied a central position in Western hospitality whilst cementing the formation of modern politics. The act of eating together, anthropologically speaking, embraces not only the equal conditions of hosts and their cultural values, but also embodies the figure of the banquet. In the Greco-Roman tradition, the act of eating together re-creates the conditions for a shared climate of friendship, ranks and status, but whenever the borders between hosts and guests are blurred, hostility ultimately surfaces.
