Did banqueting Romans really make themselves vomit so they could go on eating?

It’s true that sumptuous banquets might begin at four in the afternoon and last until the next morning. It’s also true that many people ate and drank way more than was prudent. Banqueters reclined on couches. The tables were strewn with flowers and parsley, and slaves stood by, at the ready to serve and clear course upon exotic course.

Diners did sometimes accept an emetic to help them throw up if they’d eaten too much, and the famous gluttons did barf between courses, but those tended to be the exception rather than the norm. And the so-called “vomitorium” wasn’t a special room in which to go hurl. The vomitorium referred to the opening of an amphitheater that allowed large crowds to stream quickly out into the street.