Participating in the banquet, held in the triclinium, were three to nine diners, who occupied three couches arranged in the form of a horseshoe: the summus, the medius and the imus. The highest-ranking guest was given the place at the lower end of the medius, called the locus praetorius, while the host occupied the first place on the imus. The arrangement of the tables depended on that of the couches; if they were pushed together, the table was in the middle; if separated, there was a larger central table and two smaller ones beside the couches.