This study focuses on candelabra (candlesticks), thymiateria (incense burners) and kottaboi (stands used during the drinking game called kottabos ) at banquets and compares their roles in Greece and Etruria. These utensils continue to be misidentified, even by archaeologists. Knowledge of their structure is essential because this enables us to define their different functions and uses in these different cultures. For example, the Greeks did not use candlestick-holders, and objects that have been improperly identified as candelabra (i.e., as supports for illumination with candles) should more properly be classified as lamp/utensil stands. The Etruscans, on the other hand, preferred to use torchlight for illumination, and as a result, the candelabrum —an upright stand specifically designed to support candles made of resinous fibers that were saturated with flammable substances—was developed in order to avoid burns to the hands, prevent fires or problems with smoke, and collect ash or melting substances. But they also used utensil stands similar in shape and form to the Greek lamp holders, which were placed near the kylikeion at banquets. In addition, both the Greeks and the Etruscans used thymiateria during banquets and symposia in order to offer incense to the gods. Kottaboi were also important utensils used in the context of banquets and symposia: in Greece, however, they were interchangeable with lamp/utensil stands, and infrequently depicted in visual representations. In Etruria, kottaboi are rarely found in painted banquet scenes but numerous intact and fragmentary metal examples dating from the end of the sixth century BCE to the Hellenistic period have been found buried in tombs where they functioned as part of symposium sets. All in all, this analysis demonstrates that there are both formal and functional differences between Greek and Etruscan candelabra, thymiateria and kottaboi which can be traced to social and cultural differences. In addition, it shows once again, conclusively, that the Etruscans had a culture with many distinct characteristics, ones that can no longer be associated with those of the Greeks.