4 ], the same Polybius relates that Agron, the king of the Illyrians, being
delighted
at having gained a victory over the haughty Aetolians, being a man much addicted to drinking, and to drunkenness, and banqueting, fell ill of a pleurisy, and died.
Athenaeus - Deipnosophists
how have you lost
Your appetite, so as now to be content
With the scant rations of one ship of war?
And Xanthus, in his Account of Lydia, says that Cambles, who was the king of the Lydians, was a great eater and drinker, and also an exceeding epicure; and accordingly, that he one night cut up his own wife into joints and ate her; and then, in the morning, finding the hand of his wife still sticking in his mouth, he slew himself, as his act began to get notorious. And we have already mentioned Thys, the king of the Paphlagonians, saying that he too was a man of vast appetite, quoting Theopompus, who speaks of him in the thirty-fifth book of his History; and Archilochus, in his Tetrameters, has accused Charilas of the same fault, as the comic poets have attacked Cleonymus and Peisander. And Phoenicides mentions Chaerippus in his Phylarchus in the following terms-
And next to them I place Chaerippus third;
He, as you know, will without ceasing eat
As long as any one will give him food,
Or till he bursts,- such stowage vast has he,
Like any house.
[9. ] G # And Nicolaus the Peripatetic, in the hundred and third book of his History, says that Mithridates, the king of Pontus, once proposed a contest in great eating and great drinking (and the prize was a talent of silver), and that he himself gained the victory in both; but he yielded the prize to the man who was judged to be second to him, namely, Calamodrys, the athlete of Cyzicus. And Timocreon the Rhodian, a poet, and an athlete who had gained the victory in the pentathlon, ate and drank a great deal, as the epigram on his tomb shows-
Much did I eat, much did I drink, and much
Did I abuse all men; now here I lie;-
My name Timocreon, my country Rhodes.
[416] And Thrasymachus of Chalcedon, in one his Prefaces, says that Timocreon came to the great king of Persia, and being entertained by him, did eat an immense quantity of food; and when the king asked him, What he would do on the strength of it? he said that he would beat a great many Persians; and the next day, having vanquished a great many, one after another, taking them one by one, after this, he beat the air with his hands; and when they asked him what he wanted, he said that he had all those blows left in him if any one was inclined to come on. And Clearchus, in the fifth book of his Lives, says, that Cantibaris the Persian, whenever his jaws were weary with eating, had his slaves to pour food into his mouth, which he kept open as if they were pouring it into an empty vessel. But Hellanicus, in the first book of his Tale of Deucalion, says that Erysichthon, the son of Myrmidon, being a man perfectly insatiable in respect of food, was called Aethon. And Polemon, in the first book of his Treatise addressed to Timaeus, says that among the Sicilians there was a temple consecrated to gluttony, and an image of Demeter Sito; near which, also, there was a statue of Himalis, as there is at Delphi one of Hermuchus, and as at Scolus, in Boeotia, there are statues of Megalartus and Megalomazus.
* * * * *
[13. ] G [418] And Hecataeus says that the Egyptians were great bread-eaters, eating loaves of rye, called ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? , and bruising barley to extract a drink from it; and on this account Alexinus, in his treatise on Contentment, says that Bocchoris and his father Neochabis were contented with a moderate quantity of food. Pythagoras of Samos, also, used food in moderation, as Lycon of Iasus relates in his treatise on Pythagoras. But he did not abstain from animal food, as Aristoxenus tells us; and Apollodorus the mathematician says, that he even sacrificed a hecatomb when he found out that in a right-angled triangle, the square of the side subtending the right angle is equal to the squares of the two sides containing it-
When the illustrious Pythagoras
Discovered that renowned problem which
He celebrated with a hecatomb.
[419] But Pythagoras was a very sparing drinker, and lived in a most frugal manner, so that he often contented himself with honey by itself. And nearly the same thing is told us of Aristeides, and of Epaminondas, and of Phocion, and of Phormion, the generals. # But Manius Curius, the Roman general, lived on turnips all his life; and once, when the Sabines sent him a large sum of gold, he said he had no need of gold while he ate such food as that. And this story is recorded by Megacles in his treatise on Illustrious Men.
[14. ] G And there are many people who approve of moderate meals, as Alexis tells us in his Woman in Love-
But I am content with what is necessary,
And hate superfluous things; for in excess
There is not pleasure, but extravagance.
And in his Liar he says-
I hate excess; for those who practise it
Have only more expense, but not more pleasure.
And in his Foster Brothers he says-
How sweet all kinds of moderation are!
I now am going away, not empty, but
In a most comfortable state,- for wise
Mnesitheus tells us that 'tis always right
To avoid extravagance in everything.
And Ariston the philosopher, in the second book of his Amatory Similitudes, says that Polemon, the Academic philosopher, used to exhort those who were going to a supper, to consider how they might make their party pleasant, not only for the present evening, but also for the morrow. And Timotheus, the son of Conon, being once taken by Plato from a very sumptuous and princely entertainment to one held at the Academy, and being there feasted in a simple and scholar-like manner, said that those who supped with Plato would be well the next day also. But Hegesander, in his Commentaries, says that on the next day Timotheus, meeting with Plato, said, "You, O Plato, sup well, more with reference to the next day than to the present one! " But Pyrrhon of Elis, when on one occasion one of his acquaintances received him with a very sumptuous entertainment, as he himself relates, said, "I will for the future not come to you if you receive me in this manner; that I may avoid being grieved by seeing you go to a great expense for which there is no necessity, and that you, too, may not come to distress by being overwhelmed by such expenses; for it is much better for us to delight one another by our mutual companionship and conversation, than by the great variety of dishes which we set before one another, of which our servants consume the greater part. "
[15. ] G # But Antigonus of Carystus, in his Life of Menedemus, relating the way in which the banquets of that philosopher were managed, says, that he used to dine with one or two companions at most; and that all the rest of his guests used to come after they had supped. For in fact, Menedemus' supper and dinner were only one meal, and after that was over they called in all who chose to come; and if any of them, as would be the case, came before the time, they would walk up and down before the doors, and inquire of the servants who came out what was being now served up, and how far on the dinner had proceeded. And if they heard that it was only the vegetables or the cured fish that was being served up, they went away; but if they were told that the meat was put on the table, then they went into the room which had been prepared for that purpose. [420] And in the summer a rush mat was spread over each couch, and in the winter a fleece. But every one was expected to bring his own pillow; and the cup, which was brought round to each person, did not hold more than one cotyla. And the dessert was lupins or beans as a general rule; but sometimes some fruits, such as were in season, were brought in; in summer, pears or pomegranates; and in spring, pulse; and in winter, figs. And we have a witness as to these things, Lycophron of Chalcis, who wrote a satyric drama entitled Menedemus, in which Silenus says to the satyrs-
O cursed sons of most excellent Pan,
I, as you see, have quite a fancy for you:
For, by the gods I swear, that not in Caria,
Nor in fair Rhodes, nor royal Lydia,
Have I ever eaten so superb a supper;
Phoebus Apollo! what a feast it was.
And a little further on, he says-
And the boy brought us round a scanty cup
Of wine that might be worth five obols a bottle-
Awfully flat; and then that cursed thing,
That hang-dog lupin, danced upon the board,
A fitting meal for parasites and beggars.
And presently afterwards, he says that philosophical disquisitions were carried on during the entertainment-
And for dessert,
We had some learned conversation.
It is also related that those who met in this way very often kept on conversing to such a time that "the bird which calls the morn still caught them talking, and they were not yet satisfied. "
[16. ] G # But Arcesilaus, when giving a supper to some people, when the bread fell short, and his slave made him a sign that there were no loaves left, burst out laughing, and clapped his hands; and said, "What a feast we have here, my friends! We forgot to buy loaves enough; run now, my boy:"- and this he said, laughing; and all the guests who were present burst out laughing, and great amusement and entertainment were excited, so that the very want of bread was a great seasoning to the feast. And at another time, Arcesilaus ordered Apelles, one of his friends, to strain some wine; and when he, not being used to doing so, shook some of the wine and spilt some, so that the wine appeared much thicker than usual, he laughed, and said, "But I told a man to strain the wine who has never seen anything good any more than I myself have; so do you now get up, Arideices; and do you go away and tap the casks that are outside. " And this good-humour of his so pleased and excited the mirth of those present, that they were all filled with joy.
[17. ] G But those of the present day who give entertainments, especially the inhabitants of the beautiful Alexandria, cry out, and make a noise, and curse the cup-bearer, the steward, and cook; and the slaves are all crying, being beaten with fists and driven about in every direction. And not only do the guests who are invited sup with great discomfort and annoyance, but even if there is any sacrifice going on, the god himself would veil his face and go away, leaving not only the house, but even the entire city, in which such things take place. For it is absurd for a man, proclaiming that people should all confine themselves to words of good omen, to curse his wife and his children; and such a man as that would say to the guests [ Homer, Il_2'381 ] -
And now then let us hasten to the feast,
That we may plan the movements of the war;-
for such a man's house [ Sophocles, OedTyr_4 ]
Is redolent of frankincense,
[421] And paeans too, and groans at the same time.
Now, when all this had been said, one of the guests who were present said,- We ought, then, when we consider these things; to guard against indulging our appetites too much;
For a frugal dinner breeds no drunkenness,
as Amphis says, in his Pan: nor does it produce insolence or insulting conduct; as Alexis testifies in his Odysseus Weaving, where he says-
For many a banquet which endures too long,
And many and daily feasts, are wont to cause
Insult and mockery; and those kind of jests
Give far more pain than they do raise amusement.
For such are the first ground of evil-speaking;
And if you once begin to attack your neighbour,
You quickly do receive back all you bring,
And then abuse and quarrels surely follow;
Then blows and drunken riot. For this is
The natural course of things, and needs no prophet.
[18. ] G And Mnesimachus, in his Philippus, on account of the immoderate indulgence in dinners of people of his time, introduces an entertainment which professes to be a preparation for war, and which really is what that admirable writer Xenophon [ Hell_3. 4'17 ] calls a workshop of war. And he speaks thus-
Know you now with what men you must fight?
With us, who sup upon well-sharpened swords,
And swallow lighted firebrands for dainties:
And then, for our dessert, our slaves bring in,
After the first course, Cretan bows and arrows;
And, instead of vetches, broken heads of spears,
And fragments of well-battered shields and breastplates;
And at our feet lie slings, and stones, and bows,
And on our heads are wreaths of catapults.
And Phoenix of Colophon says-
A cask of wine shall be our sword- a cup
Shall be our spear- our hair shall arrows be;
Goblets shall be our enemies- wine our horses-
Ointments and perfumes our war-cry fierce.
And in the Parasite, Alexis, speaking of some very voracious person, says-
And all the younger men do call him parasite,
Using a gentler name; but he cares not.
And Telephus in speechless silence sits,
Making but signs to those who ask him questions;
So that the inviter often offers prayers
To the great Samothracian gods of the sea,
To cease their blowing, and to grant a calm;
For that young man's a storm to all his friends.
And Diphilus, in his Heracles, speaking of some similar kind of person, says-
Do you not now behold me drunk and merry,
Well filled with wine, and all inflamed with anger?
Have not I just devoured a dozen cakes,
Every one larger than a good-sized shield?
On which account, Bion of Borysthenes said, cleverly enough, that " A man ought not to derive his pleasures from the table, but from meditation;" and Euripides says-
I pleased my palate with a frugal meal;
signifying that the pleasure derived from eating and drinking is chiefly limited to the mouth. And Aeschylus, in his Phineus, says-
And many a most deceitful meal they snatched
Away from hungry jaws, in haste to enjoy
The first delight of the too eager palate.
And in his Stheneboea, Euripides speaks of frugality thus-
A life at sea is a much troubled life,
[422] Not reinforced with pleasures of the table,
But like a stable on the shore. The sea itself
Is a moist mother, not a nurse on land;
'Tis her we plough; from this our food, procured
With nets and traps, comes daily home to us.
[19. ] G For the belly is a great evil to man; concerning which Alexis speaks, in his Men Dying Together-
And hence you well may see how great an evil
The belly is to man; what lessons strange
It teaches, and what deeds it forces on us.
If there were any power which could take
This part alone from out our bodies, then
No one would any more do injury
Or insult to his neighbour. But from this
Flow all the ills that harass human life.
And Diphilus, in his Parasite, says-
Well did that wise Euripides oft speak,
And this does seem his wisest word of all-
"But want compels me and my wretched belly;"
For there is nought more wretched than the belly:
And into that you pour whatever you have,
Which you do not in any other vessel.
Loaves you perhaps may carry in a bag,-
Not soup, or else you'll spoil it. So again,
You put cakes in a basket, but not pulse;
And wine into a bladder, but not crabs:
But into this accursed belly, men
Put every sort of inconsistent thing.
I add no more; since it is plain enough
That all men's errors are produced by it.
# And Crates the Cynic, as Sosicrates tells us in his Successions, reproached Demetrius Phalereus for sending him a bag of bread with a flagon of wine. "I wish," said he, "that the fountains bore bread. " And Stilpon did not think himself guilty of intemperance when, having eaten garlic, he went to sleep in the temple of the Mother of the Gods; but all who eat of that food were forbidden even to enter into it. But when the goddess appeared to him in his sleep, and said, "O Stilpon, do you, though you are a philosopher, transgress the law? " he thought that he made answer to her (still being asleep), "Do you give me something better to eat, and I will not eat garlic. "
* * * * *
[25. ] G [425] And so great was the luxury of the ancients in respect of their sumptuous meals, that they not only had cupbearers, but also men whom they called oenoptae (inspectors of wines). At all events, the office of oenoptae is a regular office among the Athenians; and it is mentioned by Eupolis, in his play called The Cities, in the following lines-
And men whom heretofore you'd not have thought
Fit even to make oenoptae of, we now
See made our generals. But oh, city, city!
How much your fortune does outrun your sense.
And these oenoptae superintended the arrangement of banquets, taking care that the guests should drink on equal terms. But it was an office of no great dignity, as Philinus the orator tells us, in his debate on the Croconidae. And he tells us, too, that the oenoptae were three in number, and that they also provided the guests with lamps and wicks. And some people called them "eyes;" but among the Ephesians, the youths who acted as cupbearers at the festival of Poseidon were called "bulls," as Amerias tells us. And the people of the Hellespont call the cupbearer ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? , or the pourer out; and they call carving, which we call ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? , ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? , as Demetrius of Scepsis tells us, in the twenty-sixth book of his Arrangement of the Trojan Forces. And some say that the nymph Harmonia acted as cupbearer to the gods; as Capito the epic poet relates (and he was a native of Alexandria by birth), in the second book of his Love Poems. But Alcaeus also represents Hermes as their cupbearer; as also does Sappho, who says-
And with ambrosia was a goblet mixed,
And Hermes poured it out to all the gods.
[26. ] G But the ancients used to call the men who discharged this office, heralds (? ? ? ? ? ? ? ). Homer says [ Il_3'245 ] -
Meanwhile the heralds through the crowded town
Bring the rich wine and destined victims down.
Idaeus' arms the golden goblets pressed,
Who thus the venerable king addressed.
And a few lines further on he says [ Il_3'268 ] -
On either side a sacred herald stands;
The wine they mix, and on each monarch's hands
Pour the full urn.
But Cleidemus says that the cooks used to be called heralds. And some people have represented Hebe as acting as cup-bearer to the gods, perhaps because their banquets were called Hebeteria. # And Ptolemaeus, the son of Agesarchus, speaks of a damsel named Cleino as the cupbearer of Ptolemy the king, who was surnamed Philadelphus, mentioning her in the third book of his History of Philopator. But Polybius, in the fourteenth book of his History [ 14. 11 ], adds that there are statues of her in Alexandria, in many parts of the city, clad in a tunic alone, holding a cup in her hand.
* * * * *
[40. ] G [432] And many used to put lumps of barley meal into their wine when they drank, a custom which Hegesander of Delphi mentions. Accordingly Epinicus, when Mnesiptolemus had given a recitation of his history, in which it was written how Seleucus had used meal in his wine, having written a drama entitled Mnesiptolemus, and having turned him into ridicule, as the comic poets do, and using his own words about that sort of drink, represents him as saying:
Once I beheld the noble king Seleucus,
One summer's day, drinking with mighty pleasure
Some wine with meal steeped in it. (So I took
A note of it, and showed it to a crowd,
Although it was an unimportant thing,
Yet still my genius could make it serious. )
He took some fine old Thasian wine, and then
Some of the liquor which the Attic bee
Distils who culls the sweets from every flower;
And that he mingled in a marble cup,
And mixed the liquor with Demeter's corn,
And took the draught, a respite from the heat.
And the same writer tells us that in the Therades islands men mash lentils and pease into meal, instead of ordinary corn, and put that into the wine, and that this drink is said to be better than that in which the meal is mixed.
* * * * *
[50. ] G [437] But Antigonus of Carystus, in his essay on the Life of Dionysius of Heracleia, who was called the Turncoat (Metathemenos), says that Dionysius, when he was feasting with his slaves at the festival of the Pitchers, and was not able, by reason of his old age, to avail himself of the courtesan whom they brought him, turned round and said to those who were feasting with him [ Homer, Il_21'152 ] -
I cannot now, so let another take her.
But Dionysius, as Nicias of Nicaea tells us in his Successions, had been from the time he was a boy very wanton in the indulgence of his lustfulness; and he used to go to all the prostitutes promiscuously. And once, when walking with some of his acquaintances, when he came near the house where the girls are kept, and where, having been there the day before, he had left some money owing, as he happened to have some with him then, he put out his hand and paid it in the presence of all of them. [438] And Anacharsis the Scythian, when a prize for drinking was proposed at the table of Periander, demanded the prize, because he was the first man to be drunk of all the guests who were present; as if to get to the end were the goal to be aimed at, and the victory to be achieved in drinking as in running a race. But Lacydes and Timon the philosophers, being invited to an entertainment which was to last two days, by one of their friends, and wishing to adapt themselves to the rest of the guests, drank with great eagerness. And accordingly in the first day, Lacydes went away first, as soon as he was quite satiated with drink. And Timon, seeing him as he was departing, said [ Homer, Il_22'393 ] -
Now have we gained immortal praise and fame,
Since we have slain great Hector. . .
But on the next day Timon went away first because he could not drink up the goblet in which he had been pledged, and Lacydes seeing him departing, said [ Homer, Il_6'127 ] -
Wretched are they who dare encounter me.
[51. ] G And Herodotus, in his second book [ 2. 133 ], relates that Mycerinus the Egyptian, having been told by the soothsayers that he was fated to live but a short time, used to light a great number of lamps when night arrived, and spend all his time in drinking and luxury, relaxing neither by day nor by night; and when he withdrew into the marshes and into the groves, or wherever he heard that there were meetings of young people to amuse themselves, he always got drunk. And Herodotus tells us that Amasis also, who was another of the Egyptian kings, was a very hard drinker indeed. And Hermeias of Methymna, in the third book of his History of Sicily, says that Nicoteles the Corinthian was a man greatly addicted to drinking. And Phaenias of Eresus, in the book entitled, The Slaying of Tyrants out of Revenge, says that Scopas the son of Creon, and the grandson of the former Scopas, was throughout his whole life very fond of drinking; and that he used to return from banquets at which he had been present, sitting on a throne, and carried by four bearers, and in that way he used to enter his house. # And Phylarchus, in the sixth book of his Histories [ Fr_6 ], says that Antiochus the king was a man very fond of wine; and that he used to get drunk, and then go to sleep for a long time, and then, as evening came on, he would wake up, and drink again. And it was very seldom, says he, that he transacted the affairs of his kingdom when he was sober, but much more frequently when he was drunk; on which account there were two men about him who managed all the real business of the state as they pleased, namely Aristus and Themison, Cyprians by birth, and brothers; and they were both on terms of the greatest intimacy with Antiochus.
[52. ] G # And Antiochus the king, who was surnamed Epiphanes, was also a great drinker,- the one, I mean, who had been a hostage among the Romans, whom Ptolemy Euergetes mentions in the third book of his Commentaries, and also in the fifth; saying that he turned to Indian revellings and drunkenness, and spent a vast quantity of money in those practices; and for the rest of the money which he had at hand, he spent a part of it in his daily revels, and the rest he would scatter about, standing in the public streets, and saying, "Let whoever chance gives it to, take it:" and then, throwing the money about, he would depart. And very often, having a plaited garland of roses on his head, and wearing a golden embroidered robe, he would walk about alone, having stones under his arm, which he would throw at those of his friends who were following him. And he used to bathe also in the public baths, anointed all over with perfumes; and, on one occasion, some private individual, seeing him, said, "You are a happy man, O king; you smell in a most costly manner:" and he, being much pleased, said, "I will give you as much as you can desire of this perfume. " And so he ordered an ewer containing more than two choes of thick perfumed unguent to be poured over his head; so that the multitude of the poorer people who were about all collected to gather up what was spilt; and, as the place was made very slippery by it, Antiochus himself slipped and fell, laughing a great deal, and most of the bathers did the same.
[439] But Polybius, in the twenty-sixth book of his Histories [ 26. 1 ], calls this man Epimanes (mad), and not Epiphanes (illustrious), on account of his actions. - "For he not only used to go to entertainments of the common citizens, but he also would drink with any strangers who happened to be sojourning in the city, and even with those of the meanest class. And if," says Polybius, "he heard that any of the younger men were making a feast anywhere whatever, he would come with an earthen bowl, and with music, so that the greater part of the feasters fled away alarmed at his unexpected appearance. And very often he would put off his royal robes, and take a common cloak, and in that dress go round the market. "
[53. ] G # And in the thirty-first book of his Histories [ 30. 25 ], the same Polybius tells us "that when Antiochus was celebrating some public games at Antioch, he invited all the Greeks and any of the multitude who chose to come to the spectacle. And when a great many people came, he anointed them all in the gymnnasia with ointment of saffron, and cinnamon, and nard, and amaracus, and lilies, out of golden vessels: and then, inviting them all to a feast, he filled sometimes a thousand and sometimes fifteen hundred triclinia with the most expensive preparations; and he himself personally attended to waiting on the guests. For, standing at the entrance, he introduced some, and others he placed upon the couches; and he himself marshalled the servants who brought in the different courses; and, walking about among the guests, at times he sat down in one place, and at times he lay down in another. And sometimes he would put down what he was eating, and at other times he would lay down his cup, and jump up, and change his place, and go all round the party, standing up himself, and pledging different people at different times; and then, mingling with the musicians, he would be brought in by the actors, entirely covered up, and laid down on the ground, as if he had been one of the actors himself; and then, when the music gave the signal, the king would leap up, and dance and sport among the actors, so that they were all ashamed. To such absurdities does a want of education, when joined with drunkenness, reduce miserable men. " # And his namesake, the Antiochus who carried on war in Media against Arsaces, was very fond of drinking; as Poseidonius of Apameia relates in the sixteenth book of his History [ Fr_11 ]. Accordingly, when he was slain, he says that Arsaces, when he buried him, said- "Your courage and your drunkenness have ruined you, O Antiochus; for you hoped that, in your great cups, you would be able to drink up the kingdom of Arsaces. "
[54. ] G # But the Antiochus who was surnamed the Great, who was subdued by the Romans (as Polybius relates in his twentieth book [ 20. 8 ]), having arrived at Chalcis, in Euboea, celebrated a marriage when he was fifty years of age; and after he had undertaken two most enormous and important affairs, namely, the liberation of the Greeks (as he himself professed) and the war against the Romans. At all events, he, being smitten with love for a girl of Chalcis, was very anxious to marry her at the very time that he was engaged in this war, being a man very fond of drinking and delighting in drunkenness. And she was the daughter of Cleophanes, one of the nobles, and superior to all the maidens of her country in beauty. Accordingly, he celebrated his marriage in Chalcis, and remained there all the winter, not once giving the smallest thought to the important affairs which he had in hand. And he gave the girl the name of Euboea. Accordingly, being defeated in the war, he fled to Ephesus, with his newly-married bride. [440] And in the second book [ 2.
4 ], the same Polybius relates that Agron, the king of the Illyrians, being delighted at having gained a victory over the haughty Aetolians, being a man much addicted to drinking, and to drunkenness, and banqueting, fell ill of a pleurisy, and died. # And the same historian says, in his twenty-ninth book [ 29. 13 ], that Genthion, the king of the Illyrians, on account of his great fondness for drinking, did a great many intemperate things during his life, being incessantly drunk, both night and day; and having murdered Pleuratus, his brother, who was about to marry the daughter of Menunius, he married the girl himself, and treated his subjects with great cruelty. And he says, in the thirty-third book of his History [ 33. 19 ], that Demetrius, when he fled after having been a hostage at Rome, and became king of the Syrians, became a great drinker, and was drunk the greater part of the day. # And he also, in his thirty-second book [ 32. 11 ], says that Orophernes, who was for a short time king of Cappadocia, disregarded all the customs of his country, and introduced the artificial luxury of the Ionians.
[55. ] G On which account, that most divine of writers, Plato, lays down admirable laws in his second book [ Laws_2. 666'a ] - "That boys, till they are eighteen years of age, should absolutely never taste wine at all; for that it is not well to heap fire on fire: that men up to thirty years of age may drink wine in moderation; and that the young man should wholly abstain from much wine and from drunkenness. But that a man, when he arrives at forty years of age, may feast in large banquets, and invoke the other gods, and especially Dionysus, to the feasts and amusements of the older men; since he it is who has given men this means of indulgence, as an ally against the austerity of old age, for which wine was the best medicine; so that, owing to it, we grow young again, and forget our moroseness. " And then he proceeds to say- "But there is a report and story told that this god was once deprived of his mind and senses by his mother-in-law, Hera; on which account he sent Bacchic frenzy, and all sorts of frantic rage, among men, out of revenge for the treatment which he had experienced; on which account also he gave wine to men. "
[56. ] G But Phalaecus, in his Epigrams, makes mention of a woman, whose name was Cleo, as having been a very hard drinker-
Cleo bestowed this gift on Dionysus,
The tunic, fringed with gold and saffron hues,
Which long she wore herself; so great she was
At feasts and revelry: there was no man
Who could at all contend with her in drinking.
And it is a well-known fact that all the race of women is fond of drinking. And it was not without some wit that Xenarchus introduces, in his Pentathlon, a woman swearing this most horrible oath:-
May it be granted me to pass from life
Drinking abundant draughts of wine, while you,
My darling daughter, live and prosper here.
But among the Romans, as Polybius says, in his sixth book [ 6. 11a'4 ], it was forbidden to women to drink wine at all. However, they drink what is called passum; and that is made of raisins, and when drank is very like the sweet wines of Aegosthena and Crete, on which account men use it when oppressed by excessive thirst. And it is impossible for a woman to drink wine without being detected: for, first of all, she has not the key of the cellar; and, in the next place, she is bound to kiss her relations, and those of her husband, down to cousins, and to do this every day when she first sees them; and besides this, she is forced to be on her best behaviour, as it is quite uncertain whom she may chance to meet; [441] for if she has merely tasted wine, it needs no informer, but is sure to betray itself. "
And Alcimus the Sicilian, in that book of his which is entitled the Italian History, says that all the women in Italy avoid drinking wine on this account: "When Heracles was in the district of Croton, he one day was very thirsty, and came to a certain house by the wayside and asked for something to drink; and it happened that the wife of the master of the house had secretly opened a cask of wine, and therefore she said to her husband that it would be a shameful thing for him to open this cask for a stranger; and so she told him to give Heracles some water. But Heracles, who was standing at the door, and heard all this, praised her husband very much, but advised him to go indoors himself and look at the cask. And when he had gone in, he found that the cask had become petrified. And this fact is proved by the conduct of the women of the country, among whom it is reckoned disgraceful, to this day, to drink wine, on account of the above-mentioned reason. "
[57. ] G And what sort of women those among the Greeks are who get drunk, Antiphanes tells us, in his Woman Hit by a Javelin; where he says-
I have a neighbour who sells wine,
And he, whenever I arrive, being thirsty,
Is the only man who knows the proper way
In which to mix my wine; and makes it not
Too full of water, nor too strong and heady:
I recollect that once when I was drinking . . . . .
And, in his Woman Initiated, (and it is women who are conversing,) he writes-
(A) Would you now like, my dearest friend, to drink?
(B) No doubt I should.
(A) Well come, then, take a cup;
For they do say the first three cups one takes
All tend to the honour of the heavenly gods.
And Alexis, in his Female Dancer, says-
(A) But women are quite sure to be content
If they have only wine enough to drink.
(B) But, by the heavenly twins, we now shall have
As much as we can wish; and it shall be
Sweet, and not griping,- rich, well-seasoned wine,
Exceeding old.
(A) I like this aged sphinx;
For hear how now she talks to me in riddles.
And so on. And, in his Zeus the Mourner, he mentions a certain woman named Zopyra, and says-
Zopyra, that wine-cask.
Antiphanes, in his The Bacchants-
But since this now is not the case, I'm sure
He is a wretched man who ever marries
Except among the Scythians; for their country
Is the sole land which does not bear the vine.
And Xenarchus, in his Pentathlon, says-
I write a woman's oath in mighty wine.
[58. ] G Platon, in his Phaon, relating how many things happen to women because of wine, says-
Come now, ye women, long ago have I
Prayed that this wine may thus become your folly;
For you don't think, as the old proverb goes,
That there is any wisdom at a vintner's.
For if you now desire to see Phaon,
You first must all these solemn rites perform.
First, as the nurse of youths, I must receive
A vigorous cheesecake, and a pregnant mealcake,
And sixteen thrushes whole, well smeared with honey,
Twelve hares, all taken when the moon was full;
But all the other things may be got cheaply.
Now listen. Three half-measures of fine onions;
These for Orthannes. For Conisalus
And his two mates, a plate of myrtleberries,
[442] Plucked with the hand: for the great Gods above
Dislike the smell of lamps. You must offer
(? ) A dark-coloured raisin for the dogs and huntsmen.
A drachma for Lordon; for Cybdasus,
Three obols; for the mighty hero Celes,
Some hides and incense. Now if you bring
These things, you'll certainly obtain admittance;
But if you don't, you'll knock in vain, and long
In vain to enter, and get nothing by it.
And Axionicus says, in his Philinna-
Just trust a woman to drink no water.
[59. ] G And whole nations are mentioned as addicted to drunkenness. Accordingly, Baeton, the measurer of distances for Alexander, in his book which is entitled Stations of the March of Alexander, and Amyntas also, in his Stations, says that the nation of the Tapyri is so fond of wine that they never use any other unguent than that. And Ctesias tells the same story, in his book Concerning the Revenues in Asia. And he says that they are a most just people. And Harmodius of Lepreum, in his treatise on the Laws in force among the people of Phigaleia, says that the Phigaleians are addicted to drinking, being neighbours of the Messenians, and being also a people much accustomed to travelling. And Phylarchus, in his sixth book [ Fr_7 ], says that the Byzantians are so exceedingly fond of wine, that they live in the wine-shops and let out their own houses and their wives also to strangers: and that they cannot bear to hear the sound of a trumpet even in their sleep. On which account once, when they were attacked by the enemy, and could not endure the labour of defending their walls, Leonidas, their general, ordered the innkeepers' booths to be erected as tents upon the walls, and even then it was with difficulty that they were stopped from deserting, as Damon tells us, in his book on Byzantium. But Menander, in his play called the Woman carrying the Peplos of Athene, or the Female Flute-player, says-
Byzantium makes all the merchants drunk.
On your account we drank the whole night long,
And right strong wine too, as it seems to me,-
At least I got up with four heads, I think.
And the Argives too are ridiculed by the comic poets as addicted to drunkenness; and so are the Tirynthians by Ephippus, in his Busiris. And he introduces Heracles as saying-
(A) For how in the name of all the gods at once,
Do you not know me, the Tirynthian Argive?
That race fights all its battles when it's drunk.
(B) And that is why they always run away.
And Eubulus, in his Man Glued, says that the Milesians are very insolent when they are drunk. And Polemon, in his treatise on the Inscriptions to be found in Cities, speaking of the Eleans, produces this epigram:-
Elis is always drunk, and always lying:
As is each single house, so is the city.
* * * * *
[64. ] G [445] When Ulpianus had heard all this he said,- Tell me, my good Pontianus, says he, in what author does the word ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? occur? And he replied-
You will undo me with your questions
(as the excellent Agathon says)-
. . . . and your new fashion,
Always talking at an unseasonable time.
But since it is decided that we are to be responsible to you for every word, Antiphanes, in his Lydian, has said-
A Colchian man drunken and quarrelsome (? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ).
But you are not yet satisfied about your ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? , and drunkards; # nor do you consider that Eumenes the king of Pergamum, the nephew of Philetaerus, who had formerly been king of Pergamum, died of drunkenness, as Ctesicles relates, in the third book of his Chronicles. # But, however, Perseus, whose power was put down by the Romans, did not die in that way; for he did not imitate his father Philippus in anything; for he was not eager about women, nor was he fond of wine; but when at a feast he was not only moderate himself, but all his friends who were with him were so too, as Polybius relates, in his twenty-sixth book. But you, O Ulpianus, are a most immoderate drinker yourself (? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ), as Timon of Phlius calls it. For so he called those men who drink a great quantity of unmixed wine, in the second book of his Silli-
Or that great ox-goad, harder than Lycurgus',
Who smote the ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? of Dionysus,
And threw their cups and brimming ladles down.
For I do not call you simply ? ? ? ? ? ? ? , or fond of drinking; and this last is a word which Alcaeus has used, in his Ganymedes. And that a habit of getting drunk deceives our eyesight, Anacharsis has shown plainly enough, in what he says where he shows that mistaken opinions are taken up by drunken men. For a fellow-drinker of his once, seeing his wife at a banquet, said, "Anacharsis, you have married an ugly woman. " And he replied, "Indeed I think so too, but however now, give me, O boy, a cup of stronger wine, that I may make her out beautiful. "
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Athenaeus: The Deipnosophists
BOOK 12, Pages 518-544
Translated by C. D. Yonge (1854). A few words and spellings have been changed.
See key to translations for an explanation of the format. The page numbers in the Greek text are shown in red. The chapter numbers in the translation are shown in green.
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[15. ] G [518] The tables of the Sicilians also are very notorious for their luxury. "And they say that even the sea in their region is sweet, delighting in the food which is procured from it," as Clearchus says, in the fifth book of his Lives. And why need we mention the Sybarites, among whom bathing men and pourers of water were first introduced in fetters, in order to prevent their going too fast, and to prevent also their scalding the bathers in their haste? And the Sybarites were the first people to forbid those who practice noisy arts from dwelling in their city; such as blacksmiths, and carpenters, and men of similar trades; providing that their slumbers should always be undisturbed. And it used to be unlawful to rear a cock in their city.
And Timaeus relates concerning them, that a citizen of Sybaris once going into the country, seeing the farmers digging, said that he himself felt as if he had broken his bones by the sight; and some one who heard him replied, "I, when I heard you say this, felt as if I had a pain in my side. " And once, at Croton, some Sybarites were standing by some one of the athletes who was digging up dust for the palaestra, and said they marvelled that men who had such a city had no slaves to dig the palaestra for them. But another Sybarite, coming to Lacedaemon, and being invited to the pheiditium, sitting down on a wooden seat and eating with them, said that originally he had been surprised at hearing of the valour of the Lacedaemonians; but that now that he had seen it, he thought that they in no respect surpassed other men: for that the greatest coward on earth would rather die a thousand times than live and endure such a life as theirs.
[16. ] G And it is a custom among them that even their children, up to the age when they are ranked among the ephebes, should wear purple robes, and curls braided with gold. And it is a custom with them also to breed up in their houses little mannikins and dwarfs (as Timaeus says), who are called by some people ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ; and also little Maltese dogs, which follow them even to the gymnasia. And it was these men, and men like them, to whom Masinissa, king of Mauretania, made answer (as Ptolemy relates, in the eighth book of his Commentaries), when they were seeking to buy some monkeys: "Why,- do not your wives, my good friends, produce any offspring? " For Masinissa was very fond of children, and kept about him and brought up the children of his sons, [519] and of his daughters equally, and he had a great many of them; and he brought them all up till they were three years old, and after that he sent them to their parents, having the younger ones to take their places. And Eubulus the comic writer has said the same thing in his Graces:-
For is it not, I pray you, better far
For one man, who can well afford such acts,
To rear a man, than a loud gaping goose,
Or sparrow, or ape - most mischievous of beasts?
And Athenodorus, in his treatise on Serious Studies and Amusements, says that "Archytas of Tarentum, who was both a statesman and a philosopher, having many slaves, was always delighted at his entertainments when any of [their children] came to his banquets. But the Sybarites delighted only in Maltese puppy dogs, and in men which were no men. "
[17. ] G The Sybarites used to wear also garments made of Milesian wool, from which there arose a great friendship between the two cities, as Timaeus relates. For of the inhabitants of Italy, the Sybarites gave the preference to the Etruscans, and of foreigners to the Ionians, because they were devoted to luxury. But the cavalry of the Sybarites, being in number more than five thousand, used to go in procession with saffron-coloured robes over their breastplates; and in the summer their younger men used to go away to the caves of the Nymphs of the river Lusias, and live there in all kinds of luxury. And whenever the rich men of that country left the city for the country, although they always travelled in chariots, still they used to consume three days in a day's journey. And some of the roads which led to their villas in the country were covered with awnings all over; and a great many of them had cellars near the sea, into which their wine was brought by canals from the country, and some of it was then sold out of the district, but some was brought into the city in boats. They also celebrate in public numbers of feasts; and they honour those who display great magnificence on such occasions with golden crowns, and they proclaim their names at the public sacrifices and games; announcing not only their general goodwill towards the city, but also the great magnificence which they had displayed in the feasts. And on these occasions they even crown those cooks who have served up the most exquisite dishes. And among the Sybarites there were found baths in which, while they lay down, they were steamed with warm vapours. And they were the first people who introduced the custom of bringing chamber-pots to banquets. But laughing at those who left their countries to travel in foreign lands, they themselves used to boast that they had grown old without ever having crossed the bridges which led over their frontier rivers.
[18. ] G But it seems to me, that besides the fact of the riches of the Sybarites, the very natural character of their country,- since there are no harbours on their coasts, and since, in consequence, nearly all the produce of the land is consumed by the citizens themselves,- and to some extent also an oracle of the God, has excited them all to luxury, and has caused them to live in practices of most immoderate dissoluteness. But their city lies in a hollow, and in summer is liable to excess of cold both morning and evening, but in the middle of the day the heat is intolerable, so that the greater part of them believe that the rivers contribute a great deal to the health of the inhabitants; [520] on which account it has been said, that "a man who, living at Sybaris, wishes not to die before his time, ought never to see the sun either rise or set. " And once they sent to the oracle to consult the God (and one of the ambassadors was named Amyris), and to ask how long their prosperity should last; and the priestess of Delphi answered them-
You shall be happy, Sybarite,- very happy,
And all your time in entertainments pass,
While you continue to the immortal gods
The worship due: but when you come, at length,
To honour mortal man beyond the gods,
Then foreign war and intestine sedition
Shall come upon you, and shall crush your city.
When they had heard this they thought the God had said to them that they should never have their luxury terminated; for that there was no chance of their ever honouring a man more than God. But in agreement with the oracle they experienced a change of fortune, when one of them flogging one of his slaves, continued to beat him after he had sought an asylum in a temple; but when at last he fled to the tomb of his father, he let him go, out of shame. But their whole revenues were dissipated by the way in which they rivalled one another in luxury. And the city also rivalled all other cities in luxury. And not long after this circumstance, when many omens of impending destruction, which it is not necessary to allude to further at present, had given them notice, they were destroyed.
[19. ] G But they had carried their luxury to such a pitch that they had taught even their horses to dance at their feasts to the music of the flute. Accordingly the people of Croton, knowing this, and being at war with them, as Aristotle relates in his History of the Constitution of Sybaris, played before their horses the tune to which they were accustomed to dance; for the people of Croton also had flute-players in military uniform. And as soon as the horses heard them playing on the flute, they not only began to dance, but ran over to the army of the Crotonians, carrying their riders with them.
And Charon of Lampsacus tells a similar story about the Cardians, in the second book of his Annals, writing as follows:-" The Bisaltae invaded the territory of the Cardians, and conquered them.
Your appetite, so as now to be content
With the scant rations of one ship of war?
And Xanthus, in his Account of Lydia, says that Cambles, who was the king of the Lydians, was a great eater and drinker, and also an exceeding epicure; and accordingly, that he one night cut up his own wife into joints and ate her; and then, in the morning, finding the hand of his wife still sticking in his mouth, he slew himself, as his act began to get notorious. And we have already mentioned Thys, the king of the Paphlagonians, saying that he too was a man of vast appetite, quoting Theopompus, who speaks of him in the thirty-fifth book of his History; and Archilochus, in his Tetrameters, has accused Charilas of the same fault, as the comic poets have attacked Cleonymus and Peisander. And Phoenicides mentions Chaerippus in his Phylarchus in the following terms-
And next to them I place Chaerippus third;
He, as you know, will without ceasing eat
As long as any one will give him food,
Or till he bursts,- such stowage vast has he,
Like any house.
[9. ] G # And Nicolaus the Peripatetic, in the hundred and third book of his History, says that Mithridates, the king of Pontus, once proposed a contest in great eating and great drinking (and the prize was a talent of silver), and that he himself gained the victory in both; but he yielded the prize to the man who was judged to be second to him, namely, Calamodrys, the athlete of Cyzicus. And Timocreon the Rhodian, a poet, and an athlete who had gained the victory in the pentathlon, ate and drank a great deal, as the epigram on his tomb shows-
Much did I eat, much did I drink, and much
Did I abuse all men; now here I lie;-
My name Timocreon, my country Rhodes.
[416] And Thrasymachus of Chalcedon, in one his Prefaces, says that Timocreon came to the great king of Persia, and being entertained by him, did eat an immense quantity of food; and when the king asked him, What he would do on the strength of it? he said that he would beat a great many Persians; and the next day, having vanquished a great many, one after another, taking them one by one, after this, he beat the air with his hands; and when they asked him what he wanted, he said that he had all those blows left in him if any one was inclined to come on. And Clearchus, in the fifth book of his Lives, says, that Cantibaris the Persian, whenever his jaws were weary with eating, had his slaves to pour food into his mouth, which he kept open as if they were pouring it into an empty vessel. But Hellanicus, in the first book of his Tale of Deucalion, says that Erysichthon, the son of Myrmidon, being a man perfectly insatiable in respect of food, was called Aethon. And Polemon, in the first book of his Treatise addressed to Timaeus, says that among the Sicilians there was a temple consecrated to gluttony, and an image of Demeter Sito; near which, also, there was a statue of Himalis, as there is at Delphi one of Hermuchus, and as at Scolus, in Boeotia, there are statues of Megalartus and Megalomazus.
* * * * *
[13. ] G [418] And Hecataeus says that the Egyptians were great bread-eaters, eating loaves of rye, called ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? , and bruising barley to extract a drink from it; and on this account Alexinus, in his treatise on Contentment, says that Bocchoris and his father Neochabis were contented with a moderate quantity of food. Pythagoras of Samos, also, used food in moderation, as Lycon of Iasus relates in his treatise on Pythagoras. But he did not abstain from animal food, as Aristoxenus tells us; and Apollodorus the mathematician says, that he even sacrificed a hecatomb when he found out that in a right-angled triangle, the square of the side subtending the right angle is equal to the squares of the two sides containing it-
When the illustrious Pythagoras
Discovered that renowned problem which
He celebrated with a hecatomb.
[419] But Pythagoras was a very sparing drinker, and lived in a most frugal manner, so that he often contented himself with honey by itself. And nearly the same thing is told us of Aristeides, and of Epaminondas, and of Phocion, and of Phormion, the generals. # But Manius Curius, the Roman general, lived on turnips all his life; and once, when the Sabines sent him a large sum of gold, he said he had no need of gold while he ate such food as that. And this story is recorded by Megacles in his treatise on Illustrious Men.
[14. ] G And there are many people who approve of moderate meals, as Alexis tells us in his Woman in Love-
But I am content with what is necessary,
And hate superfluous things; for in excess
There is not pleasure, but extravagance.
And in his Liar he says-
I hate excess; for those who practise it
Have only more expense, but not more pleasure.
And in his Foster Brothers he says-
How sweet all kinds of moderation are!
I now am going away, not empty, but
In a most comfortable state,- for wise
Mnesitheus tells us that 'tis always right
To avoid extravagance in everything.
And Ariston the philosopher, in the second book of his Amatory Similitudes, says that Polemon, the Academic philosopher, used to exhort those who were going to a supper, to consider how they might make their party pleasant, not only for the present evening, but also for the morrow. And Timotheus, the son of Conon, being once taken by Plato from a very sumptuous and princely entertainment to one held at the Academy, and being there feasted in a simple and scholar-like manner, said that those who supped with Plato would be well the next day also. But Hegesander, in his Commentaries, says that on the next day Timotheus, meeting with Plato, said, "You, O Plato, sup well, more with reference to the next day than to the present one! " But Pyrrhon of Elis, when on one occasion one of his acquaintances received him with a very sumptuous entertainment, as he himself relates, said, "I will for the future not come to you if you receive me in this manner; that I may avoid being grieved by seeing you go to a great expense for which there is no necessity, and that you, too, may not come to distress by being overwhelmed by such expenses; for it is much better for us to delight one another by our mutual companionship and conversation, than by the great variety of dishes which we set before one another, of which our servants consume the greater part. "
[15. ] G # But Antigonus of Carystus, in his Life of Menedemus, relating the way in which the banquets of that philosopher were managed, says, that he used to dine with one or two companions at most; and that all the rest of his guests used to come after they had supped. For in fact, Menedemus' supper and dinner were only one meal, and after that was over they called in all who chose to come; and if any of them, as would be the case, came before the time, they would walk up and down before the doors, and inquire of the servants who came out what was being now served up, and how far on the dinner had proceeded. And if they heard that it was only the vegetables or the cured fish that was being served up, they went away; but if they were told that the meat was put on the table, then they went into the room which had been prepared for that purpose. [420] And in the summer a rush mat was spread over each couch, and in the winter a fleece. But every one was expected to bring his own pillow; and the cup, which was brought round to each person, did not hold more than one cotyla. And the dessert was lupins or beans as a general rule; but sometimes some fruits, such as were in season, were brought in; in summer, pears or pomegranates; and in spring, pulse; and in winter, figs. And we have a witness as to these things, Lycophron of Chalcis, who wrote a satyric drama entitled Menedemus, in which Silenus says to the satyrs-
O cursed sons of most excellent Pan,
I, as you see, have quite a fancy for you:
For, by the gods I swear, that not in Caria,
Nor in fair Rhodes, nor royal Lydia,
Have I ever eaten so superb a supper;
Phoebus Apollo! what a feast it was.
And a little further on, he says-
And the boy brought us round a scanty cup
Of wine that might be worth five obols a bottle-
Awfully flat; and then that cursed thing,
That hang-dog lupin, danced upon the board,
A fitting meal for parasites and beggars.
And presently afterwards, he says that philosophical disquisitions were carried on during the entertainment-
And for dessert,
We had some learned conversation.
It is also related that those who met in this way very often kept on conversing to such a time that "the bird which calls the morn still caught them talking, and they were not yet satisfied. "
[16. ] G # But Arcesilaus, when giving a supper to some people, when the bread fell short, and his slave made him a sign that there were no loaves left, burst out laughing, and clapped his hands; and said, "What a feast we have here, my friends! We forgot to buy loaves enough; run now, my boy:"- and this he said, laughing; and all the guests who were present burst out laughing, and great amusement and entertainment were excited, so that the very want of bread was a great seasoning to the feast. And at another time, Arcesilaus ordered Apelles, one of his friends, to strain some wine; and when he, not being used to doing so, shook some of the wine and spilt some, so that the wine appeared much thicker than usual, he laughed, and said, "But I told a man to strain the wine who has never seen anything good any more than I myself have; so do you now get up, Arideices; and do you go away and tap the casks that are outside. " And this good-humour of his so pleased and excited the mirth of those present, that they were all filled with joy.
[17. ] G But those of the present day who give entertainments, especially the inhabitants of the beautiful Alexandria, cry out, and make a noise, and curse the cup-bearer, the steward, and cook; and the slaves are all crying, being beaten with fists and driven about in every direction. And not only do the guests who are invited sup with great discomfort and annoyance, but even if there is any sacrifice going on, the god himself would veil his face and go away, leaving not only the house, but even the entire city, in which such things take place. For it is absurd for a man, proclaiming that people should all confine themselves to words of good omen, to curse his wife and his children; and such a man as that would say to the guests [ Homer, Il_2'381 ] -
And now then let us hasten to the feast,
That we may plan the movements of the war;-
for such a man's house [ Sophocles, OedTyr_4 ]
Is redolent of frankincense,
[421] And paeans too, and groans at the same time.
Now, when all this had been said, one of the guests who were present said,- We ought, then, when we consider these things; to guard against indulging our appetites too much;
For a frugal dinner breeds no drunkenness,
as Amphis says, in his Pan: nor does it produce insolence or insulting conduct; as Alexis testifies in his Odysseus Weaving, where he says-
For many a banquet which endures too long,
And many and daily feasts, are wont to cause
Insult and mockery; and those kind of jests
Give far more pain than they do raise amusement.
For such are the first ground of evil-speaking;
And if you once begin to attack your neighbour,
You quickly do receive back all you bring,
And then abuse and quarrels surely follow;
Then blows and drunken riot. For this is
The natural course of things, and needs no prophet.
[18. ] G And Mnesimachus, in his Philippus, on account of the immoderate indulgence in dinners of people of his time, introduces an entertainment which professes to be a preparation for war, and which really is what that admirable writer Xenophon [ Hell_3. 4'17 ] calls a workshop of war. And he speaks thus-
Know you now with what men you must fight?
With us, who sup upon well-sharpened swords,
And swallow lighted firebrands for dainties:
And then, for our dessert, our slaves bring in,
After the first course, Cretan bows and arrows;
And, instead of vetches, broken heads of spears,
And fragments of well-battered shields and breastplates;
And at our feet lie slings, and stones, and bows,
And on our heads are wreaths of catapults.
And Phoenix of Colophon says-
A cask of wine shall be our sword- a cup
Shall be our spear- our hair shall arrows be;
Goblets shall be our enemies- wine our horses-
Ointments and perfumes our war-cry fierce.
And in the Parasite, Alexis, speaking of some very voracious person, says-
And all the younger men do call him parasite,
Using a gentler name; but he cares not.
And Telephus in speechless silence sits,
Making but signs to those who ask him questions;
So that the inviter often offers prayers
To the great Samothracian gods of the sea,
To cease their blowing, and to grant a calm;
For that young man's a storm to all his friends.
And Diphilus, in his Heracles, speaking of some similar kind of person, says-
Do you not now behold me drunk and merry,
Well filled with wine, and all inflamed with anger?
Have not I just devoured a dozen cakes,
Every one larger than a good-sized shield?
On which account, Bion of Borysthenes said, cleverly enough, that " A man ought not to derive his pleasures from the table, but from meditation;" and Euripides says-
I pleased my palate with a frugal meal;
signifying that the pleasure derived from eating and drinking is chiefly limited to the mouth. And Aeschylus, in his Phineus, says-
And many a most deceitful meal they snatched
Away from hungry jaws, in haste to enjoy
The first delight of the too eager palate.
And in his Stheneboea, Euripides speaks of frugality thus-
A life at sea is a much troubled life,
[422] Not reinforced with pleasures of the table,
But like a stable on the shore. The sea itself
Is a moist mother, not a nurse on land;
'Tis her we plough; from this our food, procured
With nets and traps, comes daily home to us.
[19. ] G For the belly is a great evil to man; concerning which Alexis speaks, in his Men Dying Together-
And hence you well may see how great an evil
The belly is to man; what lessons strange
It teaches, and what deeds it forces on us.
If there were any power which could take
This part alone from out our bodies, then
No one would any more do injury
Or insult to his neighbour. But from this
Flow all the ills that harass human life.
And Diphilus, in his Parasite, says-
Well did that wise Euripides oft speak,
And this does seem his wisest word of all-
"But want compels me and my wretched belly;"
For there is nought more wretched than the belly:
And into that you pour whatever you have,
Which you do not in any other vessel.
Loaves you perhaps may carry in a bag,-
Not soup, or else you'll spoil it. So again,
You put cakes in a basket, but not pulse;
And wine into a bladder, but not crabs:
But into this accursed belly, men
Put every sort of inconsistent thing.
I add no more; since it is plain enough
That all men's errors are produced by it.
# And Crates the Cynic, as Sosicrates tells us in his Successions, reproached Demetrius Phalereus for sending him a bag of bread with a flagon of wine. "I wish," said he, "that the fountains bore bread. " And Stilpon did not think himself guilty of intemperance when, having eaten garlic, he went to sleep in the temple of the Mother of the Gods; but all who eat of that food were forbidden even to enter into it. But when the goddess appeared to him in his sleep, and said, "O Stilpon, do you, though you are a philosopher, transgress the law? " he thought that he made answer to her (still being asleep), "Do you give me something better to eat, and I will not eat garlic. "
* * * * *
[25. ] G [425] And so great was the luxury of the ancients in respect of their sumptuous meals, that they not only had cupbearers, but also men whom they called oenoptae (inspectors of wines). At all events, the office of oenoptae is a regular office among the Athenians; and it is mentioned by Eupolis, in his play called The Cities, in the following lines-
And men whom heretofore you'd not have thought
Fit even to make oenoptae of, we now
See made our generals. But oh, city, city!
How much your fortune does outrun your sense.
And these oenoptae superintended the arrangement of banquets, taking care that the guests should drink on equal terms. But it was an office of no great dignity, as Philinus the orator tells us, in his debate on the Croconidae. And he tells us, too, that the oenoptae were three in number, and that they also provided the guests with lamps and wicks. And some people called them "eyes;" but among the Ephesians, the youths who acted as cupbearers at the festival of Poseidon were called "bulls," as Amerias tells us. And the people of the Hellespont call the cupbearer ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? , or the pourer out; and they call carving, which we call ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? , ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? , as Demetrius of Scepsis tells us, in the twenty-sixth book of his Arrangement of the Trojan Forces. And some say that the nymph Harmonia acted as cupbearer to the gods; as Capito the epic poet relates (and he was a native of Alexandria by birth), in the second book of his Love Poems. But Alcaeus also represents Hermes as their cupbearer; as also does Sappho, who says-
And with ambrosia was a goblet mixed,
And Hermes poured it out to all the gods.
[26. ] G But the ancients used to call the men who discharged this office, heralds (? ? ? ? ? ? ? ). Homer says [ Il_3'245 ] -
Meanwhile the heralds through the crowded town
Bring the rich wine and destined victims down.
Idaeus' arms the golden goblets pressed,
Who thus the venerable king addressed.
And a few lines further on he says [ Il_3'268 ] -
On either side a sacred herald stands;
The wine they mix, and on each monarch's hands
Pour the full urn.
But Cleidemus says that the cooks used to be called heralds. And some people have represented Hebe as acting as cup-bearer to the gods, perhaps because their banquets were called Hebeteria. # And Ptolemaeus, the son of Agesarchus, speaks of a damsel named Cleino as the cupbearer of Ptolemy the king, who was surnamed Philadelphus, mentioning her in the third book of his History of Philopator. But Polybius, in the fourteenth book of his History [ 14. 11 ], adds that there are statues of her in Alexandria, in many parts of the city, clad in a tunic alone, holding a cup in her hand.
* * * * *
[40. ] G [432] And many used to put lumps of barley meal into their wine when they drank, a custom which Hegesander of Delphi mentions. Accordingly Epinicus, when Mnesiptolemus had given a recitation of his history, in which it was written how Seleucus had used meal in his wine, having written a drama entitled Mnesiptolemus, and having turned him into ridicule, as the comic poets do, and using his own words about that sort of drink, represents him as saying:
Once I beheld the noble king Seleucus,
One summer's day, drinking with mighty pleasure
Some wine with meal steeped in it. (So I took
A note of it, and showed it to a crowd,
Although it was an unimportant thing,
Yet still my genius could make it serious. )
He took some fine old Thasian wine, and then
Some of the liquor which the Attic bee
Distils who culls the sweets from every flower;
And that he mingled in a marble cup,
And mixed the liquor with Demeter's corn,
And took the draught, a respite from the heat.
And the same writer tells us that in the Therades islands men mash lentils and pease into meal, instead of ordinary corn, and put that into the wine, and that this drink is said to be better than that in which the meal is mixed.
* * * * *
[50. ] G [437] But Antigonus of Carystus, in his essay on the Life of Dionysius of Heracleia, who was called the Turncoat (Metathemenos), says that Dionysius, when he was feasting with his slaves at the festival of the Pitchers, and was not able, by reason of his old age, to avail himself of the courtesan whom they brought him, turned round and said to those who were feasting with him [ Homer, Il_21'152 ] -
I cannot now, so let another take her.
But Dionysius, as Nicias of Nicaea tells us in his Successions, had been from the time he was a boy very wanton in the indulgence of his lustfulness; and he used to go to all the prostitutes promiscuously. And once, when walking with some of his acquaintances, when he came near the house where the girls are kept, and where, having been there the day before, he had left some money owing, as he happened to have some with him then, he put out his hand and paid it in the presence of all of them. [438] And Anacharsis the Scythian, when a prize for drinking was proposed at the table of Periander, demanded the prize, because he was the first man to be drunk of all the guests who were present; as if to get to the end were the goal to be aimed at, and the victory to be achieved in drinking as in running a race. But Lacydes and Timon the philosophers, being invited to an entertainment which was to last two days, by one of their friends, and wishing to adapt themselves to the rest of the guests, drank with great eagerness. And accordingly in the first day, Lacydes went away first, as soon as he was quite satiated with drink. And Timon, seeing him as he was departing, said [ Homer, Il_22'393 ] -
Now have we gained immortal praise and fame,
Since we have slain great Hector. . .
But on the next day Timon went away first because he could not drink up the goblet in which he had been pledged, and Lacydes seeing him departing, said [ Homer, Il_6'127 ] -
Wretched are they who dare encounter me.
[51. ] G And Herodotus, in his second book [ 2. 133 ], relates that Mycerinus the Egyptian, having been told by the soothsayers that he was fated to live but a short time, used to light a great number of lamps when night arrived, and spend all his time in drinking and luxury, relaxing neither by day nor by night; and when he withdrew into the marshes and into the groves, or wherever he heard that there were meetings of young people to amuse themselves, he always got drunk. And Herodotus tells us that Amasis also, who was another of the Egyptian kings, was a very hard drinker indeed. And Hermeias of Methymna, in the third book of his History of Sicily, says that Nicoteles the Corinthian was a man greatly addicted to drinking. And Phaenias of Eresus, in the book entitled, The Slaying of Tyrants out of Revenge, says that Scopas the son of Creon, and the grandson of the former Scopas, was throughout his whole life very fond of drinking; and that he used to return from banquets at which he had been present, sitting on a throne, and carried by four bearers, and in that way he used to enter his house. # And Phylarchus, in the sixth book of his Histories [ Fr_6 ], says that Antiochus the king was a man very fond of wine; and that he used to get drunk, and then go to sleep for a long time, and then, as evening came on, he would wake up, and drink again. And it was very seldom, says he, that he transacted the affairs of his kingdom when he was sober, but much more frequently when he was drunk; on which account there were two men about him who managed all the real business of the state as they pleased, namely Aristus and Themison, Cyprians by birth, and brothers; and they were both on terms of the greatest intimacy with Antiochus.
[52. ] G # And Antiochus the king, who was surnamed Epiphanes, was also a great drinker,- the one, I mean, who had been a hostage among the Romans, whom Ptolemy Euergetes mentions in the third book of his Commentaries, and also in the fifth; saying that he turned to Indian revellings and drunkenness, and spent a vast quantity of money in those practices; and for the rest of the money which he had at hand, he spent a part of it in his daily revels, and the rest he would scatter about, standing in the public streets, and saying, "Let whoever chance gives it to, take it:" and then, throwing the money about, he would depart. And very often, having a plaited garland of roses on his head, and wearing a golden embroidered robe, he would walk about alone, having stones under his arm, which he would throw at those of his friends who were following him. And he used to bathe also in the public baths, anointed all over with perfumes; and, on one occasion, some private individual, seeing him, said, "You are a happy man, O king; you smell in a most costly manner:" and he, being much pleased, said, "I will give you as much as you can desire of this perfume. " And so he ordered an ewer containing more than two choes of thick perfumed unguent to be poured over his head; so that the multitude of the poorer people who were about all collected to gather up what was spilt; and, as the place was made very slippery by it, Antiochus himself slipped and fell, laughing a great deal, and most of the bathers did the same.
[439] But Polybius, in the twenty-sixth book of his Histories [ 26. 1 ], calls this man Epimanes (mad), and not Epiphanes (illustrious), on account of his actions. - "For he not only used to go to entertainments of the common citizens, but he also would drink with any strangers who happened to be sojourning in the city, and even with those of the meanest class. And if," says Polybius, "he heard that any of the younger men were making a feast anywhere whatever, he would come with an earthen bowl, and with music, so that the greater part of the feasters fled away alarmed at his unexpected appearance. And very often he would put off his royal robes, and take a common cloak, and in that dress go round the market. "
[53. ] G # And in the thirty-first book of his Histories [ 30. 25 ], the same Polybius tells us "that when Antiochus was celebrating some public games at Antioch, he invited all the Greeks and any of the multitude who chose to come to the spectacle. And when a great many people came, he anointed them all in the gymnnasia with ointment of saffron, and cinnamon, and nard, and amaracus, and lilies, out of golden vessels: and then, inviting them all to a feast, he filled sometimes a thousand and sometimes fifteen hundred triclinia with the most expensive preparations; and he himself personally attended to waiting on the guests. For, standing at the entrance, he introduced some, and others he placed upon the couches; and he himself marshalled the servants who brought in the different courses; and, walking about among the guests, at times he sat down in one place, and at times he lay down in another. And sometimes he would put down what he was eating, and at other times he would lay down his cup, and jump up, and change his place, and go all round the party, standing up himself, and pledging different people at different times; and then, mingling with the musicians, he would be brought in by the actors, entirely covered up, and laid down on the ground, as if he had been one of the actors himself; and then, when the music gave the signal, the king would leap up, and dance and sport among the actors, so that they were all ashamed. To such absurdities does a want of education, when joined with drunkenness, reduce miserable men. " # And his namesake, the Antiochus who carried on war in Media against Arsaces, was very fond of drinking; as Poseidonius of Apameia relates in the sixteenth book of his History [ Fr_11 ]. Accordingly, when he was slain, he says that Arsaces, when he buried him, said- "Your courage and your drunkenness have ruined you, O Antiochus; for you hoped that, in your great cups, you would be able to drink up the kingdom of Arsaces. "
[54. ] G # But the Antiochus who was surnamed the Great, who was subdued by the Romans (as Polybius relates in his twentieth book [ 20. 8 ]), having arrived at Chalcis, in Euboea, celebrated a marriage when he was fifty years of age; and after he had undertaken two most enormous and important affairs, namely, the liberation of the Greeks (as he himself professed) and the war against the Romans. At all events, he, being smitten with love for a girl of Chalcis, was very anxious to marry her at the very time that he was engaged in this war, being a man very fond of drinking and delighting in drunkenness. And she was the daughter of Cleophanes, one of the nobles, and superior to all the maidens of her country in beauty. Accordingly, he celebrated his marriage in Chalcis, and remained there all the winter, not once giving the smallest thought to the important affairs which he had in hand. And he gave the girl the name of Euboea. Accordingly, being defeated in the war, he fled to Ephesus, with his newly-married bride. [440] And in the second book [ 2.
4 ], the same Polybius relates that Agron, the king of the Illyrians, being delighted at having gained a victory over the haughty Aetolians, being a man much addicted to drinking, and to drunkenness, and banqueting, fell ill of a pleurisy, and died. # And the same historian says, in his twenty-ninth book [ 29. 13 ], that Genthion, the king of the Illyrians, on account of his great fondness for drinking, did a great many intemperate things during his life, being incessantly drunk, both night and day; and having murdered Pleuratus, his brother, who was about to marry the daughter of Menunius, he married the girl himself, and treated his subjects with great cruelty. And he says, in the thirty-third book of his History [ 33. 19 ], that Demetrius, when he fled after having been a hostage at Rome, and became king of the Syrians, became a great drinker, and was drunk the greater part of the day. # And he also, in his thirty-second book [ 32. 11 ], says that Orophernes, who was for a short time king of Cappadocia, disregarded all the customs of his country, and introduced the artificial luxury of the Ionians.
[55. ] G On which account, that most divine of writers, Plato, lays down admirable laws in his second book [ Laws_2. 666'a ] - "That boys, till they are eighteen years of age, should absolutely never taste wine at all; for that it is not well to heap fire on fire: that men up to thirty years of age may drink wine in moderation; and that the young man should wholly abstain from much wine and from drunkenness. But that a man, when he arrives at forty years of age, may feast in large banquets, and invoke the other gods, and especially Dionysus, to the feasts and amusements of the older men; since he it is who has given men this means of indulgence, as an ally against the austerity of old age, for which wine was the best medicine; so that, owing to it, we grow young again, and forget our moroseness. " And then he proceeds to say- "But there is a report and story told that this god was once deprived of his mind and senses by his mother-in-law, Hera; on which account he sent Bacchic frenzy, and all sorts of frantic rage, among men, out of revenge for the treatment which he had experienced; on which account also he gave wine to men. "
[56. ] G But Phalaecus, in his Epigrams, makes mention of a woman, whose name was Cleo, as having been a very hard drinker-
Cleo bestowed this gift on Dionysus,
The tunic, fringed with gold and saffron hues,
Which long she wore herself; so great she was
At feasts and revelry: there was no man
Who could at all contend with her in drinking.
And it is a well-known fact that all the race of women is fond of drinking. And it was not without some wit that Xenarchus introduces, in his Pentathlon, a woman swearing this most horrible oath:-
May it be granted me to pass from life
Drinking abundant draughts of wine, while you,
My darling daughter, live and prosper here.
But among the Romans, as Polybius says, in his sixth book [ 6. 11a'4 ], it was forbidden to women to drink wine at all. However, they drink what is called passum; and that is made of raisins, and when drank is very like the sweet wines of Aegosthena and Crete, on which account men use it when oppressed by excessive thirst. And it is impossible for a woman to drink wine without being detected: for, first of all, she has not the key of the cellar; and, in the next place, she is bound to kiss her relations, and those of her husband, down to cousins, and to do this every day when she first sees them; and besides this, she is forced to be on her best behaviour, as it is quite uncertain whom she may chance to meet; [441] for if she has merely tasted wine, it needs no informer, but is sure to betray itself. "
And Alcimus the Sicilian, in that book of his which is entitled the Italian History, says that all the women in Italy avoid drinking wine on this account: "When Heracles was in the district of Croton, he one day was very thirsty, and came to a certain house by the wayside and asked for something to drink; and it happened that the wife of the master of the house had secretly opened a cask of wine, and therefore she said to her husband that it would be a shameful thing for him to open this cask for a stranger; and so she told him to give Heracles some water. But Heracles, who was standing at the door, and heard all this, praised her husband very much, but advised him to go indoors himself and look at the cask. And when he had gone in, he found that the cask had become petrified. And this fact is proved by the conduct of the women of the country, among whom it is reckoned disgraceful, to this day, to drink wine, on account of the above-mentioned reason. "
[57. ] G And what sort of women those among the Greeks are who get drunk, Antiphanes tells us, in his Woman Hit by a Javelin; where he says-
I have a neighbour who sells wine,
And he, whenever I arrive, being thirsty,
Is the only man who knows the proper way
In which to mix my wine; and makes it not
Too full of water, nor too strong and heady:
I recollect that once when I was drinking . . . . .
And, in his Woman Initiated, (and it is women who are conversing,) he writes-
(A) Would you now like, my dearest friend, to drink?
(B) No doubt I should.
(A) Well come, then, take a cup;
For they do say the first three cups one takes
All tend to the honour of the heavenly gods.
And Alexis, in his Female Dancer, says-
(A) But women are quite sure to be content
If they have only wine enough to drink.
(B) But, by the heavenly twins, we now shall have
As much as we can wish; and it shall be
Sweet, and not griping,- rich, well-seasoned wine,
Exceeding old.
(A) I like this aged sphinx;
For hear how now she talks to me in riddles.
And so on. And, in his Zeus the Mourner, he mentions a certain woman named Zopyra, and says-
Zopyra, that wine-cask.
Antiphanes, in his The Bacchants-
But since this now is not the case, I'm sure
He is a wretched man who ever marries
Except among the Scythians; for their country
Is the sole land which does not bear the vine.
And Xenarchus, in his Pentathlon, says-
I write a woman's oath in mighty wine.
[58. ] G Platon, in his Phaon, relating how many things happen to women because of wine, says-
Come now, ye women, long ago have I
Prayed that this wine may thus become your folly;
For you don't think, as the old proverb goes,
That there is any wisdom at a vintner's.
For if you now desire to see Phaon,
You first must all these solemn rites perform.
First, as the nurse of youths, I must receive
A vigorous cheesecake, and a pregnant mealcake,
And sixteen thrushes whole, well smeared with honey,
Twelve hares, all taken when the moon was full;
But all the other things may be got cheaply.
Now listen. Three half-measures of fine onions;
These for Orthannes. For Conisalus
And his two mates, a plate of myrtleberries,
[442] Plucked with the hand: for the great Gods above
Dislike the smell of lamps. You must offer
(? ) A dark-coloured raisin for the dogs and huntsmen.
A drachma for Lordon; for Cybdasus,
Three obols; for the mighty hero Celes,
Some hides and incense. Now if you bring
These things, you'll certainly obtain admittance;
But if you don't, you'll knock in vain, and long
In vain to enter, and get nothing by it.
And Axionicus says, in his Philinna-
Just trust a woman to drink no water.
[59. ] G And whole nations are mentioned as addicted to drunkenness. Accordingly, Baeton, the measurer of distances for Alexander, in his book which is entitled Stations of the March of Alexander, and Amyntas also, in his Stations, says that the nation of the Tapyri is so fond of wine that they never use any other unguent than that. And Ctesias tells the same story, in his book Concerning the Revenues in Asia. And he says that they are a most just people. And Harmodius of Lepreum, in his treatise on the Laws in force among the people of Phigaleia, says that the Phigaleians are addicted to drinking, being neighbours of the Messenians, and being also a people much accustomed to travelling. And Phylarchus, in his sixth book [ Fr_7 ], says that the Byzantians are so exceedingly fond of wine, that they live in the wine-shops and let out their own houses and their wives also to strangers: and that they cannot bear to hear the sound of a trumpet even in their sleep. On which account once, when they were attacked by the enemy, and could not endure the labour of defending their walls, Leonidas, their general, ordered the innkeepers' booths to be erected as tents upon the walls, and even then it was with difficulty that they were stopped from deserting, as Damon tells us, in his book on Byzantium. But Menander, in his play called the Woman carrying the Peplos of Athene, or the Female Flute-player, says-
Byzantium makes all the merchants drunk.
On your account we drank the whole night long,
And right strong wine too, as it seems to me,-
At least I got up with four heads, I think.
And the Argives too are ridiculed by the comic poets as addicted to drunkenness; and so are the Tirynthians by Ephippus, in his Busiris. And he introduces Heracles as saying-
(A) For how in the name of all the gods at once,
Do you not know me, the Tirynthian Argive?
That race fights all its battles when it's drunk.
(B) And that is why they always run away.
And Eubulus, in his Man Glued, says that the Milesians are very insolent when they are drunk. And Polemon, in his treatise on the Inscriptions to be found in Cities, speaking of the Eleans, produces this epigram:-
Elis is always drunk, and always lying:
As is each single house, so is the city.
* * * * *
[64. ] G [445] When Ulpianus had heard all this he said,- Tell me, my good Pontianus, says he, in what author does the word ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? occur? And he replied-
You will undo me with your questions
(as the excellent Agathon says)-
. . . . and your new fashion,
Always talking at an unseasonable time.
But since it is decided that we are to be responsible to you for every word, Antiphanes, in his Lydian, has said-
A Colchian man drunken and quarrelsome (? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ).
But you are not yet satisfied about your ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? , and drunkards; # nor do you consider that Eumenes the king of Pergamum, the nephew of Philetaerus, who had formerly been king of Pergamum, died of drunkenness, as Ctesicles relates, in the third book of his Chronicles. # But, however, Perseus, whose power was put down by the Romans, did not die in that way; for he did not imitate his father Philippus in anything; for he was not eager about women, nor was he fond of wine; but when at a feast he was not only moderate himself, but all his friends who were with him were so too, as Polybius relates, in his twenty-sixth book. But you, O Ulpianus, are a most immoderate drinker yourself (? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ), as Timon of Phlius calls it. For so he called those men who drink a great quantity of unmixed wine, in the second book of his Silli-
Or that great ox-goad, harder than Lycurgus',
Who smote the ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? of Dionysus,
And threw their cups and brimming ladles down.
For I do not call you simply ? ? ? ? ? ? ? , or fond of drinking; and this last is a word which Alcaeus has used, in his Ganymedes. And that a habit of getting drunk deceives our eyesight, Anacharsis has shown plainly enough, in what he says where he shows that mistaken opinions are taken up by drunken men. For a fellow-drinker of his once, seeing his wife at a banquet, said, "Anacharsis, you have married an ugly woman. " And he replied, "Indeed I think so too, but however now, give me, O boy, a cup of stronger wine, that I may make her out beautiful. "
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Athenaeus: The Deipnosophists
BOOK 12, Pages 518-544
Translated by C. D. Yonge (1854). A few words and spellings have been changed.
See key to translations for an explanation of the format. The page numbers in the Greek text are shown in red. The chapter numbers in the translation are shown in green.
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[15. ] G [518] The tables of the Sicilians also are very notorious for their luxury. "And they say that even the sea in their region is sweet, delighting in the food which is procured from it," as Clearchus says, in the fifth book of his Lives. And why need we mention the Sybarites, among whom bathing men and pourers of water were first introduced in fetters, in order to prevent their going too fast, and to prevent also their scalding the bathers in their haste? And the Sybarites were the first people to forbid those who practice noisy arts from dwelling in their city; such as blacksmiths, and carpenters, and men of similar trades; providing that their slumbers should always be undisturbed. And it used to be unlawful to rear a cock in their city.
And Timaeus relates concerning them, that a citizen of Sybaris once going into the country, seeing the farmers digging, said that he himself felt as if he had broken his bones by the sight; and some one who heard him replied, "I, when I heard you say this, felt as if I had a pain in my side. " And once, at Croton, some Sybarites were standing by some one of the athletes who was digging up dust for the palaestra, and said they marvelled that men who had such a city had no slaves to dig the palaestra for them. But another Sybarite, coming to Lacedaemon, and being invited to the pheiditium, sitting down on a wooden seat and eating with them, said that originally he had been surprised at hearing of the valour of the Lacedaemonians; but that now that he had seen it, he thought that they in no respect surpassed other men: for that the greatest coward on earth would rather die a thousand times than live and endure such a life as theirs.
[16. ] G And it is a custom among them that even their children, up to the age when they are ranked among the ephebes, should wear purple robes, and curls braided with gold. And it is a custom with them also to breed up in their houses little mannikins and dwarfs (as Timaeus says), who are called by some people ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ; and also little Maltese dogs, which follow them even to the gymnasia. And it was these men, and men like them, to whom Masinissa, king of Mauretania, made answer (as Ptolemy relates, in the eighth book of his Commentaries), when they were seeking to buy some monkeys: "Why,- do not your wives, my good friends, produce any offspring? " For Masinissa was very fond of children, and kept about him and brought up the children of his sons, [519] and of his daughters equally, and he had a great many of them; and he brought them all up till they were three years old, and after that he sent them to their parents, having the younger ones to take their places. And Eubulus the comic writer has said the same thing in his Graces:-
For is it not, I pray you, better far
For one man, who can well afford such acts,
To rear a man, than a loud gaping goose,
Or sparrow, or ape - most mischievous of beasts?
And Athenodorus, in his treatise on Serious Studies and Amusements, says that "Archytas of Tarentum, who was both a statesman and a philosopher, having many slaves, was always delighted at his entertainments when any of [their children] came to his banquets. But the Sybarites delighted only in Maltese puppy dogs, and in men which were no men. "
[17. ] G The Sybarites used to wear also garments made of Milesian wool, from which there arose a great friendship between the two cities, as Timaeus relates. For of the inhabitants of Italy, the Sybarites gave the preference to the Etruscans, and of foreigners to the Ionians, because they were devoted to luxury. But the cavalry of the Sybarites, being in number more than five thousand, used to go in procession with saffron-coloured robes over their breastplates; and in the summer their younger men used to go away to the caves of the Nymphs of the river Lusias, and live there in all kinds of luxury. And whenever the rich men of that country left the city for the country, although they always travelled in chariots, still they used to consume three days in a day's journey. And some of the roads which led to their villas in the country were covered with awnings all over; and a great many of them had cellars near the sea, into which their wine was brought by canals from the country, and some of it was then sold out of the district, but some was brought into the city in boats. They also celebrate in public numbers of feasts; and they honour those who display great magnificence on such occasions with golden crowns, and they proclaim their names at the public sacrifices and games; announcing not only their general goodwill towards the city, but also the great magnificence which they had displayed in the feasts. And on these occasions they even crown those cooks who have served up the most exquisite dishes. And among the Sybarites there were found baths in which, while they lay down, they were steamed with warm vapours. And they were the first people who introduced the custom of bringing chamber-pots to banquets. But laughing at those who left their countries to travel in foreign lands, they themselves used to boast that they had grown old without ever having crossed the bridges which led over their frontier rivers.
[18. ] G But it seems to me, that besides the fact of the riches of the Sybarites, the very natural character of their country,- since there are no harbours on their coasts, and since, in consequence, nearly all the produce of the land is consumed by the citizens themselves,- and to some extent also an oracle of the God, has excited them all to luxury, and has caused them to live in practices of most immoderate dissoluteness. But their city lies in a hollow, and in summer is liable to excess of cold both morning and evening, but in the middle of the day the heat is intolerable, so that the greater part of them believe that the rivers contribute a great deal to the health of the inhabitants; [520] on which account it has been said, that "a man who, living at Sybaris, wishes not to die before his time, ought never to see the sun either rise or set. " And once they sent to the oracle to consult the God (and one of the ambassadors was named Amyris), and to ask how long their prosperity should last; and the priestess of Delphi answered them-
You shall be happy, Sybarite,- very happy,
And all your time in entertainments pass,
While you continue to the immortal gods
The worship due: but when you come, at length,
To honour mortal man beyond the gods,
Then foreign war and intestine sedition
Shall come upon you, and shall crush your city.
When they had heard this they thought the God had said to them that they should never have their luxury terminated; for that there was no chance of their ever honouring a man more than God. But in agreement with the oracle they experienced a change of fortune, when one of them flogging one of his slaves, continued to beat him after he had sought an asylum in a temple; but when at last he fled to the tomb of his father, he let him go, out of shame. But their whole revenues were dissipated by the way in which they rivalled one another in luxury. And the city also rivalled all other cities in luxury. And not long after this circumstance, when many omens of impending destruction, which it is not necessary to allude to further at present, had given them notice, they were destroyed.
[19. ] G But they had carried their luxury to such a pitch that they had taught even their horses to dance at their feasts to the music of the flute. Accordingly the people of Croton, knowing this, and being at war with them, as Aristotle relates in his History of the Constitution of Sybaris, played before their horses the tune to which they were accustomed to dance; for the people of Croton also had flute-players in military uniform. And as soon as the horses heard them playing on the flute, they not only began to dance, but ran over to the army of the Crotonians, carrying their riders with them.
And Charon of Lampsacus tells a similar story about the Cardians, in the second book of his Annals, writing as follows:-" The Bisaltae invaded the territory of the Cardians, and conquered them.
