Deipnosophistae

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, Calomodrys, the athlete of Cyzicus. And Timocreon te Rhodian a poet, and an athlete who had gained the vcitory in the pentathlum, ate and drank a great deal, as the epigram on his tomb shows—

1. Much did I eat, much did I drink, and much
2. Did I abuse all men; now here I lie;—
3. My name Timocreon, my country Rhodes.

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 Deucalionea, says that Erysichthon, the son of Myrmidon, being a man perfectly insatiable in respect of food, was called Aethon. And Polemo, in the first book of his Treatise addressed to Timæus, says that among the Sicilians there was a temple consecrated to gluttony, and an image of Ceres Sito;[*](Sito is from σῖτος, food.) near which, also, there was a statue of Himalis,[*](It is uncertain what this name means, or how it should be spelt. Some write it Simalis.) as there is at Delphi one of Hermuchus,[*](This name appears to mean, having unexpected gain, ἕρμαιον ἔχων. ) and as at Scolum, in Bœotia, there a e statues of Megalartus[*](Megalartus, from μέγας, large, and ἄρτος, a loaf. Mgalomazus, from μέγας, great, and μάζα, a barley-cake.) and Megalomazus.

And Alcman the poet records himself to have been a great eater, in his third book of Odes, when he says—

1. And presently I will bestow
2. On you a large round dish well fill'd;
3. And even now 'tis on the fire,
4. Full of pulse-broth, which e'en the glutton
5. Alcman would like to feast on warm,
6. After the wintry solstice sets in;
7. For he for dainties does not care,
8. But loves the common people's dishes,
9. As long as they are full enough.

And in his fifth book he also displays his love of eating, speaking thus—

1. God has bestow'd on man three various seasons,
2. The summer, and the winter, and the autumn;
3. And a fourth too, the spring, when men can dance,
4. But scarce are able to get much to eat.

And Anaxilas the comic poet, speaking in his play called Chrysochous of a man named Ctesias, says—

1. You now have nearly all things, save the art
2. Of Ctesias himself; for wise men say,
3. That he does recognise nought but the beginning
4. Of a rich banquet, and denies the end.

And in his Rich Men he says—

1. A. Others may also burst when fed too well
2. Not Ctesias alone.-
3. B. What should hinder it?
4. A. For he, as wise men say, loves the beginning
5. Of any feast, but ne'er can make an end of it.

And in his play called The Graces he includes a man called Cranaus in his list of great eaters; saying—

1. Men do not come and ask at random now,
2. Does Cranaus eat less than Ctesias?
3. Or do they both keep constantly devouring?

And Philetærus, in his Atalante, says—

1. If it were needful, I could run more stadia
2. Than e'er were run by Sotades; I surpass
3. E'en Taureas himself in these my labours;
4. And out-run Ctesias himself in eating.

And Anaxippus, in his Thunderbolt, says—

1. A. For now I see Damippus here approaching
2. From the palaestra.
3. B. What! that man of stone?
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4. Him whom your friends e'en now, from his great strength,
5. Surname the Thunderbolt?
6. A. Most probably;
7. For I think he will overturn all tables
8. Which he once strikes with his consuming jaw.

And in these lines the comic poet shows that it was from this man that he had given his play the title of The Thunderbolt. And Theophilus, in his Epidaurus, says—

1. There was a Mantinean centurion,
2. Atrestides his name; who of all men
3. That ever lived could eat the greatest quantity.

And, in his Pancratiast, he introduces the athlete as eating a great deal, where he says—

1. A. Of boil'd meat about three mine weight.
2. B. Now mention something else.
3. A. A fine pig's face;
4. A ham; four pettitoes;—
5. B. Oh, Hercules!
6. A. Three calves' feet, and one hen.
7. B. Oh, Phœbus, oh!
8. What else?
9. A. Two minæ weight of figs: that's all.
10. B. And how much did you drink?
11. A. Twelve measures only
12. Of unmix'd wine.
13. B. Oh, Bacchus! oh, Sabazius!

And whole nations also have been ridiculed by the comic poets for their gluttony; as the Bœotians, for instance. Accordingly, Eubulus says, in his Antiopa—

1. We are courageous men to toil and eat,
2. And to endure sharp pain; the Attic race
3. Is quick and eloquent, and they eat little;
4. But the Bœotians eat enormously.

And in his Europa he says—

1. Go now and build up the Bœotian city,'
2. Where the men eat all day and never tire.

And in his Ionian he says—

1. He is so thorough a Bœotian
2. In all his manners, that, like them, 'tis said
3. He's never tired nor content with eating.

And in his Cercopes he says—

1. And after that I came to Thebes, where men
2. Spend the whole night in feasts and revelry;
3. And each man has a privy at his doors,
4. Which is a great boon to an o'er-fed man;
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5. For men who have got a long way to go,
6. And who eat much and bite their weary lips,
7. Are some of the most ludicrous of sights.

And in his Mysians he represents some one as making the following speech to Hercules—

1. You leaving, as you say, the Theban plain,
2. Where valiant men sit eating all the day,
3. Being all throat, and close beside the privy.

Diphilus in his Bœotian, says—

1. That man can eat, beginning before dawn,
2. Or come again and eat till the following day.

Mnesimachus, in his Busiris, says—

1. . . . . . . . For I am a Bœotian,
2. Who do not eat much else, except these things.

Alexis, in his Trophonius, says—

1. And now that you may not be found out thus,
2. And spoken of as men of Bœotia,
3. By those whose wont it is to run you down,
4. As men unequali'd in creating noise,
5. And knowing nothing else save how to eat
6. And drink unceasingly the whole night long;
7. Strip yourselves quick, and all prepare for action.

And Achæus, in his Contests, says—

1. A. Are you now speaking to the spectators here,
2. Or to the body of competitors?
3. B. To those who eat much, as men training do.
4. A. Whence do the strangers come from?
5. B. They're Bœotians.

And very likely it is because of all this that Eratosthenes, in his Epistles, says, that Pempelus, when he was asked,

What sort of people the Bœotians appeared to him?

answered,

That they only spoke just as vessels might be expected to speak, if they had a voice, of how much each of them could hold.

And Polybius of Megalopolis, in the twentieth book of his Histories, says that the Bœotians, having gained great glory at the battle of Leuctra, after that relaxed their courage again, and turned to feasting and drunkenness, and to making parties for eating among friends; and many of them, even of those who had children, spent the greater part of their substance on their feasts so that there were a great number of Bœotians who had more invitations to supper than there were days in the month. On which account the Megarians, hating such a system as that, abandoned their alliance, and joined themselves to the Achæans.

The people of Pharsalus also are ridiculed by the comic poets as being enormous eaters; accordingly Mnesimachus, in his Philip, says—

1. A. Has any man of the Pharsalians come,
2. That he may eat up e'en our very tables?
3. B. There's no one come at all.
4. A. So much the better;
5. Perhaps they have all gone somewhere else to eat
6. Some city of Achaīa ready roasted.

And that it was a general imputation on all the Thessalians, that they were great eaters, Crates tells us in his Lamia, saying—

1. Great words three cubits long,
2. Cut into huge Thessalian slices thus:—

and he by this alludes to the Thessalians as cutting their meat into overgrown pieces. And Philetærus, in his Lampbearers, says also—

1. And a huge piece of pork, enough to break
2. One's arm, cut in the coarse Thessalian fashion.

They used to speak also of a Thessalian mouthful, as something enormous. Hermippus says in his Fates—

1. But Jupiter, considering nought of this,
2. Wink'd, and made up a huge Thessalian mouthful.

And such great bits of meat Aristophanes, in his Men Frying, calls Capanic, saying—

1. What is all this
2. To the great Lydian and Thessalian banquets?

And presently he says—

1. More splendid (καπανικώτερα) far than the Thessalian;

meaning big enough to load a wagon. For the Thessalians use the word καπάνη as equivalent to ἀπήνη. Xenarchus, in his Scythians, says—

1. A. They kept to seven Capanæ for the games
2. At Pisa.
3. B. What do you mean?
4. A. In Thessaly
5. They call their carts Capanæ.
6. B. I understand.

And Hecatæus says that the Egyptians were great bread-eaters, eating loaves of rye, called κυλλήστιες, and

bruising barley to extract a drink from it; and on this account Alexis, in his treatise on Contentment, says that Bocchoris and his father Neochabis were contented with a moderate quantity of food; 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 Arithmetician 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—

1. When the illustrious Pythagoras
2. Discover'd that renowned problem which
3. He celebrated with a hecatomb.

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 Aristides, and of Epaminondas, and of Phocion, and of Phormio, 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.

And there are many people who approve of moderate meals, as Alexis tells us in his Woman in Love—

1. But I am content with what is necessary,
2. And hate superfluous things; for in excess
3. There is not pleasure, but extravagance.

And in his Liar he says—

1. I hate excess; for those who practise it
2. Have only more expense, but not more pleasure.

And in his Foster Brothers he says—

1. How sweet all kinds of moderation are!
2. I now am going away, not empty, but
3. In a most comfortable state,—for wise
4. Mnesitheus tells us that 'tis always right'
5. T' avoid extravagance in everything.

And Ariston the philosopher, in the second book of his Amatory Similitudes, says that Polemo, 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, meting with Plato, said,

You, O Plato, sup well, more with reference to the next day than to the present one!

But Pyrrho the Elean, 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.

But Antigonus of Carystus, in his Life of Menedemus, relating the way in which the banquets of that philosopher are 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's 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. 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 ere 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 the Chalcidian, who

wrote a satyric drama entitled Menedemus, in which Silenus says to the satyrs—

1. O cursed sons of a most excellent father,
2. I, as you see, have quite a fancy for you:
3. For, by the gods I swear, that not in Caria,
4. Nor in fair Rhodes, nor royal Lydia,
5. Have I e'er eaten so superb a supper;
6. Phœbus Apollo! what a feast it was.

And a little further on, he says—

1. And the boy brought us round a scanty cup
2. Of wine that might be worth five pence a bottle-
3. Awfully flat; and then that cursed thing,
4. That hang-dog lupin, danced upon the board,
5. A fitting meal for parasites and beggars.

And presently afterwards, he says that philosophical disqui- sitions were carried on during the entertainment—

1. And for dessert,
2. 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.

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, Aridices; 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.