Deipnosophistae

There is the Isthmiacum also, and there was a kind of crown bearing this name, which Aristophanes has thought worthy of mention in his Fryers, where he speaks thus—

1. What then are we to do? We should have taken
2. A white cloak each of us; and then entwining
3. Isthmiaca on our brows, like choruses,
4. Come let us sing the eulogy of our master.

But Silenus, in his Dialects, says,

The Isthmian garland.

And Philetas says,

στέφανος. There is an ambiguity here as to whether it refers to the head or to the main world.[*](Schweighauser confesses himself unable to guess what is meant by these words.) We also use the word ἴσθμιον, as applied to a well, or to a dagger.

But Timachidas and Simmias, who are both Rhodians, explain one word by the other. They say, ἴσθμιον, στέφανον: and this word is also mentioned by Callixenus, who is himself also a Rhodian, in his History of Alexandria, where he writes as follows—

1. * * * * * *

But since I have mentioned Alexandria, I know that in that beautiful city there is a garland called the garland of Antinous, which is made of the lotus, which grows in those parts. And this lotus grows in the marshes in the summer season; and it bears flowers of two colours; one like that of the rose, and it is the garlands woven of the flower of this colour which are properly called the garlands of Antinous; but the other kind is called the lotus garland, being of a dark colour. And a man of the name of Pancrates, a native poet, with whom we ourselves were acquainted, made a great parade of showing a rose-coloured lotus to Adrian the emperor, when he was staying at Alexandria, saying, that

he ought to give this flower the name of the Flower of Antinous, as having sprung from the ground where it drank in the blood of the Mauritanian lion, which Hadrian killed when he was out hunting in that part of Africa, near Alexandria; a monstrous beast which had ravaged all Libya for a long time, so as to make a very great part of the district desolate. Accordingly, Hadrian being delighted with the utility of the invention, and also with its novelty, granted to the poet that he should be maintained for the future in the Museum at the public expense; and Cratinus the comic poet, in his Ulysseses, has called the lotus στεφάνωμα, because all plants which are full of leaf, are called στεφανώματα by the Athenians. But Pancrates said, with a good deal of neatness, in his poem—

1. The crisp ground thyme, the snow-white lily too,
2. The purple hyacinth, and the modest leaves
3. Of the white celandine, and the fragrant rose,
4. Whose petals open to the vernal zephyrs;
5. For that fair flower which bears Antinous' name
6. The earth had not yet borne.

There is the word πυλέων. And this is the name given to the garland which the Lacedæmonians place on the head of Juno, as Pamphilus relates.

I am aware, also, that there is a kind of garland, which is called ʼἰάκχας by the Sicyonians, as Timachidas mentions in his treatise on Dialects. And Philetas writes as follows:—

ʼἰάκχα—this is a name given to a fragrant garland in the district of Sicyon—

1. She stood by her sire, and in her fragrant hair
2. She wore the beautiful Iacchian garland.

Seleucus also, in his treatise on Dialects, says, that there is a kind of garland made of myrtle, which is called ʼἐλλωτὶς, being twenty cubits in circumference, and that it is carried in procession on the festival of the Ellotia. And he says, that in this garland the bones of Europa, whom they call Ellotis, are carried. And this festival of the Ellotia is celebrated in Corinth.

There is also the θυρεατικός. This also is a name given to a species of garland by the Lacedæmonians, as Sosibius tells us in his treatise on Sacrifices, where he says, that now it is called ψίλινος, being made of branches of the palm-tree. And he says that they are worn, as a memorial of the victory which they gained, in Thyrea,[*](See the account of this battle, Herod. i. 82.) by the leaders of the choruses,

which are employed in that festival when they celebrate the Gymnopeediæ.[*](The Gymnopædiæ, or Festival of naked Youths, was celebrated at Sparta every year in honour of Apollo Pythæus, Diana, and Latona. And the Spartan youths danced around the statues of these deities in the forum. The festival seems to have been connected with the victory gained over the Argives at Thyrea, and the Spartans who had fallen in the battle were always praised in songs on the occasion.—V. Smith, Diet. Gr. Lat. Ant. in voc. ) And there are choruses, some of handsome boys, and others of full-grown men of distinguished bravery, who all dance naked, and who sing the songs of Thaletas and Alcman, and the paeans of Dionysodotus the Lacedæmonian.

There are also garlands called μελιλώτινοι,, which are mentioned by Alexis in his Crateva, or the Apothecary, in the following line—

1. And many μελιλώτινοι garlands hanging.

There is the word too, ἐπιθυμίδες,, which Seleucus explains by

every sort of garland.

But Timachidas says,

Garlands of every kind which are worn by women are called ἐπιθυμίδες.

There are also the words ὑποθυμὶς and ὑποθυμιὰς, which are names given to garlands by the Aeolians and Ionians, and they wear such around their necks, as one may clearly collect from the poetry of Alcæus and Anacreon. But Philetas, in his Miscellanies, says, that the Lesbians call a branch of myrtle ὑποθυμὶς, around which they twine violets and other flowers.

The ὑπογλωττὶς also is a species of garland. But Theodorus, in his Attic Words, says, that it is a particular kind of garland, and is used in that sense by Plato the comic poet, in his Jupiter Ill-treated.

I find also, in the comic poets, mention made of a kind of garland called κυλιστὸς,, and I find that Archippus mentions it in his Rhinon, in these lines—

1. He went away unhurt to his own house,
2. Having laid aside his cloak, but having on
3. His ἐκκύλιστος garland.

And Alexis, in his Agonis, or The Colt, says—

1. This third man has a κυλιστὸς garland
2. Of fig-leaves; but while living he delighted
3. In similar ornaments:

and in his Sciron he says—

1. Like a κυλιστὸς garland in suspense.

Antiphanes also mentions it in his Man in Love with Himself. And Eubulus, in his Œnomaus, or Pelops, saying—

1. Brought into circular shape,
2. Like a κυλιστὸς garland.

What, then, is this κυλιστός? For I am aware that Nicander of Thyatira, in his Attic Nouns, speaks as follows,—

'ʼἐκκυλίσιοι στέφανοι, and especially those made of roses.

And now I ask what species of garland this was, O Cynulcus; and do not tell me that I am to understand the word as meaning merely large. For you are a man who are fond of not only picking things little known out of books, but of even digging out such matters; like the philosophers in the Joint Deceiver of Baton the comic poet; men whom Sophocles also mentions in his Fellow Feasters, and who resemble you,—

1. You should not wear a beard thus well perfumed,
2. And 'tis a shame for you, of such high birth,
3. To be reproached as the son of your belly,
4. When you might rather be call'd your father's son.

Since, then, you are sated not only with the heads of glaucus, but also with that ever-green herb, which that Anthedonian Deity[*](Glaucus.) ate, and became immortal, give us an answer now about the subject of discussion, that we may not think that when you are dead, you will be metamorphosed, as the divine Plato has described in his treatise on the Soul. For he says that those who are addicted to gluttony, and insolence, and drunkenness, and who are restrained by no modesty, may naturally become transformed into the race of asses, and similar animals.

And as he still appeared to be in doubt;—Let us now, said Ulpian, go on to another kind of garland, which is called the στρούθιος; which Asclepiades mentions when he quotes the following passage, out of the Female Garland Sellers of Eubulus—

1. O happy woman, in your little house
2. To have a στρούθιος . . . . .[*](The rest of this extract is so utterly corrupt, that Schweighauser says he despairs of it so utterly that he has not even attempted to give a Latin version of it.)

And this garland is made of the flower called στρούθιον (soapwort), which is mentioned by Theophrastus, in the sixth book of his Natural History, in these words—

The iris also blooms in the summer, and so does the flower called στρούθιον, which is a very pretty flower to the eye, but destitute of scent.

Galene of Smyrna also speaks of the same flower, under the name of στρύθιον.

There is also the πόθος.. There is a certain kind of garland with this name, as Nicander the Colophonian tells us in his treatise on Words. And this, too, perhaps is so named as being made of the flower called πόθος,, which the same Theophrastus mentions in the sixth book of his Natural History, where he writes thus—"There are other flowers which bloom chiefly in the summer,—the lychnis, the flower of Jove, the lily, the iphyum, the Phrygian amaracus, and also the plant called pothus, of which there are two kinds, one bearing a flower like the hyacinth, but the other produces a colour-less blossom nearly white, which men use to strew on tombs.

Eubulus also gives a list of other names of garlands—

1. Aegidion, carry now this garland for me,
2. Ingeniously wrought of divers flowers,
3. Most tempting, and most beautiful, by Jove!
4. For who'd not wish to kiss the maid who bears it?

And then in the subsequent lines he says—

1. A. Perhaps you want some garlands. Will you have them
2. Of ground thyme, or of myrtle, or of flowers
3. Such as I show you here in bloom.
4. B. I'll have
5. These myrtle ones. You may sell all the others,
6. But always keep the myrtle wreaths for me.

There is the philyrinus also. Xenarchus, in his Soldier, says—

1. For the boy wore a garland on his brow
2. Of delicate leafy linden (φιλύρα).

Some garlands also are called ἑλικτοὶ, as they are even to this day among the Alexandrians. And Chæremon the tragic poet mentions them in his Bacchus, saying—

1. The triple folds of the ἑλικτοὶ garlands,
2. Made up of ivy and narcissus.

But concerning the evergreen garlands in Egypt, Helanicus, in his History of Egypt, writes as follows—

There is a city on the banks of the river, named Tindium. This is place where many gods are assembled, and in the middle of the city there is a sacred temple of great size made of marble, and the doors are marble. And within the temple there are

v.3.p.1086

white and black thorns, on which garlands were placed made of the flower of the acanthus, and also of the blossoms of the pomegranate, and of vine leaves. And these keep green for ever. These garlands were placed by the gods themselves in Egypt when they heard that Babys was king, (and he is the same who is also called Typhon.)

But Demetrius, in his History of the Things to be seen in Egypt, says that these thorns grow about the city of Abydos, and he writes thus—

But the lower district has a tree called the thorn, which bears a round fruit on some round-shaped branches. And this tree blooms at a certain season; and the flower is very beautiful and brilliant in colour. And there is a story told by the Egyptians, that the Aethiopians who had been sent as allies to Troy by Tithonus, when they heard that Memnon was slain, threw down on the spot all their garlands on the thorns. And the branches themselves on which the flower grows resemble garlands.

And the before-mentioned Hellanicus mentions also that Amasis, who was king of Egypt, was originally a private individual of the class of the common people; and that it was owing to the present of a garland, which he made of the most beautiful flowers that were in season, and sent to Patarmis, who was king of Egypt, at the time when he was celebrating the festival of his birthday, that he afterwards became king himself. For Patarmis, being delighted at the beauty of the garland, invited Amasis to supper, and after this treated him as one of his friends; and on one occasion sent him out as his general, when the Egyptians were making war upon him. And he was made king by these Egyptians out of their hatred to Patarmis.

There are also garlands called συνθηματιαῖοι,, which people make and furnish by contract. Aristophanes, in his Thesmophoriazusæ, says—

1. To make up twenty συνθηματιαῖοι garlands.

Ar. Thesm. 458.

We find also the word χορωνόν. Apion, in his treatise on the Roman Dialect, says that formerly a garland was called χορωνὸν, from the fact of the members of the chorus in the theatres using it; and that they wore garlands and contended for garlands. And one may see this name given to garlands in the Epigrams of Simonides—

1. Phœbus doth teach that song to the Tyndaridæ,
2. Which tuneless grasshoppers have crown'd with a χορωνός.

There are ἀκίνιοι too. There are some garlands made of the basil thyme (ἄκινος) which are called by this name, as we are told by Andron the physician, whose words are quoted by Parthenius the pupil of Dionysius, in the first book of his treatise on the Words which occur in the Historians.

Now Theophrastus gives the following list of flowers as suitable to be made into garlands—-

The violet, the flower of Jupiter, the iphyum, the wallflower, the hemerocalles, or yellow lily. But he says the earliest blooming flower is the white violet; and about the same time that which is called the wild wallflower appears, and after them the narcissus and the lily; and of mountain flowers, that kind of anemone which is called the mountain anemone, and the head of the bulb-plant. For some people twine these flowers into garlands. And next to these there comes the œnanthe and the purple violet. And of wild flowers, there are the helichryse, and that species of anemone called the meadow anemone, and the gladiolus, and the hyacinth. But the rose is the latest blooming flower of all; and it is the latest to appeal and the first to go off. But the chief summer flowers are the lychnis, and the flower of Jupiter, and the lily, and the iphyum, and the Phrygian amaracus, and also the flower called the pothus.

And in his ninth book the same Theophrastus says, if any one wears a garland made of the flower of the helichryse, he is praised if he sprinkle it with ointment. And, Alcman mentions it in these lines—

1. And I pray to you, and bring
2. This chaplet of the helichryse,
3. And of the holy cypirus.

And Ibycus says—

1. Myrtle-berries with violets mix'd,
2. And helichryse, and apple blossoms,
3. And roses, and the tender daphne.

And Cratinus, in his Effeminate People, says—

1. With ground thyme and with crocuses,
2. And hyacinths, and helichryse.

But the helichryse is a flower like the lotus. And Themistagoras the Ephesian, in his book entitled The Golden Book, says that the flower derives its name from the nymph who first picked it, who was called Helichrysa. There are also, says Theophrastus, such flowers as purple lilies. But Philinus says that the lily, which he calls κρίνον, is by some people called λείριον,, and by others ἴον. The Corinthians also call this flower ambrosia, as Nicander says in his Dictionary. And Diocles, in his treatise on Deadly Poisons, says—

The amaracus, which some people call the sampsychus.

Cratinus also speaks of the hyacinth by the name of κοσμοσάνδαλον in his Effeminate People, where he says—

1. I crown my head with flowers, λείρια,
2. Roses, and κρίνα, and κοσμοσάνδαλα.

And Clearchus, in the second book of his Lives, says—"You may remark the Lacedæmonians who, having invented garlands of cosmosandalum, trampled under foot the most ancient system of polity in the world, and utterly ruined themselves; on which account Antiphanes the comic poet very cleverly says of them, in his Harp-player—

1. Did not the Lacedæmonians boast of old
2. As though they were invincible? but now
3. They wear effeminate purple head-dresses.

And Hicesius, in the second book of his treatise on Matter, says—

The white violet is of moderately astringent properties, and has a most delicious fragrance, and is very delightful, but only for a short time; and the purple violet is of the same appearance, but it is far more fragrant.

And Apollodorus, in his treatise on Beasts, says—

There is the chamæpitys, or ground pine, which some call olocyrum, but the Athenians call it Ionia, and the Eubœans sideritis.

And Nicander, in the second book of his Georgics, (the words themselves I will quote hereafter, when I thoroughly discuss all the flowers fit for making into garlands,) says—

The violet (ἴον) was originally given by some Ionian nymphs to Ion.

And in the sixth book of his History of Plants, Theophrastus says that the narcissus is also called λείριον; but in a subsequent passage he speaks of the narcissus and λείριον as different plants. And Eumachus the Corcyrean, in his treatise on Cutting Roots, says that the narcissus is also called acacallis, and likewise crotalum. But the flower called hemerocalles, or day-beauty, which fades at night but blooms

at sunrise, is mentioned by Cratinus in his Effeminate People, where he says—

1. And the dear hemerocalles.

Concerning the ground thyme, Theophrastus says—

The people gather the wild ground thyme on the mountains and plant it around Sicyon, and the Athenians gather it on Hymettus; and other nations too have mountains fill of this flower, as the Thracians for instance.

But Philinus says that it is called zygis. And Amerias the Macedonian, speaking of the lychnis in his treatise on Cutting up Roots, says that

it sprang from the baths of Venus, when Venus bathed after having been sleeping with Vulcan. And it is found in the greatest perfection in Cyprus and Lemnos, and also in Stromboli and near mount Eryx, and at Cythera.

But the iris,

says Theophrastus,

blooms in the summer, and is the only one of all the European flowers which has a sweet scent. And it is in the highest beauty in those parts of Illyricum which are at a distance from the sea.

But Philinus says that the flowers of the iris are called λύκοι, because they resemble the lips of the wolf (λύκος). And Nicolaus of Damascus, in the hundred and eighth book of his History, says that there is a lake near the Alps, many stadia in circumference, round which there grow every year the most fragrant and beautiful flowers, like those which are called calchæ. Alcman also mentions the calchæ in these lines:—

1. Having a golden-colour'd necklace on
2. Of the bright calchæ, with their tender petals.

And Epicharmus, too, speaks of them in his Rustic.

Of roses, says Theophrastus in his sixth book, there are many varieties. For most of them consist only of five leaves, but some have twelve leaves; and some, near Philippi, have even as many as a hundred leaves. For men take up the plants from Mount Pangæum, (and they are very numerous there,) and plant them near the city. And the inner petals are very small; for the fashion in which the flowers put out their petals is, that some form the outer rows and some the inner ones: but they have not much smell, nor are they of any great size. And those with only five leaves are the most fragrant, and their lower parts are very thorny. But the most fragrant roses are in Cyrene: on which account the

perfumes made there are the sweetest. And in this country, too, the perfume of the violets, and of all other flowers, is most pure and heavenly; and above all, the fragrance of the crocus is most delicious in those parts." And Timachidas, in his Banquets, says that the Arcadians call the rose εὐόμφαλον, meaning εὔοσμον, or fragrant. And Apollodorus, in the fourth book of his History of Parthia, speaks of a flower called philadelphum, as growing in the country of the Parthians, and describes it thus:—

And there are many kinds of myrtle, —the milax, and that which is called the philadelphum, which has received a name corresponding to its natural character; for when branches, which are at a distance from one another, meet together of their own accord, they cohere with a vigorous embrace, and become united as if they came from one root, and then growing on, they produce fresh shoots: on which account they often make hedges of them in well-cultivated farms; for they take the thinnest of the shoots, and plait them in a net-like manner, and plant them all round their gardens, and then these plants, when plaited together all round, make a fence which it is difficult to pass through.

The author, too, of the Cyprian Poems gives lists of the flowers which are suitable to be made into garlands, whether he was Hegesias, or Stasinus, or any one else; for Demodamas, who was either a Halicarnassian or Milesian, in his History of Halicarnassus, says that the Cyprian Poems were the work of a citizen of Halicarnassus: however, the author, whoever he was, in his eleventh book, speaks thus:—

1. Then did the Graces, and the smiling Hours,
2. Make themselves garments rich with various hues,
3. And dyed them in the varied flowers that Spring
4. And the sweet Seasons in their bosom bear.
5. In crocus, hyacinth, and blooming violet,
6. And the sweet petals of the peerless rose,
7. So fragrant, so divine; nor did they scorn
8. The dewy cups of the ambrosial flower
9. That boasts Narcissus' name. Such robes, perfumed
10. With the rich treasures of revolving seasons,
11. The golden Venus wears.

And this poet appears also to have been acquainted with the use of garlands, when he says—

1. And when the smiling Venus with her train
2. Had woven fragrant garlands of the treasures
3. The flowery earth puts forth, the goddesses
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4. All crown'd their heads with their queen's precious work,—
5. The Nymphs and Graces, and the golden Venus,—
6. And raised a tuneful song round Ida's springs.

Nicander also, in the second book of his Georgics, gives a regular list of the flowers suitable to be made into garlands, and speaks as follows concerning the Ionian nymphs and concerning roses:—

1. And many other flowers you may plant,
2. Fragrant and beauteous, of Ionian growth;
3. Two sorts of violets are there,—pallid one,
4. And like the colour of the virgin gold,
5. Such as th' Ionian nymphs to Ion gave,
6. When in the meadows of the holy Pisa
7. They met and loved and crown'd the modest youth.
8. For he had cheer'd his hounds and slain the boar,
9. And in the clear Alpheus bathed his limbs,
10. Before he visited those friendly nymphs.
11. Cut then the shoots from off the thorny rose,
12. And plant them in the trenches, leaving space
13. Between, two spans in width. The poets tell
14. That Midas first, when Asia's realms he left,
15. Brought roses from th' Odonian hills of Thrace,
16. And cultivated them in th' Emathian lands,
17. Blooming and fragrant with their sixty petals.
18. Next to th' Emathian roses those are praised
19. Which the Megarian Nisæa displays:
20. Nor is Phaselis, nor the land which worships
21. The chaste Diana,[*](Phaselis is a town in Lycia. The land which worships Diana is the country about Ephesus and Magnesia, which last town is built where the Lethæus falls into the Mæander; and it appears that Diana was worshipped by the women of this district under the name of Lencophrys, from λευκὸς,, white, and ὄφρυς,, an eyebrow.) to be lightly praised,
22. Made verdant by the sweet Lethæan stream.
23. In other trenches place the ivy cuttings,
24. And often e'en a branch with berries loaded
25. May be entrusted to the grateful ground;
26. * * * * *[*](The text here is hopelessly corrupt, and indeed is full of corruption for the next seven lines: I have followed the Latin version of Dalecampius.)
27. Or with well-sharpen'd knife cut off the shoots,
28. And plait them into baskets,
29. * * * * *
30. High on the top the calyx full of seed
31. Grows with white leaves, tinged in the heart with gold,
32. Which some call crina, others liria,
33. Others ambrosia, but those who love
34. The fittest name, do call them Venus' joy;
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35. For in their colour they do vie with Venus,
36. Though far inferior to her decent form.
37. The iris in its roots is like th' agallis,
38. Or hyacinth fresh sprung from Ajax' blood;
39. It rises high with swallow-shaped flowers,
40. Blooming when summer brings the swallows back.
41. Thick are the leaves they from their bosom pour,
42. And the fresh flowers constantly succeeding,
43. Shine in their stooping mouths.
44. * * * * *
45. Nor is the lychnis, nor the lofty rush,
46. Nor the fair anthemis in light esteem,
47. Nor the boanthemum with towering stem,
48. Nor phlox whose brilliancy scarce seems to yield
49. To the bright splendour of the midday sun.
50. Plant the ground thyme where the more fertile ground
51. Is moisten'd by fresh-welling springs beneath,
52. That with long creeping branches it may spread,
53. Or droop in quest of some transparent spring,
54. The wood-nymphs' chosen draught. Throw far away
55. The poppy's leaves, and keep the head entire,
56. A sure protection from the teasing gnats;
57. For every kind of insect makes its seat
58. Upon the opening leaves; and on the head,
59. Like freshening dews, they feed, and much rejoice
60. In the rich latent honey that it bears;
61. But when the leaves (θρῖα) are off, the mighty flame
62. Soon scatters them . . . .

(but by the word θρῖα he does not here mean the leaves of fig-trees, but of the poppy).

1. Nor can they place their feet
2. With steady hold, nor juicy food extract;
3. And oft they slip, and fall upon their heads.
4. Swift is the growth, and early the perfection
5. Of the sampsychum, and of rosemary,
6. And of the others which the gardens
7. Supply to diligent men for well-earn'd garlands.
8. Such are the feathery fern, the boy's-love sweet,
9. (Like the tall poplar); such the golden crocus,
10. Fair flower of early spring; the gopher white,
11. And fragrant thyme, and all the unsown beauty
12. Which in moist grounds the verdant meadows bear;
13. The ox-eye, the sweet-smelling flower of Jove,
14. The chalca, and the much sung hyacinth,
15. And the low-growing violet, to which
16. Dark Proserpine a darker hue has given;
17. The tall panosmium, and the varied colours
18. Which the gladiolus puts forth in vain
19. To decorate the early tombs of maidens.
20. Then too the ever-flourishing anemones,
21. Tempting afar with their most vivid dyes.

(But for ἐφελκόμεναι χροιῇσιν some copies have ἐφελκόμεναι φιλοχροιαῖς).

1. And above all remember to select
2. The elecampane and the aster bright,
3. And place them in the temples of the gods,
4. By roadside built, or hang them on their statues,
5. Which first do catch the eye of the visitor.
6. These are propitious gifts, whether you pluck
7. The many-hued chrysanthemum, or lilies
8. Which wither sadly o'er the much-wept tomb,
9. Or gay old-man, or long-stalk'd cyclamen,
10. Or rank nasturtium, whose scarlet flowers
11. Grim Pluto chooses for his royal garland.

From these lines it is plain that the chelidonium is a different flower from the anemone (for some people have called them the same). But Theophrastus says that there are some plants, the flowers of which constantly follow the stars, such as the one called the heliotrope, and the chelidonium; and this last plant is named so from its coming into bloom at the same time as the swallows arrive. There is also a flower spoken of under the name of ambrosia by Carystius, in his Historical Commentaries, where he says—

Nicander says that the plant named ambrosia grows at Cos, on the head of the statue of Alexander.

But I have already spoken of it, and mentioned that some people give this name to the lily. And Timachidas, in the fourth book of his banquet, speaks also of a flower called theseum,—

1. The soft theseum, like the apple blossom,
2. The sacred blossom of Leucerea,[*](There is some corruption in this name.)
3. Which the fair goddess loves above all others.

And he says that the garland of Ariadne was made of this flower.

Pherecrates also, or whoever the poet was who wrote the play of the Persians, mentions some flowers as fit for garlands, and says—

1. O you who sigh like mallows soft,
2. Whose breath like hyacinths smells,
3. Who like the melilotus speak,
4. And smile as doth the rose,
5. Whose kisses are as marjoram sweet,
6. Whose action crisp as parsley,
v.3.p.1094
7. Whose gait like cosmosandalum.
8. Pour rosy wine, and with loud voice
9. Raise the glad pæan's song,
10. As laws of God and man enjoin
11. On holy festival.

And the author of the Miners, whoever he was, (and that poem is attributed to the same Pherecrates,) says—

1. Treading on soft aspalathi
2. Beneath the shady trees,
3. In lotus-bearing meadows green,
4. And on the dewy cypirus;
5. And on the fresh anthryscum, and
6. The modest tender violet,
7. And green trefoil. . .

But here I want to know what this trefoil is; for there is a poem attributed to Demarete, which is called The Trefoil. And also, in the poem which is entitled The Good Men, Pherecrates or Strattis, whichever is the author, says—

1. And having bathed before the heat of day,
2. Some crown their head and some anoint their bodies.

And he speaks of thyme, and of cosmosandalum. And Cratinus, in his Effeminate Persons, says—

1. Joyful now I crown my head
2. With every kind of flower;
3. λείρια, roses, κρίνα too,
4. And cosmosandala,
5. And violets, and fragrant thyme,
6. And spring anemones,
7. Ground thyme, crocus, hyacinths,
8. And buds of helichryse,
9. Shoots of the vine, anthryscum too,
10. And lovely hemerocalles.
11. * * * * * *
12. My head is likewise shaded
13. With evergreen melilotus;
14. And of its own accord there comes
15. The flowery cytisus.

Formerly the entrance of garlands and perfumes into the banqueting rooms, used to herald the approach of the second course, as we may learn from Nicostratus in his Pseudostigmatias, where, in the following lines, he says—

1. And you too,
2. Be sure and have the second course quite neat;
3. Adorn it with all kinds of rich confections,
4. Perfumes, and garlands, aye, and frankincense,
5. And girls to play the flute.

But Philoxenus the Dithyrambic poet, in his poem entitled The Banquet, represents the garland as entering into the commencement of the banquet, using the following language:

1. Then water was brought in to wash the hands,
2. Which a delicate youth bore in a silver ewe,
3. Ministering to the guests; and after that
4. He brought us garlands of the tender myrtle,
5. Close woven with young richly-colour'd shoots.

And Eubulus, in his Nurses, says—

1. For when the old men came into the house,
2. At once they sate them down. Immediately
3. Garlands were handed round; a well-fill'd board
4. Was placed before them, and (how good for th' eyes!)
5. A closely-kneaded loaf of barley bread.

And this was the fashion also among the Egyptians, as Nicostratus says in his Usurer; for, representing the usurer as an Egyptian, he says—

1. A. We caught the pimp and two of his companions,
2. When they had just had water for their hands,
3. And garlands.
4. B. Sure the time, O Chærophon,
5. Was most propitious.

But you may go on gorging yourself, O Cynulcus; and when you have done, tell us why Cratinus has called the melilotus

the ever-watching melilotus.

However, as I see you are already a little tipsy (ἔξοινον)—for that is the word Alexis has used for a man thoroughly drunk (μεθύσην), in his Settler— I won't go on teasing you; but I will bid the slaves, as Sophocles says in his Fellow Feasters,

1. Come, quick! let some one make the barley-cakes,
2. And fill the goblets deep; for this man now,
3. Just like a farmer's ox, can't work a bit
4. Till he has fill'd his belly with good food.

And there is a man of the same kind mentioned by Aristias of Phlius; for he, too, in his play entitled The Fates, says—

1. The guest is either a boatman or a parasite,
2. A hanger-on of hell, with hungry belly,
3. Which nought can satisfy.

However, as he gives no answer whatever to all these things which have been said, I order him (as it is said in the Twins of Alexis) to be carried out of the party, crowned with χύδαιοι garlands. But the comic poet, alluding to χύδαιοι garlands, says—

1. These garlands all promiscuously (χύδην) woven.

But, after this, I will not carry on this conversation any fur- there to-day; but will leave the discussion about perfumes to those who choose to continue it: and only desire the boy, on account of this lecture of mine about garlands, as Antiphanes. . . . .

1. To bring now hither two good garlands,
2. And a good lamp, with good fire brightly burning;

for then I shall wind up my speech like the conclusion of a play.

And not many days after this, as if he had been prophesying a silence for himself [which should be eternal], he died, happily, without suffering under any long illness, to the great affliction of us his companions.

And while the slaves were bringing round perfumes in alabaster boxes, and in other vessels made of gold, some one, seeing Cynulcus, anointed his face with a great deal of ointment. But he, being awakened by it, when he recollected himself, said;—What is this? O Hercules, will not some one come with a sponge and wipe my face, which is thus polluted with a lot of dirt? And do not you all know that that exquisite writer Xenophon, in his Banquet, represents Socrates as speaking thus:—

' By Jupiter! O Callias, you entertain us superbly; for you have not only given us a most faultless feast, but you have furnished us also with delicious food for our eyes and ears.'—' Well, then,' said he, 'suppose any one were to bring us perfumes, in order that we might also banquet on sweet smells? '—' By no means,' said Socrates; ' for as there is one sort of dress fit for women and another for men, so there is one kind of smell fit for women and another for men. And no man is ever anointed with perfume for the sake of men; and as to women, especially when they are brides,—as, for instance, the bride of this Niceratus here, and the bride of Critobulus,—how can they want perfumes in their husbands, when they themselves are redolent of it But the smell of the oil in the gymnasia, when it is present, is sweeter than perfume to women; and when it is absent, they long more for it. For if a slave and a freeman be anointed with perfume, they both smell alike in a moment; but those smells which are derived from free labours, require both virtuous habits and a good deal of time if they are to be agreeable and in character with a freeman.'

And that admirable writer Chrysippus says that perfumes (μύρα) derive their name from being prepared with great toil (μόρος) and useless labour. The Lacedæmonians even expel from Sparta those who make perfumes, as being wasters of oil; and those who dye wool, as being destroyers of the whiteness of the wool. And Solon the philosopher, in his laws, forbade men to be sellers of perfumes.

But now, not only scents,

as Clearchus says in the third book of his Lives,

but also dyes, being full of luxury, tend to make those men effeminate who have anything to do with them. And do you think that effeminacy without virtue has anything desirable in it? But even Sappho, a thorough woman, and a poetess into the bargain, was ashamed to separate honour from elegance; and speaks thus—

1. But elegance I truly love;
2. And this my love of life has brilliancy,
3. And honour, too, attached to it:

making it evident to everybody that the desire of life that she confessed had respectability and honour in it; and these things especially belong to virtue. But Parrhasius the painter, although he was a man beyond all measure arrogant about his art, and though he got the credit of a liberal profession by some mere pencils and pallets, still in words set up a claim to virtue, and put this inscription on all his works that are at Lindus:—

1. This is Parrhasius' the painter's work,
2. A most luxurious (ἁβροδίαιτος) and virtuous man.

And a wit being indignant at this, because, I suppose, he seemed to be a disgrace to the delicacy and beauty of virtue, having perverted the gifts which fortune had bestowed upon him to luxury, proposed to change the inscription into ῥαβδοδίαιτος ἀνήρ: Still, said he, the man must be endured, since he says that he honours virtue.

These are the words of Clearchus. But Sophocles the poet, in his play called The Judgment, represents Venus, being a sort of Goddess of Pleasure, as anointed with perfumes, and looking in a glass; but Minerva, as being a sort of Goddess of Intellect and Mind, and also of Virtue, as using oil and gymnastic exercises.

In reply to this, Masurius said;—But, my most excellent friend, are you not aware that it is in our brain that our senses are soothed, and indeed reinvigorated, by sweet smells?

as Alexis says in his Wicked Woman, where he speaks thus—

1. The best recipe for health
2. Is to apply sweet scents unto the brain.

And that most valiant, and indeed warlike poet, Alcæus, says—

1. He shed a sweet perfume all o'er my breast.

And the wise Anacreon says somewhere—

1. Why fly away, now that you've well anointed
2. Your breast, more hollow than a flute, with unguents?

for he recommends anointing the breast with unguent, as being the seat of the heart, and considering it an admitted point that that is soothed with fragrant smells. And the ancients used to act thus, not only because scents do of their own nature ascend upwards from the breast to the seat of smelling, but also because they thought that the soul had its abode in the heart; as Praxagoras, and Philotimus the physician taught; and Homer, too, says—

1. He struck his breast, and thus reproved his heart.

Hom. Odyss. xx. 17.

And again he says—

1. His heart within his breast did rage.

Ibid. 13.

And in the Iliad he says—

1. But Hector's heart within his bosom shook.

Hom. Iliad, vii. 216.

And this they consider a proof that the most important portion of the soul is situated in the heart; for it is as evident as possible that the heart quivers when under the agitation of fear. And Agamemnon, in Homer, says—

1. Scarce can my knees these trembling limbs sustain,
2. And scarce my heart support its load of pain;
3. With fears distracted, with no fix'd design,
4. And all my people's miseries are mine.

Iliad, x. 96.

And Sophocles has represented women released from fear as saying—

1. Now Fear's dark daughter does no more exult
2. Within my heart.

This is not from any extant play.

But Anaxandrides makes a man who is struggling with fear say—

1. O my wretched heart!
2. How you alone of all my limbs or senses
3. Rejoice in evil; for you leap and dance
4. The moment that you see your lord alarm'd.

And Plato says,

that the great Architect of the universe has placed the lungs close to the heart, by nature soft and destitute of blood, and having cavities penetrable like sponge, that so the heart, when it quivers, from fear of adversity or disaster, may vibrate against a soft and yielding substance.

But the garlands with which men bind their bosoms are called ὑποθυμιάδες by the poets, from the exhalations (ἀναθυμίασις of the flowers, and not because the soul (ψυχὴ) is called θυμὸς, as some people think.

Archilochus is the earliest author who uses the word μύρον (perfume), where he says—

1. She being old would spare her perfumes (μύρα).

And in another place he says—

1. Displaying hair and breast perfumed (ἐσμυρισμένον);
2. So that a man, though old, might fall in love with her.

And the word μύρον is derived from μύῤῥα, which is the Aeolic form of σμύρνα (myrrh); for the greater portion of unguents are made up with myrrh, and that which is called στακτὴ is wholly composed of it. Not but what Homer was acquainted with the fashion of using unguents and perfumes, but he calls them ἔλαια, with the addition of some distinctive epithet, as-

1. Himself anointing them with dewy oil (δροσόεντι ἐλαίῳ).

Hom. Iliad, xxiii. 186.

And in another place he speaks of an oil as perfumed[*](Ibid. xiv. 172.) (τεθυωμένον. And in his poems also, Venus anoints the dead body of Hector with ambrosial rosy oil; and this is made of flowers. But with respect to that which is made of spices, which they called θυώματα, he says, speaking of Juno,—

1. Here first she bathes, and round her body pours
2. Soft oils of fragrance and ambrosial showers:
3. The winds perfumed, the balmy gale convey
4. Through heaven, through earth, and all the aërial way.
5. Spirit divine! whose exhalation greets
6. The sense of gods with more than mortal sweets.

Ibid. xiv. 170.

But the choicest unguents are made in particular places, as Apollonius of Herophila says in his treatise on Perfumes, where he writes—“The iris is best in Elis, and at Cyzicus; the perfume made from roses is most excellent at Phaselis, and that made at Naples and Capua is also very fine. That made from crocuses is in the highest perfection at

Soli in Cilicia, and at Rhodes. The essence of spikenard is best at Tarsus; and the extract of vine-leaves is made best in Cyprus and at Adramyttium. The best perfume from marjoram and from apples comes from Cos. Egypt bears the palm for its essence of cypirus; and the next best is the Cyprian, and Phœnician, and after them comes the Sidonian. The perfume called Panathenaicum is made at Athens; and those called Metopian and Mendesian are prepared with the greatest skill in Egypt. But the Metopian is made of oil which is extracted from bitter almonds. Still, the superior excellence of each perfume is owing to the purveyors and the materials and the artists, and not to the place itself; for Ephesus formerly, as men say, had a high reputation for the excellence of its perfumes, and especially of its megallium, but now it has none. At one time, too, the unguents made in Alexandria were brought to high perfection, on account of the wealth of the city, and the attention that Arsinoe and Berenice paid to such matters; and the finest extract of roses in the world was made at Cyrene while the great Berenice was alive. Again, in ancient times, the extract of vine-leaves made at Adramyttium was but poor; but afterwards it became first-rate, owing to Stratonice, the wife of Eumenes. Formerly, too, Syria used to make every sort of unguent admirably, especially that extracted from fenugreek; but the case is quite altered now. And long ago there used to be a most delicious unguent extracted from frankincense at Pergamus, owing to the invention of a certain perfumer of that city, for no one else had ever made it before him; but now none is made there.

Now, when a valuable unguent is poured on the top of one that is inferior, it remains on the surface; but when good honey is poured on the top of that which is inferior, it works its way to the bottom, for it compels that which is worse to rise above it.

Achæus mentions Egyptian perfumes in his Prizes; and says—

1. They'll give you Cyprian stones, and ointments choice
2. From dainty Egypt, worth their weight in silver.

And perhaps,

says Didymus,

he means in this passage that which is called στακτὴ, on account of the myrrh which is brought to Egypt, and from thence imported into Greece.

And Hicesius says, in the second book of his treatise on Matter,—

Of perfumes, some are rubbed on, and some are poured on. Now, the perfume made from roses is suitable for drinking parties, and so is that made from myrtles and from apples; and this last is good for the stomach, and useful for lethargic people. That made from vine-leaves is good for the stomach, and has also the effect of keeping the mind clear. Those extracted from sampsychum and ground thyme are also well suited to drinking parties; and so is that extract of crocus which is not mixed with any great quantity of myrrh. The στακτὴ,, also, is well suited for drinking parties; and so is the spikenard: that made from fenugreek is sweet and tender; while that which comes from white violets is fragrant, and very good for the digestion.

Theophrastus, also, in his treatise on Scents, says,

that some perfumes are made of flowers; as, for instance, from roses, and white violets, and lilies, which last is called σούσινον. There are also those which are extracted from mint and ground thyme, and gopper, and the crocus; of which the best is procured in Aegina and Cilicia. Some, again, are made of leaves, as those made from myrrh and the œnanthe; and the wild vine grows in Cyprus, on the mountains, and is very plentiful; but no perfume is made of that which is found in Greece, because that has no scent. Some perfumes, again, are extracted from roots; as is that made from the iris, and from spikenard, and from marjoram, and from zedoary.