Deipnosophistae
Athenaeus of Naucratis
Athenaeus. The Deipnosophists or Banquet Of The Learned Of Athenaeus. Yonge, Charles Duke, translator. London: Henry G. Bohn, 1854.
Now, that the ancients were very much addicted to the use of perfumes, is plain from their knowing to which of our limbs each unguent was most suitable. Accordingly, Antiphanes, in his Thoricians, or The Digger, says—
And Cephisodorus, in his Trophonius, says—
- A. He really bathes—
- B. What then?
- A. In a large gilded tub, and steeps his feet
- And legs in rich Egyptian unguents;
- His jaws and breasts he rubs with thick palm-oil,
- And both his arms with extract sweet of mint;
- His eyebrows and his hair with marjoram,
- His knees and neck with essence of ground thyme.
Anaxandrides, too, in his Protesilaus, says—
- A. And now that I may well anoint my body,
- Buy me some unguents, I beseech you, Xanthias,
- Of roses made and irises. Buy, too,
v.3.p.1102- Some oil of baccaris for my legs and feet.
- B. You stupid wretch! Shall I buy baccaris,
- And waste it on your worthless feet?
And Theopompus also mentions this perfumer, Peron, in his Admetus, and in the Hedychares. Antiphanes, too, says in his Antea—
- Unguents from Peron, which but yesterday
- He sold to Melanopus,—very costly,
- Fresh come from Egypt; which he uses now
- To anoint the feet of vile Callistratus.
- I left the man in Peron's shop, just now,
- Dealing for ointments; when he has agreed,
- He'll bring you cinnamon and spikenard essence.
Now, there is a sort of ointment called βάκκαρις by many of the comic poets; and Hipponax uses this name in the following line:—
And Acheus, in his Aethon, a satyric drama, says—
- I then my nose with baccaris anointed,
- Redolent of crocus.
But Ion, in his Omphale, says—
- Anointed o'er with baccaris, and dressing
- All his front hair with cooling fans of feathers.
And when he speaks of Sardian ornaments, he means to include perfumes; since the Lydians were very notorious for their luxury. And so Anacreon uses the word λυδοπαθὴς (Lydian-like) as equivalent to ἡδυπαθὴς (luxurious). Sophocles also uses the word βάκκαρις; and Magnes, in his Lydians, says—
- 'Tis better far to know the use of μύρα,
- And βάκκαρις, and Sardian ornaments,
- Than all the fashions in the Peloponnesus.
Perhaps, however, μύρον and βάκκαρις were not exactly the same thing; for Aeschylus, in his Amymone, makes a distinction between them, and says—
- A man should bathe, and then with baccaris
- Anoint himself.
And Simonides says—
- Your βακκάρεις and your μύρα.
And Aristophanes, in his Thesmophoriazusæ, says—
- And then with μύρον,, and rich spices too,
- And βάκκαρις, did I anoint myself.
- O venerable Jove! with what a scent
- Did that vile bag, the moment it was open'd,
- O'erwhelm me, full of βάκκαρις and μύρον.![*](In the Thesmophoriazusæ Secundæ that is, which has not come down to us.)
Pherecrates mentions an unguent, which he calls βρένθιον, in his Trifles, saying—
And Crates mentions what he calls royal unguent, in his Neighbours; speaking as follows:—
- I stood, and order'd him to pour upon us
- Some brenthian unguent, that he also might
- Pour it on those departing.
But Sappho mentions the royal and the brenthian unguent together, as if they were one and the same thing; saying—
- He smelt deliciously of royal unguent.
Aristophanes speaks of an unguent which he calls ψάγδης, in his Daitaleis; saying—
- βρενθεΐῳ βασιληΐῳ,
And Eupolis, in his Marica, says—
- Come, let me see what unguent I can give you:
- Do you like ψάγδησ?
Eubulus, in his Female Garland-sellers, says—
- All his breath smells of ψάγδης.
Polemo, in his writings addressed to Adæus, says that there is an unguent in use among the Eleans called plangonium, from having been invented by a man named Plangon. And Sosibins says the same in his Similitudes; adding, that the unguent called megallium is so named for a similar reason: for that that was invented by a Sicilian whose name was Megallus. But some say that Megallus was an Athenian: and Aristophanes mentions him in his Telmissians, and so does Pherecrates in his Petale; and Strattis, in his Medea, speaks thus:—
- She thrice anointed with Egyptian psagdas (ψάγδανι).
Amphis also, in his Ulysses, mentions the Megalli unguent in the following passage—
- And say that you are bringing her such unguents,
- As old Megallus never did compound,
- Nor Dinias, that great Egyptian, see,
- Much less possess.
Anaxandrides, too, in his Tereus, says—
- A. Adorn the walls all round with hangings rich,
- Milesian work; and then anoint them o'er
v.3.p.1104- With sweet megallium, and also burn
- The royal mindax.
- B. Where did you, O master,
- E'er hear the name of such a spice as that
Menander speaks of an unguent made of spikenard, in his Cecryphalus, and says—
- And like the illustrious bride, great Basilis,
- She rubs her body with megallian unguent.
- A. This unguent, boy, is really excellent.
- B. Of course it is, 'tis spikenard.
And anointing oneself with an unguent of this description, Alæus calls μυρίσασθαι, in his Palæstræ, speaking thus—
But Aristophanes uses not μυρίσματα, but μυρώματα, in his Ecclesiazusæ, saying—
- Having anointed her (μυρίσασα), she shut her up
- In her own stead most secretly.
There was also an unguent called sagda, which is mentioned by Eupolis in his Coraliscus, where he writes—Aristoph. Eccl. 1117.
- I who 'm anointed (μεμύρισμαι) o'er my head with unguents (μυρώμασι).
And it is spoken of likewise by Aristophanes, in his Daitaleis; and Eupolis in his Marica says—
- And baccaris, and sagda too.
which expression Nicander of Thyatira understands to be meant as an attack upon a man who is too much devoted to luxury. But Theodorus says, that sagda is a species of spice used in fumigation.
- And all his breath is redolent of sagda:
Now a cotyla of unguent used to be sold for a high price at Athens, even, as Hipparchus says in his Nocturnal Festival, for as much as five mine; but as Menander, in his Misogynist, states, for ten. And Antiphanes, in his Phrearrus, where he is speaking of the unguent called stacte, says—
Now the citizens of Sardis were not the only people addicted to the use of unguents, as Alexis says in his Maker of Goblets—
- The stacte at two minæ's not worth having.
but the Athenians also, who have always been the leaders of every refinement and luxury in human life, used them very
- The whole Sardian people is of unguents fond;
- For he did use no alabaster box
- From which t' anoint himself; for this is but
- An ordinary, and quite old-fashion'd thing.
- But he let loose four doves all dipp'd in unguents,
- Not of one kind, but each in a different sort;
- And then they flew around, and hovering o'er us,
- Besprinkled all our clothes and tablecloths.
- Envy me not, ye noble chiefs of Greece;
- For thus, while sacrificing, I myself
- Was sprinkled o'er with unguent of the iris.
Just think, in God's name, my friends, what luxury, or I should rather say, what profuse waste it was to have one's garments sprinkled in this manner, when a man might have taken up a little unguent in his hands, as we do now, and in that manner have anointed his whole body, and especially his head. For Myronides says, in his treatise on Unguents and Garlands, that
the fashion of anointing the head at banquets arose from this:—that those men whose heads are naturally dry, find the humours which are engendered by what they eat, rise up into their heads; and on this account, as their bodies are inflamed by fevers, they bedew their heads with lotions, so as to prevent the neighbouring humours from rising into a part which is dry, and which also has a considerable vacuum in it. And so at their banquets, having consideration for this fact, and being afraid of the strength of the wine rising into their heads, men have introduced the fashion of anointing their heads, and by these means the wine, they think, will have less effect upon then, if they make their head thoroughly wet first. And as men are never content with what is merely useful, but are always desirous to add to that whatever tends to pleasure and enjoyment; in that way they have been led to adopt the use of unguents.
We ought, therefore, my good cynic Theodorus, to use at banquets those unguents which have the least tendency to produce heaviness, and to employ those which have astringent
Why men who use unguents are more grey than others? Is it because unguents have drying properties by reason of the spices used in their composition, so that they who use them become dry, and the dryness produces greyness? For whether greyness arises from a drying of the hair, or from a want of natural heat, at all events dryness has a withering effect. And it is on this account too that the use of hats makes men grey more quickly; for by them the moisture which ought to nourish the hair is taken away.
But when I was reading the twenty-eighth book of the History of Posidonius, I observed, my friends, a very pleasant thing which was said about unguents, and which is not at all foreign to our present discussion. For the philosopher says —
In Syria, at the royal banquets, when the garlands are given to the guests, some slaves come in, having little bladders full of Babylonian perfumes, and going round the room at a little distance from the guests, they bedew their garlands with the perfumes, sprinkling nothing else.And since the discussion has brought us to this point, I will add
as the bard of Cythera says, telling you that Janus, who is worshipped as a great god by us, and whom we call Janus Pater, was the original inventor of garlands. And Dracon of Corcyra tells us this in his treatise on Precious Stones, where his words are—
- A verse to Love,
But it is said that Janus had two faces, the one looking forwards and the other backwards; and that it is from him that the mountain Janus and the river Janus are both named, because he used to live on the mountain. And they say that he was the first inventor of garlands, and boats, and ships; and was also the first person who coined brazen money. And on this account many cities in Greece, and many in Italy and Sicily, place on their coins a head with two faces, and on the obverse a boat, or a garland, or a ship. And they say that he married his sister Camise, and had a son named Aethax, and a daughter Olistene. And he, aiming at a more extended power and renown, sailed over to Italy, and settled on a mountain near Rome, which was called Janiculum from his name.
This, now, is what was said about perfumes and unguents. And after this most of them asked for wine,
And Alexis, in his Usurer, or The Liar, says—
- Harmodius was invoked, the paean sung,
- Each drank a mighty cup to Jove the Saviour.
And Nicostratus, in his Pandrosos, says—
- A. Fill now the cup with the libation due
- To Jove the Saviour; for he surely is
- Of all the gods most useful to mankind.
- B. Your Jove the Saviour, if I were to burst,
- Would nothing do for me.
- A. Just drink, and trust him.
And in the same play he mentions mixing a cup in honour of the Good Deity, as do nearly all the poets of the old comedy; but Nicostratus speaks thus—
- And so I will, my dear;
- But fill him now a parting cup to Health;
- Here, pour a due libation out to Health.
- Another to Good Fortune. Fortune manages
- All the affairs of men; but as for Prudence,—
- That is a blind irregular deity.
Xenarchus, too, in his Twins, says—
- Fill a cup quickly now to the Good Deity,
- And take away this table from before me;
- For I have eaten quite enough;—I pledge
- This cup to the Good Deity;—here, quick, I say,
- And take away this table from before me.
And Eriphus, in his Melibœa, says—
- And now when I begin to nod my head,
- The cup to the Good Deity * *
- * * * *
- That cup, when I had drain'd it, near upset me;
- And then the next libation duly quaff'd
- To Jove the Saviour, wholly wreck'd my boat,
- And overwhelm'd me as you see.
- Before he'd drunk a cup to the Good Deity,
- Or to great Jove the Saviour.
And Theophrastus, in his essay on Drunkenness, says—
The unmixed wine which is given at a banquet, which they call the pledge-cup in honour of the Good Deity, they offer in small quantities, as if reminding the guests of its strength,And Philochorus, in the second book of his Atthis, says—v.3.p.1108and of the liberality of the god, by the mere taste. And they hand it round when men are already full, in order that there may be as little as possible drunk out of it. And having paid adoration three times, they take it from the table, as if they were entreating of the gods that nothing may be done unbecomingly, and that they may not indulge in immoderate desires for this kind of drink, and that they may derive only what is honourable and useful from it.
And a law was made at that time, that after the solid food is removed, a taste of the unmixed wine should be served round as a sort of sample of the power of the Good Deity, but that all the rest of the wine should be previously mixed; on which account the Nymphs had the name given them of Nurses of Bacchus.And that when the pledge-cup to the Good Deity was handed round, it was customary to remove the tables, is made plain by the wicked action of Dionysius the tyrant of Sicily. For there was a table of gold placed before the statue of Aesculapius at Syracuse; and so Dionysius, standing before it, and drinking a pledge-cup to the Good Deity, ordered the table to be removed.
But among the Greeks, those who sacrifice to the Sun, as Phylarchus tells us in the twelfth book of his History, make their libations of honey, as they never bring wine to the altars of the gods; saying that it is proper that the god who keeps the whole universe in order, and regulates everything, and is always going round and superintending the whole, should in no respect be connected with drunkenness.
Most writers have mentioned the Attic Scolia; and they are worthy also of being mentioned by me to you, on account of the antiquity and simple style of composition of the authors, and of those especially who gained a high reputation for that description of poetry, Alcæus and Anacreon; as Aristophanes says in his Daitaleis, where we find this line—
Praxilla, the Sicyonian poetess, was also celebrated for the composition of scolia. Now they are called scolia, not because of the character of the verse in which they are written, as if it were σκολιὸς (crooked); for men call also
- Come, then. a scolium sing to me,
- Of old Alcæus or Anacreon.
as there are three kinds of songs(as Artemo of Cassandra says in the second book of his treatise on the Use of Books),
one or other of which comprehends everything which is sung at banquets; the first kind is that which it was usual for the whole party to sing; the second is that which the whole party indeed sang, not, however, together, but going round according to some kind of succession; the third is that which is ranked lowest of all, which was not sung by all the guests, but only by those who seemed to understand what was to be done, wherever they might happen to be sitting; on which account, as having some irregularity in it beyond what the other kinds had, in not being sung by all the guests, either together or in any definite kind of succession, but just as it might happen, it was called σκολιόν. And songs of this kind were sung when the ordinary songs, and those in which every one was bound to join, had come to an end. For then they invited all the more intelligent of the guests to sing some song worth listening to. And what they thought worth listening to were such songs as contained some exhortations and sentiments which seemed useful for the purposes of life.
And of these Deipnosophists, one quoted one scolium, and one another. And these were those which were recited—
And when this had been sung, and everybody had been delighted with it; and when it had been mentioned that even the incomparable Plato had spoken of this scolium as one most admirably written, Myrtilus said, that Anaxandrides the-comic poet had turned it into ridicule in his Treasure, speaking thus of it—O thou Tritonian Pallas, who from heaven above Look'st with protecting eye On this holy city and land, Deign our protectress now to prove From loss in war, from dread sedition's band, And death's untimely blow, thou and thy father Jove. I sing at this glad season, of the Queen, Mother of Plutus, heavenly Ceres; May you be ever near us, You and your daughter Proserpine, And ever as a friend This citadel defend. Latona once in Delos, as they say, Did two great children bear, Apollo with the golden hair, Bright Phœbus, god of day. And Dian, mighty huntress, virgin chaste. On whom all women's trust is placed. v.3.p.1110Raise the loud shout to Pan, Arcadia's king; Praise to the Nymphs' loved comrade sing! Come, O Pan, and raise with me The song in joyful ecstasy. We have conquer'd as we would, The gods reward us as they should, And victory bring from Pandrosos[*](Pandrosos, according to Athenian mythology, was a daughter of Cecrops and Agraulos. She was worshipped at Athens, and had a temple near that of Minerva Polias.—Smith, Dict. Gr. and Rom. Biog.) to Pallas. Oh, would the gods such grace bestow, That opening each man's breast, One might survey his heart, and know How true the friendship that could stand that test. Health's the best gift to mortal given; Beauty is next; the third great prize Is to grow rich, free both from sin and vice; The fourth, to pass one's youth with friends beloved by heaven.
After that, these other scolia were sung—
- The man who wrote this song, whoe'er he was,
- When he call'd health the best of all possessions,
- Spoke well enough. But when the second place
- He gave to beauty, and the third to riches,
- He certainly was downright mad; for surely
- Riches must be the next best thing to health,
- For who would care to be a starving beauty
Some also call that a scolium which was composed by Hybrias the Cretan; and it runs thus—'Tis well to stand upon the shore, And look on others on the sea; But when you once have dipp'd your oar, By the present wind you must guided be. A crab caught a snake in his claw, And thus he triumphantly spake,— 'My friends must be guided by law, Nor love crooked counsels to take. v.3.p.1111I'll wreathe my sword in myrtle bough, The sword that laid the tyrant low, When patriots, burning to be free, To Athens gave equality.[*](It is hardly necessary to say that this beautiful translation is by Lord Denman. It is given also at p. 176 of the translation of the Greek Anthology in this series.) Harmodius, hail! though reft of breath, Thou ne'er shalt feel the stroke of death, The happy heroes' isles shall be The bright abode allotted thee. I'll wreathe the sword in myrtle bough, The sword that laid Hipparchus low, When at Minerva's adverse fane He knelt, and never rose again. While Freedom's name is understood, You shall delight the wise and good; You dared to set your country free, And gave her laws equality. Learn, my friend, from Admetus' story, All worthy friends and brave to cherish; But cowards shun when danger comes, For they will leave you alone to perish. Ajax of the ponderous spear mighty son of Telamon, They call you bravest of the Greeks, next to the great Achilles, Telamon came first, and of the Greeks the second man Was Ajax, and with him there came invincible Achilles. Would that I were an ivory lyre, Struck by fair boys to great Iacchus' taste; Or golden trinket pure from fire, Worn by a lady fair, of spirit chaste. Drink with me, and sport with me, Love with me, wear crowns with me, Be mad with me when I am moved with rage, And modest when I yield to counsels sage. A scorpion 'neath every stone doth lie, And secrets usually hide treachery. v.3.p.1112A sow one acorn has, and wants its brother; And I have one fair maid, and seek another. A wanton and a bath-keeper both cherish the same fashion, Giving the worthless and the good the self-same bath to wash in. Give Cedon wine, O slave, and fill it up, If you must give each worthy man a cup. Alas! Leipsydrium, you betray A host of gallant men, Who for their country many a day Have fought, and would again. And even when they fell, their race In their great actions you may trace.[*](This refers to the Alcmæonidæ, who, flying from the tyranny of Hippias, after the death of Hipparchus, seized on and fortified the town Leipsydrium, on Mount Parnes, and were defeated and taken by the Pisistratidæ.—See Herod. v. 62.) The man who never will betray his friend, Earns fame of which nor earth nor heaven shall see the end.
I have great wealth, a sword, and spear, And trusty shield beside me here; With these I plough, and from the vine Squeeze out the heart-delighting wine; They make me lord of everything. But they who dread the sword and spear, And ever trusty shield to bear, Shall fall before me on their knees, And worship me whene'er I please, And call me mighty lord and king.
After this, Democritus said;—But the song which was composed by that most learned writer, Aristotle, and addressed to Hermias[*](Hermias was tyrant of Atarneus and Assos, having been originally the minister of Eubulus, whom he succeeded. He entertained Aristotle at his court for many years. As he endeavoured to maintain his kingdom in independence of Persia, they sent Mentor against him, who decoyed him to an interview by a promise of safe conduct, and then seized him and sent him to Artaxerxes, by whom he was put to death.) of Atarneus, is not a pæan, as was asserted by Demophilus, who instituted a prosecution against the philosopher, on the ground of impiety (having been suborned to act
- O virtue, never but by labour to be won,
- First object of all human life,
- For such a prize as thee
- There is no toil, there is no strife,
- Nor even death which any Greek would shun;
- Such is the guerdon fair and free,
- And lasting too, with which thou dost thy followers grace,—
- Better than gold,
- Better than sleep, or e'en the glories old
- Of high descent and noble race.
- For you Jove's mighty son, great Hercules,
- Forsook a life of ease;
- For you the Spartan brothers twain
- Sought toil and danger, following your behests
- With fearless and unwearied breasts.
- Your love it was that fired and gave
- To early grave
- Achilles and the giant son
- Of Salaminian Telamon.
- And now for you Atarneus' pride,
- Trusting in others' faith, has nobly died;
- But yet his name
- Shall never die, the Muses' holy train
- Shall bear him to the skies with deathless fame,
- Honouring Jove, the hospitable god,
- And honest hearts, proved friendship's blest abode.
Now I don't know whether any one can detect in this any resemblance to a paean, when the author expressly states in it that Hermias is dead, when he says—
Nor has the song the burden, which all paeans have, of Io Paean, as that song written on Lysander the Spartan, which really is a paean, has; a song which Duris, in his book entitled The Annals of the Samians, says is sung in Samos. That also was a pæan which was written in honour of Craterus the Macedonian, of which Alexinus the logician was the author, as Hermippus the pupil of Callimachus says in the first book of his Essay on Aritotle. And this song is sung at Delphi, with a boy playing the lyre as an accompaniment
- And now for you Atarneus' pride,
- Trusting in others' faith, has nobly died.
For if I had wished to offer sacrifice to Hermias as an immortal being, I should never have built him a tomb as a mortal; nor if I had wished to make him out to be a god, should I have honoured him with funeral obsequies like a man.
When Democritus had said this, Cynulcus said;;—Why do you remind me of those cyclic poems, to use the words of your friend Philo, when you never ought to say anything serious or important in the presence of this glutton Ulpian? For he prefers lascivious songs to dignified ones; such, for instance, as those which are called Locrian songs, which are of a debauched sort of character, such as—
And all Phœnicia is full of songs of this kind; and he him- self, when there, used to go about playing on the flute with the men who sing colabri.[*](Colabri were a sort of song to which the armed dance called κολαβρισμὸς was danced.) And there is good authority, Ulpian, for this word κόλαβροι. For Demetrius the Scepsian, in the tenth book of his Trojan Array, speaks thus:— "Ctesiphon the Athenian, who was a composer of the songs called κόλαβροι, was made by Attalus, who succeeded Philetærus as king of Pergamus, judge of all his subjects in the
- Do you not feel some pleasure now?
- Do not betray me, I entreat you.
- Rise up before the man comes back,
- Lest he should ill-treat you and me.
- 'Tis morning now, dost thou not see
- The daylight through the windows?
- I will choose a single life,
- That is better than a wife;
- Friends in war a man stand by,
- While the wife stays at home to cry.
And after this, looking towards Ulpian, he said;— But since you are out of humour with me, I will explain to you what the Syrbenæan chorus is. And Ulpian said;—Do you think, you wretch, that I am angry at what you say, or even that I pay the least attention to it, you shameless hound? But since you profess to teach me something, I will make a truce with you, not for thirty, but for a hundred years; only tell me what the Syrbenæan chorus is. Then, said he, Clearchus, my good friend, in the second book of his treatise on Education, writes thus—
There remains the Syrbenæan chorus, in which every one is bound to sing whatever he pleases, without paying the least attention to the man who sits in the post of honour and leads the chorus. And indeed he is only a more noisy spectator.And in the words of Matron the parodist—
But you, even while you are alive, ask questions about everything, but never give information on any subject yourself. And he replied, who. . . .? while the truce between us lasts.
- For all those men who heroes were of old,
- Eubæus, and Hermogenes, and Philip,
- Are dead, and settlers in dark Pluto's realms;
- But Cleonicus has a life secure
- From all th' attacks of age; he's deeply skill'd
- In all that bards or theatres concerns;
- And even now he's dead, great Proserpine
- Allows his voice still to be heard on earth.
And Cynulcus said;—There have been many poets who have applied themselves to the composition of parodies, my good friend; of whom the most celebrated was Eubœus of Paros, who lived in the time of Philip; and he is the man who attacked the Athenians a great deal. And four books of his Parodies are preserved. And Timon also mentions him, in
Epicharmus of Syracuse also uses the same kind of poetry, in a small degree, in some of his plays; and so does Cratinus, a poet of the old Comedy, in his Eunidæ, and so also does his contemporary, Hegemon of Thasos, whom they used to call Lentil. For he writes thus—
- Muse, sing me now the praises of Eurymedon,
- That great Charybdis of the sea, who holds
- A sword within his stomach, never weary
- With eating. Tell me how the votes may pass
- Condemning him to death, by public judgment,
- On the loud-sounding shore of the barren sea.
- And when I Thasos reach'd they took up filth,
- And pelted me therewith, by which aroused
- Thus a bystander spoke with pitiless heart:—
- O most accursed of men, who e'er advised you
- To put such dirty feet in such fine slippers?
- And quickly I did this brief answer make:—
- 'Twas gain that moved me, though against my will,
- (But I am old;) and bitter penury;
- Which many Thasians also drives on shipboard,
- Ill-manner'd youths, and long-ruin'd old men:
- Who now sing worthless songs about the place.
- Those men I join'd when fit for nothing else;
- But I will not depart again for gain,
- But doing nothing wrong, I'll here deposit
- My lovely money among the Thasians:
- Lest any of the Grecian dames at home
- Should be enraged when they behold my wife
- Making Greek bread, a poor and scanty meal.
- Or if they see a cheesecake small, should say,—
- "Philion, who sang the 'Fierce Attack' at Athens,
- Got fifty drachmas, and yet this is all
- That you sent home."—While I was thinking thus,
- And in my mind revolving all these things,
- Pallas Minerva at my side appeared,
- And touch'd me with her golden sceptre, saying,
- "O miserable and ill-treated man,
- Poor Lentil, haste thee to the sacred games."
- Then I took heart, and sang a louder strain.
"Hermippus also, the poet of the old Comedy, composed parodies. But the first writer of this kind who ever descended into the arena of theatrical contests was Hegemon, and he gained the prize at Athens for several parodies; and among them, for his Battle of the Giants. He also wrote a comedy in the ancient fashion, which is called Philinna. Eubœus also was a man who exhibited a good deal of wit in his poems; as, for instance, speaking about the Battle of the Baths, he said—
[as if ἐγχεία,, instead of meaning a spear, were derived from ἐγχέω, to pour in.] And speaking of a barber who was being abused by a potter on account of some woman, he said—
- They one another smote with brazen ἐγχείῃσι,
And that these men were held in high estimation among the Sicilians, we learn from Alexander the Aetolian, a composer of tragedies, who, in an elegy, speaks as follows:—
- But seize not, valiant barber, on this prize,
- Nor thou Achilles . . . . .[*](This is a parody on Iliad, i. 275,— μήτε σὺ τόνδʼ ἀγαθός περ ἐὼν, ἀποαίρεο κούρην, where Eubœus changes κούρην, maiden, into κουρεῖ, barber.)
- The man whom fierce Agathocles did drive
- An exile from his land, was nobly born
- Of an old line of famous ancestors,
- And from his early youth he lived among
- The foreign visitors; and thoroughly learnt
- The dulcet music of Mimnermus' lyre,
- And follow'd his example;—and he wrote,
- In imitation of great Homer's verse,
- The deeds of cobblers, and base shameless thieves,
- Jesting with highly-praised felicity,
- Loved by the citizens of fair Syracuse.
- But he who once has heard Bœotus' song,
- Will find but little pleasure in Eubœus."
After all this discussion had been entered into on many occasions, once when evening overtook us, one of us said,—Boy, bring a light (λύχνειον). But some one else used the word λυχνεὼς, and a third called it λοφνίας, saying hat that was the proper name for a torch made of bark; another called it πανός; and another φανός.—This one used the word λυχνοῦχος, and that one λύχνος. Some one else again said ἐλάνη, and another said ἕλαναι, insisting on it that that was the proper name for a lamp, being derived frome ἕλη,, brightness;
γράβιον is a stick of ilex or common oak, which, being pounded and split, is set on fire, and used to give light to travellers. Accordingly Theodoridas of Syracuse, in his Centaurs, which is a dithyrambic poem, says—Strattis also, mentions the γράβια in his Phœnician Women.
- The pitch dropp'd down beneath the γράβια,,
- As if from torches.
But that what are now called φανοὶ used to be called λυχνοῦχοι, we learn from Aristophanes, in his Aeolosicon—
And, in the second edition of the Niobus, having already used the word λυχνοῦχος, he writes—
- I see the light shining all o'er his cloak,
- As from a new λυχνοῦχος.
after which, he adds— And, in his play called The Dramas, he calls the same thing λυχνίδιον, in the following lines—
- Alas, unhappy man! my λύχνιον's lost;
Plato also, in his Long Night, says—
- But you all lie
- Fast as a candle in a candlestick (λυχνίδιον).
And Pherecrates, in his Slave Teacher, writes—
- The undertakers sure will have λυχνοῦχοι.
Alexis too, in his Forbidden Thing, says—
- Make haste and go, for now the night descends,
- And bring a lantern (λυχνοῦχον) with a candle furnish'd.
- So taking out the candle from the lantern (λύχνιον),
- He very nearly set himself on fire,
- Carrying the light beneath his arm much nearer
- His clothes than any need at all required.
adds—
- A. Take now a pitchfork and a lantern (λυχνοῦχον),
And Alexis says, in his Midon—
- B. But I now in my right hand hold this fork,
- An iron weapon 'gainst the monsters of the sea;
- And this light too, a well-lit horn lantern (λύχνου).
- The man who first invented the idea
- Of walking out by night with such a lantern (λυχνούχου),
- Was very careful not to hurt his fingers.
But the same Alexis says, in his Fanatic—
And Anaxandrides, in his Insolence, says—
- I think that some of those I meet will blame
- For being drunk so early in the day;
- But yet I pray you where's a lantern (φανὸς) equal
- To the sweet light of the eternal sun?
But others assert that it is a lamp which is properly called φανός. And others assert that φανὸς means a bundle of matches made of split wood. Menander says, in his Cousins—
- Will you take your lantern (φανόν) now, and quickly
- Light me a candle (λύχνον)?
And Nicostratus, in his Fellow-Countrymen, says—
- This φανὸς is quite full of water now,
- I must not shake (σείω) it, but throw it away (ἀποσείω).
And Philippides, in his Women Sailing together, says—
- For when this vintner in our neighbourhood
- Sells any one some wine, or e'en a φανὸς,
- Or vinegar, he always gives him water.
- A. The φανὸς did not give a bit of light.
- B. Well, then, you wretched man, could not you blow it?