Deipnosophistae
Athenaeus of Naucratis
Athenaeus. The Deipnosophists or Banquet Of The Learned Of Athenaeus. Yonge, Charles Duke, translator. London: Henry G. Bohn, 1854.
And though I could repeat to you now a great deal of nonsense which the medicine-seller talked, I forbear to do so, although I know that Epicurus, that most truthful of men, said of him in his letter about Institutions, that he devoted himself to a military life after having squandered his patrimony in gluttony; and that, turning out an indifferent soldier, he then took to selling medicines. Then, when the school of Plato was opened, he says, he changed again, and applied himself to philosophical discussions, and as he was not a man destitute of ability, by little and little he became a speculative philosopher. I know, too, that Epicurus is the only person who ever said this of him; for neither did Eubulides nor Cephisodorus venture to say anything of the kind against the Stagirite, and that, too, though they did write books against him. But in that same letter Epicurus says, that Protagoras also, who became a philosopher from having been a porter and a wood-carrier, was first promoted to be an amanuensis of Democritus; who, wondering at the admirable way in which he used to put the wood together, took him under his eye in consequence of this beginning; and then he began to teach the rudiments of learning in some village, and after that he proceeded on to the study of philosophy. And I now, O fellow feasters, after all this conversation, feel a great desire for something to eat. And when some one said that the cooks were already preparing something, and taking care that the dishes should not be served up cold, on account of the excessive length to which the
feast of wordshad been carried, for that no one could eat cold dishes, Cynulcus said,—But I, like the Milcon of Alexis, the comic poet, can eat them even if they are not served up warm—
- For Plato teaches us that what is good,
- Is everywhere on all occasions good;
- Can you deny this? and that what is sweet
- Is always sweet, here, there, and ev'rywhere.
And when they were now on the point of sitting down to eat again, Daphnus bade them stop, quoting this iambic out of the Mammacythus or Auri of Metagenes—
And indeed, said he, I say that the discussion about fish is still defective in some points, since the sons of Aesculapius (such as Philotimus I mean, in his essay on Food, and Mnesitheus the Athenian, and Diphilus the Siphnian) hare said a good deal about fishes, of which we have as yet taken no notice. For Diphilus, in his work entitled A Treatise on Food fit for People in Health and Invalids, says,—"Of sea-fish, those which keep to the rocks are easily digested, and juicy, and purgative, and light, but not very nutritious; but those which keep in the deep water are much less digestible, very nutritious, but apt to disagree with one. Now, of the fish which keep to the rocks, the phycen and the phycis are very tender little fish, and very digestible; but the perch, which is like them, varies a little as to the places in which it is found. And the tench resembles the perch; but the smaller tench and the white ones are tender, juicy, and digestible; but the green ones (and they are also called caulinæ) are dry, and devoid of juice. The channæ also have tender meat, put still they are harder than the perch. Then there is the scarus, which has tender flesh, not very firm, sweet, light, digestible,
- As when we're feasting anywhere,
- Then we all talk and argue faster.
"But the sparus is harsh-tasted, tender, with no unpleasant smell, good for the stomach, diuretic, and not indigestible; but when he is fried he is indigestible. The mullet is good for the stomach, very astringent, of very firm flesh, not very digestible, apt to bind the bowels, especially when it is broiled; but when it is fried in a frying-pan, then it is heavy and indigestible; and, as a general rule, the whole tribe of mullets has the property of causing secretions of blood. The synodon and the charax are of the same kind, but the charax is the better of the two. The phagrus is found both in the river and in the sea; but that which is found in the sea is the best. The capriscus is called also the mussel; but it has a strong smell, and very hard meat, and it is more indigestible than the citharus; but its skin is very pleasant to the taste. The needle-fish, or belone, and it is also called the ablennes, is indigestible and moist, but good for the bowels. The thrissa, and those of the same kind, such as the chalcis and the eretimis, are very digestible. The cestreus is found in the sea, and in rivers, and in lakes. And this fish, says he, is also called the oxyrhynchus; but the one which is taken in the Nile is called the coracinus. And the black kind is smaller than the white, and when boiled it is not so good as when it is roasted; for when roasted it is good for
"The thynnis and the thynnus are both heavy and nutritious; but the fish which is called the Acarnanian is sweet, very exciting, very nutritious, and easily secreted. The anchovy is heavy and indigestible, and the white kind is called the cobitis; and the hepsetus, a little fish, if of the same genus.
"Of cartilaginous fish, the sea-cow is fleshy, but the shark is superior to that,—that kind, I mean, which is called the asterias. But the alopecias, or sea-fox, is in taste very like the land animal, from which circumstance, indeed, it has its name. The ray is a very delicate fish to the taste; but the stellated ray is tenderer still, and full of excellent juice; but the smooth ray is less wholesome for the stomach, and has an unpleasant smell. But the torpedo, which is hard of digestion, is in the parts below the head very tender, and good for the stomach, and, moreover, very digestible, but its other parts are not so; and the small ones are the best, especially when they are plain boiled. The rhine, which is one of th cartilaginous class, is very digestible and light; but those of the largest size are the most nutritious; and, as a general rule,
- But if you are in love, O Cteson,
- What is more useful than these fish I bring?
- Ceryces, cockles, (onions too, are here,)
- The mighty polypus, and good-sized turbot.
The pelamys also is very nutritious and heavy, it is also diuretic, and very indigestible; but when cured like the callubium, it is quite as good for the stomach, and it has a tendency to make the blood thin; and the large kind is called the synodontis. The sea-swallow, or chelidonias, is also something like the pelamys, but harder; and the chelidon is like the polypus, and emits juice which purifies the complexion, and stirs up the blood. The orcynus is a fish who delights in the mud; and the larger kind is like the chelidonias in hardness, but the lower part of its abdomen and its collar-bone are palatable and tender; but those which are called costæ, when cured and salted, are a middling fish. The xanthias has rather a strong smell, and is tenderer than the orcynus.These are the statements of Diphilus.
But Mnesitheus the Athenian, in his treatise on Eatables, says,—"The larger breed of fishes are called by some sectile, and by others sea-fish; as, for instance, the chrysophrys, the sea-grayling, and the phagrus. And these are all difficult of digestion, but when they are digested they supply a great deal of nourishment. And the whole class of scaly fish, such as the thynni, the scombri, the tunnies, the congers, and all of those kinds, are also gregarious. But those which are not seen
“But anchovies of all kinds, and membrades, and trichides, and all the other little fish which we eat backbones and all, make the digestion flatulent, and give a good deal of moist nutriment. And so, as the digestion is unequal, the flesh being digested with great rapidity, and the bones dissolving slowly, for the anchovies are very bony of themselves, the digestion of the one part hinders the digestion of the other, and so flatulence arises from the digestion, ad moisture comes from the quantity of nourishment. They are better when they are boiled, but still they have very unequal effects on the bowels. The fish which keep close to the rocks, such as tench, and scorpions, and sea-sparrows, and others of the same kind, supply a dry kind of nourishment to our bodies, but
But the places of the sea where rivers and lakes fall into it, and also those where there are large bays and gulfs of the sea, are those where all the fish are more juicy, and more full of fat. They are also more palatable when caught in those places, but less nutritious and less digestible. And on the shore where it is exposed to the open sea, and where it is unprotected, then the fishes found there are for the most part hard and thin, beaten by the continued action of the waves. But where the sea is deep close in shore and less exposed to violent winds, especially if there are any cities near, then there is the greatest number of fish, and they are equally excellent in respect of pleasantness of flavour and ease of digestion, and also in the nourishment which they afford to the body. But of sea fish those are the most indigestible and the heaviest which migrate at certain seasons from the sea to the lakes and rivers; such as the cestreus; and as a general rule that is the character of every fish which can live in both salt and fresh water. But of those which live wholly in rivers and lakes, the river fish are the best; for the water of lakes is more apt to putrefy. And, again, of river fish those are the best which are found in the most rapid rivers; and especially the trout; for those are never found except where the river is rapid and cold, and they are far superior to all other river fish in their digestible properties.
This now, my friends, is my contribution, and I have brought you the wholesomest food with which it was in my power to provide you. For, as you may read in the Parasite of Antiphanes,—
And, indeed, I myself am not so violently fond of fish as the man in the Butalion of the same poet. (And that play is an amended edition of one of the Countryman's characters.) And he says—
- For I have never taken any great trouble
- In buying fish; * *
- * * * * *
- * * So that others from rich banquets coming
- Should blame the gluttonous surfeits of their friends.
And in his Countryman he also calls sprats and triglides the food of Hecate. And Ephippus too, disparaging small fish, in his Philyra, speaks as follows—
- A. And I to-day will give a feast to all of you;
- And take you money now, and buy the supper.
- B. Yes; for unless I've money I should hardly
- Know how to buy discreetly. But i' the first place,
- Tell me what food, what dishes you prefer.
- A. All kinds of food.
- B. But tell me separately.
- First now, should you approve of any fish?
- A. A fishmonger came once into the country
- With a good basketfull of sprats and triglides,
- And, by Jove, greatly he pleased all of us.
- B. Well, tell me then, should you now like some fish?
- A. Indeed I should, if they were very little.
- For all large fish I always fancy cannibals.
- B. What can you mean, my friend?
- A. Why, cannibals;—
- How can a man eat fish which eat up men!
- B. 'Tis plain enough that it is Helen's food
- This fellow means, just sprats and triglides.
- A. My father, would you like to go to market
- And buy some fish for me
- B. What shall I buy?
- A. Some grown up fish, my father, no small babies.
- B. Do not you yet know all the worth of money?
And in the same poet, in his Spit-bearers, there is a very witty young man who disparages everything connected with the purchase of fish. And he speaks thus—
And in Mnesimachus, the Morose Man, in the play of the same name, being a great miser, says to the extravagant young man in the play—
- A. But while you buy, don't disregard economy,
- For anything will do.
- B. Just tell me how.
- A. Don't be expensive, though not mean or stingy;
- Whatever you may buy will be enough;
- Some squids and cuttle-fish; and should there be
- Some lobsters in the market, let's have one—
- Some eels will look nice too upon the table—
v.2.p.566- Especially if from the Theban lake:
- Then let us have a cock, a tender pigeon,
- A partridge, and a few such other things;
- And if a hare should offer, then secure it.
- B. Why how precise you are in your directions!
- A. I'd need be, you are so extravagant;
- And we are certain to have meat enough.
- B. Has anybody sent you any present?
- A. No, but my wife has sacrificed the calf
- Which from Corone came, and we to-morrow
- Shall surely sup on it.
- A. I do entreat you, do not lecture me
- So very fiercely; do not say so much
- About the money; recollect I'm your uncle;
- Be moderate, I beg.
- B. How can I be
- More moderate than I am?
- A. At least be briefer,
- And don't deceive me; use diminutives;
- For fish say fishlings; if you want aught more,
- Speak of your bits of dishes; and at least
- I shall be ruin'd with a better grace.
But since, as fortune would have it so, in the before quoted lines,—my excellent Ulpian, or you too, O you sons of grammarians, just tell me what was Ephippus's meaning in what I have just repeated, when he said—
For I think there is here an allusion to some historical fact, and I should like to understand it. And Plutarch said, —There is a Rhodian tale, which, however, I can hardly repeat at the moment, because it is a very long time since I have fallen in with the book in which it occurs. But I know that Phœnix the Colophonian, the Iambic poet, making mention of some men as collecting money for the Jackdaw, speaks as follows—
- The calf
- Which from Corone[*](Corone is not a woman's name, as some have fancied; the allusion is to the custom of some beggars, who, pretending to be ashamed to beg for themselves, carried about a talking jackdaw (κορώνη), and professed to be begging only for the use of the bird.) came, and we to-morrow
- Shall surely sup on it.
And at the end of this set of iambics he says—
- My friends, I pray you give a handful now
- Of barley to the jackdaw, Phœbus' daughter;
v.2.p.567- Or else a plate of wheat; or else a loaf,
- A halfpenny, or whatsoe'er you please;
- Give, my good friends, whatever you can spare
- To the poor jackdaw; e'en a grain of salt;
- For willingly she feeds on anything;
- And he who salt bestows to-day, to-morrow
- May give some honey. Open, boy, the door;
- Plutus has heard, and straight a serving maid
- Brings out some figs. Gods, let that maiden be
- For ever free from harm, and may she find
- A wealthy husband of distinguished name:
- And may she show unto her aged father
- A lusty boy, and on her mother's lap
- Place a fair girl, her daughter, to bring up
- A happy helpmate for some lucky cousin.
- But I, where'er my feet conduct my eyes,
- Sing with alternate melody at the gates
- Of him who gives, and him who rude denies.
- At present I'll leave off, and say no more.
And those people who went about collecting for the jackdaw (κορώνη) were called Coronistæ, as Pamphilus of Alexandria tells us, in his treatise on Names. And the songs which are sung by them are called coronismata, as Agnocles the Rhodian tells us, in his Coronistæ.
- But you, my friends, who have good store at home,
- Give something. Give, O king; give you too, housewife.
- It is the law that all should give their hand
- When the crow begs. And you who know this law,
- Give what you please, and it shall be sufficient.
There is also another collection made among the Rhodians, the making of which is called χελιδονίζειν; and it is mentioned by Theognis, in the second book of his treatise on the Sacrifices in Rhodes, where he writes thus—"There is a species of collecting which the Rhodians call χελιδονίζειν, which takes place in the month Boedromion. And it derives its name of χελιδονίζειν because the people are accustomed to utter the following song:—
And Cleobulus the Lindian was the first man who introduced the custom of this collection, at a time when there was a great want in Lindus of a collection of money.
- The swallow, the swallow (χελιδών) is come,
- Bringing good seasons and a joyful time.
- Her belly is white, her back is black.
- Bring, oh bring, a cake of figs
- Out of your luxurious house,
- Bring a cup of wine,
- And a dish of cheese,
- And a bag of wheat.
v.2.p.568- Those the good swallow will not despise,
- Nor a cake of eggs.
- Shall we now go, or shall we get something?
- Give something, and we'll go; if you give nothing
- We will not cease to pester you; we'll force the door
- And carry it away, or th' upper lintel,
- Or e'en your wife who sits within the house.
- She is but little, we shall find her light.
- If you give something, let it be worth having.
- Open, then, open the door to the swallow,
- For we are not old men, but only boys.
But, since we have mentioned the Rhodian histories, I myself am now going to tell you something about fish, from the account given of the beautiful Rhodes, which that delightful writer Lynceus says is full of excellent fish. Ergias the Rhodian, then, in his Account of his own Country, having first made mention of the Phoenicians, who inhabited the island, says—"That Phalanthus, and his friends, having a very strong city in Ialysus, called Achaia, and being very economical of their provisions, held out for a long time against Iphiclus, who besieged them. For they had also a prophecy given them by some oracle, that they should keep the place till crows became white, and till fish were seen in their goblets. They therefore, expecting that these things would never happen, prosecuted the war with less vigour. But Iphiclus, having heard from some one of the oracles of the Phœnicians, and having waylaid a highly-trusted adherent of Phalanthus, whose name was Larcas, as he was going for water, and having entered into a covenant with him, caught some fish at the spring, and putting them into the ewer, gave them to Larcas, and bade him carry the water back, and pour it into the goblet from which he was used to pour out wine for Phalanthus: and he did so. And Iphiclus also caught some crows, and smeared them over with gypsum, and let them fly again. But when Phalanthus saw the crows, he went to his goblet; and when he saw the fish there, he considered that the place no longer belonged to him and his party, and so he sent a herald to Iphiclus, demanding permission to retire, with all his troops, under the protection of a treaty, And when Iphiclus agreed to this, Phalanthus devised the follow-
That the only people who knew the secret about the fishes and the crows were Phaces and his daughter Dorcia; and she, being beloved by Iphiclus, and having come to an agreement to marry him through the intervention of her nurse, persuaded the man who brought the water to bring the fish and put them into the goblet; and she herself whitewashed the crows, and let them go.
And Creophylus, in his Annals of the Ephesians, says—
Those who colonized Ephesus, being much perplexed for want of a place where they could settle, sent at last to the oracle, and asked where they should build themselves a city; and he told them to build a city in that place which a fish should show them, and to which a wild boar should guide them. Accordingly, it is said that some fishermen were breakfasting at the spot where the fountain called Hypeleus now is, and where the harbour is which is called the sacred harbour; and that one of the fish leaped up with a burning cinder sticking to him, and fell on some of the refuse; and that by this means a thicket was set on fire, in which there happened to be a wild boar; and he, being disturbed by the fire ran for some distance up the mountain which is called th Rough Mountain, and at last was transfixed by javelins, and fell where the temple of Minerva now stands. And the Ephesians, having crossed over from the island, occupied that for twenty-one years, and in the twenty-second year they founded Trachea and the towns around Coressus, and erected a templev.2.p.570to Diana in the market-place, and one to the Pythian Apollo overlooking the harbour.
Now after this long conversation, all of a sudden there was heard all over the city the music of flutes and the noise of cymbals, and also a great crash of drums, with singing at the same time. And it happened to be the time of a festival which used formerly to be called the Parilia, but which is now called the Romana, in honour of the temple built to the Fortune of the City, by that most excellent and accomplished sovereign Hadrian. And all the inhabitants of Rome (and all the foreigners sojourning in the city) every year keep that day as a remarkable one. Accordingly, Ulpian said,—My friends, what is this?—
And when some one replied that every one in the city was dancing (using the verb βαλλίζω) in honour of the goddess, —My fine fellow, said Ulpian, laughing, what Greek in the world ever called this dancing βαλλισμόσ? You should have said κωμάζουσιν or χορεύουσιν, or, at all events, some word in common use; but you have bought us a name out of the Subura,
- Is it a supper or a marriage feast
- For certainly there is no picnic held now.
And Myrtilus said—But I will prove to you, my dear Epitimæus,[*](From ἐπιτιμάω, to rebuke.) that the word is a genuine Greek word; for you, who want to stop every one's mouth, have not succeeded in convicting any one of ignorance, but have proved yourself to be emptier than a snake's cast-off skin. Epicharmus, my most excellent gentlemen, in his Theori, speaks of the βαλλισμὸς, and Italy is no great way from Sicily. Accordingly, in that play, the public ambassadors, surveying the offerings at Pytho, and mentioning each one separately, speak as follows:—
- And spoilt the wine by pouring in this water.'
And Sophron, in his play which is entitled Nymphoponus, says—
- Here there are brazen caldrons, brazen goblets,
- And spits. And then to see the men with spits
- And flutes, too, dancing (βαλλίζοντες), what a sight it was!
And again he says—
- Then he did take it, and proceeded onwards;
- The rest did follow dancing (ἐβάλλιζον).
- Dancing (βαλλίζοντες) they filled the entrance room with dung.
I know, too, that the word is found in other places, and when I recollect the exact passage, I will bring it forward.
- And now I see a multitude of men
- Hastening to a feast, as if a goodly company
- Were here invited. May it be my luck
- To keep out of your way, my revellers,
- After your dancing (βαλλισμὸς) and your feasting both
- Have gone off well and are quite finish'd.
- For I should never bear my robe off safely,
- Unless my wings had grown.
But we have a right to ask of you, who have quoted to us these lines out of Homer,
in what respect the different sorts of feasts, which he calls εἰλαπίνη and ἔρανος, differ from one another? But, since you are silent, I will tell you; for, as the poet of Syracuse says,—
- But say, you joyful troop so gaily drest,
- Is this a bridal or a friendly feast?—
The ancients used to call sacrifices, and the more splendid kind of preparations, εἰλάπιναι; and those who partook of them they used to call εἰλαπινασταί. But those feasts they called ἔρανοι, the materials for which were contributed by all who joined in them; and this name was derived from all the guests being friendly together (ἀπὸ τοῦ συνερᾷν) and contributing. And this same ἔρανος is also called θίασος, and those who partake of it are called ἐρανισταὶ and συνθιαῶται. The crowd, also, which follows Bacchus in his festivals is called θίασος, as Euripides says—
- I by myself am equal to the task
- Which formerly it took two men to answer.
And they gave them the name θίασος from the word θεός;— and, indeed, the Lacedæmonian form of the word θεὸς is σιός. And the word εἰλαπίνη is derived from the preparation and expense gone to for such purposes; for being destructive and extravagant is called λαφύττειν καὶ λαπάζειν, from which words the poets have used the word ἀλαπάζω for to destroy, And the plunder which is carried off after the sacking of a city they call λάφυρα. And accordingly Aeschylus and Eripides have given to the more luxurious banquets the name of εἰλάπιναι, from the verb λαπάζω. There is also a verb, λάπτω,
- I see three thiasi of women coming.
But the word εὐωχία (a luxurious feast) is derived not from ὀχὴ, which means nutriment, but from everything going on well (ἀπὸ τοῦ εὖ ἔχειν) in such a banquet, in which those who assemble honour the deity, and give themselves up to mirth and relaxation; and from this relaxation (ἀπὸ τοῦ μεθιέναι) they call wine μέθυ, and the god who gave them wine they call Methymnaeus, and Lyæus, and Evius, and Icius; just as also they call a man who is not sullen-looking and morose ἱλαρός; on which account, too, they pray the deity to be propitious (ἵλεως), uttering the ejaculation ἰὴ, ἰή. And from this again they call the place where they do this ἱερόν. And that they meant very nearly the same thing by ἵλεως and ἱλαρός is plain from the language used by Ephippus, in his play entitled Traffic; for he is speaking of a courtesan, and he says—
- Him the fierce dogs and hungry vultures tore (κατέδαψαν).
- Then too, when any one is out of humour,
- When he comes in she flatters him discreetly,
- And kisses him, not pressing his mouth hard
- Like some fierce enemy; but just billing towards him
- Like some fond sparrow; then she sings and comforts him,
- And makes him cheerful (ἱλαρὸς) and dispels all clouds
- From off his face, and renders him propitious (ἵλεως).
But the ancients, who represented the gods under the form of men, arranged all their festivals on a similar principle; for, seeing that it is not possible to divert men from an eagerness for pleasure, but that it is useful and expedient to accustom them to enjoy themselves with moderation and in an orderly manner, they set apart certain times, and, sacrificing first to the gods, they in this way permitted them relaxation and enjoyment, in order that every one, thinking that the gods had come among them, and were present at the
and Neptune, too, is represented thus—
- There, too, was Pallas to partake the feast:
and of Jupiter he says—
- The monarch of the main, a heavenly guest,
- In Ethiopia graced the genial feast,
- There on the world's extremest verge, revered
- With hecatombs and prayer in pomp preferr'd,
- Distant he lay:[*](Hom. Odyss. i. 22.)—
And if a man of more mature age, and devoted to wise and virtuous pursuits, is present, they are ashamed to say or do anything indecorous; as also Epicharmus says, somewhere or other:—
- The sire of gods and all the ethereal train
- On the warm limits of the furthest main
- Now mix with mortals, nor disdain to grace
- The feast of Ethiopia's blameless race.[*](Hom. Iliad, i. 424.)
Therefore, considering that the gods were near to them, they celebrated their festivals in an orderly and temperate man- ner; on which account it was not the fashion of the ancients to lie at their meals, but, as Homer says,—
- But when their aged superiors are present,
- Young men should silent be.
nor were they accustomed to drink to the extent of drunkenness—
- Feasting they sate;
- But when they'd eaten thus, and drank their fill,
- Each to his room retired, not dreaming ill.
But the men of modern times, pretending to be sacrificing to the gods, and inviting their friends and nearest kinsmen to the sacrifice, vent imprecations on their children, and abuse their wives, and treat their slaves with indignity, and threaten the multitude, almost verifying the line of Homer:—
Nor do they ever give a thought to what has been said by the poet who wrote the poem entitled Chiron, whether it is Pherecrates, or Nicomachus, the teacher of rhythm, or whatever else his name may have been:—
- But now with speed let's take a short repast,
- And well refresh'd to bloody conflict haste.
But now men utterly forget all these rules, and they recollect only the lines which follow them, which are all written in imitation of the Great Eoæ which are attributed to Hesiod, and which are also meant as a parody on his great work, Works and Days:—
- When you have ask'd a friend to come to supper,
- Do not be angry when you see him come;
- That is the part of an unworthy man;
- But give yourself to happy thoughts of joy,
- And study to amuse your friend and guest.
And, moreover, we add this:—
- When any of us does celebrate
- A sacrifice, and bids his friends to th' feast,
- Still, if he come, we're vex'd and look askance,
- And wish him to depart without delay.
- And he his want of welcome soon perceives
- And reassumes his shoes; when some one rises
- Of the surrounding revellers, and says,
- "Here, my friend, do not go; why won't you drink.
- Take off your shoes." And then the host again
- Is angry with the guest who calls him back,
- And quotes some scraps of poetry against him,—
- "Remember, always speed the parting guest,
- And when a man is sleeping let him rest."
- Do not we in this manner oft behave
- When feasting those we choose to call our friends?
- Let not a numerous party vex your mind,
- For more are pleased, and the cost's near the same.
And when we are sacrificing to the gods, we spend as little as possible upon our sacrifices, and give them the most ordinary presents; as the admirable Menander tells us, in his Drunkenness:—
- We don't do other things as we perform
- Our duties to the gods. We sacrifice
- One sheep scarce worth ten or a dozen drachmæ;
- But for our flute-women, our perfumes rich,
- Our harpers, Thasian and Mendæan wine,
- Eels, cheese, and honey to regale ourselves,
- We do not a whole talent think too much.
- 'Tis very well to spend a dozen drachmæ
- When we are sacrificing to the gods,
- But if you much curtail that slight expense,
- Are you not thus dishonouring the gods?
- I, if I were a god, would ne'er allow
- A scanty loin of beef to load my altars,
- Unless an eel were also sacrificed,
- So that Callimedon might die of rage.
And the ancients call some feasts ἐπιδόσιμα, that is to say, given into the bargain,—the same which the Alexandrians call ἐξ ἐπιδομάτων. Alexis, at all events, in his Woman at the Well, says—
And Crobylus, in his Supposititious Son, says—
- A. And now the master here has sent a slave
- To bring to me a jar of his own wine.
- B. I understand; this is ἐπιδόσιμος,
- A gift into the bargain, as a makeweight;
- I praise the wise old woman.
The ancients, also, were acquainted with the banquets which are now called dole-basket banquets; and Pherecrates mentions them in his Forgetful Man, or the Sea, saying—
- A. Laches, I come to you; proceed.
- B. Which way?
- A. How can you ask? Why, to my mistress, who
- Has a feast ἐπιδόσιμος prepared;
- And in her honour only yesterday
- You made the guests drink down twelve glasses each.
And this clearly points to the dole-basket supper, when a man prepares a supper for himself, and then puts it in a basket, and goes off to sup with some one. And Lysias has used the word σύνδειπνον for a banquet, in his speech against Micinus, on his trial for murder; for he says that he had been invited to a σύνδειπνον: and Plato says—
- Having prepared a small dole-basket supper
- He went away to Ophela.
Those who had made a σύνδειπνον:and Aristophanes, in his Gerytades, says—
on which account some people wish to write the title of Sophocles's play in the neuter gender, σύνδειπνον. Some people also use the expression συναγώγιμα δεῖπνα, picnic feasts; as Alexis does, in his Man fond of Beauty, or the Nymphs, where he says—
- Praising great Aeschylus in his σύνδειπνα,
And Ephippus says, in his Geryones,—
- Come, sit you down, and call those damsels in;
- We've got a picnic here, but well I know
- That your's is but a skin-flint disposition.
They also use the verb συνάγω for to drink with on another, and the noun συναγώγιον for a drinking party. Menander, in his Angry Woman, says—
- They also celebrate a picnic feast.
- And for this reason now they drink (συνάγουσι) alone:
And probably the συναγώγιον is the same as that which was also called τὸ ἀπὸ συμβολων δεῖπνον. But what the συμβολαὶ, or contributions, are, we learn from Alexis, in his Woman who has taken Mandragora, where he says—
- And so they ended the entertainment (συναγώγιον).
But the Argives, as Hegesander tells us in his Commentaries, (the following are his exact words)—
- A. I'll come and bring my contributions now.
- B. How, contributions?
- A. The Chalcidians
- Call fringes, alabaster, scent boxes,
- And other things of that kind, contributions.
The Argives call the contributions towards an entertainment which are brought by the revellers, χῶν; and each man's share they call αἶσα.
And now, since this book also has come to a not unsuitable end, my good friend Timocrates, let us stop our discussion at this point, lest any one should think that we were formerly fishes ourselves, as Empedocles says that he was; for that great natural philosopher says—
- For I myself have been a boy, a girl,
- A bush, a bird, and fish which roams the sea.