Feast of Caranus Supper of Iphicrates Cooks Dancing at Banquets The Attic Banquet Athenian Feasts The Copis The Phiditia Cleomenes Persian Banquets Alexander the Great Clopatra Banquets at Phigalea Thracian Banquets Celtic Banquets Roman Banquets Gladiatorial Combats Temperance of the Lacedæmonians The Theory of Euxitheus Lentils Spare Livers Persæus Diodorus Extravagance Luxury of the Tarentines Extravaance of Individuals Cooks' Apparatus Use of Certain Words Tasters The Delphians Musical Instruments Kinds of Flutes Wind Instruments HIPPOLOCHUS the Macedonian, my friend Timocrates, lived in the time of Lynceus and Douris of Samos, pupils of Theophrastus the Eresian. And he had made a bargain with Lynceus, as one may learn from his letters, that if ever he was present at any very expensive banquet, he would relate to him the whole of the preparations which were made; and Lynceus in return made him the same promise. And there are accordingly some letters of each of them on the subject of banquets; in which Lynceus relates the banquet which was given at Athens by Lamia the Attic female flute-player to King Demetrius, surnamed Poliorcetes, (and Lamia was the mistress of Demetrius.) And Hippolochus reports the marriage feast of Caranus the Macedonian. And we have also met with other letters of Lynceus, written to the same Hippolochus, giving an account of the banquet of King Antigonus, when he celebrated the Aphrodisian festival at Athens, and also that given by King Ptolemy. And I will show you the very letters themselves. But as the letter of Hippolochus is very scarce, I will run over to you the principal things which are contained in it, just for the sake of conversation and amusement at the present time.
Ἱππόλοχος ὁ Μακεδῶν, ἑταῖρε Τιμόκρατες, τοῖς χρόνοις μὲν γέγονε κατὰ.Λυγκέα καὶ Δοῦριν τοὺς Σαμίους, Θεοφράστου δὲ τοῦ Ἐρεσίου μαθητάς, συνθήκας δ’ εἶχε ταύτας πρὸς τὸν Λυγκέα, ὡς ἐκ τῶν αὐτοῦ μαθεῖν ἔστιν ἐπιστολῶν, πάντως αὐτῷ δηλοῦν εἴ τινι συμπεριενεχθείη δείπνῳ πολυτελεῖ, τὰ ὅμοια κἀκείνου ἀντιπροπίνοντος αὐτῷ. ἑκατέρων οὖν σῴζονται δειπνητικαί τινες ἐπιστολαί, Λυγκέως μὲν τὸ Λαμίας τῆς Ἀττικῆς αὐλητρίδος ἐμφανίζοντος δεῖπνον Ἀθήνησι γενόμενον Δημητρίῳ τῷ βασιλεῖ, ἐπίκλην δὲ Πολιορκητῇ ἐρωμένη δ’ ἦν ἡ Λάμια τοῦ Δημητρίου, τοῦ δ’ Ἱππολόχου τοὺς Καράνου τοῦ Μακεδόνος ἐμφανίζοντος γάμους, καὶ ἄλλαις δὲ περιετύχομεν τοῦ Λυγκέως ἐπιστολαῖς πρὸς τὸν αὐτὸν γεγραμμέναις Ἱππόλοχον, δηλούσαις τό τε Ἀντιγόνου τοῦ βασιλέως δεῖπνον Ἀφροδίσια ἐπιτελοῦντος Ἀθήνησι καὶ τὸ Πτολεμαίου τοῦ βασιλέως, δώσομεν δέ σοι ἡμεῖς καὶ αὐτὰς τὰς ἐπιστολάς ἐπεὶ δὲ ἡ τοῦ Ἱππολόχου σπανίως εὑρίσκεται, ἐπιδραμοῦμαί σοι τὰ ἐν αὐτῇ γεγραμμένα διατριβῆς ἕνεκα νῦν καὶ ψυχαγωγίας.
In Macedonia, then, as I have said, Caranus made a marriage feast; and the guests invited were twenty in number. And as soon as they had sat down, a silver bowl was given to each of them as a present. And Caranus had previously crowned every one of them, before they entered the dining-room, with a golden chaplet, and each chaplet was valued at five pieces of gold. And when they had emptied the bowls, then there was given to each of the guests a loaf in a brazen platter of Corinthian workmanship, of the. same size; and poultry, and ducks, and besides that, pigeons, and a goose, and quantities more of the same kind of food heaped up abundantly. And each of the guests taking what was set before him, with the brazen platter itself also, gave it to the slaves who waited behind him. Many other dishes of various sorts were also served up to eat. And after them, a second platter was placed before each guest, made of silver, on which again there was placed a second large loaf, and on that geese, and hares, and kids, and other rolls curiously made, and doves, and turtledoves, and partridges, and every other kind of bird imaginable, in the greatest abundance. Those also, says Hippolochus, we gave to the slaves; and when we had eaten to satiety, we washed our hands, and chaplets were brought in in great numbers, made of all sorts of flowers from all countries, and on each chaplet a circlet of gold, of about the same weight as the first chaplet. And Hippolochus having stated after this that Proteas, the descendant of that celebrated Proteas the son of Lanice, who had been the nurse of Alexander the king, was a most extraordinary drinker, as also his grandfather Proteas, who was the friend of Alexander, had been; and that he pledged every one present, proceeds to write as follows:— "And while we were now all amusing ourselves with agreeable trifling, some flute-playing women and musicians, and some Rhodian players on the sambuca come in, naked as I fancied, but some said that they had tunics on. And they having played a prelude, departed; and others came in in succession, each. of them bearing two bottles of perfume, bound with a golden thong, and one of the cruets was silver and the other gold, each holding a cotyla, and they presented them to each of the guests. And then, instead of supper, there was brought in a great treasure, a silver platter with a golden edge of no inconsiderable depth, of such a size as to receive the entire bulk of a roast boar of huge size, which lay in it on his back, showing his belly uppermost, stuffed with many good things. For in the belly there were roasted thrushes, and paunches, and a most countless number of fig peckers, and the yolks of eggs spread on the top, and oysters, and periwinkles. And to every one of the guests was presented a boar stuffed in this way, nice and hot, together with the dish on which he was served up. And after this we drank wine, and each of us received a hot kid, on another platter like that on which the boar had been served up, with some golden spoons. Then Caranus seeing that we were cramped for the want of room, ordered canisters and bread-baskets to be given to each of us, made of strips of ivory curiously plaited together; and we were very much delighted at all this, and applauded the bridegroom, by whose means we were thus enabled to preserve what had been given to us. Then chaplets were again brought to us, and another pair of cruets of perfume, one silver and one gold, of the same weight as the former pair, And when quiet was restored, there entered some men, who even in the Potfeast at Athens had borne a part in the solemnities, and with them there came in some ithyphallic dancers, and some jugglers, and some conjuring women also, tumbling and standing on their heads on swords, and vomiting fire out of their mouths, and they, too, were naked.
ἐν Μακεδονίᾳ, ὡς ἔφην, τοῦ Καράνου γάμους ἑστιῶντος οἱ μὲν συγκεκλημένοι ἄνδρες ἦσαν εἴκοσιν· οἷς καὶ κατακλιθεῖσιν εὐθέως ἐδόθησαν φιάλαι ἀργυραῖ ἑκάστῳ μία δωρεά, προεστεφανώκει δὲ καὶ ἕκαστον πρὶν εἰσελθεῖν στλεγγίδι χρυσῇ· πέντε χρυσῶν ἑκάστῃ δ’ ἦν τὸ τίμημα. ἐπεὶ δ’ ἐξέπιον τὰς φιάλας, ἐν χαλκῷ πίνακι τῶν Κορινθίων κατασκευασμάτων ἄρτος ἑκάστῳ ἰσόπλατυς ἐδόθη, ὄρνεις τε καὶ νῆσσαι, προσέτι δὲ καὶ φάτται καὶ χὴν καὶ τοιαύτη τις ἄλλη ἀφθονία σεσωρευμένη, καὶ ἕκαστος λαβὼν αὐτῷ πίνακι τοῖς κατόπιν διεδίδου παισίν. ἄλλα δ’ ἐσθίειν περιεφέρετο πολλὰ καὶ ποικίλα, καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα ἀργυροῦς πίναξ ἕτερος, ἐφ’ ᾧ πάλιν ἄρτος μέγας καὶ χῆνες καὶ λαγωοὶ καὶ ἔριφοι καὶ ἕτεροι ἄρτοι πεπονημένοι καὶ περιστεραὶ καὶ τρυγόνες πέρδικές τε καὶ ὅσον ἄλλο πτηνῶν πλῆθος ἦν. ἐπεδώκαμεν οὖν, φησί, καὶ ταῦτα τοῖς δούλοις καὶ ὡς ἄδην εἴχομεν βρώσεως ἐχερνιψάμεθα. καὶ στέφανοι εἰσηνέχθησαν πολλοὶ παντοδαπῶν ἀνθέων ἐπὶ πᾶσί τε χρυσαῖ στλεγγίδες, ὁλκὴν ἴσαι τῷ πρώτῳ στεφάνῳ. ἐπὶ δὲ τούτοις εἰπὼν ὁ Ἱππόλοχος ὡς Πρωτέας ἀπόγονος ἐκείνου Πρωτέου Λανίκης υἱοῦ, ἥτις ἐγεγόνει τροφὸς Ἀλεξάνδρου τοῦ βασιλέως, ἔπιε πλεῖστον ἦν γὰρ πολυπότης ὡς καὶ ὁ πάππος αὐτοῦ Πρωτέας ὁ συγγενόμενος Ἀλεξάνδρῳ καὶ ὅτι πᾶσι προὔπιεν, ἑξῆς γράφει καὶ ταῦτα· ἤδη δὲ ἡμῶν ἡδέως ἀπηλλοτριωμένων τοῦ σωφρονεῖν ἐπεισβάλλουσιν αὐλητρίδες καὶ μουσουργοὶ καὶ σαμβυκίστριαί τινες Ῥόδιαι, ἐμοὶ μὲν γυμναὶ δοκῶ, πλὴν ἔλεγόν τινες αὐτὰς ἔχειν χιτῶνας, ἀπαρξάμεναί τε ἀπῆλθον. καὶ ἐπεισῆλθον ἄλλαι φέρουσαι ληκύθους μύρου ἑκάστη δύο συνδεδεμένας ἱμάντι χρυσῷ, τὴν μὲν ἀργυρᾶν, τὴν δὲ χρυσῆν, κοτυλιαίας, καὶ ἑκάστῳ προσέδωκαν. ἔπειτ’ εἰσφέρεται πλοῦτος ἀντὶ δείπνου, πίναξ ἀργυροῦς ἐπὶ πάχος οὐκ ὀλίγον περίχρυσος, ὅσος δέξασθαι μέγεθος χοίρου τινὸς ὀπτοῦ καὶ σφόδρα μεγάλου, ὃς ὕπτιος ἐπέκειτο τὴν γαστέρα δεικνὺς ἄνω πλήρη οὖσαν πολλῶν ἀγαθῶν ἦσαν γὰρ ἐν αὐτῷ συνωπτημέναι κίχλαι καὶ νῆτται καὶ συκαλλίδων πλῆθος ἄπειρον καὶ ᾠῶν ἐπικεχυμέναι λέκιθοι καὶ ὄστρεα καὶ κτένες· καὶ ἑκάστῳ πεπυργωμένα αὐτοῖς πίναξιν ἐδόθη. μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα πιόντες ἐλάβομεν ἕκαστος ἔριφον ζέοντα ἐφ’ ἑτέρῳ πάλιν πίνακι τοιούτῳ σὺν μύστροις χρυσοῖς. ὁρῶν οὖν τὴν δυσχωρίαν ὁ Κάρανος κελεύει σπυρίδας ἡμῖν καὶ ἀρτοφόρα διὰ ἱμάντων ἐλεφαντίνων πεπλεγμένα δοθῆναι, ἐφ’ οἷς ἡσθέντες ἀνεκροταλίσαμεν τὸν νυμφίον ὡς καὶ τῶν δοθέντων ἡμῖν ἀνασεσωσμένων. ἔπειτα στέφανοι πάλιν καὶ διλήκυθον μύρου χρυσοῦν καὶ ἀργυροῦν ἰσόσταθμον τοῖς προτέροις. ἡσυχίας δὲ γενομένης ἐπεισβάλλουσιν ἡμῖν οἱ κἂν τοῖς Χύτροις τοῖς Ἀθήνησι λειτουργήσαντες. μεθ’ οὓς εἰσῆλθον ἰθύφαλλοι καὶ σκληροπαῖκται καί τινες καὶ θαυματουργοὶ γυναῖκες εἰς ξίφη κυβιστῶσαι καὶ πῦρ ἐκ τοῦ στόματος ἐκριπίζουσαι γυμναί.
And when we were relieved from their exhibition, then we had a fresh drink offered to us, hot and strong, and Thasian, and Mendæan, and Lesbian wines were placed upon the board, very large golden goblets being brought to every one of us. And after we had drunk, a glass goblet of two cubits in diameter, placed on a silver stand, was served up, full of roast fishes of every imaginable sort that could be collected. And there was also given to every one a silver breadbasket full of Cappadocian loaves; some of which we ate and some we delivered to the slaves behind us. And when we had washed our hands, we put on chaplets; and then again we received golden circlets twice as large as the former ones, and another pair of cruets of perfume. And when quiet was restored, Proteas leaping up from his couch, asked for a cup to hold a gallon; and having filled it with Thasian wine, and having mingled a little water with it, he drank it off, saying—He who drinks most will be the happiest.And Caranus said—“Since you have been the first to drink, do you be the first also to accept the cup as a gift; and this also shall be the present for all the rest who drink too.” And when this had been said, at once nine of the guests rose up snatching at the cups, and each one trying to forestall the other. But one of those who were of the party, like an unlucky man as he was, as he was unable to drink, sat down and cried because he had no goblet; and so Caranus presented him with an empty goblet. After this, a dancing party of a hundred men came in, singing an epithalamium in beautiful tune. And after them there came in dancing girls, some arranged so as to represent the Nereids, and others in the guise of the nymphs. And as the drinking went on, and the shadows were beginning to fall, they opened the chamber where everything was encircled all round with white cloths. And when these curtains were drawn, the torches appeared, the partitions having been secretly removed by mechanism. And there were seen Cupids, and Dianas, and Pans, and Mercuries, and numbers of statues of that kind, holding torches in silver candlesticks. And while we were admiring the ingenuity of the contrivance, some real Erymanthean boars were brought round to each of the guests on square platters with golden edges, pierced through and through with silver darts. And what was the strangest thing of all was, that those of us who were almost helpless and stupefied with wine, the moment that we saw any of these things which were brought in, became all in a moment sober, standing upright, as it is said. And so the slaves crammed them into the baskets of good omen, until the usual signal of the termination of the feast sounded. For you know that that is the Macedonian custom at large parties. And Caranus, who had begun drinking in small goblets, ordered the slaves to bring round the wine rapidly. And so we drank pleasantly, taking our present liquor as a sort of antidote to our previous hard drinking. And while we were thus engaged, Mandrogenes the buffoon came in, the descendant, as is reported, of that celebrated Strato t e Athenian, and he caused us much laughter. And after this he danced with his wife, a woman who was already more than eighty years of age. And at last the tables, to wind up the whole entertainment, were brought in. And sweetmeats in plaited baskets made of ivory were distributed to every one. And cheesecakes of every kind known, Cretan cheesecakes, and your Samian ones, my friend Lynceus, and Attic ones, with the proper boxes, or dishes, suitable to each kind of confection. And after this we all rose up and departed, quite sobered, by Jove, by the thoughts of, and our anxiety about, the treasures which we had received. But you who never go out of Athens think yourself happy when you hear the precepts of Theophrastus, and when you eat thyme, and salads, and nice twisted loaves, solemnizing the Lenæan festival, and the Potfeast at the Anthesteria. But at the banquet of Caranus, instead of our portions of meat, we carried off actual riches, and are now looking, some for houses, and some for lands, and some of us are seeking to buy slaves."
ἐπεὶ δὲ καὶ τούτων ἀπηλλάγημεν, ἐκλαμβάνει πάλιν ἡμᾶς θερμός τις καὶ ζωρότερος πότος, οἴνων ὄντων ἡμῖν Θασίων καὶ Μενδαίων καὶ Λεσβίων, χρυσίδων πάνυ μεγάλων ἑκάστῳ προσενεχθεισῶν. καὶ μετὰ τὸν πότον ὑελοῦς πίναξ, δίπηχύς που τὴν διάμετρον, ἐν θήκῃ κατακείμενος ἀργυρᾷ, πλήρης ἰχθύων ὀπτῶν πάντα γένη συνηθροισμένων, ἅπασί τε προσεδόθη καὶ ἀργυροῦν ἀρτοφόρον ἄρτων Καππαδοκίων, ὧν τὰ μὲν ἐφάγομεν, τὰ δὲ τοῖς θεράπουσιν ἐπεδώκαμεν. καὶ νιψάμενοι τὰς χεῖρας ἐστεφανούμεθα καὶ πάλιν στλεγγίδας ἐλάβομεν χρυσᾶς, διπλασίους τῶν πρότερον, καὶ ἄλλο διλήκυθον μύρου. ἡσυχίας δὲ γενομένης ἐξαλλόμενος τῆς κλίνης ὁ Πρωτέας αἰτεῖ σκύφον χοαῖον καὶ πληρώσας οἴνου Θασίου ὀλίγον τι ἐπιρράνας ὕδατος ἐξέπιεν ἐπειπών ὁ πλεῖστα πίνων πλεῖστα κεὐφρανθήσεται. καὶ ὁ Κάρανος ἔφη· ᾽ ἐπεὶ πρῶτος ἔπιες, ἔχε πρῶτος καὶ τὸν σκύφον δῶρον τοῦτο δὲ καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις ὅσοι ἂν πίωσιν ἔσται γέρας ἐφ’ οἷς λεχθεῖσιν οἱ δ’ ἐννέα πάντες ἀνέσταν ἁρπάζοντες κἄλλος ἄλλον φθάνοντες. εἷς δὲ τῶν συνδειπνούντων ἡμῖν ἄθλιος οὐ δυνάμενος πιεῖν ἀνακαθίσας ἔκλαιεν ἄσκυφος γενόμενος, καὶ ὁ Κάρανος αὐτῷ χαρίζεται κενὸν τὸ ἔκπωμα. ἐπὶ τούτοις χορὸς εἰσῆλθεν ἀνθρώπων ἑκατὸν ἐμμελῶς ᾀδόντων γαμικὸν ὕμνον, μεθ’ οὓς ὀρχηστρίδες διεσκευασμέναι τρόπον Νηρηίδων, αἱ δὲ Νυμφῶν, τοῦ πότου δὴ προιόντος καὶ τῆς ὥρας ὑποσκιαζούσης ἀναπεταννύουσι τὸν οἶκον, ἐν ᾧ κύκλῳ ὀθόναις διείληπτο πάντα λευκαῖς· καὶ ἀναπετασθεισῶν δᾷδες ἐφάνησαν λάθρᾳ κατὰ μηχανὰς σχασθέντων τῶν φραγμάτων καὶ Ἔρωτες καὶ Ἀρτέμιδες καὶ Πᾶνες καὶ Ἑρμαῖ καὶ τοιαῦτα πολλὰ εἴδωλα ἀργυροῖς δᾳδουχοῦντα λαμπτῆρσι. θαυμαζόντων δ’ ἡμῶν τὴν τεχνιτείαν Ἐρυμάνθιοι τῷ ὄντι σύαγροι κατὰ πινάκων τετραγώνων χρυσομίτρων σιβύναις ἀργυραῖς διαπεπερονημένοι περιεφέροντο ἑκάστῳ. καὶ τὸ θαυμάσιον, ὅτι παρειμένοι καὶ καρηβαροῦντες ὑπὸ τῆς μέθης ὁπότε τι τῶν ἀγομένων θεασαίμεθα πάντες ἐξενήφομεν, ὀρθοὶ τὸ δὴ λεγόμενον ἀνιστάμενοι. ἔναττον οὖν οἱ παῖδες εἰς τὰς εὐτυχεῖς σπυρίδας, ἕως ἐσάλπισε τὸ εἰωθὸς τοῦ τελευταίου δείπνου σημεῖον οὕτω γὰρ τὸ Μακεδονικὸν οἶσθα ἔθος ἐν ταῖς πολυανθρώποις εὐωχίαις γινόμενον. καὶ ὁ Κάρανος ἄρξας πότου μικροῖς ἐκπώμασι περισοβεῖν ἐκέλευε τοῖς παισίν, ἐπίνομεν οὖν εὐμαρῶς ὥσπερ ἀντίδοτον ἐκ τῆς προτέρας ἀκρατοποσίας λαμβάνοντες, ἐν τούτῳ δὲ ὁ γελωτοποιὸς εἰσῆλθε Μανδρογένης, ἐκείνου Στράτωνος τοῦ Ἀττικοῦ, ὥς φασιν, ἀπόγονος καὶ πολλοὺς κατέρρηξεν ἡμῖν γέλωτας· καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα ὠρχεῖτο μετὰ τῆς γυναικὸς ἔτη οὔσης ὑπὲρ τὰ ὀγδοήκοντα. καὶ τελευταῖαι ἐπεισῆλθον ἐπιδόρπιαι τράπεζαι, τραγήματὰ τ’ ἐν πλεκτοῖς ἐλεφαντίνοις ἐπεδόθη πᾶσι καὶ πλακοῦντες ἕκαστα γένη, Κρητικῶν καὶ τῶν σῶν, ἑταῖρε Λυγκεῦ, Σαμιακῶν καὶ Ἀττικῶν αὐταῖς ταῖς ἰδίαις τῶν πεμμάτων θήκαις. μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα ἐξαναστάντες ἀπηλλαττόμεθα νήφοντες νὴ τοὺς θεοὺς διὰ τὸν φόβον τοῦ πλούτου ὃν ἐλάβομεν. σὺ δὲ μᾶλλον, ἐν Ἀθήναις μένων, εὐδαιμονίζεις τὰς Θεοφράστου θέσεις ἀκούων, θύμα καὶ εὔζωμα καὶ τοὺς καλοὺς ἐσθίων στρεπτούς, Λήναια καὶ Χύτρους θεωρῶν. ἡμεῖς δ’ ἐκ τοῦ Καράνου δείπνου πλοῦτον ἀντὶ μερίδων εὐωχηθέντες νῦν ζητοῦμεν οἱ μὲν οἰκίας, οἱ δὲ ἀγρούς, οἱ δὲ ἀνδράποδ’ ὠνήσασθαι.
Now if you consider this, my friend Timocrates, with which of the Greek feasts that you ever heard of do you think this banquet, which has just been described to you, can be compared? When even Antiphanes the comic writer jokingly said in the Œnomaus, or perhaps it is in the Pelops—What could the Greeks, of sparing tables fond,Eaters of salads, do? where you may getFour scanty chops or steaks for one small penny.But among the ancestors of our nationMen roasted oxen, deer, and lambs entire,And last of all the cook, outdoing allHis predecessors, set before the kingA roasted camel, smoking, hump and all.And Aristophanes, in his Acharnians, extolling the magnificence of the barbarians, says—A. Then he received me, and to dinner ask'd me,And set before us whole fat oxen roasted.B. Who ever saw a roasted ox? The braggart!A. I'll take my oath he likewise put on tableA bird three times as burly as Cleonymus;Its name, I well remember, was Th' Impostor.And Anaxandrides, in his Protesilaus, ridiculing the feast made at the marriage of Iphicrates when he married the daughter of Cotys king of the Thracians, says— If you do this as I bid you,You will ask us all to a supper,Not to such as that in Thrace,Given by Iphicrates—Though, indeed, they say thatWas a very noble feast.For that all along the marketPurple carpets there were spreadTo the northern corner;And a countless host of menWith dirty hands and hair uncomb'dSupped on butter. There were too,Brazen goblets, large as cisterns,Holding plenty for a dozenOf the hardest drinkers known.Cotys, too, himself was there,Girt around, and bearing kindlyRich soup in a gold tureen;Tasting all the brimming cups,So as to be the first to yieldOf all the guests t' intoxication.There was AntigenidesDelighting all with his soft flute,Argas sung, and from AcharnæCephisodotus struck the lyre,Celebrating LacedæmonAnd the wide land of the Heraclidæ,And at other times they sungOf the seven-gated Thebes,Changing thus their strain and theme.Large was the dowry which 'tis saidFell to the lucky bridegroom's share:First, two herds of chestnut horses,And a herd of horned goats,A golden shield, a wide-neck'd bowl,A jar of snow, a pot of millet,A deep pit full of leeks and onions,And a hecatomb of polypi.This they say that Cotys did,King of Thrace, in heartfelt joyAt Iphicrates's wedding.But a finer feast by farShall be in our master's houses;For there's nothing good or fineWhich our house does stand in need of.There is scent of Syrian myrrh,There is incense, there is spice;There are delicate cakes and loaves,Cakes of meal and polypi,Tripe, and fat, and sausages,Soup, and beet, and figs, and pease,Garlic, various kinds of tunnies,Ptisan, pulse, and toast and muffins,Beans, and various kinds of vetches,Honey, cheese, and cheesecakes too,Wheat, and nuts, and barley-groats,Boasted crabs, and mullets boil'd,Roasted cuttle-fish, boiled turbot,Frogs, and perch, and mussels too,Sharks, and roach, and gudgeons too,Fish from doves and cuckoos named,Plaice, and flounders, shrimps, and rays.Then, besides these dainty fishThere is many another dish,—Honeycombs and juicy grapes,Figs and cheesecakes, apples, pears,Cornels, and the red pomegranate,Poppies, creeping thyme, and parsley,Peaches, olives, plums and raisins,Leeks and onions, cabbages,Strong smelling assafœtida,Fennel, eggs, and lentils cool,And well-roasted grasshoppers,Cardamums and sesame,Ceryces, salt, and limpets firm,The pinna, and the oyster bright,The periwinkle, and the whelk;And besides this a crowd of birds,Doves and ducks, and geese and sparrows,Thrushes, larks, and jays, and swans,The pelican, the crane and stork,Wagtails and cousels, tits and finches;And to wash all these dainties downThere's wine, both native and imported,White and red, and sweet and acid,Still or effervescent.
εἰς ταῦτα, ὦ ἑταῖρε Τιμόκρατες, ἀποβλέπων τίνι συγκρῖναι ἔχεις τῶν Ἑλληνικῶν δείπνων τὸ προκείμενον τοῦτο συμπόσιον; ὁπότε καὶ Ἀντιφάνης ὁ κωμῳδιοποιὸς ἐν Οἰνομάῳ ἢ Πέλοπι διαπαίζων ἔφη· τί δ’ ἂν Ἕλληνες μικροτράπεζοι, φυλλοτρῶγες δράσειαν; ὅπου τέτταρα λήψῃ κρέα μίκρ’ ὀβολοῦ. παρὰ δ’ ἡμετέροις προγόνοισιν ὅλους βοῦς ὤπτων, ὗς, ἐλάφους, ἄρνας· τὸ τελευταῖον δὲ ὁ μάγειρος ὅλον τέρας ὀπτήσας μεγάλῳ βασιλεῖ θερμὴν παρέθηκε κάμηλον. ὁ Ἀριστοφάνης δ’ ἐν Ἀχαρνεῦσι καὶ αὐτὸς τῶν βαρβάρων ἐμφανίζων τὴν μεγαλειότητά φησιν· πρ. εἶτ’ ἐξένιζε παρετίθει θ’ ἡμῖν ὅλους ἐκ κριβάνου βοῦς. δικ. καὶ τίς εἶδε πώποτε βοῦς κριβανίτας; τῶν ἀλαζονευμάτων. πρ. καὶ ναὶ μὰ Δί᾽ ὄρνιν τριπλάσιον Κλεωνύμου παρέθηκεν ἡμῖν ὄνομα δ’ ἦν αὐτῷ φέναξ. Ἀναξανδρίδης δ’ ἐν Πρωτεσιλάῳ διασύρων τὸ τῶν Ἰφικράτους γάμων συμπόσιον, ὅτε ἤγετο τὴν Κότυος τοῦ Θρᾳκῶν βασιλέως θυγατέρα, φησί· κἂν ταῦτα ποιῆθ’ ὥσπερ φράζω, λαμπροῖς δείπνοις δεξόμεθ’ ὑμᾶς, οὐδὲν ὁμοίοις τοῖς Ἰφικράτους τοῖς ἐν Θρᾴκῃ· καίτοι φασὶν βουβαυκαλόσαυλα γενέσθαι· κατὰ τὴν ἀγορὰν μὲν ὑπεστρῶσθαι στρώμαθ’ ἁλουργῆ μέχρι τῆς ἀκάτου, δειπνεῖν δ’ ἄνδρας βουτυροφάγους, αὐχμηροκόμας μυριοπληθεῖς· τοὺς δὲ λέβητας χαλκοῦς εἶναι μείζους λάκκων δωδεκακλίνων αὐτὸν δὲ Κότυν περιεζῶσθαι ζωμόν τε φέρειν ἐν χοὶ χρυσῇ καὶ γευόμενον τῶν κρατήρων πρότερον μεθύειν τῶν πινόντων. αὐλεῖν δ’ αὐτοῖς Ἀντιγενείδαν, ἀργᾶν δ’ ᾄδειν καὶ κιθαρίζειν Κηφισόδοτον τὸν Ἀχαρνῆθεν μέλπειν δ’ ᾠδαῖς τοτὲ μὲν Σπάρτην τὴν εὐρύχορον, τοτὲ δ’ αὖ Θήβας τὰς ἑπταπύλους, τὰς ἁρμονίας μεταβάλλοντας, φερνάς τε λαβεῖν δύο μὲν ξανθῶν ἵππων ἀγέλας αἰγῶν τ’ ἀγέλην χρυσοῦν τε σάκος … φιάλην τε λεπαστὴν χιόνος τε πρόχουν κέρχνων τε χύτραν βολβῶν τε σιρὸν δωδεκάπηχυν καὶ πουλυπόδων ἑκατόμβην. ταῦτα μὲν οὕτως φασὶ ποιῆσαι Κότυν ἐν Θρᾴκῃ, γάμον Ἰφικράτει. τούτων δ’ ἔσται πολὺ σεμνότερον καὶ λαμπρότερον παρὰ δεσποσύνοις τοῖς ἡμετέροις. τί γὰρ ἐλλείπει δόμος ἡμέτερος, ποίων ἀγαθῶν; οὐ σμύρνης ἐκ Συρίας ὀδμαὶ λιβάνου τε πνοαί, τερενοχρῶτες μαζῶν ὄψεις, ἄρτων, ἀμύλων, πουλυποδείων, χολίκων, δημοῦ, φυσκῶν, ζωμοῦ, τεύτλων, θρίων, λεκίθου, σκορόδων, ἀφύης, σκόμβρων, ἐνθρυμματίδων, πτισάνης, ἀθάρης, κυάμων, λαθύρων, ὤχρων, δολίχων, μέλιτος, τυροῦ, χορίων, πυῶν, καρύων, χόνδρου, κάραβοι ὀπτοί, τευθίδες ὀπταί, κεστρεὺς ἑφθός, σηπίαι ἑφθαί, μύραιν’ ἑφθή, κωβιοὶ ἑφθοί, θυννίδες ὀπταί, φυκίδες ἑφθαί, βάτραχοι, πέρκαι, συνόδοντες, ὄνοι, βατίδες, ψῆτται, γαλεός, κόκκυξ, θρίσσαι, νάρκαι, ῥίνης τεμάχη, σχαδόνες, βότρυες, σῦκα, πλακοῦντες, μῆλα, κράνειαι, ῥόαι, ἕρπυλλος, μήκων, ἀχράδες, κνῆκος, ἐλᾶαι, στέμφυλ᾽, ἄμητες, πράσα, γήτειον, κρόμμυα, φυστή, βολβοί, καυλοί, σίλφιον, ὄξος, μάραθ᾽, ᾠά, φακῆ, τέττιγες, ὀποί· κάρδαμα, σήσαμα, κήρυκες, ἅλες, πίνναι, λεπάδες, μύες, ὄστρεια, κτένες, ὄρκυνες· καὶ πρὸς τούτοις ὀρνιθαρίων ἄφατον πλῆθος, νηττῶν, φαττῶν, χῆνες, στρουθοί, κίχλαι, κόρυδοι, κίτται, κύκνοι, πελεκάν, κίγκλοι, γέρανος β. τουδὶ τοῦ χάσκοντος διατειναμένη διὰ τοῦ πρωκτοῦ καὶ τῶν πλευρῶν διακόψειεν τὸ μέτωπον. α. οἶνοι δέ σοι, λευκός, … γλυκύς, αὐθιγενής, ἡδύς, καπνίας.
But Lynceus, in his Centaur, ridiculing the Attic ban- quets, says—A. Yon cook, the man who makes the sacrificeAnd seeks now to receive me as my host,Is one of Rhodes. And I, the guest invited,Am call'd a citizen of fair Perinthus.And neither of us likes the Attic suppers;For melancholy is an Attic humour;May it be always foreign unto me.They place upon the table a large platterHolding five smaller plates within its space,One full of garlic, while another holdsTwo boil'd sea-urchins; in the third, a cake;The fourth displays ten cockles to the guest,The last has caviar.—While I eat this,He falls on that: or while he dines on this,I make that other dish to disappear.But I would rather eat up both myself,Only I cannot go beyond my powers;For I have not five mouths, nor twice five lips.True, these detain the eyes with various sights,But looking at them is not eating them:I but appease my eyes and not my belly.What shall I do then? Have you oysters? Give meA plate of them, I beg; and that a large one;Have you some urchins.B. Here's a dish of themTo which you're welcome; this I bought myself;And paid eight obols for it in the market.A. Put then this dish on table by itself,That all may eat the same at once. and notOne half the guests eat one thing, half another.But Dromeas the parasite, when some one once asked him, as Hegesander the Delphian relates, whether the banquets in the city or at Chalcis were the best, said that the prelude to the banquets at Chalcis was superior to the whole entertainment in the city, calling the multitudes of oysters served up, and the great variety of fish, the prelude to the banquet.
Λυγκεὺς δ’ ἐν Κενταύρῳ διαπαίζων τὰ Ἀττικὰ δεῖπνά φησι· μάγειρ᾽, ὁ θύων ἐστὶ δειπνίζων τ’ ἐμὲ Ῥόδιος, ἐγὼ δ’ ὁ κεκλημένος Περίνθιος. οὐδέτερος ἡμῶν ἥδεται τοῖς Ἀττικοῖς δείπνοις. ἀηδία γάρ ἐστιν Ἀττικὴ ὥσπερ ξενική· παρέθηκε πίνακα γὰρ μέγαν ἔχοντα μικροὺς πέντε πινακίσκους ἄνω· τούτων ὁ μὲν ἔχει σκόροδον, ὁ δ’ ἐχίνους δύο, ὁ δὲ θρυμματίδα γλυκεῖαν, ὁ δὲ κόγχας δέκα, ὁ δ’ ἀντακαίου μικρόν, ἐν ὅσῳ δ’ ἐσθίω, ἕτερος ἐκεῖν᾽, ἐν ὅσῳ δ’ ἐκεῖνος, τοῦτ’ ἐγὼ ἠφάνισα. βούλομαι δὲ γ᾽, ὦ βέλτιστε σύ, κἀκεῖνο καὶ τοῦτ᾽, ἀλλ’ ἀδύνατα βούλομαι οὔτε στόματα γὰρ οὔτε χεῖρας πέντ’ ἔχω. ὄψιν μὲν οὖν ἔχει τὰ τοιαῦτα ποικίλην, ἀλλ’ οὐδέν ἐστι τοῦτο πρὸς τὴν γαστέρα· κατέπασα γὰρ τὸ χεῖλος, οὐκ ἐνέπλησα δέ. τί οὖν ἔχεις; β. ὄστρεια πολλά. α. πίνακά μοι τούτων παραθήσεις αὐτὸν ἐφ’ ἑαυτοῦ μέγαν. ἔχεις ἐχίνους; β. ἕτερος ἔσται σοι πίναξ· αὐτὸς γὰρ αὐτὸν ἐπριάμην ὀκτὼ ὀβολῶν. α. ὀψάριον αὐτὸ τοῦτο παραθήσεις μόνον. ἵνα ταὐτὰ πάντες, μὴ τὸ μὲν ἐγώ, τὸ δ’ ἕτερος … δρομέας δ’ ὁ παράσιτος ἐρωτήσαντός τινος αὐτόν, ὥς φησιν ὁ Δελφὸς Ἡγήσανδρος, πότερον ἐν ἄστει γίνεται βελτίω δεῖπνα ἢ ἐν Χαλκίδι, τὸ προοίμιον εἶπε τῶν ἐν Χαλκίδι δείπνων χαριέστερον εἶναι τῆς ἐν ἄστει παρασκευῆς, τὸ πλῆθος τῶν ὀστρέων καὶ τὴν ποικιλίαν προοίμιον εἰπὼν δείπνου.
But Diphilus, in his Female Deserter, introduces a cook, and represents him as saying—A. What is the number of the guests invitedTo this fine marriage feast? And are they allAthenian citizens, or are there someForeigners and merchants?B. What is that to you,Since you are but the cook to dress the dinner?A. It is the first part of my art, O father,To know the taste of those who are to eat.For instance, if you ask a Rhodian,Set a fine shad or lebias before him,Well boil'd and hot, the moment that he enters.That's what he likes; he'll like it better soThan if you add a cup of myrine wine.A. Well, that idea of shads is not a bad one.B. Then, if a Byzantine should be your guest,Steep all you offer such a man in wormwood.And let your dishes taste of salt and garlic.For fish are all so plenty in their country,That the men all are full of rheum and phlegmAnd Menander says, in his Trophonius—A. This feast is for a guest's reception.B. What guest? whence comes he? for those points, believ me,Do make a mighty difference to the cook.For instance, if some guests from the islands comeWho always feed on fish of every sortFresh from the sea, such men like not salt dishes,But think them make-shifts. Give such men their foolWell-season'd, forced, and stuff'd with choicest spices.But if you ask a guest from ArcadyHe is a stranger to the sea, and lovesLimpets and shell-fish;-but the rich IonianWill look at nought but Lydian luxuries,Rich, stimulating, amatory meats.
Δίφιλος δ’ ἐν Ἀπολειπούσῃ μάγειρόν τινα παράγων ποιεῖ τάδε λέγοντα· πόσοι τὸ πλῆθός εἰσιν οἱ κεκλημένοι εἰς τοὺς γάμους, βέλτιστε, καὶ πότερ’ Ἀττικοὶ ἅπαντες ἢ κἀκ τοὐμπορίου τινές; β. τί δαὶ τοῦτ’ ἐστὶ πρὸς σὲ τὸν μάγειρον; α. τῆς τέχνης ἡγεμονία τίς ἐστιν αὕτη σοι, πάτερ, τὸ τῶν ἐδομένων τὰ στόματα προειδέναι. οἷον Ῥοδίους κέκληκας· εἰσιοῦσι δὸς εὐθὺς ἀπὸ θερμοῦ τὴν μεγάλην αὐτοῖς σπάσαι ἀποζέσας σίλουρον ἢ λεβίαν, ἐφ’ ᾧ χαριεῖ πολὺ μᾶλλον ἢ μυρίνην προσεγχέας. β. ἀστεῖον ὁ σιλουρισμός. α. ἂν Βυζαντίους, ἀψινθίῳ σφιν δεῦσον ὅσα γ’ ἂν παρατιθῇς, κάθαλα ποιήσας πάντα κἀσκοροδισμένα. διὰ γὰρ τὸ πλῆθος τῶν παρ᾽· αὐτοῖς ἰχθύων πάντες βλιχανώδεις εἰσὶ καὶ μεστοὶ λάπης. Μένανδρος δ’ ἐν Τροφωνίῳ· ξένου τὸ δεῖπνόν ἐστιν ὑποδοχή. β. τίνος; ποδαποῦ; διαφέρει τῷ μαγείρῳ τοῦτο γάρ. οἷον τὰ νησιωτικὰ ταυτὶ ξενύδρια, ἐν προσφάτοις ἰχθυδίοις τεθραμμένα καὶ παντοδαποῖς, τοῖς ἁλμίοις μὲν οὐ πάνυ ἁλίσκετ᾽, ἀλλ’ οὕτω παρέργως ἅπτεται· τὰς δ’ ὀνθυλεύσεις καὶ τὰ κεκαρυκευμένα μᾶλλον προσεδέξατ᾽. Ἀρκαδικὸς τοὐναντίον ἀθάλαττος ὢν τοῖς λοπαδίοις ἁλίσκεται· Ἰωνικὸς πλούταξ, ὑποστάσεις ποιῶν κάνδαυλον, ὑποβινητιῶντα βρώματα.
The ancients used food calculated to provoke the appetite, as for instance salt olives, which they call colymbades: and accordingly Aristophanes says, in his Old Age—Old man, do you like flabby courtesans,Or tender maidens, firm as well-cured olives?And Philemon, in his Follower, or Sauce, says—A. What did you think, I pray, of that boiled fish?B. He was but small; do'st hear me? And the pickleWas white, and much too thick; there was no smellOf any spice or seasoning at all,So that the guests cried out,—How pure your brine is!They also eat common grasshoppers and the monkey grasshopper as procreatives of the appetite. Aristophanes says, in his Anagyrus—How can you, in God's name, like grasshoppers,Catching them with a reed, and cercopes?But the cercope is a little animal like a grasshopper or prickly roach, as Speusippus tells us in the fourth book of his Similitudes; and Epilycus mentions them in his Coraliscus. And Alexis says in his Thrason—I never saw, not even a cercopeA greater chatterer than you, O woman,Nor jay, or nightingale, or dove, or grasshopper.And Nicostratus says, in his Abra—The first, a mighty dish shall lead the way,Holding an urchin, and some sauce and capers,A cheesecake, fish, and onions in rich stuffing.
ἐχρῶντο γὰρ οἱ παλαιοὶ καὶ τοῖς εἰς ἀναστόμωσιν βρώμασιν ὥσπερ ταῖς ἁλμάσιν ἐλάαις, ἃς κολυμβάδας καλοῦσιν· Ἀριστοφάνης γοῦν ἐν Γήρᾳ φησίν ὦ πρεσβῦτα, πότερα φιλεῖς τὰς δρυπεπεῖς ἑταίρας ἢ σὺ τὰς ὑποπαρθένους ἁλμάδας ὡς ἐλάας στιφράς; Φιλήμων δ’ ἐν Μετιόντι ἢ Ζωμίῳ· ἰχθὺς τί σοι ἐφαίνεθ’ οὑφθός; β. μικρὸς ἦν, ἀκήκοας; ἅλμη τε λευκὴ καὶ παχεῖ’ ὑπερβολῇ, κοὐχὶ λοπάδος προσῶζεν οὐδ’ ἡδυσμάτων. ἐβόων δ’ ἅπαντες, ὡς ἀγαθὴν ἅλμην ποιεῖς, ἤσθιον δὲ καὶ τέττιγας καὶ κερκώπας ἀναστομώσεως χάριν. Ἀριστοφάνης Ἀναγύρῳ· πρὸς θεῶν, ἔραμαι τέττιγα φαγεῖν καὶ κερκώπην θηρευσαμένη καλάμῳ λεπτῷ. ἐστὶν δ’ ἡ κερκώπη ζῷον ὅμοιον τέττιγι καὶ τιτιγονίῳ, ὡς Σπεύσιππος παρίστησιν ἐν δευτέρῳ Ὁμοίων, μνημονεύει αὐτῶν Ἐπίλυκος ἐν Κωραλίσκῳ. Ἄλεξις ἐν Θράσωνί φησι· σοῦ δ’ ἐγὼ λαλιστέραν οὐπώποτ’ εἶδον οὔτε κερκώπην, γύναι, οὐ κίτταν, οὐκ ἀηδόν᾽, οὐ χελιδόνα, οὐ τρυγόν᾽, οὐ τέττιγα. Νικόστρατος δ’ ἐν Ἅβρᾳ· πίναξ ὁ πρῶτος τῶν μεγάλων ἡγήσεται ἔχων ἐχῖνον, ὠμοτάριχον, κάππαριν, θρυμματίδα, τέμαχος, βολβὸν ἐν ὑποτρίμματι.
And that they used to eat, for the sake of encouraging the appetite, rape dressed with vinegar and mustard, is plainly stated by Nicander, in the second book of his Georgics, where he says—The rape is a mix'd breed from radishes;It's grown in garden beds, both long and stiff;One sort they wash and dry in the north wind,A friend to winter and to idle servants:Then it revives when soak'd in water warm.Cut thou the roots of rape, and gently scrapeThe not yet juiceless rind in shavings thin;Then dry them in the sun a little while,Then dip them in hot water, and in brine,And pack them closely; or at other timesPour in new wine and vinegar, half and half,Into one vessel, and put salt on the top.And often 'twill be well to pound fresh raisins,And add them gently, scattering in some seedsOf biting mustard; and some dregs of vinegar,To reach the head and touch the vigorous brain:A goodly dish for those who want a dinner.And Diphilus or Sosippus, in the Female Deserter, says—Have you now any sharp fresh vinegar?I think, too, we've some fig-tree juice, my boy.In these I'll press the meat as tight as may be;And some dried herbs I'll spread around the dish;For of all condiments these do most surelyThe body's sensitive parts and nerves excite.They drive away unpleasant heaviness,And make the guests sit down with appetite.
ὅτι δ’ ἤσθιον διὰ ἀναστόμωσιν καὶ τὰς δι’ ὄξους καὶ νάπυος γογγυλίδας σαφῶς παρίστησι Νίκανδρος ἐν δευτέρῳ Γεωργικῶν λέγων οὕτως· γογγυλίδος δισσὴ γὰρ ἰδ’ ἐκ ῥαφάνοιο γενέθλη μακρή τε στιφρή τε φαείνεται ἐν πρασιῇσι. καὶ τὰς μὲν θ’ αὕηνον ἀποπλύνας βορέῃσι, προσφιλέας χειμῶνι καὶ οἰκουροῖσιν ἀεργοῖς· θερμοῖς δ’ ἰκμανθεῖσαι ἀναζώουσ’ ὑδάτεσσι. τμῆγε δὲ γογγυλίδος ῥίζας （καὶ ἀκαρφέα φλοιὸν ἦκα καθηράμενοσ） λεπτουργέας, ἠελίῳ δὲ αὐήνας ἐπὶ τυτθὸν ὁτὲ ʼν ζεστῷ ἀποβάπτων ὕδατι δριμείῃ πολέας ἐμβάπτισον ἅλμῃ, ἄλλοτε δ’ αὖ λευκὸν γλεῦκος συστάμνισον ὄξει ἶσον ἴσῳ, τὰς δ’ ἐντὸς ἐπιστύψας ἁλὶ κρύψαις. πολλάκι δ’ ἀσταφίδας προχέαις τριπτῆρι λεήνας σπέρματὰ τ’ ἐνδάκνοντα σινήπυος. εἰν ἑνὶ δὲ τρὺξ ὄξεος ἰκμάζουσα καὶ ὠμοτέρην ἐπὶ κόρσην ὥριον ἁλμαίην αμυσαι κεχρηόσι δαίτης. Δίφιλος δ’ ἢ Σώσιππος ἐν Ἀπολειπούσῃ· ἔστιν ἔνδον ὄξος ὀξύ σοι; β. ὑπολαμβάνω, παιδάριον ὀπὸν εἰλήφαμεν. ἄριστα τούτοις πάντα πιέσω καὶ πυκνά, ἡ φυλλὰς ἡ δριμεῖα περιοισθήσεται· τῶν πρεσβυτέρων γὰρ ταῦτα τῶν ἡδυσμάτων ἀναστομοῖ τάχιστα τᾀσθητήρια, τό τε νωκαρῶδες καὶ κατημβλυωμένον ἐσκέδασε κἀποίησεν ἡδέως φαγεῖν.
And Alexis, in his Tarentines, when speaking of their banquets, says that the Athenians used to dance at their drinking parties—A. For this now is a common native practice.At the divine and all accomplish'd Athens.They all rise up and dance together whenThe first sweet scent of wine doth reach their nostrils.B. You tell me of a strange and novel custom.A. So you would say, indeed, if unexpectedYou on a sudden dropp'd in at a feast;And beardless boys are sure to meet with favour;But when I see that rogue Theodotus,Or some impure and cheating parasite,Affecting nice and delicate airs, such loathingDoes seize me, that I'd gladly seize the man,And nail him to the vilest cross.And Antiphanes, in his Carians, with reference to the Attic fashion of dancing, turns one of the sophists into ridicule, as dancing at a banquet, in the following verses—Do you not see that eunuch capering,Waving his hands, no signs of shame he shows;He who was lecturing us on Heraclitus,The only master of Theodectes' school,The spouter of Euripides's proverbs.And it will not be foreign to the subject to quote here what is said by Eriphus the comic poet, in his Œolus—For 'tis an ancient proverb, and a wise one;That old men seek for wine to make them dance,Spite of their age, against their will, my father.And Alexis, in the play entitled Isostasium, says—They drank in picnic fashion, only seekingFor some excuse to dance. There was the nameOf meat and vegetables; fish, and crabs,Gudgeon and tench, and similago fine.
Ἄλεξις δ’ ἐν Ταραντίνοις ἐν τοῖς συμποσίοις φησὶ τοὺς Ἀττικοὺς καὶ ὀρχεῖσθαι ὑποπιόντας· τοῦτο γάρ νῦν ἐστί σοι ἐν ταῖς Ἀθήναις ταῖς καλαῖς ἐπιχώριον ἅπαντες ὀρχοῦντ’ εὐθὺς ἂν οἴνου μόνον ὀσμὴν ἴδωσι· συμφορὰν σύ γ’ εἰσορᾶν φαίης ἂν εἰς συμπόσιον εἰσελθὼν ἄφνω. καὶ τοῖς μὲν ἀγενείοις ἴσως ἔπεστί τις χάρις· ἀλλ’ ἐπὰν δὴ τὸν γόητα Θεόδοτον ἢ τὸν παραμασύντην ἴδω τὸν ἀνόσιον βαυκιζόμενον τὰ λευκὰ τ’ ἀναβάλλονθ’ ἅμα, ἥδιστ’ ἂν ἀναπήξαιμ’ ἐπὶ τοῦ ξύλου λαβών. μήποτε δὲ καὶ Ἀντιφάνης ἐν Καρσὶ κατὰ τὸ Ἀττικὸν ἔθος τῆς ὀρχήσεως κωμῳδεῖ τινα τῶν σοφῶν ὡς παρὰ δεῖπνον ὀρχούμενον λέγων οὕτως· οὐχ ὁρᾷς ὀρχούμενον ταῖς χερσὶ τὸν βάκηλον; οὐδ’ αἰσχύνεται ὁ τὸν Ἡράκλειτον πᾶσιν ἐξηγούμενος, ὁ τὴν Θεοδέκτου μόνος ἀνευρηκὼς τέχνην, ὁ τὰ κεφάλαια συγγράφων Εὐριπίδῃ. τούτοις οὐδ’ ἀναρμόστως ἄν τις ἐπενέγκαι τὰ Ἐρίφῳ τῷ κωμικῷ ἐν Αἰόλῳ εἰρημένα τάδε· λόγος γάρ ἐστ’ ἀρχαῖος οὐ κακῶς ἔχων· οἶνον λέγουσι τοὺς γέροντας, ὦ πάτερ, πείθειν χορεύειν οὐ θέλοντας. Ἄλεξις δ’ ἐν τῷ ἐπιγραφομένῳ Ἰσοστάσιόν φησιν ἀπὸ συμβολῶν ἔπινον ὀρχεῖσθαι μόνον βλέποντες, ἄλλο δ’ οὐδέν, ὄψων ὀνόματα καὶ σιτίων ἔχοντες, Ὄψων, Κάραβος καὶ Κωβιός, Σεμίδαλις. Ἀττικὸν δὲ δεῖπνον οὐκ ἀχαρίτως διαγράφει Μάτρων ὁ παρῳδός, ὅπερ διὰ τὸ σπάνιον οὐκ ἂν ὀκνήσαιμι ὑμῖν, ἄνδρες φίλοι, ὁ Πλούταρχος ἔφη, ἀπομνημονεῦσαι· δεῖπνα μοι ἔννεπε, Μοῦσα, πολύτροφα καὶ μάλα πολλά, ἃ Ξενοκλῆς ῥήτωρ ἐν Ἀθήναις δείπνισεν ἡμᾶς·
But Matron the parodist, says Plutarch, has given a very agreeable account of an Attic banquet; and as it is very rare I will not scruple, my friends, to repeat it to you—The feast for much and varied food renown'd,Given by Xenocles, O Muse, resound;For when at Athens he his cards sent round,I went invited, hungry as a hound.What loaves I saw, how large, how round, how fine, —So white, on them alone one well might dine!Boreas, enamour'd of the well-baked train,Gazed on them fondly; while along the plainThe stately Xenocles survey'd the ground,And placed the guests the goodly board around.Near him the parasite Chærephoon stood,And like a cormorant gazed upon the food,Ever at other's cost well pleased to eat:Meanwhile the cooks prepared the dainty treat,The skilful cooks, to whom is given all swayThe sumptuous feast to quicken or delay.Then all the rest the herbs and greens did seize,But me the solid meats did rather please;Rich oysters guarded in their solid shell,While to Phœnician-brine I said farewell;And threw away the urchin's tasteless meat,Which rattled falling at the servant's feet,Loud as the waves the rocky shore which flout,While they in fun the prickly spines pull'd out.There came th' anchovy of Phaleric raceHolding a dirty veil before its face,Friend of the Triton, to the Cyclops dear;* * * * *And pinna's sweet, and cockles fat were thereWhich the wave breeds beneath its weedy bedThe gristly turbot, and the mullet red.First in the fray on them I laid my hand,And called on Phœbus, by his slave to stand;But when Stratocles, scorning fear, I sawHold in his hand the mullet's luscious jaw,I seized it too, and while it came apart,Quick with the dainty bit rejoiced my heart.There, too, the silver-footed Thetis came,The fair-hair'd cuttle-fish, the mighty dame,Fairest of Nereus' daughters, none but sheOf fish can both with black and white agree.There, too, the conger, Tityos of the main,Lay on nine tables and o'erspread the plain.Next came the eel, who charm'd the mighty Jove,And soften'd his stern soul to tender love.So mighty that two wrestlers, of the daysOf old Astyanax, could scarcely raiseHer from the ground and place her on the board,Nine fathoms long, and full nine cubits broad.Up stairs, down stairs the busy cooks did haste,While more fresh dishes on the board they placed.Next forty large black pots appear'd in view,And forty platters from Eubœa too.Then various Iris, Jove's commands to bear,In shape of cuttle-fish flew through the air.The shining perch, the black tail next appear'd;A mortal fish to join immortals dared.Alone, apart in discontented mood,A gloomy dish, the sullen tunny stood;For ever sad with proud disdain he pined,And the lost arms for ever stung his mind.The shark, to masons and upholders dear,Good nurse of youth, though rough its skin appear;Nor do I know on earth a nicer food,Though what came next is very near as good,A roasted cestreas; nor alone it lay,For twelve fine sargi came the self-same way.And a dark amias, of every seaWho knows the depths, great Neptune's comrade he.And squills the minstrels of Olympian Jove,Whom none to look at, all to taste of, love.The chrysophrys, for shining beauty famed,The crab's hard shell refusing to be tamed.All these, and many more besides, I sawCrush'd in each hungry guest's devouring jaw.The royal sturgeon led the second band,Towards whom, though nearly full, I stretch'd my hand;He like ambrosia to my senses look'd,Which I had always thought for gods alone was cookd.Then came alamprey, large and richly fed,As when he seeks the dragon's daughter's bed.And next, (the goddesses such sandals wear,)Of mighty soles a firm and well-match'd pair.Then the sea thrushes young and fierce, who diveMid the deep rocks and tear their prey alive.The sargus, mormyrus, hippurus, spar,The shad, the gale; so countless fishes are.The feast to view the guests' eyes joyful beam'd,And all the house with the rich odour steam'd.The host bade all sit down: myself, I thoughtThis woman's food, and something solid sought.Large in the centre lay a vacant space,Which herbs and salads did with verdure grace.Then a sea blackbird came, a morsel nice,And disappear'd, devoured in a trice.Then came a ham, t' its foes a helpless prey,And while it lasted none could keep away.But when the feast was o'er I wept with sorrowTo think I could not eat on till to-morrow,But must fall back on barley-meal and cheese.* * * * * *Black broth subdued him and boil'd pettitoes;Then came some ducks from Salamis, sacred isle,Borne by the cook, who with a cheerful smile,Marshall'd them where the Athenian phalanx stood;And Chærephon survey'd the various food,That he might know to choose and eat the best;Then like a lion leapt he on the feast,And seized a mighty leg of turkey hot,To make his supper when he home had got.Then groats which Vulcan made into a cake,And in Attic pan full thirteen months did bakeBut when our wish for food was satisfied,We wash'd our hands in ocean's foaming tide;One beauteous slave came round with rich perfume,Another garlands strew'd around the room.Then foam'd around old Bacchus' rosy tide,And each guest merrily with his fellow vied.Then the dessert was served; the juicy pear,The apple and pomegranate too were there.The grape, the nurse of Bacchus, and the plum,And fig, and medlar on the table come.But I ate nought, I was so full before,Till I that lovely child of Ceres saw,A large sweet round and yellow cake; how thenCould I from such a dish, my friends, abstain?Had I ten mouths, aye, and as many hands,A brazen stomach within brazen bands,They all would on that lovely cake have sprung.And so the feast of Stratocles I've sung.
ἦλθον γὰρ κἀκεῖσε, πολὺς δέ μοι ἕσπετο λιμός, οὗ δὴ καλλίστους ἄρτους ἴδον ἠδὲ μεγίστους, λευκοτέρους χιόνος, ἔσθειν δ’ ἀμύλοισιν ὁμοίους … τάων καὶ Βορέης ἠράσσατο πεσσομενάων αὐτὸς δὲ Ξενοκλῆς ἐπεπωλεῖτο στίχας ἀνδρῶν, στῆ δ’ ἄρ’ ἐπ’ οὐδὸν ἰών. σχεδόθεν δέ οἱ ἦν παράσιτος Χαιρεφόων, πεινῶντι λάρῳ ὄρνιθι ἐοικώς, νήστης, ἀλλοτρίων εὖ εἰδὼς δειπνοσυνάων. τῷ δὲ μάγειροι μὲν φόρεον πλῆσάν τε τραπέζας, οἷς ἐπιτετράφαται μέγας οὐρανὸς ὀπτανιάων ἠμὲν ἐπισπεῦσαι δείπνου χρόνον ἠδ’ ἀναμεῖναι ἔνθ’ ἄλλοι πάντες λαχάνοις ἐπὶ χεῖρας ἴαλλον, ἀλλ’ ἐγὼ οὐ πιθόμην, ἀλλ’ ἤσθιον εἴδατα πάντα, βολβοὺς ἀσπάραγόν τε καὶ ὄστρεα μυελόεντα, ὠμοτάριχον ἐῶν χαίρειν, Φοινίκιον ὄψον. αὐτὰρ ἐχίνους ῥῖψα καρηκομόωντας ἀκάνθαις· οἱ δὲ κυλινδόμενοι καναχὴν ἔχον ἐν ποσὶ παίδων ἐν καθαρῷ, ὅθι κύματ’ ἐπ’ ἠιόνος κλύζεσκε· πολλὰς δ’ ἐκ κεφαλῆς προθελύμνους εἷλκον ἀκάνθας. ἡ δὲ Φαληρικὴ ἦλθ’ ἀφύη, Τρίτωνος ἑταίρη, ἄντα παρειάων σχομένη ῥυπαρὰ κρήδεμνα.., τοὺς δ’ ὁ Κύκλωψ ἐφίλει καὶ ἐν οὔρεσιν ἐξεπεφύκει … πίνας ἦλθε φέρων κατὰ τρύβλια ἠχήεντα, ἃς κατὰ φυκότριχος πέτρης λευκὸν τρέφει ὕδωρ … ψῆττά τε χονδροφυὴς καὶ τρίγλη μιλτοπάρῃος. τῇ δ’ ἐγὼ ἐν πρώτοις ἐπέχον κρατερώνυχα χεῖρα οὐδ’ ἔφθην τρώσας μιν, ἄασε δὲ Φοῖβος Ἀπόλλων. ὡς δὲ ἴδον Στρατοκλῆ, κρατερὸν μήστωρα φόβοιο, τρίγλης ἱπποδάμοιο κάρη μετὰ χερσὶν ἔχοντα, ἂψ δ’ ἑλόμην χάρμῃ, λαιμὸν δ’ ἄπληστον ἄμυξα. ἦλθε δὲ Νηρῆος θυγάτηρ, Θέτις ἀργυρόπεζα, σηπίη εὐπλόκαμος, δεινὴ θεὸς αὐδήεσσα, ἣ μόνη ἰχθὺς οὖσα τὸ λευκὸν καὶ μέλαν οἶδε. καὶ Τιτυὸν ἔιδον, λίμνης ἐρικυδέα γόγγρον κείμενον ἐν λοπάδεσσ᾽· ὁ δ’ ἐπ’ ἐννέα κεῖτο τραπέζας. τῷ δὲ μετ’ ἴχνια βαῖνε θεὰ λευκώλενος ἰχθὺς ἔγχελυς, ἣ Διὸς εὔχετ’ ἐν ἀγκοίνῃσι μιγῆναι, ἐκ Κωπῶν, ὅθεν ἐγχέλεων γένος ἀγροτεράων, παμμεγέθης, ἣν οὔ κε δύ’ ἀνέρες ἀθλητῆρες, οἷοι ἄρ’ Ἀστυάναξ τε καὶ Ἀντήνωρ ἐγένοντο, ῥηιδίως ἐπ’ ἄμαξαν ἀπ’ οὔδεος ὀχλίσσειαν τρισπίθαμοι γὰρ ταί γε καὶ ἐννεαπήχεες ἦσαν εὖρος, ἀτὰρ μῆκός γε γενέσθην ἐννεόργυιοι. πολλὰ δ’ ἄναντα κάταντα κατὰ στέγος ἦλθ’ ὁ μάγειρος, σείων ὀψοφόρους πίνακας κατὰ δεξιὸν ὦμον. τῷ δ’ ἅμα τεσσαράκοντα μέλαιναι χύτραι ἕποντο, αὐτὰρ ἀπ’ Εὐβοίας λοπάδες τόσαι ἐστιχόωντο. Ἶρις δ’ ἄγγελος ἦλθε ποδήνεμος, ὠκέα τευθίς, πέρκη τ’ ἀνθεσίχρως καὶ ὁ δημοτικὸς μελάνουρος, ὃς καὶ θνητὸς ἐὼν ἕπετ’ ἰχθύσιν ἀθανάτοισιν. οἴη δ’ αὖ θύννου κεφαλὴ θαλαμηιάδαο νόσφιν ἀφειστήκει, κεχολωμένη οὕνεκα τευχέων αἰρομένων· τὸ δὲ πῆμα θεοὶ θέσαν ἀνθρώποισι. ῥίνη θ᾽, ἣν φιλέουσι περισσῶς τέκτονες ἄνδρες, τρηχεῖ’ ἀλλ’ ἀγαθὴ κουροτρόφος οὐ γὰρ ἔγωγε ἧς σαρκὸς δύναμαι γλυκερώτερον ἄλλο ἰδέσθαι. ὀπταλέος δ’ εἰσῆλθε πελώριος ἱππότα κεστρεὺς οὐκ οἶος· ἅμα τῷ γε δυώδεκα σαργοὶ ἕποντο. κυανόχρως δ’ ἀμίας ἐπὶ τοῖς μέγας, ὅς τε θαλάσσης πάσης βένθεα οἶδε, Ποσειδάωνος ὑποδμώς, καρῖδὲς θ᾽, αἳ Ζηνὸς Ὀλυμπίου εἰσὶν ἀοιδή, αἳ δὴ γήραι κυφαὶ ἔσαν, χρησταὶ δὲ πάσασθαι. χρύσοφρυς, ὃς κάλλιστος ἐν ἄλλοις ἵσταται ἰχθύς, κάραβος, ἀστακὸς αὖτε λιλαίετο θωρήσσεσθαι ἐν μακάρων δείπνοις. τοῖς δαιτυμόνες χέρ’ ἐφέντες ἐν στόμασὶν τ’ ἔθεσαν καὶ ἀπήγαγον ἄλλυδις ἄλλον. τῶν δ’ ἄρ’ ἔλοψ κρείων δουρικλυτὸς ἡγεμόνευεν, οὗ πλήρης περ ἐὼν κρατερῶς παλάμῃ ἐπορέχθην γεύσασθ’ ἱμείρων τὸ δὲ γ’ ἀμβροσίη μοι ἔδοξεν, οἵην δαίνυνται μάκαρες θεοὶ αἰὲν ἐόντες. μύραιναν δ’ ἐπέθηκε φέρων, προκάλυμμα τραπέζης, ζώνην θ᾽, ἣν φορέεσκεν ἀγαλλομένη περὶ δειρήν, εἰς λέχος ἡνίκ’ ἔβαινε Δρακοντιάδῃ μεγαθύμῳ σάνδαλα δ’ αὖ παρέθηκεν ἀειγενῆ ἀθανατάων, βούγλωσσὸν θ᾽, ὃς ἔναιεν ἐν ἅλμῃ μορμυρούσῃ, κίχλας δ’ ἑξείης ἡβήτορας ὑψιπετήεις καὶ πέτρας κάτα βοσκομένας, ὑάδας θ’ ὑδατινούς. ἐν δ’ ἀναμὶξ σαργοί τε καὶ ἵππουροι γλάνιές τε, μόρμυρος ἄντα δ’ ἐῆν, γαλέη, σπάρος οὓς ὁ μάγειρος σίζοντας παρέθηκε φέρων, κνίσωσε δὲ δῶμα. τῶν ἔλεγεν δαίνυσθαι· ἐμοὶ δέ γε θηλυτεράων εἶναι βρώματ’ ἔδοξεν ἔπειθ’ ὥρμαινον ἐπ’ ἄλλα. κεῖτο δέ τις βατάνη, ἧς οὐδεὶς ἥπτετο δειπνῶν, ἐν καθαρῷ ὅθι περ λοπάδων διεφαίνετο χῶρος … ἑξῆς κόσσυφος ἦλθ’ ἐμοί, ὃς γεύσασθαι ἕτοιμος ἥμην· οὐδ’ ἄρ’ ἄθικτος ἔην, πόθεον δὲ καὶ ἄλλοι. κωλῆν δ’ ὡς ἔιδον, ὡς ἔτρεμον, ἐν δὲ σίναπυ κεῖτ’ ἀγχοῦ γλυκερὸν χρυσὸς ὥς, πλείον’ ἐρῦκον. γευσάμενος δ’ ἔκλαιον, ὅτ’ αὔριον οὐκ ἔτι ταῦτα ὄψομαι, ἀλλά με τυρῷ δεῖ καὶ μάζῃ ὀτρηρῇ … νηδὺς δ’ οὐχ ὑπέμεινε, βιάζετο γάρ ῥ’ ἀχέεσσι· δάμνα μιν ζωμός τε μέλας ἀκροκώλιὰ θ’ ἑφθά. παῖς δέ τις ἐκ Σαλαμῖνος ἄγεν τρισκαίδεκα νήσσας, λίμνης ἐξ ἱερῆς, μάλα πίονας· ἃς ὁ μάγειρος θῆκε φέρων, ἵν’ Ἀθηναίων κατέκειντο φάλαγγες … Χαιρεφόων δ’ ἐνόησεν ἅμα πρόσσω καὶ ὀπίσσω ὄρνιθας γνῶναι καὶ ἐναίσιμα σιτίζεσθαι. ἤσθιε δ’ ὥστε λέων, παλάμῃ δ’ ἔχε τὸ σκέλος ἀμνοῦ, ὄφρα οἱ οἴκαδ’ ἰόντι πάλιν ποτιδόρπιον εἴη. χόνδρος δ’ ἡδυπρόσωπος, ὃν Ἥφαιστος κάμεν ἕψων, Ἀττικῷ ἐν κεράμῳ πέττων τρισκαίδεκα μῆνας, αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ δόρποιο μελίφρονος ἐξ ἔρον ἕντο, χεῖρας νιψαμένοισιν ἀπ’ ᾽ Ὠκεανοῖο ῥοάων ὡραῖος παῖς ἦλθε φέρων μύρον ἴρινον ἡδύ, ἄλλος δ’ αὖ στεφάνους ἐπὶ δεξιὰ πᾶσιν ἔδωκεν, οἳ ῥόδον ἀμφεπλέκοντο διάνδιχα κοσμηθέντες. κρητὴρ δὲ Βρομίου ἐκεράννυτο, πίνετο δ’ οἶνος Λέσβιος, οὗ δὴ πλεῖστον ἀνὴρ ὑπὲρ ἄνδρα πεπώκει. δεύτεραι αὖτε τράπεζαι ἐφωπλίζοντο γέμουσαι ἐν δ’ αὐταῖσιν ἐπῆν ἄπιοι καὶ πίονα μῆλα, ῥοιαί τε σταφυλαί τε, θεοῦ Βρομίοιο τιθῆναι, πρόσφατος ἥν θ’ ἁμάμαξυν ἐπίκλησιν καλέουσι. τῶν δ’ ἐγὼ οὐδενὸς ἦσθον ἁπλῶς, μεστὸς δ’ ἀνεκείμην. ὡς δὲ ἴδον ξανθόν, γλυκερόν, μέγαν, ἔγκυκλον, ἁδρὸν Δήμητρος παῖδ’ ὀπτὸν ἐπεισελθόντα πλακοῦντα, πῶς ἂν ἔπειτα πλακοῦντος ἐγὼ θείου ἀπεχοίμην.... οὐδ’ εἴ μοι δέκα μὲν χεῖρες, δέκα δὲ στόματ’ εἶεν, γαστὴρ δ’ ἄρρηκτος, χάλκεον δέ μοι ἦτορ ἐνείη. πόρναι δ’ εἰσῆλθον, κοῦραι δύο θαυματοποιοί, ἃς Στρατοκλῆς ἤλαυνε ποδώκεας ὄρνιθας ὥς.
And Alexis, in his Men running together, ridiculing the Attic banquets, says—I wish that I could get a brace of cooks,The cleverest in their art in all the city.For he who a Thessalian would invite,Lust never stint his fare in Attic fashion,Nor practise over strict economy;But have in all things a well-order'd feast.And the Thessalians are truly fond of eating; as Eriphus says in his Light-armed Soldier, thus—It is not Corinth now, nor Lais here,Nor any feast of sumptuous Thessalians,Whose habits well I know.And the author, whoever he was, of the play called The Beggars, which is ascribed to Chionides, says that the Athenians, when they place a banquet for Castor and Pollux in their Prytaneum, serve up on the tables cheese and barley-cakes, and olives which have fallen, and leeks, for the sake of reminding people of the ancient manner of living. And Solon enjoins them to serve up barley-cakes to those who eat in the prytaneum: and besides that, to place bread on the table at festivals, in imitation of Homer; for he, too, when collecting the chiefs around Agamemnon, says—The cakes were baked.And Chrysippus, in the fourth book of his treatise on Beauty and Pleasure, says—“But at Athens they say that two festivals are celebrated there (neither of them of great antiquity), one at the Lyceum and one in the Academy, and when the confectioner had brought into the Academy a dish for some other purpose, all those who were offering sacrifice at once broke the dish, because something had been introduced which did not belong to the city, and everything which came from afar ought to have been kept away. And that the cook at the Lyceum having prepared some Salt-fish in order to serve up a dish of it, was scourged as a man who used his invention in a very wicked manner.” And Plato, in the second book of his Republic, represents his new citizens as feasting, and writes—“You make your men feast without any second course, says he. You say the truth, I replied; I forgot that they will have a second course-namely, salt, and olives, and cheese, and onions; and besides, they will boil such vegetables as are found in the fields; and moreover, we shall serve up some sweetmeats to them,—figs, and beans, and vetches. They shall roast myrtle-berries too and beechc acorns at the fire, drinking moderately all the time. And in this manner they shall pass their lives in peace, growing old, as it is probable they will, in the enjoyment of good health, and transmit a good constitution to their posterity.”
Ἄλεξις δ’ ἐν Συντρέχουσιν ἐπισκώπτων τὰ Ἀττικὰ δεῖπνά φησιν ἔγωγε δύο λαβεῖν μαγείρους βούλομαι οὓς ἂν σοφωτάτους δύνωμ’ ἐν τῇ πόλει. μέλλοντα δειπνίζειν γὰρ ἄνδρα Θετταλὸν οὐκ Ἀττικηρῶς οὐδ’ ἀπηκριβωμένως λιμῷ με παρατεῖναι τὸν ἄνδρα δεῖ καθ’ ἓν ἕκαστον αὐτῷ παρατιθέντα … μεγαλείως δέ … εὐτράπεζοι δ’ εἰσὶν ὄντως οἱ Θετταλοί, καθὰ καὶ Ἔριφός φησιν ἐν Πελταστῇ οὕτως τάδ’ οὐ Κόρινθος οὐδὲ Λαίς, ὦ Σύρε, οὐδ’ εὐτραπέζων Θετταλῶν ξένων τροφαί, ὧν οὐκ ἄμοιρος ἥδε χεὶρ ἐγίνετο. ὁ δὲ τοὺς εἰς Χιωνίδην ἀναφερομένους Πτωχοὺς ποιήσας τοὺς Ἀθηναίους φησίν, ὅταν τοῖς Διοσκούροις ἐν πρυτανείῳ ἄριστον προτιθῶνται, ἐπὶ τῶν τραπεζῶν τιθέναι τυρὸν καὶ φυστὴν δρυπεπεῖς τ’ ἐλάας καὶ πράσα, ὑπόμνησιν ποιουμένους τῆς ἀρχαίας ἀγωγῆς. Σόλων δὲ τοῖς ἐν πρυτανείῳ σιτουμένοις μᾶζαν παρέχειν κελεύει, ἄρτον δὲ ταῖς ἑορταῖς προσπαρατιθέναι, μιμούμενος τὸν Ὅμηρον. καὶ γὰρ ἐκεῖνος τοὺς ἀριστεῖς συνάγων πρὸς τὸν Ἀγαμέμνονα φύρετο δ’ ἄλφιτα φησίν. Χρύσιππός τ’ ἐν τετάρτῳ περὶ τοῦ καλοῦ καὶ τῆς ἡδονῆς φησιν ἐν Ἀθήναις δὲ ἱστοροῦσιν οὐ πάνυ ἀρχαίων δυεῖν γινομένων δείπνων ἐν Λυκείῳ τε καὶ Ἀκαδημείᾳ, τοῦ μὲν εἰς τὴν Ἀκαδήμειαν εἰσενέγκαντος ὀψοποιοῦ λοπάδα πρὸς ἑτέραν τινὰ χρείαν τὸν κέραμον κατᾶξαι πάντα τοὺς ἱεροποιοὺς ὡς οὐκ ἀστείας παρεισδύσεως γινομένης, δέοντος ἀπέχεσθαι τούτων τῶν μακρόθεν τὸν δ’ ἐν τῷ Λυκείῳ κρέας ταριχηρὸν εἰς τάριχος διασκευάσαντα μαστιγωθῆναι ὡς παρασοφιζόμενον πονηρῶς. Πλάτων δ’ ἐν β’ Πολιτείας οὕτως ἑστιᾷ τοὺς αὑτοῦ νεοπολίτας, γράφων ἄνευ ὄψου, ἔφη, ὡς ἔοικας, ποιεῖς τοὺς ἄνδρας ἑστιωμένους. ἀληθῆ, ἦν δ’ ἐγώ, λέγεις· ἐπελαθόμην ὅτι καὶ ὄψον ἕξουσιν, ἅλας τε δηλονότι καὶ ἐλαίας καὶ τυρόν, καὶ βολβοὺς καὶ λάχανά γε, οἷα δὴ ἐν ἀγροῖς ἑψήματα, ἑψήσονται. καὶ τραγήματά που παραθήσομεν αὐτοῖς τῶν τε σύκων καὶ ἐρεβίνθων καὶ κυάμων, καὶ μύρτα καὶ φηγοὺς σποδιοῦσι πρὸς τὸ πῦρ, μετρίως ὑποπίνοντες. καὶ οὕτως διάγοντες τὸν βίον ἐν εἰρήνῃ μετὰ ὑγιείας, ὡς εἰκός, γηραιοὶ τελευτῶντες ἄλλον τοιοῦτον βίον τοῖς ἐκγόνοις παραδώσουσιν.