We must next speak of the Lacedæmonian banquets. Now Herodotus, in the ninth book of his Histories, speaking of the preparation of Mardonius, and mentioning the banquets of the Lacedæmonians, says—“Xerxes, when fleeing from Greece, left all his equipment to Mardonius. And when Pausanias beheld the appointments of Mardonius's tent, and his tent itself all furnished with gold and silver and embroidered curtains, he ordered the bakers and confectioners to prepare him a supper exactly as they had been in the habit of preparing for Mardonius. And when they had done as they were commanded, Pausanias, beholding the couches of gold and silver all ready laid and covered, and the silver tables, and the superb banquet which was prepared, marvelling at what he saw, by way of ridicule ordered his own slaves to prepare a banquet in the Lacedæmonian fashion. But when it was made ready, Pausanias laughed, and sent for all the generals of the Greeks; and when they were come he showed them both the banquets which were prepared before him, and said: O Greeks, I have assembled you, because I was desirous to exhibit to you the folly of the general of the Medes; who, while he was used himself to live in the manner which you behold, came against us who are in the habit of living in the hard way which you see here.” And some say that a citizen of Sybaris, who was staying at Sparta, and who dined at their Phiditia, said—“It is natural enough for the Lacedæmonians to be the bravest of men; for any man in his senses would rather die ten thousand times over, than live in such a miserable way as this.”
ἑξῆς δὲ λεκτέον καὶ περὶ τῶν Λακωνικῶν συμποσίων. Ἡρόδοτος μὲν οὖν ἐν τῇ ἐνάτῃ τῶν ἱστοριῶν περὶ τῆς Μαρδονίου παρασκευῆς λέγων καὶ μνημονεύσας Λακωνικῶν συμποσίων φησί· Ξέρξης φεύγων ἐκ τῆς Ἑλλάδος Μαρδονίῳ τὴν παρασκευὴν κατέλιπε τὴν αὑτοῦ. Παυσανίαν οὖν ἰδόντα τὴν τοῦ Μαρδονίου παρασκευὴν χρυσῷ καὶ ἀργύρῳ καὶ παραπετάσμασι ποικίλοις κατεσκευασμένην κελεῦσαι τοὺς ἀρτοποιοὺς καὶ ὀψοποιοὺς κατὰ ταὐτὰ καθὼς Μαρδονίῳ δεῖπνον παρασκευάσαι. ποιησάντων δὲ τούτων τὰ κελευσθέντα τὸν Παυσανίαν ἰδόντα κλίνας χρυσᾶς καὶ ἀργυρᾶς ἐστρωμένας καὶ τραπέζας ἀργυρᾶς καὶ παρασκευὴν μεγαλοπρεπῆ δείπνου, ἐκπλαγέντα τὰ προκείμενα κελεῦσαι ἐπὶ γέλωτι τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ διακόνοις παρασκευάσαι Λακωνικὸν δεῖπνον. καὶ παρασκευασθέντος γελάσας ὁ Παυσανίας μετεπέμψατο τῶν Ἑλλήνων τοὺς στρατηγοὺς καὶ ἐλθόντων ἐπιδείξας ἑκατέρου τῶν δείπνων τὴν παρασκευὴν εἶπεν· ἄνδρες Ἕλληνες, συνήγαγον ὑμᾶς βουλόμενος ἐπιδεῖξαι τοῦ Μήδων ἡγεμόνος τὴν ἀφροσύνην, ὃς τοιαύτην δίαιταν ἔχων ἦλθεν ὡς ἡμᾶς οὕτω ταλαίπωρον ἔχοντας φασὶ δέ τινες καὶ ἄνδρα Συβαρίτην ἐπιδημήσαντα τῇ Σπάρτῃ καὶ συνεστιαθέντα ἐν τοῖς φιδιτίοις εἰπεῖν ᾽ εἰκότως ἀνδρειότατοι ἁπάντων εἰσὶ Λακεδαιμόνιοι· ἕλοιτο γὰρ ἂν τις εὖ φρονῶν μυριάκις ἀποθανεῖν ἢ οὕτως εὐτελοῦς διαίτης μεταλαβεῖν.
And Polemo, in his treatise on the Wicker Carriage mentioned by Xenophon, says "that Cratinus in his Pluti, mentioning the feast which is called by the Lacedæmonians Copis, speaks as follows—Tell me, I pray you, is it true that allThe strangers in that country, who arrive,May banquet at the Copis at their pleasureAnd at their parties do there hang aroundCakes fix'd on pegs, that every one who will,Young men and old, may take a bite at them?And Eupolis says in his Helots—And let a Copis be this day prepared. Now the Copis is a peculiar sort of entertainment, just as that which is called Aiclon. And when it tales place, first of all they erect tents near the temple of the good; and in them they place beds of leaves; and on them they strew carpets, and then they feast those who recline on them, not only those who arrive, being natives of the country, but those foreigners also who are sojourning in the place. And at these copides they sacrifice goats, but no other victim; and they give portions of its flesh to every one, and they distribute also what they call a physicillus, which is a little loaf like an encris, made of oil and honey, only rounder in shape. And they give to every one who is present a newly made cheese, and a slice of paunch, and black-pudding, and sweet-meats, and dried. figs, and beans, and green kidney-beans. And any one of the rest of the Spartans who chooses, partakes of this Copis. They also celebrate copides in the city at the festival called Tithenidia, which is celebrated on behalf of the children. For the nurses at this season bring the male children into the fields, and to the Diana surnamed Corythallia; whose temple is near the fountain called Tiassus, in the parts towards Cleta; and there they celebrate copides, in a manner similar to those which have been already mentioned. And they sacrifice small sucking-pigs, and they also at the feast set before the guests some of the loaves called ipnitæ. But this aiclon is called by all the other Dorians δεῖπνον. At all events Epicharmus, in his Hope, says—For some one of his own accord has ask'd you to an αἶκλον,And do thou gladly go in haste of your accord to eat it.And he repeats the same lines in his Periallus. But at Lacedæmon, after supper is over, they set what they call ἄϊκλον (not αἶκλον) before all those who come to the Phiditium; namely, loaves of bread in a small basket, and a slice of meat for each person. And an attendant follows the servant who distributes the portions, proclaiming the ἄϊκλον, adding to his proclamation the name of him who has sent it round.
πολέμων δ’ ἐν τῷ παρὰ Ξενοφῶντι κανάθρῳ τοῦ παρὰ Λάκωσι καλουμένου δείπνου κοπίδος μνημονεύοντα Κρατῖνον ἐν Πλούτοις λέγειν ἆρ’ ἀληθῶς τοῖς ξένοισιν ἔστιν, ὡς λέγουσ᾽, ἐκεῖ πᾶσι τοῖς ἐλθοῦσιν ἐν τῇ κοπίδι θοινᾶσθαι καλῶς, ἐν δὲ ταῖς λέσχαισι φύσκαι προσπεπατταλευμέναι κατακρέμανται τοῖσι πρεσβύταισιν ἀποδάκνειν ὀδάξ; καὶ Εὔπολις ἐν Εἵλωσι· καὶ γένηται τοῖσδε σάμερον κοπίς. δεῖπνον δ’ ἐστὶν ἰδίως ἔχον ἡ κοπίς, καθάπερ καὶ τὸ καλούμενον ἄικλον. ἐπὴν δὲ κοπίζωσι, πρῶτον μὲν δὴ σκηνὰς ποιοῦνται παρὰ τὸν θεόν, ἐν δὲ ταύταις στιβάδας ἐξ ὕλης, ἐπὶ δὲ τούτων δάπιδας ὑποστρωννύουσιν, ἐφ’ αἷς τοὺς κατακλιθέντας εὐωχοῦσιν οὐ μόνον τοὺς ἐκ τῆς ἡμεδαπῆς ἀφικνουμένους, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς ἐπιδημήσαντας τῶν ξένων, θύουσι δ’ ἐν ταῖς κοπίσιν αἶγας, ἄλλο δ’ οὐδὲν ἱερεῖον καὶ τῶν κρεῶν διδόασι μοίρας πᾶσι καὶ τὸν καλούμενον φυσίκιλλον, ὅς ἐστιν ἀρτίσκος ἐγκρίδι παραπλήσιος, γογγυλώτερος δὲ τὴν ἰδέαν. διδόασι τῶν συνιόντων ἑκάστῳ τυρὸν χλωρὸν καὶ γαστρὸς καὶ φύσκης τόμον καὶ τραγήματα σῦκά τε ξηρὰ καὶ κυάμους καὶ φασήλους χλωρούς, κοπίζει δὲ καὶ τῶν ἄλλων Σπαρτιατῶν ὁ βουλόμενος. ἐν δὲ τῇ πόλει κοπίδας ἄγουσι καὶ τοῖς Τιθηνιδίοις καλουμένοις ὑπὲρ τῶν παίδων κομίζουσι γὰρ αἱ τιτθαὶ τὰ ἄρρενα παιδία κατὰ τὸν καιρὸν τοῦτον εἰς ἀγρόν, καὶ πρὸς τὴν Κορυθαλίαν καλουμένην Ἄρτεμιν, ἧς τὸ ἱερὸν παρὰ τὴν καλουμένην Τίασσόν ἐστιν ἐν τοῖς πρὸς τὴν Κλήταν μέρεσι, τὰς κοπίδας παραπλησίως ταῖς λελεγμέναις ἐπιτελοῦσι. θύουσι δὲ καὶ τοὺς γαλαθηνοὺς ὀρθαγορίσκους καὶ παρατιθέασιν ἐν τῇ θοίνῃ τοὺς ἰπνίτας ἄρτους. ὅτι ἄικλον ὑπὸ τῶν ἄλλων Δωριέων καλεῖται τὸ δεῖπνον. Ἐπίχαρμος γοῦν ἐν Ἐλπίδι φησίν ἐκάλεσε γάρ τύ τις ἐπ’ αἶκλον ἀέκων, τὺ δὲ ἑκὼν ᾤχεο τρέχων. τὰ αὐτὰ εἴρηκε καὶ ἐν Περιάλλῳ. ἐν δὲ τῇ Λακεδαίμονι τοῖς εἰσιοῦσιν εἰς τὸ φιδίτιον μετὰ δεῖπνον τὸ καλούμενον ἄικλον εἰσφέρουσιν ἄρτους ἐν ἀρριχίδι καὶ κρέας ἑκάστῳ, καὶ τῷ νέμοντι τὰς μοίρας ἀκολουθῶν ὁ διάκονος κηρύττει τὸ ἄικλον προστιθεὶς τοῦ πέμψαντος τὴν ὀνομασίαν.
This was the statement of Polemo. But Didymus the Grammarian contradicted him, (and Demetrius, of Trœzen, calls him a Bookforgetter, on account of the number of books which he has edited, for they amount to three thousand and five hundred,) and said—"Polycrates, in his history of Lacedæmonian affairs, relates that the Lacedæmonians celebrate the festival called Hyacinthia for three days, and on account of their lamentation for Hyacinthus, they do not wear crowns at their feasts, nor do they bring bread there, but they distribute cheesecakes, and other things of the same kind. And they sing no paean to the god, nor do they introduce anything of that sort, as they do in other sacred festivals, but they eat their supper in a very orderly manner, and then depart. But on the middle one of the three days there is a very superb spectacle, and a very considerable and important assembly; for boys play upon the harp, girt up in their tunics, and singing to the music of the flute, running over all the strings of the harp at the same time with the plectrum, in an anapæstic rhythm, with a shrill tone, and in that manner they sing a hymn in honour of the god. And others riding on horses and handsomely dressed go through the theatre; and very numerous choruses of young men enter, and they sing some of their native poems. And dancers mingled with them perform an ancient sort of dance to the music of a flute and singing. And virgins also, some in wooden curved chariots, called canathra, beautifully made, and others in crowds of large waggons drawn by horses, make a procession; and the whole city is in a state of agitation and of delight at the spectacle. And they sacrifice great numbers of victims all this day. And the citizens give a banquet to all their friends, and to their own slaves; and no one omits attending the sacred feast, but the whole city is evacuated by the whole body of citizens flocking to the spectacle. And the copis is also mentioned by Aristophanes or Philyllius in the Cities, and by Epilycus in the Coraliscus, where he says—When I shall bear a copis to the faneOf sacred Amyclæ, then many baraces,And loaves, and luscious sauce shall show my coming:saying expressly that barley-cakes are set before the guests at the copides, (for that is the meaning of the word βάρακες, which does not mean cheesecakes, as Lycophron asserts, nor barley-meal porridge, as Eratosthenes believes,) and loaves, and a particular sort of broth very highly seasoned. More- over, what the copis is, is very perspicuously explained by Molpis in his treatise on the Polity of the Lacedæmonians, where he writes, They also have feasts which they call copides. But the copis is a supper consisting of barley-cakes, loaves, meat, raw vegetables, soup, figs, sweetmeats, and warmed wine. Moreover, sucking-pigs are not called ὀρθαγορίσκοι, as Polemo pronounces the word, but ὀρθραγορίσκοι, since they are sold at early dawn (πρὸς τὸν ὄρθρον), as Persæus relates in his treatise on the Lacedæmonian Polity. And Dioscorides, in the second book of his Polity, and Aristocles, in the first book of the treatise which he also wrote concerning the Lacedæmonian Polity, make the same statement. Besides, Polemo says, that supper is called ἄϊκλον by the Lacedæmonians, and that all the rest of the Dorians give it the same name. For Alcman says—At the mill and also at the suppers (ταῖς συναικλείαις),where he uses συναίκλειαι as equivalent to συνδείπνια. And in a subsequent passage he says—Alcman prepared an ἄϊκλον.But the Lacedæmonians do not call that portion which is given after the supper ἄϊκλον, nor that which is given after supper at the phiditia; for that consists of bread and meat: but that is called ἐπάϊκλον, being, as it were, an addition to the ἄϊκλον, which is regularly appointed as a part of the phiditia; and that is what I imagine the name implies. For the preparation of what is called the ἐπάϊκλα is not simple, as Polemo supposed, but of a two-fold nature. For that which they give to the boys is very slight and trifling, being merely meal steeped in oil, which Nicocles, the Lacedæmonian, says that they eat after supper, wrapped up in leaves of the bay-tree, from which those leaves are called καμματίδες, and the cakes themselves are called κάμματα. And that it was a custom of the ancients to eat the leaves of the bay-tree at dessert, Callias or Diocles asserts in the Cyclopes, speaking thus—You will eat the leaves meant for supper,And this belongs to the figures which...But what they serve up at the phiditia of the men is prepared of some few regular animals, one of those who are rich men providing them for the phiditia, or sometimes several men club together to furnish it. But Molpis tells u that the ἐπάϊκλα are also surnamed μἀττύη.
ταῦτα μὲν ὁ Πολέμων πρὸς ὃν ἀντιλέγων Δίδυμος ὁ γραμματικὸσ—καλεῖ δὲ τοῦτον Δημήτριος ὁ Τροιζήνιος βιβλιολάθαν διὰ τὸ πλῆθος ὧν ἐκδέδωκε συγγραμμάτων ἐστὶ γὰρ τρισχίλια πρὸς τοῖς πεντακοσίοισ—φησὶ τάδε· Πολυκράτης, φησί, ἐν τοῖς Λακωνικοῖς ἱστορεῖ ὅτι τὴν μὲν τῶν Ὑακινθίων θυσίαν οἱ Λάκωνες ἐπὶ τρεῖς ἡμέρας συντελοῦσι καὶ διὰ τὸ πένθος τὸ γινόμενον περὶ τὸν Ὑάκινθον οὔτε στεφανοῦνται ἐπὶ τοῖς δείπνοις οὔτε ἄρτον εἰσφέρουσιν οὔτε ἄλλα πέμματα καὶ τὰ τούτοις ἀκόλουθα διδόασι καὶ τὸν εἰς τὸν θεὸν παιᾶνα οὐκ ᾄδουσιν οὐδ’ ἄλλο τι τοιοῦτον εἰσάγουσιν οὐδὲν καθάπερ ἐν ταῖς ἄλλαις θυσίαις ποιοῦσιν, ἀλλὰ μετ’ εὐταξίας πολλῆς δειπνήσαντες ἀπέρχονται, τῇ δὲ μέσῃ τῶν τριῶν ἡμερῶν γίνεται θέα ποικίλη καὶ πανήγυρις ἀξιόλογος καὶ μεγάλη· παῖδές τε γὰρ κιθαρίζουσιν ἐν χιτῶσιν ἀνεζωσμένοις καὶ πρὸς αὐλὸν ᾄδοντες πάσας ἅμα τῷ πλήκτρῳ τὰς χορδὰς ἐπιτρέχοντες ἐν ῥυθμῷ μὲν ἀναπαίστῳ, μετ’ ὀξέος δὲ τόνου τὸν θεὸν ᾄδουσιν ἄλλοι δ’ ἐφ’ ἵππων κεκοσμημένων τὸ θέατρον διεξέρχονται· χοροί τε νεανίσκων παμπληθεῖς εἰσέρχονται καὶ τῶν ἐπιχωρίων τινὰ ποιημάτων ᾄδουσιν, ὀρχησταί τε ἐν τούτοις ἀναμεμιγμένοι τὴν κίνησιν ἀρχαικὴν ὑπὸ τὸν αὐλὸν καὶ τὴν ᾠδὴν ποιοῦνται, τῶν δὲ παρθένων αἱ μὲν ἐπὶ κανάθρων φέρονται πολυτελῶς κατεσκευασμένων, αἱ δ’ ἐφ’ ἁμίλλαις ἁρμάτων ἐζευγμένων πομπεύουσιν, ἅπασα δ’ ἐν κινήσει καὶ χαρᾷ τῆς θεωρίας ἡ πόλις καθέστηκεν. ἱερεῖά τε παμπληθῆ θύουσι τὴν ἡμέραν ταύτην καὶ δειπνίζουσιν οἱ πολῖται πάντας τοὺς γνωρίμους καὶ τοὺς δούλους τοὺς ἰδίους· οὐδεὶς δ’ ἀπολείπει τὴν θυσίαν, ἀλλὰ κενοῦσθαι συμβαίνει τὴν πόλιν πρὸς τὴν θέαν. τῆς δὲ κοπίδος μνημονεύει καὶ Ἀριστοφάνης ἢ Φιλύλλιος ἐν ταῖς Πόλεσιν, Ἐπίλυκός τε ἐν Κωραλίσκῳ λέγων οὕτως· ποττὰν κοπίδ᾽, οἰῶ, σώμαι ἐν Ἀμυκλαῖον παρ’ Ἀπέλλω, εἷ βάρακες πολλαὶ κἄρτοι καὶ δωμὸς τοι μάλα ἁδύς, διαρρήδην λέγων μάζας ἐν ταῖς κοπίσι παρατίθεσθαι—τοῦτο γὰρ αἱ βάρακες δηλοῦσιν, οὐχὶ τολύπας, ὥς φησι Λυκόφρων, ἢ τὰ προφυράματα τῶν μαζῶν, ὡς Ἐρατοσθένησ—καὶ ἄρτους δὲ καὶ ζωμόν τινα καθηδυσμένον περιττῶς. τίς δέ ἐστιν ἡ κοπὶς σαφῶς ἐκτίθεται Μόλπις ἐν τῇ Λακεδαιμονίων πολιτείᾳ γράφων οὕτως ᾽ ποιοῦσι δὲ καὶ τὰς καλουμένας κοπίδας· ἐστὶν δ’ ἡ κοπὶς δεῖπνον, μᾶζα, ἄρτος, κρέας, λάχανον ὠμόν, - ζωμός, σῦκον, τράγημα, θέρμος ἀλλὰ μὴν οὐδ’ ὀρθαγορίσκοι λέγονται, ὥς φησιν ὁ Πολέμων, οἱ γαλαθηνοὶ χοῖροι, ἀλλ᾽ ὀρθραγορίσκοι, ἐπεὶ πρὸς τὸν ὄρθρον πιπράσκονται, ὡς Περσαῖος ἱστορεῖ ἐν τῇ Λακωνικῇ πολιτείᾳ καὶ Διοσκουρίδης ἐν β’ πολιτείας καὶ Ἀριστοκλῆς ἐν τῷ προτέρῳ καὶ οὗτος τῆς Λακώνων πολιτείας ἔτι φησὶν ὁ Πολέμων καὶ τὸ δεῖπνον ὑπὸ τῶν Λακεδαιμονίων ἄικλον προσαγορεύεσθαι, παραπλησίως ἁπάντων Δωριέων οὕτως αὐτὸ καλούντων. Ἀλκμὰν μὲν γὰρ οὕτω φησί· κἠπὶ τᾷ μύλᾳ δρυφῆται κἠπὶ ταῖς συναικλίαις, οὕτω τὰ συνδείπνια καλῶν. καὶ πάλιν ᾽ ἄικλον Ἀλκμάων ἁρμόξατο ἄικλον δ’ οὐ λέγουσιν οἱ Λάκωνες τὴν μετὰ τὸ δεῖπνον μοῖραν, ἀλλ’ οὐδὲ τὰ διδόμενα τοῖς φιδίταις μετὰ τὸ δεῖπνον ἄρτος γάρ ἐστι καὶ κρέας, ἀλλ’ ἐπάικλα μὲν λέγεται ταῦτα, ὄντα οἷον ἐπιχορηγήματα τοῦ συντεταγμένου τοῖς φιδίταις ἀίκλον· παρὰ γὰρ τοῦτο οἶμαι τὴν φωνὴν πεποιῆσθαι. καί ἐστιν ἡ παρασκευὴ τῶν λεγομένων ἐπαίκλων οὐχ ἁπλῆ, καθάπερ ὁ Πολέμων ὑπείληφεν, ἀλλὰ διττή· ἣν μὲν γὰρ τοῖς παισὶ παρέχουσι πάνυ τις εὔκολός ἐστι καὶ εὐτελής. ἄλφιτα γάρ ἐστιν ἐλαίῳ δεδευμένα, ἅ φησι Νικοκλῆς ὁ Λάκων κάπτειν αὐτοὺς μετὰ τὸ δεῖπνον ἐν φύλλοις δάφνης, παρὸ καὶ καμματίδας μὲν προσαγορεύεσθαι τὰ φύλλα, αὐτὰ δὲ τὰ ψαιστὰ κάμματα. ὅτι δὲ ἔθος ἦν τοῖς πάλαι καὶ φύλλα δάφνης τραγηματίζεσθαι Καλλίας ἢ Διοκλῆς ἐν τοῖς Κύκλωψί φησιν οὕτως· φυλλὰς ἡ δείπνων κατάλυσις ἥδε καθάπερ σχημάτων. ἣν δ’ εἰς τὰ τῶν ἀνδρῶν φιδίτια κομίζουσι, σκευοποιεῖται ἔκ τινων ζῴων ὡρισμένων, παραχορηγοῦντος αὐτὰ τοῖς φιδίταις ἑνὸς τῶν εὐπορούντων, ἔσθ’ ὅτε δὲ καὶ πλειόνων. ὁ δὲ Μόλπις καὶ ματτύην φησὶ προσαγορεύεσθαι τὰ ἐπάικλα.
But concerning the ἐπάϊκλα, Persæus, in his treatise on the Lacedæmonian Constitution, writes as follows:—“And immediately he levies on the rich men a tax of money to provide the ἐπάϊκλα; and this word means the sweetmeats which come on after supper. But he enjoins the poor to bring a reed, or a straw, or a leaf of the bay-tree, in order that they may be able to eat the ἐπάϊκλα after supper. For it consists of meal steeped in oil; and this is wholly like the arrangement of some small state. For in these ἐπάϊκλα they attend to all such points as these: who ought to sit down first, or second, or who ought to sit down on a small couch; and so on.” And Dioscorides gives the same account. But concerning the words καμματίδες and κάμματα Nicocles writes as follows:—“But the Ephor, having heard the cause, pronounces an acquittal or a condemnation. And he who has gained the cause is slightly taxed to provide some κάμματα or καμματίδες. Now the κάμματα are cakes; but the καμματίδες are what they wrap them in in order to eat them.”
περὶ δὲ τῶν ἐπαίκλων Περσαῖος ἐν τῇ Λακωνικῇ πολιτείᾳ οὑτωσὶ γράφει· ‘καὶ εὐθὺς τοὺς μὲν εὐπόρους ζημιοῖ εἰς ἐπάικλα· ταῦτα δέ ἐστιν μετὰ δεῖπνον τραγήματα· τοῖς δ’ ἀπόροις ἐπιτάττει κάλαμον ἢ στιβάδα ἢ φύλλα δάφνης φέρειν, ὅπως ἔχωσι τὰ ἐπάικλα κάπτειν μετὰ δεῖπνον γίνεται γὰρ ἄλφιτα ἐλαίῳ ἐρραμένα. τὸ δ’ ὅλον ὥσπερ πολίτευμά τι τοῦτο δὴ συνίσταται μικρόν, καὶ γὰρ ὅντινα δεῖ πρῶτον κατακεῖσθαι ἢ δεύτερον ἢ ἐπὶ τοῦ σκιμποδίου καθῆσθαι, πάντα τοιαῦτα ποιοῦσιν εἰς ἐπάικλα.’ τὰ ὅμοια ἱστορεῖ καὶ Διοσκουρίδης περὶ δὲ τῶν καμματίδων καὶ τῶν καμμάτων Νικοκλῆς οὕτως γράφει· ᾽ διακούσας δε πάντων ὁ ἔφορος ἤτοι ἀπέλυσεν ἢ κατεδίκασεν. ὁ δὲ νικήσας ἐζημίωσεν ἐλαφρῶς ἤτοι κάμμασιν ἢ καμματίσιν. ἐστὶ δὲ τὰ μὲν κάμματα ψαιστά, αἱ δὲ καμματίδες αἷς κάπτουσι τὰ ψαιστά.’
But concerning the banquet of the Phiditia, Dioscorides gives this account in his book entitled Tripoliticus. “In the first place, each individual has his supper put down separately before him, and he has no participation with any one else; and after that each has as much barley-cake as he pleases. And again, a cup is placed before each person, to drink whenever he pleases. And the meat is always the same for every one, being boiled pork; but sometimes they have no meat at all, except some little bit weighing at the outside about four minæ; and besides this, nothing at all except the broth which comes from it; which is sufficient for every one at the whole banquet to have some. And sometimes there may be some olives, or some cheese, or a few figs: and sometimes they have some small addition—a fish, or a hare, or a pigeon, or something of that sort: and then, after they have eaten very rapidly, the things are brought round which are called ἐπάϊκλα. And every one contributes to the phiditium about three Attic semimedimni of meal, and about eleven or twelve choes of wine; and in addition to this they contributed a certain weight of cheese and figs; and moreover, for purchasing meat, they gave ten Aeginetan obols.” But Sphærus, in the third book of his treatise on the Lacedæmonian Constitution, writes—“The partakers of the phiditium do also themselves contribute the ἐπάϊκλα. And sometimes most of them make their contributions consist of what has been caught by them in hunting. Not but what the rich contribute also bread and whatever vegetables or fruits may be in season, in such quantities as are sufficient for one meal; thinking that to provide more than is just enough is superfluous, as it will not be eaten.” And Molpis says—“But after the supper is over something is always contributed by some one or other, and sometimes by many joining together; and the ματτύη, which they call the ἐπάϊκλον, is prepared by them at their own houses: but no one goes to any expense in buying what he contributes for this purpose. For they do not contribute it for the purpose of giving pleasure, or of indulging in any immoderate eating, but with the view of making a display of their own skill in hunting. And many also who breed flocks of sheep, give their produce very liberally. And this ματτύη consists of pigeons, geese, two hen-doves, thrushes, blackbirds, hares, lambs, kids. And the cooks always proclaim the name of him who has contributed each dish, in order that all men may see his devotion to hunting, and his eagerness to contribute to their enjoyment.” But Demetrius the Scepsian says, in the first book of his treatise on the Trojan Array, “that the festival of the Carnea among the Lacedæmonians is a representation of a military expedition. For that there are nine spots marked out; and they are called sciades, having something like tents in them; and in each of them nine men sup; and everything is proclaimed by the crier as if it were a military order. Now each scias has three phratriæ. And this festival of the Carnea lasts nine days.”
περὶ δὲ τοῦ τῶν φιδιτίων δείπνου Δικαίαρχος τάδε ἱστορεῖ ἐν τῷ ἐπιγραφομένῳ Τριπολιτικῷ· ᾽ τὸ δεῖπνον πρῶτον μὲν ἑκάστῳ χωρὶς παρατιθέμενον καὶ πρὸς ἕτερον κοινωνίαν οὐδεμίαν ἔχον εἶτα μᾶζαν μὲν ὅσην ἂν ἕκαστος ᾖ βουλόμενος, καὶ πιεῖν πάλιν ὅταν ᾖ θυμὸς ἑκάστῳ κώθων παρακείμενός ἐστιν. ὄψον δὲ ταὐτὸν ἀεί ποτε πᾶσίν ἐστιν, ὕειον κρέας ἑφθόν, ἐνίοτε δ’ οὐδ’ ὁτιμενοῦν πλὴν ὄψον τι μικρὸν ἔχον σταθμὸν ὡς τέταρτον μάλιστα, καὶ παρὰ τοῦτο ἕτερον οὐδὲν πλὴν ὅ γε ἀπὸ τούτων ζωμὸς ἱκανὸς ὢν παρὰ πᾶν τὸ δεῖπνον ἅπαντας αὐτοὺς παραπέμπειν, κἂν ἄρα ἐλάα τις ἢ τυρὸς ἢ σῦκον, ἀλλὰ κἄν τι λάβωσιν ἐπιδόσιμον, ἰχθὺν ἢ λαγὼν ἢ φάτταν ἤ τι τοιοῦτον, εἶτ’ ὀξέως ἤδη δεδειπνηκόσιν ὕστερα περιφέρεται ταῦτα τὰ ἐπάικλα καλούμενα, συμφέρει δ’ ἕκαστος εἰς τὸ φιδίτιον ἀλφίτων μὲν ὡς τρία μάλιστα ἡμιμέδιμνα ᾽ Ἀττικά, οἴνου δὲ χοεῖς ἕνδεκά τινας ἢ δώδεκα, παρὰ δὲ ταῦτα τυροῦ σταθμόν τινα καὶ σύκων, ἔτι δὲ εἰς ὀψωνίαν περὶ δέκα τινὰς Αἰγιναίους ὀβολούς Σφαῖρος δ’ ἐν τρίτῳ Λακωνικῆς πολιτείας γράφει· ‘φέρουσι δὲ καὶ ἐπάικλα αὐτοῖς οἱ φιδίται· καὶ τῶν μὲν ἀγρευομένων ὑφ’ αὑτῶν ἐνίοτε οἱ πολλοί, οὐ μὴν ἀλλ’ οἵ γε πλούσιοι καὶ ἄρτον καὶ ὧν ἂν ὥρα ἐκ τῶν ἀγρῶν ὅσον εἰς αὐτὴν τὴν συνουσίαν, νομίζοντες καὶ τὸ πλείονα τῶν ἱκανῶν παρασκευάζειν περιττὸν εἶναι, μὴ μέλλοντά γε προσφέρεσθαι.’ Μόλπις δέ φησι· ʽ μετὰ δὲ τὸ δεῖπνον εἴωθεν ἀεί τι παρά τινος κομίζεσθαι, ἐνίοτε δὲ καὶ παρὰ πλειόνων, παρ’ αὐτοῖς κατ’ οἶκον ἠρτυμένη ματτύη, ὃ καλοῦσιν ἐπάικλον. τῶν δὲ κομιζομένων οὐδεὶς οὐθὲν ἀγοράσας εἴωθεν φέρειν οὔτε γὰρ ἡδονῆς οὐδ’ ἀκρασίας γαστρὸς οὕνεκεν κομίζουσιν, ἀλλὰ τῆς αὑτῶν ἀρετῆς ἀπόδειξιν τῆς κατὰ τὴν θήραν ποιούμενοι, πολλοὶ δὲ καὶ ποίμνια αὐτῶν τρέφοντες ἀφθόνως μεταδιδόασι τῶν ἐκγόνων. ἐστὶ δ’ ἡ ματτύα φάτται, χῆνες, τρυγόνες, κίχλαι, κόσσυφοι, λαγῴ, ἄρνες, ἔριφοι. οἱ δὲ μάγειροι σημαίνουσι τοὺς ἀεί τι κομίζοντας εἰς μέσον, ἵνα πάντες εἰδῶσι τὴν τῆς θήρας φιλοπονίαν καὶ τὴν εἰς αὐτοὺς ἐκτένειαν Δημήτριος δ’ ὁ Σκήψιος ἐν τῷ α τοῦ Τρωικοῦ διακόσμου τὴν τῶν Καρνείων φησὶν ἑορτὴν παρὰ Λακεδαιμονίοις μίμημα εἶναι στρατιωτικῆς ἀγωγῆς. τόπους μὲν γὰρ εἶναι θ τῷ ἀριθμῷ, σκιάδες δὲ οὗτοι καλοῦνται σκηναῖς ἔχοντες παραπλήσιόν τι· καὶ ἐννέα καθ’ ἕκαστον ἄνδρες δειπνοῦσι, πάντα τε ἀπὸ προστάγματος κηρύσσεται, ἔχει τε ἑκάστη σκιὰς φρατρίας τρεῖς καὶ γίνεται ἡ τῶν Καρνείων ἑορτὴ ἐπὶ ἡμέρας ʽ.
Subsequently the Lacedæmonians relaxed the rigour of this way of living, and became more luxurious. At all events, Phylarchus, in the fifteenth and again in the twentieth book of his Histories, writes thus concerning them:—“The Lacedæmonians had given up assembling for the phiditia, according to the custom of their country, and whenever they met, after having had a few things brought round, for the sake of a seeing compliance with the law, other thins were then prepared; couches furnished in a very expensive way and of exceeding size, and all differing from one another in their adornment; so that some of the strangers who were invited used to be afraid to put their elbows on the pillows; and those who formerly used to rest on a bare bench during the whole banquet, perhaps once leaning on their elbows for a few minutes, had now come to such a pitch of luxury as I have spoken of, and to a serving up of many cups of wine, and of all sorts of food procured from all countries and dressed in every kind of luxurious way; and besides that, they had come to use foreign perfumes, and also foreign wines and sweetmeats. And the people began this fashion who lived a short time before the reign of Cleomenes, namely Areus and Acrotatus, rivalling the indulgences of the court of Persia; and they in their turn were so far exceeded by some private individuals, who lived in Sparta at that time, in their own personal extravagance, that Areus and Acrotatus appeared people of such rigid economy as to have surpassed the most simple of their predecessors in self-denial.”
τὴν δὲ τῆς διαίτης τῆς τοιαύτης σκληρότητα ὕστερον καταλύσαντες οἱ Λάκωνες ἐξώκειλαν εἰς τρυφήν. Φύλαρχος γοῦν ἐν τῇ ε καὶ κ τῶν ἱστοριῶν τάδε γράφει περὶ αὐτῶν· Λακεδαιμόνιοι εἰς μὲν τὰ φιδίτια οὐκ ἤρχοντο κατὰ τὸ πάτριον ἔθος· ὅτε δὲ καὶ παραγένοιντο, μικρὰ συμπεριενεχθεῖσι νόμου χάριν παρεσκευάζετο καὶ σκιάδεια αὐτοῖς στρωμναί τε τοῖς μεγέθεσιν οὕτως ἐξησκημέναι πολυτελῶς καὶ τῇ ποικιλίᾳ διαφόρως ὥστε τῶν ξένων ἐνίους τῶν παραληφθέντων ὀκνεῖν τὸν ἀγκῶνα ἐπὶ τὰ προσκεφάλαια ἐρείδειν. οἱ δὲ πρότερον ἐπὶ τοῦ κλιντηρίου ψιλοῦ διακαρτεροῦντες παρ’ ὅλην τὴν συνουσίαν, ὅτε τὸν ἀγκῶνα ἅπαξ ἐρείσειαν … εἰς δὲ τὴν προειρημένην τρυφὴν ἦλθον ποτηρίων τ’ ἐκθέσεις πολλῶν καὶ βρωμάτων παντοδαπῶς πεποιημένων παραθέσεις, ἔτι δὲ μύρων ἐξηλλαγμένων, ὡς δ’ αὕτως οἴνων καὶ τραγημάτων. καὶ τούτων ἦρξαν οἱ μικρὸν πρὸ Κλεομένους βασιλεύσαντες Ἄρευς καὶ Ἀκρότατος αὐλικὴν ἐξουσίαν ζηλώσαντες· οὓς τοσοῦτον αὖθις ὑπερῆράν τινες τῶν ἰδιωτῶν τῶν ἐν Σπάρτῃ γενομένων κατ’ ἐκεῖνον τὸν χρόνον τῇ πολυτελείᾳ τῇ καθ’ αὑτούς, ὥστε δοκεῖν τὸν Ἄρεα καὶ τὸν Ἀκρότατον εὐτελείᾳ πάντας ὑπερβεβληκέναι τοὺς ἀφελεστάτους τῶν πρότερον.
“But Cleomenes was a man of eminent wisdom in his discernment of matters, (although he was but a young man,) and also was exceedingly simple in his manner of life. For he, being king, and having such important affairs intrusted to his management, displayed such behaviour to any who were invited to any sacrifice, as to make them see that what they had daily prepared at home for themselves was in no respect inferior to what he allowed himself. And when many embassies were sent to him he never made a banquet for the ambassadors at an earlier hour than the regular time; and there never was anything more laid than a common pentaclinum; and when there was no embassy, what was laid was a triclinium. And there were no orders issued by the regulator of the feasts, as to who should come in or who should sit down first: but the eldest led the way to the couch, unless he himself invited any one else to do so; and he was generally seen supping with his brother or with some of his friends of his own age. And there was placed on a tripod a brazen wine-cooler, and a cask, and a small silver cup holding two cotyle, and a cyathus; and the spoon was made of brass. And wine was not brought round to drink unless any one asked for it; but one cyathus was given to each guest before supper: and generally it was given to himself first; and then, when he had thus given the signal, the rest also asked for some wine. But what was served up was placed on a very common-looking table; and the dishes were such that there was neither anything left, nor anything deficient, but just a sufficient quantity for every one; so that those who were present should not feel the want of anything. For he did not think it right to receive guests as sparingly, in respect of soup and meat, as men are treated at the phiditia; nor again, to have so much superfluity as to waste money for no purpose, exceeding all moderation and reason in the feast; for the one extreme he counted illiberal, and the other arrogant. And the wine was of rather a better quality when he had any company. But while they were eating they all kept silence; but a slave stood by, holding in his hand a vessel of mixed wine, and poured out for every one who asked for it. And in the same manner, after supper there was given to each guest not more than two cyathi of wine, and this too was brought to each person as he made a sign for it. And there was no music of any kind accompanying the meal, but Cleomenes himself conversed all the time with each individual, having invited them, as it were, for the purpose of listening and talking; so that all departed charmed with his hospitality and affability.” But Antiphanes, ridiculing the Lacedæmonian banquets, in the style of the comic poets, in his drama which is entitled Archon, speaks as follows:—If you should live in Lacedæmon's walls,You must comply with all their fashions there.Go to their spare phiditia for supper,And feast on their black broth; and not disdainTo wear fierce whiskers, and seek no indulgenceFurther than this; but keep the olden customs,Such as their country doth compel.
Κλεομένης δὲ πολὺ διενέγκας τῷ τε συνιδεῖν πράγματα, καίτοι νέος ὢν, καὶ κατὰ τὴν δίαιταν ἀφελέστατος γέγονεν. ἤδη γὰρ τηλικούτων πραγμάτων ἡγούμενος ἔμφασιν τοῖς παραλαμβανομένοις πρὸς τὴν θυσίαν ἐποίει διότι τὰ παρὰ ἐκείνοις τῶν παρ’ αὐτὸν οὐδὲν καταδεέστερον εἴη παρασκευαζόμενα, πολλῶν δὲ πρεσβειῶν παραγινομένων πρὸς αὐτὸν οὐδέποτε ἐνωρίστερον τοῦ κατειθισμένου συνῆγεν καιροῦ, πεντακλίνου τε διεστρώννυτο οὐδέποτε πλεῖον ὅτε δὲ μὴ παρείη πρεσβεία, τρίκλινον. καὶ πρόσταγμα οὐκ ἐγίνετο δι’ ἐδεάτρου τίς εἵσεται καὶ κατακλιθήσεται πρῶτος, ἀλλ’ ὁ πρεσβύτατος ἡγεῖτο ἐπὶ τὰς κλίνας, εἰ μή. τιν’ αὐτὸς προσκαλέσαιτο. κατελαμβάνετο δὲ ἐπὶ τὸ πολὺ μετὰ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ κατακείμενος ἢ μετά τινος τῶν ἡλικιωτῶν. ἐπί τε τῷ τρίποδι ψυκτὴρ χαλκοῦς ἐπέκειτο καὶ κάδος καὶ σκαφίον ἀργυροῦν δύο κοτύλας χωροῦν καὶ κύαθος, ἡ δ’ ἐπίχυσις χαλκῆ. πιεῖν δὲ οὐ προσεφέρετο εἰ μή τις αἰτήσειεν ἐδίδοτο δὲ κύαθος εἷς πρὸ τοῦ δείπνου, αὐτῷ δὲ πολὺ πρώτῳ· καὶ ὅτε προσνεύσειεν ἐκεῖνος, οὕτως ᾔτουν καὶ οἱ λοιποί, τὰ δὲ παρατιθέμενα ἐπὶ μὲν τραπεζίου ἦν τοῦ τυχόντος, τὰ δὲ λοιπὰ ὥστε μήθ’ ὑπεραίρειν μήτ’ ἐλλείπειν, ἀλλ’ ἱκανὰ ἅπασι γίνεσθαι καὶ μὴ προσδεῖσθαι τοὺς παρόντας. οὔτε γὰρ οὕτως ᾤετο δεῖν ὥσπερ ἐν τοῖς φιδιτίοις δέχεσθαι ζωμῷ καὶ κρεᾳδίοις ἀφελῶς οὔτε πάλιν οὕτως ὑπερτείνειν ὡς εἰς τὸ μηθὲν δαπανᾶν, ὑπερβάλλοντα τὸ σύμμετρον τῆς διαίτης, τὸ μὲν γὰρ ἀνελεύθερον ἐνόμιζε, τὸ δ’ ὑπερήφανον. ὁ δ’ οἶνος ἦν μικρῷ βελτίων ὅτε παρείησάν τινες, ἐπεὶ δὲ δειπνήσειαν, ἐσιώπων πάντες, ὅ τε παῖς ἐφειστήκει κεκραμένον ἔχων τὸ ποτὸν καὶ τῷ αἰτοῦντι προσέφερε, τὸν αὐτὸν δὲ τρόπον καὶ μετὰ τὸ δεῖπνον οὐ πλεῖον ἐδίδοτο δύο κυάθων καὶ τοῦτο προσνεύσαντι προσεφέρετο. ἀκρόαμα δὲ οὐδὲν οὐδέποτε παρεπορεύετο, διετέλει δ’ αὐτὸς προσομιλῶν πρὸς ἕκαστον καὶ πάντας ἐκκαλούμενος εἰς τὸ τὰ μὲν ἀκούειν, τὰ δὲ λέγειν αὐτούς, ὥστε τεθηρευμένους ἀποτρέχειν ἅπαντας. διακωμῳδῶν δ’ Ἀντιφάνης τὰ Λακωνικὰ δεῖπνα ἐν τῷ ἐπιγραφομένῳ δράματι Ἄρχων φησὶν οὕτως· ἐν Λακεδαίμονι γέγονας· ἐκείνων τῶν νόμων μεθεκτέον ἐστίν. βάδιζ’ ἐπὶ δεῖπνον εἰς τὰ φιδίτια, ἀπόλαυε τοῦ ζωμοῦ, φορεῖν τοὺς βύστακας μὴ καταφρόνει· μηδ’ ἕτερ’ ἐπιζήτει καλά· ἐν τοῖς δ’ ἐκείνων ἔθεσιν ἴσθ’ ἀρχαικός.
And concerning the Cretan banquets, or συσσίτια, Dosiades speaks in the fourth book of his treatie on Cretan Affairs, speaking as follows:—“But the Lyctians collect men for the common meal (συσσίτια) of the nation in this way:— Every one brings a tenth part of the fruits which his land produces and throws into the common stock of the mess; and they also bring their share of the taxes due to the city, which the chief magistrates of the city distribute among each separate family. And each one of the slaves pays an Aeginetan stater a head. The citizens are all divided into messes; and they call them ἀνδρεῖα. And a woman has the superintendence of their meals, having-three or four of the people under her to obey her orders. Now each one of the company is followed by two servants bearing wood; and their title is calophori. And there are in every town of Crete two houses set apart for these συσσίτιαι, one of which they call the men's house, and the other, that, namely, in which they receive strangers, they call the sleeping house. And in the house which is set apart for these public meals, there are first of all two tables set out, called the strangers' tables, at which those foreigners who are present sit; and after that tables are laid for the rest. And the younger men have half the quantity of meat; and they touch none of the other dishes. Then a bowl of wine is placed on each table, mingled with water; and all drink of this in common at the common table; and when they have finished supper then another bowl is put on the table. But for the boys one common bowl is likewise mixed; but the elders have liberty to drink more if they feel inclined to. And the woman who has the superintendence of the mess takes away from off the table, without any disguise or concealment, the best of what is served up, and puts it before those who are distinguished for warlike achievements or for wisdom. And when they have finished supper, then, first of all, they are in the habit of deliberating on the affairs of the state; and then, after that, they converse about exploits which have been performed in war, and extol those who have behaved like valiant men, and so exhort the younger men to acts of valour and virtue.” And Pyrgion, in the third book of his treatise on Cretan Laws, says—“At their public meals the Cretans sit and feast merrily. And those who are orphans have dishes served up to them without any seasoning; and the youngest of them minister to the others; and having uttered words of good omen they pour libations to the gods, and distribute the dishes served up to all the guests. They distribute some also to the sons who are sitting just behind the seat of their fathers; giving them one-half as much as is given to men; but the orphans have an equal share. And whatever is served up to them has no seasoning nor any luxurious mixtures compounded in it. There were also three seats designed for strangers, and a third table, on the right hand side as you went in to the house where the men ate; and that they called the table of the Jupiter of Hospitality, and the table of Hospitality.”
περὶ δὲ τῶν Κρητικῶν συσσιτίων Δωσιάδας ἱστορῶν ἐν τῇ δ τῶν Κρητικῶν γράφει οὕτως· οἱ δὲ Λύττιοι συνάγουσι μὲν τὰ κοινὰ συσσίτια οὕτως, ἕκαστος τῶν γινομένων καρπῶν ἀναφέρει τὴν δεκάτην εἰς τὴν ἑταιρίαν καὶ τὰς τῆς πόλεως προσόδους ἃς διανέμουσιν οἱ προεστηκότες τῆς πόλεως εἰς τοὺς ἑκάστων οἴκους, τῶν δὲ δούλων ἕκαστος Αἰγιναῖον φέρει στατῆρα κατὰ κεφαλήν. διῄρηνται δ’ οἱ πολῖται πάντες καθ’ ἑταιρίας, καλοῦσι δὲ ταύτας ἀνδρεῖα. τὴν δὲ ἐπιμέλειαν ἔχει τοῦ συσσιτίου γυνὴ τρεῖς ἢ τέτταρας τῶν δημοτικῶν προσειληφυῖα πρὸς τὰς ὑπηρεσίας, ἑκάστῳ δ’ αὐτῶν ἀκολουθοῦσι δύο θεράποντες ξυλοφόροι· καλοῦσι δ’ αὐτοὺς καλοφόρους. εἰσὶ δὲ πανταχοῦ κατὰ τὴν Κρήτην οἶκοι δύο ταῖς συσσιτίαις, ὧν τὸν μὲν καλοῦσιν ἀνδρεῖον, τὸν δ’ ἄλλον ἐν ᾧ τοὺς ξένους κοιμίζουσι κοιμητήριον προσαγορεύουσι. κατὰ δὲ τὸν συσσιτικὸν οἶκον πρῶτον μὲν κεῖνται δύο τράπεζαι ξενικαὶ καλούμεναι, αἷς προκαθίζουσι τῶν ξένων οἱ παρόντες· ἑξῆς δ’ εἰσὶν αἱ τῶν ἄλλων. παρατίθεται δὲ τῶν παρόντων ἴσον μέρος ἑκάστῳ· τοῖς δὲ νεωτέροις ἥμισυ δίδοται κρέως, τῶν δὲ ἄλλων οὐθενὸς ἅπτονται, εἶτα ποτήριον ἐν ἑκάστῃ τραπέζῃ παρατίθεται κεκραμένον ὑδαρῶς· τοῦτο κοινῇ πάντες πίνουσιν οἱ κατὰ τὴν αὐτὴν τράπεζαν, καὶ δειπνήσασιν ἄλλο παρατίθεται, τοῖς δὲ παισὶ κοινὸς κέκραται κρατήρ· τοῖς δὲ πρεσβυτέροις ἐὰν βούλωνται πλεῖον πιεῖν ἐξουσία δέδοται. ἀπὸ δὲ τῆς τραπέζης τὰ βέλτιστα τῶν παρακειμένων ἡ προεστηκυῖα τῆς συσσιτίας γυνὴ φανερῶς ἀφαιροῦσα παρατίθησι τοῖς κατὰ πόλεμον ἢ κατὰ σύνεσιν δεδοξασμένοις. ἀπὸ δὲ τοῦ δείπνου πρῶτον μὲν εἰώθασι βουλεύεσθαι περὶ τῶν κοινῶν, εἶτα μετὰ ταῦτα μέμνηνται τῶν κατὰ πόλεμον πράξεων καὶ τοὺς γενομένους ἄνδρας ἀγαθοὺς ἐπαινοῦσι, προτρεπόμενοι τοὺς νεωτέρους εἰς ἀνδραγαθίαν. Πυργίων δ’ ἐν τρίτῳ Κρητικῶν Νομίμων ἐν τοῖς συσσιτίοις, φησίν, οἱ Κρῆτες καθήμενοι συσσιτοῦσι, καὶ ὅτι ἀβαμβάκευστα τοῖς ὀρφανοῖς παρατίθεται· καὶ ὅτι οἱ νεώτατοι αὐτῶν ἐφεστᾶσι διακονοῦντες· καὶ ὅτι μετ’ εὐφημίας σπείσαντες τοῖς θεοῖς μερίζουσι τῶν παρατιθεμένων ἅπασι· ἀπονέμουσι δὲ καὶ τοῖς υἱοῖς κατὰ τὸν θᾶκον τὸν τοῦ πατρὸς ὑφιζάνουσιν ἐξ ἡμισείας τῶν τοῖς ἀνδράσι παρατιθεμένων, τοὺς δ’ ὀρφανοὺς ἰσομερεῖς εἶναι· παρατίθεται δ’ αὐτοῖς ἀβαμβάκευτα τῇ κράσει καθ’ ἕκαστα τῶν νενομισμένων. ἦσαν δὲ καὶ ξενικοὶ θᾶκοι καὶ τράπεζα τρίτη δεξιᾶς εἰσιόντων εἰς τὰ ἀνδρεῖα, ἣν Ξενίου τε Διὸς ξενίαν τε προσηγόρευον.
And Herodotus, comparing the drinking parties of the Greeks with the banquets in fashion among the Persians, says—“But the Persians are accustomed to honour that day above all others on which they were born. And on that day they think it right to have a more splendid feast than on any other day. And on that day those of them who are rich serve up an ox, and an ass, and a horse, and a camel, all roasted whole in ovens: but those who are poor serve up only the smaller animals, such as sheep; and they do not eat a great deal of meat, but great quantities of sweetmeats, and no salt. And on this account the Persians say that the Greeks, when they eat, leave off being still hungry, because after supper nothing is served up to them worth speaking of. For that if anything good were put before them they would not leave off eating it: but they sit very long at their wine. And it is not allowed to them to vomit, nor to make water in the presence of one another. And these laws are strictly observed among them. And after they have drunk hard they are accustomed to deliberate on the most important affairs. And whatever they determine on at these deliberations, the next day the master of the house, wherever they were when they deliberated, proposes to them over again when they are quite sober; and if they adopt the same determination when sober, then they act upon it, but if not, they a abandon it: and whatever they decide on when sober, they reconsider when they are drunk.”
ʽ ʽἩρόδοτος δὲ συγκρίνων τὰ τῶν ʽ Ἑλλήνων συμπόσια πρὸς τὰ παρὰ Πέρσαις φησὶν ἡμέρην δὲ Πέρσαι ἁπασέων μάλιστα ἐκείνην τιμᾶν νομίζουσι τῇ ἕκαστος ἐγένετο. ἐν ταύτῃ δὲ πλέω δαῖτα τῶν ἄλλων δικαιεῦσι προτίθεσθαι ἐν τῇ οἱ εὐδαίμονες αὐτῶν βοῦν καὶ ὄνον καὶ ἵππον καὶ κάμηλον προτιθέαται ὅλους ὀπτοὺς ἐν καμίνοις· οἱ δὲ πένητες αὐτῶν τὰ λεπτὰ τῶν προβάτων προτίθενται, σίτοισί τε ὀλίγοισι χρέονται, ἐπιφορήμασι δὲ πολλοῖσι καὶ οὐκ ἁλέσι. καὶ διὰ τοῦτό φασι Πέρσαι τοὺς Ἕλληνας σιτεομένους πεινῶντας παύεσθαι, ὅτι σφίσιν ἀπὸ δείπνου παραφορέεται οὐδὲν λόγου ἄξιον εἰ δέ τι παραφέροιτο, ἐσθίοντας ἂν οὐ παύεσθαι. οἴνῳ δὲ κάρτα προσκέαται· καί σφιν οὐκ ἐμέσαι ἔξεστιν, οὐκ οὐρῆσαι ἀντίον ἄλλου. ταῦτα μέν νυν οὕτω φυλάσσεται, μεθυσκόμενοι δὲ εἰώθασι βουλεύεσθαι τὰ σπουδαιότατα τῶν πρηγμάτων τὸ δ’ ἂν ἅδῃ σφίσι βουλευομένοισι, τοῦτο τῇ ὑστεραίῃ νήφουσι προτιθεῖ ὁ στεγέαρχος ἐν τοῦ ἂν ἐόντες βουλεύωνται. καὶ ἢν μὲν ἅδῃ καὶ νήφουσι, χρέονται αὐτῷ εἰ δὲ μή, μετιεῖσιν. τὰ δ’ ἂν νήφοντες προβουλεύσωνται, μεθυσκόμενοι ἐπιδιαγινώσκουσι.
But concerning the luxury of the kings among the Persians, Xenophon, in his Agesilaus, writes as follows:— “For men travel over the whole earth in the service of the king of Persia, looking to find out what may be pleasant for him to drink; and ten thousand men are always contriving something nice for him to eat; and no one can tell the number of contrivances they propose to cause him to sleep well. But Agesilaus, because he was a man fond of exertion, drank whatever was set before him with pleasure, and ate whatever came across him with appetite; and every place suited him to sleep pleasantly in.” And in his treatise entitled Hiero, speaking of the things which are prepared for kings, and also of the dishes which are prepared for private individuals to eat, he uses the following expressions:— ' And I know,' said he, ' O Simonides, that most men consider that we eat and drink more pleasantly than private individuals in this respect, because they think that they should more gladly eat of what is served up to us than of what is set before them. For that whatever is out of the ordinary routine gives pleasure; on which account all men gladly receive invitations to festivals, except kings. For as their tables are always loaded to satiety, it is quite impossible that they should be susceptible of any addition at the time of feasts; so that in this particular pleasure which is derived from hope they are surpassed by private individuals. And in the next place,' he continued, ' I am sure that you yourself know from experience that the more any one sets before people that which is more than sufficient, in that exact proportion is a disgust at eating quicker in coming on; so that a man who has a very large and varied dinner set before him is inferior to those who live moderately also in the duration of his pleasure.' 'But, by Jove,' said Simonides, as long as the mind feels an appetite, so long are those who are bred up amid more expensive preparations delighted in a much higher degree than those who are in the habit of living in a most economical manner.'
περὶ δὲ τῆς τρυφῆς τῶν ἐν Πέρσαις βασιλέων Ξενοφῶν ἐν Ἀγησιλάῳ οὕτω γράφει· τῷ μὲν γὰρ Πέρσῃ πᾶσαν γῆν περιέρχονται μαστεύοντες τί ἂν ἡδέως πίοι, μυρίοι δὲ τεχνῶνται τί ἂν ἡδέως φάγοι ὅπως γε μὴν καταδάρθοι οὐδ’ ἂν εἴποι τις ὅσα πραγματεύονται. Ἀγησίλαος δὲ διὰ τὸ φιλόπονος εἶναι πᾶν μὲν τὸ παρὸν ἡδέως ἔπινε, πᾶν δὲ τὸ συντυχὸν ἡδέως ἤσθιεν· εἰς δὲ τὸ ἀσμένως κοιμηθῆναι πᾶς τόπος ἱκανὸς ἦν αὐτῷ. ἐν δὲ τῷ Ἱέρωνι ἐπιγραφομένῳ λέγων περὶ τῶν τοῖς τυράννοις παρασκευαζομένων καὶ τῶν τοῖς ἰδιώταις εἰς τροφάς φησιν οὕτως· καὶ οἶδά γε, ἔφη, ὦ Σιμωνίδη, ὅτι τούτῳ κρίνουσιν οἱ πλεῖστοι ἥδιον ἡμᾶς καὶ πίνειν καὶ ἐσθίειν τῶν ἰδιωτῶν ὅτι δοκοῦσι καὶ αὐτοὶ ἥδιον ἂν δειπνῆσαι τὸ ἡμῖν παρατιθέμενον δεῖπνον ἢ τὸ ἑαυτοῖς. τὸ γὰρ τὰ εἰωθότα ὑπερβάλλον, τοῦτο παρέχει τὰς ἡδονάς, διὸ καὶ πάντες ἄνθρωποι ἡδέως προσδέχονται τὰς ἑορτὰς πλὴν οἱ τύραννοι, ἔκπλεῳ γὰρ αὐτοῖς ἀεὶ παρεσκευασμέναι οὐδεμίαν ἐν ταῖς ἑορταῖς ἐπίδοσιν ἔχουσιν αὐτῶν αἱ τράπεζαι· ὥστε ταύτῃ πρῶτον τῇ εὐφροσύνῃ τῆς ἐλπίδος μειονεκτοῦσι τῶν ἰδιωτῶν. ἔπειτα, ἔφη, ἐκεῖνο εὖ οἶδα ὅτι καὶ σὺ ἔμπειρος εἶ ὅτι ὅσῳ ἂν πλείω τις παραθῆται τὰ περιττὰ τῶν ἱκανῶν, τοσούτῳ καὶ θᾶσσον κόρος ἐμπίπτει τῆς ἐδωδῆς. ὥστε καὶ τῷ χρόνῳ τῆς ἡδονῆς μειονεκτεῖ ὁ παρατιθέμενος πολλὰ τῶν μετρίως διαιτωμένων. ἀλλὰ ναὶ μὰ Δία, ἔφη ὁ Σιμωνίδης, ὅσον ἂν χρόνον ἡ ψυχὴ προσίηται, τοῦτον πολὺ μᾶλλον ἥδονται οἱ ταῖς πολυτελεστέραις παρασκευαῖς τρεφόμενοι τῶν τὰ εὐτελέστερα παρατιθεμένων.
But Theophrastus, in the Book on Royal Authority, addressed to Cassander, (if indeed the book under that title, attributed to him, be a genuine work of his, for many say that it was written by Sosibius, to whom Callimachus the poet addresses a triumphal hymn in elegiac metre,) says that “the Persian kings were so luxurious as to offer by proclamation a large sum of money to any one who could invent any new pleasure.” And Theopompus, in the thirty-fifth book of his Histories, says, that “the king of the Paphlagonians, whose name was Thys, whenever he supped, ordered a hundred dishes of every sort to be placed on his table, beginning with oxen. And that when he was led captive to the king of Persia and kept in prison, he still continued to have the same profusion served up to him, living in the most splendid manner. So that Artaxerxes, when he heard of it, said that he appeared to him to be living like a man who knew that he should soon die.” But the same Theopompus, in the fourteenth book of his History of the Exploits of Philip, says— “When the king comes to any one of his subject cities, twenty talents are expended on his supper, and sometimes thirty; and some even spend a much larger sum still. For it is a very old custom, that every city is bound to supply a supper in proportion to its greatness, just on the same principle as its tribute to the revenue and its taxes are exacted.”
Θεόφραστος δ’ ἐν τῷ πρὸς Κάσανδρον περὶ βασιλείας εἰ γνήσιον τὸ σύγγραμμα· πολλοὶ γὰρ αὐτό φασιν εἶναι Σωσιβίου, εἰς ὃν Καλλίμαχος ὁ ποιητὴς ἐπίνικον ἐλεγειακὸν ἐποίησεν τοὺς Περσῶν φησι βασιλεῖς ὑπὸ τρυφῆς προκηρύττειν τοῖς ἐφευρίσκουσί τινα καινὴν ἡδονὴν ἀργυρίου πλῆθος. Θεόπομπος δ’ ἐν τῇ τριακοστῇ καὶ πέμπτῃ τῶν ἱστοριῶν τὸν Παφλαγόνων φησὶ βασιλέα Θῦν ἑκατὸν πάντα παρατίθεσθαι δειπνοῦντα ἐπὶ τὴν τράπεζαν ἀπὸ βοῶν ἀρξάμενον καὶ ἀναχθέντα αἰχμάλωτον ὡς βασιλέα καὶ ἐν φυλακῇ ὄντα πάλιν τὰ αὐτὰ παρατίθεσθαι ζῶντα λαμπρῶς, διὸ καὶ ἀκούσαντα Ἀρταξέρξην εἰπεῖν ὅτι οὕτως αὑτῷ δοκοίη ζῆν ὡς ταχέως ἀπολούμενος. ὁ δ’ αὐτὸς Θεόπομπος ἐν τῇ τεσσαρεσκαιδεκάτῃ τῶν Φιλιππικῶν ὅταν, φησί, βασιλεὺς εἴς τινας ἀφίκηται τῶν ἀρχομένων, εἰς τὸ δεῖπνον αὐτοῦ δαπανᾶσθαι εἴκοσι τάλαντα, ποτὲ δὲ καὶ τριάκοντα· οἱ δὲ καὶ πολὺ πλείω δαπανῶσιν. ἑκάσταις γὰρ τῶν πόλεων κατὰ τὸ μέγεθος ὥσπερ ὁ φόρος καὶ τὸ δεῖπνον ἐκ παλαιοῦ τεταγμένον ἐστίν.
But Heraclides the Cumæan, who compiled a history of Persia, in the second book of that work, which is entitled Preparatory, says—“And those who wait upon the Persian kings while they are at supper, all minister after having bathed, wearing beautiful clothes; and they remain nearly half the day in attendance at the feast. But of those who are invited to eat with the king, some dine outside, and every one who chooses can see them, but some dine inside with the king: and even these do not actually eat with him; but there are two rooms opposite to one another, in one of which the king eats his meal, and in the other the guests eat theirs. And the king beholds them through the curtain which is at the door; but they cannot see him. But sometimes, when there is a feast, then they all sup in one room, namely, in the same room as the king, being the large room. And when the king has a drinking party, (and he has one very often,) his guests are about a dozen in number, and when they have supped, the king by himself, and his guests by themselves, then one of the eunuchs summons those who are to drink, with the king: and when they come, then they drink with him, but they do not have the same wine; also they sit on the ground and he reclines on a couch with golden feet; and when they are very drunk indeed they go away. But for the most part the king breakfasts and sups by himself: but sometimes his wife sups with him; and sometimes some of his sons do so. And at supper his concubines sing and play to him; and one of them leads, and then all he rest sing in concert. But the supper,” he continues, “which is called the king's supper, will appear to any one who hears of it to be very magnificent; still, when it is examined into, it will turn out to be economically and carefully managed, and in the same manner as the meals of the other Persians who are in office. For the king has a thousand victims slain every day: and among them are horses, and camels, and oxen, and asses, and stags, and an immense number of sheep; and a great many birds too are taken; and the Arabian ostrich (and that is a very large animal), and geese, and cocks; and a moderate quantity of them is served up to each of the mess-mates of the king, and each of them carries away what is left for his breakfast. But the greater part of these victims and of this meat is carried out into the court to the spear-bearers and light-armed troops whom the king maintains; and in the court the masters of the feasts portion out the meat and the bread into equal portions; and as the mercenary troops in Greece receive money for their hire, so do these men receive food from the king, on account, as if it were money. And in the same way, at the courts of the other Persians, who hold office as magistrates, all the food is placed at once upon the table; and when the mess-mates of the magistrate have finished their supper, then he who superintends the meal distributes what is left on the table (and the greater part of the bread and meat is left) to each of the servants. And each attendant, when he has received his share, has his food for the day. For the most honourable of the mess-mates (their title is οἱ σύνδειπνοι) never come to the king except to dinner; because, forsooth, they have requested permission not to be bound to come twice in the day, in order that they themselves may be able to receive guests at their own houses.”
Ἡρακλείδης δ’ ὁ Κυμαῖος ὁ τὰ Περσικὰ συγγράψας ἐν τῷ δευτέρῳ τῶν ἐπιγραφομένων Παρασκευαστικῶν καὶ οἱ θεραπεύοντες, φησί, τοὺς Περσῶν βασιλεῖς δειπνοῦντας ἅπαντες λελουμένοι διακονοῦσιν ἐσθῆτας λευκὰς ἔχοντες καὶ διατρίβουσι σχεδὸν τὸ ἥμισυ τῆς ἡμέρας περὶ τὸ δεῖπνον. τῶν δὲ τοῦ βασιλέως συνδείπνων οἱ μὲν ἔξω δειπνοῦσιν, οὓς καὶ ὁρᾶν ἔξεστι παντὶ τῷ βουλομένῳ, οἱ δὲ εἴσω μετὰ βασιλέως, καὶ οὗτοι δὲ οὐ συνδειπνοῦσιν αὐτῷ, ἀλλ’ ἔστιν οἰκήματα δύο καταντικρὺ ἀλλήλων, ἐν ᾧ θ’ ὁ βασιλεὺς τὸ ἄριστον ποιεῖται καὶ ἐν ᾧ οἱ σύνδειπνοι· καὶ ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐκείνους ὁρᾷ διὰ τοῦ παρακαλύμματος τοῦ ἐπὶ τῇ θύρᾳ, ἐκεῖνοι δ᾽ αὐτὸν οὐχ ὁρῶσιν. ἐνίοτε μέντοι ἐπειδὰν ἑορτὴ ᾖ, ἐν ἑνὶ οἰκήματι ἅπαντες δειπνοῦσιν, ἐν ᾧ καὶ ὁ βασιλεύς, ἐν τῷ μεγάλῳ οἴκῳ. ὅταν δὲ βασιλεὺς πότον ποιῆται ʽ ποιεῖ δὲ πολλάκις ʼ, συμπόται αὐτῷ εἰσιν ὡς μάλιστα δώδεκα, καὶ ὅταν δειπνήσωσιν, ὅ τε βασιλεὺς αὐτὸς καθ’ ἑαυτὸν καὶ οἱ σύνδειπνοι, καλεῖ τοὺς συμπότας τούτους τις τῶν εὐνούχων, καὶ ὅταν εἰσέλθωσι συμπίνουσιν μετ’ αὐτοῦ, οὐ τὸν αὐτὸν οἶνον κἀκεῖνοι, καὶ οἱ μὲν χαμαὶ καθήμενοι, ὁ δ’ ἐπὶ κλίνης χρυσόποδος κατακείμενος· καὶ ὑπερμεθυσθέντες ἀπέρχονται, τὰ δὲ πλεῖστα ὁ βασιλεὺς μόνος ἀριστᾷ καὶ δειπνεῖ, ἐνίοτε δὲ καὶ ἡ γυνὴ αὐτῷ συνδειπνεῖ καὶ τῶν υἱῶν ἔνιοι. καὶ παρὰ τὸ δεῖπνον ᾅδουσί τε καὶ ψάλλουσιν αἱ παλλακαὶ αὐτῷ, καὶ μία μὲν ἐξάρχει, αἱ δὲ ἄλλαι ἁθρόως ᾄδουσι. τὸ δὲ δεῖπνον, φησί, τὸ βασιλέως καλούμενον ἀκούσαντι μὲν δόξει μεγαλοπρεπὲς εἶναι, ἐξεταζόμενον δὲ φανεῖται οἰκονομικῶς καὶ ἀκριβῶς συντεταγμένον καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις Πέρσαις τοῖς ἐν δυναστείᾳ οὖσι κατὰ τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον, ἐστὶ μὲν γὰρ τῷ βασιλεῖ χίλια ἱερεῖα τῆς ἡμέρας κατακοπτόμενα· τούτων δ’ εἰσὶ καὶ ἵπποι καὶ κάμηλοι καὶ βόες καὶ ὄνοι καὶ ἔλαφοι καὶ τὰ πλεῖστα πρόβατα· πολλοὶ δὲ καὶ ὄρνιθες ἀναλίσκονται, οἱ τε στρουθοὶ οἱ Ἀράβιοι—ἐστὶν δὲ τὸ ζῷον μέγα—καὶ χῆνες καὶ ἀλεκτρυόνες. καὶ μέτρια μὲν αὐτῶν παρατίθεται ἑκάστῳ τῶν συνδείπνων τοῦ βασιλέως, καὶ ἀποφέρεται ἕκαστος αὐτῶν ὅ τι ἂν καταλίπηται ἐπὶ τῷ ἀρίστῳ. τὰ δὲ πλεῖστα τούτων τῶν ἱερείων καὶ τῶν σιτίων οὓς τρέφει βασιλεὺς τῶν τε δορυφόρων καὶ τῶν πελταστῶν, τούτοις ἐκφέρεται εἰς τὴν αὐλήν· οὗ ἡμιδεῆ ἅπαντα μερίδας ποιήσαντες τῶν κρεῶν καὶ τῶν ἄρτων ἴσας διαιροῦνται, ὥσπερ δὲ οἱ μισθοφόροι ἐν τῇ Ἑλλάδι μισθὸν ἀργύριον λαμβάνουσιν, οὕτως οὗτοι τὰ σιτία παρὰ τοῦ βασιλέως εἰς ὑπόλογον λαμβάνουσιν. οὕτω δὲ καὶ παρὰ τοῖς ἄλλοις Πέρσαις τοῖς ἐν δυναστείᾳ οὖσιν ἁθρόα πάντα τὰ σιτία ἐπὶ τὴν τράπεζαν παρατίθεται· ἐπειδὰν δὲ οἱ σύνδειπνοι δειπνήσωσι, τῶν ἀπὸ τῆς τραπέζης καταλειπομένων καταλείπεται δὲ τὰ πλεῖστα κρέα καὶ ἄρτοι ὁ τῆς τραπέζης ἐπιμελούμενος δίδωσιν ἑκάστῳ τῶν οἰκετῶν, καὶ ταῦτα λαβὼν τὴν καθ᾽ ἡμέραν ἔχει τροφήν. παρὰ γὰρ τὸν βασιλέα φοιτῶσιν οἱ ἐντιμότατοι τῶν συνδείπνων ἐπὶ τὸ ἄριστον μόνον διὰ τὸ παρῃτῆσθαι, ἵνα μὴ δὶς πορεύωνται, ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτοὶ τοὺς συνδείπνους ὑποδέχωνται.