But we must return back to the banquet, in which Homer very ingeniously devises a subject for conversation, by comparing the acquisition of riches with that of a friend. For he does not put it forward as a grave proposition for discussion, but Menelaus inserts it in his conversation very gracefully, after he has heard them praise himself and his good fortune; not denying that he is rich, but from that very circumstance deprecating envy, for he says that he has acquired those riches so that,When my woes are weigh'd,Envy will own the purchase dearly paid.He does not indeed think it right to compare himself with the gods—The monarch took the word, and grave replied—Presumptuous are the vaunts, and vain the prideOf man who dares in pomp with Jove contest,Unchanged, immortal, and supremely blest.But then, after displaying his affectionate disposition as a brother, and saying that he is compelled to live and to be rich, he opposes to this the consideration of friendship—Oh, had the gods so large a boon denied,And life, the just equivalent, suppliedTo those brave warriors who, with glory fired,Far from their country in my cause expired.Who could there be then of the descendants of those men who had died in his cause, who would not think his grief for the death of his father as fair a compensation as could be given by grateful recollection? But still, that he may not appear to look upon them all in the same light, though they had all equally shown their good-will to him, he adds—But oh! Ulysses,—deeper than the rest,That sad idea wounds my anxious breast;My heart bleeds fresh with agonising pain,The bowl and tasteful viands tempt in vain.And that he may not seem to disregard any one of his family he names them all separately—Doubtful of his doom,His good old sire with sorrow to the tombDeclines his trembling steps; untimely careWithers the blooming vigour of his heir;And the chaste partner of his bed and throneWastes all her widow'd hours in tender moan.And while he is weeping at the recollection of his father, Menelaus observes him; and, in the interim, Helen had come in, and she also conjectured who Telemachus was from his likeness to Ulysses, (for women, because of their habit of observing one another's modesty, are wonderfully clever at detecting the likeness of children to their parents,) and after Pisistratus had interfered with some observation, (for it was not fitting for him to stand by like a mute on the stage,) and said something appropriate and elegant about the modesty of Telemachus; again Menelaus made mention of his affection for Ulysses, that of all men in the world he was the one in whose companionship he wished to grow old.
ἀλλὰ γὰρ ἐπανιτέον ἐπὶ τὸ συμπόσιον, ἐν ᾧ ᾽ Ὅμηρος ἐπιδεξίως ἀφορμὴν εὗρεν λόγων, ὥστε κτῆσιν συγκρῖναι φίλου, οὐ γὰρ ὡς πρόβλημα προτείνει, ἀλλ’ ἐπιχαρίτως παρείρας ὁ Μενέλαος, ἐπειδὴ ἤκουσε τῶν ἐπαίνων, τὸ μὲν εἶναι πλούσιος οὐκ ἀρνεῖται· κἀνταῦθα δὲ περιελὼν τὸν φθόνον πολλὰ γάρ φησιν παθών ἔχειν αὐτά. οὐ μέντοι γε ἀξιοῖ ἑαυτὸν θεοῖς συγκρίνειν ἀθάνατοι γὰρ τοῦ γε δόμοι καὶ κτήματ’ ἔασιν. ἐνδειξάμενος δὲ φιλάδελφον ἦθος καὶ μετ’ ἀνάγκης φήσας ζῆν τε καὶ πλουτεῖν ἀντιπαρέθηκε τὸν τῆς φιλίας λόγον ὧν ὄφελον τριτάτην περ ἔχων ἐν δώμασι μοῖραν ναίειν, οἱ δ’ ἄνδρες σόοι ἔμμεναι οἳ τότ’ ὄλοντο Τροίῃ ἐν εὐρείῃ ἑκὰς Ἄργεος ἱπποβότοιο. τίς ἂν οὖν τῶν ἐκγόνων ἐκείνων τῶν ὑπὲρ τοῦ τοιούτου τεθνηκότων οὐκ ἂν κατ’ ἀξίαν δόξειεν τὴν ἐπὶ τῇ στερήσει τοῦ πατρὸς λύπην τῇ τοῦ πατρὸς εὐχαρίστῳ μνήμῃ διορθουμένην; ὅπως δὲ μὴ δόξῃ κοινὸς εἶναι πρὸς πάντας τοὺς παραπλησίως αὐτῷ τὴν εὔνοιαν ἐνδεδειγμένους, ἐπήνεγκεν τῶν πάντων οὐ τόσσον ὀδύρομαι ἀχνύμενός περ, ὡς ἑνὸς ὅστε μοι ὕπνον ἀπεχθαίρει καὶ ἐδωδήν. ἵνα δὲ μὴ φαίνηται μηδενὸς τῶν ἐκείνου παραμελῶν ἐμνήσθη κατ’ ὄνομα· ὀδύρονται νύ που αὐτὸν Λαέρτης θ’ ὁ γέρων καὶ ἐχέφρων Πηνελόπεια τηλέμαχός θ᾽, ὃν ἔλειπε νέον γεγαῶτ’ ἐνὶ οἴκῳ. τοῦ δὲ δακρύσαντος πρὸς τὴν μνήμην ὁ μὲν ἐφίστησι κἀν τοσούτῳ,.. τῇ τῆς Ἑλένης ἐπεισόδῳ κἀκείνης ἐκ τῆς ὁμοιότητος τεκμηραμένησ—πάνυ γὰρ αἱ γυναῖκες διὰ τὸ παρατηρεῖσθαι τὴν ἀλλήλων σωφροσύνην δειναὶ τὰς ὁμοιότητας τῶν παίδων πρὸς τοὺς γονέας ἐλέγξαι—παρεμβάλλοντός τινα λόγον καὶ τοῦ Πεισιστράτου—χρὴ γὰρ καὶ τοῦτον μὴ παρεῖναι δορυφορήματος τρόπον—καὶ διαλεχθέντος εὐσχημόνως περὶ τῆς αἰδοῦς τοῦ Τηλεμάχου, πάλιν ἐπιβάλλει ὁ Μενέλαος περὶ τῆς τοῦ ᾽ Ὀδυσσέως φιλίας ὅτι μετὰ μόνου καταγηράναι μάλιστ’ ἂν ἤθελεν ἐκείνου.
And then, as is natural, they all weep; and Helen, as being the daughter of Jupiter, and as having learnt of the philosophers in Egypt many expedients of all kinds, pours into some wine a medicinal panacea, as it was in reality; and begins to relate some of the exploits of Ulysses, while working at her loom in the meantime; not doing this so much for the purpose of amusement, as because she had been bred up in that way at home. And so Venus, coming to her after the single combat in the Iliad, takes a form not her own—To her beset with Trojan beauties, cameIn borrow'd form the laughter-loving dame.She seem'd an ancient maid, well skill'd to cullThe snowy fleece, and wind the twisted wool.And her industry is made manifest not in a merely cursory manner, in the following description—In this suspense bright Helen graced the room;Before her breathed a gale of rich perfume;The seat of majesty Adraste brings,With art illustrious for the pomp of kings;To spread the pall, beneath the regal chair,Of softest woof, is bright Alcippe's care;A silver canister, divinely wrought,In her soft hands the beauteous Philo brought;To Sparta's queen of old the radiant vaseAlcandra gave, a pledge of royal grace,Sharer of Polybus's high command,She gave the distaff too to Helen's hand,And that rich vase with living sculpture wrought,Which, heap'd with wool, the beauteous Philo brought;The silken fleece, impurpled for the loom,Rivall'd the hyacinth in vernal bloom.And she seems to be aware of her own proficiency in the art: at all events, when she presents Telemachus with arobe, she says—Accept, dear youth, this monument of love,Long since, in better days, by Helen wove.Safe in thy mother's care the vesture lay,To deck thy bride, and grace thy nuptial day.And that fondness for employment proves her temperance and modesty. For she is never represented as luxurious or arrogant, because of her beauty. Accordingly, she is found at her loom weaving and embroidering—Her in the palace at the loom she found,The golden web her own sad story crown'd;The Trojan wars she weaved, (herself the prize,)And the dire triumph of her fatal eyes.
κατὰ δὲ τὸ εἰκὸς οἱ μὲν δακρύουσιν, ἡ δ’ Ἑλένη Διὸς οὖσα θυγάτηρ καὶ παρὰ τῶν ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ σοφῶν μεμαθηκυῖα πολλοὺς λόγους εἰς τὸν οἶνον ἐμβάλλει πανακὲς τῷ ὄντι φάρμακον καὶ ἄρχεται διηγεῖσθαι τὰ περὶ τοῦ Ὀδυσσέως μεταξὺ ταλασιουργίας ἁπτομένη, οὐ δι’ ἀρέσκειαν τοῦτο πράττουσα, ἀλλ’ οἴκοθεν ἔχουσα τὴν τοιαύτην αἵρεσιν. ἡ γοῦν Ἀφροδίτη ἐρχομένη πρὸς αὐτὴν μετὰ τὸ μονομάχιον εἰκάζεται· γρηὶ δέ μιν εἰκυῖα παλαιγενέι προσέειπεν εἰροκόμῳ, ἣ οἱ Λακεδαίμονι ναιεταούσῃ ἤσκειν εἴρια καλά. ἐμφανίζεται δ’ αὐτῆς οὐ παρέργως τὸ φίλεργον κἀκ τούτων τῇ δ’ ἄρ’ ἅμ’ Ἀδρήστη κλισίην εὔτυκτον ἔθηκεν ᾽ Ἀλκίππη δὲ τάπητα φέρεν μαλακοῦ ἐρίοιο, Φυλὼ δ’ ἀργύρεον τάλαρον φέρε, τόν οἱ ἔδωκεν Ἀλκάνδρη, Πολύβοιο δάμαρ. τόν ῥὰ οἱ ἀμφίπολος Φυλὼ παρέθηκε φέρουσα νήματος ἀσκητοῖο βεβυσμένον αὐτὰρ ἐν αὐτῷ ἠλακάτη τετάνυστο ἰοδνεφὲς εἶρος ἔχουσα. ἔοικε δὲ καὶ αὐτὴ τὴν ἑαυτῆς καλλιτεχνίαν συνορᾶν. τῷ γοῦν Τηλεμάχῳ πέπλον τινὰ δωρουμένη φησί· δῶρόν τοι καὶ ἐγώ, τέκνον φίλε, τοῦτο δίδωμι, μνῆμ’ Ἑλένης χειρῶν, πολυηράτου ἐς γάμου ὥρην, σῇ δ’ ἀλόχῳ φορέειν. αὕτη δ’ ἡ φιλεργία τὴν σωφροσύνην αὐτῆς καταμηνύει· οὐ χλιδῶσα γὰρ οὐδὲ θρυπτομένη διὰ τὸ κάλλος εἰσάγεται, εὑρίσκεται γοῦν περὶ ἱστὸν ὑφαίνουσα καὶ ποικίλλουσα· τὴν δ’ εὗρ’ ἐν μεγάρῳ· ἡ δὲ μέγαν ἱστὸν ὕφαινε, δίπλακα μαρμαρέην πολέας δ’ ἐνέπασσεν ἀέθλους Τρώων θ’ ἱπποδάμων καὶ Ἀχαιῶν χαλκοχιτώνων, οὓς ἕθεν εἵνεκ’ ἔπασχον ὑπ’ Ἄρηος παλαμάων.
And Homer teaches us that those who have been invited to a feast, ought to ask leave of their entertainers before they rise up to depart. And so Telemachus does to Menelaus—But now let sleep the painful waste repair,Of sad reflection and corroding care.And Minerva, when pretending to be Mentor, says to Nestor—Now immolate the tongues and mix the wine,Sacred to Neptune and the pow'rs divine:The lamp of day is quench'd beneath the deep,And soft approach the balmy hours of sleep;Nor fits it to prolong the heav'nly feast,Timeless, indecent; but retire to rest.And in the feasts of the gods it does not appear to have been considered proper to remain too long at the table. Accordingly, Minerva says, very sententiously, in Homer—For now has darkness quench'd the solar light,And it becomes not gods to feast by night.And now there is a law in existence that there are some sacrificial feasts from which men must depart before sunset. And among the Egyptians formerly every kind of banquet was conducted with great moderation; as Apollonis has said, who wrote a treatise on the feasts of the Egyptian; for they ate in a sitting posture, using the very simplest and most wholesome food; and only just as much wine as was calculated to put them in cheerful spirits, which is what Pindar entreats of Jupiter—Oh mighty thund'ring Jove!Great Saturn's son, lord of the realms above,That I may be to thee and the nine Muses dear,That joy my heart may cheer;This is my prayer, my only prayer to thee.But the banquet of Plato is not an assembly of grave men, nor a conversazione of philosophers. For Socrates does not choose to depart from the banquet, although Eryximachus, and Phædrus, and some others, have already left it; but he stays till a late hour with Agathon and Aristophanes, and drinks from the silver well; for fairly has some one given this name to large cups. And he drinks out of the bowl cleverly, like a man who is used to it. And Plato says, that after this those two others began to nod, and that first of all Aristophanes fell asleep, and when day began to break so did Agathon; and that Socrates, after he had sent them both to sleep, rose up from table himself and went away to the Lyceum, when he might, says Herodicus, have gone to Homer's Læstrygones—Where he who scorns the chains of sleep to wear,And adds the herdsman's to the shepherd's care,His double toils may claim a double pay,And join the labours of the night and day.
διδάσκει δ’ ἡμᾶς Ὅμηρος ὅτι δεῖ καὶ τοὺς κεκλημένους ἐφ’ ἑστίασιν παρακαλεῖν ἀπανίστασθαι τοὺς κεκληκότας, ὁ μὲν Τηλέμαχος τὸν Μενέλαον ἀλλ’ ἄγετ’ εἰς εὐνὴν τράπεθ’ ἡμέας, ὄφρα καὶ ἤδη ὕπνῳ ὑπὸ γλυκερῷ ταρπώμεθα κοιμηθέντες. ἡ δὲ προσποιουμένη Μέντωρ εἶναι Ἀθηνᾶ πρὸς τὸν Νέστορα ἀλλ’ ἄγε τάμνετε μὲν γλώσσας, κεράσασθε δὲ οἶνον, ὄφρα Ποσειδάωνι καὶ ἄλλοις ἀθανάτοισιν σπείσαντες κοίτοιο μεδώμεθα· τοῖο γὰρ ὥρη. ἐν δὲ ταῖς τῶν θεῶν ἑορταῖς οὐδ’ ὅσιον εἶναι δοκεῖ πλείω χρόνον παραμένειν. γνωμικῶς γοῦν φησιν παρὰ τῷ Ὁμήρῳ ἡ Ἀθηνᾶ· ἤδη γὰρ φάος οἴχεθ’ ὑπὸ ζόφον, οὐδὲ ἔοικε δηθὰ θεῶν ἐν δαιτὶ θαασσέμεν, ἀλλὰ νέεσθαι. καὶ νῦν δὴ νόμος ἐκ θυσιῶν τινων πρὸ ἡλίου δύνοντος ἀπιέναι. καὶ παρ’ Αἰγυπτίοις δὲ τὸ παλαιὸν σωφρονικῶς διεξήγετο τὸ τῶν συμποσίων γένος, καθάπερ εἴρηκεν Ἀπολλώνιος ὁ περὶ τούτων γεγραφώς. καθήμενοι μὲν γὰρ ἐδείπνουν, τροφῇ τῇ λιτοτάτῃ καὶ ὑγιεινοτάτῃ χρώμενοι καὶ οἴνῳ τοσούτῳ ὅσος ἱκανὸς ἂν γένοιτο πρὸς εὐθυμίαν, ἣν ὁ Πίνδαρος αἰτεῖται παρὰ τοῦ Διός· τί ἔρδων φίλος σοί τε, καρτερόβροντα Κρονίδα, φίλος δὲ Μοίσαις εὐθυμίᾳ τε μέλων εἴην, τοῦτ’ αἴτημί σε. τὸ δὲ Πλάτωνος συμπόσιον οὐ συνέδριόν ἐστιν, οὐ βουλευτήριον, οὐ λέσχη φιλοσόφων. Σωκράτης γὰρ οὐδὲ τοῦ συμποσίου ἀποστῆναι θέλει καίτοι Ἐρυξιμάχου καὶ Φαίδρου καὶ ἄλλων τινῶν ἀποστάντων, ἀλλ’ ἐγρήγορε μετ’ Ἀγάθωνος καὶ Ἀριστοφάνους καὶ πίνει ἐξ ἀργυροῦ φρέατοσ—καλῶς γάρ τις τὰ μεγάλα ποτήρια οὕτως ὠνόμασε πίνει τ’ ἐκ τῆς φιάλης ἐπιδέξια. φησὶ δὲ καὶ μετὰ τοῦτο τοὺς μὲν δύο νυστάζειν, καταδαρθεῖν δὲ πρότερον τὸν Ἀριστοφάνη, ἤδη δὲ ἡμέρας ὑποφαινούσης τὸν Ἀγάθωνα· καὶ τὸν Σωκράτη κατακοιμήσαντα ἐκείνους ἀναστάντα ἀπιέναι εἰς τὸ Λύκειον, ἐξόν, φησὶν ὁ Ἡρόδικος, εἰς τοὺς Ὁμήρου Λαιστρυγόνας, ἔνθα κ’ ἄυπνος ἀνὴρ δοιοὺς ἐξήρατο μισθούς.
But every banqueting party among the ancients was referred to the gods; and accordingly men wore garlands appropriate and peculiar to the gods, and used hymns and odes. And there were no slaves to attend upon the guests, but free youths acted as the cupbearers. So the son of Mænelaus, although he was the bridegroom, and at his own wedding, acted; and in the poem of the beautiful Sappho, even Mercury acts as the cupbearer to the gods. And they were free men who prepared everything else for the guests. And after they had supped they went away while it was still daylight. But at some of the Persian feasts there were also councils held, as there were in the tent of Agamemnon with respect to the further conduct of the Trojan war. Now as to the entertainment given by Alcinous, to which the discourse of Ulysses refers where he says—How goodly seems it ever to employMan's social days in union and in joy;The plenteous board high heap'd with cates divinerAnd o'er the foaming bowl the laughing wine;The heav'n-taught poet and enchanting strain,These are the products of a peaceful reign.He refers also especially to his reception of straners, since the Phæacians themselves were devoted to luxury and yet if any one compares that feast made by Alcinous with the banquets of the philosophers, he will find that the better regulated of the two; although that also embraced much cheerfulness and spirit, only not in any unbecoming manner. For after the exhibition of gymnastics the bard sings—The loves of Mars,a certain lay mingled with some ridiculous incidents, and one which suggested to Ulysses some hints for the slaughter of the suitors; since Vulcan, even though he was lame, got the better of the most valiant Mars.
πᾶσα δὲ συμποσίου συναγωγὴ παρὰ τοῖς ἀρχαίοις τὴν αἰτίαν εἰς θεὸν ἀνέφερε, καὶ στεφάνοις ἐχρῶντο τοῖς οἰκείοις τῶν θεῶν καὶ ὕμνοις καὶ ᾠδαῖς. καὶ δοῦλος οὐδεὶς ἦν ὁ διακονήσων, ἀλλ’ οἱ νέοι τῶν ἐλευθέρων ᾠνοχόουν, ὡς ὁ τοῦ Μενελάου υἱὸς καίτοι νυμφίος ὑπάρχων καὶ ἐν αὐτοῖς τοῖς γάμοις. παρὰ δὲ τῇ καλῇ Σαπφοῖ καὶ ὁ Ἑρμῆς οἰνοχοεῖ τοῖς θεοῖς. καὶ τἄλλα δὲ πάντα παρεσκεύαζον τοῖς δειπνοῦσιν ἐλεύθεροι, καὶ οἱ δειπνήσαντες ἀπελύοντο φωτὸς ὄντος. ἐν ἐνίοις δὲ καὶ τῶν Περσικῶν συμποσίων ἐγίνοντό τινες καὶ βουλαί, καθάπερ ἐν τῷ τοῦ Ἀγαμέμνονος κατὰ τὴν στρατείαν. τὸ δὲ τοῦ Ἀλκινόου συμπόσιον, πρὸς ὃ ἀποτέταται ὁ τοῦ ᾽ Ὀδυσσέως λόγος· οὐ γὰρ ἔγωγὲ τί φημι τέλος χαριέστερον εἶναι ἢ ὅταν εὐφροσύνη μὲν ἔχῃ κατὰ δῆμον ἅπαντα, δαιτυμόνες δ’ ἀνὰ δώματ’ ἀκουάζωνται ἀοιδοῦ, ξένου ὑποδοχὴν ἔχει, ὄντων καὶ αὐτῶν τῶν Φαιάκων τρυφερῶν, ὅπερ συμβάλλων τις πρὸς τὰ τῶν φιλοσόφων συμπόσια κοσμιώτερον ἂν εὕροι, καίτοι τοῦτο περιέχον καὶ ἱλαρότητα καὶ παιδιὰν εὐσχήμονα. μετὰ γὰρ τὸν ἀγῶνα τὸν γυμνικὸν ᾄδει ὁ ᾠδὸς ἀμφ’ Ἄρεος φιλότητα μῦθόν τινα χλεύῃ κεκραμένον, καίτοι εἰς τὴν μνηστηροφονίαν ὑποθηκῶν ὑποτιθεμένων τῷ Ὀδυσσεῖ, ὡς καὶ τοῦ Κυλλοποδίωνος τὸν ἀνδρειότατον Ἄρη καταγωνισαμένου.
And the feasters of that time sat at the table; at all events, Homer very often says—Sitting in order on the chairs and couches.For the word θρόνος, which he uses in this line, when taken by itself, is a seat such as is used by free men, with a footstool, the name of which being θρῆνυς, from thence they came to call the seat itself θρόνος, from the verb θρήσασθαι, which they used for, to sit; as Philetas says—To sit (θρήσασθαι) on the ground under a plane-tree.But the couch (κλισμὸς) was more adapted for reclining on; and the δίφρος is something simpler than these things. Accordingly, in the book where Ulysses appears as a beggar the servants place for him, as Homer tells us,A humble chair (δίφρος), and spread a scanty board.But their goblets, as their name (κρατῆρες) indicates, were supplied full of wine mixed with water (κεκραμένοι); and the youths ministered to them from the larger goblets, always, in the case of the most honourable of the guests, keeping their small cups full; but to the rest they distributed the wine in equal portions. Accordingly Agamemnon says to Idomeneus—To thee the foremost honours are decreed,First in the fight, and every graceful deed;For this in banquets, when the generous bowlsRestore our blood, and raise our warrior souls,Though all the rest with stated rules are bound,Unmix'd, unmeasured are thy goblets crown'd.And they used to pledge one another, not as we do, (for our custom may be expressed by the verb προεκπίνω rather than by προπινω,) but they drank the entire bumper off—He fill'd his cup, and pledged great Peleus' son.And how often they took meat, we have already explained —namely, that they had three meals, because it is the same meal that was at one time called δεῖπνον, and at another ἄριστον. For those men who say that they used to take four meals a day, are ridiculously ignorant, since the poet himself says—But do thou come δειελιήσας.And these men do not perceive that this word means, “after having remained here till evening.” But, nevertheless, no one can show in the poet one instance of any one taking food even three times in the day. But many men are led into mistakes, placing these verses in the poet all together—They wash; the tables in fair order spread,They heap the glittering canisters with bread,Viands of various kinds allure the taste,Of choicest sort and savour; rich repast.For if the housekeeper placed the meats on the table, it is plain that there was no need for the carver to bring in more, so that some of the above description is superfluous. But when the guests had departed the tables were removed, as is done at the feasts of the Suitors and of the Phæacians, in whose case he says—The servants bore away the armour of the feast.And it is plain that he means the dishes, for the word he uses is ἔντεα; and it is that part of the armour which covers a man, such as his breastplate, his greaves, and things like them which men call ἔντεα, as being in front (ἄντια) of the parts of the body. And of the rooms in the palaces of the heroes, those which were larger Homer calls, μέγαρα, and δώματα, and even κλισίας (tents). But the moderns call them ἀνδρῶνες (rooms to receive men) and ξενῶνες (strangers' apartments).
ἐκαθέζοντο δὲ καὶ δειπνοῦντες οἱ τότε. πολλαχοῦ γοῦν ὁ Ὅμηρός φησιν ἑξείης ἕζοντο κατὰ κλισμούς τε θρόνους τε. ὁ γὰρ θρόνος αὐτὸ μόνον ἐλευθέριός ἐστιν καθέδρα σὺν ὑποποδίῳ, ὅπερ θρῆνυν καλοῦντες ἐντεῦθεν αὐτὸν ὠνόμασαν θρόνον τοῦ θρήσασθαι χάριν, ὅπερ ἐπὶ τοῦ καθέζεσθαι τάσσουσιν, ὡς Φιλίτας· θρήσασθαι πλατάνῳ λασίῃ ὕπο. ὁ δὲ κλισμὸς περιττοτέρως κεκόσμηται ἀνακλίσει. τούτων δ’ εὐτελέστερος ἦν ὁ δίφρος· τῷ γοῦν Ὀδυσσεῖ ἐπαίτῃ εἶναι δοκοῦντι δίφρον ἀεικέλιον, φησί, καταθεὶς ὀλίγην τε τράπεζαν. οἱ δὲ κρατῆρες αὐτοῖς, ὥσπερ ἔχει καὶ τοὔνομα, κεκραμένοι παρεστήκεσαν, ἐξ ὧν οἱ κοῦροι διακονούμενοι τοῖς μὲν ἐντιμοτάτοις ἀεὶ πλῆρες παρεῖχον τὸ ποτήριον, τοῖς δ’ ἄλλοις ἐξ ἴσου διένεμον. ὁ γοῦν Ἀγαμέμνων πρὸς τὸν Ἰδομενέα φησί σὸν δὲ πλεῖον δέπας αἰεὶ ἕστηχ’ ὥσπερ ἐμοί, πιέειν ὅτε θυμὸς ἀνώγοι. προέπινον δ’ ἀλλήλοις οὐχ ὥσπερ ἡμεῖς τοῦτο γὰρ προεκπιεῖν ἐστιν, ἀλλὰ μεστὸν τὸν σκύφον πλησάμενος δ’ οἴνοιο δέπας δείδεκτ’ Ἀχιλῆα. ὁσάκις δὲ καὶ τροφὰς ἐλάμβανον, προειρήκαμεν ἤδη ὅτι δὴ τρεῖς ἦσαν διὰ τὸ τὸ αὐτό ποτε μὲν ἄριστον, ποτὲ δὲ δεῖπνον ὀνομάζεσθαι. γελοῖοι γάρ εἰσιν οἱ φάσκοντες ὅτι καὶ τέσσαρας ἐλάμβανον ἐπεὶ ὁ ποιητὴς ἔφη σὺ δ’ ἔρχεο δειελιήσας, οὐ νοοῦντες ὅτι λέγει τὸν δειλινὸν διατρίψας χρόνον. ὅμως δὲ οὐδεὶς δείξει παρὰ τῷ ποιητῇ τρίς τινα λαμβάνοντα τροφάς, διαμαρτάνουσι δὲ πολλοὶ παρὰ τῷ ποιητῇ ἐφεξῆς τιθέντες τούτους τοὺς στίχους· σιτονδ’ αἰδοίη ταμίη παρέθηκε φέρουσα, εἴδατα πόλλ’ ἐπιθεῖσα, χαριζομένη παρεόντων δαιτρὸς δὲ κρειῶν πίνακας παρέθηκεν ἀείρας. εἰ γὰρ εἴδατα παρέθηκεν ἡ ταμίη, δῆλον ὡς κρεάτων λείψανα τυγχάνοντα, τὸν δαιτρὸν οὐκ ἔδει παρεισφέρειν. διόπερ τὸ δίστιχον ἀπαρκεῖ. ἀπαλλαγέντων δὲ τῶν δειπνούντων αἱ τράπεζαι ἐβαστάζοντο, ὥσπερ παρὰ τοῖς μνηστῆρσι καὶ τοῖς Φαίαξιν, ἐφ’ ὧν καὶ λέγει· ἀμφίπολοι δ’ ἀπεκόσμεον ἔντεα δαιτός, δῆλον ὡς τὰ ἀγγεῖα. καὶ γὰρ τῶν ὅπλων τὰ σκεπαστικά, θώρακα καὶ κνημῖδας καὶ τὰ τούτοις ἐμφερῆ λέγουσιν ἔντη, καθάπερ ἀγγεῖα τῶν τοῦ σώματος μερῶν ὄντα. τῶν δὲ ἡρωικῶν οἴκων τοὺς μείζονας Ὅμηρος μέγαρα καλεῖ καὶ δώματα καὶ κλισίας, οἱ δὲ νῦν ξενῶνας καὶ ἀνδρῶνας ὀνομάζουσι.
What then, my friends, shall we call the entertainment which Antiochus, who was surnamed Epiphanes, (but who was more rightly called Epimanes from his actions,) gave Now he was king of the Syrians, being one of the Seleucidæ. And Polybius says of him, "He, escaping out of the palace without the knowledge of the attendants, was often found with one or two companions wandering about the city wherever he might chance to take it into his head to go. And he was, above all other places, frequently found at the shops of the engravers of silver and of the goldsmiths, conversing on the subject of their inventions with, and inquiring into the principles of their art from, the engravers and other artists. And besides this, he often used to go among the common people, conversing with whomsoever he might chance to meet; and he would drink with the lowest and poorest strangers. And whenever he heard of any young men having a banquet, without having given any notice of his intention, he would come to join in their feast with a flute and music, behaving in a most lascivious manner; so that many used to rise up and depart, being alarmed at his strange behaviour. Often, also, he would lay aside his royal robes, and put on a common cloak, and so go round the market, like a man who was a candidate for some office: and taking some people by the hand, and embracing others, he would solicit them to vote for him, sometimes begging to be made ædile, and sometimes tribune; and when he was elected, sitting in his ivory curule chair, according to the fashion which prevails among the Romans, he would hear all the causes which were pleaded in the forum, and decide them with great attention and earnestness, by which conduct he greatly perplexed sensible men, For some thought him a man of very simple tastes, and others considered him mad. And his conduct with respect to presents was very much the same. For he would give some people dice of antelope's bones, and some he would present with dates, and to others he would give gold. And even if he met people in the street whom he had never seen, he would give them presents unexpectedly. And in his sacrifices, which were offered up in the different cities, and in the honours offered to the gods, he surpassed all the kings who had ever existed. And any one may conjecture his from the temple raised to Olympian Jupiter at Athens, and from the statues around the altar at Delos. And he used to bathe in the public baths, often when they were complete y full of the citizens, and then he would have earthen pairs of the most expensive perfumes brought to him. And on one of these occasions, when some one said to him, “Happy are you kings, who use all these things and smell so sweet,” he made the man no answer at the time; but coming the next day to the place where he was bathing, he caused him to have a pan of the largest size of that most precious ointment called στακτὴ poured over his head, so that when that had been done, every one near got up and hastened to get a little of the ointment, and as they fell down in their haste, by reason of the slipperiness of the floor, every one laughed, as did the king himself.
τί οὖν ὀνομάσομεν, ἄνδρες φίλοι, τὸ συμπόσιον ὅπερ Ἀντίοχος ὁ Ἐπιφανὴς μὲν κληθείς, Ἐπιμανὴς δ’ ἐκ τῶν πράξεων ὀνομασθείς; βασιλεὺς δ’ ἦν οὗτος τῶν Συριακῶν τῶν ἀπὸ Σελεύκου εἷς· περὶ οὗ φησι Πολύβιος τάδε, ὡςἀποδιδράσκων ἐκ τῆς αὐλῆς ἐνίοτε τοὺς θεραπεύοντας οὗ τύχοι τῆς πόλεως ἀλύων ἐφαίνετο δεύτερος καὶ τρίτος· μάλιστα δὲ πρὸς τοῖς ἀργυροκοπείοις εὑρίσκετο καὶ χρυσοχοείοις εὑρησιλογῶν καὶ φιλοτεχνῶν πρὸς τοὺς τορευτὰς καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους τεχνίτας. ἔπειτα καὶ μετὰ δημοτῶν ἀνθρώπων συγκαταβαίνων ὡμίλει ᾧ τύχοι καὶ μετὰ τῶν παρεπιδημούντων συνέπινε τῶν εὐτελεστάτων, ὅτε δὲ τῶν νεωτέρων αἴσθοιτό τινας συνευωχουμένους, οὐδεμίαν ἔμφασιν ποιήσας παρῆν ἐπικωμάζων μετὰ κερατίου· καὶ συμφωνίας, ὥστε τοὺς πολλοὺς διὰ τὸ παράδοξον ἀφισταμένους φεύγειν. πολλάκις δὲ καὶ τὴν βασιλικὴν ἀποθέμενος ἐσθῆτα τήβενναν ἀναλαβὼν περιῄει κατὰ τὴν ἀγορὰν ἀρχαιρεσιάζων καὶ τοὺς μὲν δεξιούμενος, τοὺς δὲ καὶ περιπτύσσων παρεκάλει φέρειν αὑτῷ τὴν ψῆφον, ποτὲ μὲν ὡς ἀγορανόμος γένηται, ποτὲ δὲ καὶ ὡς δήμαρχος, τυχὼν δὲ τῆς ἀρχῆς καὶ καθίσας ἐπὶ τὸν ἐλεφάντινον δίφρον κατὰ τὸ παρὰ Ῥωμαίοις ἔθος διήκουε τῶν κατὰ τὴν ἀγορὰν γινομένων συναλλαγμάτων καὶ διέκρινε μετὰ πολλῆς σπουδῆς καὶ προθυμίας, ἐξ ὧν εἰς ἀπορίαν ἦγε τῶν ἀνθρώπων τοὺς ἐπιεικεῖς· οἱ μὲν γὰρ ἀφελῆ τινα αὐτὸν εἶναι ὑπελάμβανον, οἱ δὲ μαινόμενον. καὶ γὰρ περὶ τὰς δωρεὰς ἦν παραπλήσιος· ἐδίδου γὰρ τοῖς μὲν ἀστραγάλους δορκαδείους, τοῖς δὲ φοινικοβαλάνους, ἄλλοις δὲ χρυσίον. καὶ ἐξ ἀπαντήσεως δέ τισι συντυγχάνων οὓς μὴ ἑωράκει ποτὲ ἐδίδου δωρεὰς ἀπροσδοκήτους, ἐν δὲ ταῖς πρὸς τὰς πόλεις εὐνοίαις καὶ ταῖς πρὸς τοὺς θεοὺς τιμαῖς πάντας ὑπερέβαλλε τοὺς βεβασιλευκότας, τοῦτο δ’ ἄν τις τεκμήραιτο ἔκ τε τοῦ παρ’ Ἀθηναίοις Ὀλυμπιείου καὶ τῶν περὶ τὸν ἐν Δήλῳ βωμὸν ἀνδριάντων, ἐλούετο δὲ κἀν τοῖς δημοσίοις βαλανείοις ὅτε δημοτῶν ἦν τὰ βαλανεῖα πεπληρωμένα, κεραμίων εἰσφερομένων αὐτῷ μύρων τῶν πολυτελεστάτων, ὅτε καί τινος εἰπόντος μακάριοί ἐστε ὑμεῖς οἱ βασιλεῖς οἱ καὶ τούτοις χρώμενοι καὶ ὀδωδότες ἡδύ, μηδὲν τὸν ἄνθρωπον προσειπὼν ὅπου ’κεῖνος τῇ ἑξῆς ἐλούετο ἐπεισελθὼν ἐποίησεν αὐτοῦ καταχυθῆναι τῆς κεφαλῆς μέγιστον κεράμιον πολυτελεστάτου μύρου τῆς στακτῆς καλουμένης, ὡς πάντας ἀναστάντας κυλίεσθαι λουομένους τῷ μύρῳ καὶ διὰ τὴν γλισχρότητα καταπίπτοντας γέλωτα παρέχειν, καθάπερ καὶ αὐτὸν τὸν βασιλέα.
“And this same king,” continues Polybius, "having heard of the games which had been celebrated in Macedonia by Aemilius Paullus the Roman general, wishing to surpass Paullus in his magnificence and liberality, sent ambassadors and theori to the different cities to proclaim that games were going to be exhibited by him at Daphne, so that the Greeks all hastened with great eagerness to come to him to see them. And the beginning of the exhibition was a splendid procession, arranged in this way:—Some men led the way armed in the Roman fashion, in breastplates of chain armour, all men in the flower of their youth, to the number of five thousand; immediately after them, five thousand Mysians followed; and then three thousand Cilicians, armed in the fashion of light-armed skirmishers, having golden crowns; and after them three thousand Thracians and five thousand Galatians; these were followed by twenty thousand Macedonians, and by five thousand men armed with brazen shields, and as many more with silver shields; they were followed by two hundred and forty pair of gladiators to fight in single combat; behind these came a thousand Nisæan cavalry, and three thousand men of the city guard, the greatest part of whom had golden trappings and golden crowns, but some had silver trappings; to these succeeded the cavalry who are called the King's Companions; these amounted to one thousand men, all equipped with golden trappings; next to these was the battalion of the King's Friends, of the same number and the same equipment; after these a thousand picked men; and they were followed by what was called the Agema, which was considered to be the most excellent squadron of all the cavalry, to the number of a thousand men; last of all came the Fenced Cavalry, having its name from the fact that both men and horses were com- pletely enveloped in armour; they were in number fifteen hundred men. And all the above-mentioned soldiers had purple cloaks, and many had them also embroidered with gold or painted with figures of living animals. Besides all this, there were a hundred chariots with six horses, and forty with four horses; then a chariot drawn by four elephants, and another by two; and last of all, six-and-thirty elephants, all handsomely appointed, followed one by one.
ὁ δ’ αὐτὸς οὗτος βασιλεὺς ἀκούσας τοὺς ἐν τῇ Μακεδονίᾳ συντετελεσμένους ἀγῶνας ὑπὸ Αἰμιλίου Παύλου τοῦ Ῥωμαίων στρατηγοῦ, βουλόμενος τῇ μεγαλοεργίᾳ ὑπερᾶραι τὸν Παῦλον ἐξέπεμψε πρέσβεις καὶ θεωροὺς εἰς τὰς πόλεις καταγγελοῦντας τοὺς ἐσομένους ἀγῶνας ὑπὸ αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ Δάφνης· ὡς πολλὴν γενέσθαι τῶν Ἑλλήνων σπουδὴν εἰς τὴν ὡς αὐτὸν ἄφιξιν. ἀρχὴν δ’ ἐποιήσατο τῆς πανηγύρεως τὴν πομπείαν οὕτως ἐπιτελεσθεῖσαν. καθηγοῦντό τινες ʽ Ῥωμαικὸν ἔχοντες καθοπλισμὸν ἐν θώραξιν ἀλυσιδωτοῖς, ἄνδρες ἀκμάζοντες ταας ἡλικίαις πεντακισχίλιοι· μεθ’ οὓς Μυσοὶ πεντακισχίλιοι. συνεχεῖς δ’ ἦσαν Κίλικες εἰς τὸν τῶν εὐζώνων τρόπον καθωπλισμένοι τρισχίλιοι, χρυσοῦς ἔχοντες στεφάνους, ἐπὶ δὲ τούτοις Θρᾷκες τρισχίλιοι καὶ Γαλάται πεντακισχίλιοι. τούτοις ἐπέβαλλον Μακεδόνες δισμύριοι, χρυσάσπιδες μὲν μύριοι καὶ χαλκάσπιδες πεντακισχίλιοι, οἱ δὲ ἄλλοι ἀργυράσπιδες· οἷς ἐπηκολούθει μονομάχων ζεύγη διακόσια τεσσαράκοντα. τούτων κατόπιν ἦσαν ἱππεῖς Νισαῖοι μὲν χίλιοι, πολιτικοὶ δὲ τρισχίλιοι, ὧν οἱ μὲν πλείους ἦσαν χρυσοφάλαροι καὶ χρυσοστέφανοι, οἱ δ’ ἄλλοι ἀργυροφάλαροι. μετὰ δὲ τούτους ἦσαν οἱ λεγόμενοι ἑταῖροι ἱππεῖς· οὗτοι δὲ ἦσαν εἰς χιλίους, πάντες χρυσοφάλαροι. τούτοις συνεχὲς ἦν τὸ τῶν φίλων σύνταγμα, ἴσον καὶ κατὰ τὸ πλῆθος καὶ κατὰ τὸν κόσμον. ἐπὶ δὲ τούτοις ἐπίλεκτοι χίλιοι, οἷς ἐπηκολούθει τὸ καλούμενον ἄγημα, κράτιστον εἶναι δοκοῦν σύστημα τῶν ἱππέων, περὶ χιλίους, τελευταία δ’ ἦν ἡ κατάφρακτος ἵππος, οἰκείως τῇ προσηγορία τῶν ἵππων καὶ τῶν ἀνδρῶν ἐσκεπασμένων τοῖς ὅπλοις· ἦσαν δὲ καὶ αὐτοὶ χίλιοι καὶ πεντακόσιοι, πάντες δ’ οἱ προειρημένοι εἶχον πορφυρᾶς ἐφαπτίδας, πολλοὶ δὲ καὶ διαχρύσους καὶ ζῳωτάς. ἐπὶ δὲ τούτοις ἕξιππα μὲν ἦν ἑκατόν, τέθριππα δὲ τεσσαράκοντα ἔπειτα ἐλεφάντων ἅρμα καὶ συνωρίς· καθ’ ἕνα δ’ εἵποντο ἐλέφαντες διεσκευασμένοι τριάκοντα καὶ ἕξ.
"The rest of the procession was such as it is difficult adequately to describe, and it must be enumerated in a summary manner. For youths walked in the procession to the number of eight hundred, all having golden crowns; and fat oxen to the number of one thousand; and deputations to see to the performance of separate sacrifices, very little short of three hundred; and there were eight hundred elephants' teeth carried by, and such a multitude of statues as it is beyond any one's power to enumerate. For images were carried in the procession of all who are ever said or thought by men to be gods, or deities, or demigods, or heroes; some gilt all over, and some arrayed in golden-broidered robes. And to all of them suitable inscriptions according to the accounts commonly received of them were attached, earved in the most expensive materials. And they were followed by an image of Night and another of Day; and of the Earth, and of Heaven, and of Morning, and of Noon. And the vast quantity of gold plate and silver plate was such as perhaps a man may form a guess at from the following account. For a thousand slaves belonging to Dionysius the secretary and amanuensis of the king joined in the procession, each carrying articles of silver plate, of which there was not one weighing less than a thousand drachmæ. And there were six hundred slaves belonging to the king himself, carrying articles of gold plate. And besides them there were women to the number of two hundred sprinkling every one with perfume out of golden waterpots. And they were succeeded by eighty women magnificently apparelled, borne on palanquins with golden feet, and five hundred borne on palanquins wit silver feet. And this was the most important portion of the procession.
τὴν δ’ ἄλλην πομπὴν λέγειν ἐστὶ δυσέφικτον, ὡς ἐν κεφαλαίῳ δὲ λεκτέον. ἔφηβοι μὲν γὰρ ἐπόμπευσαν εἰς ὀκτακοσίους, χρυσοῦς ἔχοντες στεφάνους, βόες δ’ εὐτραφεῖς περὶ χιλίους, θεωρίδες δὲ βραχὺ λείπουσαι τριακοσίων, ἐλεφάντων δὲ ὀδόντες ὀκτακόσιοι, τὸ δὲ τῶν ἀγαλμάτων πλῆθος οὐ δυνατὸν ἐξηγήσασθαι· πάντων γὰρ τῶν παρ’ ἀνθρώποις λεγομένων ἢ νομιζομένων θεῶν ἢ δαιμόνων, προσέτι δὲ ἡρώων εἴδωλα διήγετο, τὰ μὲν κεχρυσωμένα, τὰ δ’ ἠμφιεσμένα στολαῖς διαχρύσοις. καὶ πᾶσι τούτοις οἱ προσήκοντες μῦθοι κατὰ τὰς παραδεδομένας ἱστορίας ἐν διασκευαῖς πολυτελέσι παρέκειντο. εἵπετο δ’ αὐτοῖς καὶ Νυκτὸς εἴδωλον καὶ ʽ Ἡμέρας, Γῆς τε καὶ Οὐρανοῦ, καὶ Ἠοῦς καὶ Μεσημβρίας, τε δὲ τῶν χρυσωμάτων καὶ ἀργυρωμάτων πλῆθος οὕτως ἄν τις ὑπονοήσειεν ὅσον ἦν ἑνὸς γὰρ τῶν φίλων Διονυσίου τοῦ ἐπιστολιαγράφου χίλιοι παῖδες ἐπόμπευσαν ἀργυρώματα ἔχοντες, ὧν οὐδὲν ἐλάττον’ ὁλκὴν εἶχεν δραχμῶν χιλίων, βασιλικοὶ δὲ παῖδες παρῆλθον ἑξακόσιοι χρυσώματα ἔχοντες, ἔπειτα γυναῖκες ἐκ χρυσῶν καλπίδων μύροις ἔρραινον εἰς διακοσίας. ταύταις δ’ ἑξῆς ἐπόμπευον ἐν χρυσόποσι μὲν φορείοις ὀγδοήκοντα γυναῖκες, ἐν ἀργυρόποσι δὲ πεντακόσιαι καθήμεναι, πολυτελῶς διεσκευασμέναι. καὶ τῆς μὲν πομπῆς τὰ ἐπιφανέστατα ταῦτα ἦν.
“But after the games were over and the single combats and the hunting, during the whole thirty days which he exhibited these shows, on the first five days every one who came into the gymnasium was anointed with a saffron perfume shed upon him out of golden dishes. And there were fifteen of these golden dishes, full of equal quantities of cinnamon and spikenard. And in a similar manner in the five next days there was brought in essence of fenugreek, and of amaracus, and of lilies, all differing in their scent; and some days there were laid a thousand triclinia for the banquet; and some days fifteen hundred, all laid in the most expensive possible manner. And the arrangement of the whole business was superintended by the king himself. For having a very fine horse he went up and down the whole procession, commanding some to advance, and others to halt. And stopping at the entrances of the rooms where the drinking was going on he brought some in, and to others he assigned places on the couches. And he himself conducted in the attendants who brought in the second course. And he went round the whole banquet, sometimes sitting down in one place, and presently lying down in another place. And sometimes even while he was eating he would lay down what he was eating or his cup, and jump up, and go away to another part of the room. And he would go all round the company, at times, pledging some of the guests in a standing posture; and at times entertaining himself with the jesters or with the music. And when the entertainment had lasted a long time and many of the guests had gone away, then the king would be brought in by buffoons, all covered up, and laid on the ground as if he had been one of their band. And when the music excited him, he would jump up and dance, and act with the mummers, so that every one felt ashamed for him and fled away. And all this was done partly with the treasure which he brought out of Egypt, having plundered Ptolemy Philometor the king there, in defiance of his treaty with him when he was but a little boy; and some of the money too was contributed by his friends. And he had also sacrilegiously plundered most of the temples in his dominions.”
ἐπιτελεσθέντων δὲ τῶν ἀγώνων καὶ μονομαχιῶν καὶ κυνηγεσίων κατὰ τριάκονθ’ ἡμέρας· ἐν αἷς τὰς θέας συνετέλει, πέντε μὲν τὰς πρώτας ἐν τῷ γυμνασίῳ πάντες ἐκ χρυσῶν ὁλκείων ἠλείφοντο κροκίνῳ μύρῳ· ἦν δὲ ταῦτα πεντεκαίδεκα, καὶ κινναμωμίνου τὰ ἴσα καὶ ναρδίνου. παραπλησίως δὲ καὶ ταῖς ἑξῆς εἰσεφέρετο τήλινον, ἀμαράκινον, ἴρινον, πάντα διαφέροντα ταῖς εὐωδίαις. ἔστρωτο δὲ εἰς εὐωχίαν ποτὲ μὲν χίλια τρίκλινα, ποτὲ δὲ χίλια πεντακόσια μετὰ τῆς πολυτελεστάτης διασκευῆς, ὁ δὲ χειρισμὸς ἐγίνετο τῶν πραγμάτων δι’ αὐτοῦ τοῦ βασιλέως, ἵππον γὰρ ἔχων εὐτελῆ παρέτρεχε παρὰ τὴν πομπήν, τοὺς μὲν προάγειν κελεύων, τοὺς δὲ ἐπέχειν. κατὰ δὲ τοὺς πότους αὐτὸς ἐπὶ τὰς εἰσόδους ἐφιστάμενος οὓς μὲν εἰσῆγεν, οὓς δ’ ἀνέκλινε, καὶ τοὺς διακόνους δὲ τοὺς τὰς παραθέσεις φέροντας αὐτὸς εἰσῆγε, καὶ περιπορευόμενος οὗ μὲν προσεκάθιζεν, οὗ δὲ προσανέπιπτε καὶ ποτε μὲν ἀποθέμενος μεταξὺ τὸν ψωμόν, ποτὲ δὲ τὸ ποτήριον, ἀνεπήδα καὶ μετανίστατο καὶ περιῄει τὸν πότον προπόσεις λαμβάνων ὀρθὸς ἄλλοτε παρ’ ἄλλοις, ἅμα δὲ καὶ τοῖς ἀκροάμασι προσπαίζων. προιούσης δὲ ἐπὶ πολὺ τῆς συνουσίας καὶ πολλῶν ἤδη κεχωρισμένων ὑπὸ τῶν μίμων ὁ βασιλεὺς εἰσεφέρετο ὅλος συγκεκαλυμμένος καὶ εἰς τὴν γῆν ἐτίθετο ὡς εἷς ὢν δῆτα τῶν μίμων καὶ τῆς συμφωνίας προκαλουμένης ἀναπηδήσας γυμνὸς ὠρχεῖτο καὶ ὑπεκρίνετο μετὰ τῶν γελωτοποιῶν, ὥστε πάντας αἰσχυνομένους φεύγειν. ταῦτα δὲ πάντα συνετελέσθη ἐξ ὧν τὰ μὲν ἐκ τῆς Αἰγύπτου ἐνοσφίσατο παρασπονδήσας τὸν Φιλομήτορα βασιλέα παιδίσκον ὄντα, τὰ δὲ καὶ τῶν φίλων συμβαλλομένων. ἱεροσυλήκει δὲ καὶ τὰ πλεῖστα τῶν ἱερῶν.
And while all the guests marvelled at the conduct of the king, seeing that he was not illustrious but absolutely mad, Masurius brought forward Callixenus the Rhodian, who in the fourth book of his History of Alexandria has given an account of a spectacle and procession which was exhibited by that most admirable of all monarchs, Ptolemy Phiadelphus. And he says—"But before I begin, I will give a description of the tent which was prepared within the circuit of the citadel, apart from the place provided for the reception of the soldiers, and artisans, and foreigners. For it was wonderfully beautiful, and worth hearing about. Its size was such as to be able to hold a hundred and thirty couches placed in a circle, and it was furnished in the following manner:—There were wooden pillars at intervals, five on each side of the tent longwise, fifty cubits high, and something less than one cubit broad. And on these pillars at the top was a capital, of square figure, carefully fitted, supporting the whole weight of the roof of the banqueting room. And over this was spread in the middle a scarlet veil with a white fringe, like a canopy; and on each side it had beams covered over with turreted veils, with white centres, on which canopies embroidered all over the centre were placed. And of the pillars four were made to resemble palm-trees, and they had in the centre a representation of thyrsi. And on the outside of these a portico ran, adorned with a peristyle on three sides, with a vaulted roof. And in this place it was intended that the company of the feasters should sit down. And the interior of it was surrounded with scarlet curtains. But in the middle of the space there were strange hides of beasts, strange both as to their variegated colour and their size, suspended. And the part which surrounded this portico in the open air was shaded by myrtle-trees and daphnes, and other suitable shrubs. And the whole floor was strewed with flowers of every description. For Egypt, on account of the temperate character of the atmosphere which surrounds it, and on account of the fondness of the inhabitants for gardening, produces in great abundance, and all the year round, those things which in other countries are rarely found, and only at particular seasons. And roses, and white lilies, and numberless other flowers are never wanting in that country. On which account, though this entertainment took place in the middle of winter, still there was a show of flowers which was quite incredible to the foreigners. For flowers of which one could not easily have found enough to make one chaplet in any other city were supplied in the greatest abundance here, to make chaplets for every one of the guests at this entertainment, and were strewed thickly over the whole floor of the tent; so as really to give the appearance of a most divine meadow.
θαυμασάντων δὲ τῶν δαιτυμόνων τήν τε τοῦ βασιλέως διάνοιαν ὡς οὐκ ἐπιφανής, ἀλλ’ ὄντως ἐπιμανὴς ὑπῆρχε … προσέθηκεν ὁ Μασούριος περὶ τῆς ἐν Ἀλεξανδρείᾳ γεγενημένης ὑπὸ τοῦ πάντα ἀρίστου Πτολεμαίου τοῦ Φιλαδέλφου βασιλέως πομπῆς Καλλίξεινον τὸν Ῥόδιον ἱστοροῦντα ἐν τῷ τετάρτῳ περὶ Ἀλεξανδρείας, ὅς φησι· πρὸ δὲ τοῦ ἄρξασθαι τὴν κατασκευασθεῖσαν σκηνὴν ἐν τῷ τῆς ἄκρας περιβόλῳ χωρὶς τῆς τῶν στρατιωτῶν καὶ τεχνιτῶν καὶ παρεπιδήμων ὑποδοχῆς ἐξηγήσομαι· καλὴ γὰρ εἰς ὑπερβολὴν ἀξία τε ἀκοῆς ἐγενήθη. τὸ μὲν οὖν μέγεθος αὐτῆς ἑκατὸν τριάκοντα κλίνας ἐπιδεχόμενον κύκλῳ, διασκευὴν δ’ εἶχε τοιαύτην. κίονες διεστάθησαν ξύλινοι πέντε μὲν κατὰ πλευρὰν ἑκάστην τοῦ μήκους πεντηκονταπήχεις πρὸς ὕψος, ἑνὶ δὲ ἐλάττους κατὰ πλάτος· ἐφ’ ὧν ἐπιστύλιον καθηρμόσθη τετράγωνον, ὑπερεῖδον τὴν σύμπασαν τοῦ συμποσίου στέγην. αὕτη δ’ ἐνεπετάσθη κατὰ μέσον οὐρανίσκῳ κοκκινοβαφεῖ περιλεύκῳ, καθ’ ἑκάτερον δὲ μέρος εἶχε δοκοὺς μεσολεύκοις ἐμπετάσμασι πυργωτοῖς κατειλημένας, ἐν αἷς φατνώματα γραπτὰ κατὰ μέσον ἐτέτακτο. τῶν δὲ κιόνων οἱ μὲν τέσσαρες ὡμοίωντο φοίνιξιν, οἱ δ’ ἀνὰ μέσον θύρσων εἶχον φαντασίαν. τούτων δ’ ἐκτὸς περίστυλος ἐπεποίητο σῦριγξ ταῖς τρισὶ πλευραῖς καμαρωτὴν ἔχουσα στέγην, ἐν ᾗ τὴν τῶν κατακειμένων ἀκολουθίαν ἑστάναι συνέβαινεν. ἧς τὸ μὲν ἐντὸς αὐλαίαις περιείχετο φοινικίναις, ἐπὶ δὲ τῶν ἀνὰ μέσον χωρῶν δοραὶ θηρίων παράδοξοι καὶ τῇ ποικιλίᾳ καὶ τοῖς μεγέθεσιν ἐκρέμαντο. τὸ δὲ περιέχον αὐτὴν ὕπαιθρον μυρρίναις καὶ δάφναις ἄλλοις τε ἐπιτηδείοις ἔρνεσιν ἐγεγόνει συνηρεφές. τὸ δὲ ἔδαφος πᾶν ἄνθεσι κατεπέπαστο παντοίοις. ἡ γὰρ Αἴγυπτος καὶ διὰ τὴν τοῦ περιέχοντος ἀέρος εὐκρασίαν καὶ διὰ τοὺς κηπεύοντας τὰ σπανίως καὶ καθ’ ὥραν ἐνεστηκυῖαν ἐν ἑτέροις φυόμενα τόποις ἄφθονα γεννᾷ καὶ διὰ παντός, καὶ οὔτε ῥόδον οὔτε λευκόιον οὔτε ἄλλο ῥᾳδίως ἄνθος ἐκλιπεῖν οὐθὲν οὐδέποτ’ εἴωθεν. διὸ δὴ καὶ κατὰ μέσον χειμῶνα τῆς ὑποδοχῆς τότε γενηθείσης παράδοξος ἡ φαντασία τοῖς ξένοις κατέστη, τὰ γὰρ εἰς μίαν εὑρεθῆναι στεφάνωσιν οὐκ ἂν δυνηθέντα ἐν ἄλλῃ πόλει ῥᾳδίως, ταῦτα καὶ τῷ πλήθει τῶν κατακειμένων ἐχορηγεῖτο εἰς τοὺς στεφάνους ἀφθόνως καὶ εἰς τὸ τῆς σκηνῆς ἔδαφος κατεπέπαστο χύδην, θείου τινὸς ὡς ἀληθῶς ἀποτελοῦντα λειμῶνος πρόσοψιν.
"And by the posts round the entire tent there were placed animals carved in marble by the first artists, a hundred in number. And in the spaces between the posts there were pictures hung by the Sicyonian painters; and alternately with these there were carefully selected images of every kind; and garments embroidered with gold, and most exquisite cloaks, some of them having portraits of the kings of Egypt embroidered on them; and some, stories taken from the mythology. Above them were placed gold and silver shields alternately; and on the spaces above these shields, which were eight cubits high, caves were made, six on each side of the tent longwise, and four at each end. There were likewise in them representations of eating parties opposite to one another, of tragic, and comic, and satyric animals, having on real clothes. And before them were placed golden goblets. And in the middle of the caves were placed nymphæa, and on them there lay golden Delphian tripods, having pedestals of their own. And along the highest part of the roof were golden eagles all facing one another, each fifteen cubits large. There were also golden couches, with feet made like sphinxes, on the two sides of the tent, a hundred on each side. For the front of the tent was left open. And under these there were strewed purple carpets of the finest wool, with the carpet pattern on both sides. And there were handsomely embroidered rugs very beautifully elaborated on them. Besides this, thin Persian cloths covered all the centre space where the guests walked, having most accurate representations of animals embroidered on them. And by them were placed tripods for the guests, made of gold, two hundred in number, so that there were two for every couch, and they rested on silver pedestals. And behind, out of sight, there were a hundred flat dishes of silver, and an equal number of lavers. On the opposite side of the sitting-room there was fixed another sideboard, opposite to that on which the cups and goblets were placed; and on that were all the rest of the things which had been prepared for, or could come into use. And they were all made of gold, and studded with precious stones; admirably carved and wrought. And it has appeared to me too long a task to undertake to enumerate every article of the furniture, and even all the different kinds separate. But the entire weight of all the plate and valuables there exhibited came to ten thousand talents.
διέκειτο δὲ ἐπὶ μὲν τῶν τῆς σκηνῆς παραστάδων ζῷα μαρμάρινα τῶν πρώτων τεχνιτῶν ἑκατόν, ἐν δὲ ταῖς ἀνὰ μέσον χώραις πίνακες τῶν Σικυωνικῶν ζωγράφων, ἐναλλὰξ δ’ ἐπίλεκτοι εἰκασίαι παντοῖαι καὶ χιτῶνες χρυσουφεῖς ἐφαπτίδες τε κάλλισται, τινὲς μὲν εἰκόνας ἔχουσαι τῶν βασιλέων ἐνυφασμένας, αἱ δὲ μυθικὰς διαθέσεις, ὑπεράνω δὲ τούτων θυρεοὶ περιέκειντο ἐναλλάξ ἀργυροῖ τε καὶ χρυσοῖ. ἐν δὲ ταῖς ἐπάνω τούτων χώραις οὔσαις ὀκταπήχεσιν ἄντρα κατεσκεύαστο κατὰ μὲν τὸ μῆκος τῆς σκηνῆς ἓξ ἐν ἑκατέρᾳ πλευρᾷ, κατὰ πλάτος δέ τέτταρα· συμπόσιά τε ἀντία ἀλλήλων ἐν αὐτοῖς τραγικῶν τε καὶ κωμικῶν καὶ σατυρικῶν ζῴων ἀληθινὸν ἐχόντων ἱματισμόν, οἷς παρέκειτο καὶ ποτήρια χρυσᾶ, κατὰ μέσον δὲ τῶν ἄντρων νύμφαι ἐλείφθησαν, ἐν αἷς ἔκειντο Δελφικοὶ χρυσοῖ τρίποδες ὑποστήματ’ ἔχοντες, κατὰ δὲ τὸν ὑψηλότατον τόπον τῆς ὀροφῆς ἀετοὶ κατὰ πρόσωπον ἦσαν ἀλλήλων χρυσοῖ, πεντεκαιδεκαπήχεις τὸ μέγεθος, ἔκειντο δὲ κλῖναι χρυσαῖ σφιγγόποδες ἐν ταῖς δυσὶ πλευραῖς ἑκατόν ἡ γὰρ κατὰ πρόσωπον ἁψὶς ἀφεῖτ’ ἀναπεπταμένη. ταύταις δ’ ἀμφίταποι ἁλουργεῖς ὑπέστρωντο τῆς πρώτης ἐρέας, καὶ περιστρώματα ποικίλα διαπρεπῆ ταῖς τέχναις ἐπῆν. ψιλαὶ δὲ Περσικαὶ τὴν ἀνὰ μέσον τῶν ποδῶν χώραν ἐκάλυπτον, ἀκριβῆ τὴν εὐγραμμίαν τῶν ἐνυφασμένων ἔχουσαι ζῳδίων. παρετέθησαν δὲ καὶ τρίποδες τοῖς κατακειμένοις χρυσοῖ διακόσιοι τὸν ἀριθμόν, ὥστ’ εἶναι δύο κατὰ κλίνην, ἐπ’ ἀργυρῶν διέδρων. ἐκ δὲ τῶν ὄπισθεν πρὸς τὴν ἀπόνιψιν ἑκατὸν ἀργυραῖ λεκάναι καὶ καταχύσεις ἴσαι παρέκειντο. ἐπεπήγει δὲ τοῦ συμποσίου καταντικρὺ καὶ ἑτέρα κλίνη πρὸς τὴν τῶν κυλίκων καὶ ποτηρίων τῶν τε λοιπῶν τῶν πρὸς τὴν χρῆσιν ἀνηκόντων κατασκευασμάτων ἔκθεσιν ἃ δὴ πάντα χρυσᾶ τε ἦν καὶ διάλιθα, θαυμαστὰ ταῖς τέχναις. τούτων δὲ τὴν μὲν κατά μέρος κατασκευὴν καὶ τὰ γένη μακρὸν ἐπεφαίνετό μοι δηλοῦν τὸ δὲ τοῦ σταθμοῦ πλῆθος εἰς μύρια τάλαντα ἀργυρίου τὴν σύμπασαν εἶχε κατασκευήν.
"But now that we have gone over everything that was to be seen in the tent, we will proceed to the shows and processions exhibited. For it passed through the stadium which there is in the city. And first of all went the procession of Lucifer. For it began at the time when that star first appears. After that came the procession which bore the name of the parents of the kings. And next came the processions sacred to all the gods respectively, each having an arrangement appropriate to the history of each separate deity. Last of all came the procession of Hesperus, as the hour of that one starting coincided with that time. But if any one wishes to know the separate particulars, he may take the description of the quinquennial games and consider them. But in the Dionysiac procession first of all there went the Sileni who keep off the multitude, some clad in purple cloaks, and some in scarlet ones. And these were followed by Satyrs, twenty in each division of the stadium, bearing gilded lamps made of ivy-wood. And after them came images of Victory, having golden wings, and they bore in their hands incense-burners six cubits in height, adorned with branches made of ivy-wood and gold, clad in tunics embroidered with figures of animals, and they themselves also had a great deal of golden ornament about them. And after them there followed an altar of six cubits in height, a double altar, covered all over with ivy-leaves gilded, having a crown of vine-leaves on it all gold, enveloped in bandages with white centres. And that was followed by boys in purple tunics, bearing frankincense, and myrrh, and saffron, on golden dishes. And after them came forty Satyrs, crowned with ivy-garlands made of gold. And they were painted as o their bodies, some with purple, some with vermilion, an some with other colours. And these also wore each a golden crown made to imitate vine-leaves and ivy-leaves. And after them came two Sileni in purple cloaks and white fringes to them. And one of them had a petasus and a golden caduceus, and the other had a trumpet. And between them went a man of gigantic size, four cubits high, in a tragical dress and orna- ments, bearing the golden horn of Amalthea. And his name was Eniautos. And he was followed by a woman of great beauty and of more than ordinary size, adorned with quantities of gold and a superb dress; bearing in one of her hands a garland of peach blossoms, and in her other hand a branch of the palm-tree. And she was called Penteteris. And she was succeeded by the Four Seasons dressed in character, and each of them bearing its appropriate fruits. Next to them came two incense-burners made of ivy-wood, covered with gold, and six cubits in height, and a large square golden altar in the middle of them. And then again Satyrs, having garlands of ivy-leaves made of gold, and clad in purple robes. And some of them bore golden wine-jars, and others bore goblets. After them marched Philiscus the poet, being a priest of Bacchus, and with him all the artisans who were concerned in the service of Bacchus. And next to them were carried the Delphian tripods, as prizes for the trainers of the athletes; the one for the trainer of the boys nine cubits in height, and the other, twelve cubits in height, for the trainer of the men.
ἡμεῖς δὲ ἐπειδὴ τὰ κατὰ τὴν σκηνὴν διεληλύθαμεν, ποιησόμεθα καὶ τὴν τῆς πομπῆς ἐξήγησιν. ἤγετο γὰρ διὰ τοῦ κατὰ τὴν πόλιν σταδίου. πρώτη δ’ ἐβάδιζεν ἡ Ἑωσφόρου· καὶ γὰρ ἀρχὴν εἶχεν ἡ πομπὴ καθ’ ὃν ὁ προειρημένος ἀστήρ φαίνεται χρόνον. ἔπειθ’ ἡ τοῖς τῶν βασιλέων γονεῦσι κατωνομασμένη. μετὰ δὲ ταύτας αἱ τῶν θεῶν ἁπάντων, οἰκείαν ἔχουσαι τῆς περὶ ἕκαστον αὐτῶν ἱστορίας διασκευήν. τὴν δὲ τελευταίαν Ἑσπέρου συνέβαινεν εἶναι, τῆς ὥρας εἰς τοῦτο συναγούσης τὸν καιρόν, τὰ δὲ κατά μέρος αὐτῶν εἴ τις εἰδέναι βούλεται, τὰς τῶν πεντετηρίδων γραφὰς λαμβάνων ἐπισκοπείτω. τῆς δὲ Διονυσιακῆς πομπῆς πρῶτοι μὲν προῄεσαν οἱ τὸν ὄχλον ἀνείργοντες Σιληνοί, πορφυρᾶς χλαμύδας, οἱ δὲ φοινικίδας ἠμφιεσμένοι. τούτοις δ’ ἐπηκολούθουν Σάτυροι καθ’ ἕκαστον τοῦ σταδίου μέρος εἴκοσι, λαμπάδας φέροντες κισσίνας διαχρύσους. μεθ’ οὓς Νῖκαι χρυσᾶς ἔχουσαι πτέρυγας, ἔφερον δ’ αὗται θυμιατήρια ἑξαπήχη κισσίνοις διαχρύσοις κλωσὶ διακεκοσμημένα, ζῳωτοὺς ἐνδεδυκυῖαι χιτῶνας, αὐταὶ δὲ πολὺν κόσμον χρυσοῦν περικείμεναι.. μετὰ δὲ ταύτας εἵπετο βωμὸς ἑξάπηχυς διπλοῦς κισσίνῃ φυλλάδι διαχρύσῳ πεπυκασμένος, ἔχων ἀμπέλινον χρυσοῦν στέφανον μεσολεύκοις μίτραις διειλημμένον. ἐπηκολούθουν δ’ αὐτῷ παῖδες ἐν χιτῶσι πορφυροῖς, λιβανωτὸν καὶ σμύρναν, ἔτι δὲ κρόκον ἐπὶ χρυσῶν μαζονόμων φέροντες ἑκατὸν εἴκοσι, μεθ’ οὓς Σάτυροι τεσσαράκοντα ἐστεφανωμένοι κισσίνοις χρυσοῖς στεφάνοις· τὰ δὲ σώματα οἱ μὲν ἐκέχριντο ὀστρείῳ, τινὲς δὲ μίλτῳ καὶ χρώμασιν ἑτέροις. ἔφερον δὲ καὶ οὗτοι στέφανον χρυσοῦν ἐξ ἀμπέλου καὶ κισσοῦ εἰργασμένον. μεθ’ οὓς Σιληνοὶ δύο ἐν πορφυραῖς χλαμύσι καὶ κρηπῖσι λευκαῖς, εἶχε δ’ αὐτῶν ὁ μὲν πέτασον καὶ κηρύκειον χρυσοῦν, ὁ δὲ σάλπιγγα. μέσος δὲ τούτων ἐβάδιζεν ἀνὴρ μείζων ἢ τετράπηχυς ἐν τραγικῇ διαθέσει καὶ προσώπῳ, φέρων χρυσοῦν Ἀμαλθείας κέρας· ὃς προσηγορεύετο Ἐνιαυτός. ᾧ γυνὴ περικαλλεστάτη καὶ ἴση κατὰ τὸ μέγεθος εἵπετο πολλῷ χρυσῷ καὶ διαπρεπεῖ χιτῶνι κεκοσμημένη, φέρουσα τῇ μὲν μιᾷ τῶν χειρῶν στέφανον περσέας, τῇ δ’ ἑτέρᾳ ῥάβδον φοίνικος· ἐκαλεῖτο δὲ αὕτη Πεντετηρίς. ταύτῃ δ’ ἐπηκολούθουν Ὧραι αἱ τέσσαρες διεσκευασμέναι καὶ ἑκάστη φέρουσα τοὺς ἰδίους καρπούς, ἐχόμενα τούτων θυμιατήρια δύο κίσσινα ἐκ χρυσοῦ ἑξαπήχη καὶ βωμὸς ἀνὰ μέσον τούτων τετράγωνος χρυσοῦ. καὶ πάλιν Σάτυροι στεφάνους ἔχοντες κισσίνους χρυσοῦς, φοινικίδας περιβεβλημένοι· ἔφερον δ’ οἱ μὲν οἰνοχόην χρυσῆν, οἱ δὲ καρχήσιον. μεθ’ οὓς ἐπορεύετο Φιλίσκος ὁ ποιητὴς ἱερεὺς ὢν Διονύσου καὶ πάντες οἱ περὶ τὸν Διόνυσον τεχνῖται. τούτων δ’ ἐφεξῆς ἐφέροντο Δελφικοὶ τρίποδες, ἆθλα τοῖς τῶν ἀθλητῶν χορηγοῖς, ὁ μὲν παιδικὸς ἐννέα πηχῶν τὸ ὕψος, ὁ δὲ πηχῶν δώδεκα ὁ τῶν ἀνδρῶν.