---
title: "The Deipnosophists · Δειπνοσοφισταί"
author: "Athenaeus"
translator: "Charles Duke Yonge"
languages: [grc, en]
shelf: "Classical Greek"
section: 52 of 78
url: https://scriptura.si/works/athenaeus-deipnosophists/52/
cite: "Athenaeus, tr. Charles Duke Yonge, The Deipnosophists · Δειπνοσοφισταί, section 52. Scriptura (scriptura.si), https://scriptura.si/works/athenaeus-deipnosophists/52/"
---

# The Deipnosophists · Δειπνοσοφισταί

*Athenaeus, tr. Charles Duke Yonge*

The Learned Banqueters: a dinner party in Rome stretched over fifteen books of talk about food, wine, courtesans, music and books, quoting hundreds of lost Greek authors.

> Greek: ed. Charles Burton Gulick, from the Perseus Digital Library (canonical-greekLit, tlg0008.tlg001, CC BY-SA 4.0).

> English: Charles Duke Yonge, from the Perseus Digital Library (tlg0008.tlg001.perseus-eng2). Notes are not included.

> Rows follow the references the two texts share (books, chapters and sections), cut where both reach the end of a sentence.

## 52. Book XI · chapters 11–24

Source: https://scriptura.si/works/athenaeus-deipnosophists/52/ · cite a paragraph as https://scriptura.si/works/athenaeus-deipnosophists/52/#p-N

[¶0] Cups Drinking Pledges Athenian Banquets Drinking cups The Pleiades Meaning of particular Words Drinking cups Plato Come now, where shall our conversation rise?
as Cephisodorus the comic poet says, my good friend Timocrates; for when we were all met together at a convenient season, and with serious minds, to discuss the goblets, Ulpian, while every one was sitting still, and before any one began to speak at all, said,—At the court of Adrastus, my friends, the chief men of the nation sup while sitting down. But Polyidus, while sacrificing on the road, detained Peteos as he was passing by, and while lying on the grass, strewing some leaves which he had broken off on the ground by way of a table, set before him some part of the victim which he had sacrificed. And when Autolycus had come to the rich people of Ithaca, and while he was sitting down, (for the men of that time ate their meals while sitting down,) the nurse took Ulysses, (as the poet says—
His course to Ithaca the hero sped
When first the product of Laertes' bed
Was new disclosed to birth; the banquet ends
When Euryclea from the queen descends,
And to his fond embrace the babe commends:)
and placed him on his knees, not near his knees. So let us not waste time now, but let us lie down, that Plutarch may lead the way in the lecture which he promised us on the subject of goblets, and that he may pledge us all in bumpers.

> Greek: ἀγε δή, τίς ἀρχὴ τῶν λόγων γενήσεται κατὰ τὸν κωμῳδιοποιὸν Κηφισόδωρον, ἑταῖρε Τιμόκρατες; συναχθέντων γὰρ ἡμῶν καθ’ ὥραν μετὰ σπουδῆς διὰ τὰ ἐκπώματα ὁ Οὐλπιανός, ἔτι καθημένων ἁπάντων, πρὶν καί τι διαλεχθῆναι ἔφη· παρὰ μὲν τῷ Ἀδράστῳ, ἄνδρες φίλοι, καθίσαντες οἱ ἀριστεῖς δειπνοῦσιν, ὁ δὲ Πολύιδος ἱερὰ θύων ἐν ὁδῷ παραπορευόμενον τὸν Πετεὼ κατέσχεν καὶ κατακλίνας ἐν τῇ πόᾳ θαλλίαν τε κατακλάσας ἀντὶ τραπέζης παρέθηκε τῶν τυθέντων. καὶ τῷ Αὐτολύκῳ ἐλθόντι ᾽ Ἰθάκης ἐς πίονα δῆμον ᾽ ἡ τροφὸς καθημένῳ δηλονότι—οὕτως γὰρ ἐδείπνουν οἱ τότε τὸν Ὀδυσσέα, φησὶν ὁ ποιητής, παῖδα νέον γεγαῶτα κιχήσατο θυγατέρος ἧς, τὸν ῥὰ οἱ Εὐρύκλεια φίλοις ἐπὶ γούνασι θῆκε παυομένῳ δόρποιο· ἐκάθισεν ἐπὶ τῶν γονάτων καὶ οὐχὶ παρὰ τοῖς γόνασιν ἔστησεν. ἡμεῖς δ’ οὖν μὴ διατρίβωμεν, ἀλλ’ ἤδη κατακλινώμεθα, ἵν’ ἡμῖν ὁ Πλούταρχος περὶ ὧν ἐπαγγέλλεται ποτηρίων ἀποδοὺς τὸν λόγον καὶ τὰς κύλικας πλήρεις ἅπασι προπίῃ.

[¶1] But I imagine that Simonides of Amorgus is the first poet who has spoken of drinking cups (ποτήρια) by name in his iambics, thus—
The cups away did lead him from the table.
And the author of the poem called the Alcmæonis says—
He placed the corpses lowly on the shore
On a broad couch of leaves; and by their side
A dainty feast he spread, and brimming cups,
And garlands on their noble temples wreathed.
And the word ποτήριον comes from πόσις, drink, as the Attic word ἔκπωμα also does; but they form the word with ω, as they also say ὑδροπωτέω, to drink water, and οἰνοπωτέω, to drink wine. Aristophanes, in his Knights, says—
A stupid serpent drinking deep of blood (αἱματοπώτης).
But he also says in the same play—
Much then did Bacis use the cup (ποτήριον).
And Pherecrates, in his Tyranny, says—
One is better than a thousand cups (ποτήρια).
And Anacreon said—
I am become a wine-bibber (οἰνοπώτης).
And the verb occurs also in the same poet, for he says οἰνοποτάζων. And Sappho, in her second Ode, says—
And many countless cups (ποτήρια), O beauteous Iphis.
And Alcæus says—
And from the cups (ποτηρία).....
And in Achaia Ceres is honoured under the title of δημήτηρ ποτηριοφόρος, in the territories of the Antheans, as Autocrates informs us in the second book of his History of Achaia.

> Greek: ποτήρια δὲ πρῶτον οἶδα ὀνομάσαντα τὸν Ἀμόργιον ποιητὴν Σιμωνίδην ἐν Ἰάμβοις οὕτως· ἀπὸ τράπεζαν εἷλεν ᾗ ποτήρια … καὶ ὁ τὴν Ἀλκμαιωνίδα δὲ ποιήσας φησίν νέκυς δὲ χαμαιστρώτου ἐπὶ τείνας εὐρείης στιβάδος παρέθηκ’ αὐτοῖσι θάλειαν δαῖτα ποτήριά τε, στεφάνους δ’ ἐπὶ κρασὶν ἔθηκεν. ἅπερ ὠνομάσθη ἀπὸ τῆς πόσεως, ὡς τὸ ἔκπωμα οἱ, Ἀττικοί ἐπεὶ ὑδροποτεῖν καὶ οἰνοποτεῖν λέγουσιν. Ἀριστοφάνης ἐν Ἱππεῦσιν γαμφηλαῖσι δράκοντα κοάλεμον αἱματοπώτην. κἀν τῷ αὐτῷ δὲ ἔφη· πολλῷ γ’ ὁ Βάκις διεχρῆτο τῷ ποτηρίῳ. καὶ Φερεκράτης ἐν Τυραννίδι· ἡ δὲ κρείττων ἡ μί’ ἐστὶ χιλίων ποτηρίων, ὁ δὲ Ἀνακρέων ἔφη· οἰνοπότης δὲ πεποίημαι. ἔστι δὲ τὸ ῥῆμα καὶ παρὰ τῷ ποιητῇ· οἰνοποτάζων γὰρ εἴρηκε. καὶ Σαπφὼ δ’ ἐν τῷ β ἔφη· πολλὰ δ’ ἀνάριθμα ποτήρια κἀλέφαις. καὶ Ἀλκαῖος· ἐκ δὲ ποτήριον πώνης Διννομένῃ παρίσδων. τιμᾶται δὲ καὶ ἐν Ἀχαίᾳ Δημήτηρ ποτηριοφόρος κατὰ τὴν Ἀνθέων χῶραν, ὡς Αὐτοκράτης ἱστορεῖ ἐν β Ἀχαϊκῶν.

[¶2] And I think it right that you should inquire, before we begin to make a catalogue of the cups of which this sideboard (κυλικεῖον) is full,—(for that name is given to the cupboard where the cups are kept, by Aristophanes, in his Farmers—
As a cloth is placed in front of a sideboard (κυλικεῖον);
and the same word occurs also in Anaxandrides in his Melilotus; and Eubulus in his Leda says—
As if he had been offering a libation,
He's broken all the goblets in the sideboard (κυλικεῖον).
And in his Female Singer he says—
And he found out the use of sideboards (κυλικεῖα) for us.
And in his Semele or Bacchus he says—
Hermes the son of Maia, polish'd well
Upon the sideboard.....
And the younger Cratinus, in his Chiron, says—
But, after many years, I now have come
Home from my enemies; and scarce have found
Relations who would own me, or companions
Of the same tribe or borough. I enroll'd
My name among a club of cup-collectors (κυλικεῖον):
Jupiter is the guardian of my doors—
Protector of my tribe. I pay my taxes.) It is worth while, I say, to inquire whether the ancients drank out of large cups. For Dicæarchus the Messenian, the pupil of Aristotle, in his Essay on Alcæus, says that they used small cups, and that they drank their wine mixed with a good deal of water. But Chamæleon of Heraclea, in his essay on Drunkenness, (if I only recollect his words correctly,) says—“But if those who are in power and who are rich prefer this drunkenness to other pleasures, it is no great wonder, for as they have no other pleasure superior to this, nor more easy to obtain, they naturally fly to wine: on which account it has become customary among the nobles to use large drinking-cups. For this is not at all an ancient custom among the Greeks; but one that has been lately adopted, and imported from the barbarians. For they, being destitute of education, rush eagerly to much wine, and provide themselves with all kinds of superfluous delicacies. But in the various countries of Greece, we neither find in pictures nor in poems any trace of any cups of large size being made, except indeed in the heroic times. For the cup which is called ῥυτὸν they attributed only to the heroes, which fact will appear a per- plexing one to some people; unless indeed any one should choose to say that this custom was introduced because of the fierceness of the appearance of these demigods. For they think the heroes irascible and quarrelsome, and more so by night than by day. In order, then, that they may appear to be so, not in consequence of their natural disposition, but because of their propensity for drinking, they represent them as drinking out of large cups. And it appears to me not to have been a bad idea on the part of those people who said that a large cup was a silver well.” In all this Chamæleon appears to be ignorant that it is not a small cup which in Homer is given to the Cyclops by Ulysses; for if it had been a small one, he would not have been so overcome with drunkenness after drinking it three times only, when he was a man of such a monstrous size. There were therefore large cups at that time; unless any one chooses to impute it to the strength of the wine, which Homer himself has mentioned, or to the little practice which the Cyclops had in drinking, since his usual beverage was milk; or perhaps it was a barbaric cup, since it was a big one, forming perhaps a part of the plunder of the Cicones. What then are we to say about Nestor's cup, which a young man would scarcely have had strength enough to carry, but which the aged Nestor lifted without any labour; concerning which identical cup Plutarch shall give us some information. However, it is time now to lie down at table.

> Greek: ἄξιον δὲ εἶναι νομίζω ζητῆσαι ὑμᾶς πρὸ τοῦ καταλόγου τῶν ποτηρίων, ὧν πλῆρές ἐστι τὸ κυλικεῖον τοδὶ εἴρηται γὰρ οὕτως ἡ τῶν ποτηρίων σκευοθήκη παρἈριστοφάνει μὲν ἐν Γεωργοῖς· ὥσπερ κυλικείου τοὐθόνιον προπέπταται. ἔστι καὶ παρὰ Ἀναξανδρίδῃ ἐν Μελιλώτῳ. Εὔβουλος δ’ ἐν Λήδᾳ· ὡσπερεὶ σπονδὴν διδοὺς ἐν τῷ κυλικείῳ συντέτριφε τὰ ποτήρια. κἀν Ψαλτρίᾳ δ’ ἔφη· τὰ κυλικεῖα δὲ ἐξεῦρεν ἡμῖν. ἐν δὲ Σεμέλῃ ἢ Διονύσῳ· Ἑρμῆς ὁ Μαίας λίθινος, ὃν προσεύγμασιν ἐν τῷ κυλικείῳ λαμπρὸν ἐκτετριμμένον … Κρατῖνος δ’ ὁ νεώτερος ἐν Χείρωνι· πολλοστῷ δ’ ἔτει ἐκ τῶν πολεμίων οἴκαδ’ ἥκω, συγγενεῖς καὶ φράτερας καὶ δημότας εὑρὼν μόλις εἰς τὸ κυλικεῖον ἐνεγράφην, Ζεὺς ἔστι μοι ἑρκεῖος, ἔστι φρατέριος, τὰ τέλη τελῶ. ἄξιον δ’ ἐστὶ ζητῆσαι εἰ οἱ ἀρχαῖοι μεγάλοις ἔπινον ποτηρίοις. Δικαίαρχος μὲν γὰρ ὁ Μεσσήνιος, ὁ Ἀριστοτέλους μαθητής, ἐν τῷ περὶ Ἀλκαίου μικροῖς φησιν αὐτοὺς ἐκπώμασι κεχρῆσθαι καὶ ὑδαρέστερον πεπωκέναι. χαμαιλέων δ’ ὁ Ἡρακλεώτης ἐν τῷ περὶ Μέθης, εἴ γε τῆς φωνῆς μνημονεύω, φησὶν ᾽ εἰ δὲ οἱ ταῖς ἐξουσίαις χρώμενοι καὶ τῷ πλουτεῖν προτιμῶσι τὴν μέθην ταύτην· οὐδὲν θαυμαστόν, οὐκ ἔχοντες γὰρ ἑτέραν ἡδονὴν ταύτης καλλίω οὐδὲ μᾶλλον εὐχερῆ καταφεύγουσιν εἰκότως ἐπὶ τὸν οἶνον. ὅθεν δὴ καὶ τὰ μεγάλα τῶν ἐκπωμάτων ἐπιχώρια γέγονε τοῖς δυνάσταις. οὐ γὰρ παλαιὸν οὐδὲ τοῦτὸ γέ ἐστι παρὰ τοῖς Ἕλλησιν, ἀλλὰ νεωστὶ εὑρέθη, πεμφθὲν ἐκ τῶν βαρβάρων, ἐκεῖνοι γάρ ἀπεστερημένοι τῆς παιδείας ὁρμῶσιν ἐπὶ τὸν πολὺν οἶνον καὶ πορίζονται τροφὰς περιέργους καὶ παντοίας, ἐν δὲ τοῖς περὶ τὴν Ἑλλάδα τόποις οὔτ’ ἐν γραφαῖς οὔτ’ … ἐπὶ τῶν πρότερον εὑρήσομεν ποτήριον εὐμέγεθες εἰργασμένον πλὴν τῶν ἐπὶ τοῖς ἡρωικοῖς. τὸ γὰρ ῥυτὸν ὀνομαζόμενον μόνοις τοῖς ἥρωσιν ἀπεδίδοσαν. ὃ καὶ δόξει τισὶν ἔχειν ἀπορίαν, εἰ μή τις ἄρα φήσειε διὰ τὴν ὀξύτητα τῆς ἐπιφανείας τῶν δαιμόνων καταδειχθῆναι τοῦτο. χαλεποὺς γὰρ καὶ πλήκτας τοὺς ἥρωας νομίζουσι καὶ μᾶλλον νύκτωρ ἢ μεθ’ ἡμέραν. ὅπως οὖν μὴ διὰ τὸν τρόπον, ἀλλὰ διὰ τὴν μέθην φαίνωνται τοιοῦτοι, δημιουργοῦσιν αὐτοὺς πίνοντας ἐκπώμασι μεγάλοις. καί μοι δοκοῦσι λέγειν οὐ κακῶς οἱ φάσκοντες τὸ μέγα ποτήριον φρέαρ ἀργυροῦν εἶναι.᾽ ἐν τούτοις ἀγνοεῖν ἔοικεν ὁ Χαμαιλέων ὅτι οὔκ ἐστι μικρὸν τὸ παρ’ Ὁμήρῳ διδόμενον τῷ Κύκλωπι ὑπ’ ᾽ Ὀδυσσέως κισσύβιον. οὐ γὰρ ἂν τρὶς πιὼν οὕτως κατηνέχθη ὑπὸ μέθης τηλικοῦτος ὤν. ἦν οὖν καὶ τότε μεγάλα ποτήρια, εἰ μὴ αἰτιάσεταί τις τὴν δύναμιν τοῦ οἴνου, ἣν αὐτὸς Ὅμηρος ἐξηγήσατο, ἢ τὸ ἄηθες τῆς πόσεως τοῦ Κύκλωπος, ἐπεὶ τὰ πολλὰ ἐγαλακτοπότει. ἢ τάχα καὶ βαρβαρικὸν ἦν τὸ ἔκπωμα, εἴπερ μέγα ἦν, ἐκ τῆς τῶν Κικόνων εἰλημμένον λείας, τί οὖν ἔχομεν λέγειν περὶ τοῦ Νέστορος ποτηρίου, ὃ μόλις ἂν νέος βαστάσαι ἴσχυσεν, Νέστωρ δ’ ὁ γέρων ἀμογητὶ ἄειρε; περὶ οὗ καὶ αὐτοῦ διδάξει τι ἡμᾶς ὁ Πλούταρχος. ὥρα οὖν κατακλίνεσθαι.

[¶3] And when they had all laid themselves down;-But, said Plutarch, according to the Phliasian poet Pratinas—
Not ploughing ready-furrow'd ground,
But, seeking for a goblet,
I come to speak about the cups (κυλικηγορήσων).
Nor indeed am I one of those κυλίκρανοι whom Hermippus, the comic poet, ridicules in his iambics, where he says—
I've come now to the vineyard of the Cylicranes,
And seen Heraclea, a beauteous city.
But these are Heracleans who live at the foot of Mount Œta, as Nicander of Thyatira says; saying that they are so named from a certain Cylix, a Lydian by birth, who was one of the comrades of Hercules. And they are mentioned also by Scythinus the Teian, in his work entitled The History, where he says, “Hercules, having taking Eurytus and his son, put them to death for exacting tribute from the people of Eubœa. And he laid waste the territory of the Cylicranes for behaving like robbers; and there he built a city called Heraclea of Trachis.” And Polemo, in the first of his books, addressed to Adæus and Antigonus, speaks thus—“But the inhabitants of the Heraclea which is at the foot of Mount Œta, and of Trachis, are partly some Cylicranes who came with Hercules from Lydia, and partly Athamanes, some of whose towns remain to this day. And the people of Heraclea did not admit them to any of the privileges of citizenship, considering them only as foreigners sojourning amongst them; and they were called Cylicranes, because they had the figure of a cup (κύλιξ) branded on their shoulders.” I am aware, too, that Hellanicus says, in his treatise on the Names of Races, that “Some of the Libyan nomades have no other possessions than a cup, and a sword, and a ewer, and they have small houses made of the stalks of asphodel, merely just to serve as a shade, and they even carry them about with them wherever they go.” There is also a spot amongst the Illyrians, which has been celebrated by many people, which is called κύλικες, near to which is the tomb of Cadmus and Harmonia, as Phylarchus relates in the twenty-second book of his Histories. And Polemo, in his book on Morychus, says that at Syracuse, on the highest spot of the part called the Island, there is an alter near the temple of Olympia, outside the walls, from which he says that people when putting to sea carry a goblet with them, keeping it until they get to such a distance that the shield in the temple of Minerva cannot be seen; and then they let it fall into the sea, being an earthenware cup, putting into it flowers and honeycombs, and uncut frankincense, and all sorts of other spices besides. And since I now see your banquet, as Xeophanes the Colophonian says, full of all kinds of pleasure—
For now the floor and all men's hands are clean,
And all the cups, and since the feasters' brows
Are wreathed with garlands, while the slaves around
Bring fragrant perfume in well-suited dishes;
And in the middle stands the joyful bowl.
And wine's at hand, which ne'er deserts the guests
Who know its worth, in earthen jars well kept,
Well flavour'd, fragrant with the sweet fresh flowers;
And in the midst the frankincense sends forth
Its holy perfume; and the water's cold,
And sweet, and pure; and golden bread's at hand,
And duly honour'd tables, groaning under
Their weight of cheese and honey;—then an altar,
Placed in the centre, all with flow'rs is crown'd.
And song and feasting occupies the house,
And dancing, and all sorts of revelry:—
Therefore it does become right-minded men
First with well-omen'd words and pious prayers
To hymn the praises of the Gods; and so,
With pure libations and well-order'd vows,
To win from them the power to act with justice-
For this comes from the favour of the Gods;
And you may drink as much as shall not hinder
You from returning home without assistance,
Unless, indeed, you're very old: and he
Deserves to be above his fellows lauded
Who drinks and then says good and witty things,
Such as his memory and taste suggests,—
Who lays down rules, and tells fine tales of virtue;
Not raking up the old Titanic fables,
Wars of the Giants, or the Lapithæ,
Figments of ancient times, mere pleasing trifles,
Full of no solid good; but always speaking
Things that may lead to right ideas of God.

> Greek: καὶ κατακλιθέντων ἀλλὰ μήν, ὁ Πλούταρχος ἔφη, κατὰ τὸν Φλιάσιον ποιητὴν Πρατίναν, οὐ γᾶν αὐλακισμέναν ἀρῶν, ἀλλ’ ἄσκαφον ματεύων, κυλικηγορήσων ἔρχομαι, οὐ τῶν Κυλικράνων εἷς ὑπάρχων, οὓς χλευάζων Ἕρμιππος ὁ κωμῳδιοποιὸς ἐν τοῖς Ἰάμβοις φησὶν εἰς τὸ Κυλικράνων βαδίζων σπληνόπεδον ἀφικόμην· εἶδον οὖν τὴν Ἡράκλειαν καὶ μάλ’ ὡραίαν πόλιν. Ἡρακλεῶται δ’ εἰσὶν οὗτοι οἱ ὑπὸ τῇ Οἴτῃ κατοικοῦντες, ὥς φησι Νίκανδρος ὁ Θυατειρηνός, ὀνομασθῆναι φάσκων αὐτοὺς ἀπό τινος Κύλικος γένος Λυδοῦ, ἑνὸς τῶν Ἡρακλεῖ συστρατευσαμένων. μνημονεύει δ’ αὐτῶν καὶ Σκυθῖνος ὁ Τήιος ἐν τῇ ἐπιγραφομένῃ Ἱστορίῃ λέγων οὕτως· ᾽ Ἡρακλῆς λαβὼν Εὔρυτον καὶ τὸν υἱὸν ἔκτεινε φόρους πρήσσοντας παρ’ Εὐβοέων. καὶ Κυλικρῆνας ὁ ἐξεπόρθησε λῃζομένους καὶ αὐτόθι πόλιν ἐδείματο ʽ Ἡράκλειαν τὴν Τρηχινίαν καλεομένην., Πολέμων δ’ ἐν τῷ πρώτῳ τῶν πρὸς Ἀδαῖον καὶ Ἀντίγονόν φησιν οὕτως· ᾽ τῆς δ’ Ἡρακλείας τῆς ὑπὸ τὴν Οἴτην καὶ Τραχῖνος τῶν οἰκητόρων μεθ’ Ἡρακλέους τινὲς ἀφικόμενοι ἐκ Λυδίας Κυλικρᾶνες, οἱ δ’ Ἀθαμᾶνες, ἀφ’ ὧν οἱ τόποι διαμένουσιν· οἷς οὐδὲ τῆς πολιτείας μετέδοσαν οἱ Ἡρακλεῶται συνοικοῦσιν, ἀλλοφύλους ὑπολαβόντες. Κυλικρᾶνες δὲ λέγονται ὅτι τοὺς ὤμους κεχαραγμένοι κύλικας ἦσαν.᾽ οἶδα δὲ καὶ Ἑλλάνικον ἐν Ἐθνῶν Ὀνομασίαις λέγοντα ὅτι Λιβύων τῶν Νομάδων τινὲς οὐδὲν ἄλλο κέκτηνται ἢ κύλικα καὶ μάχαιραν καὶ ὑδρίαν, καὶ ὅτι οἰκίας ἔχουσιν ἐξ ἀνθερίκου πεποιημένας μικρὰς ὅσον σκιᾶς ἕνεκα, ἃς καὶ περιφέρουσιν ὅπου ἂν πορεύωνται, πολλοῖς δὲ καὶ ὁ ἐν Ἰλλυριοῖς τόπος διαβόητός ἐστιν ὁ καλούμενος Κύλικες, παρ’ ᾧ ἐστι τὸ Κάδμου καὶ Ἁρμονίας μνημεῖον, ὡς ἱστορεῖ Φύλαρχος ἐν τῇ δευτέρᾳ καὶ εἰκοστῇ τῶν Ἱστοριῶν. καὶ Πολέμων δ’ ἐν τῷ περὶ τοῦ Μορύχου ἐν Συρακούσαις φησὶν ἐπ’ ἄκρᾳ τῇ νήσῳ πρὸς τῷ Γῆς ι Ὀλυμπίας ἱερῷ ἐκτὸς τοῦ τείχους ἐσχάραν τινὰ εἶναι, ἀφ’ ἧς, φησί, τὴν κύλικα ναυστολοῦσιν ἀναπλέοντες μέχρι τοῦ γενέσθαι τὴν ἐπὶ τοῦ νεὼ τῆς Ἀθηνᾶς ἀόρατον ἀσπίδα· καὶ οὕτως ἀφιᾶσιν εἰς τὴν θάλασσαν κεραμέαν κύλικα, καθέντες εἰς αὐτὴν ἄνθεα καὶ κηρία καὶ λιβανωτὸν ἄτμητον καὶ ἄλλα ἄττα μετὰ τούτων ἀρώματα. ὁρῶν οὖν ὑμῶν καὶ αὐτὸς τὸ συμπόσιον κατὰ τὸν Κολοφώνιον Ξενοφάνη πλῆρες ὂν πάσης θυμηδίας νῦν γὰρ δὴ ζάπεδον καθαρὸν καὶ χεῖρες ἁπάντων καὶ κύλικες· πλεκτοὺς δ’ ἀμφιτιθεῖ στεφάνους, ἄλλος δ’ εὐῶδες μύρον ἐν φιάλῃ παρατείνει· κρατὴρ δ’ ἕστηκεν μεστὸς ἐυφροσύνης· ἄλλος δ’ οἶνος ἕτοιμος, ὃς οὔποτέ φησι προδώσειν, μείλιχος ἐν κεράμοις, ἄνθεος ὀζόμενος· ἐν δὲ μέσοις ἁγνὴν ὀδμὴν λιβανωτὸς ἵησι· ψυχρὸν δ’ ἐστὶν ὕδωρ καὶ γλυκὺ καὶ καθαρόν. πάρκεινται δ’ ἄρτοι ξανθοὶ γεραρή τε τράπεζα τυροῦ καὶ μέλιτος πίονος ἀχθομένη· βωμὸς δ’ ἄνθεσιν ἀν τὸ μέσον πάντῃ πεπύκασται, μολπὴ δ’ ἀμφὶς ἔχει δώματα καὶ θαλίη. χρὴ δὲ πρῶτον μὲν θεὸν ὑμνεῖν εὔφρονας ἄνδρας εὐφήμοις μύθοις καὶ καθαροῖσι λόγοις· σπείσαντας τε καὶ εὐξαμένους τὰ δίκαια δύνασθαι πρήσσειν ταῦτα γὰρ ὦν ὁ ἐστι προχειρότερον· οὐχ ὕβρις πίνειν δ’ ὁπόσον κεν ἔχων ἀφίκοιο οἴκαδ’ ἄνευ προπόλου, μὴ πάνυ γηραλέος. ἀνδρῶν δ’ αἰνεῖν τοῦτον ὃς ἐσθλὰ πιὼν ἀναφαίνῃ ὡς οἱ μνημοσύνη, καὶ τόνος ἀμφ’ ἀρετῆς. οὔτι μάχας διέπειν Τιτήνων οὐδὲ Γιγάντων οὐδέ τι Κενταύρων, πλάσματα τῶν προτέρων, ἢ στάσιας σφεδανάς, τοῖς οὐδὲν χρηστὸν ἔνεστι, θεῶν δὲ προμηθείην αἰὲν ἔχειν ἀγαθόν·

[¶4] And the exquisite Anacreon says—
I do not love the man who, 'midst his cups,
Says nothing but old tales of war and strife,
But him who gives its honour due to mirth,
Praising the Muses and the bright-faced Venus.
And Ion of Chios says—
Hail, our great king, our saviour, and our father!
And let the cupbearers now mix us wine
In silver jugs: and let the golden bowl
Pour forth its pure libations on the ground,
While duly honouring the mighty Jove.
First of the Gods, and first in all our hearts,
We pour libations to Alcmena's son,
And to the queen herself,—to Procles too,
And the invincible chiefs of Perseus' line.
Thus let us drink and sport; and let the song
Make the night cheerful; let the glad guests dance;
And do thou willingly preside among us:
But let the man who's a fair wife at home
Drink far more lustily than those less happy. Those also who were called the seven wise men used to make drinking parties; “for wine comforts the natural moroseness of old age,” as Theophrastus says, in his treatise on Drunkenness.

> Greek: καὶ ὁ χαρίεις δ’ Ἀνακρέων φησίν· οὐ φιλέω ὃς κρητῆρι παρὰ πλέῳ οἰνοποτάζων νείκεα καὶ πόλεμον δακρυόεντα λέγει, ἀλλ’ ὅστις Μουσέων τε καὶ ἀγλαὰ δῶρ’ Ἀφροδίτης συμμίσγων ἐρατῆς μνῄσκεται εὐφροσύνης. καὶ Ἴων δὲ ὁ Χῖός φησιν· χαιρέτω ἡμέτερος βασιλεύς, σωτήρ τε πατήρ τε· ἡμῖν δὲ κρητῆρ’ οἰνοχόοι θέραπες κιρνάντων προχύταισιν ἐν ἀργυρέοις, ὁ δὲ χρυσοῦ δεῖνον ἔχων χειροῖν ἱζέτω εἰς ἔδαφος. σπένδοντες δ’ ἁγνῶς Ἡρακλέι τ’ Ἀλκμήνῃ τε, Προκλέι Περσείδαις τ᾽, ἐκ Διὸς ἀρχόμενοι, πίνωμεν, παίζωμεν, ἴτω διὰ νυκτὸς ἀοιδή, ὀρχείσθω τις, ἑκὼν δ’ ἄρχε φιλοφροσύνης. ὅντινα δ’ εὐειδὴς μίμνει θήλεια πάρευνος, κεῖνος τῶν ἄλλων κυδρότερον πίεται. ἐποιοῦντο δὲ καὶ οἱ ἑπτὰ καλούμενοι σοφοὶ συμποτικὰς ὁμιλίας. παραμυθεῖται γὰρ ὁ οἶνος καὶ τὴν τοῦ γήρως δυσθυμίαν φησὶ Θεόφραστος ἐν τῷ περὶ Μέθης.

[¶5] On which account, when we are met together in these Dionysiac conversaziones, no one, as is said in the Tarentines of Alexis—
No one can find a just pretence to grudge us
Our harmless pleasure, since we never injure
One of our neighbours. Know you not, my friend,
That what is called life is but a name,
Well soften'd down (to make it palatable),
For human fate? And whether any one
Thinks that I'm right or wrong in what I say,
I cannot change a word; for well I know,
And long have I consider'd the whole matter,
That all th' affairs of men are full of madness,
And we who live are only sojourners,
Like men who go to some great festival,
Starting from death and darkness to a pastime,
And to this light which we behold before us.
But he who laughs and drinks most cheerfully,
And most enjoys the charming gifts of Venus,
And most attends on feasts and festivals,
He goes through life, and then departs most happily.
And, in the words of the beautiful Sappho,—
Come, O Venus, hither come,
Bringing us thy goblets fair,
Mingled with the merry feast;
And pour out sparkling wine, I pray,
To your and my companions gay.

> Greek: διόπερ συνιοῦσι καὶ ἡμῖν ἐπὶ τὰς Διονυσιακὰς ταύτας λαλιὰς οὐδεὶς ἂν εὐλόγως φθονήσαι νοῦν ἔχων, κατὰ τοὺς Ἀλέξιδος Ταραντίνους, οἳ τῶν πέλας οὐδέν’ ἀδικοῦμεν οὐδέν. ἆρ’ οὐκ οἶσθ’ ὅτι τὸ καλούμενον ζῆν τοῦτο διατριβῆς χάριν ὄνομ’ ἐστίν, ὑποκόρισμα τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης μοίρας; ἐγὼ γάρ, εἰ μὲν εὖ τις ἢ κακῶς φήσει με κρίνειν, οὐκ ἔχοιμ’ ἄν σοι φράσαι· ἔγνωκα δ’ οὖν οὕτως ἐπισκοπούμενος εἶναι μανιώδη πάντα τἀνθρώπων ὅλως, ἀποδημίας δὲ τυγχάνειν ἡμᾶς ἀεὶ τοὺς ζῶντας, ὥσπερ εἰς πανήγυρίν τινα ἀφειμένους ἐκ τοῦ θανάτου καὶ τοῦ σκότους εἰς τὴν διατριβὴν εἰς τὸ φῶς τε τοῦθ’ ὃ δὴ ὁρῶμεν. ὃς δ’ ἂν πλεῖστα γελάσῃ καὶ πίῃ καὶ τῆς Ἀφροδίτης ἀντιλάβηται τὸν χρόνον τοῦτον ὃν ἀφεῖται, καὶ Τύχης ἐράνου τινός, πανηγυρίσας ἥδιστ’ ἀπῆλθεν οἴκαδε. καὶ κατὰ τὴν καλὴν οὖν Σαπφὼ· ἐλθέ, Κύπρι, χρυσίαισιν ἐν κυλίκεσσιν ἁβρῶς συμμεμιγμένον θαλίαισι νέκταρ οἰνοχοοῦσα τούτοις τοῖς ἑταίροις ἐμοῖς τε καὶ σοῖς.

[¶6] And we may add to all this, that different cities have peculiar fashions of drinking and pledging one another; as Critias mentions, in his Constitution of the Lacedæmonians, where he says—“The Chian and the Thasian drink out of large cups, passing them on towards the right hand; and the Athenian also passes the wine round towards the right, but drinks out of small cups. But the Thessalian uses large cups, pledging whoever he pleases, without reference to where he may be; but among the Lacedæmonians, ever one drinks out of his own cup, and a slave, acting as cupbearer, fills up again the cup when each has drained it.” Andnaxandrides also mentions the fashion of passing the cup round towards the right hand, in his Countrymen, speaking as follows:—
A. In what way are you now prepared to drink?
Tell me, I pray.
B. In what way are we now
Prepared to drink? Why any way you please.
A. Shall we then now, my father, tell the guests
To push the wine to the right
B. What! to the right?
That would be just as though this were a funeral.

> Greek: πρὸς οὓς λεκτέον ὅτι τρόποι εἰσὶ πόσεων κατὰ πόλεις ἴδιοι, ὡς Κριτίας παρίστησιν ἐν τῇ Λακεδαιμονίων Πολιτείᾳ διὰ τούτων· ὁ μὲν Χῖος καὶ Θάσιος ἐκ μεγάλων κυλίκων ἐπιδέξια, ὁ δὲ Ἀττικὸς ἐκ μικρῶν ἐπιδέξια, ὁ δὲ Θετταλικὸς ἐκπώματα προπίνει ὅτῳ ἂν βούλωνται μεγάλα. Λακεδαιμόνιοι δὲ τὴν παρ’ αὑτῷ ἕκαστος πίνει, ὁ δὲ παῖς ὁ οἰνοχόος ὅσον ἂν ἀποπίῃ. τοῦ δ’ ἐπιδέξια πίνειν μνημονεύει καὶ Ἀναξανδρίδης ἐν Ἀγροίκοις οὕτως ι τίνα δὴ παρεσκευασμένοι πίνειν τρόπον ἐστὲ νυνί, λέγεθ᾽. β. ὅντινα τρόπον ἡμεῖς; τοιοῦτον οἷον ἂν καὶ σοὶ δοκῇ. α. βούλεσθε δήπου τὸν ἐπιδέξι᾽, ὦ πάτερ, λέγειν ἐπὶ τῷ πίνοντι. β. τὸν ἐπιδέξια λέγειν; Ἄπολλον, ὡσπερεὶ τεθνηκότι.

[¶7] But we may decline entering on the subject of goblets of earthenware; for Ctesias says–“Among the Persians, that man only uses an earthenware who is dishonoured by the king.” And Chœrilus the epic poet says—
Here in my hands I hold a wretched piece
Of earthen goblet, broken all around,
Sad relic of a band of merry feasters;
And often the fierce gale of wanton Bacchus
Dashes such wrecks with insult on the shore.
But I am well aware that earthenware cups are often very pleasant, as those which are imported among us from Coptus; for they are made of earth which is mixed up with spices. And Aristotle, in his treatise on Drunkenness, says—“The cups which are called Rhodiacan are brought into drinking parties, because of the pleasure which they afford, and also because, when they are warmed, they deprive the wine of some of its intoxicating properties; for they are filled with myrrh and rushes, and other things of the same sort, put into water and then boiled; and when this mixture is put into the wine, the drinkers are less apt to become intoxicated.” And in another place he says—“The Rhodiacan cups consist of myrrh, flowery rushes, saffron, balsam, spikenard, and cinnamon, all boiled together; and when some of this compound is added to the wine, it has such effect in preventing intoxication, that it even diminishes the amorous propensities, checking the breath in some degree.” We ought not, then, to drink madly, looking at the multitude of these beautiful cups, made as they are with every sort of various art, in various countries. “But the common people,” says Chrysippus, in the introduction to his treatise on what is Good and Evil, "apply the term madly to a great number of things; and so they call a desire for women γυναικομανία, a fondness for quails ὀρτυγομανία; and some also call those who are very anxious for fame δοξομανεῖς; just as they call those who are fond of women γυναικομανεῖς, and those who are fond of birds ὀρνιθομανεῖς: all these nouns having the same notion of a propensity to the degree of madness. So that there is nothing inconsistent in other feelings and circumstances having this name applied to them; as a person who is very fond of delicacies, and who is properly called φίλοψος and ὀψοφάγος, may be called ὀψομανής; and a man very fond of wine maybe called οἰνομανής; and so in similar instances. And there is nothing unreasonable in attributing madness to such people, since they carry their errors to a very mad pitch, and wander a great distance from the real truth.

> Greek: παραιτητέον δ’ ἡμῖν τὰ κεράμεα ποτήρια, καὶ γὰρ Κτησίας ᾽ παρὰ Πέρσαις φησίν, ᾽ ὃν ἂν βασιλεὺς ἀτιμάσῃ, κεραμέοις ποτηρίοις ὁ χρῆται Χοιρίλος δ’ ὁ ἐποποιός φησι· χερσὶν ἔχω κολοβὸν κύλικος τρύφος ἀμφὶς ἐαγός, ἀνδρῶν δαιτυμόνων ναυάγιον, οἷά τε πολλὰ πνεῦμα Διωνύσοιο πρὸς Ὕβριος ἔκβαλεν ἀκτάς. ἐγὼ δ’ εὖ οἶδα ὅτι ἥδιστα πολλάκις ἐστὶ τὰ κεράμεα ἐκπώματα, ὡς καὶ τὰ παρ’ ἡμῖν ἐκ τῆς Κόπτου καταγόμενα· μετὰ γὰρ ἀρωμάτων συμφυραθείσης τῆς γῆς ὀπτᾶται. καὶ Ἀριστοτέλης δὲ ἐν τῷ περὶ Μέθης ᾽ αἱ Ῥοδιακαί φησί, ᾽ προσαγορευόμεναι χυτρίδες διά τε τὴν ἡδονὴν εἰς τὰς μέθας παρεισφέρονται καὶ διὰ τὸ θερμαινομένας τὸν οἶνον ἧττον ποιεῖν μεθύσκειν. σμύρνης γὰρ καὶ σχοίνου καὶ τῶν τοιούτων ἑτέρων εἰς ὕδωρ ἐμβληθέντων ἕψονται καὶ παραχεόντων εἰς τὸν οἶνον ἧττον μεθύσκουσιν κἀν ἄλλῳ δὲ μέρει φησὶν ᾽ αἱ Ῥοδιακαὶ χυτρίδες γίνονται σμύρνης, σχοίνου, ἀνήθου, κρόκου, βαλσάμου, ἀμώμου, κινναμώμου συνεψηθέντων· ἀφ’ ὧν τὸ γινόμενον τῷ οἴνῳ παραχυθὲν οὕτω μέθας ἵστησιν ὥστε καὶ τῶν ἀφροδισίων παραλύειν τὰ πνεύματα πέττον.᾽ οὐ δεῖ οὖν ἡμᾶς ἐκμανῶς πίνειν ἀποβλέποντας εἰς τὸ πλῆθος τῶν καλῶν τούτων καὶ παντοδαπῶν κατὰ τὰς τέχνας ἐκπωμάτων. τὴν δὲ μανίαν τοὺς πολλούς φησιν ὁ Χρύσιππος ἐν τῇ Εἰσαγωγῇ, τῇ περὶ ἀγαθῶν καὶ κακῶν Πραγματείᾳ, τοῖς πλείστοις προσάπτειν. καλεῖσθαι γοῦν τὴν μὲν γυναικομανίαν, τὴν δ’ ὀρτυγομανίαν. ‘τινὲς δὲ καὶ δοξομανεῖς καλοῦσι τοὺς φιλοδόξους, καθάπερ τοὺς φιλογύνας γυναικομανεῖς καὶ τοὺς φιλόρνιθας ὀρνιθομανεῖς, τὸ αὐτὸ σημαινόντων τῶν ὀνομάτων τούτων, ὥστε καὶ τὰ λοιπὰ μὴ ἀλλοτρίως καλεῖσθαι τὸν τρόπον τοῦτον, καὶ γὰρ ὁ φίλοψος καὶ ὁ ὀψοφάγος οἷον ὀψομανής ἐστι καὶ ὁ φίλοινος οἰνομανὴς καὶ ὡσαύτως ἐπὶ τῶν ὁμοίων, οὐκ ἀλλοτρίως τῆς μανίας κειμένης ἐπ’ αὐτοῖς ὡς ἁμαρτάνουσι μανικῶς καὶ τῆς ἀληθείας ἐπὶ πλεῖον ἀπαρτωμένοις.’

[¶8] Let us, then, as was the custom among the Athenians, drink our wine while listening to these jesters and buffoons, and to other artists of the same kind. And Philochorus speaks of this kind of people in these terms—“The Athenians, in the festivals of Bacchus, originally used to go to the spectacle after they had dined and drunk their wine; and they used to witness the games with garlands on their heads. But during the whole time that the games were going on, wine was continually being offered to them, and sweetmeats were constantly being brought round; and when the choruses entered, they were offered wine; and also when the exhibition was over, and they were departing, wine was offered to them again. And Pherecrates the comic poet bears witness to all these things, and to the fact that down to his own time the spectators were never left without refreshment.” And Phanodemus says—"At the temple of Bacchus, which is in the Marshes (ἐν λίμναις), the Athenians bring wine, and mix it out of the cask for the god, and then drink of it themselves; on which account Bacchus is also called λιμναῖος, because the wine was first drunk at that festival mixed with water. On which account the fountains were called Nymphs and te Nurses of Bacchus, because the water being mingled with the wine increases the quantity of the wine. Accordingly, men being delighted with this mixture, celebrated Bacchus in their songs, dancing and invoking him under the names of Euanthes, and Dithyrambus, and Baccheutes, and Bromius." And Theophrastus, in hi treatise on Drunkenness, says—“The nymphs are really the nurses of Bacchus; for the vines, when cut, pour forth a great deal of moisture, and after their own nature weep.” On which account Euripides says that one of the Horses of the Sun is
Aethops, who with his fervent heat doth ripen
Th' autumnal vines of sweetly flow'ring Bacchus,
From which men also call wine Aethops (αἴθοπα οἶνον).
And Ulysses gave
Twelve large vessels of unmix'd red wine,
Mellifluous, undecaying, and divine,
Which now (some ages from his race conceal'd)
The hoary sire in gratitude reveal'd.
Such was the wine, to quench whose fervent steam
Scarce twenty measures from the living stream
To cool one cup sufficed; the goblet crown'd,
Breathed aromatic fragrancies around.
And Timotheus, in his Cyclops, says—
He fill'd one cup, of well-turn'd iv'ry made,
With dark ambrosial drops of foaming wine;
And twenty measures of the sober stream
He poured in, and with the blood of Bacchus
Mingled fresh tears, shed by the weeping nymphs.

> Greek: ἡμεῖς οὖν, ὡς καὶ παρἈθηναίοις ἐγίνετο, ἅμα ἀκροώμενοι τῶν γελωτοποιῶν τούτων καὶ μίμων, ἔτι δὲ τῶν ἄλλων τεχνιτῶν ὑποπίνωμεν. λέγει δὲ περὶ τούτων ὁ Φιλόχορος οὑτωσί· ᾽ Ἀθηναῖοι τοῖς Διονυσιακοῖς ἀγῶσι τὸ μὲν πρῶτον ἠριστηκότες καὶ πεπωκότες ἐβάδιζον ἐπὶ τὴν θέαν καὶ ἐστεφανωμένοι ἐθεώρουν, παρὰ δὲ τὸν ἀγῶνα πάντα οἶνος αὐτοῖς ᾠνοχοεῖτο καὶ τραγήματα παρεφέρετο, καὶ τοῖς χοροῖς εἰσιοῦσιν ἐνέχεον πίνειν καὶ διηγωνισμένοις ὅτ’ ἐξεπορεύοντο ἐνέχεον πάλιν μαρτυρεῖν δὲ τούτοις καὶ Φερεκράτη τὸν κωμικόν, ὅτι μέχρι τῆς καθ’ ἑαυτὸν ἡλικίας οὐκ ἀσίτους εἶναι τοὺς θεωροῦντας.᾽ Φανόδημος δὲ πρὸς τῷ ἱερῷ φησι τοῦ ἐν Λίμναις Διονύσου τὸ γλεῦκος φέροντας τοὺς Ἀθηναίους ἐκ τῶν πίθων τῷ θεῷ κιρνάναι, εἶτ’ αὐτοὺς προσφέρεσθαι· ὅθεν καὶ Λιμναῖον κληθῆναι τὸν Διόνυσον, ὅτι μιχθὲν τὸ γλεῦκος τῷ ὕδατι τότε πρῶτον ἐπόθη κεκραμένον. διόπερ ὀνομασθῆναι τὰς Νύμφας καὶ τιθήνας τοῦ Διονύσου, ὅτι τὸν οἶνον αὐξάνει τὸ ὕδωρ κιρνάμενον. ἡσθέντες οὖν τῇ κράσει ἐν ᾠδαῖς ἔμελπον τὸν Διόνυσον, χορεύοντες καὶ ἀνακαλοῦντες Εὐανθῆ καὶ Διθύραμβον καὶ Βακχευτὰν καὶ Βρόμιον. καὶ [Θεόφραστος δ’ ἐν τῷ περὶ Μέθης φησὶν ὅτι ᾽ τοῦ Διονύσου τροφοὶ αἱ Νύμφαι κατ’ ἀλήθειαν. αἱ γὰρ ἄμπελοι πλεῖστον ὑγρὸν χέουσι τεμνόμεναι καὶ κατὰ φύσιν δακρύουσι. διόπερ καὶ Εὐριπίδης ἕνα τῶν τοῦ Ἡλίου ἵππων φησὶν εἶναι Βακχίου φιλανθέος αἴθοπα πεπαίνοντ’ ὀρχάτους ὀπωρινούς· ἐξ οὗ βροτοὶ καλοῦσιν οἶνον αἴθοπα. καὶ Ὀδυσσεὺς ὤπασεν μελιηδέα οἶνον ἐρυθρόν, ἓν δέπας ἐμπλήσας, ὕδατος δ’ ἀνὰ εἴκοσι μέτρα χεῦ’· ὀδμὴ δ’ ἡδεῖα ἀπὸ κρητῆρος ὀδώδει. Τιμόθεος δ’ ἐν Κύκλωπι· ἔγχευε δὲ ἓν μὲν δέπας κίσσινον μελαίνας σταγόνος ἀμβρότας ἀφρῷ βρυάζον εἴκοσιν δὲ μέτρ’ ἐνέχευ᾽, ἀνέμισγε δ’ αἷμα Βακχίου νεορρύτοισι δακρύοισι Νυμφᾶν.

[¶9] And I know, my messmates, of some men who were proud, not so much of their wealth in money as of the possession of many cups of silver and gold; one of whom is Pytheas the Arcadian, of the town of Phigalea, who, even when dying, did not hesitate to enjoin his servants to inscribe the following verses on his tomb:—
This is the tomb of Pytheas, a man
Both wise and good, the fortunate possessor
Of a most countless number of fine cups,
Of silver made, and gold, and brilliant amber.
These were his treasures, and of them he had
A store, surpassing all who lived before him.
And Harmodius the Lepreatian mentions this fact in his treatise on the Laws and Customs subsisting in Phigalea. And Xenophon, in the eighth book of his Cyropædia, speaking of the Persians, writes as follows—“And also they pride themselves exceedingly on the possession of as many goblets as possible; and even if they have acquired them by notorious malpractices, they are not at all ashamed of so doing; for injustice and covetousness are carried on to a great degree among them.” But Œdipus cursed his sons on account of some drinking-cups (as the author of the Cyclic poem called the Thebais says), because they set before him a goblet which he had forbidden; speaking as follows:—
But the divine, the golden-hair'd hero,
Great Polynices, set before his father first
A silver table, beautifully wrought,
Whilome the property of th' immortal Cadmus;
And then he fill'd a beauteous golden cup
Up to the brim with sweet and fragrant wine;
But Œdipus, when with angry eyes he saw
The ornaments belonging to his sire
Now set before him, felt a mighty rage,
Which glow'd within his breast, and straightway pour'd
The bitterest curses forth on both his sons,
(Nor were they by the Fury all unheard,)
Praying that they might never share in peace
The treasures of their father, but for ever
With one another strive in arms and war. And Cæcilius the orator who came from Cale Acte, in his treatise on History, says that Agathocles the Great, when displaying his golden drinking-cups to his companions, said that he had got all these from the earthenware cups which he had previously made. And in Sophocles, in the Larissæans, Acrisius had a great many drinking-cups; where the tragedian speaks as follows:—
And he proclaims to strangers from all quarters
A mighty contest, promising among them
Goblets well wrought in brass, and beauteous vases
Inlaid with gold, and silver drinking-cups,
Full twice threescore in number, fair to see.
And Posidonius, in the twenty-sixth book of his Histories, says that Lysimachus the Babylonian, having invited Himerus to a banquet (who was tyrant not only over the people of Babylon, but also over the citizens of Seleucia), with three hundred of his companions, after the tables were removed, gave every one of the three hundred a silver cup, weighing four mince; and when he had made a libation, e pledged them all at once, and gave them the cups to carry away with them. And Anticlides the Athenian, in the sixteenth book of his Returns, speaking of Gra, who, with other kings, first led a colony into the island of Lesbos, and saying that those colonists had received an answer from the oracle, bidding them, while sailing, throw a virgin into the sea, as an offering to Neptune, proceeds as follows:—“And some people, who treat of the history and affairs of Methymna, relate a fable about the virgin who was thrown into the sea; and say that one of the leaders was in love with her, whose name was Enalus, and that he dived down, wishing to save the damsel; and that then both of them, being hidden by the waves, disappeared. But that in the course of time, when Methymna had now become populous, Enalus appeared again, and related what had happened, and how it had happened; and said that the damsel was still abiding among the Nereids, and that he himself had become the superintendent of Neptune's horses; but that a great wave having been cast on the shore, he had swam with it, and so come to land: and he had in his hand a goblet made of gold, of such wondrous workmanship that the golden goblets which they had, when compared with his, looked no better than brass.”

> Greek: οἶδα δέ τινας, ἄνδρες θιασῶται, καὶ μέγα φρονήσαντας οὐχ οὕτως ἐπὶ πλούτῳ ὡς ἐπὶ τῷ κεκτῆσθαι πολλὰ ἐκπώματα ἀργυρᾶ τε καὶ χρυσᾶ. ὧν εἷς ἐστι καὶ Πυθέας ὁ Ἀρκὰς ἐκ Φιγαλείας, ὃς καὶ ἀποθνῄσκων οὐκ ὤκνησεν ὑποθέσθαι τοῖς οἰκείοις ἐπιγράψαι αὐτοῦ τῷ μνήματι τάδε· Πυθέα μνῆμα τόδ’ ἔστ᾽, ἀγαθοῦ καὶ σώφρονος ἀνδρός, ὃς κυλίκων ἔσχεν πλῆθος ἀπειρέσιον ἀργυρέων χρυσοῦ τε καὶ ἠλέκτροιο φαεινοῦ, τῶν προτέρων πάντων πλείονα πασάμενος. τοῦτο δ’ ἱστορεῖ Ἁρμόδιος ὁ Λεπρεάτης ἐν τῷ περὶ τῶν κατὰ Φιγάλειαν Νομίμων. Ξενοφῶν δ’ ἐν ὀγδόῳ Παιδείας περὶ Περσῶν λέγων γράφει καὶ ταῦτα· ᾽ καὶ μὴν ἐκπώματα ἢν μὲν ὡς πλεῖστα ἔχωσιν, τούτῳ καλλωπίζονται· ἢν δ’ ἐξ ἀδίκων φανερῶς ᾖ μεμηχανημένα, οὐδὲν τούτῳ αἰσχύνονται. πολὺ γὰρ ηὔξηται ἐν αὐτοῖς ἡ ἀδικία τε καὶ αἰσχροκέρδεια· ὁ δὲ Οἰδίπους δι’ ἐκπώματα τοῖς υἱοῖς κατηράσατο, ὡς ὁ τὴν κυκλικὴν Θηβαίδα πεποιηκώς φησιν, ὅτι αὐτῷ παρέθηκαν ἔκπωμα ὃ ἀπηγορεύκει, λέγων οὕτως· αὐτὰρ ὁ διογενὴς ἥρως ξανθὸς Πολυνείκης πρῶτα μὲν Οἰδιπόδῃ καλὴν παρέθηκε τράπεζαν ἀργυρέην Κάδμοιο θεόφρονος αὐτὰρ ἔπειτα χρύσεον ἔμπλησεν καλὸν δέπας ἡδέος οἴνου, αὐτὰρ ὅ γ’ ὡς φράσθη παρακείμενα πατρὸς ἑοῖο τιμήεντα γέρα, μέγα οἱ κακὸν ἔμπεσε θυμῷ, αἶψα δὲ παισὶν ἑοῖσι μετ᾽ ἀμφοτέροισιν ἐπαρὰς ἀργαλέας ἠρᾶτο θεῶν δ’ οὐ λάνθαν’ Ἐρινύν, ὡς οὒ οἱ πατρώι’ ἐνηέι ἐν φιλότητι δάσσαιντ᾽, ἀμφοτέροισι δ’ αἰεὶ πόλεμοί τε μάχαι τε … Καικίλιος δὲ ὁ ῥήτωρ ὁ ἀπὸ Καλῆς ἀκτῆς ἐν τῷ περὶ Ἱστορίας Ἀγαθοκλέα φησὶ τὸν τύραννον ἐκπώματα χρυσᾶ ἐπιδεικνύντα τοῖς ἑταίροις φάσκειν, ἐξ ὧν ἐκεράμευσε κατεσκευακέναι ταῦτα. ὁ δὲ παρὰ Σοφοκλεῖ ἐν τοῖς Λαρισαίοις Ἀκρίσιος καὶ αὐτὸς ἐκπώματα ὅσα πλεῖστα εἶχεν, ὥς φησιν ὁ τραγικός πολὺν δ’ ἀγῶνα πάγξενον κηρύσσεται, χαλκηλάτους λέβητας ἐκτιθεὶς φέρειν καὶ κοῖλα χρυσόκολλα καὶ πανάργυρα ἐκπώματ᾽, εἰς ἀριθμὸν ἑξήκοντα δίς. Ποσειδώνιος δ’ ἐν ι ς τῶν Ἱστοριῶν Λυσίμαχόν φησι τὸν Βαβυλώνιον, καλέσαντα ἐπὶ δεῖπνον Ἵμερον τὸν τυραννήσαντα οὐ μόνον Βαβυλωνίων ἀλλὰ καὶ Σελευκέων μετὰ τριακοσίων, μετὰ τὸ τὰς τραπέζας ἀρθῆναι τετράμνουν ἑκάστῳ τῶν τριακοσίων ἔκπωμα δοῦναι ἀργυροῦν, καὶ σπονδοποιησάμενον προπιεῖν ἅμα πᾶσιν καὶ ἀποφέρεσθαι ἔδωκε τὰ ποτήρια. Ἀντικλείδης δ’ ὁ Ἀθηναῖος ἐν τῷ ς Νόστων περὶ Γρᾶ - διηγούμενος τοῦ τὴν ἀποικίαν εἰς Λέσβον στείλαντος σὺν ἄλλοις βασιλεῦσι, καὶ ὅτι χρησμὸς ἦν αὐτοῖς δηλώσας καθεῖναι διαπλέοντας τῷ Ποσειδῶνι εἰς τὸ πέλαγος παρθένον, γράφει καὶ ταῦτα· ᾽ μυθολογοῦσι, δὲ τῶν ἐν Μηθύμνῃ τινὲς περὶ τῆς ἀφεθείσης εἰς τὴν θάλασσαν παρθένου καὶ φασὶν ἐρασθέντα αὐτῆς τῶν ἡγεμόνων τινά, ᾧ ἦν τοὔνομα Ἔναλος, ἐκκολυμβῆσαι βουλόμενον ἀνασῶσαι τὴν παιδίσκην. τότε μὲν οὖν ὑπὸ κύματος αὐτοὺς ἀμφοτέρους κρυφθέντας ἀφανεῖς γενέσθαι, χρόνῳ δ’ ὕστερον ἤδη τῆς Μηθύμνης οἰκουμένης παραγενέσθαι τὸν Ἔναλον καὶ διηγεῖσθαι τὸν τρόπον, καὶ ὅτι ἡ μὲν παρθένος παρὰ ταῖς Νηρῇσι διέτριβεν, αὐτὸς δὲ τὰς τοῦ Ποσειδῶνος ἔβοσκεν ἵππους· καὶ ποτε κύματος· ἐπιφερομένου μεγάλου συγκολυμβήσαντα αὐτὸν ἐκβῆναι ἔχοντα κύπελλον χρυσοῦ οὕτω θαυμασίου ὡς τὸν παρ᾽· αὐτοῖς αὐτῷ παραβαλλόμενον οὐδὲν διάφορον εἶναι χαλκοῦ.᾽

[¶10] And in former times the possession of drinking-cups was reckoned a very honourable thing. Accordingly, Achilles had a very superb cup as a sort of heirloom:—
But, mindful of the gods, Achilles went
To the rich coffer in his shady tent,
(There lay the presents of the royal dame;)
From thence he took a bowl of antique frame,
Which never man had stain'd with ruddy wine,
Nor raised in offerings to the pow'rs divine,
But Peleus' son; and Peleus' son to none
Had raised in offerings but to Jove alone.
And Priam, when offering ransom for his son, amid all his most beautiful treasures especially offers a very exquisitely wrought cup. And Jupiter himself, on the occasion of the birth of Hercules, thinks a drinking-cup a gift worthy to be given to Alcmena; which he, having likened himself to Amphitryon, presents to her:—
And she received the gift, and on the bowl
Admiring gazed with much delighted soul.
And Stesichorus says that the sun sails over the whole ocean in a bowl; in which also Hercules passed over the sea, on the occasion of his going to fetch the cows of Geryon. We are acquainted, too, with the cup of Bathycles the Arcadian, which Bathycles left behind him as a prize of wisdom to him who should be pronounced the best of those who were called the wise men. And a great many people have handled the cup of Nestor; for many have written books about it. And drinking-cups were favourites even among the Gods; at all events—
They pledged each other in their golden cups.
But it is a mark of a gentleman to be moderate in his use of wine, not drinking too greedily, nor drinking large draughts without drawing one's breath, after the fashion of the Thra- cians; but to mingle conversation with his cups, as a sort of wholesome medicine.

> Greek: τιμιώτατον δ’ ἦν πάλαι τὸ τῶν ἐκπωμάτων κτῆμα. Ἀχιλλεύς οὖν ὡς ἐξαίρετόν τι εἶχεν ἀνάθημα δέπας, οὐδέ τις ἄλλος οὔτ’ ἀνδρῶν πίνεσκεν ἀπ’ αὐτοῦ οὔτε τεῳ σπένδεσκε θεῶν, ὅτε μὴ Διί. καὶ ὁ Πρίαμος δὲ τόν υἱόν λυτρούμενος τοῖς ἐπισημοτάτοις κειμηλίοις καὶ δέπας δίδωσι περικαλλές. αὐτός γε μήν ὁ Ζεύς τῆς Ἡρακλέους γενέσεως ἄξιον ἡγεῖται δῶρον Ἀλκμήνῃ δοθῆναι ποτήριον, ὅπερ Ἀμφιτρύωνι εἰκασθεὶς δίδωσιν, ἁ δ’ ὑποδεξαμένα θαήσατο χρύσεον αἶψα ποτήριον. τὸν δὲ Ἥλιον ὁ Στησίχορος ποτηρίῳ διαπλεῖν φησι τὸν ᾽ Ὠκεανόν, ᾧ καὶ τὸν Ἡρακλέα περαιωθῆναι ἐπὶ τὰς Γηρυόνου βόας ὁρμῶντα. οἴδαμεν δὲ καὶ τὸ Βαθυκλέους τοῦ Ἀρκάδος ποτήριον, ὃ σοφίας ἆθλον ὁ Βαθυκλῆς τῷ κριθέντι ἀρίστῳ τῶν καλουμένων ζ σοφῶν ἀπέλιπε. τὸ δὲ Νέστορος ποτήριον πολλοὶ κεραμεύουσι· πλεῖστοι γὰρ περὶ αὐτοῦ συνεγράψαντο. καὶ θεοφιλὲς δὲ τὸ ποτήριον χρυσέοις γοῦν δεπάεσσιν ἀλλήλους δεξιοῦνται. ἐλευθέριον δέ, φησί, καὶ ἐμμελῶς ἐν οἴνῳ διάγειν, μὴ κωθωνιζόμενον μηδὲ Θρᾳκίῳ νόμῳ ἄμυστιν οἰνοποτεῖν, ἀλλὰ τῷ πόματι φάρμακον ὑγείας ἐγκιρνάναι τὸν λόγον.

[¶11] And the ancients affixed a great value to such goblets as had any story engraved upon them; and in the art of engraving cups in this manner, a high reputation was enjoyed by Cimon and Athenocles. They used also drinking-cups inlaid with precious stones. And Menander, somewhere or other, speaks of drinking-cups turned by the turning-lathe, and chased; and Antiphanes says—
And others drain with eager lips the cup,
Full of the juice of ancient wine, o'ershadow'd
With sparkling foam,—the golden-wrought rich cup,
Which circled round they raised: one long, deep draught
They drain, and raise the bottom to the skies.
And Nicomachus says to some one—
O you, who..... and vomit golden...
And Philippides says—
Could you but see the well-prepared cups,
All made of gold, my Trophimus; by heaven,
They are magnificent! I stood amazed
When I beheld them first. Then there were also
Large silver cups, and jugs larger than I.
And Parmenio, in his letter to Alexander, summing up the spoils of the Persians, says, “The weight of goblets of gold is seventy-three Babylonian talents, and fifty-two mitæ. The weight of goblets inlaid with precious stones, is fifty-six Babylonian talents, and thirty-four minæ.”

> Greek: ῝ ῝Ὅτι διὰ σπουδῆς εἶχον οἱ ἀρχαῖοι ἐγκόλαπτον ἱστορίαν ἔχειν ἐν ἐκπώμασιν. ἐν ταύτῃ δὲ τῇ τέχνῃ εὐδοκίμησαν Κίμων καὶ Ἀθηνοκλῆς. ἐχρῶντο δὲ καὶ λιθοκολλήτοις ἐκπώμασι. Μένανδρος δὲ πού φησι καὶ ποτήριον τορνευτὸν καὶ τορευτά. Ἀντιφάνης· ἄλλοι δὲ καὶ δὴ βακχίου παλαιγενοῦς ἀφρῷ σκιασθὲν χρυσοκόλλητον δέπας μεστὸν κύκλῳ τορευτὸν ἕλκουσι γνάθοις ὁλκῆς ἀπαύστοις, παντελῶς ἐστραμμένον τἄνω κάτω δεικνύντες. φησὶ πρός τινα Νικόμαχος· ὦ χαῖρε, χρυσόκλυστα καὶ χρυσοῦς ἐμῶν … Φιλιππίδης· τὰ ποτήρι᾽· ἂν ἴδῃς τὰ παρεσκευασμένα, ἅπαντα χρυσᾶ, Τρόφιμε, νὴ τὸν Οὐρανόν, ὑπερήφαν’ ἔργ᾽. ἐγὼ μὲν ἐξέστην ἰδών. κρατῆρες ἀργυροῖ, κάδοι μείζους ἐμοῦ … ὅτι Παρμενίων συγκεφαλαιούμενος ἐν ταῖς πρὸς Ἀλέξανδρον Ἐπιστολαῖς τὰ Περσικὰ λάφυρα ποτηρίων, φησί, χρυσῶν σταθμὸς τάλαντα Βαβυλώνια ο γ, μναῖ ν β. ποτηρίων λιθοκολλήτων σταθμὸς τάλαντα Βαβυλώνια ν ς, μναῖ λ δ.

[¶12] And the custom was, to put the water into the cup first, and the wine afterwards. Accordingly, Xenophanes says—
And never let a man a goblet take,
And first pour in the wine; but let the water
Come first, and after that, then add the wine.
And Anacreon says—
Bring me water -bring me wine,
Quick, O boy; and bring, besides,
Garlands, rich with varied flowers;
And fill the cup, that I may not
Engage in hopeless strife with love.
And before either of them Hesiod had said—
Pour in three measures of the limpid stream,
Pure from an everflowing spring; and then
Add a fourth cup of sacred rosy wine.
And Theophrastus says—“The ancient fashion of the mixture of wine was quite opposite to the way in which it is managed at the present day; for they were not accustomed to pour the water on the wine, but the wine on the water, in order, when drinking, not to have their liquor too strong, and in order also, when they had drunk to satiety, to have less desire for more. And they also consumed a good deal of this liquor, mixed as it was, in the game of the cottabus.”

> Greek: ἔθος δ’ ἦν πρότερον ἐν τῷ ποτηρίῳ ὕδωρ ἐμβάλλεσθαι, μεθ’ ὃ τὸν οἶνον. Ξενοφάνης· οὐδέ κεν ἐν κύλικι πρότερον κεράσειέ τις οἶνον ἐγχέας, ἀλλ’ ὕδωρ καὶ καθύπερθε μέθυ. Ἀνακρέων φέρ’ ὕδωρ, φέρ’ οἶνον, ὦ παῖ, φέρε δ’ ἀνθεμεῦντας ἡμῖν στεφάνους ἔνεικον, ὡς δὴ πρὸς Ἔρωτα πυκταλίζω. πρὸ δὲ τούτων Ἡσίοδος· κρήνης τ’ ἀενάου καὶ πορρύτου, ἥτ’ ἀθόλωτος, τρὶς ὕδατος προχέειν, τὸ δὲ τέτρατον ἱέμεν οἴνου. Θεόφραστος ἐπεὶ καὶ τὰ περὶ τὴν κρᾶσιν ἐναντίως εἶχε τὸ παλαιὸν τῷ νῦν παρ’ Ἕλλησιν ὑπάρχοντι. οὐ γὰρ τὸ ὕδωρ ἐπὶ τὸν οἶνον ἐπέχεον, ἀλλ’ ἐπὶ τὸ ὕδωρ τὸν οἶνον, ὅπως ἐν τῷ πίνειν ὑδαρεστέρῳ χρῷντο τῷ ποτῷ καὶ τούτου ποιησάμενοι τὴν ἀπόλαυσιν ἧττον ὀρέγοιντο τοῦ λοιποῦ. καὶ τὸ πλεῖστον δὲ εἰς τοὺς κοττάβους κατανήλισκον.

[¶13] Now of carvers of goblets the following men had a high reputation,—Athenocles, Crates, Stratonicus, Myrmecides the Milesian, Callicrates the Lacedæmonian, and Mys; by which last artist we have seen a Heraclean cup, having most beautifully wrought on it the capture of Troy, and bearing also this inscription—
The sketch was by Parrhasius,—by Mys
The workmanship; and now I represent
The lofty Troy, which great Achilles took.

> Greek: ἔνδοξοι δὲ τορευταὶ Ἀθηνοκλῆς, Κράτης, Στρατόνικος, Μυρμηκίδης ὁ Μιλήσιος, Καλλικράτης ὁ Λάκων καὶ Μῦς, οὗ εἴδομεν σκύφον Ἡρακλεωτικὸν τεχνικῶς ἔχοντα Ἰλίου ἐντετορευμένην πόρθησιν, ἔχοντα ἐπίγραμμα τόδε· γραμμὰ Παρρασίοιο, τέχνα Μυός. ἐμμὶ δὲ ἔργον Ἰλίου αἰπεινᾶς, ἃν ἕλον Αἰακίδαι.

[¶14] Now among the Cretans, the epithet κλεινὸς, illustrious, is often given to the objects of one's affection. And it is a matter of great desire among them to carry off beautiful boys; and among them it is considered discreditable to a beautiful boy not to have a lover. And the name given to the boys who are carried off in that manner is παρασταθέντες. And they give to the boy who has been carried off a robe, and an ox, and a drinking-cup. And the robe they wear even when they are become old, in order to show that they have been κλεινοί.

> Greek: ὅτι κλεινοὶ λέγονται παρὰ Κρησὶν οἱ ἐρώμενοι, σπουδὴ δὲ αὐτοῖς παῖδας ἁρπάζειν καὶ τοῖς καλοῖς παρ’ αὐτοῖς ἄδοξόν ἐστιν ἐραστοῦ μὴ τυχεῖν. καλοῦνται δὲ οἱ ἁρπασθέντες παρασταθέντες. διδόασι δὲ τῷ ἁρπασθέντι στολὴν καὶ βοῦν καὶ ποτήριον ἣν καὶ πρεσβύτεροι γενόμενοι φέρουσιν, ἵνα δῆλοι ὦσι κλεινοὶ γενόμενοι.

[¶15] You see that when men drink, they then are rich;
They do whate'er they please,—they gain their actions,
They're happy themselves, and they assist their friends.
For amusing oneself with wine exalts, and cherishes, and elevates the mind, since it inflames and arouses the foul, and fills it with lofty thoughts, as Pindar says—
When the sad, laborious cares
Flee from the weary hearts of men,
And in the wide, expansive ocean
Of golden wealth we all set sail,
Floating towards the treacherous shore.
E'en he who is poor, is rich when he
Has fill'd his soul with rosy wine;
And he who's rich....
And then he goes on—
becomes elated
Beneath the glad dominion of the vine.

> Greek: ὁρᾷς δ᾽, ὅταν πίνωσιν ἄνθρωποι, τότε πλουτοῦσι, διαπράττουσι, νικῶσιν δίκας, εὐδαιμονοῦσιν, ὠφελοῦσι τοὺς φίλους. αὔξει γὰρ καὶ τρέφει μεγαλύνει τε τὴν ψυχὴν ἡ ἐν τοῖς πότοις διατριβή, ἀναζωπυροῦσα καὶ ἀνεγείρουσα μετὰ φρονήσεως τὸν ἑκάστου νοῦν, ὥς φησιν ὁ Πίνδαρος· ἁνίκ’ ἀνθρώπων καματώδεες οἴχονται μέριμναι στηθέων ἔξω, πελάγει δ’ ἐν πολυχρύσοιο πλούτου πάντες ἴσᾳ νέομεν ψευδῆ πρὸς ἀκτὰν ὃς μὲν ἀχρήμων, ἀφνεὸς τότε, τοὶ δ’ αὖ πλουτέοντες … εἶτ’ ἐπάγει ἀέξονται φρένας ἀμπελίνοις τόξοις δαμέντες.

[¶16] There is a kind of drinking-cup also called ancyla, or curved; a kind especially useful for the play of the cottabus. Cratinus says—
'Tis death to drink of wine when water's mix'd:
But she took equal shares, two choes full
Of unmix'd wine, in a large ancyla:
And calling on her dear Corinthian lover
By name, threw in his honour a cottabus.
And Bacchylides says—
When she does throw to the youths a cottabus
From her ancyla, stretching her white arm forth.
And it is with reference to this ancyla that we understand the expression of Aeschylus—
The cottabus of th' ancyla (ἀγκυλήτους κοττάβους).
Spears are also called ἀγκύλητα, or curved; and also μεσάγκυλα, held by a string in the middle. There is also the expression ἀπʼ ἀγκύλης, which means, from the right hand. And the cup is called ἀγκύλη, from the fact that the right hand is curved, in throwing the cottabus from it. For it was a matter to which great attention was paid by the ancients—namely, that of throwing the cottabus dexterously and gracefully. And men in general prided themselves more on their dexterity in this than in throwing the javelin skilfully. And this got its name from the manner in which the hand was brandished in throwing the cottabus, when they threw it elegantly and dexterously into the cottabium. And they also built rooms especially designed for this sport.

> Greek: ἀγκύλῃ ποτήριον πρὸς τὴν τῶν κοττάβων παιδιὰν χρήσιμον. Κρατῖνος· πιεῖν δὲ θάνατος οἶνον ἂν ὕδωρ ἐπῇ. ἀλλ’ ἴσον ἴσῳ μάλιστ’ ἀκράτου δύο χοᾶς πίνουσ’ ἀπ’ ἀγκύλης ἐπονομάζουσ᾽· ἅμα ἵησι λάταγας τῷ Κορινθίῳ πέει. καὶ Βακχυλίδης· εὖτε τὴν ἀπ᾽· ἀγκύλης ἵησι τοῖς νεανίαις, λευκὸν ἀντείνασα πῆχυν. ἐντεῦθεν ἐννοοῦμεν τοὺς παρ’ Αἰσχύλῳ ἀγκυλητοὺς κοττάβους. λέγονται δὲ καὶ δόρατα ἀγκυλητὰ καὶ μεσάγκυλα· ἀλλ’ ἀπὸ ἀγκύλης ἤτοι τῆς δεξιᾶς χειρός, καὶ ἡ κύλιξ δὲ ἡ ἀγκύλη διὰ τὸ ἐπαγκυλοῦν τὴν δεξιὰν χεῖρα ἐν τῇ προέσει. ἦν γὰρ τοῖς παλαιοῖς πεφροντισμένον καλῶς καὶ εὐσχημόνως κότταβον προίεσθαι. καὶ οἱ πολλοὶ ἐπὶ τούτῳ μᾶλλον ἐφρόνουν μέγα ἢ ἐπὶ τῷ εὖ ἀκοντίζειν. ὠνομάσθη οὖν ἀπὸ τοῦ τῆς χειρὸς σχηματισμοῦ, ὃν ποιούμενοι εὐρύθμως ἐρρίπτουν εἰς τὸ κοττάβιον. καὶ οἴκους δὲ ἐπιτηδείους κατεσκεύαζον εἰς ταύτην τὴν παιδιάν.

[¶17] In Timachides there is also a kind of drinking-cup mentioned, called the æacis. There is another kind also, called the ἄκατος, or boat, being shaped like a boat. Epicrates says—
Throw down th' acatia,
(using here the diminutive form,)
and take instead
The larger goblets; and the old woman lead
Straight to the cup;... the younger maiden........... fill it; have your oar
All ready, loose the cables, bend the sails.
Among the Cyprians there is also a kind of cup called the aotus, as Pamphilus tells us: and Philetas says, this is a cup which has no ears (ὤτους). There is also a kind of cup called aroclum, which is mentioned by Nicander the Colophonian.

> Greek: ὅτι παρὰ Τιμαχίδᾳ Αἰακίς ἡ κύλιξ καλεῖται. ἄκατος ποτήριον ἐοικὸς πλοίῳ. Ἐπικράτης· κατάβαλλε τἀκάτια, τὰ κυμβία αἴρου τὰ μείζω, κεὐθὺ τοῦ καρχησίου ἄνελκε τὴν γραῦν, τὴν νέαν δ’ ἐπουρίσας πλήρωσον, εὐτρεπῆ τε τὸν κοντὸν ποοῦ καὶ τοὺς κάλως ἔκλυε καὶ χάλα πόδα. ἄωτον παρὰ Κυπρίοις τὸ ἔκπωμα, ὡς Πάμφιλος. Φιλίτας δὲ ποτήριον οὖς οὐκ ἔχον. ἄροκλον ἡ φιάλη παρὰ τῷ Κολοφωνίῳ Νικάνδρῳ.

[¶18] The cup called ἄλεισον, is the same as that called δέπας. Homer, in his Odyssey, speaking of Pisistratus, says—
In a rich golden cup he pour'd the wine;
and proceeding, he says, in the same manner—
To each a portion of the feast he bore,
And held the golden goblet (ἄλεισον) foaming o'er;
and presently afterwards he says—
And gave the goblet (δέπας) to Ulysses' son.
And, accordingly, Asclepiades the Myrlean says—
The δέπας appears to me to have been much of the same shape as the φιάλη. For men make libations with it. Accordingly, Homer says,—
The cup which Peleus' son
Had raised in offerings to Jove alone.
And it is called δέπας, either because it is given to all (δίδοται πᾶσι) who wish to make libations, or who wish to drink; or because it has two ears (δύο ὦπας), for ὦπες must be the same as ὦτα. And it has the name of ἄλεισον, either from being very smooth (ἄγαν λεῖον), or because the liquor is collected (ἁλίζεται) in it. And that it had two ears is plain—
High in his hands he rear'd the golden bowl
By both its ears.
But when he applies the word ἀμφικύπελλον to it, he means nothing more than ἀμφίκυρτον curved on both sides.
But Silenus interprets the word ἀμφικύπελλον to mean devoid of ears, while others say that ἀμφὶ here is equivalent to περὶ, and that it means a cup which you may put to your mouth all round, at any part of it. But Parthenius says that it means that the ears are curved (περικεκυρτῶσθαι), for that is synonymous with κυρτός. But Anicetus says that the κύπελλον is a kind of cup (φίαλη), and that the word ἀμφικύπελλον is equivalent to ὑπερφίαλον, that is to say, superb and magnificent; unless, indeed, any one chooses to interpret the word ἄλεισον as something very highly ornamented, and therefore not at all smooth (α,λεῖον). And Pisander says, Hercules gave Telamon a cup (ἄλεισον) as the prize of his preeminent valour in the expedition against Troy.

> Greek: ἄλεισον καὶ δέπας τὸ αὐτό. Ὅμηρος ἐν Ὀδυσσείᾳ περὶ Πεισιστράτου· ἐν δ’ οἶνον ἔχευε χρυσείῳ δέπαι. εἶτα παρακατιὼν τὸ αὐτό· τούνεκα σοὶ δώσω χρύσειον ἄλεισον. καὶ ἑξῆς τὸ αὐτὸ πάλιν δῶκε δὲ Τηλεμάχῳ καλὸν δέπας ἀμφικύπελλον. φησὶν οὖν Ἀσκληπιάδης ὁ Μυρλεανός·
δοκεῖ μοι φιαλῶδες εἶναι τὸ δέπας· σπένδουσι γὰρ ἐν αὐτῷ. λέγει γοῦν Ὅμηρος δέπας, δι’ οὗ Διὶ μόνῳ σπένδεσκεν Ἀχιλλεύς. καλεῖται δὲ δέπας ἤτοι ὅτι δίδοται πᾶσι τοῖς σπένδειν βουλομένοις εἴτε καὶ τοῖς πίνειν, ἢ ὅτι δύο ὦπας εἶχε· ταῦτα δὲ ἂν εἴη τὰ ὦτα. τὸ δὲ ἄλεισον ἤτοι ἀπὸ τοῦ ἄγαν λεῖον εἶναι ἢ ὅτι ἁλίζεται ἐν αὐτῷ τὸ ὑγρόν. ὅτι δὲ δύο ὦτα εἶχε δῆλον ἦτοι ὃ καλὸν ἄλεισον ἀναιρήσεσθαι ἔμελλε χρύσεον ἄμφωτον. ἀμφικύπελλον δὲ λέγων αὐτὸ οὐδὲν ἄλλο σημαίνει ἢ ὅτι ἦν ἀμφίκυρτον.
Σιληνὸς δὲ ἀμφικύπελλόν φησι τὸ μὴ ἔχον ὦτα. ἄλλοι δὲ τὴν ἀμφὶ ἀντὶ τῆς περὶ εἶναι, ἵν’ ᾖ περίποτον, τὸ πανταχόθεν πίνειν ἐπιτήδειον. Παρθένιος δὲ διὰ τὸ περικεκυρτῶσθαι τὰ ὠτάρια· κυφὸν γὰρ εἶναι τὸ κυρτόν. ἀνίκητος δὲ τὸ μὲν κύπελλὸν φησι φιάλην εἶναι, τὸ δ’ ἀμφικύπελλον ὑπερφίαλον, τὸ ὑπερήφανον καὶ καλόν, εἰ μὴ ἄρα τὸ ποικίλον τῇ κατασκευῇ ἄλεισον θέλει τις ἀκούειν, ἔξω λειότητος ὄν. Πείσανδρος δέ φησιν Ἡρακλέα Τελαμῶνι τῆς ἐπὶ Ἴλιον στρατείας ἀριστεῖον ἄλεισον δοῦναι.