The Deipnosophists, or Banquet of the Learned of Athenaeus Part 44

And the author, whoever he was, of the play called The Beggars, which is ascribed to Chionides, says that the Athenians, when they place a banquet for Castor and Pollux in their Prytaneum, serve up on the tables cheese and barley-cakes, and olives which have fallen, and leeks, for the sake of reminding people of the ancient manner of living. And Solon enjoins them to serve up barley-cakes to those who eat in the prytaneum: and besides that, to place bread on the table at festivals, in imitation of Homer; for he, too, when collecting the chiefs around Agamemnon, says--

The cakes were baked.

And Chrysippus, in the fourth book of his treatise on Beauty and Pleasure, says--"But at Athens they say that two festivals are celebrated there (neither of them of great antiquity), one at the Lyceum and one in the Academy, and when the confectioner had brought into the Academy a dish for some other purpose, all those who were offering sacrifice at once broke the dish, because something had been introduced which did not belong to the city, and everything which came from afar ought to have been kept away. And that the cook at the Lyceum having prepared some salt-fish in order to serve up a dish of it, was scourged as a man who used his invention in a very wicked manner." And Plato, in the second book of his Republic, represents his new citizens as feasting, and writes--"You make your men feast without any second course, says he. You say the truth, I replied; I forgot that they will have a second course--namely, salt, and olives, and cheese, and onions; and besides, they will boil such vegetables as are found in the fields; and moreover, we shall serve up some sweetmeats to them,--figs, and beans, and vetches. They shall roast myrtle-berries too and beech-acorns at the fire, drinking moderately all the time. And in this manner they shall pa.s.s their lives in peace, growing old, as it is probable they will, in the enjoyment of good health, and transmit a good const.i.tution to their posterity."

15. We must next speak of the Lacedaemonian banquets. Now Herodotus, in the ninth book of his Histories, speaking of the preparation of Mardonius, and mentioning the banquets of the Lacedaemonians, says--"Xerxes, when fleeing from Greece, left all his equipment to Mardonius. And when Pausanias beheld the appointments of Mardonius's tent, and his tent itself all furnished with gold and silver and embroidered curtains, he ordered the bakers and confectioners to prepare him a supper exactly as they had been in the habit of preparing for Mardonius. And when they had done as they were commanded, Pausanias, beholding the couches of gold and silver all ready laid and covered, and the silver tables, and the superb banquet which was prepared, marvelling at what he saw, by way of ridicule ordered his own slaves to prepare a banquet in the Lacedaemonian fas.h.i.+on. But when it was made ready, Pausanias laughed, and sent for all the generals of the Greeks; and when they were come he showed them both the banquets which were prepared before him, and said: O Greeks, I have a.s.sembled you, because I was desirous to exhibit to you the folly of the general of the Medes; who, while he was used himself to live in the manner which you behold, came against us who are in the habit of living in the hard way which you see here."

And some say that a citizen of Sybaris, who was staying at Sparta, and who dined at their Phiditia, said--"It is natural enough for the Lacedaemonians to be the bravest of men; for any man in his senses would rather die ten thousand times over, than live in such a miserable way as this."

16. And Polemo, in his treatise on the Wicker Carriage mentioned by Xenophon, says "that Cratinus in his Pluti, mentioning the feast which is called by the Lacedaemonians Copis, speaks as follows--

Tell me, I pray you, is it true that all The strangers in that country, who arrive, May banquet at the Copis at their pleasure?

And at their parties do there hang around Cakes fix'd on pegs, that every one who will, Young men and old, may take a bite at them?

And Eupolis says in his Helots--

And let a Copis be this day prepared.

Now the Copis is a peculiar sort of entertainment, just as that which is called Aiclon. And when it takes place, first of all they erect tents near the temple of the G.o.d; and in them they place beds of leaves; and on them they strew carpets, and then they feast those who recline on them, not only those who arrive, being natives of the country, but those foreigners also who are sojourning in the place. And at these copides they sacrifice goats, but no other victim; and they give portions of its flesh to every one, and they distribute also what they call a physicillus, which is a little loaf like an encris, made of oil and honey, only rounder in shape. And they give to every one who is present a newly made cheese, and a slice of paunch, and black-pudding, and sweetmeats, and dried figs, and beans, and green kidney-beans. And any one of the rest of the Spartans who chooses, partakes of this Copis.

"They also celebrate copides in the city at the festival called t.i.thenidia,[225:1] which is celebrated on behalf of the children. For the nurses at this season bring the male children into the fields, and to the Diana surnamed Corythallia; whose temple is near the fountain called Tia.s.sus, in the parts towards Cleta; and there they celebrate copides, in a manner similar to those which have been already mentioned.

And they sacrifice small sucking-pigs, and they also at the feast set before the guests some of the loaves called ipnitae. But this aiclon is called by all the other Dorians de?p???. At all events Epicharmus, in his Hope, says--

For some one of his own accord has ask'd you to an a?????, And do thou gladly go in haste of your accord to eat it.

And he repeats the same lines in his Periallus. But at Lacedaemon, after supper is over, they set what they call ????? (not a?????) before all those who come to the Phiditium; namely, loaves of bread in a small basket, and a slice of meat for each person. And an attendant follows the servant who distributes the portions, proclaiming the ?????, adding to his proclamation the name of him who has sent it round."

17. This was the statement of Polemo. But Didymus the Grammarian contradicted him, (and Demetrius, of Trzen, calls him a Bookforgetter, on account of the number of books which he has edited, for they amount to three thousand and five hundred,) and said--"Polycrates, in his history of Lacedaemonian affairs, relates that the Lacedaemonians celebrate the festival called Hyacinthia for three days, and on account of their lamentation for Hyacinthus, they do not wear crowns at their feasts, nor do they bring bread there, but they distribute cheesecakes, and other things of the same kind. And they sing no paean to the G.o.d, nor do they introduce anything of that sort, as they do in other sacred festivals, but they eat their supper in a very orderly manner, and then depart. But on the middle one of the three days there is a very superb spectacle, and a very considerable and important a.s.sembly; for boys play upon the harp, girt up in their tunics, and singing to the music of the flute, running over all the strings of the harp at the same time with the plectrum, in an anapaestic rhythm, with a shrill tone, and in that manner they sing a hymn in honour of the G.o.d. And others riding on horses and handsomely dressed go through the theatre; and very numerous choruses of young men enter, and they sing some of their native poems.

And dancers mingled with them perform an ancient sort of dance to the music of a flute and singing. And virgins also, some in wooden curved chariots, called canathra, beautifully made, and others in crowds of large waggons drawn by horses, make a procession; and the whole city is in a state of agitation and of delight at the spectacle. And they sacrifice great numbers of victims all this day. And the citizens give a banquet to all their friends, and to their own slaves; and no one omits attending the sacred feast, but the whole city is evacuated by the whole body of citizens flocking to the spectacle.

"And the copis is also mentioned by Aristophanes or Philyllius in the Cities, and by Epilycus in the Coraliscus, where he says--

When I shall bear a copis to the fane Of sacred Amyclae, then many baraces, And loaves, and luscious sauce shall show my coming:

saying expressly that barley-cakes are set before the guests at the copides, (for that is the meaning of the word ??a?e?, which does not mean cheesecakes, as Lycophron a.s.serts, nor barley-meal porridge, as Eratosthenes believes,) and loaves, and a particular sort of broth very highly seasoned. Moreover, what the copis is, is very perspicuously explained by Molpis in his treatise on the Polity of the Lacedaemonians, where he writes, They also have feasts which they call copides. But the copis is a supper consisting of barley-cakes, loaves, meat, raw vegetables, soup, figs, sweetmeats, and warmed wine. Moreover, sucking-pigs are not called ???a????s???, as Polemo p.r.o.nounces the word, but ????a????s???, since they are sold at early dawn (p??? t?? ??????), as Persaeus relates in his treatise on the Lacedaemonian Polity. And Dioscorides, in the second book of his Polity, and Aristocles, in the first book of the treatise which he also wrote concerning the Lacedaemonian Polity, make the same statement. Besides, Polemo says, that supper is called ????? by the Lacedaemonians, and that all the rest of the Dorians give it the same name. For Alcman says--

At the mill and also at the suppers (ta?? s??a???e?a??),

where he uses s??a???e?a? as equivalent to s??de?p??a. And in a subsequent pa.s.sage he says--

Alcman prepared an ?????.

But the Lacedaemonians do not call that portion which is given after the supper ?????, nor that which is given after supper at the phiditia; for that consists of bread and meat: but that is called ?p?????, being, as it were, an addition to the ?????, which is regularly appointed as a part of the phiditia; and that is what I imagine the name implies.

For the preparation of what is called the ?p???a is not simple, as Polemo supposed, but of a two-fold nature. For that which they give to the boys is very slight and trifling, being merely meal steeped in oil, which Nicocles, the Lacedaemonian, says that they eat after supper, wrapped up in leaves of the bay-tree, from which those leaves are called ?aat?de?,[227:1] and the cakes themselves are called ??ata. And that it was a custom of the ancients to eat the leaves of the bay-tree at dessert, Callias or Diocles a.s.serts in the Cyclopes, speaking thus--

You will eat the leaves meant for supper, And this belongs to the figures which . . .

But what they serve up at the phiditia of the men is prepared of some few regular animals, one of those who are rich men providing them for the phiditia, or sometimes several men club together to furnish it. But Molpis tells us that the ?p???a are also surnamed att??."

18. But concerning the ?p???a, Persaeus, in his treatise on the Lacedaemonian Const.i.tution, writes as follows:--"And immediately he levies on the rich men a tax of money to provide the ?p???a; and this word means the sweetmeats which come on after supper. But he enjoins the poor to bring a reed, or a straw, or a leaf of the bay-tree, in order that they may be able to eat the ?p???a after supper. For it consists of meal steeped in oil; and this is wholly like the arrangement of some small state. For in these ?p???a they attend to all such points as these: who ought to sit down first, or second, or who ought to sit down on a small couch; and so on." And Dioscorides gives the same account.

But concerning the words ?aat?de? and ??ata Nicocles writes as follows:--"But the Ephor, having heard the cause, p.r.o.nounces an acquittal or a condemnation. And he who has gained the cause is slightly taxed to provide some ??ata or ?aat?de?. Now the ??ata are cakes; but the ?aat?de? are what they wrap them in in order to eat them."

19. But concerning the banquet of the Phiditia, Dioscorides gives this account in his book ent.i.tled Tripoliticus. "In the first place, each individual has his supper put down separately before him, and he has no partic.i.p.ation with any one else; and after that each has as much barley-cake as he pleases. And again, a cup is placed before each person, to drink whenever he pleases. And the meat is always the same for every one, being boiled pork; but sometimes they have no meat at all, except some little bit weighing at the outside about four minae; and besides this, nothing at all except the broth which comes from it; which is sufficient for every one at the whole banquet to have some. And sometimes there may be some olives, or some cheese, or a few figs: and sometimes they have some small addition--a fish, or a hare, or a pigeon, or something of that sort: and then, after they have eaten very rapidly, the things are brought round which are called ?p???a. And every one contributes to the phiditium about three Attic semimedimni[228:1] of meal, and about eleven or twelve choes[228:2] of wine; and in addition to this they contributed a certain weight of cheese and figs; and moreover, for purchasing meat, they gave ten aeginetan obols."[228:3]

But Sphaerus, in the third book of his treatise on the Lacedaemonian Const.i.tution, writes--"The partakers of the phiditium do also themselves contribute the ?p???a. And sometimes most of them make their contributions consist of what has been caught by them in hunting. Not but what the rich contribute also bread and whatever vegetables or fruits may be in season, in such quant.i.ties as are sufficient for one meal; thinking that to provide more than is just enough is superfluous, as it will not be eaten." And Molpis says--"But after the supper is over something is always contributed by some one or other, and sometimes by many joining together; and the att??, which they call the ?p?????, is prepared by them at their own houses: but no one goes to any expense in buying what he contributes for this purpose. For they do not contribute it for the purpose of giving pleasure, or of indulging in any immoderate eating, but with the view of making a display of their own skill in hunting. And many also who breed flocks of sheep, give their produce very liberally. And this att?? consists of pigeons, geese, two hen-doves, thrushes, blackbirds, hares, lambs, kids. And the cooks always proclaim the name of him who has contributed each dish, in order that all men may see his devotion to hunting, and his eagerness to contribute to their enjoyment."

But Demetrius the Scepsian says, in the first book of his treatise on the Trojan Array, "that the festival of the Carnea among the Lacedaemonians is a representation of a military expedition. For that there are nine spots marked out; and they are called sciades,[229:1]

having something like tents in them; and in each of them nine men sup; and everything is proclaimed by the crier as if it were a military order. Now each scias has three phratriae. And this festival of the Carnea lasts nine days."

20. Subsequently the Lacedaemonians relaxed the rigour of this way of living, and became more luxurious. At all events, Phylarchus, in the fifteenth and again in the twentieth book of his Histories, writes thus concerning them:--"The Lacedaemonians had given up a.s.sembling for the phiditia, according to the custom of their country, and whenever they met, after having had a few things brought round, for the sake of a seeming compliance with the law, other things were then prepared; couches furnished in a very expensive way and of exceeding size, and all differing from one another in their adornment; so that some of the strangers who were invited used to be afraid to put their elbows on the pillows; and those who formerly used to rest on a bare bench during the whole banquet, perhaps once leaning on their elbows for a few minutes, had now come to such a pitch of luxury as I have spoken of, and to a serving up of many cups of wine, and of all sorts of food procured from all countries and dressed in every kind of luxurious way; and besides that, they had come to use foreign perfumes, and also foreign wines and sweetmeats. And the people began this fas.h.i.+on who lived a short time before the reign of Cleomenes, namely Areus and Acrotatus, rivalling the indulgences of the court of Persia; and they in their turn were so far exceeded by some private individuals, who lived in Sparta at that time, in their own personal extravagance, that Areus and Acrotatus appeared people of such rigid economy as to have surpa.s.sed the most simple of their predecessors in self-denial."

21. "But Cleomenes was a man of eminent wisdom in his discernment of matters, (although he was but a young man,) and also was exceedingly simple in his manner of life. For he, being king, and having such important affairs intrusted to his management, displayed such behaviour to any who were invited to any sacrifice, as to make them see that what they had daily prepared at home for themselves was in no respect inferior to what he allowed himself. And when many emba.s.sies were sent to him he never made a banquet for the amba.s.sadors at an earlier hour than the regular time; and there never was anything more laid than a common pentaclinum; and when there was no emba.s.sy, what was laid was a triclinium. And there were no orders issued by the regulator of the feasts, as to who should come in or who should sit down first: but the eldest led the way to the couch, unless he himself invited any one else to do so; and he was generally seen supping with his brother or with some of his friends of his own age. And there was placed on a tripod a brazen wine-cooler, and a cask, and a small silver cup holding two cotylae,[230:1] and a cyathus;[230:2] and the spoon was made of bra.s.s.

And wine was not brought round to drink unless any one asked for it; but one cyathus was given to each guest before supper: and generally it was given to himself first; and then, when he had thus given the signal, the rest also asked for some wine. But what was served up was placed on a very common-looking table; and the dishes were such that there was neither anything left, nor anything deficient, but just a sufficient quant.i.ty for every one; so that those who were present should not feel the want of anything. For he did not think it right to receive guests as sparingly, in respect of soup and meat, as men are treated at the phiditia; nor again, to have so much superfluity as to waste money for no purpose, exceeding all moderation and reason in the feast; for the one extreme he counted illiberal, and the other arrogant. And the wine was of rather a better quality when he had any company. But while they were eating they all kept silence; but a slave stood by, holding in his hand a vessel of mixed wine, and poured out for every one who asked for it. And in the same manner, after supper there was given to each guest not more than two cyathi of wine, and this too was brought to each person as he made a sign for it. And there was no music of any kind accompanying the meal, but Cleomenes himself conversed all the time with each individual, having invited them, as it were, for the purpose of listening and talking; so that all departed charmed with his hospitality and affability."

But Antiphanes, ridiculing the Lacedaemonian banquets, in the style of the comic poets, in his drama which is ent.i.tled Archon, speaks as follows:--

If you should live in Lacedaemon's walls, You must comply with all their fas.h.i.+ons there.

Go to their spare phiditia for supper, And feast on their black broth; and not disdain To wear fierce whiskers and seek no indulgence Further than this; but keep the olden customs, Such as their country doth compel.

22. And concerning the Cretan banquets, or s?ss?t?a, Dosiades speaks in the fourth book of his treatise on Cretan Affairs, speaking as follows:--"But the Lyctians collect men for the common meal (s?ss?t?a) of the nation in this way:--Every one brings a tenth part of the fruits which his land produces and throws into the common stock of the mess; and they also bring their share of the taxes due to the city, which the chief magistrates of the city distribute among each separate family. And each one of the slaves pays an aeginetan stater[232:1] a head. The citizens are all divided into messes; and they call them ??d?e?a. And a woman has the superintendence of their meals, having three or four of the people under her to obey her orders. Now each one of the company is followed by two servants bearing wood; and their t.i.tle is calophori. And there are in every town of Crete two houses set apart for these s?ss?t?a?, one of which they call the men's house, and the other, that, namely, in which they receive strangers, they call the sleeping house. And in the house which is set apart for these public meals, there are first of all two tables set out, called the strangers' tables, at which those foreigners who are present sit; and after that tables are laid for the rest. And the younger men have half the quant.i.ty of meat; and they touch none of the other dishes. Then a bowl of wine is placed on each table, mingled with water; and all drink of this in common at the common table; and when they have finished supper then another bowl is put on the table. But for the boys one common bowl is likewise mixed; but the elders have liberty to drink more if they feel inclined to. And the woman who has the superintendence of the mess takes away from off the table, without any disguise or concealment, the best of what is served up, and puts it before those who are distinguished for warlike achievements or for wisdom. And when they have finished supper, then, first of all, they are in the habit of deliberating on the affairs of the state; and then, after that, they converse about exploits which have been performed in war, and extol those who have behaved like valiant men, and so exhort the younger men to acts of valour and virtue."

And Pyrgion, in the third book of his treatise on Cretan Laws, says--"At their public meals the Cretans sit and feast merrily. And those who are orphans have dishes served up to them without any seasoning; and the youngest of them minister to the others; and having uttered words of good omen they pour libations to the G.o.ds, and distribute the dishes served up to all the guests. They distribute some also to the sons who are sitting just behind the seat of their fathers; giving them one-half as much as is given to men; but the orphans have an equal share. And whatever is served up to them has no seasoning nor any luxurious mixtures compounded in it. There were also three seats designed for strangers, and a third table, on the right hand side as you went in to the house where the men ate; and that they called the table of the Jupiter of Hospitality, and the table of Hospitality."

23. And Herodotus, comparing the drinking parties of the Greeks with the banquets in fas.h.i.+on among the Persians, says--"But the Persians are accustomed to honour that day above all others on which they were born.

And on that day they think it right to have a more splendid feast than on any other day. And on that day those of them who are rich serve up an ox, and an a.s.s, and a horse, and a camel, all roasted whole in ovens: but those who are poor serve up only the smaller animals, such as sheep; and they do not eat a great deal of meat, but great quant.i.ties of sweetmeats, and no salt. And on this account the Persians say that the Greeks, when they eat, leave off being still hungry, because after supper nothing is served up to them worth speaking of. For that if anything good were put before them they would not leave off eating it: but they sit very long at their wine. And it is not allowed to them to vomit, nor to make water in the presence of one another. And these laws are strictly observed among them. And after they have drunk hard they are accustomed to deliberate on the most important affairs. And whatever they determine on at these deliberations, the next day the master of the house, wherever they were when they deliberated, proposes to them over again when they are quite sober; and if they adopt the same determination when sober, then they act upon it, but if not, they abandon it: and whatever they decide on when sober, they reconsider when they are drunk."

24. But concerning the luxury of the kings among the Persians, Xenophon, in his Agesilaus, writes as follows:--"For men travel over the whole earth in the service of the king of Persia, looking to find out what may be pleasant for him to drink; and ten thousand men are always contriving something nice for him to eat; and no one can tell the number of contrivances they propose to cause him to sleep well. But Agesilaus, because he was a man fond of exertion, drank whatever was set before him with pleasure, and ate whatever came across him with appet.i.te; and every place suited him to sleep pleasantly in." And in his treatise ent.i.tled Hiero, speaking of the things which are prepared for kings, and also of the dishes which are prepared for private individuals to eat, he uses the following expressions:--"'And I know,' said he, 'O Simonides, that most men consider that we eat and drink more pleasantly than private individuals in this respect, because they think that they should more gladly eat of what is served up to us than of what is set before them.

For that whatever is out of the ordinary routine gives pleasure; on which account all men gladly receive invitations to festivals, except kings. For as their tables are always loaded to satiety, it is quite impossible that they should be susceptible of any addition at the time of feasts; so that in this particular pleasure which is derived from hope they are surpa.s.sed by private individuals. And in the next place,'

he continued, 'I am sure that you yourself know from experience that the more any one sets before people that which is more than sufficient, in that exact proportion is a disgust at eating quicker in coming on; so that a man who has a very large and varied dinner set before him is inferior to those who live moderately also in the duration of his pleasure.' 'But, by Jove,' said Simonides, 'as long as the mind feels an appet.i.te, so long are those who are bred up amid more expensive preparations delighted in a much higher degree than those who are in the habit of living in a most economical manner.'"

25. But Theophrastus, in the Book on Royal Authority, addressed to Ca.s.sander, (if indeed the book under that t.i.tle, attributed to him, be a genuine work of his, for many say that it was written by Sosibius, to whom Callimachus the poet addresses a triumphal hymn in elegiac metre,) says that "the Persian kings were so luxurious as to offer by proclamation a large sum of money to any one who could invent any new pleasure." And Theopompus, in the thirty-fifth book of his Histories, says, that "the king of the Paphlagonians, whose name was Thys, whenever he supped, ordered a hundred dishes of every sort to be placed on his table, beginning with oxen. And that when he was led captive to the king of Persia and kept in prison, he still continued to have the same profusion served up to him, living in the most splendid manner. So that Artaxerxes, when he heard of it, said that he appeared to him to be living like a man who knew that he should soon die." But the same Theopompus, in the fourteenth book of his History of the Exploits of Philip, says--"When the king comes to any one of his subject cities, twenty talents are expended on his supper, and sometimes thirty; and some even spend a much larger sum still. For it is a very old custom, that every city is bound to supply a supper in proportion to its greatness, just on the same principle as its tribute to the revenue and its taxes are exacted."

26. But Heraclides the c.u.maean, who compiled a history of Persia, in the second book of that work, which is ent.i.tled Preparatory, says--"And those who wait upon the Persian kings while they are at supper, all minister after having bathed, wearing beautiful clothes; and they remain nearly half the day in attendance at the feast. But of those who are invited to eat with the king, some dine outside, and every one who chooses can see them, but some dine inside with the king: and even these do not actually eat with him; but there are two rooms opposite to one another, in one of which the king eats his meal, and in the other the guests eat theirs. And the king beholds them through the curtain which is at the door; but they cannot see him. But sometimes, when there is a feast, then they all sup in one room, namely, in the same room as the king, being the large room. And when the king has a drinking party, (and he has one very often,) his guests are about a dozen in number, and when they have supped, the king by himself, and his guests by themselves, then one of the eunuchs summons those who are to drink with the king: and when they come, then they drink with him, but they do not have the same wine; also they sit on the ground and he reclines on a couch with golden feet; and when they are very drunk indeed they go away. But for the most part the king breakfasts and sups by himself: but sometimes his wife sups with him; and sometimes some of his sons do so. And at supper his concubines sing and play to him; and one of them leads, and then all the rest sing in concert. But the supper," he continues, "which is called the king's supper, will appear to any one who hears of it to be very magnificent; still, when it is examined into, it will turn out to be economically and carefully managed, and in the same manner as the meals of the other Persians who are in office. For the king has a thousand victims slain every day: and among them are horses, and camels, and oxen, and a.s.ses, and stags, and an immense number of sheep; and a great many birds too are taken; and the Arabian ostrich (and that is a very large animal), and geese, and c.o.c.ks; and a moderate quant.i.ty of them is served up to each of the mess-mates of the king, and each of them carries away what is left for his breakfast. But the greater part of these victims and of this meat is carried out into the court to the spear-bearers and light-armed troops whom the king maintains; and in the court the masters of the feasts portion out the meat and the bread into equal portions; and as the mercenary troops in Greece receive money for their hire, so do these men receive food from the king, on account, as if it were money. And in the same way, at the courts of the other Persians, who hold office as magistrates, all the food is placed at once upon the table; and when the mess-mates of the magistrate have finished their supper, then he who superintends the meal distributes what is left on the table (and the greater part of the bread and meat is left) to each of the servants. And each attendant, when he has received his share, has his food for the day. For the most honourable of the mess-mates (their t.i.tle is ?? s??de?p???) never come to the king except to dinner; because, forsooth, they have requested permission not to be bound to come twice in the day, in order that they themselves may be able to receive guests at their own houses."

27. But Herodotus, in his seventh book, says, that "the Greeks, who received Xerxes in hospitality, and invited him to supper, all came to the very extremity of ruin, so as to be utterly turned out of their houses; as for instance, among the Thasians, who, because of the cities which they had on the continent, received the army of Xerxes and entertained it at supper. Antipater, one of these citizens, expended four hundred talents in that single entertainment; and he placed on the tables gold and silver cups and goblets; and then the soldiers, when they departed after the supper, took them away with them. And wherever Xerxes took two meals, dining as well as supping, that city was utterly ruined."

And in the ninth book of his Histories, the same author tells us, "The king provides a royal entertainment; and this is provided once every year, on the day on which the king was born. And the name of this feast is in Persian t??t?, but in Greek t??e???; and that is the only day that he has his head rubbed, and gives presents to the Persians."

But Alexander the Great, whenever he supped with any of his friends, as Ephippus the Olynthian relates in his book on the Deaths of Alexander and Hephaestion, expended each day a hundred minae, as perhaps sixty or seventy of his friends supped with him. But the king of the Persians, as Ctesias and Dinon relate in the Histories of Persia, supped with fifteen thousand men, and there were expended on the supper four hundred talents; and this amounts in Italian money to twenty four hundred thousand of sesterces. And this sum when divided among fifteen thousand men is a hundred and sixty sesterces of Italian money for each individual; so that it comes to very nearly the same as the expense of Alexander; for he expended a hundred minae, according to the account of Ephippus.

But Menander, in his play called Drunkenness, estimates the expense of the most sumptuous banquet at a talent, saying--

Then we do not in these matters act as we should do When to the G.o.ds we sacrifice; for then we go and buy A sheep, an offering for the G.o.ds, for scarce ten drachmas' price.

And then we send for flute players, and ointments, and perfumes, And harps, and singing women, eels, and cheese, and honey too; And ample jars of Thasian wine; but these can scarcely come, When all together reckon'd up, to a small talent's sum.

And it is as the very extravagance of expense that he has named a talent at all. And in his Morose Man he speaks as follows:--

See how these housebreakers do sacrifice!

Bearing such beds and couches, not to please The G.o.ds, but their own selves. Incense is pious, So is the votive cake; and this the G.o.d Receives well-baked in the holy fire.