The Deipnosophists; or, Banquet of the Learned of Athenæus, Vol. 1 (of 3) — John Shaqi
The Deipnosophists; or, Banquet of the Learned of Athenæus, Vol. 1 (of 3)Athenaeus, of Naucratis
General
The Deipnosophists; or, Banquet of the Learned of Athenæus, Vol. 1 (of 3)
Athenaeus, of Naucratis
Civilization, Greco-Roman; Dinners and dining -- Greece; Greece -- Social life and customs; Homosexuality -- Greece
36. Rome may fairly be called the nation of the world. And he will not
be far out who pronounces the city of the Romans an epitome of the whole
earth; for in it you may see every other city arranged collectively, and
many also separately; for instance, there you may see the golden city of
the Alexandrians, the beautiful metropolis of Antioch, the surpassing
beauty of Nicomedia; and besides all these that most glorious of all the
cities which Jupiter has ever displayed, I mean Athens. And not only one
day, but all the days in an entire year, would be too short for a man
who should attempt to enumerate all the cities which might be enumerated
as discernible in that uranopolis of the Romans, the city of Rome; so
numerous are they.--For indeed some entire nations are settled there, as
the Cappadocians, the Scythians, the people of Pontus, and many others.
And all these nations, being so to say the entire population of the
world, called the dancer who was so famous in our time Memphis,
comparing him, on account of the elegance of his movements, to the most
royal and honourable of cities; a city of which Bacchylides sings--
Memphis, which winter dares not to assail,
And lotus-crowned Nile.
As for the Pythagorean philosophy, Athenæus explains that to us, and
shows us everything in silence more intelligibly than others who
undertake to teach the arts which require talking.
37. Now of tragic dancing, as it was called, such as it existed in his
time, Bathyllus of Alexandria was the first introducer; whom Seleucus
describes as having been a legitimate dancer. This Bathyllus, according
to the account of Aristonicus, and Pylades too, who has written a
treatise on dancing, composed the Italian dance from the comic one which
was called κόρδαξ, and from the tragic dance which was called ἐμμέλεια, and
from the Satyric dance which was called σίκιννις, (from which also the
Satyrs were called σικιννισταί,) the inventor of which was a barbarian named
Sicinnus, though some say that Sicinnus was a Cretan. Now, the dance
invented by Pylades was stately, pathetic, and laborious; but that of
Bathyllus was in a merrier style; for he added to his a kind of ode to
Apollo. But Sophocles, in addition to being eminent for personal beauty,
was very accomplished in music and dancing, having been instructed in
those arts while a boy by Lamprus, and after the naval victory of
Salamis, he having no clothes on, but only being anointed with oil,
danced round the trophy erected on that occasion to the music of the
lyre, but some say that he had his tunic on; and when he exhibited his
Thamyris he himself played the harp; and he also played at ball with
great skill when he exhibited his Nausicaa. And Socrates the Wise was
very fond of the dance Memphis; and as he was often caught dancing, as
Xenophon relates, he said to his friends that dancing was a gymnastic
exercise for every limb; for the ancients used the word ὀρχέομαι for every
sort of motion and agitation.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account