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
46. With respect to Kidney Beans.--The Lacedæmonians in those suppers of
theirs, which they call κοπίδες, give as sweetmeats, dry figs and
beans, and green kidney beans. At least this is the statement of Polemo;
and Epicharmus says--
Roast some kidney beans quickly, for Bacchus is fond of them.
And Demetrius says--
A fig, or kidney bean, or some such thing.
47. With respect to Olives. Eupolis says--
Cuttle-fish, and olives fallen from the tree.
And these the Romans call dryptæ. But Diphilus the Siphnian writer says
that olives contain very little nourishment, and are apt to give
headaches; and that the black ones are still worse for the stomach, and
make the head feel heavy; but that those which we call κολυμβάδες, that is
to say, preserved in pickle, are better for the stomach, and give
strength to the bowels. But that the black when crushed are better for
the stomach. Aristophanes too makes mention of crushed olives in "The
Islands," saying--
Bring some crushed olives;
and in another place he says--
Crush'd olives and pickled olives are not the same thing;
and a few lines after--
For it is better that they should be crush'd than pickled.
And Archestratus says, in his Gastronomy--
Let wrinkled olives, fallen from the tree,
Be placed before you.
And Hermippus says--
Be sure that for the future you remember
The ever-glorious Marathon for good,
When you do all from time to time add μάραθον (that is to say,
fennel) to your pickled olives.
And Philemon says--"The inferior olives are called πιτυρίδες, and the
dark-coloured are called στεμφυλίδες." And Callimachus, in his "Hecale,"
gives a regular catalogue of the different kinds of olive--
Γεργέριμος and πίτυρις, and the white olive, which does not
Become ripe till autumn, which is to float in wine.
And according to Didymus, they called both olives and figs which had
fallen to the ground of their own accord, γεργέριμοι. Besides, without
mentioning the name "olive," the fruit itself was called by that name
δρυπετὴς, without any explanatory addition. Teleclides says--
He urged me to remain, and eat with him
Some δρυπετεῖς, and some maize, and have a chat with him.
But the Athenians called bruised olives στέμφυλα; and what we call στέμφυλα
they called βρύτεα, that is to say, the dregs of the grapes after they
have been pressed. And the word βρῦτος is derived from βότρυς, a bunch of
grapes.
48. With respect to Radishes.--The Greek name ῥαφανὶς is derived from
ῥᾳδίως φαίνεσθαι, because they quickly appear above ground; and in the
plural the Attic writers either shorten or lengthen the penultima at
pleasure. Cratinus writes--
Ταῖς ῥαφανῖσι δοκεῖ, it is like radishes, but not like other
vegetables;
and Eupolis, on the other hand, says--
Ῥαφανίδες ἄπλυτοι, unwashed radishes and cuttle-fish.
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