The Deipnosophists; or, Banquet of the Learned of Athenæus, Vol. 2 (of 3)Athenaeus, of Naucratis
Philosophy
The Deipnosophists; or, Banquet of the Learned of Athenæus, Vol. 2 (of 3)
Athenaeus, of Naucratis
Civilization, Greco-Roman; Dinners and dining -- Greece; Greece -- Social life and customs; Homosexuality -- Greece
These are the animals which the earth produces,
Which you will have from me: the ox of th' herd,
The goat which roves the woods, the chamois which
Loves the high mountain tops, the fearless ram,
The hog, the boar, the sucking-pig besides,
And hares, and kids . . . .
Green cheese, dry cheese, and cut and pounded cheese,
Scraped cheese, and chopp'd cheese, and congeal'd cheese
67. And Mnesimachus, in his Horse-breeder, provides the following
things for dinner—
Come forth, O Manes, from the chamber
Deck'd with the lofty cypress roof;
Go to the market, to the statues
Of Maia's son, where all the chiefs
Of the tribes meet, and seek the troop
Of their most graceful pupils, whom
Phidon is teaching how to mount
Their horses, and dismount from them.
I need not tell you now their names.
Go; tell them that the fish is cold,
The wine is hot, the pastry dry,
The bread dry, too, and hard. The chops
Are burnt to pieces, and the meat
Taken from out the brine and dish'd.
The sausages are served up too;
So is the tripe, and rich black-puddings.
Those who're indoors are all at table,
The wine cups all are quickly drain'd,
The pledge goes round; and nought remains
But the lascivious drunken cordax.[34]
The young men all are waxing wanton,
And ev'rything's turn'd upside down.
Remember what I say, and bear
My words in mind.
Why stand you gaping like a fool?
Look here, and just repeat the message
Which I've just told you; do,—I will
Repeat it o'er again all through.
Bid them come now, and not delay,
Nor vex the cook who's ready for them.
For all the fish is long since boil'd,
And all the roast meat's long since cold.
And mention o'er each separate dish;—
Onions and olives, garlic too,
Cucumbers, cabbages, and broth,
Fig-leaves, and herbs, and tunny cutlets,
Glanis and rhinè, shark and conger,
A phyxicinus whole, a tunny,
A coracinus whole, a thunnis,
A small anchovy, and a tench,
A spindle-fish, a tail of dog-fish,
A carcharias and a torpedo;
A sea-frog, lizard, and a perch,
A trichias and a phycis too,
A brinchus, mullet, and sea-cuckoo.
A turtle, and besides a lamprey,
A phagrus, lebias, and grey mullet,
A sparus, and æolias,
A swallow, and the bird of Thrace,
A sprat, a squid, a turbot, and
Dracænides, and polypi,
A cuttle-fish, an orphus too;
A crab, likewise an escharus,
A needle-fish, a fine anchovy,
Some cestres, scorpions, eels, and loaves.
And loads of other meat, beyond
My calculation or my mention.
Dishes of goose, and pork, and beef,
And lamb, and mutton, goat and kid;
Of poultry, ducks and partridges,
And jays, and foxes. And what follows
Will be a downright sight to see,
So many good things there will be.
And all the slaves through all the house
Are busy baking, roasting, dressing,
And plucking, cutting, beating, boiling,
And laughing, playing, leaping, feasting,
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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