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
53. And in the thirty-first book of his Histories, the same Polybius
tells us "that when Antiochus was celebrating some public games at
Antioch, he invited all the Greeks and any of the multitude who
chose to come to the spectacle. And when a great many people came,
he anointed them all in the gymnasia with ointment of saffron, and
cinnamon, and nard, and amaracus, and lilies, out of golden vessels:
and then, inviting them all to a feast, he filled sometimes a thousand
and sometimes fifteen hundred triclinia with the most expensive
preparations; and he himself personally attended to waiting on the
guests. For, standing at the entrance, he introduced some, and others
he placed upon the couches; and he himself marshalled the servants who
brought in the different courses; and, walking about among the guests,
at times he sat down in one place, and at times he lay down in another.
And sometimes he would put down what he was eating, and at other times
he would lay down his cup, and jump up, and change his place, and go
all round the party, standing up himself, and pledging different people
at different times; and then, mingling with the musicians, he would be
brought in by the actors, entirely covered up, and laid down on the
ground, as if he had been one of the actors himself; and then, when
the music gave the signal, the king would leap up, and dance and sport
among the actors, so that they were all ashamed. To such absurdities
does a want of education, when joined with drunkenness, reduce
miserable men." And his namesake, the Antiochus who carried on war in
Media against Arsaces, was very fond of drinking; as Posidonius of
Apamea relates in the sixteenth book of his History. Accordingly, when
he was slain, he says that Arsaces, when he buried him, said—"Your
courage and your drunkenness have ruined you, O Antiochus; for you
hoped that, in your great cups, you would be able to drink up the
kingdom of Arsaces."
54. But the Antiochus who was surnamed the Great, who was subdued by
the Romans (as Polybius relates in his twentieth book), having arrived
at Chalcis, in Euboea, celebrated a marriage when he was fifty years
of age; and after he had undertaken two most enormous and important
affairs, namely, the liberation of the Greeks (as he himself professed)
and the war against the Romans. At all events, he, being smitten with
love for a damsel of Chalcis, was very anxious to marry her at the very
time that he was engaged in this war, being a man very fond of drinking
and delighting in drunkenness. And she was the daughter of Cleophanes,
one of the nobles, and superior to all the maidens of her country
in beauty. Accordingly, he celebrated his marriage in Chalcis, and
remained there all the winter, not once giving the smallest thought to
the important affairs which he had in hand. And he gave the damsel the
name of Euboea. Accordingly, being defeated
[Sidenote: DEMETRIUS.]
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.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account