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
And Rhodophon reproached him with his passion for women, and with
his incontinence, abstaining from no sort of abuse." And Theopompus,
in the sixteenth book of his Histories, speaking of another Rhodian,
says—"When Hegesilochus had become perfectly useless, partly from
drunkenness and gambling, and when he had utterly lost all credit among
the Rhodians, and when instead his whole course of life was found fault
with by his own companions and by the rest of the citizens." . . . . .
Then he goes on to speak of the oligarchy which he established with
his friends, saying—"And they violated a great number of nobly-born
women, wives of the first men in the state; and they corrupted no small
number of boys and young men; and they carried their profligacy to such
a height that they even ventured to play with one another at dice for
the free-born women, and they made a bargain which of the nobly-born
matrons he who threw the lowest number on the dice should bring to
the winner for the purpose of being ravished; allowing no exception
at all; but the loser was bound to bring her to the place appointed,
in whatever way he could, using persuasion, or even force if that was
necessary. And some of the other Rhodians also played at dice in this
fashion; but the most frequent and open of all the players in this way
was Hegesilochus, who aspired to become the governor of the city."
[Sidenote: EVILS OF DRUNKENNESS.]
And Antheas the Lindian, who claimed to be considered a relation of
Cleobulus the philosopher, as Philodemus reports, in his treatise
on the Sminthians in Rhodes, being an oldish man, and very rich,
and being also an accomplished poet, celebrated the festivals in
honour of Bacchus all his life, wearing a dress such as is worn by
the votaries of Bacchus, and maintaining a troop of fellow-revellers.
And he was constantly leading revels both day and night; and he was
the first man who invented that kind of poetry which depends upon
compound words, which Asopodorus the Phliasian afterwards employed in
his conversational Iambics. And he too used to write comedies and many
other pieces in the same style of poetry, which he used to recite to
his phallus-bearers.
64. When Ulpian had heard all this he said,—Tell me, my good Pontianus,
says he, in what author does the word πάροινος occur? And he replied—
You will undo me with your questions . .
(as the excellent Agatho says)—
. . . . and your new fashion,
Always talking at an unseasonable time.
But since it is decided that we are to be responsible to you for every
word, Antiphanes, in his Lydian, has said—
A Colchian man drunken and quarrelsome (πάροινος).
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