The Deipnosophists; or, Banquet of the Learned of Athenæus, Vol. 3 (of 3)Athenaeus, of Naucratis
Philosophy
The Deipnosophists; or, Banquet of the Learned of Athenæus, Vol. 3 (of 3)
Athenaeus, of Naucratis
Civilization, Greco-Roman; Dinners and dining -- Greece; Greece -- Social life and customs; Homosexuality -- Greece
_A._ Would you drink Thasian wine?
_B._ No doubt, if any one
Fills me a goblet with it.
_A._ Then what think you
Of almonds?
_B._ I feel very friendly to them,
They mingle well with honey.
_A._ If a man
Should bring you honied cheesecakes?
_B._ I should eat them,
And swallow down an egg or two besides.
And in his Things resembling one another, he says,—
Then he introduced a dance, and after that he served up
A second course, provided well with every kind of dainty.
And Amphis, in his Gynæcomania, says,—
_A._ Did you e'er hear of what they call a ground[93] life?
. . . . . . . . . . . 'tis clearly
Cheesecakes, sweet wine, eggs, cakes of sesame,
Perfumes, and crowns, and female flute-players.
_B._ Castor and Pollux! why you have gone through
The names of all the dozen gods at once.
Anaxandrides, in his Clowns, says,—
And when I had my garland on my head,
They brought in the dessert (ἡ τράπεζα), in which there were
So many dishes, that, by all the gods,
And goddesses too, I hadn't the least idea
There were so many different things i' th' house;
And never did I live so well as then.
Clearchus says in his Pandrosus,—
_A._ Have water for your hands:
_B._ By no means, thank you;
I'm very comfortable as I am.
_A._ Pray have some;
You'll be no worse at all events. Boy, water!
And put some nuts and sweetmeats on the table.
And Eubulus, in his Campylion, says,—
_A._ Now is your table loaded well with sweetmeats.
_B._ I am not always very fond of sweetmeats.
Alexis, too, says in his Polyclea, (Polyclea was the name of a
courtesan,)—
[Sidenote: DESSERT.]
He was a clever man who first invented
The use of sweetmeats; for he added thus
A pleasant lengthening to the feast, and saved men
From unfill'd mouths and idle jaws unoccupied.
And in his Female Likeness (but this same play is attributed also to
Antidotus) he says,—
_A._ I am not one, by Æsculapius!
To care excessively about my supper;
I'm fonder of dessert.
_B._ 'Tis very well.
_A._ For I do hear that sweetmeats are in fashion,
For suitors when they're following....
_B._ Their brides,—
_A._ To give them cheesecakes, hares, and thrushes too,
These are the things I like; but pickled fish
And soups and sauces I can't bear, ye gods!
But Apion and Diodorus, as Pamphilus tells us, assert that the
sweetmeats brought in after supper are also called ἐπαίκλεια.
50. Ephippus, in his Ephebi, enumerating the different dishes in
fashion for dessert, says,—
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