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
85. And that it used to be served up after all the rest of the banquet
was over, is plainly stated by Nicostratus, in his Man expelled. And it
is a cook who is relating how beautiful and well arranged the banquet
was which he prepared; and having first of all related what the dinner
and supper were composed of, and then mentioning the third meal,
proceeds to say—
Well done, my men,—extremely well! but now
I will arrange the rest, and then the ματτύη;
So that I think the man himself will never
Find fault with us again.
And in his Cook he says—
Thrium and candylus he never saw,
Or any of the things which make a ματτύη.
And some one else says—
They brought, instead of a ματτύη, some paunch,
And tender pettitoes, and tripe, perhaps.
But Dionysius, in his Man shot at with Javelins (and it is a cook who
is represented speaking), says—
So that sometimes, when I a ματτύη
Was making for them, in haste would bring
(More haste worse speed)....[108]
Philemon, also, in his Poor Woman—
When one can lay aside one's load, all day
Making and serving out rich μάττυαι.
But Molpis the Lacedæmonian says that what the Spartans call ἐπαίκλεια,
that is to say, the second course, which is served up when the main
part of the supper is over, is called μάττυαι by other tribes of
Greece. And Menippus the Cynic, in his book called Arcesilaus, writes
thus:—"There was a drinking-party formed by a certain number of
revellers, and a Lacedæmonian woman ordered the ματτύη to be served
up; and immediately some little partridges were brought in, and some
roasted geese, and some delicious cheesecakes."
But such a course as this the Athenians used to call ἐπιδόρπισμα, and
the Dorians ἐπάϊκλον; but most of the Greeks called it τὰ ἐπίδειπνα.
And when all this discussion about the ματτύη was over, they thought it
time to depart; for it was already evening. And so we parted.
FOOTNOTES.
[61] Odyss. xxi. 293.
[62] Diomea was a small village in Attica, where there was a
celebrated temple of Hercules, and where a festival was kept in his
honour: Aristophanes says—
Ὅποθ' Ἡράκλεια τὰ 'ν Διομείοισ γίγνεται.—Ranæ, 651.
[63] Because slaves (and the actors were usually slaves) had only names
of one, or at most two syllables, such as Davus, Geta, Dromo, Mus.
[64] Τήνδε μοῦσαν, this Muse; τήνδ' ἐμοῦσαν,
this woman vomiting.
[65] The text here is corrupt and hopeless.—_Schweig._
[66] This passage, again, is hopelessly corrupt. "Merum Augeæ
stabulum."—_Casaub._
[67] There is no account of what this feast of Swings was.
The Greek is ἔωραι. Some have fancied it may have had some
connexion with the images of Bacchus (oscilla) hung up in the trees.
See Virg. G. ii. 389.
[68] There is probably some corruption in this passage: it is
clearly unintelligible as it stands.
[69] Σκευοποιὸς, a maker of masks, etc. for the stage; μιμητὴς, an
actor.
[70] See Iliad, ix. 186.
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