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
of the objects of their love, either with a view to do them honour, as
they adorn with crowns the vestibule of some god to do him honour: or
perhaps the offering of the crowns is made, not to the beloved objects,
but to the god Love. For thinking the beloved object the statue, as
it were, of Love, and his house the temple of Love, they, under this
idea, adorn with crowns the vestibules of those whom they love. And for
the same reason some people even sacrifice at the doors of those whom
they love. Or shall we rather say that people who fancy that they are
deprived, or who really have been deprived of the ornament of their
soul, consecrate to those who have deprived them of it, the ornament
also of their body, being bewildered by their passion, and despoiling
themselves in order to do so? And every one who is in love does this
when the object of his love is present, but when he is not present,
then he makes this offering in the public roads. On which account
Lycophronides has represented that goatherd in love, as saying—
I consecrate this rose to you,
A beautiful idea;
This cap, and eke these sandals too,
And this good hunting-spear:
For now my mind is gone astray,
Wandering another way,
Towards that girl of lovely face,
Favourite of ev'ry Grace."
[Sidenote: GARLANDS.]
10. Moreover, that most divine writer Plato, in the seventh book of his
Laws, proposes a problem having reference to crowns, which it is worth
while to solve; and these are the words of the philosopher:—"Let there
be distributions of apples and crowns to a greater and a lesser number
of people, in such a way that the numbers shall always be equal." These
are the words of Plato. But what he means is something of this sort. He
wishes to find one number of such a nature that, if divided among all
who come in to the very last, it shall give an equal number of apples
or crowns to every one. I say, then, that the number sixty will fulfil
these conditions of equality in the case of six fellow-feasters; for I
am aware that at the beginning we said that a supper party ought not
to consist of more than five. But we are as numerous as the sand of
the sea. Accordingly the number sixty, when the party is completed to
the number of six guests, will begin to be divided in this manner. The
first man came into the banqueting-room, and received sixty garlands.
He gives to the second who comes in half of them; and then each of
them have thirty. Then when a third comes in they divide the whole
sixty, so that each of them may have twenty. Again, they divide them
again in like manner at the entrance of a fourth guest, so that each
has fifteen; and when a fifth comes in they all have twelve a-piece.
And when the sixth guest arrives, they divide them again, and each
individual has ten. And in this way the equal division of the garlands
is accomplished.
11. When Democritus had said this, Ulpian, looking towards Cynulcus,
said—
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