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
Accordingly, men using these ligatures as assistants in drinking, used
to bind their heads with whatever came in their way. And first of all,
they took garlands of ivy, which offered itself, as it were, of its own
accord, and was very plentiful, and grew everywhere, and was pleasant
to look upon, shading the forehead with its green leaves and bunches of
berries, and bearing a good deal of tension, so as to admit of being
bound tight across the brow, and imparting also a certain degree of
coolness without any stupifying smell accompanying it. And it seems to
me that this is the reason why men have agreed to consider the garland
of ivy sacred to Bacchus, implying by this that the inventor of wine
is also the defender of men from all the inconveniences which arise
from the use of it. And from thence, regarding chiefly pleasure, and
considering utility and the comfort of the relief from the effects
of drunkenness of less importance, they were influenced chiefly by
what was agreeable to the sight or to the smell. And therefore they
adopted crowns of myrtle, which has exciting properties, and which also
represses any rising of the fumes of wine; and garlands of roses, which
to a certain extent relieve headache, and also impart some degree of
coolness; and garlands also of bay leaves, which they think are not
wholly unconnected with drinking parties. But garlands of white lilies,
which have an effect on the head, and wreaths of amaracus, or of any
other flower or herb which has any tendency to produce heaviness or
torpid feelings in the head, must be avoided."
[Sidenote: GARLANDS.]
And Apollodorus, in his treatise on Perfumes and Garlands, has said the
same thing in the very same words. And this, my friends, is enough to
say on this subject.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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