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
And Hicesius says, in the second book of his treatise on Matter,—"Of
perfumes, some are rubbed on, and some are poured on. Now, the perfume
made from roses is suitable for drinking parties, and so is that made
from myrtles and from apples; and this last is good for the stomach,
and useful for lethargic people. That made from vine-leaves is good
for the stomach, and has also the effect of keeping the mind clear.
Those extracted from sampsychum and ground thyme are also well suited
to drinking parties; and so is that extract of crocus which is not
mixed with any great quantity of myrrh. The στακτὴ, also, is
well suited for drinking parties; and so is the spikenard: that made
from fenugreek is sweet and tender; while that which comes from white
violets is fragrant, and very good for the digestion."
Theophrastus, also, in his treatise on Scents, says, "that some
perfumes are made of flowers; as, for instance, from roses, and white
violets, and lilies, which last is called σούσινον. There are also
those which are extracted from mint and ground thyme, and gopper, and
the crocus; of which the best is procured in Ægina and Cilicia. Some,
again, are made of leaves, as those made from myrrh and the œnanthe;
and the wild vine grows in Cyprus, on the mountains, and is very
plentiful; but no perfume is made of that which is found in Greece,
because that has no scent. Some perfumes, again, are extracted from
roots; as is that made from the iris, and from spikenard, and from
marjoram, and from zedoary."
40. Now, that the ancients were very much addicted to the use of
perfumes, is plain from their knowing to which of our limbs each
unguent was most suitable. Accordingly, Antiphanes, in his Thoricians,
or The Digger, says—
_A._ He really bathes—
_B._ What then?
_A._ In a large gilded tub, and steeps his feet
And legs in rich Egyptian unguents;
His jaws and breasts he rubs with thick palm-oil,
And both his arms with extract sweet of mint;
His eyebrows and his hair with marjoram,
His knees and neck with essence of ground thyme.
And Cephisodorus, in his Trophonius, says—
_A._ And now that I may well anoint my body,
Buy me some unguents, I beseech you, Xanthias,
Of roses made and irises. Buy, too,
Some oil of baccaris for my legs and feet.
_B._ You stupid wretch! Shall I buy baccaris,
And waste it on your worthless feet?
Anaxandrides, too, in his Protesilaus, says—
Unguents from Peron, which but yesterday
He sold to Melanopus,—very costly,
Fresh come from Egypt; which he uses now
To anoint the feet of vile Callistratus.
And Theopompus also mentions this perfumer, Peron, in his Admetus, and
in the Hedychares. Antiphanes, too, says in his Antea—
I left the man in Peron's shop, just now,
Dealing for ointments; when he has agreed,
He'll bring you cinnamon and spikenard essence.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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