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
59. But Diodorus Siculus, in his books On the Library, says that "the
citizens of Agrigentum prepared for Gelon a very costly swimming-bath,
being seven stadia in circumference and twenty cubits deep; and water
was introduced into it from the rivers and fountains, and it served for
a great pond to breed fish in, and supplied great quantities of fish
for the luxury and enjoyment of Gelon. A great number of swans also,"
as he relates, "flew into it; so that it was a very beautiful sight.
But afterwards the lake was destroyed by becoming filled with mud."
And Duris, in the tenth book of his History of Agathocles, says that
near the city of Hipponium a grove is shown of extraordinary beauty,
excellently well watered; in which there is also a place called the
Horn of Amalthea; and that this grove was made by Gelon. But Silenus
of Calatia, in the third book of his History of Sicily, says that
near Syracuse there is a garden laid out in a most expensive manner,
which is called Mythus, in which Hiero the king used to transact his
business. And the whole country about Panormus,[5] in Sicily, is called
The Garden, because it is full of highly-cultivated trees, as Callias
tells us in the eighth book of his History of Agathocles.
And Posidonius, in the eighth book of his History, speaking of
Damophilus the Sicilian, by whose means it was that the Servile war
was stirred up, and saying that he was a slave to his luxury, writes
as follows:—"He therefore was a slave to luxury and debauchery.
And he used to drive through the country on a four-wheeled chariot,
taking with him horses, and servants of great personal beauty, and
a disorderly crowd of flatterers and military boys running around
his chariot. And ultimately he, with his whole family, perished in a
disgraceful manner, being treated with the most extreme violence and
insult by his own slaves."
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.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account