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
78. But it was the fashion at Athens to anoint even the feet of those
men who were very luxurious with ointment, a custom which Cephisodorus
alludes to in his Trophonius—
Then to anoint my body go and buy
Essence of lilies, and of roses too,
I beg you, Xanthias; and also buy
For my poor feet some baccaris.
And Eubulus, in his Sphingocarion, says—
* * * *
. . . . Lying full softly in a bed-chamber;
Around him were most delicate cloaks, well suited
For tender maidens, soft, voluptuous;
Such as those are, who well perfumed and fragrant
With amaracine oils, do rub my feet.
But the author of the Procris gives an account of what care ought to be
taken of Procris's dog, speaking of a dog as if he were a man—
_A._ Strew, then, soft carpets underneath the dog,
And place beneath cloths of Milesian wool;
And put above them all a purple rug.
_B._ Phœbus Apollo!
_A._ Then in goose's milk
Soak him some groats.
_B._ O mighty Hercules!
_A._ And with Megallian oils anoint his feet.
And Antiphanes, in his Alcestis, represents some one as anointing his
feet with oil; but in his Mendicant Priest of Cybele, he says—
He bade the damsel take some choice perfumes
From the altar of the goddess, and then, first,
Anoint his feet with it, and then his knees:
But the first moment that the girl did touch
His feet, he leaped up.
And in his Zacynthus he says—
Have I not, then, a right to be fond of women,
And to regard them all with tender love,
For is it not a sweet and noble thing
To be treated just as you are; and to have
One's feet anointed by fair delicate hands?
And in his Thoricians he says—
He bathes completely—but what is't he does?
He bathes his hands and feet, and well anoints them
With perfume from a gold and ample ewer.
And with a purple dye he smears his jaws
And bosom; and his arms with oil of thyme;
His eyebrows and his hair with marjoram;
His knees and neck with essence of wild ivy.
And Anaxandrides, in his Protesilaus, says—
Ointment from Peron, which this fellow sold
But yesterday to Melanopus here,
A costly bargain fresh from Egypt, which
Anoints to-day Callistratus's feet.
And Teleclides, in his Prytanes, alludes to the lives of the citizens,
even in the time of Themistocles, as having been very much devoted to
luxury. And Cratinus in his Chirones, speaking of the luxury of the
former generations, says—
There was a scent of delicate thyme besides,
And roses too, and lilies by my ear;
And in my hands I held an apple, and
A staff, and thus I did harangue the people.
[Sidenote: VENUS CALLIPYGE.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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