Volume 2 / Book 11 — BOOK XI. (continued 2)

Perhaps large cups (ποτήρια) immoderately drain'd, And cymbia full of strong unmixed wine, Have bow'd your heads, and check'd your usual spirit.

And Alexis, in his Knight, says—

A. Had then those cymbia the faces of damsels Carved on them in pure gold? B. Indeed they had. A. Wretched am I, and wholly lost . . . .

DRINKING-CUPS.

64. But Eratosthenes, in his letter addressed to Ageton the Lacedæmonian, says, that the cymbium is a vessel of the shape of the cyathus, writing thus—"But these men marvel how a man who had not got a cyathus, but only a cymbium, had, besides that, also a phiale. Now it seems to me, that he had one for the use of men, but the other for the purpose of doing honour to the Gods. And at that time they never used the cyathus nor the cotyla. For they used to employ, in the sacrifices of the Gods, a crater, not made of silver nor inlaid with precious stones, but made of Coliad clay. And as often as they replenished this, pouring a libation to the Gods out of the phiale, they then poured out wine to all the company in order, bailing out the newly-mixed wine in a cymbium, as they do now among us at the phiditia. And if ever they wished to drink more, they also placed on the table beside them the cups called cotyli, which are the most beautiful of all cups, and the most convenient to drink out of. And these, too, were all made of the same earthenware." But when Ephippus says, in his Ephebi—

Chæremon brings no culices to supper, Nor did Euripides with cymbia fight,

he does not mean the tragic poet, but some namesake of his, who was either very fond of wine, or who had an evil reputation on some other account, as Antiochus of Alexandria says, in his treatise on the Poets, who are ridiculed by the comic writers of the Middle Comedy. For the circumstance of cymbia being introduced into entertainments, and being used to fight with in drunken quarrels, bears on each point. And Anaxandrides mentions him in his Nereids—

Give him a choeus then of wine, O messmate, And let him bring his cymbium, and be A second Euripides to-day.

And Ephippus, in his Similitudes, or Obeliaphori, says—

But it were well to learn the plays of Bacchus, And all the verses which Demophoon Made upon Cotys; and, at supper-time, To spout the eclogues of the wise Theorus. * * * * * *

And let Euripides, that banquet-hunter, Bring me his cymbia.

And that the κύμβη is the name of a boat too we are shown by Sophocles, who, in his Andromeda, says—

Come you on horseback hither, or in a boat (κύμβαισι)?

And Apollodorus, in his Paphians, says there is a kind of drinking-cup called κύμβα.

65. Then there is the κύπελλον. Now, is this the same as the ἄλεισον and the δέπας, and different from them only in name?

Then rising, all with goblets (κυπέλλοις) in their hands, The peers and leaders of the Achaian bands Hail'd their return.

Or was their form different also? For this kind has not the character of the amphicupellum, as the depas and aleison have, but is only of a curved form. For the κύπελλον is so called from its curved shape, as also is the ἀμφικύπελλον. Or is it so called as being in shape like a milk-pail (πέλλα), only contracted a little, so as to have an additional curve? And the word ἀμφικύπελλα is equivalent to ἀμφίκυρτα, being so called from its handles, because they are of a curved shape. For the poet calls this cup—

Golden, two-handled.

But Antimachus, in the fifth book of his Thebais, says—

And heralds, going round among the chiefs, Gave each a golden cup (κύπελλον) with labour wrought.

And Silenus says, the κύπελλα are a kind of cup resembling the σκύφα, as Nicander the Colophonian says—

The swineherd gave a goblet (κύπελλον) full to each.

And Eumolpus says that it is a kind of cup, so called from its being of a curved shape (κυφόν). But Simaristus says that this is a name given by the Cyprians to a cup with two handles, and by the Cretans to a kind of cup with two handles, and to another with four. And Philetas says that the Syracusans give the name of κύπελλον to the fragments of barley-cakes and loaves which are left on the tables.

There is also the κύμβη. Philemon, in his Attic Dialect, calls it “a species of κύλιξ.” And Apollodorus, in his treatise on Etymologies, says, that the Paphians call a drinking-cup κύμβα.

DRINKING-CUPS

66. Then there is the κωθων, which is mentioned by Xenophon, in the first book of his Cyropædia. But Critias, in his Constitution of the Lacedæmonians, writes as follows—"And other small things besides which belong to human life; such as the Lacedæmonian shoes, which are the best, and the Lacedæmonian garments, which are the most pleasant to wear, and the most useful. There is also the Lacedæmonian κωθων, which is a kind of drinking-cup most convenient when one is on an expedition, and the most easily carried in a knapsack. And the reason why it is so peculiarly well-suited to a soldier is, because a soldier often is forced to drink water which is not very clean; and, in the first place, this cup is not one in which it can be very easily seen what one is drinking; and, secondly, as its brim is rather curved inwards, it is likely to retain what is not quite clean in it." And Polemo, in his work addressed to Adæus and Antigonus, says that the Lacedæmonians used to use vessels made of earthenware; and proceeds to say further—"And this was a very common practice among the ancients, such as is now adopted in some of the Greek tribes. At Argos, for instance, in the public banquets, and in Lacedæmon, they drink out of cups made of earthenware at the festivals, and in the feasts in honour of victory, and at the marriage-feasts of their maidens. But at other banquets and at their Phiditia[66] they use small casks." And Archilochus also mentions the cothon as a kind of cup, in his Elegies, where he says—

But come now, with your cothon in your hand, Move o'er the benches of the speedy ship, And lift the covers from the hollow casks, And drain the rosy wine down to the dregs; For while we're keeping such a guard as this, We shan't be able to forego our wine;

as if the κύλιξ were here called κώθων. Aristophanes, in his Knights, says—

They leapt into th' horse-transports gallantly, Buying cothones; but some bought instead Garlic and onions.

And Heniochus, in his Gorgons, says—

Let a man give me wine to drink at once, Taking that capital servant of the throat, The ample cothon,—fire-wrought, and round, Broad-ear'd, wide-mouth'd.

And Theopompus, in his Female Soldiers, says—

Shall I, then, drink from out a wryneck'd cothon, Breaking my own neck in the hard attempt?

And Alexis, in his Spinners, says—

And then he hurl'd a four-pint cothon at me, An ancient piece of plate, an heirloom too.

And it is from this cup that they call those who drink a great deal of unmixed wine (ὐκράτον)ἀκρτοκώθωνες, as Hyperides does in his oration against Demosthenes. But Callixenus, in the fourth book of his History of Alexandria, giving an account of the procession of Ptolemy Philadelphus, and giving a catalogue of a number of drinking-cups, adds these words: "And two cothons, each holding two measures of wine."

67. But with respect to drinking, (which from the name of this kind of cup is sometimes called in the verb κωθωνίζομαι, and in the substantive κωθωνισμὸς,) that occasional drinking is good for the health is stated by Mnesitheus the Athenian physician, in his letter on the subject of Drinking (κωθωνισμὸς), where he speaks as follows: "It happens that those who drink a great quantity of unmixed wine at banquets often receive great injury from so doing, both in their bodies and minds; but still occasional hard drinking (κωθωνιζεσθαι) for some days appears to me to produce a certain purging of the body and a certain relaxation of the mind. For there are some little roughnesses on the surface, arising from daily banquets; now for getting rid of these there is no easier channel than the wine. But of all modes of purging, that which is caused by hard drinking is the most advantageous; for then the body is as it were washed out by the wine; for the wine is both liquid and heating: but the wine which we secrete is harsh; accordingly, fullers use it as a cleanser when they are cleaning garments. But when you are drinking hard, you should guard against three things,—against drinking bad wine, against drinking unmixed wine, and against eating sweetmeats while you are drinking. And when you have had enough, then do not go to sleep, until you have had a vomit, moderate or copious as the case may be; and when you have vomited, then go to sleep after having taken a slight bath. And if you are not able to empty yourself sufficiently, then you must take a more copious bath, and lie down in the bath in exceedingly warm water." But Polemo, in the fifth book of his treatise addressed to Antigonus and Adæus, says—"Bacchus being full grown, sitting on a rock, and on his left hand a satyr, bald, holding in his right hand a cothon of striped colours, with one handle."

DRINKING-CUPS

68. There is also the labronia. This is a species of Persian drinking-cup, so named from the eagerness (λαβρότης) with which people drink: and its shape is wide, and its size large, and it has large handles. Menander, in his Fisherman, says—

We are abundantly well off at this time For golden cylinders; and all those robes From Persia, all those quaintly carved works, Are now within, and richly-chased goblets, Figures and faces variously carved, Tragelaphi and labronia.

And in his Philadelphi he says—

And now the drinking of healths began, and now Labroniæ, inlaid with precious stones, Were set upon the board; and slaves stood round With Persian fly-flappers.

And Hipparchus, in his Thais, says—

But this labronius is an omen now. O Hercules! it is a cup which weighs Of standard gold more than two hundred pieces. Just think, my friend, of this superb labronius.

And Diphilus, in his Pithraustes, giving a catalogue of other kinds of cups, says—

A. The tragelaphus, and likewise the pristis, The batiace, and labronius too. B. These seem to me to be the names of slaves. A. By no means; they are all the names of cups; And this labronius is worth twenty pieces.

And Didymus says that it resembles the bombylium and the batiacium.

69. There is also the lacæna. And this is a kind of cup so called either from the potter, as the Attic vessels usually are, or from the form which is usual in that district, on the same principle as the thericlean cups derive their name. Aristophanes, in his Daitaleis, says—

He gladly shared the Sybaritic feasts, And drank the Chian wine from out the cups Called the lacænæ, with a cheerful look.

70. Then there is the lepaste. Some mark this word λεπαστη with an acute accent on the last syllable, like καλή; but some mark the penultima with an acute, as μεγάλη. And this kind of cup derived its name from those who spend a great deal of money on their drinking and intemperance, whom men call λάφυκται. Aristophanes, in his Peace, says—

What will you do, then, when you've drunk One single lepaste full of new wine?

And it is from this word λεπαστὴ that the verb λάπτω comes, which means to swallow all at once, having a meaning just opposite to the bombylium; for the same author says, somewhere or other,—

You've drunk up all my blood, O king, my master!

which is as much as to say, you have utterly drained me. And in his Gerytades he says—

But there was then a festival: a slave Went round, and brought us all a lepaste, And pour'd in wine dark as the deep-blue sea;

but the poet means here to indicate the depth of the cup. And Antiphanes, in his Æsculapius, says—

He took an agèd woman, who had been A long time ill, sick of a ling'ring fever, And bruising some small root, and putting it Into a noble-sized lepaste there, He made her drink it all, to cure her sickness.

Philyllius, in his Auge, says—

For she was always in the company Of young men, who did nothing else but drink; And with a lot of aged women too, Who always do delight in good-sized cups.

And Theopompus says in his Pamphila—

A sponge, a dish, a feather; and, besides, A stout lepaste, which, when full, they drain To the Good Deity, raising loud his praises, As chirps a grasshopper upon a tree.

And in his Mede he says—

Callimachus, 'tis stated, once did charm The Grecian heroes by some promised gain, When he was seeking for their aid and friendship. The only thing he fail'd in was th' attempt To gain the poor, thin-bodied Rhadamanthus Lysander with a cothon, ere he gave him A full lepaste.

But Amerias says that the ladle with which the wine is poured into the cups is called lepaste; but Aristophanes and Apollodorus say that it is a sort of cup of the class κύλιξ. Pherecrates, in his Crapatalli, says—

DRINKING-CUPS.

If there was one of the spectators thirsty, He would a full lepaste seize, and drain The whole contents.

But Nicander the Colophonian says that "the Dolopians give the name of λεπαστὴ to the κύλιξ; but Lycophron, in the ninth book of his treatise on Comedy, quoting this passage of Pherecrates, himself also asserts the lepaste to be kind of κύλιξ; but Moschus, in his Interpretation of Rhodiat Words, says that it is an earthenware vessel resembling those which are called ptomatides, but flatter and wider: but Artemidorus, the pupil of Aristophanes, says that it is some sort of drinking-cup. And Apollophanes, in his Cretans, says—

And the lepasta, fill'd with fragrant wine, Shall fill me with delight the livelong day.

And Theopompus says in his Pamphila—

A stout lepaste, which, well-fill'd with wine, They drain in honour of the Happy Deity, Rousing the village with their noise and clamour.

But Nicander of Thyatira says it is a larger kind of κύλιξ, quoting the expressions of Teleclides out of his Prytanes—

To drink sweet wine from a sweet-smelling lepaste.

And Hermippus, in his Fates, says—

If anything should happen to me when I've drain'd this promising lepaste, then I give my whole possessions unto Bacchus.

71. There is also the loibasium. This, too, is a κύλιξ, as Clearchus and Nicander of Thyatira say; with which they pour libations of oil over the sacred offerings and victims.

Spondeum is the name given to the cup out of which they pour libations of wine. And he says that the spondea are also called loibides, by Antimachus of Colophon.

Then we have the lesbium. This also is a kind of cup, as Hedylus proves in his Epigrams, where he says—

Callistion, contending against men In drinking, ('tis a marvellous thing, but true,) When fasting, drank three whole choeis of wine; And now her cup, fashion'd of purple glass, Adorn'd with bands fragrant of luscious wine, She offers here to you, O Paphian queen. Preserve this first, that so your walls may bear The spoils of all the love excited so.

There is also the luterium. Epigenes, in his Tomb, where he gives a catalogue of cups of different kinds, says—

Crateres, cadi, holcia, cruneia— Are they cruneia? aye, and luteria. But why need I each separate article Enumerate? for you yourself shall see them.

72. There is also the Lyciurges. The things which are so called are some kinds of phialæ, which derive their name from Lycon who made them, just as the Cononii are the cups made by Conon. Now, Demosthenes, in his Oration for the Crown, mentions Lycon; and he does so again, in his oration against Timotheus for an assault, where he says—"Two lyciurgeis phialæ." And in his speech against Timotheus he also says—"He gives Phormion, with the money, also two lyciurgeis phialæ to put away." And Didymus the grammarian says that these are cups made by Lycius. And this Lycius was a Bœotian by birth, of the town of Eleutheræ, a son of Myron the sculptor, as Polemo relates in the first book of his treatise on the Acropolis of Athens; but the grammarian is ignorant that one could never find such a formation of a word as that derived from proper names, but only from cities or nations. For Aristophanes, in his Peace, says—

The vessel is a Nαξιονργὴς cantharus;

that is to say, made at Naxos.

And Critias, in his Constitution of the Lacedæmonians, has the expressions, κλίνη μιλησιουργὴς, and again, δίφρος λησιουργής: and κλινὴ χιουργὴς, and τράπεξα ρηνιοεργής: made at Miletus, or Chios, or Rhenea. And Herodotus, in his seventh book, speaks of “two spears, λυκοεργέες.” But perhaps we ought to read λυκιοεργέες in Herodotus as we do in Demosthenes, so as to understand by the word things made in Lycia.

73. There is also the mele. This is a name given to some cups which are mentioned by Anaxippus in his Well, where he says—

And you, Syriscus, now this mele take, And bring it to her tomb—do you understand? Then pour a due libation.

There is also the metaniptrum. This is the kind of cup which is offered after dinner, when men have washed their hands. Antiphanes, in his Lamp, says—

The metaniptrum of the Fortunate God; Feasting, libations, and applause . . .

DRINKING-CUPS.

And Diphilus, in his Sappho, says—

Archilochus, receive this metaniptris, The brimming cup of Jupiter the Saviour.

But some people say that this is rather the name of the draught itself which was given to the guests after they had washed their hands; as, for instance, Seleucus says in his Dialects. But Callias, in his Cyclops, says—

Receive this metaniptris of Hygeia.

And Philetærus, in his Æsculapius, says—

He raised aloft a mighty metaniptris, Brimfull of wine, in equal portions mix'd, Repeating all the time Hygeia's name.

And Philoxenus the Dithyrambic poet, in his ode entitled the Supper, pledging some one after they have washed their hands, says—

Do you, my friend, receive This metaniptris full of wine, The sweetly dewy gift of Bacchus. Bromius gives this placid joy, To lead all men to happiness.

And Antiphanes, in his Torch, says—

Our table shall now be this barley-cake, And then this metaniptrum of Good Fortune . . . . .

Nicostratus, in his Woman returning Love, says—

Pour over him the metaniptrum of health.

74. Then there is the mastus. Apollodorus the Cyrenæan, as Pamphilus says, states that this is a name given to drinking-cups by the Paphians.

There are also the mathalides. Blæsus, in his Saturn, says—

Pour out for us now seven mathalides Full of sweet wine.

And Pamphilus says, “Perhaps this is a kind of cup, or is it only a measure like the cyathus” But Diodorus calls it a cup of the κύλιξ class.

75. There is also the manes, which is a species of cup. Nicon, in his Harp-player, says—

And some seasonably then exclaim'd, My fellow-countryman, I drink to you; And in his hand he held an earthenware manes, Of ample size, well able to contain Five cotylæ of wine; and I received it.

And both Didymus and Pamphilus have quoted these iambics. But that is also called manes which stands upon the cottabus, on which they throw the drops of wine in that game, which Sophocles, in his Salmoneus, called the brazen head, saying—

This is a contest, and a noise of kisses; I give a prize to him who gains the victory In elegantly throwing the cottabus, And striking with just aim the brazen head.

And Antiphanes, in his Birthday of Venus, says—

A. I then will show you how: whoever throws The cottabus direct against the scale (πλάστιγξ), So as to make it fall— B. What scale? Do you Mean this small dish which here is placed above? A. That is the scale—he is the conqueror. B. How shall a man know this? A. Why, if he throw So as to reach it barely, it will fall Upon the manes,[65] and there'll be great noise. B. Does manes, then, watch o'er the cottabus, As if he were a slave?

And Hermippus says in his Fates—

You'll see, says he, a cottabus rod, Wallowing round among the chaff; But the manes hears no drops,— And you the wretched scale may see Lying by the garden gate, And thrown away among the rubbish.

76. There is the Nestoris also. Now concerning the shape of the cup of Nestor, the poet speaks thus—

Next her white hand a spacious goblet brings, A goblet sacred to the Pylian kings From eldest times; the massy, sculptured vase, Glittering with golden studs, four handles grace, And curling vines, around each handle roll'd, Support two turtle-doves emboss'd in gold. On two firm bases stood the mighty bowl, Lest the topweight should make it loosely roll: A massy weight, yet heaved with ease by him, Though all too great for men of lesser limb.

Now with reference to this passage a question is raised, what is the meaning of "glittering with golden studs:"—and again, what is meant by "the massy, sculptured vase four handles grace." For Asclepiades the Myrlean, in his treatise on the Nestoris, says that the other cups have two handles.

DRINKING-CUPS.

And again, how could any one give a representation of turtle-doves feeding around each of the handles? How also can he say, "On two firm bases stood the mighty bowl?" And this also is a very peculiar statement that he makes, that he could heave it with ease, "though all too great for men of lesser limb." Now Asclepiades proposes all these difficulties, and especially raises the question about the studs, as to how we are to understand that they were fastened on. Now some say that golden studs must be fastened on a silver goblet from the outside, on the principles of embossing, as is mentioned in the case of the sceptre of Achilles—

He spoke,—and, furious, hurl'd against the ground His sceptre, starr'd with golden studs around;

for it is plain here that the studs were let into the sceptre, as clubs are strengthened with iron nails. He also says of the sword of Agamemnon—

A radiant baldric, o'er his shoulder tied, Sustain'd the sword that glitter'd at his side: Gold were the studs—a silver sheath encased The shining blade.

But Apelles the engraver, he says, showed us on some articles of Corinthian workmanship the way in which studs were put on. For there was a small projection raised up by the chisel, to form, as it were, the heads of the nails. And these studs are said by the poet to be fixed in, not because they are on the outside and are fixed by nails, but because they resemble nails driven through, and project a little on the outside, being above the rest of the surface.

77. And with respect to the handles, they tell us that this cup had indeed two handles above, like other cups; but that it had also two more on the middle of its convex surface, one on each side, of small size, resembling the Corinthian water-ewers. But Apelles explained the system of the four handles very artistically in the following manner. He said, that from one root, as it were, which is attached to the bottom of the cup, there are diverging lines extending along each handle, at no great distance from each other: and these reach up to the brim of the cup, and even rise a little above it, and are at the greatest distance from each other at the point where they are furthest from the vessel itself; but at the lower extremity, where they join the rim, they are again united. And in this way there are four handles; but this kind of ornament is not seen in every cup, but only on some, and especially on those which are called seleucides. But with respect to the question raised about the two bases, how it can be said, "On two firm bases stood the mighty bowl," some people explain that line thus:—that some cups have one bottom, the natural one, being wrought at the same time as, and of one piece with, the whole cup; as for instance, those which are called cymbia, and the phialæ, and others of the same shape as the phialæ. But some have two bottoms; as for instance, the egg-shaped cups called ooscyphia, and those called cantharia, and the seleucides, and the carchesia, and others of this kind. For they say that one of these bottoms is wrought of the same piece as the entire cup, and the other is attached to it, being sharp at the upper part, and broader towards the lower end, as a support for the cup; and this cup of Nestor's, they say, was of this fashion. But the poet may have represented this cup as having two bottoms; the one, that is to say, bearing the whole weight of the cup, and having an elevation proportionate to the height, in accordance with its greater circumference; and the other bottom might be smaller in circumference, so as to be contained within the circumference of the larger circle, where the natural bottom of the cup becomes sharper; so that the whole cup should be supported on two bases.

But Dionysius the Thracian is said to have made the cup called Nestor's, at Rhodes, all his pupils contributing silver for the work; of which Promethidas of Heraclea, explaining the way in which it was made on the system of Dionysius, says that it is a cup having its handles made side by side, as the ships with two prows have their prows made; and that turtle-doves are represented sitting on the handles; and that two small sticks, as it were, are placed under the cup as a support to it, running transversely across in a longitudinal direction, and that these are the two bottoms meant by Homer. And we may to this day see a cup of that fashion at Capua, a city of Campania, consecrated to Diana; and the Capuans assert that that is the identical cup which belonged to Nestor. And it is a silver cup, having on it the lines of Homer engraved in golden characters.

DRINKING-CUPS.

78. "But I," said the Myrlean, "have this to say about the cup:—the ancients, who first brought men over to a more civilized system of life, believing that the world was spherical, and taking their ideas of form from the visible forms of the sun and moon which they beheld, and adapting these figures to their own use in the daily concerns of life, thought it right to make all their vessels and other articles of furniture resemble, in shape at least, the heaven which surrounds everything: on which account they made tables round; and so also they made the tripods which they dedicated to the Gods, and they also made their cakes round and marked with stars, which they also call moons. And this is the origin of their giving bread the name of ἄρτος, because of all figures the circle is the one which is the most complete (ἀπήρτισται), and it is a perfect figure. And accordingly they made a drinking-cup, being that which receives moist nourishment, circular, in imitation of the shape of the world. But the cup of Nestor has something peculiar about it, for it has stars on it, which the poet compares to studs, because the stars are as round as the studs, and are, as it were, fixed in the heaven; as also Aratus says of them—

There do they shine in heaven,—ornaments Fix'd there for ever as the night comes round.

But the poet has expressed this very beautifully, attaching the golden studs to the main body of the silver cup, and so indicating the nature of the stars and of the heaven by the colour of the ornaments. For the heaven is like silver, and the stars resemble gold from their fiery colour.

79. "So after the poet had represented the cup of Nestor as studded with stars, he then proceeds on to the most brilliant of the fixed stars, by contemplating which men form their conjectures of what is to happen to them in their lives. I mean the Pleiades. For when he says δύο δὲ πελειάδες were placed in gold around each handle, he does not mean the birds called πελειάδες, that is to say, turtle-doves; and those who think that he does use πελειάδες here as synonymous with περιστεραὶ are wrong. For Aristotle says expressly that the πελειὰς is one bird, and the περιστερὰ another. But the poet calls that constellation πελειάδες which at present w call πλειάδες; by the rising of which men regulate their swing and their reaping, and the beginning of their raising their crops, and their collection of them; as Hesiod says:—

When the seven daughters of the Libyan king Rise in the heavens, then begin to mow; And when they hide their heads, then plough the ground.

And Aratus says—

Their size is small, their light but moderate, Yet are they famous over all the world; At early dawn and late at eve they roll, Jove regulating all their tranquil motions; He has ordain'd them to give signs to men, When winter, and when summer too begins,— What is the time for ploughing, what for sowing.

And accordingly it is with great appropriateness that the poet has represented the Pleiades, who indicate the time of the generation and approach to perfection of the fruits of the earth, as forming parts of the ornaments of the cup of that wise prince Nestor. For this vessel was intended to contain any kind of food, whether solid or liquid; on which account he also says that the turtle-doves bring ambrosia to Jupiter:—

No bird of air, nor dove of trembling wing, That bears ambrosia to th' ethereal king, But shuns these rocks.

For we must not think here that it is really the birds called turtle-doves which bring ambrosia to Jupiter, which is the opinion of many; for that were inconsistent with the majesty of Jupiter; but the daughters of Atlas, turned into the constellation of Pleiades or doves. For it is natural enough that they who indicate the appropriate seasons to the human race should also bring ambrosia to Jupiter, on which account also he distinguishes between them and other birds, saying—

No bird of air, nor dove of trembling wing;

and that he considers the Pleiades as the most famous of all fixed stars is plain, from his having placed them in the first rank when giving a list of other constellations:—

There earth, there heaven, there ocean he design'd,— Th' unwearied sun, the moon completely round,— The starry lights, that heaven's high convex crown'd,— The Pleiades, Hyads, with the Northern Team, And great Orion's more refulgent beam; To which, around the axle of the sky, The Bear, revolving, points his golden eye; Still shines exalted on th' ethereal plain, Nor bathes his blazing forehead in the main,— The Bear, whom trusting rustics call the Wain.

THE PLEIADES.

"But people in general have been deceived by fancying the πελειάδες here spoken of to be birds, first of all from the poetical form of the word, because of the insertion of the letter ε; and secondly, because they have taken the word τρήρωνες, 'trembling,' as an epithet only of doves; since, owing to its weakness, that is a very cautious bird; and when he calls it τρήρων, this word is derived from τρέω, and τρέω is the same as εὐλαβέομαι, to be cautious. But still there is a good deal of reason in attributing the same characteristic also to the Pleiades: for the fable is, that they are always fleeing from Orion, since their mother Pleione is constantly pursued by Orion.

80. "And the variation of the name, so that the Pleiades are called both πέλειαι and πελειάδες, occurs in many poets. First of all, Myro the Byzantian admirably caught the feeling of the Homeric poems, saying in her poem entitled Memory, that the Pleiades convey ambrosia to Jupiter. But Crates the critic, endeavouring to appropriate to himself the credit due to her, produces that assertion as his own. Simonides also has called the Pleiades Πελειάδες, in the following lines:—

And may great Mercury, whose protecting pow'r Watches o'er contests, Maia's mighty son, Grant you success. But Atlas was the sire Of seven dark-hair'd daughters, beautiful, Surpassing all the maidens upon earth, And now in heaven they're call'd Peleiades.

Here he distinctly calls the Pleiades Πελειάδες, for they it was who were the daughters of Atlas; as Pindar says—

And it is natural That great Orion should advance Not far from the seven Pleiades, at the tail (ὀρίας).

For, in the arrangement of the stars, Orion is not far from the Pleiades; from which circumstance has arisen the fable about them, that they, with their mother Pleione, are always fleeing from Orion. But when he calls the Pleiades ὄριαι here, he means οὔριαι, only he has left out the v, because the Pleiades are close to the tail of the Bull. And Æschylus has spoken still more plainly, playing on their name on account of the resemblance of its sound, where he says—

The seven celebrated daughters of The mighty Atlas, much bewail'd with tears Their father's heaven-supporting toil; where they Now take the form of night-appearing visions, The wingless Peleiades.

For he calls them here wingless on account of the similarity of the sound of their name to that of the birds Ππελειάδες. And Myro herself also speaks in the same manner—

The mighty Jove was nourish'd long in Crete, Nor yet had any of the heav'nly beings E'er recognised their king; meanwhile he grew In all his limbs; and him the trembling doves Cherish'd, while hidden in the holy cave, Bringing him, from the distant streams of ocean, Divine ambrosia: and a mighty eagle, Incessant drawing with his curved beak Nectar from out the rock, triumphant brought The son of Saturn's necessary drink. Him, when the God of mighty voice had cast His father Saturn from his unjust throne, He made immortal, and in heaven placed. And so, too, did he give the trembling doves (πελειάσιν) Deserved honour; they who are to men Winters and summer's surest harbingers.

And Simmias, in his Gorgo, says—

The swiftest ministers of air came near, The quivering peleiades.

And Posidippus, in his Asopia, says—

Nor do the evening cool πέλειαι set.

But Lamprocles the Dithyrambic poet has also expressly and poetically said that the word πελειάδες is in every sense synonymous with περιστεραὶ, in the following lines—

And now you have your home in heaven, Showing your title with the winged doves.

And the author of the poem called Astronomy, which is attributed to Hesiod, always calls the Pleiades Πελειάδες, saying—

Which mortals call Peleiades.

And in another place he says—

And now the Peleiades of winter set.

And in another passage we find—

Then the Peleiades do hide their heads;

so that there is nothing at all improbable in the idea of Homer having lengthened the name Πλειάδες by poetic licence into Πελειάδες.

MEANING OF PARTICULAR WORDS.

81. "Since, then, it is demonstrated that it is the Pleiades who were embossed on the goblet, we must understand that two were affixed to each handle, whether we choose to fancy that the damsels were represented under the form of birds or under human form;—at all events they were studded with stars: and as for the expression, "Around each there were golden peleiades," we are not to understand that as meaning around each separate one; for that would make eight in number: but as each of the handles was divided into two sections, and as these again were united towards the bottom, the poet has the word ἕκαστος, speaking as if there were four sections of handles; but if he had said ἑκάτερον, that would have applied to the fact of their again becoming united at the highest point which they respectively reach. And accordingly, when he says—

And curling vines, around each handle roll'd, Bear two Peleiades emboss'd in gold; On two firm bases stood the mighty bowl;

we are by that to understand one Peleias to. each section of the handles. And he has called them δοιὰς, as being united to one another and grown together as it were. For the word δοιοὶ, δοιαὶ, signifies simply the number two, as in the passage—

Two tripods (δοιοὺς δὲ τρίποδας), and ten golden talents;

and again—

Two attendants (δοιοὶ θεράπογτες):

and it also at times intimates a natural connexion subsisting between the two things spoken of, as well as that they are two in number; as in these lines:—

There grew two (δοιοὶ) olives, closest of the grove, With roots entwined and branches interwove, Alike their leaves, but not alike they smiled With sister fruits,—one fertile, one was wild:—

and accordingly this calculation will give altogether four Peleiades upon the handles.

82. "And, then, when he adds this—

And curling vines, around each handle roll'd, Bear two Peleiades emboss'd in gold: On two firm bases stood the mighty bowl;

we are to understand not two actual separate bases, nor indeed ought we to read ὑποπυθμένες as two words, like Dionysius the Thracian, but we ought to read it as one word, υποπυθμενες, in order to understand it with reference to the Peleiades, that there were four Peleiades on the handles, and two more ὑποπυθμένες, which is equivalent to ὑπὸ τῷ πυθμένι, that is to say, under the pedestal, as if the word were ὑποπυθμένιοι. So that the goblet is supported by two Peleiades which lie under the bottom, and in that way there are altogether six Pleiades in all, since that is the number which are seen, though they are said to be seven in number, as Aratus says—

They are indeed declared by mortal man To be in number seven; yet no more Than six have e'er been seen by mortal eyes. Not that a star can e'er have disappear'd Unnoticed from the pure expanse of heaven Since we have heard of its existence; but The number has been stated carelessly, And therefore they are usually call'd seven.

Accordingly, what is seen in the stars the poet has very suitably described among the ornaments made on the occasion. And many fancy that the poet is here referring to Jupiter, when he says—

No bird of air, nor dove of trembling wing, That bears ambrosia to th' ethereal king, But shuns these rocks. In vain she cuts the skies, They fearful meet, and crush her as she flies.

Meaning in reality, that one of the Pleiades was destroyed by the sharpness of the rocks and their smooth edge, and that another is substituted in her place by Jupiter for the sake of keeping the number undiminished. Expressing by the enigmatical figures of speech common to poets, that, though there are only six Pleiades seen, still their real number is not actually diminished; but there are said to be seven in number, and also the names of the seven are distinctly given.

83. But as for those people who contend that there is no appropriateness in embossing the Pleiades on this cup, as they are rather indicative of dry food, we must state that this kind of cup is calculated to receive both solid and liquid food; for κυκεὼν[67] is made in it; and this is a kind of potion, having mixed in it cheese and meal; and the poet tells us that both these ingredients are stirred up (κυκωμένα) together and so drunk:—

MEANING OF PARTICULAR WORDS.

The draught prescribed fair Hecamede prepares, Arsinous' daughter, graced with golden hairs (Whom to his aged arms a royal slave Greece, as the prize of Nestor's wisdom, gave): A table first with azure feet she placed, Whose ample orb a brazen charger graced; Honey, new press'd, the sacred flour of wheat, And wholesome garlic crown'd the savoury treat. Next her white hand a spacious goblet brings, A goblet sacred to the Pylian kings; Temper'd in this, the nymph of form divine Pours a large portion of the Pramnian wine; With goats'-milk cheese a flavorous taste bestows, And last with flour the smiling surface strows. This for the wounded prince the dame prepares; The cordial beverage reverend Nestor shares.

84. And as for the lines—

A massy weight, yet heav'd with ease by him, Though all too great for men of smaller limb;

we are not to understand this as referring only to Machaon and Nestor, as some people think, who refer ὃς to Machaon, taking it as if it were ὁ, and say,

Ἀλλ᾽ δ̓ς μὲν μογέων ἀποκινήσασκε τραπέζης,—

thinking that "heaved with ease by him" is said of Machaon, as he was the person for whom the cup has been mixed, as he had been wounded; but we shall show hereafter that Machaon is never represented in Homer as wounded. But these men do not perceive, that when Homer says ἄλλος, he is not speaking of Machaon and Nestor alone (for these two are drinking of the cup), for in that case he would have said ἕτερος. For ἕτερος is the proper word for the other of two, as in this line—

οἴσετε δ᾽ ἄρν᾽ ἕτερον λευκὸν, ἑτέρην δὲ μέλαιναν,—

And bring two lambs, one male, with snow-white fleece, The other black, who shall the breed increase.

Besides, Homer never uses ὁς for the demonstrative pronoun ὁ; but, on the contrary, he sometimes uses the demonstrative ὁ for the relative ὁς, as in the line—

ἒνθα δὲ σὶσυφος ἒσκεν ὃ κέρδιστος γὲνετ᾽ ἀνδρῶν,—

There Sisyphus, who of all men that lived Was the most crafty, held his safe abode.

"But still, in this line, τις is wanting, for the sentence, when complete, should run—

ᾶλλος μέν τις μογέων ἀποκινήσασκε τραπέζης πλεῖον ἐὸν, νέστωρ δ᾽ ὁ γέρων ἀμογητὶ ἄειρεν:

so that the meaning would be, that there is no man who could lift the cup up from the table without an effort, but that Nestor raised it easily, without any labour or distress. For the cup is described as having been large in size, and very heavy in weight; which however Nestor, being very fond of drinking, was easily able to lift, from his constant practice.

85. "But Sosibius, the solver of questions, quoting the lines—

ἄλλος μὲν μογέων ἀποκινήσασκε τραπέζης πλεῖον ἐόν: νέστωρ δ᾽ ζ γέρων ἀμογητὶᾶειρεν,

writes on this expression—'Now, the poet has been often reproached for making that the rest of the men could only lift this cup by a great effort, but that Nestor alone could do so without any extraordinary exertion. For it appeared unreasonable, that when Diomede and Ajax, and even Achilles too were present, Nestor should be represented as more vigorous than they, when he was so far advanced in years. But though these accusations are brought against him, we may release the poet from them by transposing the order. For in that hexameter—

πλεῖον ἐὸν, Νέστωρ δ᾽ ὁ γέρων ἀμογητὶ ἄειρεν,

if we take γέρων out of the middle, we shall unite that to the beginning of the preceding line, after ἄλλος μὲν, and then we shall connect the words as before—

ἄλλος μὲν γέρων μογέων ἀποκινήσασκε τραπέζης πλεῖον ἐὸν, ὁ δὲ νέστωρ ἀπονητὶ ἄειρεν.

Now then, when the words are arranged in this way, Nestor only appears to be represented as the only one of the old men who could lift the cup without an extraordinary effort.'

DRINKING-CUPS.

"These are the observations of that admirable solver of difficulties, Sosibius. But Ptolemy Philadelphus the king jested upon him with some wit, on account of this and other much talked-of solutions. For as Sosibius received a royal stipend, Ptolemy, sending for his treasurers, desired them, when Sosibius came to demand his stipend, to tell him that he had received it already. And when, not long after, he did come and ask for his money, they said they had given it to him already, and said no more. But he, going to the king, accused the treasurers. And Ptolemy sent for them, and ordered them to come with their books, in which were the lists of those who received those stipends. And when they had arrived, the king took the books into his hands, and looking into them himself, also asserted that Sosibius had received his money; making it out in this way:—These names were set down,—Soter, Sosigenes, Bion, Apollon, Dion; and the king, looking on these names, said—My excellent solver of difficulties, if you take Σω from Σωτὴρ, and σι from Σωσιγένης, and the first syllable βι from Βίων and the last syllable from Ἀπόλλωνος, you will find, on your own principles, that you have received your stipend. And you are caught in this way, not owing to the actions of others, but by your own feathers, as the incomparable Æschylus says, since you yourself are always occupied about solutions of difficulties which are foreign to the subject in hand."

86. There is the holmus also. This, too, is a drinking-cup, made in the fashion of a horn. Menesthenes, in the fourth book of his Politics, writes thus—"A twisted albatanes and a golden holmus. But the holmus is a cup wrought after the fashion of a horn, about a cubit in height."

87. There is also the oxybaphum. Now common usage gives this name to the cruet that holds the vinegar; but it is also the name of a cup; and it is mentioned by Cratinus, in his Putina, in this way:—

How can a man now make him leave off this Excessive drinking? I can tell a way; For I will break his jugs and measures all, And crush his casks as with a thunderbolt, And all his other vessels which serve to drink: Nor shall he have a single oxybaphum left, Fit to hold wine.

But that the oxybaphum is a kind of small κύλιξ, made of earthenware, Antiphanes proves plainly enough, in his Mystis, in the following words.[68] There is a wine-bibbing old woman praising a large cup, and disparaging the oxybaphum as small. So when some one says to her—

Do you, then, drink;

she answers—

There I will obey you. And, by the gods, the figure of the cup Is quite inviting, worthy of the fame Of this high festival; for have we not— Have we not, and not long ago, I say, Drunk out of earthenware oxybapha? But may the gods, my son, give many blessings To him who made this cup—a noble cup, As to its beauty and its good capacity.

And also in the Babylonians of Aristophanes we hear of the oxybaphum as a drinking-cup, when Bacchus speaks of the demagogues at Athens, saying that they demanded of him two oxybapha when he was going away to trial. For we cannot think that they asked him for anything but cups. And the oxybaphum, which is put before the people who play at the cottabus, into which they pour their drops of wine, can be nothing else but a flat cup. Eubulus also, in his Mylothris, mentions the oxybaphum as a cup—

And besides, I measure out for drinking An oxybaphum all round; and then he swore The wine was nothing but pure vinegar, And that the vinegar was wine, at least Superior to the other.

88. There is the oinisteria too. The young men, when they are going to cut their hair, says Pamphilus, fill a large cup with wine, and bring it to Hercules; and they call this cup an oinisteria. And when they have poured a libation, they give it to the assembled people to drink.

There is the ollix also. Pamphilus, in his Attic Words, describes this as a wooden cup.

89. There is also the panathenaicum. Posidonius the philosopher, in the thirty-sixth book of his History, mentions some cups called by this name, speaking thus—"There were also cups made of an onyx, and also of several precious stones joined together, holding about two cotylæ. And very large cups, called panathenaica, some holding two choes, and some even larger."

DRINKING-CUPS.

There is the proaron too. This was a wooden cup, into which the Athenians used to pour mixed wine. "In hollow proara," says Pamphilus.

90. Then there is the pelica. Callistratus, in his Commentary on the Thracian Women of Cratinus, calls this a κύλιξ. But Crates, in the second book of his treatise on the Attic Dialect, writes thus:—"Choes, as we have already said, were called pelicæ. But the form of this vessel was at first like that of the panathenaica, when it was called pelica; but afterwards it was made of the same shape as the œnochoe, such as those are which are put on the table at festivals, which they formerly used to call olpæ, using them for infusing the wine, as Ion the Chian, in his Sons of Eurytus, says—

You make a noise, intemperately drawing Superfluous wine from the large casks with olpæ.

But now a vessel of that sort, which has been consecrated in some fashion or other, is placed on the table at festivals alone. And that which comes into every-day use has been altered in form, being now generally made like a ladle, and we call it choeus." But Clitarchus says that the Corinthians, and Byzantians, and Cyprians call an oil-cruet, which is usually called lecythus, olpa; and the Thessalians call it prochous. But Seleucus says that the Bœotians call a κύλιξ pelichna; but Euphronius, in his Commentaries, says that they give this name to a choeus.

91. There is the pella. This is a vessel resembling the scyphus, having a wider bottom, into which men used to milk the cattle. Homer says—

Thick as beneath some shepherd's thatch'd abode, The pails πέλλαι high foaming with a milky flood, The buzzing flies, a persevering train, Incessant swarm, and chased, return again.

But Hipponax calls this pellis; saying,—

Drinking from pellides; for there was not A culix there,—the slave had fallen down, And broken it to pieces;

showing, I imagine, very plainly that the pellis was not a drinking-cup, but that on this occasion they used it as one, from want of a regular culix. And in another place he says—

And they at different times from out the pella Did drink; and then again Arete pledged them.

But Phoenix the Colophonian, in his Iambics, interprets this word as identical with the phiala; saying,—

For Thales,—honestest of all the citizens, And, as they say, by far the best of men Who at that time were living upon earth,— Took up a golden pellis.

And in another part he says—

And with one hand he pours from out the pellis, Weak as he was in all his limbs and fingers, A sharp libation of sour vinegar, Trembling, like age, by Boreas much shaken.

But Clitarchus, in his Dialects, says that the Thessalians and Æolians call the milk-pail pelleter; but that it is a drinking-cup which they call pella. But Philetas, in his Miscellanies, says that the Bœotians give the name of pelleter to a culix.

92. There is also the pentaploa. Philochorus mentions this, in the second book of his treatise on Attic Affairs. But Aristodemus, in the third book of his Commentary on Pindar, says that on the third day of the Scira, games are celebrated at Athens, in which the young men run races; and that they run, holding in their hands a branch of the vine loaded with fruit, which is called oschus. And they run from the temple of Bacchus to the temple of Minerva Sciras; and he who has gained the victory takes a cup of the species called pentaplous, and feasts with the rest of the runners. But the cup is called pentaplous, as containing five (πέντε) ingredients; inasmuch as it has in it wine, and honey, and cheese, and meal, and a little oil.

There is the petachnum. This is a cup of a flat shape, which is mentioned by Alexis, in his Dropidas; and the passage has been already cited. And Aristophanes also mentions it in his Dramas, where he says—

And every one indoors drinks out of petachna.

93. There is the plemochoe, too. This is an earthenware vessel, shaped like a top, not very steady; and some people call it the cotyliscus, as Pamphilus tells us. But they use it at Eleusis on the last day of the Mysteries, which day they call Plemochoai, from the cups. And on this day they fill two plemochoæ, and place one looking towards the east, and the other looking towards the west, saying over them a mystic form of words; and the author of the Pirithous names them (whoever he was, whether Critias the tyrant, or Euripides), saying,—

That with well-omen'd words we now may pour These plemochoæ into the gulf below.

DRINKING-CUPS.

There is a vessel, too, called the pristis; and that this is a species of cup has been already stated in the discussion on the batiacium.

94. There is the prochytes, too. This is a kind of drinking-cup, as Simaristus says, in the fourth book of his Synonymes. But Ion the Chian, in his Elegies, says—

But let the cupbearing maidens fill for us A crater with their silver prochytæ;

and Philetas, in his Miscellanies, says it is a wooden vessel, from which the countrymen drink: and Alexander also mentions it in his Tigon. And Xenophon, in the eighth book of his Cyropædia, calls some kinds of culices, prochoides, writing thus (and it is of the Persians that he is speaking):—"But it was a custom among them not to bring prochoides into their banquets, evidently because they think that not drinking too much is good both for the body and the mind. And even now the custom prevails that they do not bring them; but they drink such a quantity of wine that, instead of carrying in their cups, they themselves are carried out, when they can no longer go out themselves in an upright attitude."

There is also the Prusias; and it has been already said that this is an upright kind of cup, and that it derived its name from Prusias king of Bithynia, who was a man very notorious for his luxury and effeminacy; as is mentioned by Nicander the Chalcedonian, in the fourth book of his History of the Events of the Life of Prusias.

95. There are also rheonta; for this was a name given to some cups: and Astydamas mentions them in his Mercury, speaking thus:—

First of all were two silver craters large, And fifty phialæ, and ten cymbia, And twelve rheonta, two of which were gold, The others silver;—of the gold ones, one Was like a griffin, one like Pegasus.

There is also the rhysis. This is called a golden phiala by Theodorus; and Cratinus, in his Laws, says—"Pouring a libation from a rhysis."

96. There is also the Rhodias. Diphilus, in his Stormer of Walls (but Callimachus calls the play The Eunuch), speaks thus—

And they intend to drink more plenteously Than rhodiaca or rhyta can supply.

Dioxippus, too, mentions this cup, in his Miser; and so does Aristotle, in his treatise on Drunkenness; and so also does Lynceus the Samian, in his Letters.

97. There is also the rhytum—ῥυτόν. The υ is short, and the word has an acute accent on the last syllable. Demosthenes, in his speech against Midias, speaks of "rhyta, and cymbia, and phialæ." But Diphilus, in his Eunuch, or The Soldier, (and this play is a new edition of his Stormer of Walls,) says—

And they intend to drink more plenteously Than rhodiaca or rhyta can supply.

And Epinicus, in his Supposititious Damsels, says—

A. And of the large-sized rhyta three are here; To-day one will be forced to drink more steadily, By the clepsydra. B. This, I think, will act Both ways. A. Why, 'tis an elephant! B. Yes, he Is bringing round his elephants. A. A rhytus, Holding two choes, such as e'en an elephant Could hardly drink; but I have drunk it often. B. Yes, for you're very like an elephant. A. There is besides another kind of cup, Its name a trireme; this, too, holds one choeus.

And, speaking of the rhytum, he says—

A. Bellerophon, on Pegasus's back, Fought and subdued the fire-breathing Chimæra. B. Well, take this cup.

But formerly a drinking-horn was also called a rhytum; and it appears that this kind of vessel was first made by Ptolemy Philadelphus the king, to be carried by the statues of Arsinoe: for in her right hand she bears a vessel of this kind, full of all the fruits of the season; by which the makers of it designed to show that this horn is richer than the horn of Amalthea. And it is mentioned by Theocles, in his Ithyphallics, thus—

For all the journeymen to-day Have sacrificed Soteria; And in their company I've drunk this cup, And now I go to my dear king.

DRINKING-CUPS.

But Dionysius of Sinope, in his Female Saviour, giving a list of some cups, has also mentioned the rhytus, as I have said before; but Hedylus, in his Epigrams, mentioning the rhytum made by Ctesibius the engineer or machinist, speaks thus—

Come hither, all ye drinkers of sheer wine,— Come, and within this shrine behold this rhytus, The cup of fair Arsinoe Zephyritis, The true Egyptian Besa, which pours forth Shrill sounds, what time its stream is open'd wide,— No sound of war; but from its golden mouth It gives a signal for delight and feasting, Such as the Nile, the king of flowing rivers, Pours as its melody from its holy shrines, Dear to the priests of sacred mysteries. But honour this invention of Ctesibius, And come, O youths, to fair Arsinoe's temple.

But Theophrastus, in his treatise on Drunkenness, says that the cup called the rhytum is given to heroes alone. Dorotheus the Sidonian, says that the rhyta resemble horns, but are perforated at both ends, and men drink of them at the bottom as they send forth a gentle stream; and that it derives its name from the liquor flowing from them (ἀπὸ τῆς ῥύσεως).

98. There is the sannacra too. Crates, in the fifth book of his treatise on the Attic Dialect, says that it is a drinking-cup which bears this name, but it is a Persian cup. But Philemon, in his Widow, mentioning the batiacia, and jesting on the ridiculousness of the name, says—

The sannacra, and hippotragelaphi, And batiacia, and sannacia.

There is also the Seleuci; and we have already stated that this cup derives its name from king Seleucus; Apollodorus the Athenian having made the same statement. But Polemo, in the first chapter of his treatise addressed to Adæus, says these goblets are very like one another, the Seleucis, the Rhodias, and the Antigonis.

Then, there is the scallium. This is a small cup (κυλίκον), with which the Æolians pour libations, as Philetas tells us, in his Miscellanies.

99. There is also the scyphus. Now some people form the genitive of this word σκύθος with a ς invariably; but they are mistaken: for sometimes σκύθος is masculine, like λύχνος, and then we form its genitive case without ς but when σκύθος is neuter, then we must decline with the ς, σκύθος σκύθους, like τεῖχος τείχους. But the Attic writers use the nominative case in both the masculine and neuter genders. And Hesiod, in the second book of his Melampodia, writes the word with a π, σκύπθοσ—

To him came Mares, a swift messenger, Straight from his house; he fill'd a silver cup (σκύθος), And brought it in his hand, and gave it to the king.

And in another place he says—

And then the prophet in his right hand took The chain that held the bull; and on his back Iphiclus laid his hand: and following then, Holding a cup (σκύπθος) in one hand, in the other Raising a staff, brave Phylacus advanced, And, standing amid the servants, thus he spoke.

And in the same manner Anaximander in his Heroology speaks, where he says, "But Amphitryon, when he had divided the booty among his allies, and having the cup (σκύπθος) which he had selected for himself, . . ." And in another place he says—"But Neptune gives his σκύπθος to Teleboas his own son, and Teleboas to Pteselaus; and he when he received it sailed away." And in the same manner Anacreon has said—

But I, in my right hand holding A σκύπθος full of wine, Drank to the health of the white-crested Erxion.

(And in this last line he uses the verb ἐξέπινον instead of προέεπινον For properly speaking προπίνω means to give to some one else to drink before yourself. And so Ulysses, in Homer,—

Gave to Arete first the well-fill'd cup.

And in the Iliad he says—

And first he fill'd a mighty cup of wine, Then pledg'd the hero, Peleus' son divine;

for they used, when they had filled their cups, to pledge one another with a friendly address.) Panyasis, in the third book of his Heraclea, says—

This wine he pour'd into an ample bowl, Radiant with gold, and then with frequent draughts He drain'd the flowing cup.

Euripides, in his Eurystheus, uses the word in the masculine gender—

And a long cup (σκύφος τε μακρός).

And so does Achæus, in his Omphale—

The goblet of the god invites me (ὁ δὲ σκύθος με τοῦ θεοῦ ῾Ἀλεἶ).

DRINKING-CUPS.

And Simonides too, speaking of a cup with handles, says, οὐατόεντα σκύφον. But Ion, in his Omphale, says—

There is no wine in the cup (οἶνος οὐκ ἔνι ἐν τῷ σκύφεἰ),

forming σκύφει regularly from σκύφος, as a neuter noun. And in the same way Epicharmus, in his Cyclops, says—

Come, pour the wine into the cup (ἐς τὸ σκύφος).

And Alexis, in his Leucadia, says—

And with his aged lips he drank A mighty cup μέγα σκύφος of fragrant wine.

And Epigenes, in his Bacchea, says—

I rejoiced when I received τὸ σκύφος.

And Phædimus, in the first book of his Heraclea, says—

A mighty cup (εὐρὺ σκύφος) of well-grain'd timber framed, And fill'd with honied wine.

And also in Homer, Aristophanes the Byzantian writes—

But having filled a cup σκύφος, he gave it him, Having himself drunk from the same.

But Aristarchus in this line writes σκύφον, not σκύφος.

But Asclepiades the Myrlean, in his treatise on the Nestoris, says that none of those who lived in the city, and none of the men of moderate property, used the scyphus (τῷ σκύφει) and the cissybium; but only the swineherds, and shepherds, and men in the fields, as Eumæus, for instance,

Gave him the cup (σκύφος) from which he drank himself, Well fill'd with wine.

And Alcman says—

And often on the highest mountain tops, When some most tuneful festival of song Is held in honour of the Gods, you hold A golden vessel,—a fine, ample cup σκύφον̓, Such as the shepherds, pasturing their flocks On the high hills, delight in, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . have made cheese Most delicate and white to look upon.

And Æschylus, in his Perrhæbians, says—

Where are my many gifts and warlike spoils,— Where are my gold and silver cups (σκυφώματα)̣?

And Stesichorus calls the cup on the board of Pholus the Centaur σκύφειον δέπας, using σκύφειον as synonymous to σκυφοειδές. And he says, when speaking of Hercules—

And taking a huge scyphus-shaped cup (σκύπφειον δέπας), Holding three measures, to his lips he raised it, Full of rich wine, which Pholus wisely mix'd And gave him; and at one good draught he drank it.

And Archippus, in his Amphitryon, has used the word in the neuter gender.

100. But as for the word λάγυνον, they say that that is the name of a measure among the Greeks, as also are the words χοὸς and κοτύλη. And they say that the λάγυνον contains twelve Attic κότυλαι. And at Patræ they say that there is a regular measure called ἡ λάγυνος. But Nicostratus, in his Hecate, has used the word in the masculine gender, ὁ λάγυνος, where he says—

A. And yet among the flagons into which We pour'd the wine out of the casks, now tell me What is the measure some of them contain (πηλίκοι τινές̣)? B. They hold three choes each.

And again he says—

Bring us the full flagon (τὸν μεστὸν λάγυνον).

And, in the play entitled The Couch, he says—

And this most odious flagon's (λάγυνος οὗτος) full of vinegar.

Diphilus, in his People Saved, says—

I have an empty flagon, my good woman, And a full wallet.

And Lynceus the Samian, in his letter to Diagoras, says,—"At the time that you sojourned in Samos, O Diagoras, I know that you often came to banquets at my house, at which a flagon was placed by each man, and filled with wine, so as to allow every one to drink at his pleasure." And Aristotle, in his Constitution of the Thessalians, says that the word is used by the Thessalians in the feminine gender, as ἡ λάγυνος. And Rhianus the epic poet, in his Epigrams, says—

This flagon (ἥδε λάγυνος), O Archinus, seems to hold One half of pitch from pines, one half of wine; And I have never met a leaner kid: And he who sent these dainties to us now, Hippocrates, has done a friendly deed, And well deserves to meet with praise from all men.

But Diphilus, in his Brothers, has used the word in the neuter gender—

O conduct worthy of a housebreaker Or felon, thus to take a flagon now Under one's arm, and so go round the inns; And then to sell it, while, as at a picnic, One single vintner doth remain behind, Defrauded by his wine-merchant.

DRINKING-CUPS.

And the line in the Geryonis of Stesichorus—

A measure of three flagons (ἔμμετρον ὡς τριλάγυνον̓),

leaves it quite uncertain under what gender the word is to be classed as far as respects that line. But Eratosthenes says that the words πέτασος and στάμνος are also used as feminine nouns by some authors.

101. But the name σκύφος is derived from σκαφὶς, a little boat. And this likewise is a round vessel made of wood, intended to receive milk, or whey; as it is said in Homer—

Capacious chargers all around were laid, Full pails (σκαφίδες), and vessels of the milking trade.

Unless, indeed, σκύφος is quasi σκύθος, because the Scythians were in the habit of drinking more than was decent. But Hieronymus the Rhodian, in his treatise on Drunkenness, says to get drunk is called σκυθίζω; for that θ is a cognate letter to φ. But at subsequent times scyphi were made of earthenware and of silver, in imitation of the wooden ones. And the first makers of cups of this kind were the Bœotians, who obtained a high reputation for their manufacture; because Hercules originally used these cups in his expeditions. On which account they are called Heracleotici by some people. And they are different from other cups; for they have on their handles what is called the chain of Hercules. And Bacchylides mentions the Bœotian scyphi in these words, (addressing his discourse to Castor and Pollux, and invoking their attendance at a banquet)—

Here there are no mighty joints Of oxen slain,—no golden plate, No purple rich embroidery; But there is a cheerful mind, And a sweetly-sounding Muse, And plenty of delicious wine, In cups of Theban workmanship (Βοιωτίοισιν ἐν σκύφοισιν̓).

And next to the Bœotian scyphi, those which had the highest reputation were the Rhodian ones, of the workmanship of Damocrates. And the next to them were the Syracusan cups. But the σκύφος is called by the Epirotes λυρτὸς, as Seleucus reports; and by the Methymnæans it is called σκύθος, as Parmeno says, in his book on Dialects. And Dercyllidas the Lacedæmonian was nicknamed Σκύθος, as Ephorus relates in his eighteenth book, where he speaks as follows:—"The Lacedæmonians sent Dercyllidas into Asia in the place of Thymbron, having heard that the barbarians were in the habit of doing everything by deceit and trick; on which account they sent Dercyllidas, thinking that he was the least likely of all men to be taken in; for he was not at all of a Lacedæmonian and simple disposition, but exceedingly cunning and fierce; on which account the Lacedæmonians themselves used to call him Σκύθον."

102. There is the tabaitas also. Amyntas, in the first book of his treatise on the Stations of Asia, speaking of what is called aerial honey, writes as follows:—"They gather it with the leaves, and store it up, making it up in the same manner as the Syrian cakes of fruit, but some make it into balls; and when they are about to use it for food, they break pieces off these cakes into wooden cups, which they call tabaitæ, and soak them, and then strain them off and drink the liquor; and the drink is very like diluted honey, but this is much the sweeter of the two."

There is also the tragelaphus. And this is the name given to some cups, as Alexis mentions, in his Coniates—

Cymbia, phialæ, tragelaphi, culices.

And Eubulus, in his Man Glued on, says—

But there are five phialæ, and two tragelaphi.

And Menander, in his Fisherman, says—

Tragelaphi, labronii.

And Antiphanes, in his Chrysis, says—

And for this rich and sordid bridegroom now, Who owns so many talents, slaves, and stewards, And pairs of horses, camels, coverlets,— Such loads of silver plate, such phialæ, Triremes, tragelaphi, carchesia, Milkpails of solid gold, vessels of all sorts; For all the gluttons and the epicures Call casks brimful of wine mere simple milkpails.

There is also the trireme. And that trireme is the name of a species of drinking-cup Epicurus has shown, in his Supposititious Damsels; and the passage which is a proof of this has been already quoted.

There is also the hystiacum, which is some sort of drinking-cup. Rhinthon, in his Hercules, says—

DRINKING-CUPS.

You swallow'd, in one small hystiacum, A cheesecake of pure meal, and groats, and flour.

103. There is the phiale too. Homer, when he says—

He placed a phiale upon the board, By both hands to be raised (ἀμφίθετον), untouch'd by fire;

and again, when he says—

A golden phiale, and doubled fat;

is not speaking of a drinking-cup, but of a brazen vessel of a flat shape like a caldron, having perhaps two handles, one on each side. But Parthenius the pupil of Dionysius understands by ἀμφίθετον a phiale without any bottom. But Apollodorus the Athenian, in his short essay on the Crater, says that it means a cup which cannot be firmly placed and steadied on its bottom, but only on its mouth. But some say, that just as the word ἀμφιφορεὺς is used for a cup which can be lifted by its handles on both sides, the same is meant by the expression ἀμφίθετος φιάλη. But Aristarchus says that it means a cup which can be placed on either end, on its mouth or on its bottom. But Dionysius the Thracian says that the word ἀμφίθετος means round, running round (ἀμφιθέων) in a circular form. And Asclepiades the Myrlean says,—"The word φιάλη, by a change of letters, becomes πιάλη, a cup which contains enough to drink (πιεῖν ἅλις); for it is larger than the ποτήριον. But when Homer calls it also ἀπύρωτος, he means either that it was wrought without fire, or never put on the fire. On which account he calls a kettle which may be put on the fire ἐμπυριβήτης, and one which is not so used ἄπυρος. And when he says—

An ample charger, of unsullied frame, With flowers high wrought, not blacken'd yet by flame,

he perhaps means one intended to receive cold water. So that the phiale would in that case resemble a flat brazen vessel, holding cold water. But when he calls it ἀμφίθετος, can we understand that it has two bases, one on each side; or is ἀμφὶ here to be taken as equivalent to περὶ, and then again is περὶ to be taken as equivalent to περιττὸν, so that in fact all that is meant by the epithet is beautifully made; since θεῖναι was often used by the ancients for 'to make?' It may also mean, ' being capable of being placed either on its bottom or upon its mouth;' and such a placing of cups is an Ionian [p. 802] and an ancient fashion. And even now the Massilians often adopt it, and set their goblets down on their mouths."

104. But as Cratinus has said, in his Female Runaways—

Receive from me these round-bottom'd phialæ,

Eratosthenes, in the eleventh book of his treatise on Comedy, says that Lycophron did not understand the meaning of the word (βαλανειόμφαλος), for that the word ὀμφαλὸς, as applied to a phiale, and the word θόλος, as applied to a bath, were nearly similar in meaning; and that, in the word, allusion is neatly enough made to the umbilical form. But Apion and Diodorus say, "There are some kinds of phialæ of which the boss is similar to a strainer." But Asclepiades the Myrlean, in his Essays on Cratinus, says— "βαλανειόμφαλοι are the phialæ called, because their bosses and the vaulted roofs of the baths are much alike." And Didymus, saying the same thing, cites the words of Lycophron, which run thus:—"From the bosses in the women's baths, out of which they ladle the water in small cups." But Timarchus, in the fourth book of his Essay on the Mercury of Eratosthenes, says,—"Any one may suppose that this word contains a secret allusion in it, because most of the baths at Athens, being circular in their shape, and in all their furniture, have slight projections in the middle, on which a brazen boss is placed. Ion, in his Omphale, says—

Go quick, O damsels; hither bring the cups, And the mesomphali;—

and by μεσόμφαλοι here, he means the same things as those which Cratinus calls βαλανειόμφαλοι, where he says—

Receive from me these round-bottom'd phialæ.

And Theopompus, in his Althæa, said—

She took a golden round-bottom'd (μεσόμφαλον) phiale, Brimful of wine; to which Telestes gave The name of acatos;

as Telestes had called the phiale an acatos, or boat. But Pherecrates, or whoever the poet was who composed the Persæ, which are attributed to him, says, in that play—

Garlands to all, and well-boss'd chrysides (ὀμφαλωταὶ χρυσίδες).

105. But the Athenians call silver phialæ ἀργυρίδες, and golden ones they call χρυσίδες. And Pherecrates mentions the silver phiale in the following words in his Persæ—

DRINKING-CUPS.

Here, you sir; where are you now carrying That silver phiale (τὴν ἀργυρίδα τηνδί)?

And Cratinus mentions the golden one in his Laws—

Making libations with a golden phiale (χρυσίδἰ), He gave the serpents drink.

And Hermippus, in his Cercopes, says—

He first completely drain'd an ample cup, Golden (χρυσίδα) and round, then carried it away.

There was also a kind of cup called the βαλανωτὴ phiale, under the bottom of which were placed golden feet. And Teneus says, that among the offerings at Delos there was a brazen palm-tree, the offering of the Naxians, and some golden phialæ, to which he gives the epithet καρυωταί. But Anaxandrides calls cups of this fashion the phialæ of Mars. But the Æolians call the phiale an aracis.

106. There is also the phthoïs; these are wide-shaped phialæ with bosses. Eupolis says—

He pledged the guests in phthoïdes,

writing the dative plural φθοῖσι; but it ought to have an acute on the last syllable; like καρσὶ, παισὶ, φθειρσί.

There is the philotesia also. This is a kind of κύλιξ, in which they pledged one another out of friendship, as Pamphilus says. And Demosthenes says, "And he pledged him in the philotesia." And Alexis says—

We, in our private and public capacity, Do pledge you now in this philotesian culix.

But, besides being the name of a cup, a company feasting together was also called φιλοτήσιον. Aristophanes says—

Now does the shadow of the descending sun Mark seven feet: 'tis time for supper now, And the philotesian company invites me.

But it was from the system of pledging one another at these banquets that the cup got the name of philotesia—as in the Lysistrata—

O thou Persuasion, mistress of my soul! And you, O philotesian cup of wine.

There are also chonni. Among the Gortynians this is the name given to a species of cup resembling the thericleum, made of brass, which Hermonax says is given by lovers to the objects of their affection.

There are also Chalcidic goblets, having their name and reputation perhaps from Chalcis in Thrace.

107. There are also χυτρίδες; Alexis, in his Supposititious Child, says—

I, seeking to do honour to the king, To Ptolemy and to his sister, took Four χυτρίδια of strong, untemper'd wine, And drank them at a draught, with as much pleasure As any one ever swallow'd half-and-half: And, for the sake of this agreement, why Should I not now feast in this splendid light?

But Herodotus, in the fifth book of his History, says "that the Argives and Æginetans made a law that no one should ever use any Attic vessel of any kind in their sacrifices, not even if made of earthenware; but that for the future every one should drink out of the χυτρίδες of the country." And Meleager the Cynic, in his Symposium, writes as follows—"And in the meantime he proposed a deep pledge to his health, twelve deep χυτρίδια full of wine."

108. There is also the ψυγεὺς or ψυκτήρ. Plato, in his Symposium, says,—"But, O boy, bring, said he, that psycter hither (for he had seen one which held more than eight cotylæ). Accordingly, when he had filled it, first of all he drank it himself, and then he ordered it to be filled again for Socrates . . . . . as Archebulus was attempting to be prolix, the boy, pouring the wine out at a very seasonable time, overturned the psycter." And Alexis, in his Colonist, says—

A psygeus, holding three full cotylæ.

And Dioxippus, in his Miser, says—

And from Olympicus he then received Six thericlean cups, and then two psycters.

And Menander, in his play entitled The Brazier's Shop, says—

And, as the present fashion is, they shouted For more untemper'd wine; and some one took A mighty psycter, giving them to drink, And so destroy'd them wretchedly.

And Epigenes, in his Heroine, giving a list of many cups, among them mentions the psygeus thus—

Now take the boys, and make them hither bring The thericlean and the Rhodian cups; But bring yourself the psycter and the cyathus, Some cymbia too.

And Strattis, in his Psychastæ—

DRINKING-CUPS.

And one man having stolen a psycter, And his companion, who has taken away A brazen cyathus, both lie perplex'd, Looking for a chœnix and a cotylis.

But Alexis, in his Hippiscus, uses the diminutive form, and calls it a ψυκτηρίδιον, saying—

I went to see my friend while at his inn, And there I met a dark-complexion'd man, And told my slaves, for I brought two from home, To put in sight the well-clean'd drinking-cups: There was a silver cyathus, and cups Weighing two drachmas each; a cymbium, Whose weight was four; a ψυκτηρίδιον, Weighing two obols, thinner than Philippides.

109. But Heracleon of Ephesus says, “The cup which we call ψυγεὺς some name the ψυκτηρία, but the Attic writers make jokes upon the ψυγεὺς, as being a foreign name.” Euphorion, in his Woman Restoring, says—

But when they call a ψυγεὺς a ψυκτηρία, And σεύτλιον τεῦλα, and the φακῆ φακεὺς, What can one do? For I rightly said, Give me, I pray, Pyrgothemis, some change For this your language, as for foreign money.

And Antiphanes, in his Knights, says—

How then are we to live? Our bedclothes are A saddlecloth, and our well-fitting hat Only a psycter. What would you have more? Here is the very Amalthean horn.

And in the Carna he declares plainly that, when pouring out wine, they used the psycter for a cyathus. For after he had said—

And putting on the board a tripod and cask, And psycter too, he gets drunk on the wine;

in the passage following, he represents his man as saying—

So will the drink be fiercer: therefore now, If any one should say it is not fit T' indulge in wine at present, just leave out This cask, and this one single drinking-cup, And carry all the rest away at once.

But Dionysius the pupil of Tryphon, in his treatise on Names, says—"The ancients used to call the psygeus dinus." But Nicander of Thyatira says, that woods and shady places dedicated to the gods are also called ψυκτῆρες, as being places where one may cool oneself (ἀναψύξαι). Æschylus, in his Young Men, says—

And gentle airs, in the cool, shady places (ψυκτηρίοις);

and Euripides, in his Phaethon, says—

The trees, affording a cool shade (ψυκτήρια), Shall now embrace him in their loving arms;

and the author of the poem called Ægimius, whether it really was Hesiod, or only Cecrops of Miletus, says—

There shall my cool shade (ψυκτήριον) be, O king of men.

110. There is also the oidos. This was the name of a drinking-cup, as we are told by Tryphon, in his Onomasticon; a cup given to him who sang the scolia—as Antiphanes shows in his Doubles—

A. What will there be, then, for the gods? B. Why, nothing, Unless now some one mixes wine for them. A. Stop; take this ᾠδὸς, and abandon all Those other worn-out fashions; sing no more Of Telamon, or Pæon, or Harmodius.

There are also the ooscyphia. Now respecting the shape of these cups, Asclepiades the Myrlean, in his Essay on the Nestoris, says that it has two bottoms, one of them wrought on to the bowl of the cup, and of the same piece with it; but the other attached to it, beginning with a sharp point, and ending in a broad bottom, on which the cup stands.

There is also the ὠὸν, or egg-cup. Dinon, in the third book of his Affairs of Persia, speaks as follows:—There is also a bread called potibazis, made of barley and roasted wheat; and a crown of cypress leaves; and wine tempered in a golden oon, from which the king himself drinks."

111. Plutarch having said this, and being applauded by every one, asked for a phiala, from which he made a libation to the Muses, and to Mnemosyne their mother, and drank the health of every one present, saying,—As if any one, taking a cup in his hand, being a rich man, were to make a present of it, foaming over with the juice of the vine;"—and drinking not only to the young bridegroom, but also to all his friends; and he gave the cup to the boy, desiring him to carry it round to every one, saying that this was the proper meaning of the phrase κύκλῳ πίνειν, reciting the verses of Menander in his Perinthian Woman—

And the old woman did not leave untouch'd One single cup, but drank of all that came.

And again, in his Fanatical Woman, he says—

DRINKING-CUPS.

And then again she carries round to all A cup of unmix'd wine.

And Euripides, in his Cretan Women, says—

Farewell all other things, as long As cups of wine go freely round.

And then, when Leonidas the grammarian demanded a larger cup, and said,—Let us drink hard (κρατηρίζωμεν), my friends, (for that was the word which Lysanias the Cyrenean says that Herodorus used to apply to drinking-parties, when he says, "But when they had finished the sacrifice they turned to the banquet, and to craters, and prayers, and pæans;" and the poet, who was the author of the poem called the Buffoons—a play which Duris says that the wise Plato always had in his hands—says, somewhere, ἐκεκρατηρίχημες, for "we had drunk;") But now, in the name of the gods, said Pontianus, you are drinking in a manner which is scarcely becoming, out of large cups, having that most delightful and witty author Xenophon before your eyes, who in his Banquet says,—"But Socrates, in his turn, said, But it seems to me now, O men, that we ought to drink hard. For wine, in reality, while it moistens the spirit, lulls the griefs to sleep as mandragora does men; but it awakens all cheerful feelings, as oil does fire. And it appears to me that the bodies of men are liable to the same influences which affect the bodies of those things which grow in the ground; for the very plants, when God gives them too much to drink, cannot hold up their heads, nor can they expand at their proper seasons. But when they drink just as much as is good for them, and no more, then they grow in an upright attitude, and flourish, and come in a flourishing state to produce fruit. And so, too, in our case, if we take too much drink all at once, our bodies and our minds rapidly get disordered, and we cannot even breathe correctly, much less speak. But if our slaves bedew us (to use Gorgias-like language) in small quantities with small cups, then we are not compelled to be intoxicated by the wine; but being gently induced, we proceed to a merry and cheerful temperament."

112. Now, any one who considers these expressions of the accomplished Xenophon, may understand how it was that the brilliant Plato displayed such jealousy of him. But perhaps the fact may partly be because these men did from the very beginning feel a spirit of rivalry towards one another, each being aware of his own powers; and perhaps they began very early to contend for the preeminence, as we may conjecture not only from what they have both written about Cyrus, but also from other writings of theirs on similar subjects. For they have both written a piece called the Banquet; and in these two pieces, one of them turns out the female flute-players, and the other introduces them; and one, as has been already said, refuses to drink out of large cups, but the other represents Socrates as drinking out of a psycter till morning. And in his treatise concerning the Soul, Plato, reckoning up all who were present, does not make even the slightest mention of Xenophon. And concerning Cyrus, the one says that from his earliest youth he was trained up in all the national practices of his country; but Plato, as if in the express spirit of contradiction, says, in the third book of his Laws,—"But with respect to Cyrus, I consider that, as to other things, he was indeed a skilful and careful general, but that he had never had the very least particle of a proper education, and that he had never turned his mind the least in the world to the administration of affairs. But he appears from his earliest youth to have been engaged in war, and to have given his children to his wives to bring up." And again, Xenophon, who joined Cyrus with the Ten Thousand Greeks, in his expedition into Persia, and who was thoroughly acquainted with the treachery of Meno the Thessalian, and knew that he was the cause of the murder of Clearchus by Tissaphernes, and who knew also the disposition of the man, how morose and debauched he was,—has given us a full account of everything concerning him. But the exquisite Plato, who all but says, "All this is not true," goes through a long panegyric on him, who was incessantly calumniating every one else. And in his Polity, he banishes Homer from his city, and all poetry of the theatrical kind; and yet he himself wrote dialogues in a theatrical style,—a manner of writing of which he himself was not the inventor; for Alexamenus the Teian had, before him, invented this style of dialogue, as Nicias of Nicæa and Sotion both agree in relating. And Aristotle, in his treatise on Poets, writes thus:—"Let us not then call those Mimes, as they are called, of Sophron, which are written in metre, Discourses and Imitations; or those Dialogues of Alexamenus of Teos, which were written before the Socratic Dialogues;"—Aristotle, the most learned of all men, stating here most expressly that Alexamenus composed his Dialogues before Plato. And Plato also calumniates Thrasymachus of Chalcedon, saying that he was a sophist in a way consistent with his name.[69] And he also attacks Hippias, and Gorgias, and Parmenides; and in one dialogue, called Protagoras, he attacks a great many;—a man who in his Republic has said, "When, as I think, a city which has been governed by a democracy, feels a thirst for liberty, and meets with bad cupbearers, and so it gets intoxicated by too untempered a draught . . . ."

PLATO.

113. And it is said also, that Gorgias himself, when he read the dialogue to which Plato has given his name, said to his friends, "How well Plato knows how to write iambics!" And Hermippus, in his book on Gorgias, says,—"When Gorgias was sojourning at Athens, after he had offered up at Delphi the golden image of himself which is there now, and when Plato said when he had seen it, The beautiful and golden Gorgias is come among us, Gorgias replied, This is indeed a fine young Archilochus whom Athens has now brought forth." But others say that Gorgias, having read the dialogue of Plato, said to the bystanders that he had never said any of the things there attributed to him, and had never heard any such things said by Plato. And they say that Phædo also said the same when he had read the treatise on the Soul, on which account it was well said by Timon, respecting him,—

"How that learned Plato invented fictitious marvels!"

For their respective ages will scarcely admit of the Socrates of Plato ever having really had a conference with Parmenides, so as to have addressed him and to have been addressed by him in such language. And what is worst of all is, that he has said, though there was not the slightest occasion for making any such assertion, that Zeno had been beloved by Parmenides, who was his fellow-citizen. Nor, indeed, is it possible that Phædrus should have lived in the time of Socrates, much less that he should have been beloved by him. Nor, again, is it possible that Paralus and Xanthippus, the sons of Pericles, who died of the plague, should have conversed with Protagoras when he came the second time to Athens, as they had died before. And we might mention many other particulars respecting his works to show how wholly fictitious his Dialogues are.

114. But that Plato was ill-natured to everybody is plain from what he says in his dialogue entitled Ion; in which first of all he abuses all the poets, and then all those who have been promoted to the highest dignities by the people, such as Phanosthenes of Andros, and Apollodorus of Cyzicus, and also Heraclides of Clazomenæ. And in his Menon he abuses those who have been the greatest men among the Athenians—Aristides and Themistocles; and he extols Meno, who betrayed the Greeks. But in his Euthydemus he attacks this same Meno and his brother Dionysiodorus, and calls them men slow to learn any good thing, and contentious people, reproaching them with their flight from Chios, which was their native place, from which they went and settled in Thurii. And, in his essay on Manly Courage, he attacks Melesias, the son of that Thucydides who headed the opposite party to Pericles, and Lysimachus, the son of Aristides the Just, saying that they both fell far short of their fathers' virtues. And as to what he said about Alcibiades, in his Banquet, that is not fit to be produced to light; nor is what he says in the first of the Dialogues which go by his name. For the second Alcibiades is said by some people to be the work of Xenophon; as also the Halcyon is said to be the work of Leon the Academician, as Nicias of Nicæa says. Now, the things which he has said against Alcibiades I will pass over; but I cannot forbear to mention his calling the Athenian people a random judge, guided only by outward appearance. And he praises the Lacedæmonians, and extols also the Persians, who are the enemies of all the Greeks.

And he calls Cleinias the brother of Alcibiades a madman; and the sons of Pericles he makes out to be fools; and Meidias he calls a man fit for nothing but killing quails; and of the people of the Athenians he says, that it wears a fair mask, but that one ought to strip the mask off, and look at it then; for he says that it will then be seen that it is only clothed with a specious appearance of a beauty which is not genuine.

PLATO.

115. But in the Cimon he does not abstain from accusing Themistocles, and Alcibiades, and Myronides, and even Cimon himself; and his Crito contains an invective against Sophocles; and his Gorgias contains an invective not only against the man from whom it is named, but also against Archelaus, king of Macedon, whom he reproaches not only with his ignoble birth, but also with having killed his master. And this is the very same Plato whom Speusippus represents as having, while he professed to be a great friend of Archelaus, assisted Philip to get possession of the kingdom. At all events, Carystius of Pergamus, in his Historical Commentaries, writes as follows:—"Speusippus, hearing that Philip used calumnious language respecting Plato, wrote something of this sort in his letter to him: 'Just as if men did not know that Philip originally obtained the kingdom by the assistance of Plato.' For Plato sent Euphræus of Oreum to Perdiccas, who persuaded him to apportion a certain district to Philip; and so he, maintaining a force in that country, when Perdiccas died, having all his forces in a state of preparation, seized the supreme power." But whether all this is true or not, God knows.

But his fine Protagoras, besides that it contains attacks on many poets and wise men, also shows up the life of Callias with much greater severity than Eupolis does in his Flatterers. And in his Menexenus, not only is Hippias the Elean turned into ridicule, but also Antipho the Rhamnusian, and Lamprus the musician. And the day would fail me, if I were inclined to go through the names of all those who have been abused by that wise man. Nor indeed do I praise Antisthenes; for he, having abused many men, did not abstain even from Plato himself, but, having given him the odious name of Sathon, he then published a dialogue under this name.