The Deipnosophists; or, Banquet of the Learned of Athenæus, Vol. 1 (of 3)

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Transcriber's Notes: Words in italics in the original are surrounded by
_underscores_. A row of asterisks represents either an ellipsis in a
poetry quotation or a place where the original Greek text was too
corrupt to be read by the translator. Other ellipses match the original.

Variations in spelling and hyphenation have been left as in the
original.

There are numerous long quotations in the original, many missing the
closing quotation mark. Since it is often difficult to determine where a
quotation begins or ends, the transcriber has left quotation marks as
they appear in the original.

A few typographical errors have been corrected. A complete list follows
the text. Other notes also follow the text.




                                 THE

                            DEIPNOSOPHISTS

                                  OR

                        BANQUET OF THE LEARNED

                                  OF

                              ATHENÆUS.


                         LITERALLY TRANSLATED
                         BY C. D. YONGE, B.A.


               WITH AN APPENDIX OF POETICAL FRAGMENTS,
           RENDERED INTO ENGLISH VERSE BY VARIOUS AUTHORS,
                         AND A GENERAL INDEX.


                          IN THREE VOLUMES.
                               VOL. I.


                               LONDON:
              HENRY G. BOHN, YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN.
                              MDCCCLIV.




                               LONDON:
                 R. CLAY, PRINTER, BREAD STREET HILL.




PREFACE.


The author of the DEIPNOSOPHISTS was an Egyptian, born in Naucratis, a
town on the left side of the Canopic Mouth of the Nile. The age in which
he lived is somewhat uncertain, but his work, at least the latter
portion of it, must have been written after the death of Ulpian the
lawyer, which happened A.D. 228.

Athenæus appears to have been imbued with a great love of learning, in
the pursuit of which he indulged in the most extensive and multifarious
reading; and the principal value of his work is, that by its copious
quotations it preserves to us large fragments from the ancient poets,
which would otherwise have perished. There are also one or two curious
and interesting extracts in prose; such, for instance, as the account of
the gigantic ship built by Ptolemæus Philopator, extracted from a lost
work of Callixenus of Rhodes.

The work commences, in imitation of Plato's Phædo, with a dialogue, in
which Athenæus and Timocrates supply the place of Phædo and Echecrates.
The former relates to his friend the conversation which passed at a
banquet given at the house of Laurentius, a noble Roman, between some of
the guests, the best known of whom are Galen and Ulpian.

The first two books, and portions of the third, eleventh, and fifteenth,
exist only in an Epitome, of which both the date and author are unknown.
It soon, however, became more common than the original work, and
eventually in a great degree superseded it. Indeed Bentley has proved
that the only knowledge which, in the time of Eustathius, existed of
Athenæus, was through its medium.

Athenæus was also the author of a book entitled, "On the Kings of
Syria," of which no portion has come down to us.

The text which has been adopted in the present translation is that of
Schweighäuser.

                                                         C. D. Y.




CONTENTS.


     BOOK I.--EPITOME.

     The Character of Laurentius--Hospitable and Liberal Men--
     Those who have written about Feasts--Epicures--The Praises
     of Wine--Names of Meals--Fashions at Meals--Dances--Games
     --Baths--Partiality of the Greeks for Amusements--Dancing
     and Dancers--Use of some Words--Exercise--Kinds of Food--
     Different kinds of Wine--The Produce of various places--
     Different Wines                                                1-57


     BOOK II.--EPITOME.

     Wine--Drinking--The evils of Drunkenness--Praises of Wine
     --Water--Different kinds of Water--Sweetmeats--Couches and
     Coverlets--Names of Fruits--Fruit and Herbs--Lupins--Names
     of--Plants--Eggs--Gourds--Mushrooms--Asparagus--Onions--
     Thrushes--Brains--The Head--Pickle--Cucumbers--Lettuce--
     The Cactus--The Nile                                         57-121


     BOOK III.

     Cucumbers--Figs--Apples--Citrons--Limpets--Cockles--
     Shell-fish--Oysters--Pearls--Tripe--Pigs' Feet--Music at
     Banquets--Puns on Words--Banquets--Dishes at Banquets--
     Fish--Shell-fish--Fish--Cuttle-fish--Bread--Loaves--Fish--
     Water Drinking--Drinking Snow--Cheesecakes--Χόνδοος           121-210


     BOOK IV.