[[231]]made of brass. And wine was not brought round to drink unless any one asked for it; but one cyathus was given to each guest before supper: and generally it was given to himself first; and then, when he had thus given the signal, the rest also asked for some wine. But what was served up was placed on a very common-looking table; and the dishes were such that there was neither anything left, nor anything deficient, but just a sufficient quantity for every one; so that those who were present should not feel the want of anything. For he did not think it right to receive guests as sparingly, in respect of soup and meat, as men are treated at the phiditia; nor again, to have so much superfluity as to waste money for no purpose, exceeding all moderation and reason in the feast; for the one extreme he counted illiberal, and the other arrogant. And the wine was of rather a better quality when he had any company. But while they were eating they all kept silence; but a slave stood by, holding in his hand a vessel of mixed wine, and poured out for every one who asked for it. And in the same manner, after supper there was given to each guest not more than two cyathi of wine, and this too was brought to each person as he made a sign for it. And there was no music of any kind accompanying the meal, but Cleomenes himself conversed all the time with each individual, having invited them, as it were, for the purpose of listening and talking; so that all departed charmed with his hospitality and affability."

But Antiphanes, ridiculing the Lacedæmonian banquets, in the style of the comic poets, in his drama which is entitled Archon, speaks as follows:—

If you should live in Lacedæmon's walls,
You must comply with all their fashions there.
Go to their spare phiditia for supper,
And feast on their black broth; and not disdain
To wear fierce whiskers and seek no indulgence
Further than this; but keep the olden customs,
Such as their country doth compel.

22. And concerning the Cretan banquets, or συσσίτια, Dosiades speaks in the fourth book of his treatise on Cretan Affairs, speaking as follows:—"But the Lyctians collect men for the common meal (συσσίτια) of the nation in this way:—Every one brings a tenth part of the fruits which his land produces and throws into the common stock of the mess;

[[232]]and they also bring their share of the taxes due to the city, which the chief magistrates of the city distribute among each separate family. And each one of the slaves pays an Æginetan stater[232:1] a head. The citizens are all divided into messes; and they call them ἀνδρεῖα. And a woman has the superintendence of their meals, having three or four of the people under her to obey her orders. Now each one of the company is followed by two servants bearing wood; and their title is calophori. And there are in every town of Crete two houses set apart for these συσσίτιαι, one of which they call the men's house, and the other, that, namely, in which they receive strangers, they call the sleeping house. And in the house which is set apart for these public meals, there are first of all two tables set out, called the strangers' tables, at which those foreigners who are present sit; and after that tables are laid for the rest. And the younger men have half the quantity of meat; and they touch none of the other dishes. Then a bowl of wine is placed on each table, mingled with water; and all drink of this in common at the common table; and when they have finished supper then another bowl is put on the table. But for the boys one common bowl is likewise mixed; but the elders have liberty to drink more if they feel inclined to. And the woman who has the superintendence of the mess takes away from off the table, without any disguise or concealment, the best of what is served up, and puts it before those who are distinguished for warlike achievements or for wisdom. And when they have finished supper, then, first of all, they are in the habit of deliberating on the affairs of the state; and then, after that, they converse about exploits which have been performed in war, and extol those who have behaved like valiant men, and so exhort the younger men to acts of valour and virtue."

And Pyrgion, in the third book of his treatise on Cretan Laws, says—"At their public meals the Cretans sit and feast merrily. And those who are orphans have dishes served up to them without any seasoning; and the youngest of them minister to the others; and having uttered words of good omen they pour libations to the gods, and distribute the dishes served up to all the guests. They distribute some also to the sons who are sitting just behind the seat of their

[[233]]fathers; giving them one-half as much as is given to men; but the orphans have an equal share. And whatever is served up to them has no seasoning nor any luxurious mixtures compounded in it. There were also three seats designed for strangers, and a third table, on the right hand side as you went in to the house where the men ate; and that they called the table of the Jupiter of Hospitality, and the table of Hospitality."

23. And Herodotus, comparing the drinking parties of the Greeks with the banquets in fashion among the Persians, says—"But the Persians are accustomed to honour that day above all others on which they were born. And on that day they think it right to have a more splendid feast than on any other day. And on that day those of them who are rich serve up an ox, and an ass, and a horse, and a camel, all roasted whole in ovens: but those who are poor serve up only the smaller animals, such as sheep; and they do not eat a great deal of meat, but great quantities of sweetmeats, and no salt. And on this account the Persians say that the Greeks, when they eat, leave off being still hungry, because after supper nothing is served up to them worth speaking of. For that if anything good were put before them they would not leave off eating it: but they sit very long at their wine. And it is not allowed to them to vomit, nor to make water in the presence of one another. And these laws are strictly observed among them. And after they have drunk hard they are accustomed to deliberate on the most important affairs. And whatever they determine on at these deliberations, the next day the master of the house, wherever they were when they deliberated, proposes to them over again when they are quite sober; and if they adopt the same determination when sober, then they act upon it, but if not, they abandon it: and whatever they decide on when sober, they reconsider when they are drunk."

24. But concerning the luxury of the kings among the Persians, Xenophon, in his Agesilaus, writes as follows:—"For men travel over the whole earth in the service of the king of Persia, looking to find out what may be pleasant for him to drink; and ten thousand men are always contriving something nice for him to eat; and no one can tell the number of contrivances they propose to cause him to sleep well.

[[234]]But Agesilaus, because he was a man fond of exertion, drank whatever was set before him with pleasure, and ate whatever came across him with appetite; and every place suited him to sleep pleasantly in." And in his treatise entitled Hiero, speaking of the things which are prepared for kings, and also of the dishes which are prepared for private individuals to eat, he uses the following expressions:—"'And I know,' said he, 'O Simonides, that most men consider that we eat and drink more pleasantly than private individuals in this respect, because they think that they should more gladly eat of what is served up to us than of what is set before them. For that whatever is out of the ordinary routine gives pleasure; on which account all men gladly receive invitations to festivals, except kings. For as their tables are always loaded to satiety, it is quite impossible that they should be susceptible of any addition at the time of feasts; so that in this particular pleasure which is derived from hope they are surpassed by private individuals. And in the next place,' he continued, 'I am sure that you yourself know from experience that the more any one sets before people that which is more than sufficient, in that exact proportion is a disgust at eating quicker in coming on; so that a man who has a very large and varied dinner set before him is inferior to those who live moderately also in the duration of his pleasure.' 'But, by Jove,' said Simonides, 'as long as the mind feels an appetite, so long are those who are bred up amid more expensive preparations delighted in a much higher degree than those who are in the habit of living in a most economical manner.'"