Nor indeed am I one of those κυλίκρανοι whom Hermippus, the comic poet, ridicules in his iambics, where he says—
I've come now to the vineyard of the Cylicranes,
And seen Heraclea, a beauteous city.
CUPS.
But these are Heracleans who live at the foot of Mount Œta, as Nicander of Thyatira says; saying that they are so named from a certain Cylix, a Lydian by birth, who was one of the comrades of Hercules. And they are mentioned also by Scythinus the Teian, in his work entitled The History, where he says, "Hercules, having taking Eurytus and his son, put them to death for exacting tribute from the people of Euboea. And he laid waste the territory of the Cylicranes for behaving like robbers; and there he built a city called Heraclea of Trachis." And Polemo, in the first of his books, addressed to Adæus and Antigonus, speaks thus—"But the inhabitants of the Heraclea which is at the foot of Mount Œta, and of Trachis, are partly some Cylicranes who came with Hercules from Lydia, and partly Athamanes, some of whose towns remain to this day. And the people of Heraclea did not admit them to any of the privileges of citizenship, considering them only as foreigners sojourning amongst them; and they were called Cylicranes, because they had the figure of a cup (κύλιξ) branded on their shoulders."
6. I am aware, too, that Hellanicus says, in his treatise on the Names of Races, that "Some of the Libyan nomades have no other possessions than a cup, and a sword, and a ewer, and they have small houses made of the stalks of asphodel, merely just to serve as a shade, and they even carry them about with them wherever they go." There is also a spot amongst the Illyrians, which has been celebrated by many people, which is called Κύλικες, near to which is the tomb of Cadmus and Harmonia, as Phylarchus relates in the twenty-second book of his Histories. And Polemo, in his book on Morychus, says that at Syracuse, on the highest spot of the part called the Island, there is an altar near the temple of Olympia, outside the walls, from which he says that people when putting to sea carry a goblet with them, keeping it until they get to such a distance that the shield in the temple of Minerva cannot be seen; and then they let it fall into the sea, being an earthenware cup, putting into it flowers and honeycombs, and uncut frankincense, and all sorts of other spices besides.
7. And since I now see your banquet, as Xenophanes the Colophonian says, full of all kinds of pleasure—
For now the floor and all men's hands are clean,
And all the cups, and since the feasters' brows
Are wreathed with garlands, while the slaves around
Bring fragrant perfume in well-suited dishes;
And in the middle stands the joyful bowl,
And wine's at hand, which ne'er deserts the guests
Who know its worth, in earthen jars well kept,
Well flavour'd, fragrant with the sweet fresh flowers;
And in the midst the frankincense sends forth
Its holy perfume; and the water's cold,
And sweet, and pure; and golden bread's at hand,
And duly honour'd tables, groaning under
Their weight of cheese and honey;—then an altar,
Placed in the centre, all with flow'rs is crown'd.
And song and feasting occupies the house,
And dancing, and all sorts of revelry:—
Therefore it does become right-minded men
First with well-omen'd words and pious prayers
To hymn the praises of the Gods; and so,
With pure libations and well-order'd vows,
To win from them the power to act with justice—
For this comes from the favour of the Gods;
And you may drink as much as shall not hinder
You from returning home without assistance,
Unless, indeed, you're very old: and he
Deserves to be above his fellows lauded
Who drinks and then says good and witty things,
Such as his memory and taste suggests,—
Who lays down rules, and tells fine tales of virtue;
Not raking up the old Titanic fables,
Wars of the Giants, or the Lapithæ,
Figments of ancient times, mere pleasing trifles,
Full of no solid good; but always speaking
Things that may lead to right ideas of God.
8. And the exquisite Anacreon says—
I do not love the man who, 'midst his cups,
Says nothing but old tales of war and strife,
But him who gives its honour due to mirth,
Praising the Muses and the bright-faced Venus.
And Ion of Chios says—