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/ *>^ ' \y 



THE HISTORY 



OF THE 



MANNERS AND CUSTOMS 



OP 



ANCIENT GREECE 



BY J. A. ST. J0HN.^7?v, 

• • •. •>• 't 



I 






IN THREE VOLUMES. 
VOL. II. 



LONDON: 

RICHARD BENTLEY, NEW BURLINGTON STREET, 
iPnblitflbtr in <9c1linar]; to V»er ^a|n(t];. 

1842. 



/27A 



LONDON : 

Printed by S. & J. Bbntlsy, Wilkom, mad Flxy, 

Baagor House, Shoe Lane. 



CONTENTS 



OF THE SECOND VOLUME. 



BOOK III, 

CHAPTER PAQB 

I V. Marriage Ceremonies .... 1 

V. Condition of Married Women ... 28 

VI. Toilette, Dress, and Ornaments . .^50 



BOOK IV. 

I. Private Dwellings . .75 

II. Household Furniture .... 97 

III. Food of Homeric Hmes^ — Meat, Fish, &c. . .125 

IV. Poultry, Fruit, Wine, &c . . 150 
V. Entertainments . . . . .170 

VI. Entertainments (conftnt^) . . . 197 

VII. The Theatre . . . . .220 

VIII. The ihesLtre (continued) ... 248 



IV CONTENTS. 



BOOK V. 



RURAL LIFR. 



CHAPTER PAOS 

I. The Villa and the Farmyard . .269 

II. Garden and Orchard . . . SOI 

III. Vmeyards, Vintage^ &c. .... 385 

IV. Studies of the Farmer . . 362 
V. The Various Processes of Agriculture . 38 1 

VI. Pastoral Life .... 401 



THE HISTORY 



MANNERS AND CUSTOMS 



ANCIENT GREECE. 



BOOK III. 

CHAPTER IV. 
MARRIAGE CEREMONIES. 

When marriage was determined on, whether love 
or interest prompted to it. the business part of the 
transactioD, which in all countries is exceedingly 
unromantic, was delegated, as in China, to a female 
matchmaker, ' whose professional duties appear to 
have been considered important. She carried the 
lover's proposals to the family of his mistress, or 
rather, perhaps, broke the ice and paved the way 
for him. In the earlier ages men, no doubt, per- 
formed this delicate office themselves, or entrusted 
it to their parents; as in Homer we find Achilles 
declaring, that his father Peleus shall choose a wife 
for him. Earlier still, if we may credit certain pre- 
valent traditions, men dispensed altogether with such 



I 



. Aristpph. Nub. 41. el Schol. Poll. iii. 41. 



MARRIAGE CEREMONIES. 



and lived '• more pecudum " with the 



preliminaries 

first females who came in their way; a state of bar- 
barism from which it is said they were reclaimed 
by Cecrops.' But, to whomsoever this fable may 
trace its origin, it is evidently unworthy of the I 
slightest credit. Of times sunk in such an abyss ' 
of ignorance no record could remain, or even of 
many succeeding revolutions of manners touching 
close upon the orbit of civilisation. If, however, 
the tradition arose originally out of any real inno- 
vation in manners, it may refer to the partial abo- 
lition of polygamy, which, whether made by Cecrops 
or not, was an im|Jortant step in the progress of 
the Greeks towards polished life. I 

But if Cecrops ever lived, and should not be re- 1 
garded as a mere mythological creation, we must 
still reject the comparatively modern tradition which 
fetches him from Egypt. Coming from the East, 
he would more probably have instituted polygamy 
than the contrary. In every point of view the tra- 
dition is absurd ; for it at once represents the people 
of Attica as savages, and as having made consider- 
able advances in the science of civil government. 
They have already emerged from the state of pa- 
triarchal rule, not by any means the lowest, and 
have arrived at the monarchical period in the history , 
of society — for Cecrops marries the daughter of king 
Actseos — yet have not made the first step in refine- 



' Athen. xiii. 2. Mr, Mitford 
defers too mucli to '' the tradi- 
" tiona rweived in the polished 
"agea"wheti, upon the authori- 
ty of Buch traditions and of 
such writers as Justin (ii. 6.), he 
appears to conclude that, before 
the lime of Cecrops, the people 
of Attica were in knowledge and 
rivilisation inferior to the wildest 
savages. Mist, of Greece, i. 58. 
Upon legends and authors of this 
description no reliance can be 
placed. If societj' existed, every- 



thing " indispensable " to society 
also existed ; therefore, if marriage 
be 80, it could not be unlmown. 
Besides, how happens it that Ihia 
same Cecrops who instituted mar- ' 
riage did not likewise teach them 
to sow com, which, if Egypt waa, 
when he left it, a civilised country, 
must have been as familiar to him 
as matrimony ! This most neces- 
sary acquisition, however, they 
were left to make many ages 
afterwards, during the reign rf 
Erechtheus. Justin, ii. 6. 



MAEBIAQE CEREMONIES. 



3 



I 



ment,' have not passed the barrier dividing the rudest 
savage from even the barbarian, — had not made the 
discovery that, for the preservation of society, chil- 
dren must be cared for and maintained, which is 
impossible until they have other fathers than the 
community. We must, therefore, reject this Cecro- 
pian legend, and acknowledge that, from the earliest 
times of wliich any record remains, the people of 
Hellas married and were given in marriage. 

Whatever the original practice of the Greeks may 
have been, traces of polygamy long continued dis- 
cernible in their manners. Heracles maintained a 
seraglio worthy of an Ottoman sultan. His wives, in- 
deed, like those of a wandering Brahmin, were scattered 
at convenient points over the country, that, whither- 
soever he roamed, he might find lodging and enter- 
tainment; but, as rumours of his different establish- 
ments travelled about, the jealousy of the ladies was 
at last excited and proved fatal to him. .^geus, too, 
and his brother Pallas, old Priam, Agamemnon, Tlie- 
seus, and nearly every public man in the heroic 
times, are represented as possessing a harem. Indeed, 
to judge by the practice of princes, it would seem 



1 Cf. Goguet, Originedes Loix. 
ir. S94, wbere the learned author 
contends most chivalrously for the 
received theory. Apollodorus, 
however, representa Ce crops aa 
on Autochthon, oxf^^Iec ix""" 
e^jta dyifids I'oi ipaKoyTot. iii. 
14. 1.— The reason why he was 
thus Bald to partake oftwo natures 
— half-man and half-snake — has 
been very variously and very 
fantastically explained. Diodo- 
riM SiculuB, (i. p. 1 7,) derives his 
title to be considered half a 
man and half a beast, froni his 
being, by choice a Greek, by na- 
ture A barbarian. Yet he con- 
ceives that it was the beast that 
civiliKd the man. Others ex- 
[dkin itfv^ somewhat differently 



1 



to 1 



1 that 1 



sof ( 



tic stature and understood two 
languages: ^lo fifltoc ffwparoc ou- 
ru i.-aXou/iO'Oc, He ifh'" " *iAri- 
jjopuc, i; Cri Alyviniaiy rdc eiio 
yXaiaaai iriirrnTO. — Euseb. No, 
4U0. — Eustathius, familiar with 
the fables of the mythology, turns 
the tables upon Cecrops, and 
conceives that he may have 
civilised himself, not the Athe- 
nians, by settling in Attica. He 
supposes him &r6 aipiiat c'ltayiffnii- 
rev ikBur. irni^ iatii oc iXOiiv 
Eic 'EXXdia Koi rof fldpftapuy 
Aiyuimtiiriiiy u'^CC, yfirjirroiiQ 
tivaXdl^iTO Tp6rovf: roXirilouc. 
— In Dionys. Peneg. p. 56. 



4 MARRIAGE CEREMONIES. 

as if polygamy were the law of every land; so habi- 
tual IB it witli tliem to transgi-ess, in this point, 
against public opinion. A report, still current among 
certain writers, represents Socrates with two wives, 
the gentle nature of Xanti]ipe encouraging him, per- ' 
haps, to venture on a second ! But even that dili- 
gent retailer of scamlal, Athenieus,' rejects this story, 
which, no doubt, originated with some sophist, who I 
owed the philosopher a grudge. If not in the son , 
of Sophroniscos, however, at least in Philip of Mace- , 
don, the kings of heroic times found an exact imi- 
tator. This Pelican Ibx, though be did not, like 
the Persian monarch, lead about with him an army 
of concubines in his military expeditions, yet, from 
policy or other motives, contracted numerous mar- 
riages, as many, perhaps, as Heracles. Satyros has 
bequeathed to us a curious account of his majesty's 
matrimonial exploits. During his long reign, of j 
from twenty to four-and- twenty years, the dishes of 
one nuptial feast had scarcely time to coot before 
a new one was in preparation. It was nothing but 
truiUes and rich soup from June till June. I am 
unable to furnish a list of all the ladies who claimed, 
through Philip's dillusive luve, to be queens of Ma- 
ccdon ; but it may be proper to name a few 
show how the morals of liis subjects must have been 
improved by his example. The first lady whose 
landed attractions won Philip's heart was Aiidale, 
an Illyrian, by whom be had a daughter, called 
Cynna. To her succeeded Phila, sister of Derda and 
MacAte. His next wives were two Thessalian wo- 
men, Pheve of Nikesipolis, mother of Thessaloni^ : 



' Deipnosoph. xiii. 8. — Com- 
pare tiie account in Diogenes 
Laertius, ii. S. 10. — The coiidnct 
of Socratea. who married Xun- 
tippe to prove the goodness of his 
temper, wa« iniilated, n-e are 
told, by a Christian lady, who 
•■deflired of St. Athanasius to 
•' procure for her, out of the wi- 



" dows ted from the ecclesiastical ' 
'■ vorban, an old woman moi 
" peevish, and impatient, that 
"she niigiil by the society of 
" Bu ungentle a peraon have often 
" oecaaion lo exercise her pa- 
" tience, her furpvcness, and 
" charity."— Jereniv Taylor'sLift 
of Chri»t, i. 38*. 



MARRIAGK CKlliCUUNIES. 5 

niu! Philinna of Larissa, mutlier of Aridieos. Had 
he sought iiierc-Iy the women tliese might have suf- 
ficed ; but Phiiip liad other views, and, finding mar- 
riage a stili more expeditious method of extending 
Ids dominions even than conquest, he forthwith ad- 
ded to the list Olympias, who brought him the 
kingdom of Molosaia in dowry, and, as every one 
knows, was mother of Alexander. Had the crafty 
prince stopped here, posterity, overlooking his im- 
morality, might have applauded his prudence. But, 
elated by success, he proceeded to augment the 
number of his (jueens. To Olympias succeeded 
Meda, daughter of Clthalas, king of Tlirace ; and, 
lastly, Cleopatra, sister of Ilippostratos, and niece 
of Attalos. By this time he was somewhat ad- 
vanced in years, for xMexaiider, son of Olympias, 
approached manhood. At the feast given in ho- 
nour of this new marriage, when the wine had 
circulated, as was customary among Macedonians, 
Attalos, who had probably drunk deep, obser^-ed, 
" At length we shall have legitimate princes, not 
bastards'" Alexander, who was present, in resent- 
ment of the affront, threw his goblet in the face 
of Attalos, who saluted him in the same way. Upon 
this, perceiving how matter^i were likely to proceed, 
Olympias fled to Molossia, Alexander into lllyria. 
Philip lived to have by Cleopatra one daughter, 
Europa; but, shortly afterwards, at the instigation, 
it is supposed of Olympias and Alexander, was 
murdered by Pausanias.' 

Ordinary individuals, however, were restrained 
from the commission of such immoralities by the 
laws, more particularly at Athens, where marriage 
was contemplated with all the reverence due to 
the great palladium of civilisation. As a necessary 
coneequence, celibacy could be no other than dis- 
reputable, so that, to a man ambitious of public 
honour, the possession of a wife and children was 

I Alhen. xiii. 3. 



6 MARRUGE CEREMONIES. 

no less indispensable than the means of living.' 
Among the Spartans, bachelors were delivered over 
to the tender mercies of the women, and subjected 
to very heavy penalties. During the celebration of 
certain festivals they were seized by a crowd of pe- 
tulant viragoes, each able to strangle an ox,'* and 
dragged in derision round the altars of the gods, 
receiving from the fists of their gentle tormentors 
such blows as the regular practice of boxing had 
taught the young ladies to inflict.' 

" And ladies sometimes hit exceeding hard." 

But we shall be the less inclined to judge un- 
charitably of this somewhat unfeminine custom, if 
we consider that, in the ancient world, no less than 
in the modem, unmarried and childless women were 
held but in slight esteem. And this feeling, which 
never for a moment slumbers in society, teaches 
better than the cant of a thousand sentimentalists 
what the true origin of love is, 

Of the impediments to marriage arising, among 
ancient nations, from relationship or consanguinity, 
very little is with certainty known. In the heroic 
ages, all unions excepting those of parents with 
their children ajtpear to have been lawful ; for, in 
the Odyssey, we find the six sons of ^Eolos Joined 
in marriage with their six sisters, the manners of 
the olden times, abandoned on earth, still lingering 
among the gods. 

Iphidamos has to wife his mother's sister,* and 
AlcinooB, by no means a profligate or immoral prince, 
is united with his brother's daughter;* Deiphobos, 
after Paris's death, takes possession of Helen,^ and 
Helenos, the seer, is united in wedlock with An- 
dromache, the widow of his brother Hector.' But 
without alleging any further examples, we may, from 

» Dinarch.in Deraoith. §11. Cf. * Horn, 11. \. 221, seq. 

Poll. viii. 40. Comm. p. 6*4.. * Horn. Odyas. t(. 55, seq. 

' Ariitoph Lvtintrot. 78, seq. " Keighlley, Mythology, p. 4 DO. 

■> Athen, xiii."a. ■ Serv. ad Virg. iEn. iii. 297. 




MAKRIAGK CEREMONIES. 7 

tUe practice imputed to tlie gods, among whom 
scarcely any degree of relational] ip waa a bar to 
marriage, infer that, in very early ages, few scruples 
were entertained upon the subject. Later mytho- 
logists have even imputed to Zeus an illicit amour 
with his daughter Aphrodite,' but libetlously, and 
in contradiction to the best ancient authorities." 
Nature, indeed, has so peremptorily prohibited the 
union of parents with their own children, that posi- 
tive laws forbidding connexions so nefarious, have 
in all ages been nearly unnecessary, though the su- 
perstition of the Magi ' in ancient, and the profli- 
gacy of popes and princes in modern times, have 
been accused of transgressing tlicse natural boun- 
daries. 

Could we credit the sophist of Naucratis, there 
was likewise one distinguished person* among the 
Athenians who coveted the reputation of equal guilt. 



■ 
■ 



« Virg. Cir. 133. 
Sed malus ille pucr, qiiein nee 

Bua flectere mater, 
Iratum potuit, quern ncc poter, 

atque avtu idem 
Jupiter. 

* For Valckemaer's correction 
of Eurip. Hippoi. 53B, where for o 
Aloe ratt, he reads SXiyoc iraTci 
should, I think, he adopted. Dia- 
trib. in Eurip. Perd. Dram. xv. p. 
1jS9, c Hia whole defence of 
Zeu* on this count ia triumphant. 
StiU the notes of Monk, Beck, 
Mutgrave, and the Classical Jour- 
nal, vi. 80, should be compared. 

* Diog. Laert. Pro<Ein. § 6. To 
this practice Euripides probably al- 
ludes in the Andromache, v. 173, 
•qq., where Hermione describes, 
wnth scorn, the profligate man- 
nen of the burb^ans. Catul- 
lus, inveighing against the im- 
pious depravity of a eontemporarj'. 
obtervea — 



" Nam Hagus ex iiiatre et gnato 

gignatur oportet, 
Si vera est Persarum tmpia re- 

Epig. Isxxiii. 3, seq. Pope 
Alexander VI. and tlie Emperor 
Shah Jeban have, in modem 
times, been accused of similar 
crimes. Bayle, Diet. Hist, et Crit. 
Art. Alexandre VI. and Bemier, 
Voyages, I, i. On the prohibited 
degrees of conajuiguinity, see Se- 
pulveda, de Ritu Nupt. el Dis- 
pcns. i. § 20, where he says, that 
the Pope could authoriEc all uni- 
ons, save those tjetween parents 
and children. " Et ideo hodi6 non 
ligant, nisi quatenus ab ecclesia 
sunt assumptee ; ac propterea Papa 
dispensare potest cum omnibus 
personis, nisi cum matre et pa- 
tre, ut matrimonium contraliant." 
Card. Cajt-tan. ap. SepuWed. ub. 
snp. 



• Alcibiades. Athen. xii. 
li. 34. Lysias, fr. p. 640. 



48. 



8 MARRUOE CEREMONIES. 

The marriage of brothers with their own sisters 
was, in later ages, considered illegal ; not so with re- 
spect to half sisters by the fathers's side, whom no 
law forbade men to marry.' Still the recorded ex- 
amples of those who availed themselves of this pri- 
vilege are few; but among them we find the great 
Cimon, son of Miltiades, who, from affection, observes 
Cornelius Nepos, and in perfect conformity with the 
manners of his country, took to wife his sister El- 
pinioe.* Plutarch, too, speaks of the miion as pub- 
lic and legal, but Athemeus' characteristically in- 
sinuates that Elpinice was merely her brother's mis- 
tress. The Spartan law took a different view of 
what constitutes sisterhood. Here the father was 
everj'thing, and therefore with an uterine sister, as 
no near relation, marriage might be contracted,* All 
connexions in the direct line of ascent or descent 
were prohibited; but the prohibition extended not 
to the collateral branches,' uncles being permitted 
to take to wife their nieces, and nephews their 
aunts. 

The precise age at which an Athenian citizen 
might legally take upon him the Irarden of a 
family, is said, without proof, though not altogether 
without probability, to have been determined by 
Solon ; for such matters were in those ages supposed 
to come within the legitimate scope of legislation.* 
They attributed to the season of youth a much greater 
duration than comports with our notions. It was, in 



' Sch. Aristnph. Nub. 1353. 

» Com. Nep. Vit. Cim. i. Plut. 
Cim. S 4, where we find this 
lady accused of an amour with 
the painter Poiygnotos, who intro- 
duced her portrait among the Tro- 
jan ladies in the Stoa Pcecile. 

* Deipnosophist. xiii. 5G. Mu- 
retus.Var. Lect.vii.i, discusses the 
question, but without throwing 
much new light upon it. — Andn- 
cides cont. Alcibiad- $ 9, assigns 



thee: 

find, however, Archeptolis, son 
of Themistocles, marrying his 
haJf-aister Mnesiptolema. Plut. 
Theniistocl. § 3-i. 

* Meurs. Themis Attica, i. 14, 
Philo. De Leg. Spec. ii. Eurip. 
Orest. 545. sqq. 

* Cr Herod, v. S3. Pausan. 

iii, .1, 9. 

" censor, de Die Natal. 14- 




MARRIAGE CEREMONIES. 

fact, thought to extend to the age of thirty-five or 
thirty-Beven, more or leas : when entering upon the 
less flowery domain of manhood, men would need 
the aid and consolation of a helpmate. But if there 
ever exiated such a law it was often hroken,' for 
early marriages, though less common perhaps than 
in modern times, are constantly alluded to both by 
historians and poets. Apprehensions of the too great 
increase of population already led philosophers, even 
in those early ages, vainly to apply themselves to 
the discovery of checks, which the irresistible im- 
pulses of nature always render nugatory; and view- 
ing in that light the regulation attributed to Solon,' 
they, with some variation, adopt it in their politi- 
cal works. Plato,^ in accordance with Hesiod's no- 
tion, fixes for the male, the marriageable age at 
thirty; but Aristotle, who chose on most points to 
differ from his master, allows his citizens seven years 
more of liberty. For women the proper age, he 
thought, is about eighteen. His reasons are, that 
the husband ami wife will thus flourish and decay 
together ; and, tlieir offspring inheriting the bloom 
and highest vigour of their parents, be at once * 
healthy in body and energetic in mind. 

Winter, more particularly tlie month of January, 
thence called Gamelion, or the " Nuptial Month," 
was regarded as the fittest season * of the year for 
the celebration of marriage ; and if the north wind 
happened to blow, as at that time of the year it 
often does, the circumstance was supposed to be 
peculiarly auspicious. For this notion several phy- 
siological reasons are assigned ; as that, during the 

Legg. vi. t. vii. p. 452. Hesiod, 
0pp. et Dies, 696. Guttling. 

• Polit. vii. 16. Hist. Anim. 
vii. 5, 6. Cf. Tac de Mor. Germ. 
30. Juat. Inatit. t. x. BnBgon. 
de Jur. Nupt. p. 99. 

Olympiod, in Meteor. . 



'Thus MantitlieOB, in Demos- 
thenes, marries at the age of 
eighteen, iii obedience to his 
father's wislies. — Contr. Bocnt. ii. 

§1- 

I AriMot. Polit. ii. 7. vii. U. 
Otttlling.— Cf. Malthus on Popu- 
[ jMicm. i. 9,10. 

'Repub V. t. vi. y.2-J7. !><■ 



Mei 



I. Grec. Per. v. 240. 



10 



MARRIAGE CEREMONIES. 



prevalence of tliat wind, the human frame is pecu- 
liarly nervous and full of energy; that the spirits 
are consequently light, and the temper and dispo- 
Bition sweet, cheerful, and flexible. Lingering sparka 
of ancient superstition may also have had their share 
in establishing this persuasion : towards that quarter 
of the heavens, as towards an universal Kebleh, all 
the civilised nations of antiquity turned as the 
home of their gods ; in that direction point all the 
openings of the Egyptian pyramids ; thither to the 
present moment turn the Chinese and Brahmina 
when they pray, and in the holy tabernacle of the 
Jews the Table of Shewbread ' likewise faced the 
north. Attention, too, was paid to the lunar in- 
fluences ; for, no other circumstance preventing it, 
it was usual to fix on the full of the moon, when 
the festival denominated Tkeogamia, or " Nuptials 
of the Gods " was celebrated, in order that reli- 
gion itself, by its august and venerable ceremonies, 
might appear to sanctify the union of mortals 
effected under its auspices. 

To this practice there are several allusions in an- 
cient writers, Agamemnon, in Euripides, when ques- 
tioned by his wife respecting the time of Iphige- 
nia's marriage, replies, that it shall take place 

" When the blest moon its silvery circle fills." « 

And Themis, adjudging Thetis to Peleus, to termi- 
nate the contentions of the gods, selects the same 
season for the tjolemnization of the nuptial rites. 

" But wlien next that solemn ere 
Duly doth the moon divide. 
For the chieftain let her leave 
Her lovely virgin zone aside."' 

Most ancient nations, as the Hehre%vs, Indians, 



Diasen.— Rev. H. F. Cary"« trans- 
lation, admirable fur its closeneu , 
and spirit, p. 212. 



1 Exod. xl. 22. 

- Iphigen. in Aul. 717. 

1 Pindar, lath. Od. viii. \' 




I 



MARRIAGE CEREMONIES. 11 

Thracians. Germana, and Gaula, regarded women as 
a marketable commodity; and, in this respect, the 
Greeks of early times perfectly agreed with them, 
buying and selling their females like cattle.' But, 
by degrees, as manners grew more polished, this 
barbarous custom was discontinued, though, in re- 
membrance of it, presents were still made both to 
the father and the bride, even in the most civilised 
periods. We must, nevertheless, beware that we 
infer not too much from these gifts; for equally 
primitive and prevalent was the custom imposing 
upon fathers the necessity of dowrj'ing their daugh- 
ters.' In the case, too, of the husband's death this 
matrimonial portion devolved to the children, so that 
if the widow chose, — as widows sometimes will,' — to 
embark a second time on the connubial sea, her 
father was called upon to furnish a fresh outfit. 
But, if the husband grew tired of his better half, 
and would insist on a divorce, or if, after his death, 
the sons were sufficiently unnatural to chase their 
mother from the paternal roof, the right over the 
entire dowry reverted to her.* 

Parties were usually betrothed before marriage 
by their parents. And young women, whose parents 
no longer survived, were settled in marriage by 
their brothers, grandfathers, or guardians. Husbands 
on their deathbeds sometimes disposed of the bands 
of their wives, as in the case of Demosthenes' fa- 
ther, who bequeathed Cleobula to Aphohos, whom 
he likewise appointed guardian of his children. In 
this instance, the widow had better have chosen for 



frequently conaiderable, amouiit- 
ing BometlnieB to a hundred mlnie. 
S 18. 

* On their anxiety t« discaver 
the designs of the Fates in thit 
rcBpcct, see Schol. Aristoph, Ly- 
BJBt. 597- 

♦ Goguet, Orig. des Loix, iii. 
127, sqq. 



' Aristot. Polit. ii. 6. Tacit, 
de Mor. Oenn. 18. Heracl. Pont. 
V. Opatuy. L^. S^ic. Art. 46. 
Hist. Gen. des Voy. vi. U4. Cf. 
Goguet, Grig, des Loix, i. S3. 

■ Id cases where the fathers 
were unable to dowry them, we 
find daughters growing old in the 
|«t«mal mansion. Demosth. in 
St^h. i. § 20. Pomries were 



l:; MARItlAGE CEREMONIES. 

herself. Apliobos possessed himself of the Jowryjl 
and consented to fulfil the office of g;uardian, that l 
he might plunder the children ; but the marriage he I 
declined. Another example occurs in the case of ■ 
Phormio who, having been slave' to an opulent f 
citizen, and conducted himself with zeal and fidft* 1 
lity, received at once his freedom and the widow | 
of bis master. In all serious matters the Athe- 
nians were a very methodical people, and conducts I 
ed everything, even to the betrothing or marrying I 
of a wife, with an attention to form worthy the j 
quaintest citizen of our own great city. 

Potter observes, with great naivete, that, before | 
men married, it was customary to provide them- 
selves with a house to live in. The custom was a j 
good one, and the thrifty old poet of Ascra, under- | 
taking to enlighten his countrymen in economics, 
is explicit on the point — 

" First build your house and let the wifu succeed : " * 

which, no doubt, is better advice than if he had 
Baid " first marry a wife and next consider where I 
you shall put her." And we find that, even among | 
pastoral, young ladies who, in modern poets, make I 
their meat and drink of love, and hang up a rag or j 
two of it to preserve them from tlie elements, in j 
antiquity posed their lovers with interrogations about 
comforts. " You are very pressing, my dear Daphnisi 
and swear yon love me ; but that is not just now ■ 
the question. Have you a house and harem to take , 
me to ?" ' j 

But prudent as they may be considered, the Athe- 
nians were still more pious than thrifty. Before 
the virgin quitted ber childhood's home, and jiassed 
from the state she had tried, and in most cases, per- ■ 
baps, found happy, to enter into one altogether un- 
known to her, custom demanded the performance, on 



> Deiiioitb. {iM I'lionii. § 8 — 



^ Opera et t)\e», 103, 
■^ThcTwri). Ei.lj-ll. xxi 




MARRIAGE CEREMONIES. 



13 



I 



I 



tlie day Ijefore tlie marriage, of several religious cere- 
monies eminently significant and l)eaiitiful. Hitherto, 
in the poetical recesses of their tlialamoi, tbey had 
been reckoned as so many nymphs attached to the 
train of the virgin goddess of the woods. About 
to become members of a noviciate more conform- 
able to nature than that of the Catholic church, 
they deemed it incumbent on them to implore their 
Divinity's permission to transfer their worship from 
her to Hymen; and, the more readily to obtain it, 
they approached her. in the simplicity of their hearts, 
with baskets full of offeriugs such as it became them 
to present and lier to receive.' Nor was Artemis 
the only deity sought, on this occasion, to be ren- 
dered auspicious by sacrifice and prayer. Offerings 
were likewise made to the Nymplis, those lovely 
creations with which the fancy of the Greeks peo- 
pled the streams and fountains of their native land.* 
These rites performed, the future bride was con- 
ducted in pomp to the citadel, where solemn sacri- 
fice was offered up to Athena, the tutelar goddess 
of the state, with prayers for happiness, peculiarly the 
gift of supreme wisdom.' To Hera, also, and the 
Fates,' as to tlie goddesses that watched over the 
connubial state and rigidly punished those who trans- 
gressed its sacred laws, were gifts presented, and 
vows preferred ; and on one or all of their several 
altars did the maiden deposit a look of her own 
hair, in remoter ages, perhaps, the whole of it, to 
intimate that, having obtained a husband, she must 
preserve him by other means than beauty, and the 
fcrts of the toilette.^ At Megara the young women 



> Tbeocrit. Eidyll. ii. 66, ibiquc 
Scbol. 

s Schol. Find. Pytli. iv. ap. 
Meure. Gnec I'er. p. 238. 

* SuiJ. V. irpoTiXiin. t. ii. p. 
029. 1. ^aclijl. Euniiiii. T.)9. 
Cf. C«I. RhwJig. Kxviii. -ii. 

* Poll. ill. 33. Schol. Piiid. 



Pyth. X. 31. Aristoph. Thea- 
moph. 983. Kust. 

s Poll. iii. 3R. ibique Comm. p. 
.^^D, fleq. Cf. Spanh. Observ. in 
Callim. 149, 507. The youth 
usually cut off their hair on reach- 
ing llie Bge of puberty. Athun. 
xiii. 83. 



14 



MARRIAGE CEREMONIES. 



devoted their severed locks to I|)liinoe. Those of 
Delos to Hecaergu and Ops,' while, like the Athe- 
nians, the maidens of Argos performed this rite in 
honour of Athena." 

Having, by the performance of the above rites and 
others of similar significance, discharged their instant 
duties to the gods, and impressed on their own minds 
a deep sense of the sacred engagements they were 
about to contract, they proceeded to perform the 
nuptial ceremonies themselves, still intermingling the 
offices of religion with every portion of the trnna- 
actiou. An auspicious day having been fixed upon, 
the relations and friends of both parties assembled 
in magnificent apparel, at the house of the bride's 
father, where all the ladies of the family were busily 
engaged in the recitation of prayers and presenta- 
tion of offerings. These domestic ceremonies conclu- 
ded, the bride, accompanied by her paran\-mph or 
bridesmaid, was led forth into the street by the 
bridegroom and one of his most intimate friends,^ 
who placed her between them in an open carriage.* 
Their dresses, as waa fitting, were of the richest and 
most splendid kind. Those of the bridegroom full, 
flowing, and of the gayest and brightest colours.* 
glittered with golden ornaments, and diffused around, 
as he moved, a cloud of perfume. The bride herself, 
gifted with that unerring taste which distinguished 
her nation, appeared in a costume at once simple and 
magnificent— simple in its contour, its masses, its 
folds, magnificent from the brilliance of its hues 
and the superb and costly style of its ornaments. 
She was not, like some modern court dame, a blaze 



> Pausan. i. tS. i. Callim. in 
Del. 292. Spanh. Observal. t. ii. 
p. 503, sqq. 

« Stat. Theb. ii. 255, with the 
ancient conimeiitary of Lutatius. 

^ ndpo\ot. Suid. V. Zcuyov 
Sj/iioymoy- t. i. p. 1123, b. 
Eurip. Helen. 7^2, sqq. 



* This wag the usual practice. 
When the bride was led home on 
foot she was called x'''t"''^'>*'i ^ 
term of dii respect not far removed 
in meaning from our word Irani- 
ptr. Poll. iii. 40. 

* Aridtoph. Plut. 529, et Schol. 
Suid. V. /3airra. t. i. p. 533, b. 



A 



^H of preci 
^r but tbi 



UARRUGE CER&MONIES. 



15 



of precious stones tastelessly heaped upon eacli other ; 
but tbrough tlie snowy gauze of her veil flashed the 
jewelled fillet and coronet^like spheudone which, with 
a chaplet of flowers,' adorned her dark tresses ; and 
between the folds of her robe of gold-embroidered 
purple, appeared her gloveless fingers, with many 
rings glittering with gems. Strings of Red Sea 
pearls encircled her neck and arras ; pendants, va- 
riously wrought and dro])ped with Indian jewels, 
twinkled in her ears; and her feet, partly concealed 
by the falling robe, displayed a portion of the golden 
thonged sandal, crusted with emeralds, rubies, or 
pearls. Out all these ornaments often failed to dis- 
tract the eye from those which she owed to nature. 
Her luxuriant hair, which in Eastern women often 
reaches the ground : 

Her hair in hyacinthine flow. 

When lefl to roll iU folda below. 

As 'midst her niaidena in the hall 

She stood superior to them all, 

Hath swept the marble, where her feet 

Gleamed whiter than tlie mountain sleet, 

Ere ti-oni the cloud thai gave it birth 

It fell and caught one atain of earth ; 

her hair, 1 say, perfumed with delicate unguents,' 
such as nard from Tarsos, oeranthe from Cypros, 
essence of roses from Cyrcne, of lilies from jfegina 
or Cilicia, fell loosely in a profusion of ringlets 
over her shoulders, while in front it was confined by 
the fillet and grasshoppers of gold.' More j'erish- 
able ornaments, in the shape of crowns of myrtle, 
wild thyme,* poppy, white sesame, with other flowers 

' Eurip. Iphig. in Aul. 905. emplage«lare «erta, vitio dabatur. 

This chaplet was placed on the Alex, ab Alexand. p. 58. b. 

bride's head by her mother. * Ariatoph, Piut. 529. id. Pac. 

Hopfti. in ioc— In Locrensibua 862. 

UHU erat, ut matrono; ex lectis ' Thucyd. i. 60. 

floribu* nettant toronas. Nam • liou^fpia. Dioscor. ii. 155. 



16 



MARRIAGE CEREMONIES. 



and plants sacred to Aphrodite, adorned the heada 
of both bride and bridegroom.' 

The relations and friends followed, forming, in most 
cases, a long and Btately procession, which, in the 
midst of crowds of spectators, moved slowly towards 
the temple, thousands strewing flowers or scatter- 
ing perfume in their path, and in loud exclamations 
comparing the happy pair to the most impassioned 
and beautiful of their nymphs and gods." Mean- 
while, a number of the bride's friends, scattered 
among the multitude, were looking out anxiously 
for favourable omen&, and desirous, in conjunction 
with every person present, to avert all such as su- 
perstition taught them to consider inauspicious. A 
crow appearing singly was supposed to betoken sor- 
row or separation, whereas, a couple of crows,' is- 
suing from the proper quarter of the heavens, 
presaged perfect union and happiness. A pair of 
turtle doves, of all omens, was esteemed the best,' 

On reaching the temple, the bride anil bridegroom 
were received at the door by a jiriest, who presented 
them with a small branch of ivy, as an emblem of 
the close ties by which they were about to be uni- 
ted for ever. They were tlien conducted to the 
altar,' where the ceremonies commenced with the 
sacrifice of a heifer,* after which Artemis, Athena, 
and other virgin goddesses, were solemnly invoked. 
Prayers were then addressed to Zeus and his con- 
sort, the supreme divinities of OljTnpos;' nor, on this 
occasion, would they overlook the ancient gods, Ou- 
ranos and Gaia, whose union produces fertility and 

* Orua Apollo Hieroglyph, viii. 
p. 6. b. 

* Meziriac sur lee Epitres 
d'Ovide, p> 1 90, eqcj. ^liiui de 
Animal. Nat. iii. 9, Alex, ab 
Akxand. ii. 5, p. 57, b. 

' Theod. Frodrom. de Bhodanlh. 
et Dosicl, Amor. ix. 

" Eurip. Ipliig. inAul. 1113. 
^ Poll. iii. .-iS. 



' Schol. Aristoph. Av. 160. 
In Bceotia the bride was crowned 
with a reed of wild aEpamgus, a 
prickly but sweet plant. Pint. 
Conjug. PrsEcept, 8. Bion, Kpi- 
taph. Adon. RS. On Nuptial 
Crowns Tide Paschal. De Co- 
ronis, lib. ii. c. 1 6. p. 1 3C, sqq. 

s Chant. Char, et Callir. 



MARRIAGE CEREMONIES. 17 

abundance,' — the Graces, whose smile shed upon life 
its sweetest charm, and tlie Fates, who shorten or 
extend it at their pleasure, were next in order 
adored; and, lastly. Aphrodite, the mother of Love, 
and of all the host of Heaven, the most beautiful 
and beneficent to mortals.^ The victim having been 
opened, the gall was taken out and significantly 
cast behind the altar.' Soothsayers skilled in divi- 
nation then inspected the entrails, and if their ap- 
pearance was alarming the nuptials were broken 
off, or deferred. When favourable, the rites pro- 
ceeded as if hallowed by the smile of the gods. 
The bride now cut off one of her tresses, which, 
twisting round a spindle, she placed as an offering 
on the altar of Atliena, while, in imitation of The- 
seus, the bridegroom made a similar oblation to 
Apollo, bound, as an emblem of his out-door life, 
round a handful of grass or herbs.* All the other 
gods, protectors of marriage, were then, by the pa- 
rents or friends, invoked in succession, and the rites 
thus completed, the virgin's father, placing the hand 
of the bridegroom in that of the bride, said, " I be- 
" stow on thee my daughter, that thine eyes may 
" be gladdened by legitimate offspring."* The oath 
of inviolable fidelity was now taken by both, and 
the ceremony concluded with fresh sacrifices. 

The performance of rites so numerous generally 
consumed the whole day, so that the shades of even- 
ing were falling before the bride could be conducted 
to her future home. This hour, indeed, according 
to Bome, was chosen to conceal the blushes of the 
youthful wife.^ And now commenced the secular 
portion of the ceremony. Numerous attendants, 

■ Prael in Tim, t. v. Mozi- 
riac. p. 165. 

• Etym. Mag. 220, 53. sqq. Cf. 
Plut-Conj. Pracept. procem. t. i. " Menand. ap, Clem. Alexand. 

p. 321. Tauchnitz. Strumat. ii. p. i'il, a. Hein». 

» Plul.Conj. Precept. 27. Cffil. 
Rhodig. xxviii. 21. * Potter, Arch. Gra-c. ii. 281. 

VOL. II. C 




18 



MARRIAGE CEREMONIES. 



bearing liglited torclips,' ran in front of tlie proces- 
sion, while bands of merry youths dancing, singing, 
or playing on musical instruments, surrounded the 
nuptial car. Similar in this respect was the prac- ' 
tice throughout Greece, even so early as the time 
of Homer, who thus, in his description of the Shield, 
calls up before our imagination the lively picture of 
an heroic nuptial procession : 

" Here sacred pomp and genial feasts delight, 
And solemn dance and Hymeneal rite. 
Along the streets the new-made brides are led. 
With torches flaming, to the nuptial bed. 
The youthful dancers in a circle bound 
To the soft flute and cittern's silver sound.^ 
Through the fair streets the matrons, in a tow, 
Stnnd in their porches and enjoy the show."^ 

The song on this occasion sung received tlio name 
of the " Carriage Melody," from the carriage in which 
the married pair rode while it was chaunted.* 

The house of the bridegroom, diligently prepared 
for their reception, was decorated profusely with gar- 
lands, and brilliantly lighted up. When, among the 
BcEotians, the lady, accompanied by her husband, had 
descended from the carriage, its axletree was burnt, 
to intimate that having found a home she would have 
no further use for it.'' The celebration of nuptial 
ritee generally puts people in good temper, at least 



' Eurip. Helen. 722. Hesiod, 
Scut. Heracl. 275, seq. where the 
torches are said to he home by 
Dmoea. 

' In Hesiod a troop of blooming 
virgins, playing on the phorminx, 
lead the procession, ai S" iiro fop- 
fiiyyur ayayav \opir 'i[itp6fi-ra. 
A band of youthj follow, playing 
on the syrinx. See the note of 
Ocettling on Scut. Herad. 274. 
p. 117, sqq. 

^ Iliad. «. 490, sqq. Pope's 

Translation. 



* 'ApfiaTHor ftiXot. Leisner, in 
his notes on Bos (Antiq. Grtec. 
Pars. iv. c. ii. § 4.), observes, that 
in Suidas, Hesychius, and Eus- 
UthiuB(adn.x.p. 1380.a),Ihe8e 
words have a different meaning 
from that wliich, with Boa and 
Potter (Antiq. Onec. ii. 282), I 
have adopted. But in the pas- 
sage quoted by Henri de Valoii 
(ad Harpocrat. p. 822), they 
would seem to bear the aignifi- 
cation above given them. 

^ Plul. QuKst. Homan. xx. 19. 
Valckenaer ad Herodot. iv. 114. 



MARRIAGE CEREMONIES. 



19 



for the first day ; and new-married women at Athens 
stood in full need of all they could muster to assist 
them through the crowd of ceremonies which beset 
the entrances to the houses of their husbands. Sym- 
bols of domestic labonrs, pestles, sieves,' and so on, 
met the young wife's eye on all sides. She herself, 
in all her pomp of dress, bore in her bands an earthen 
barley-parclier.- But, to comfort her. very nice cakes 
of sesamum,^ with wine and fruit and other dainties 
innumerable, accompanied by gleeful and welcoming 
fares, appeared in the background beyond the sieves 
and pestles. The hymeneal lay,' with sundry other 
songs, all redolent of "joy and youtli," resounded 
through halls now her own. Mirth and delight 
ushered her into the banqueting-room, where appeared 
a boy covered with thorn branches, and oaken boughs 
laden with acorns, who, when the epithalamium 
chaunters had ceased, recited an ancient hymn begin- 
ning with the words, " I Iiave escaped the worse and 
" found the better."* This hymn, constituting a por- 
tion of the divine service performed by the Athenians 
during a festival instituted in commemoration of the 
discovery of com, by which men were delivered from 
acorn-eating, they introduced among the nuptial cere- 
monies to intimate, that wedlock is as much superior 
to celibacy as wheat is to mast. At the close of tlie 
recitation, there entered a troop of dancing girls 
crowned with myrtle-wreaths, and habited in light 
tunica reaching very little below the knee, just as 
we still behold them on antique gems and vases, who, 
by their varied, free, and somewhat wanton, move- 
ments, vividly represented all the warmth and energy 
of passion. 

The feast which now ensued was, at Athens, to 
prevent useless extravagance, made liable to the in- 

> Poll. iii. 37. Find. Pyth. iii. 17. Disgen. Schol. 

• Poll. i. a+d. ad V. 27. 

» Schol. Aristoph, Pac. 834. " Suid. v. iifivyar taior. 1. i. 

• Athen. xiv. 10. Anac. Od. p. 1113, d. 
xviii. Schol. Horn. II. v. 4DS. 



1 



'20 



MARRIAGE CEaEMONlES. 



speetioii of certain magistrates. Both sexeg partook 
of it; but, in confonuity with the general spirit of their 
manners anci institutioni^, the laciics, as in Egypt, sat 
at separate tables.' At these entertainments we may 
infer tliat, among; other good things, great quantities 
of sweetmeats were consumed, since the woman em- 
ployed in kneading and preparing them, and in offi- 
ciating at the nuptial sacrifices, was deemed of suffi- 
cient importance to possess a distinct appellation, 
(iitlLwu^oi,)' while the bride-cake, which doubtless 
was the crowning achievement of her art, received the 
name of Gamelios. The general arrangement of the 
banquet, however, they entrusted to the care of a sort 
of major-domo, who received the appellation of Trape- 
zopoios/ 

Among the princes and grandees of Macedonia the 
nuptial banquet differed very widely, as might be ex- 
pected, from the frugal entertainments of the Athe- 
nians; but as it may assist us in comprehending the 
changes introduced into Hellenic manners by the 
conquests of Alexander and liis successors, I shall 
crave the reader's jwrmission to lay before him a de- 
scription, bequeathed to us by antiquity, of the magni- 
ficent banquet* given at the marriage of Caranos. 

The guests, twenty in number, immediately on 
entering the mansion of the bridegroom, were crowned 
by his order with golden stlengides,* each valued at 
five pieces of gold. They were then introduced into 
the banqiieting-hall, wliere the first article set before 
them on taking their places at the board was, no 
doubt, exceedingly agreeable, consisting of a silver 



' Luc. Conviv. § 8. In tho se- 
pulchral grottoes of Eilithyia, in 
the Thebaiii, we find a rough 
fre»co repreBenting a momoge- 
feast, at which the men and wO" 
men »it as described in the text. 

' Schol. Aristoph. Pac. 421. 
Poll. iii. 41. The water of tho 
bath used on this occasion by th« 
bride was, according to ancient 



custom, brought from the foun- 
tain of Enneakrounos. Etym. 
Mag. 568, 57, »eq. 

' Poll. iv. 41. 

* Athen, iv. 2, seq. 

1 Cf. Schol. Aristoph. Eq. 578. 
'Effri n ffrXiyylc, ifp/ia «xpw- 
aufiivov, jrrpl r^v m^oX^v 



- Poll. T 



I 



MARRIAGE CEREMONIES. 21 

beaker pruHeiited to each as a gift, wliicb, wbeu tbey 
had drained otf, they delivered to their attendant 
slaves, who, according to the custom of the country, 
stood behind their seats with large baskets intended 
to contain the presents to be bestowed on them by 
the master of the feast.' Tliere was then placed be- 
fore every member of the company a bronze salver, 
of Corinthian workmanship, completely covered by a 
cake, on which were piled roast fowls and ducks and 
woodcocks, and a goose, together with other dainties 
in great abundance. These, likewise, followed the 
beakers into the corbels of the slaves, and were suc- 
ceeded by numerous dishes, of which the guests were 
expected to partake on the spot. Next was brought 
in a capacious silver tray, also covered by a cake, 
whereon were heaped up geese, hares, kids, other 
cakes curiously wrought, pigeons, turtle-doves, par- 
tridges, with a variety of similar game, which, like- 
wise, after they had been tasted, I presume, were 
handed to the servants.'' 

When the rage of hunger had been appeased, as 
it must soon have been, they washed their hands, 
after which crowns, wreathed from every kind of 
flower, were brought in, and along with them other 
golden stiengides, equal in weight to the former, 
were placed, for form's sake, on the heads of the 
company, before they found their way to the baskets 
in the rear. 

While they were still in a sort of delirium of joy, 
occasioned by the munificence of the bridegroom, 
there entered to them a troop of female flute players. 



' When the host happened lo 
be lesa rich or generous, people 
■omutimes, in the corruption of 
later ages, endeavoured to Bteal 
what they could not obtain as a 
gift. ThuB the nophist Dionysodo- 
roa IB detected in Lucian with a 
cup atufled into the breast of his 
Dumtle. — Conviv. sou Lajiith. 
§46. 



* This Bingiilttr kind of libe- 
rality continued in &shion down 
to a very late period : — rai hfia 
fit UiKOfiiaro Itftly to IrriKit: 
avojiai^ufUyoy Jtixi-ov, [iia oprit 
tiaarf, lal xpdat tide, 'n^ Xayua, 
ml l\Oi/z iv rayifvoii, I'ai oijira- 
/jtiui-ri(, Kai Saa iy rpayilv, aal 
iiljr dirofcptuBai raura. LuC. 



Coiiv' 



S 38. 



22 



MARRIAGE CEREMONIES. 



singers, and Rhodiaii performers on the Sambuke,' 
naked in the opinion of some, though others reported 
them to have worn a slight tunic. When these 
performers had given them a sufficient taste of their 
art, they retired to make way for other female slaves, 
bearing each a pair of perfume vases, containing 
the measure of a cotyla, the one of gold, the other 
of silver, and bound together by a golden thong. 
Of these every guest received a pair. In fact, the 
princely bridegroom, in order, as we suppose, that his 
friends might share with him the joy of his nup- 
tials, bestowed upon every one of them a fortune 
instead of a supjier; for immediately upon the heels 
of the gift above described came a number of sil- 
ver dishes, each of sufficient dimensions to contain 
a large roast pig, laid upon its back, with its paunch 
thrown open, and stuffed with all sorts of delicacies 
which had been roasted with it, such as thrushes, 
metra;, and becaficoes, with the yolk of eggs poured 
around them, and oysters and cockles. Of these 
dishes every person pret^nt received one, with its 
contents, and, immediately afterwards, such another 
dish containing a kid hissing hot. Upon this, Cara- 
no8 observing that their corbils were crammed, 
caused to be presented to them wicker panniers, 
and elegant bread-baskets, plaited with slips of ivory.' 
Delighted by his generosity, the company loudly 
applauded the bridegroom, testifying their approba- 
tion by clapping their bauds. Then followed other 
gifts, and perfume vases of gold and silver, presented 



' Tlie Sambuke was a stringed 
instrument of trian^lar form, in' 
vented by the poet Ibycoa. It 
was sometimes called lambuke, 
Ijecause used by chauuters of 
Iambic verse. — Suid. in v. t. ii. 
p. 709, c. d. Poll. iv. 59. 

^ Casaubon is particular in his 
explanation of liiis passage, leet 
any one should fall into tlio eiii- 
giUar initlake uf supposing Ihi'se 



nuptial breail-basltets to have 
been made with plaited thongs 
of elephant's hide; " Lora ele- 
phantina fortosse aliquis iA\neX 
de eorio tUphaitt'i : sed tfiavrai 
arbilror appellare Hippolochum 
eirgiix suiilUet ex, shore, quibua 
ceu vimine utebaritur in cmtex- 
endis panariis iBt!s.">~Animady. 
m Athcii.l. vii. p. 33)2. 



I 



MARRIAGE CEREMONIES. 23 

to the company in pairs as before. The bustle 
having subsided, there suddenly rushed in a troop 
of performers worthy to have figured in the feast 
of the Chytnr,' at Athens, and along with them itby- 
phalli, jugglers, and naked female wonder-workers, 
who danced upon their heads in circles of swords, and 
spouted fire from their mouths. These performances 
ended, they set themselves more earnestly and hotly 
to drink, from capacious golden goblets, their wines, 
now leas mixed than before, being the Thasian, the 
Mendian, and the Lesbian. A glass dish, three feet 
in diameter, was next brought iu upon a silver stand, 
on which were piled all kinds of fried fish. This 
was accompanied by silver bread-baskets, filled with 
Cappadocian rolls, some of which they ate, and de- 
livered the rest to their slaves. They then washed 
their hands, and were crowned with golden crowns, 
double the weight of the former, and presented with 
a third pair of gold and silver vases filled with 
perfume. They by this time had become quite de- 
lirious with wine, and began a truly Mact'donian 
contest, in which the winner was he who swallowed 
most ; Proteas, grandson of him who was boon com- 
panion to Alexander the Great, drinking upwards 
of a gallon at a draught, and exclaiming — 

" Must joy is ill Ilia soul 
Who droins the largest bowl." 

The immense goblet was then given him by Ca- 
ranos, who declared, that every man should reckon 
as his own property the bowl whose contents he 
could despatch. Upon this, nine valiant bacchanals 
started up at once, and sought each to empty the 
goblet before the others, while one unhappy wight 
among the company, envying them their good for- 
tune, sat down and hurst into tears because he 
should go cupless away. Tlie master of the house, 

' Vid. Animadv. in Athen. t. vii. p. 8Sfa. Meurs. Gnecia 
Ferista. i. p. 30, seq. 



24 



MARRIAGE CEREMONIES, 



however, unwilling that any should be dissatisfied, 
presented him with an empty bowl,' 

A chorus of a hundred men now entered to cbaunt 
the epithalamium ; and after them dancing girls, 
dressed in the character of nymphs and nereids. 

The drinking still proceeding, and the darkness of 
evening coming on, the circle of the hall appeared 
suddenly to dilate, a succession of white curtains, 
which had extended all round, and disguised its 
dimensions, being drawn up, while from numerous 
recesses in the wall, thrown open by concealed 
machinery, a blaze of torches flashed upon the guests, 
seeming to be borne by a troop of gods and goddesses, 
Hermes, Pan, Artemis, and the Loves, with numerous 
other di^^nities, each holding a flambeau and adminis- 
tering light to the assembled mortals. 

While every person was expressing his admiration 
of this contrivance, wild boars of true Erymanthean 
dimensions, transfixed with silver javelins, were 
brought in on square trays with golden rims, one of 
which was presented to each of the company. To 
the hon vivants themselves nothing appeared so worthy 
of commendation, as that, when anything wonderful 
was exhibited, they should all have been able to get 
upon their legs, and preserve the perpendicular, not- 
withstanding they were so top-heavy with wine. 

" Our slaves," says one of the guests, " piled all the 
"gifts we had received in our baskets; and the trum- 
" pet, according to the custom of the Macedonians, 
" at length announced the termination of the repast." 
Caranos next began that part of the potations in 
which small cups alone figured, and commanded the 
slaves to circulate the wine briskly; what they drank 
in this second bout being regarded as an antidote 
against that which they had swallowed before. 

■ In like manner, Alexander, golden goblet, and paid all their 

■on of Philip, when he enter- debts, amounting to nearly ten 

tained nine thousand persons at thousand talents. — Flut. AJeii- 

a marriage feast at Susa, pra~ and. § 70. 
sented each of them wilh b 





MARRIAGE CEREMONIES. 25 

Tliey were now, a^ might be supposed, in the right 
trim to be amused, and there entered to them the 
buffoon Mandrogenes, a descendant, it was said, of 
Strato the Athenian. This professional gentleman 
for a long time shook their sides with laughter, and 
terminated his performances by dancing with his wife, 
an old woman, upwards of eighty.' This fit of merri- 
ment would appear to have restored the edge of their 
appetites, and made them ready for those supplemen- 
tary dainties which closed the achievements of the 
day. These consisted of a variety of sweetmeats, 
rendered more tempting by the little ivory-plaited 
corbels in which they nestled, delicate cakes from 
Crete, and Samos, and Attica, in the boxes in which 
they were imported. 

Hippolochos, to whose enthusiasm for descriptions 
of good cheer, the reader is indebted for the above 
picturesque details, concludes Ills important nan'ative 
by observing, that, when they rose to depart, their 
anxiety respecting the wealth they had acquired 
sobered them completely. He then adds, addressing 
himself to his oorrespomlont Lynceus, " Meanwhile 
" you, my friend, remaining all alone at Athens, enjoy 
"the lectures of Theophrastus with your thyme, 
" rocket and delicate twists, mingling in the revels 
" of the Linnean and Cliytrcan festivals. For our 
"own part we are looking out, some for houses, others 
" for estates, others for slaves, to be purchased by 
" the riches which dropped iuto our baskets at the 
" supper of Caranos." 

The marriage feast having been thus concluded, 



' If octogenftrian dancers were 
I lield in admiration in England, it 
would, according to Lord Bacon, 
be etay to form an army of 
them ; since " there is, he snys, 
scarce a rilbge with us, if it be 
May whit populous, but it afibrds 
■ome man or woman of fourscore 
jreKTB of age ; nay, % few years 



since there was, in the county 
of Hereford, a May-game, or 
morrice -dance, conaisting of eight 
men, whose age computed toge- 
ther, made up eight hundred 
years, inasmuch as what some 
of them wanted of an hundaed, 
others exceeded as much." His- 
tory of Life and Death, p. ZO. 



26 



MARHIAOE CERKMONIES. 



the bride was conducted to the harem by the light 
of flambeaux, round one of which, pre-eminently 
denominated the " Hymeneal Torch," her mother, 
who was principal among the torch-bearers, twisted 
her liair-lace,' unbound at the moment from her head. 
On retiring to the nuptial chamber the bride, in 
obedience to the laws, ate a quince, together with 
the bridegroom, to signify, we are told, that their 
first conversation should be fiiU of sweetness and 
harmony.'^ The guests continued their revels with 
music, dancing, and song, until far in the night.* 

At daybreak on the followiug morning their friends 
re-assembled and saluted them with a new epitha- 
lamium, exhorting them to descend from their bower 
to enjoy the beauties of the da^vn,* which in that 
warm and genial climate are even in January equal 
to those of a May morning with us. On appearing in 
the presence of their congratulators, the wife, as a mark 
of affection, presented her husband with a ricli wool- 
len cloak," in part, at least, the production of ber own 
fair hands. On the same occasion the father of the 
bride sent a number of costly gifts to the house of 
his son-in-law, consisting of cups, goblets, or vases 
of alabaster or gold, beds, couches, candelabra, or 
boxes for jierfumes or cosmetics, combs, jewel-cases, 
costly sandals, or other articles of use or luxury. 
And, that so striking an instance of his wealth aud 
generosity might not escape public observation, the 
whole was conveyed to the bridegroom's bouse in 
great pomp by female slaves, before whom marched 
a boy clothed in white, and bearing a torch in 
his band, accompanied by a youthful basket-bearer 



' S«nec. Thebais, Act. iv. 2, 
505. 

" Pliit.Conjug. Prtecept, i. t. 
j-p. 321. Meure. Them, Alt. i- 
14, p. 39. Petit. Legg. Alt. vi. 
). p. UO. 

* See Douglas, Essay on certain 



pointB of resemblance between 
the ancient and modem Greeks, 
p. 114, and Chandler, Travels, ii. 
152. 

* Theopril, Eidyil. sviii, fl. 

^ ' .\irau\iaTiipia. Poll, iii. 40. 



MARRIAGE CEREMONIES. 27 

habited like a canephora in the sacred processions.^ 
Customs in spirit exactly similar still survive among 
the primitive mountaineers of Wales, where the new- 
ly-married couple, in the middle and lower ranks of 
life, have their houses completely furnished by the 
free-will offerings, not only of their parents but of 
their friends. It is, however, incumbent on the re- 
cipients to make proof in their turn of equal gene- 
rosity when any member of the donor's family ven- 
tures on the hazards of housekeeping. 

1 Etymol. Mag. 854. 1. sqq. Suid. v. ciravX/o, t. i. p. 964> e«8qq. 



CHAPTER V. 



CONDITION OF MARRIED WOMEN. 



From the spirit pervading the foregoing ceremo- 
iiicB it will be seen, that married women enjoyed at 
Athens numerous external tokens of rcBpect. We 
must now enter the harem, and observe how they 
lived there. Most, perhaps, of the misapprehensions 
which prevail on this subject arise out of one very 
obvious omission, — a neglect to distinguish between 
the exaggeration and satire of the comic poets, much 
of which, in all countries, has been levelled at women, 
and the sober truth of history, less startling, and there- 
fore, less palatable. To comprehend the Athenians, 
however, we must be content to view them as they 
were, with many virtues and many vices, often sin- 
ning against their women, but never iis a general 
rule treating them harshly. Indeed, according to 
no despicable testimony, their errors when they erred 
would appear to have lain in the contrary direc- 
tion.' 

Certainly the mistress of a family at Athens was 
not placed above the necessity of extending her so- 
licitude to the government of her household, though 
too many even there neglected it. degenerating into 
the resemblance of those mawkish, insipid, useless 
things, without heart or head, who often in our times 
till fashionable drawing-rooms, and have their repu- 
tations translated to Doctors' Commons. Of female 
education I have already spoken, together with the 
several acta and ceremonies, which conducted an 

■ For example, public opinion kill a woman tlian a mail. — 
regarded it a» more atrocious to Arist. Prob. xxix. 11. 



CONDITION OF MARTtlED WOMEN. 



29 



[Athenian woman to the highest and most honourable 
station her sex can fill on earth. In this new relation 
she shares with her hushand that domestic |)atriarchal 
sovereignty, pictures of which abound in the Scrip- 
tures, How great soever might be the establishment, 
she was queen of every thing within doors. All the 
slaves, male and female, came under her control.' 
To every one she distributed his task, and issued her 
commands; and when there were no children who 
required her care, she might often be seen sitting 
^^ in the recesses of the harem, at the loom, encircled, 
^K like an Homeric princess, by her maids,' laughing, 
^H chatting, or, along with them, exercising her sweet 
^H voice in songs," those natural bursts of melody which 
^H came spontaneously to the lips of a people whose 
^H every-day speech resembled the music of the night- 
^H ingale. 

^H Xenophon, in that interesting work, the CRconnmics, 
^H introduces an Athenian gentleman laying open to 
^H Socrates the internal regulations of his family. In this 
picture, the wife occupies an important position in 
the foreground. She is, indeed, the principal figure 
around which the various circumstances of the com- 
position are grouped with infinite delicacy and effect. 
Young and beautiful she comes forth hesitating and 
^^ blushing at being detected in some slight economical 
^K blunders. The husband takes her by the hand ; they 



1 She nakes them in the morn- 
ing. — Ariitoph. LysiBt. 18. This 
comic poet gives a concise altelch 
uf on Athenian woman's morning 
worit, which rendered tlieir going 
I out difficult at such an hour : — 

[ XaAia-^ T€ yvraiKur (£o&);' f/ 
fiiy ydf iifiwr a-tpi Tor drop' 
ixvrraatv' /> foieeVijf fiyttptc ^ 
ii waiiiiif taritkivfr' >( S'eXoufftv 
H fh^iifuvcy — Lysial. 16,aqq. 

» Precieely the same picture is 



presented in the interior of Jason 'b 
palace at Phene, where we find 
the tyrant's mother at work in 
the midst of her handmaidens. — 
Polyien. Stratag. vj. i. ij. 

» Plat, de Lcgg. t. viii. p. 36. 
— Among the Thracians, and 
many other people, women were 
employed in agriculture, as they 

herdswomen and shepherds, and 

every other laborious employment, 
like men.— Id. ib. 



30 CONDITION OF 

converse in onr presence, and while the interior ar- 
rangemciits of a Greek house are unreservedly laid 
open, we discover the exact footing on which hus- 
band and wife lived at Athens, and a state of more 
coni]ilete confidence, of greater mutual affection, of 
more considerate tenderness on the one side, or femi- 
nine reliance and love on the other, it would be dif- 
ficult to conceive. 

Ischomachos, I admit, is to be regarded as a fa- 
vourable specimen ; he unites in liis character the 
quahtieg of an enterprising and enlightened country 
gentleman, with those of" a politician and orator 
of no mean order, and his probity as a citizen in- 
fuses an air of mingled grandeur and sweetness into 
his domestic manners. Describing a conversation 
which, soon after their marriage, took place between 
him and his youthful wife, he observes: — "When 
" we had together taken a view of our possessions 
" I remarked to her that, without her constant care 
*' and superintendence, nothing of all she had seen 
"would greatly profit us. And taking my illustra- 
" tion from the science of politics, I showed that, in 
" well-regulated states, it is not deemed sufficient 
" that good laws are enacted, but that proper persons 
" are chosen to be guardians of those laws, who 
" not only reward with praise such as jield them 
" due obedience, but visit also their infraction with 
" punishment. Now, my love," said I, "you must 
"consider yourself the guardian of our domestic 
" commonwealth, and dispose of all its resources as 
" the commander of a garrison disposes of the sol- 
" diers under his orders. With you it entirely rests 
" to determine respecting the conduct of every in- 
" dividual in the household, and, like a queen, to 
" bestow praise and reward on the dutiful and obe- 
" dient, while yon keep in check the refractory by 
" punishment and reproof. Nor should this high 
" charge appear burdensome to you ; for though 
" the duties of your station may seem to involve 
" deeper solicitude and necessity for greater exertion 



I 

I 

I 



MARRIED WOMEN. 31 

"than we require even from a domestic, these greater 
"cares are rewarded by greater enjo}Tnents; since, 
" whatever ability they may display in the improving 
"or protecting of their master's property, the mea- 
" sure of their advantages still depends upon his 
'• will, while you, as its joint owner, enjoy the right 
" of applying it to whatever use you please. It fol- 
" lows, therefore, that as the person most interested 
"in its preservation you should cheerfully encounter 
" superior difficulties." 

Having listened attentively to the somewhat quaint 
discourse of the Economist, Socrates felt anxious, 
as well he might, to learn the result ; for the lady, 
expected thus wisely " to queen it," was as yet but 
fifteen. His faith, however, in womanhood was great ; 
and Xenophon, who but reflects from a less brilliant 
mirror the Socratic wisdom, delivers, under the mask 
of Ischomachos, the mingled convictions both of the 
master and the pupil. The moral beauty of the dia- 
logue, and its truth to nature, would have been lost 
had the lady at all shiimk from the duties of her 
high office. But her ambition was at once awakened. 
The obscurity to which, in the time of Pericles, women 
were, by the niannera of the country, condemned, 
now no longer seemed desirable, and the love of fame 
was urged upon her as a motive to extraordinary 
exertions.' Her reply is highly characteristic. Run- 
ning, with the unerring tact of her sex, even in ad- 
vance of her husband, she desired him to believe that 
he would have formed an extremely erroneous opi- 
nion of her character, had he for a moment supposed 
that the care of their common property could over 
have proved burdensome to her: on the contrary, 
the really grievous thing would have been to require 
her to be neglectful of it ! 

Men always conceive they are complimenting a 

1 That this passion led women vereed in the science of domestic 

lo inlerfen; loo frequently with economy was more honourable to 

politics may be inferred from the them. — Stob. 85.7. Gaisf. 
remark of Theophrastus, that to be 



k 



3*2 



CONDITION OF 



woman when they attribute to her a maaeuline under- 
standing, and they thus, in fact, do place her on the 
highest intellectual level known to them. Socrates 
adopted this style of compliment in speaking of the 
wife of Ischomachos. And I may here remark, that 
we need no other proof of how differently the Athe- 
nians felt on the subject of women from the Orientals 
with whom they have been compared, than the mere 
circumstance of their conversing openly with strangers 
respecting their wives. In the East, a greater affront 
could scarcely be offered a mau than to inquire about 
his female establishment. The most an old friend 
does is to say, "Is your house well?"- — whereas at 
Athens, women formed a uever-failing theme in all 
companies ; which proves them to have been there 
contemplated in a different light. In fact, the senti- 
ments of Ischomachos, every way worthy the most 
chivalrous people of antiquity, could only have sprung 
up in a society where just and exalted notions of 
female virtue prevailed; for, under the word " high- 
mindedness," we find him grouping every refined and 
estimable quality which a gentlewoman can possess. 

But, perhaps, the reader will not be displeased if 
we introduce dramatically upon the scene an Athe- 
nian married pair discussing in his presence a question 
closely connected with domestic happiness. There 
is little risk of exaggeration. The picture is by Xen- 
ophon, a writer whose subdued and sober colouring 
is calculated rather to diminish than otherwise the 
poetical features of his subject. 

By Heaven ! exclaimed Socrates, according to this 
account, your wife's understanding must be of a highly 
masculine character. 

Nay, but suffer me, answered the husband, to place 
before you a convincing proof of her high-minded- 
ness, by showing liow, on a single representation, she 
yielded to me on a subject extremely important. 

Proceed, cried the philosopher, (who had not found 
Xantippe thus manageable,) proceed ; for, believe 
me, friend, I experience much greater delight in con- 



HARRIED WOMEN. 



33 



templating the active virtues of a living woman, than 
the most exquisite female form by the pencil of Zeuxis 
would atford mo. 

Obaerving, said Ischomaehos, that my wife sought 
by cosmetics' and other arts of the toilette to render 
herself fairer and ruddier than she had issued from 
the han<ls of Nature, and that she wore high-heeled 
shoes in order to add to her stature, — Tell me, wife," 
I began, would you now esteem me to be a worthy 
participator of your fortunes if, concealing the true 
state of my affairs, I aimed at appearing richer than 
I am, by exhibiting to you heaps of false money, 
necklaces of gilded wood for gold, and wardrobes of 
spurious for genuine purple ? 

Nay, exclaimed ray wife, interrupting me, put not 
the injurious supposition : it is what you could not be 
guilty of. For, were such your character I could 
never love you from my soul. 

Well, by entering together into the bonds of mar- 
riage are we not mutually invested with a property in 
each other's persons ? 

People say so. 

They say truly : and since this is the case shall I 
not more sincerely evince my esteem for you by 
watching sedulously over my own health and well- 



' Xen.CEcon. s, ii. 60. Among 
the Orientals we find there exist- 
ed ■ peculiar coUyriuin for the 
white of the eye. Bochart, Hieroz, 
Pt. ii. p. UO. 

* PuKoi, a term of greatest en- 
deaiment among the Greeks, as 
with the French " ma femme." 
On this point our language is 
more sophisticated. The practice 
reprehended by Ischomachos, in 
the text, was generally prevalent 
in Greece, where certain classes 
of the coinraunity. wlio could 
aiTonl nothing better, used, when 
they had painted the rest of their 
■kin white, to dye the cheeks 

VOL. n. 



with mulberry-juice, Bnd paint 
the eyelids black at the edge. In 
hot weather, therefore, dusky 
streamlets sometimes flowed from 
the corners of their eyes ; and the 
roses melted from their cheeks, 
and dropped into their bosoms, 
They imitated old age, loo, by 
covering their hair with white 
powder, (Athen. xiii, 6.) It was 
likewise, at one time, the fashion 
to bring forward their curls so as 
to conceal the forehead, aa was 
the practice in France and Eng- 
land duiing a part of the eight- 
eenth century. — Lucian, Dial. 
Meret. i. L iv. p. 1^3. 



34 



CONDITION OF 



being, and displaying to your gaze tlie natural h»ea 
of a manly complexion, tliati if, neglecting these, I 
presented myself with rouged cheeks, eyes encircled 
by paint, and my whole exterior false and hollow? 

Indeed, she replied. 1 prefer the native colour of 
yom- cheeks to any artificial bloom, and could never 
gaze with so much delight into any eyes as into 
yours — bright and sparkling with health. 

Tlien believe no less of me, said I ; but be well 
persuaded that, in my judgment, there are no tints 
80 beautiful as those with which nature has adorned 
your cheeks. The same rule indeed holds univer- 
sally. For, even in the inferior creation, every living 
thing delights most in individuals of its own species. 
And 80 it is with man whom nothing so truly pleases 
as to behold the image of his own nature mirrored 
in another and a fairer form of humanity. Besides, 
false beauties, though they may deceive the incu- 
rious glance of strangers,' must inevitably be de- 
tected by persons living altt'aya together. Women 
necessarily appear undisguised when first rising in 
the morning, before they have undergone the reno- 
vation of the toilette ; and perspiration, or tears, or 
the waters of the bath, will even at other times 
float away their artificial complexions. 

And what, in the name of all the gods, did she 
say to that ? inquired Socrates. 

What? replied the husband. Why, that for the 
future ehe would abjure all meretricious ornaments, 
and consent to appear decked witli that simple grace 
and beauty which she owed to nature. 

At Sparta married persons, as in France, occupied 
separate beds ; but among the Athenians and in 
other parts nf Greece a different custom prevailed. 
The same remark may be applied to the Heroic 
Ages. Odysseus aud Penelope, Alcinoos and Arete, 
Paris and Helen, occupy the same chamber and the 
same couch. The women in the Lysistrata of Aris- 
tophanes appealed to this circumstance in justifica- 
' Cf. Lucian, Amor. § 42. Arisloph. Nub. 49. 




I 



I 



MARRIED WOMEN. 35' 

tion of their late appearance at the female assembij 
held before day, and Euphiletos in the oration of 
Lysiaa on Eratosthenes' murder, who admits us freely 
into the recesses of the harem, confirms this fact, 
except, that when the mother suckled her own child 
she usually slept with it in a separate bed. At 
Byzantium also the same practice prevailed, as we 
learii from a very amusing anecdote. Pythou an 
orator of that city who, like Falstaff, seems to have 
been somewhere about two yards in the waist, ooce 
quelled au insurrection by a jocular allusion to this 
part of domestic economy. " My dear fellow-citi- 
" zens," cried he to the enraged multitude, " you see 
"how fiit I am. Well! my wife is still fatter than 
" I, yet when we agree one small bod will contain 
" us both ; but, if we once begin to quarrel, the 
" whole house is too little to hold us."' 

We have seen above how absolute was the au- 
thority of women over their household, and this 
authority likewise extended to their children. The 
father no doubt could exercise, when he chose, 
coQsiderable influence; but as most of his time was 
spent abroad, in business or politics, the chief charge 
of their early education, the first training of their 
intellect, the first rooting of their morals and shap- 
ing of their principles devolved upon the mother. - 
There have been ^iTiters, indeed, to whom this has 
seemed a circumst-ince to be lamented. But their 
judgment probably was warjied by theory. In the 
original discipline of the mind, great attainments 
and experience of the world are less needed than 
tact to discern, and patience to apply, those minute 
incentives to action which women discover with a 
truer sagacity than no do. In this task, ever pleas- 



' Athen. sii. 74. 

• Xenoph. (Econ, vii. 12. 24. 
Cf. A.Cramer. deEdiic. Puer. ap. 
Atben. 9. This writer acutely 
lenurlcB, (p. 13,) that the words 
cal (tin-it iror^p in Ptat. Protag. 
p. 3t5. d. show that it was seldom 



the father meddled with the mat- 
ter. The mother, therefore, from 
early habit, was held in greater 
love and reverence than the fa- 
ther. Casaub. ad Theoph. Char, 
p. 187. 



36 



CONDITION OF 



iiig to a tnie mother, the ahl of nurseg, however, was ' 
usually <ibtained ; nor arc we, as Cramer observes, on 
this account to blame the Athenian laiHes, so long 
as they did not, as in after times was too much the 
fashion, consider their wliole dnty performed when 
they had delivered their chihlreu to the nurse. 

It Mill be evident from what has been said, that 
an Athenian lady who conBcientiously discharged her 
duties was very little exposed to ennui. She arose 
in the morning with the lark, roused her slaves, dis- 
tributed to all their tasks,' superintended the opera- 
tions of the nursery, and, on days frequently recurring, 
went abroad in the performance of rites specially al- 
lotted to her SOX. But, one eftect of democracy is 
to confer undue influence upon women.'' And this 
Influence, where by education or otherwise they liap- 
pen to be luxurious or vain, must infallibly prove 
l)eniiciou8 to the state. At Athens, the number of 
this class of women, extremely limited in the be- 
ginning, augmented rapidly during the decline of 
the republic, and the comic poets substituting a 
part for the whole, invest their countrywomen gene- 
rally with the qualities belonging exclusively to these. 
— But, the success of such writers depending gene- 
rally on ingenious extravagance and exaggeration, we 
must be on our guard against their insinuations. 
Their faith in the existence of virtue, male or fe- 
male, lias, in all ages, if we are to judge by their 
works, been very lanksidcd. In their view, if there 
has been one good woman since the world began, it 
is as much as there has. Accordingly when these 
lively caricaturists describe the female demos as ad- 
dicted extravagantly to wine' and pawning their 



' Aristoph. Lysigt. 1 8. Plato, 
who admired the practice, requirea 
his airy fenmie citizens to go and 
do likcwiae. Kai f ^ tai tiamirar 
iv BiKif UTu OipaXttiri^uf iyci- 
ptaOai Tiyuy Kai ftij irpiiniv ufirrjv 
iyitpur roe &\\ag, aiu^phy \i- 



yfiv ■j^pif wpos dvrovc lovXov rt 
Kol £uvX>r>' Kal waiia, ital ti irwc 
^v o^oy Tf, oXifi" ica! irtiaov rqc 
o'tmav. De Legg. vii. t. viii. p. 
40. B.3kk. 

« Cf. Plat, de Rep. t. vi. p. 1 02. 

* Arist. Lysiat. 113, eeq. 205. 



MARRIED WOMEN. 



37 



wardrobe to purchase it — as compelling the men by 
tbeir intemperance to keep their cellars under lock 
and key, and still defeating- them by manufacturing 
falae ones — as forming illicit connexions, and having 
recourse to the boldest stratagems in fiirtherance of 
their intrigues, we must necessarily suppose them to 
have amused tliemselves at the expense of truth ; 
though that, among the Athenians, there were ex- 
amples enough of women of whom all this might 
be said, it would be absurd to deny. 

We know that where the minds of married dames 
are fixed chiefly uixin dress and show their anxiety 
has often very little reference to their husbands. 
And if it be their object to excite admiration out 
of doors, it is simply as a nieans to an end. which 
end, in too many cases, is intrigue. Proofs exist 
that among the Athenian ladies there were num- 
bers whose idle lives and luxurious habits produced 
their natural results — loose principles and dissolute 
manners. The beauty of Alciblades drew them after 
him in crowds,' though we do not read that, like 
another very handsome personage in a modern ri'pul> 
lic, the son of Cleinias found it necessary to carry 
about a club to defend Iiimself from their impor- 
tunities. They went abroad elaborately habited and 
adorned merely to attract the gaze of men," and 
having thus sown the first seeds of intrigue, they 
took care to cultivate and bring them to maturity. 
The felicitous invention of PalstafTs friends, which 

proceBsiona. Plut. Ages. § 19. 
Cf. Xenoph. Ages. p. 73. Hut- 
chin, cum nut. et add. p. 89. 
Athen. iv. 1 6, cum annol. p. 449. 
Scheffcr. de Re Vehic. i. 7. p. 68. 
The same custom prevailed in 
Thessaly and elsewhere. Allien. 
xii. 37. Luxurious ladies at 
Athens used to perfume even the 
soles of their feel. Their lapdogs 
lived in great state, and slept on 
carpets uf Miletos. Athen, xii. 
78. 






' Xenoph. Mcmor. 
'AXxitiaS:^C S' ai Sti f 
4x0 iraXXwr jeai aifii'Oy yu, 

« Ariatoph. Nub. 60. Married 
ladies otcasionallj rode out in car- 
riages with their huabniids. De- 
moslh. cont. Mid. 5 ii. Even 
at Spaxta we find young ladies 
potBCesed of their carriages called 
Canathra, resembling in lonn 
griflinB, or goat-stags, in which 
they rode abroad during religious 



38 



CONDITION OF 



got him safe out of Ford's house in a buck-basket, 
was not so new as Sliakspeare, perhaps, imagined. 
His predecessors on the Athenian stage had already 
discovered stratagems equally happy among their 
countrywomen, whose lovers we find made their way 
into the harem wrapped up in straw, like carp — 
or crept through holes made purposely by fair hands 
in the eaves — or scaled the envious walls by the 
help of those vulgar contrivances called ladders.' 

The laws of Athens, however, were more modest 
than its women. For, from the very interference 
of the laws, it is evident, that the example of the 
Spartan ladies, who enjoyed the privilege of exposing 
themselves indecently, found numerous imitators 
among the female democracy. To repress this un- 
becoming taste, it was enacted, that any woman de- 
tected in the streets in indecorous deshabille" should 
be fined a thousand drachma, and, to add disgrace 
to pecuniary considerations, the uame of the offender, 
with the amount of the fine, was inscribed on a ta- 
blet and suspended on a certain platane tree in the 
Cerameicos. However, what constituted indecorous 
deskaiille in the opinion of Philippidcs, who procured 
the enactment of the law, it might be difficult to 
detennine. Possibly it may have consisted in the 
too great exposure of the liosom, for the covering 
of which ladies in remoter ages appear to have de- 
pended very much on their veils. Thus in the in- 
terview of Helen with Aphrodite she saw, says the 



observe B, signify ornamentum mu- 
lien/m, noT aKoafiovaai inurnatiu^ 
prodeunlet ffmiruB; but niofios is 
luraiia and tjcao^ouvat means 
dTaKToairai, that ia, women who 
acted in any way whatever contra- 
ry to decorum and good mannere, 
which persons appearing indecent- 
ly drcased in public unquestionably 
do — Ad. Poll. viii. il8. p. 763. 
On the manners of the Tyrrhenian 
women, Cf. Athen. xii. 14. sqq. 



' Xenarch. ap. Athen. Kiii. Si. 

' ' Atairfiovaai. Harpocrat. v. 
on x^ias. K. T. X. Potter, Arch. 
Grffic. ii. S0», understands his 
law to have meant, women who 
literally appeared laconically in 
the streets. " Undressed," is his 
word. But will duooftovaai, 
which Meursiiis, Lect, Att. ii. 
5, 62, renders by " inomatius," 
bear such a signilicBtion ? Kdo- 
/loc yvvatKiiv does not, as Kiihn 



I 
I 



HARRIED WOMEN. 

poet, Ler beautiful neck, desire-inflamiug boaoni, ami 
eyes bright with liquid splendour. Her garments con- 
cealed the rest.' Now, as it was customary for ladies 
to appear veiled in public, the object of the law of 
Pbilippides may simply have been to enforce the ob- 
servance of this ancient practice. The magistrates 
who presided over this very delicate part of Athe- 
nian police were denominated " Regulators of the 
women,'" an office ^vhicU Sultan Mabmood in our 
day took upon himself. They were chosen by the 
twenty from among the wealthiest and most vir- 
tuous of the citizens, and in their office resembled 
the Roman Censors and similar magistrates in seve- 
ral other states.'' 

The evil influence of women of this description,* 
who, as Milton expresses it, would fain at any 
rate ride in their coach and six, was perceived and 
lamented by the philosophers. To their vain and 
frivolous notions might be traced, in part at least, the 
love of power, of trifling distinctions, of unmanly 
pleasures, which infected the Athenians towards the 
decline of their republic. By them the springs of 
education were poisoned, and the seeds sown of those 
inordinate artificial desires which convulse and over- 



* II. y. S96. sqq. Cf. Ul. 

* rvfaac6ir^D,. PolL viii. 1 12. 
» Cf. Ariat. Pol. iv. 15. liiO. 

* Od the luxurioua manners of 
the Syracusan womeu see Athen. 
zii. 20. In such disorderB may 
be discovered the first germs of 
the decay of stales ; on which ac- 
count prudent statesmen even in 
oligarchies have sought to restrain 
the licentious manners of wromen. 
Thus Fra Paolo : " Let the wo- 
" men be kept chaste, and in or* 
" der to that, let them live retired 
" from the world -, it being certain 
" that all open lewednesa has had 
" its tint rise from a salutation, 
"fiomaimile."— i. §20. To this 




let ua add the opinion of the fe- 
male Pythagorician Phintys ; lAo 
Si yui-aii'uc tu oUoupiv, Kal iytioy 
licur Kwii!f-c\ta6<u saiOtpajriviv 
Tov avCpa. Stob. Fiorileg., 74. 6 1 . 
Both the philosophical lady, how- 
ever, and the Venetian monk have 
their views corroborated by the 
authority of Pericles : rifs rt ydp 

vwnpxouoTlC (luBfUC /ij \(lpBffl 
yEriaBai, bftii' ficyukii ft Soifl, KaX 
olt hr kit ikdjfiOTOv dptrqc 3 
l^you iv toIq iipirem kAc'oc ^. 
Thucyd. ii. 45. Besides leading 
a retired life, ladies were likewise 
expected to cultivate the virtue of 
silence. Soph. Ajax, 293. Hem. 
II. i. 410. 



40 



cocmmoN of 



throw states. In vain did philoBopbere inculcaw 
temperance and moderation, while the youth were 
imbued with different opinions by their mothers. 
The leesons of the Academy were overgrown and 
checked in the harem. Such dames no doubt would 
grieve to find their husbands content with little' {as 
was the case with Xantippe) and not numl>ered 
with the rulers, since their consequence among their 
own sex was thus lessened. Tliey would have had 
them keen worshipers of Mammon, eagerly squab- 
bling and wrangling iu the law-courts or the ec- 
clesiie, not cultivators of domestic habits or phi- 
losophical tranquillity and content: and in conver- 
sing with their sons would be careful to recommend 
maxims the reverse of the father's, with all the cant 
familiar to women of their character,' 

Our review of female society at Athens would 
be incomplete were we to overlook the Hetaine 
who exerted so powerful an influence over the mo- 
rals and destinies of the state. They occupied 
much the same ]»osition Mhieh the same class of 
females still do in modern communities, cultivated 
in mind, polished and elegant in manners, but scarce- 
ly deserving as a body to be viewed in the light 
in which a very distinguished historian has placed 
them,^ Their position, however, was anomalous, re- 
sembling rather that of kings' mistresses in modern 
times, whose vices are tolerated on account of their 
rank, than that of plebeian sinners whose deficienciea 
in birth and fortune exclude them from good so- 
ciety. There is much difficulty in rightly appre- 
hending the notions of the ancients on the subject 
of these women. At first sight we are shocked 



' Which, according to Plato, 
well-educaled men generally are. 
De Repub. t. vi. p. 1 73. 

' Plat. De Repub. ■vui, 5. t. Li. 
p. 18S. Stftllb. 

* Mitford, Hist, of Greece, iii. 
■(. sq'[. It appeals not to have 



been common for these women to 
rear the children they bore, more 
particularly when they were girla. 
Tliey flew to the practice of in- 
fenticide that they might remain 
at liberty. Lucian, Hettur. Diall. 
ii, 5. iv. V2i. 



MARRIED WOMEN. 



41 



to find that, during one festival, they were permit- 
ted to enter the temples in company with modest 
ladies. But in what Christian country are they ex- 
cluded from church?" Again, behold in our theatres 
the matron and the courtezan in the same box, 
while at Athens even foreign women were not suf- 
fered to approach the space set apart for the fe- 
male citizens. Nevertheless, though on this point 
80 rigid, they were in their own houses permitted 
occasionally to visit them^ and receive instructions 
from their lips, as in Turkish harems ladies do from 
the Alm^. 

It is not permitted here to lift the curtain from 
the manners of these ladies. But their position, 
pregnant with evil to the state through its con- 
taminating influences on the minds of youth, must 
be comprehensively explained before a correct idea 
can be formed of the internal structure of the 
Athenian commonwealth, of the germs of dissolution 
which it concealed within its own bosom, or the 
premature blight which an unspiritual system of 
morals was mainly instrumental in producing. No 
doubt the question whether the existence of such 
a class of persons should be tolerated at all, is 
environed by difliculties almost insurmountable. 
They have always existed and therefore, perhaps, 
it is allowable to infer that they always will exist ; 
but this does not seem to justify Solon for sanction- 
ing, by legislative enactments, a modification of moral 
turpitude debasing to the individual, and consequent- 
ly detrimental to the state. To do evil that good 
may come, is as much a solecism in politics as in 
ethics. On this point I miss the habitual wisdom 
of the Athenian legislator. Lycurgus himself could 
have enacted nothing more at variance with just 
principles, or more subversive of heroic sentiments. 



' Bcsidea, from a passage in Lu- the public baths. — Dioll. Hetatr. 
cian it appears thai the ludies and xii. 4. 
the hctairw frequented together = Cf.Anliphon. Nee. Venef.jS. 



42 



CONDITION OF 



The Hetaira;,' recognised by law and scarcely 
proscribed by public opinion, may be said to have 
constituted a sort of monarchical leaven in the very 
heart of the republic; they shared with the sophists, 
whom I have already depicted, the affections of the 
lax ambitious youths, panting at once for pleasure 
and distinction, fostered expensive tastes and luxurious 
habits, increased consequently their aptitude to in- 
dulge in i)eculation, shared with the unprincipled 
the spoils of the state, and vigorously paved the way 
for the battle of Chseronea. But if their existence 
was hurtful to the community, so was it often full 
of bitterness to themselves. In youth, no doubt, 
when beauty breathed its spell around them, they 
were puffed up and intoxicated with the incense of 
flattery* — their conversation at once sprightly and 
learned seemed full of charms — their houses spa- 
cious as palEices and splendidly adorned were the 
resort of the gay, the witty, the powerful, nay, even 
of the wise — for Socrates did not disdain to con- 
verse with Theodota or to imbibe the maxims of 
eloquence from Aspasia. But wheu old age came 
on, what were they ? It then appeared, that the 
lively repartees and grotesque extravagancies which 
had pleased when proceeding from beautiful lips, 
seemed vapid and poor from an old woman. The 
wrinkles which deformed their features were equally 
fatal to their wisdom that flitted from their dwell- 
ings, and became domiciliated with the last beauti- 



' Vice ia generally superati- 
tioua ; and these ladies accord' 
ingly when they lost a lover, 
instead of attributing it to the 
luperior beauty or arcomplish- 
ments of their rivala, or the 
common love of novelty of maa- 
kind, always fupposea that en- 
chantments had been employed. 
— Luc Diall. HetAir. L t. iv. 
12*. 

" Stutues, for example, were 



sometimes erected in their honour 
— Winkeim. iv. 3. 7. Tliey 
were generally well educated, and 
there were none protiably who 
could not read. — DroBe, in Lucian, 
complmning of the philosopher 
who kept away her lover, ob- 
Berves that tiis slave came in the 
evening bearing a note from hit 
young master^— Diall. Hetur. x> 
2.3. 



MARRIED WOMEN. 



43 



I 



ful importation from loniii. Tliua deserted, the most 
celebrated Hetairae beoame a butt for the satire even 
of the most clownish. The wit wont to set the 
table in a roar scarcely served to defend them 
against the jests of the agora. 

"How do you sell your beef?" said Laia to a 
young butcher in the fiesh-markct. 

" tliree obele the Hag" answered the coxcomb. 

" And how dare you, said the faded beauty, here 
in Athena pretend to make use of barbarian weights?" 

The word in the original signifying an old woman 
and a Carian weight, it suited her puriiose to un- 
derstand him in the latter sense.' 

Worshijied and slighted alternately they adopted 
narrow and interested principles in self-defence. Be- 
sides, generally barbarians by birth, they brought along 
with them from tlicir original homes the creed best 
suited to their calling — " Let us eat and drink for 
to-morrow we die." They were often the lumber 
of Asia and hence known under the appellation of 
" strange women," though it is very certain, that 
many temale citizens were from time to time en- 
rolled among their ranks, some through the pres- 
sure of adversity, others from a preference for that 
kind of life. Their education it must be conceded, 
however, was far more masculine than that of other 
women. They cultivated all the sciences but that 
of morals, and concealed their lack of modesty by 
the dazzling splendour of their wit. Hence among 
a people with whom intellect was almost everything 



' Athen. xiii. 43. where the 
word U t^tla. — 'ihe Turkish 
practice of drowning female delin- 
quentB in sacks, ia merely an 
imitation of what wag performed 
by B tynuit of old, who disposed 
of wicked old women in this 
manner. — Idem. %. 60. In 
Pnnce likewise fonnerly it was 
aiatomary to avoid the acandat 
of a public trial, for noblemen and 



gentlemen to be examined pri- 
vately by the king who, when he 
could satisfy hie conicieDce that 
they were guilty, ordered them to 
be " without any fashion of judg- 
" ment put in a sack and in the 
'■ night season, by the MarshaU's 
" servants, hurled into a river and 
" so drowned." Fortescue, Laud, 
Legg. Angl. chap. S5. p. 82. b. 



44 CONDITION OF 

their company was much sought after and highly 
valued, not habitually perhaps by statesmen, but hy 
wits, poets, sophists, and young meu of fashion. 

Many of the bans mots uttered by those ladies 
iiave been preserved. One day at table Stilpo the 
philosopher accused Glycera of corrupting the man- 
ners of youth. 

" My friend," said she, " we are both to blame ; 
for you, in your turn, corrupt their minds by innume- 
rable forms of sophistry and error. And if men be 
rendered unhappy, what signifies it whether a phi- 
losopher or a courtezan be the cause ? " 

It is to her that a joke, somewhat hackneyed but 
seldom attributed to its real author, was originally 
due. A gentleman presenting her with a very small 
jar of wine sought to enhance its value by pretending 
it was sixteen years old. " Then," replied she, " it is 
extremely little for its age." Gnathena too, another 
member of the sisterhood, sprinkled her conversation 
with sparkling wit, but too redolent of the profession 
to be retailed. Some of her sayings, however, will 
bear transplantation, though they must suffer by it. 
To stop the mouth of a babbler who observed that 
he had just arrived from the Hellespont — "And yet," 
she remarked, " it is clear to me that you know 
nothing of one of its principal cities ! '" " Which 
city is that?" — "Sigeion, "' {in which there a)>- 
pears to be a reference to the word Silence) answered 
Gnathena. Several noisy gallants, who being in her 
debt sought to terrify her by menaces, once saying 
they would pull her house down, and had pickaxes and 
mattocks ready, " 1 disbelieve it," she replied, " for 
if you had, you would have pledged them to pay what 
you owe me." A comic poet remarking to one of 
these ladies that the water of her cistern was de- 
lightfully cold — ■' It has always been so," she re- 
plied, " since we have got into the habit of throw- 
ing your playe into it." The repartee of Melitta 

■ Athen. siii. 47. 



HARRIED WOMEN. 



45 



to a conceited person who was said to have fled 
ignominionBly from the field of battle is exceedingly 
keen. Hapiiening to be eating of a hare which 
she seemed much to enjoy, our soldier, desirous of di- 
recting attention to her, inqnired if she knew what 
was the fleetest animal in the world. "The run- 
away," replied Melitta. 

The flame taste which induces many persons of 
rank in our own day to marry opera dancers and 
actresses, in antiquity favoured the ambition of the 
Hetaira;, many of whom rose from their state of 
humiliation to be the wives of satraps and princes. 
This was the case with Glycera, whom after the 
death of Pythionica, Harpalos sent for from Athens, 
and domiciliated within his royal palace at Tarsos. 
He required her to be saluted and considered as 
his queen, and refiised to be crowned unless in 
conjunction with her. Nay, he had even the har- 
dihood to erect in the city of Rossos, a brazen 
statue to her, beside his own.' Ilerpyllis, one of 
the same sisterhood, won the heart of Aristotle, and 
was the mother of Nicomachos. She survived the 
philosopher, and was carefully provided for by his 
will.' Even Plato, whose genius and virtue are still 
the a<lmiration of mankind, succumbed to the charms 
of Archieanassa, an Hetaira of Colophon, whose beau- 
ty, which long survived her youth, he celebrated in 
an epigram still extant.^ 

Of all these ladies, however, not even excepting 
Phryne, or the Sicilian Lai's,* Aspasia' has obtained 

Thucyd. vi. 62. Sch. Aristoph. 
Lyaiat. 179. 

* Of the younger Aspasia, who 
had the reputation of being the 
loveliest woman of her time, we 
have the following sketch in /Eli- 
an : — '' Her hair was auburn, 
" and fell in slightly waving ring- 
" lets. She had large full eyes, a 
"nose inclined to aquiline, (eVi- 
"ypwiruc) and small delicate ears. 



' Atheti. ] 
* A then. j 



— Diog. Laert, 



'Diog. Laert. iii. 31. 

* She was a native of Hyccara, 
but taken prieoner in childhood, 
and carried to Corinth, whence 
that city has generally the honor 
of being reganled as her birth- 
place. — Alhen. xiii. 54. — Cf. 



46 



CONDITION OF 



the most widely extended fame. This iHastrions 
woman, endowed by nature with a mind still more 
beautiful than her beautiful form, exercised over 
the fortunes of Athens an in6uence beyond the 
reach of the greatest queen. Her genius, unobserv- 
ed for some time, by degrees drew around her all 
those whom the love of letters or ambition induced 
to cultivate their minds. Her house became a sort 
of club-room, where eloquence, politics, philosophy, 
mixed with badinage, were daily discussed, and 
whither even ladies of the highest rank resorted 
to acquire from Aspasia those accomplishments which 
were already begiiming to be in fashion. From her 
Socrates professed to have in part acquired his know- 
ledge of rhetoric, and it is extremely probable that 
he could trace to the habit of conversing with one 
80 gifted by nature, so polished by rare society, 
something of that exquisite facility and lightness of 
manner which characterize his familiar dialectics. 
No doubt, we may attribute something of the reputa- 
tion she acquired to the desire to disparage Pericles. 
It was thouglit that by appropriating many of his 
harangues to her they could bring him downi nearer 
their own level. She was, in influence and celebri- 



" Nothing could be softer than her 
" skin, and her complexion was 
" fresh aa the rose ; on which ac- 
" count the Phoceans called her 
"Milto,or 'the Blooming'. Her 
" ruddy lips, opening, distloaed 
" teeth whiter than snow. She, 
" moreover, poaseased the ehann 
" on which Homer bo often dwells 
" in his deBcriptions of beautiful 
"women, of amall, well-formed 
" anklee. Her voice was ao full of 
" music and sweetness, that those 
" to whom she spoke imagined 
" they heard the aongs of the 
" Seirens, To crown all she was 
" like Horace's Pyrrha, aimplex 
" mimditiis, abhorring superfluous 



" pomp of ornament." — Hiit. Var. 
xii. 1. Some persons, however, 
would not have admired the nose 
of Milto :— thus, the youth in Te- 
rence (Heauton, v. 5. 17. seq.) 
" What ? must I marry " 

" Ru&mne illam vii^nem 

Cfeeiam, sparso ore, adunco na- 

so? NoQ possum, pater." 

Aristotle (Rhet. i. Z) does not un- 
dervalue the slightly aquilin 
and Plato appears rather to have 
admired it in men, — Itepub. v. § 

19. t. i. p. S9S Stallb. where 

the philosopher calls it the Royal 
Nose. 



MARRIED WOMEN. 



47 



I 



ty, the Madame Roland of Athens, though living in 
times somewhat leas trouhled. 

The name of Phryne, though not so celebrated, is 
still familiar to every one, partly, perhaps, through 
the accusation brought against her in the court of 
Heliiea,' by Euthios. She was a native of Thes- 
pite, but established at Athens, and beloved by 
the orator Hyperides, who undertook her defence. 
His pleading, it may therefore be presumed, was 
eloquent. Perceiving, however, ho could make but 
little impression on the judges, ho had her called 
into court, and, as if by accident, bared her bosom," 
the fairness and beauty of which heaving with an- 
guish and terror — for it was a matter of life and 
death— BO wrought upon the august judges that her 
acquittal immediately followed. The Heliasts, re- 
nowned for their upright decisions, were suspected 
CD ttiis occasion of undue commiseration, though 
the charge was probably grounded on some frivolous 
pretence of impiety; and, to jtrevent the recurrence 
of similar partiality in future, a decree was passed, 
rendering it illegal thus to extort the pity of the 
court, or, on any account, to introduce the accused, 
whether man or woman, into the presence of the 
judges. It was on her figure that Apelles chiefly 
relied in painting his A}>hrodite rising from the 
sea, as Phrjne herself rose before all Greece on the 
beach at Eleusis ; and Praxiteles also wrought from 
the same model his Cnidean Aphrodite. ' This 
sculptor, who was the rival of Hyperides, and, in- 
deed, of all Athens, in the aifections of Phryne, 
permitted her one day to make choice for herself 
from two statues of liis own wxirkmanship — the 
Bros and the Satyr. Discovering, by a stratagem. 



> Poseidip. ap. Atlici 
60. 

' Honeat old Burton, whom 
lew anecdotes of this dcscnption 
eacaped, imagines thii artihte to 



have been the an!v defence he 
made —Anatomy ot Melancholy. 



^ Athen. xiil. 59. seq. 




48 CONDITION OF 

that he himself preferred the former, she was guiSeJ 
by his judgment, and dedicated the winged god in 
a temple of her native city. In admiration of 
her beauty, a number of gentlemen erected, by sub- 
scription, in her honour, a golden statue at Delphi. 
It was the work of Praxiteles, and stood on a 
pillar of white marble of Pentelicos, between the 
statues of Archidamos, king of Sparta, and Philip, 
son of Amyntas. The inscription ran simply thus : — 

" Phrj'ne, of Theepise, daughter of Epicles." 



On seeing this statue. Crates, the cynic, exclaimed, 
" Behold a trophy of Hellenic wantonness ! " 

It is not, of course, among women of this class, 
that we should expect to discover proofs of female 
truth or enduring attachment. But the human heart 
sometimes triumphs over adverse circumstances.' 
History has preserved the memory of more than 
one act of heroism performed by an Hetaini, to 
show that woman doth not always put off her other 
virtues, though habitually trampling on the one which 
constitutes for her the boundary between honour 
and infamy. 

Ptolemy, son of Philadelphos, while commanding 
the garrison of Epbesos, had along with hira the 
courtezan, Irene, who, when bis Tbracian mer- 
cenaries rose in revolt, fled along with him to 
the temple of Artemis, where they fell together, 
sprinkling the altar with their blood.' Alcibiades, 
too, of all his friends, found none adhere to him in 
his adversity but an Hetaira, who cheerfully ex- 
posed her life for his sake; and, when the assassins 
of Pharnahazos had achieved their task, performed, 
like another Antigone, the last duties over the ashes 

' Athen. xiii. 59. — In the ap- ments to bcElow them, like bo 

prehension of Lucian, too, they many aistera, on the person they 

were anything but mercenary; loved.— Diall. Hetair. vii. 1. 
and stripped themselves cheer- 
fully of all their personal oma- ^ Allien, xiii. G4. 



MARRIED WOM£N. 49 

of the man she loved.^ Other anecdotes might be 
added equally honourable to their feelings and fide- 
lity, but these will suflSciently illustrate their cha- 
racter and the estimation in which they were gene- 
rally held. 

» Plut. Alcib. § 59. 



VOL. II. 



50 



CHAPTER V. 

TOILETTE, DRESS, AND ORNAMENTS. 

Having now described the condition and influ- 
ence of women, it will be necessary to institute 
some inquiry into one of the principal means by 
which they achieved and maintained their empire. 
At first sight, perhaps, the disquisition may appear 
scarcely to deserve all the pains I have bestowed 
upon it; but, as the dress of the ancients is con- 
nected on the one hand with the progress of the 
useful arts, as spinning, weaving, dyeing, &c., and 
on the other with the forms and developement of 
sculpture, it can scarcely, when well considered, be 
reckoned among matters of trifling moment. Be- 
sides, the costume and ornaments of a people often 
afford important aid towards comprehending the na- 
tional character, constituting, in fact, a sort of prac- 
tical commentary on the mental habits, and tone 
and principles of morals, prevailing at any given 
period among them. 

The raiment of the Grecian women, of which the 
public generally obtain some idea from the remain- 
ing monuments of ancient art, may be said to have 
been regulated by the same laws of taste which 
presided over the developement of the national ge- 
nius in sculpture and painting. Every article of 
their habiliment appeared to harmonise exactly with 
the rest. Nothing of that grotesque extravagance 
which in some of the fleeting vagaries of fashion 
transforms our modern ladies, with their inflated 
balloon sleeves and painfally deformed waists, into 
so many whalebone and muslin hobgoblins, was 
ever allowed to disfigure the rich contour of a 



TOILETTE, DRESS, AND ORNAMENTS. 



51 



Greek woman. As she proceeded lovely from the 
hands of nature, her pride was to preserve that 
loveliness. Her garmente, accordingly, were not 
fashioned witli a view to disguise or conceal her 
form, but by graceful folds, flowing curves, orna- 
ments rich and tastefully disposed, to afford as 
many indications of its matchless symmetry and 
perfection as might be compatible with her sex's 
delicacy and the severity of public morals. Con- 
sequently the art of dress, like every other conver- 
nant with taste and beauty, reached in Greece its 
highest [lerfection. A woman draped according to 
the prevalent fashion in the best ages of the Athe- 
nian commonwealth, was an object not to be equalled 
for elegance or grace. From the snow white veil 
which probably sliaded her countenance and ringlets 
of auburn or hyacinth, to the sandals of white satin 
and gold that ornamented her small ankle, the eye 
could detect nothing gaudy, aftected, or out of keep- 
ing. There was magnificence without ostentation, 
brilliance of colours, but a brilliance that harmo- 
nised with whatever was brought in contact with 
it ; the splendour of numerous jewels and trinkets 
of gold, but no appearance of display, or of a wish 
to dazzle. Kverytbing appeared to stand where it 
did, because it was its proper place- 
But in Sparta where there existed little tendency 
towards art or refinement,' a costume the antipodes 
of all this prevailed. That of the virgins differed 
in gome respects from that of the matrons, and 
the difference arose out of a peculiar feature of 
manners, in which, if in nothing else, they resem- 
bled the English. In several Ionic countries, as 
at present on the continent, girls were previously 
to marriage guarded with much strictness. At 
Sparta, on the contrary, and among the Dorians 
generally," they were permitted, as in England, to 



' Cf. Montaigne, 
p. 214, seq. 



' See above, chapter 



52 



TOILETT!^, DRESS. 



walk abroad iii comiiany with youDg men, andT^of 
course, to form attachments at their own discre- 
tion. In this, too, as in their dress, they only pre- 
served the customs of antiquity; for in Homer we 
find the Trojan ladies making anxious inquiries of 
Hector respecting their relations and friends in the 
field, and going forth from their houses attended 
only by tlieir maids. The married women led more 
retired lives, and when they went abroad fashion 
required that they should be veiled, as we learn 
from the following apophthegm of Charillos, who 
being asked why the maidens went abroad unco- 
vered while the matrons concealed their faces, re- 
plied: "Because it is incumbent on the former to 
" find themselves husbands, on the latter only to 
" keep those they have."' 

The principal, or, rather, the sole gannent of the 
Dorian maidens was the chiton, or himation,^ made 
of woollen stuff, and without sleeves, but fastened 
on either shoulder by a large clasp, and gathered 
on the breast by a kind of brooch. This sleeveless 
robe, which seldom reached more than half way to 
the knee, was moreover left open up to a certain 
point on both sides,' so that the skirts or wings, 
flying open as they walked, entirely exposed their 
limbs, closely resembling the shift of the Bedouin 
women,* sHt up to the arm-pit, but gathered tight 
by a girdle about the waist. When the girdle was 
removed it reached to the calves of the legs," and 
would then, but for the eide-slits, have been quite 
as becoming as the blue chemise of the modern 
Egyptian women, which is open in front from the 



' Plut. Apophtheg. Lscon. 
Charill. a. t. i. p. 161. 

* Herod, v. 87. Duris, ap. 
Scliol. Eurip. Hecub. 922. £1. 
DionyB. ap. Bui>tath. ad II. p. 
963. 17. ed. Basil. JEl. Var. 
Hist. i. IS. Cf. Spanh. Observ. 
in Hymn, in Apoll. 3S. t. ii. 



p. 63. Schol. Pind. Nem. i. 7+. 

> PoU. vii. 54. mi. Mus. Chia- 
raraont. pi. 35. Antich. di Ercol. 
I. iv. tav. Hi. 

* Castellan, Mwurs des Otto- 
mans, vi. 47. 

3 Svhol. £urlp. Hecub. 92S. 



AND ORNAMENTS. 



53 



I 



neck to the waiat,' When dressed iii this single 
robe, their whole form breathing health, and modesty 
iu their countenance, there was no doubt a simple 
elegance iu their appearance, little less attractive, 
perhaps, than the exquisite and elaborate mise of 
an Ionian or an Attic girl. In thi3 costume Me- 
lissa, daughter of Procles, of Epidaurus, was habited 
when, as she poured out wine to her father's la- 
bourers, Periander, the Corinthian,- beheld and loved 
her. The married women, however, did not make 
their appearance in public en cJtemise, but when 
going abroad donned a second garment which seems 
to have resembled pretty closely their husbands' 
himatia.' 

Of the simple wardrobe of a Doric lady, which 
in ancient times was that of all women of Hellenic 
race, exceedingly little can be said. It is altogether 
different with respect to that of the gentlewomen 
of Attica, where, though inferior in personal beauty 
to none, the women exhibited so much fertility iu 
the matter of dress, that they appeared to depend 
on that alone for the establishment of their eia- 
pire. For this reason it would be vain to pretend 
to describe all their vestments and ornaments, or the 
arts of the toilette by which they were adapted to 



elles B'en Tont tantot entre ou 
verteB juflquee au nonibril."— 
EsBois, II. xii. t. IT. p. 213. 



■ Suidaa, however, supposes 
tht-se gannentB to have been less 
becoming when the girdle was 
removed, and adds iv Siroprj 
li taX rdi Kopat yvfivat fairia- 

8ai T. eiipiditiy. U i. p. 772. 

Montaigne obaerves, that thv an- 
cient Gauls mode little use of the dress of married women and 



Cf. II. (. 4.25^-In the life of 
PyrrhuB, the difference between 



clothing; and that the same thing that of the virgins is distinctly 
might be said of the Irish of his pointed out : — tipxofiim 



time, t. iv. p. 2U.— The French 


Tavra ttpiirrnv, ^nov nvroii rur 


ladies, also, of hh own day, 


irapdifur nai yuyat<:if, al ftiv if 


affected a costume in no respect 


Ifiariaic, KaraCi^arifxivrn roi'c 


less indelicate than that of tlie 




Spartan girls ; " nos dailies, aiii- 


avuapyaaoutvat Toic wptaimpott 
Plul. PyrrL § 27. 


u molles et delicalos qu 'elles sont. 



54 TOILETTE, DRESS, 

their purposes. To do so properly would, in fiict, 
require a volume. But all that can be crowded into 
one short chapter shall be given, since I am not 
deterred by any such scruples as formerly arrested 
the pen of a very learned writer, who apprehended 
that, if he proceeded, he might be supposed to have 
been rummaging the boudoir notes of an Athenian 
lady ! ' 

The primary garment,' answering to the chemise 
of the modems, was a white tunic reaching to the 
ground,* in some instances sleeveless, and fastened 
on the shoulders with buttons, in others furnished 
with loose hanging sleeves descending to the wrist, 
and brought together at intervals upon the arm by 
silver or golden agraffes.* It was gathered into 
close folds under the bosom by a girdle,^ or riband, 
sometimes fastened in front by a knot, sometimes 
by a clasp.^ This inner robe, made in the earlier 
ages of fine linen,' manufactured in Attica, or im- 
ported from Tyre, Eg)7it, or Hidon, came, in after 
times, to be of muslin from Tarentum, or woven at 
home from Egj-ptian cotton. The use of linen, how- 
ever, for this purpose was not wholly superseded. 
A very beautiful kind, from the island of Amorgos," 
one of the Cyclades, was often substituted down to 
a very late period in place of the byssos, or fine 
muslin of Egypt; and this insular fabric,^ whether 
snow-white or purple, would have rivalled the finest 
cambric, being of the most delicate texture and 
semi-transparent,'" like the Tarentiue and Coan vests 
of the Roman ladies, tbe sandyx-coloured Lydlan 

loph. LysUt. 72. iinOuZmyoi M»~ 

chyl. Pers. 15S. el Schol. — Bcfit- 
tig. Lee FurieB, p, 34. 

^ Achilles TatiuH, ii, cap. xi. 
p. 33, seq. Jacobs 

^ Thucyd. i. 6. 

8 Aristoph. Lygiat. IfiO. 735, 
et Schol. 9 Poll. vii. 75. 

"" Aristaph. Lyast. 48. Poll. 
vii. S7. 74. 



' Taylor ad DemosUi. 

« At'hen. xii, 5. 29. Boeckh. i. 
14t. Amtoph. Lymst. 43. sqq. 

^ 'Ecfc X'lvou, Xifoiic ^^frufiOi' 
'AOqi-atoi i^potir vtinpi- — PfU- 
vii. 71. 

* ^lian. V. H. i. 8. 

a On the ^wvq, Of. 11. £. 181. 
OHjEs. T. 231. Damm. 968. 
On the Cestus II. I 214. Aris- 



AND ORNAMENTS. 



65 



I 



robe, or tlie silken chemiseB of the Turkisli fiultanas, 
described by Lady Montague.' It is in a tunic of 
this linen that Lysistrata. in Aristophanes, advises 
the Athenian ladies to appear before their husbands 
in order to give full effect to the splendour of 
their charms.'^ 

Because the Amorginean linen was often, perhaps 
commonly, dyed purple, it has been inferred, that 
none purely white was produced ; but this, as Bochart' 
observes, is, probably, a mistake. At all events, it 
was of extraordinary fineness, superior, in the opi- 
nion of Suidaa,' even to the byssos and carbasos, or 
lawn of Cyprus, and appears to have been of a thin, 
gauze-like texture, like the drapery of "woven air" 
which Petronius* throws around his female cha- 
ractere. 

Over the chiton was worn a shorter robe not 
reaching below the knee, and confined above the 
loins by a broad riband. This also was, in some 
instances, furnished with sleeves, and of a rich purple 
or saffron colour, generally ornamented, like the 
chiton, with a broad border of variegated embroi- 
dery. To these, in order to complete the walking- 
dress, was added a magnificent mantle, generally 
purple, embroidered with gold, which, being thrown 
negligently over the shoulders,^ floated airily about 
the person, discovering the under garments exqui- 
sitely disposed for the purpose of displaying all the 
contours of the form, particularly of the waist and 
bosom. The Athenian ladies being, like our own, 
peculiarly jealous of possessing the reputation of a 
fine figure, and nature sometimes failing them, had 



' Works, ii. 191. 

" Ariitoph. Lyiiat, 48. 

sChanoan. 1. 14. p. 4-l<i. 

•Corrected by Bochart. wlio 
reads ioti ii ai^oipa Xitrriiy iivip 
T^c jivaaoy >i t^v xiipramr. 
Cf. Suid. V. 'A(iopy- t. '. p- ^04. 
c. Etym. Mag. 85. 15. 



* Satyricun. cap. 55. p. 273. 
BuTmann. 

" We find. tVoin ancient moiiu- 
inents, that persons likewise n'ure 
over their ahouldere an article ut' 
dress exactly resemblinf; the mo- 
dern cape or tippet. — Mui. Cor- 
toneiis. tab. £8. 



56 



TOILETTE, DRESS, 



recourse to art, and wore what, among milliners, I 
believe, are called hvstks.^ I am sorry to be obliged 
to add, that there were, also, mothers at Athena 
who anticipated us in the absurdity of tight lacing, 
and invented corsets for the purpose of compressing 
the abdomen and otherwise reducing the figures of 
their daughters to some artificial standard which 
they had already begun to set up in defiance of 
nature,* Some women, too, when apprehensive of 
growing fat, would collect on fine wool a quantity 
of summer dew, which they afterwards squeezed out 
and drank, this liquid having been supposed to be 
possessed of deleterious qualities, more particularly 
the ascending dew.^ 

Like the eastern ladies of the present day, they 
seldom went abroad without their veil, which was 
a liglit fabric of transparent texture, white or purple, 
from Cos, or Laconia. It was thrown tastefully over 
the head, raised in front on the point of the sphen- 
done,* as in modern Italy by the comb, and hung 
waving on the shoulders and down the back in 
glittering folds. But this was not the only covering 
they made use of for their head. Those modern 
writers who have so thought are mistaken, since it 
is clear, both from contemporary testimony and nu- 
merous works of art still remaining, that very fre- 
quently they wore caps or bonnets. Several exam- 
ples occur in Mr. 1 topers work, on the Costumes of 
the Ancients ■," and Mnesilochos, in Aristophanes, 
when putting on the disguise of a woman for the 
purpose of being present at the Festival of De- 
meter, like Clodius at that of the Bona Dea, desires 
to borrow from Agathon a net or raitre for the 



' Athen. xiij. 83. Alex. Frag. 
V. IS, seq. 

« Victor. Var. Lect. ii. 6. 38. 

^ Plut. Qiiiest. Nat. § 6. t. v. 
p. 321. — Coray sur Hippocrate, 
t. II. p. 83, Beq. 

* See an exiict represeiitalioii 



of it in the Mus. Chiaramont. pi. 
8, where we likewise find an ex- 
ample of the sleeves closed with 
agraffcB— Cf. pi. I G. 

* Plates. Nos. 98- 108. 131. 



AND ORNAMENTS. 



67 



bead. " Will you have ray night-cap?" inquires the 
poet. " Exactly," replies Euripides, " that is just 
what we want." ' 

But we have hitherto scarcely entered upon the 
list of their wardrobe, in enumerating some of the 
articles of which, I must crave the reader's permis- 
sion to employ the original terms, our language, 
in most cases, furnishing us with no equivalent. 
And, 6r8t, following the order of Pollux, who ob- 
serves no principle of classification, we have the 
Epomis, a robe with sleeves, opposed to the Exomis, 
which bad none. The Diploidion, an ample cloak, 
or mantle, capacious enough to be worn double. 
The Hemidipkiidioii, a more scanty mantle ; the 
KatasUktos, adorned with flowers or figures of ani- 
mals, or richly marked with spots, the Katagngis, 
the EpiUema, or cloak, and the Peplox,^ a word of 
^eij equivocal character, used to signify a veil or 
mantle, a sofa-carpet, or a covering for a chariot. 
Generally, it seems to have designated a gannent 
of double the necessary size, that» at pleasure, it 
might be put on, or cast, like a cloak, over the 
whole body, as appears from the Peplos of Athena.' 
That the word sometimes was used to signify a 
tunic ap|>ears from Xenophon, who says " the peplos 
being rent above, the bosom appeared."* He, how- 



■ Aristoph. Thesmoph. 256. 

« Poll. vii. 49, aeq — The pe- 
plama of Pindar (Pylh. is. 219) 
ia now paploma- Wordsworth, 
Athens and Attica, p. 32. Cf. 

Iliad. I. 3lfi The peplos was 

•ometimea embroidered with fi- 
gures.— II. C 28D— 295. 

» Sch, Aristoph. Eq. AG*. 
PoU. Tii. 50. 

* Poll. vii. 50, Cr. Cyrop. lii. 
1. 13.— 3. fi7. In Homer, Iliad, 
y. 385, &c. the Viord, iavht, sig- 
nifying a richly -wrought vest or 
robe, is synonymous, as Pollux re- 



marks, withT^wXoc vii, 51. This 
ia, likewise, the opinion of Butt- 
man n, who, however, supposes 
it to mean a " flexibly soft gar- 
ment."— Lexil. Art. 41. Others 
draw a distinction between iaros 
nnd iriirXoc, the former, they say, 
being employed to signify a veil 
unwTought and purely white, the 
latter, one which was variegated 
with colours and embroidery. 
Passow considers it to be a mere 
adjective signifying " clear, light," 
and says, that tl/ia or l/idriof is 
always understood with it. 



58 



TOILETTE, DRESS, 



ever, considers it to have formed part of the mtu 
costume. 

Another article of female dress was the Zoma, a 
short vest fitting close to the shape, and adorned at 
the bottom with fringe, as appears from a fragment 
of v?ischyliis in the Onomasticon. A character of Men- 
ander, too, exclaims, — " Don't you perceive the nurse 
habited in her Zoma?" — for, adds Pollux, it was geue- 
rally worn hy old women. An elegant woollen dress, 
called ParapediH^ white, but with purple sleeves, was 
imported from Corinth, and would appear to have 
heen much worn by the Hetair^.' Other garments 
seem to have been affected by the middle class of 
citizens, who, being unable to dress in purple,'^ the 
distinguishing colour of the wealthy and the noble, 
brought into fashion the Pamp/ies and Paralourges, 
robes adorned on either side with a purple stripe. 
As moch dignity is supposed to belong to ample 
drapery, our citizen ladies took care not to be sparing 
of stuf? their dresses trailing to the ground, and 
displaying numerous folds, jiroduced purposely at the 
extremity by a baud passing round the edge. These 
garments were generally of linen ; but when a lady, 
in Homer, is said to be wrapped in her shining mantle, 
the poet* is supposed to intend a fine, light, woollen 
cloak, like the white bumooses of the Tunisian and 
Egyptian ladies,* 

Several sorts of dresses obtained their appellation 
from their colours ; as the Crocolos, a saffron robe of 
ceremony, the Crocotion, a diminutive of the same ; 
the Omp/iakinon, of the colour of uuripe grapes, 
wliich, though prescriptively appropriated to women, 
was much affected by Alexander the Great, Modern 
ladies have delighted in flea-coloured dresses, and, in 



' poll. vii. 53. Jam vapa- 
vri'jfii XqSiuv vel liidTioy, collaLJs 
Hesychii et PoUucia interpre- 
tatiaoibus, Intelli^ videlur dic- 
tani fuisec veatem albam cui nia- 
nicEc adpoaitsD essent purpurea. 



— Schweig. ad Athen. xiii. 45. 
. %a. p. 146. 
« Athen. xiii. 43. Poll, vbi 



AND ORNAMENTS. 



59 



I 



like manner, the ancients had theirs of asinine hue, 
called KUMos, from a Doric name for the ass, and 
afterwards OnaijrinQS,^ which, if they really resembled 
the wild ass in hue, must have been exceedingly beau- 
tiful. There was a scarlet robe, with the appellation 
of Coccobaphes, the Sifiys, a thick heavy cloak, like- 
wise called Hyphandron Himation. resembling the 
Amphimallos, which had a double warp, and was hairy 
on both sides.* 

Not to extend this list of dresses beyond the pa- 
tience of a milliner, we will now pass on to the prin- 
cipal ornaments for the head,' in which the Greek 
ladies evinced extraordinary taste and invention.* 
Among these one of the most elegant was the Ampi/j,; 
a tillet by which they confined their liair in front. 
It sometimes consisted of a piece of gold embroidery, 
the place of which was often supplied by a thin plate 
of pure gold, studded with jewels. Another Homeric 
ornament, the Kekruphalos,^ can only be alluded to as 
a critical puzzle which lias baffled all the commen- 
tators, in whicli predicament the Plekte rtnadesvie'' also 
stands; all that we know being, that it found its place 



' Among the Dorians tJie aas 
(ovoc) was called ki'XXdc, aitd au 
aU'driTer (uj-iiXoTfc) ciXX<ii.'ri)p. 
Poll. TU, 56. 

' Poll. vii. 56, seq. 

* C£ Winkclmann, iv. 2. 76. 
Alex. Predag. U. 12. 

* Theoc. Eidyll. i. 33. Mmi\. 
Port. Lex. Dor. in voce. 

* Iliad, -n- 4G9. Heync in luc. 
Pollux. V, 95, enumerateg tlio 
&ltrvl among female ornaments, 
but without giving any deserip- 
tion of iL C£ Find. Olymp. vU. 
lis. Dinen. Comm. ad v. 64. 
BfBttiger. Pictur. Vaacul. i. 67. 
— The nKpuf nXot, or Kpono^av- 
TOt, which occurs once in the Iliad, 
was a female ornament for the 
head, iinknnwn to the laterGrecks. 
The scholiast describes it as K-6a- 



fioc TIC Tcpl Kci^aXfiv ; and Damm 
observes that. It was " redimicu- 
" lani fd reticulam quo nmliercs 
" crinescoercent."— 1158. Heyne 
is equally unsatisfactory. The 
commentators on Pollux, t. 95, 
avoid the subject altogether. Cf. 
Foea. CT^con. Hippoc. p. 202. 

fi Iliad, V- 469. nXfen) tiVa- 
SiufiJi' oi fitv Siairifia, says Apol- 
loniOS, of a filrpiif. nX^f Kna- 
fiov i^ioQ rtpt rifv KiipaX^y. This 
is the basis of Hesychiua' arti- 
cle. The Leyden scholia say r — 
dyaiivfoi Xiyirat, otipd, iji- wtpi 
rove KporA^vs dvalov^rin' ica- 

{In which Heyne imagines we 
may detect rtdunlicn, " a iiood, 
huriet, or coif.") Kpqifc/i»'o>' ei 

TtaXiv TO fia^ipiov. 



60 



TOILETTE, DRESS, 



ill tbe female liead-dresa, though whether as a mitre 
or a diadem Apollonios is unable to determine. It 
may poesibly have been, under another appellation, 
that graceful wreath or garland, consisting of fragrant 
flowers interwoven or bound together hy their stems, 
described among female ornaments by Pollux.' 

Another article of the same ambiguous character 
was the Pi/lceon, supposed to have derived its name 
from pwXof, a leaf. Athena3U8,' on a subject of this 
kind, perhaps, one of the best authorities, describes it 
as the crown which, during certain festivals, the Spar- 
tans placed upon the head of Ilera. Doubtless, how- 
ever, the most tasteful and elegant of this class of 
female ornaments was the Kaly.t\ a golden syrinx or 
reed, passed like a ring over each several tress to 
keep it separate." Eustathius describes it as a ring 
resembling a full-blown, but not expanded, rose; and 
this explanation will not be inconsistent with that of 
Hesychius, if we suppose the golden tubes to have 
terminated in the form of that flower. The Strophion 
was a band or fillet* with which women confined 
their hair, as we discover from many ancient statues. 
Parrhasios the artist, who used to bind his luxuriant 
locks with a white strophion, was therefore accused 
of effeminacy.* The name, however, appears to have 
been applied to any kind of band, even to the broad 
belt worn to support the bosom : " My strophion 
being untied the walnuts fell out," says the girl in 
Aristophanes,'^ There was also an ornament of the 
same name worn by priests.' 



' Poll. V. 96. Iliad, a. 595. ad P 



r the epithet, ho^ 
1 not irXtvr^ but xaXH Hem- 
Lerhuis ad Poll. t. iv. p. 998. 
' Deipnosoph. xy. 28. Cf. Poll. 



'. 96. EusUth. ad Iliad. 



* Cffih Rhodig. 



itvii.27, imu- 
female head- 
a parasol. Jungernuuin. 



e. 401. 
* On a mask, engraved among 

the Gemm. Antich. of Agostini, 
we find an exact representation of 
the modem feronet, ft, B4. 

5 Alhen. xi!. 62. Pollux, v. 96- 

« Poll. vii. 07. 95. 

' Plut. Aral. § SB. 



AND ORNAMENTC. 



01 



I 
I 



The Opisthospfiendone,^ one of the female onia- 
mente enumeratciJ in a fragment of Aristophanes, 
was worn only on the stage. Its proper name sphen- 
done it derived from ita resemblance to a sling, 
being broad and elevated in front,'' and terminating 
in narrow points at the back of the head where it 
was tied. On the comic stage it was sometimes 
worn for sport with the fore part behind.' The 
Anadesma* was a gilded fillet or diadem of gold, 
used like the strop/iion for encircling the forehead. 
What was the precise use or form of the Xnnion, 
anotlier golden ornament fashionable in remote an- 
tiquity, could not be ascertained in the age of Pol- 
lux, who says that many wxiters supposed it "to have 
been a comb Of this number are Heeychius, 
Suidas,* and Phavorinus. But a learned modern 
conjectures with more probability, that it was some 
tatiemanic idol worn as a spell against the evil eye.*^ 
In fact it is expressly observed in the Etymologieon 
Magnum,^ that the Hellenic women reckoned it 
among their phylacteries. 

Of the ear-rings worn by Grecian women the 
variety was very great. 'fhe most ancient kind 
were called Hermata, of -which mention occurs both 
in the Iliad and the Odyssey." They were usually 



> Clem. Alexand. Piedag. ii. I S. 
Winkelmann, Histoire de I'Ait. iv. 
«. 75. note 6, and i, 2. 18. St« 
also Cabinet Pio Clement, t. i jjI. 
2, with the ohservBtioiis of Vis- 
conti. 

* Of. Mua. Chiaraniont, pi, ao. 

' Poll. V. 96. vii. i)5. Euslath. 
ad Dion, Perieg, v. 7- Comment. 
adPolLiv.999. On the caXfvoc, 
named but not deacribed by Pol- 
lux, T, »6, lee EuElath. ad II. 
r. p. 1248. Phavor. et Hesych. 
in poce roXa^if. What the 
IvTpoirov was, J ungerinann con- 
fesMS he does not know ; nor do 
I, though it appears probuble that 



it may have been the golden or 
gilt ornament with which the 
hair when gathered on the top of 
the head was bound together. 

* Damm. 444. Aristoph. Plut. 
389. Pollr. 96, 

* Thia lexicographer apeaks of 
it as follows: — KTtyior- o •fopav- 
aiy oi yufa5«c tV '"'t tifa- 
Hftaaiv, olc Koofiot ■^(pvaovt iwi 
cffoX^c- t. ii. p. !£:£■ b. 

15 612, 83, Beq. 

^ HemslcrhuiB. ad Poll. t. iv. 
p. 1000. 

Ml. i. 188. OdjB. a. 296. 
^iian. Var. Hiat. i. 18. 



19 TOILETTE, DRESS, 

adorned witli tlireo emerald drops,' for which reason 
they were by the Athenians denominated Triopia 
or Triopides^' and by the other Greeks Tnopthalma 
or " the triple eye." By this word, as an ancient 
grammarian informs us, some understood an animal 
like the beetle, supposed to have three eyes, whence 
a necklace with three hyaline or crystal eyes, de- 
pending from it in front, was likewise called by the 
same name. Pollux^ supposed the earrings of Hera 
to have been adorned with three diminutive figures 
in precious stones, or gold, probably of goddesses. 
The Diopos seems to have been an earring with two 
drops. The Hdix appears in Homer * rather to mean 
an earring than an armlet, and to have received its 
name from its circular shape or curvature ; but the 
spiral gold rings round the walking-stick of Parrhasios 
are also called Helices by Athena?us.* Another name 
for this sort of earring was Heliktes^ In the ^olic 
dialect earrings were called Siglai, in the Doric At' 
tiala- A particular kind denominated Enciastridia 
and Strohelia, by the comic poets, had gold drops in 
the form of a pine cone.' Two very curious kinds 
of earrings were the Caryatides, and the Hippocam' 
pia, the fomier representing in miniature the archi- 
tectural figures, so called, the latter little horses 
with tails ending in a fish. There were earrings, 
likewise, with drops in the forms of centaurs and 
other fantastic creations." 

The names and figures of necklaces were scarcely 
less numerous." A jewelled collar fitting tight to 
the throat formed, under the name of Pcritrachelion, 



' Fabri. Thee, v, aurie, 

■ Uttmm. 2195, reads rpiorraia, 
and rpiarrlhi:, in the passage of 
EustathiuB, which fonna theliaaia 
of my text; but Kulin and Juii- 
gennann ad Poll. t. iv. p. 1003, 
correct as above. 

' Onomast. v. 97. 

* 11, s. 401. Cf. Guitath. ad 
OdynB. <i>. 49. 



' Deipnosoph. xii. 62. 

" Poll. V. 97. 

T Jungermann ad Poll. t. iv. 
1001. 

B Poll. V. 95. 

y Odyss, T. 290. Hymn, in 
Vt'ii. ii. II, aeq. Necklaces of 
gilded wood. Xen. CEcon, x. A. 
(il. 



AND ORNAMENTS. 



63 



the principal of tliese ornaments, of whicli another 
was the Perideraimt,' The Hypoderaion was aa its 
name imports a necklace tbat hung low on the 
bosom, and the same waa tlio case with the Hormos.^ 
On the TantJieuristos Hormos little information can 
be obtained, for which reason the commentators 
would alter the text ; but the moat probable con- 
jecture is, that it obtained its appellation from the 
flashing and glancing of the jewels depending from 
it upon the breast.* The Triopls was a species of 
necklace distinguigbed for hftviug three stars or eye- 
like gems depending from it as drops. This being 
the most fashionable necklace was known under a 
variety of names, as the Kaihema, and Katheter, and 
Alannot! or Monnos, among the Dorians.* 

Of armlets and bracelets there was likewine a 
great variety. Some worn above the elbow were 
denominated Brackiotiia, others called Pericarpia, or 
Ec/iinoi encircled the wrists and were often in the 
form of twisted snakes of gold, which the woman- 
hater in Lucian would have converted into real ser- 
pents.* The Pscllia or chain bracelets were much 
worn ; the Clidoncs adorned the rich and luxurious 
only. As stockings were not in common use, and 
shoes and sandals frequently dispensed with when 
within doors, fashion required that the feet and 
ankles should not remain unadorned. Ancient 
writers, accordingly, enumerate several kinds of 
anklets, or bangles, all of gold, and varying only 
in form, the distinction between which I have been 
unable to discover. The .Eijle the Pedc and tho 
Peritcdides were so many ornaments for the instep 
or ankle." 



' Plut. Mar. 5 17. Bulenger, 
De SpoUia Bellicig, e. 13. 

* Sch. Aristoph. Vesp. 677. 

» Comment, ad Poll. v. 98 p. 
1003. 

• Th«ocrit. xi. *1. Caaaub. 
LecU Theocrit. c. IS. 



* Amor. § 41, 

spoU. V. 100. Golden peris- 
celidea are enuniemted by Loiigus 
I. 1. among the posaesaioDS of the 
young LeBbian girl ; and Horace, 
Epist. i. xvti. 5G, speaks of the 
perisceliB being an^xhed away 



64 



TOILETTE, DRESS, 



Among tlie ornaments for the Ijosom we find the 
/Effis, evidently like the segis of Athena, a sort of 
rich covering witli two hemispherical caps to re- 
ceive the breasts, such aa we find worn by the 
Bayaderes of the Dekkau. Extending from this 
on either side, or passing over its lower edge was 
the Maschalister, a broad belt wiiich covered the 
armpits, though in Herodotus the word merely sig- 
nifies a sword-belt.' 

Like all other delicate and luxurious women, the 
Grecian ladies displayed upon their fingers a profusion 
of rings, of which some were set with signets, others 
with jewels remarkable for their colour and brilliance. 
To each of these their copious language supplied a 
distinct name/ Other female ornaments are spoken 
of by the comic poets ; but in their descriptions it is 
difficult to distinguish satire from information. Among 
these were the Leroi, golden drops attached to the 
tunic ; the Ochihoiboi, which seem to have been a 
sort of rich tassels ; the HeUebomi, ornaments shaped 
perhaps like the leaves or flowers of that plant ; and 
the Pompholuges, which, though left unexplained by 
the commentators, probably signified a large clear 
kind of bead, as the word originally meant a " water- 
bubble," which a transparent bead resembles.' 

The Athenian ladies, likewise, displayed their taste 
for luxury and splendour in their shoes and sandals.* 



from a courtezan. Here Dr. 
Bentley understands the word to 
mean tibialia, and observes, — 
" delicatutte fasciolis iuvolve- 
" bant aibi crura et femora." 
But Gesner ad Horat. p. £03, 
acq. rather supposea " coitipedes 
" mulierum," to be uilended, and 
he is probably right. Cf, Petroii. 
Sat. c. 67. 

1 Cf. MuB. aiiaram. pi. 14. 
pl. 18. 

« Poll. V. 101. Rhodig. vi. U. 

» PolL V. 101. Cf. Schol. Ari- 
atoph. Ran. 249. Bergler ad loc. 



renders it by bulla, nhich, among 
the Romans, «ignitied " a golden 
ornament worn about the neck, 
or at the breast of children, 
faaliioned like a heart, and hollow 
within, which they wore until 
they were fourteen years old, and 
then hung up to the household 
gods." — Porphyr. in Horat. vid. et 
Fab. Thes. in v. 

* Diog. Laert. ii. 37. c. Sch. 
Aristoph. Lysist. 417. Wooden 
shoes were worn in Thesjoly. 
With these the women killed Lais 
in the temple of Aphrodite — 



AND ORNAMENTS. 



65 



I 



Like our own fashionable damea, they seldom con- 
tented themselves with articles of home mauufacture, 
but imported whatever was considered most elegant 
or tasteful from the neighbouring countries. Some- 
times, perhaps, the fashion only and the name were 
imported, as in the case of the Persian half-boot, 
fitting tight to the ankle.' The same thing may 
probably be said of the Sicyonian slipjicr. But there 
was an elegant samlal, ornamented with gold, which, 
down to a very late period, continued to be imported 
from Patara, in Lycia," Snow-white slippers of fine 
linen, flowered with needlework, were occasionally 
woru ; and from many ancient statues it would seem, 
that something very like stockings had been already 
introduced. Short women, desirous of adding, if not 
a cubit, at least a few inches to their stature, adopted 
the use of baukides with high cork heels, and soles of 
great thickness.^ 

An Athenian beauty usually spent the whole morn- 
ing in the important business of the toilette.* The 
crowd of maids who attended on these occasions ap- 
pears to have exceeded in number the assistants at 
similar rites in a modem dressing-room, the principle 
of the division of labour having been pushed to its 
greatest extent. Like Hera, who was said by mytho- 
logists to renew her virgin charms as often as she 
bathed in the fountain of Canathos," the Attic lady 
appeared to undergo diurnal rejuvenescence under the 
hands of her maids.'* Her lovely face grew tenfold 
more lovely by their arts. Clustering in interesting 



Athen. xiii. .55. There waa a 
•pecies of ahoea peculiar to female 
■lavH called periharides. — Poll. 
97. Ariatoph. LysUt. 47. 
Sch. Aristoph. Nub. 152. See 
I in Antich. di Ercol. t. t!. p. II, 
I > representation of half-boots open 
'q front. 

* Lucian, Diall. Merct. xiv. S. 
c Gartipuiy aay!d\m iniypwa. 
VOL. 11. 



9*. 



. 23. Poll. 



* Their perfumes and essences 
were kept in alabaster boxes from 
Phtenicia, sonie of wliich cost no 
more than two drachrase — Lu- 
cian, Diall. Meret. idv. 3. 

* Paus. ii. 37, 38. 

S ArUtoph. Concion. 732, et 
'Schol. 



66 TOILETTE, DRESS, 

groups around her, some held the silver basin and 
ewer, others the boxes of tooth-powder, or black 
paint for the eyebrows, the rouge pots or the blanch- 
ing varnish, the essence-bottles or the powder for 
the head, the jewel-cases or the mirrors.^ But on 
nothing was so much care bestowed as on the hair.* 
Auburn, the colour of Aphrodite's tresses' in Homer, 
being considered most beautiful,* drugs were in- 
vented in which the hair being dipped, and exposed 
to the noon-day sun, it acquired the coveted hue, 
and fell in golden curls over their shoulders.* Others, 
contented with their own black hair, exhausted their 
ingenuity in augmenting its rich gloss, steeping it in 
oils and essences, till all the fragrance of Arabia 
seemed to breathe around them. Those waving ring- 
lets which we admire in their sculpture were often 
the creation of art, being produced by curling-irons 
heated in ashes s*" after which, by the aid of jewelled 
fillets and golden i>ins, they were brought forward 
over the smooth white forehead,' which they some- 
times shaded to the eyebrows, leaving a small ivory 
space in the centre, while behind they floated in 
shining profusion down the back. When decked in 

* This 13 beautifully described 
by Lucian ; — Pufaiic! ci dil wdir^ 
il Tov 2ai|flX((c ftir aVo rwf poo' 

xifdoi^ TO KaXor dv$ovaty Ofiota 
wopipvpotTif ol /itv. iiriyiiTiot 
irij(uvTai fiiTa^pliriiiv sdff/Mic, oi 
ft rap' tJra xal Kporri^ouc, miXu 
Tuv ev Xttfibin oirXdrtpof ai\i- 
yiiiv Toc &XXa aC//in, fiijJT dirapif 
rpij[iic ain-alj viro^uo/iitciic ijXiir- 
rpou, ^aaiy, !/ SioufMc viXov 
oiaptyytffTipoc tivatTTpairrai. — ■ 
Amor. 5 2fi. 

" Pigiior. deServ. 194. seq. 

' The young lady, in Ludao, 
deecribea thin hair drawn back 
BO as to expose the forehead as a 
great deformity,— Wall. Meret.i. 



' Pignor. de Serv, p. 195. 

• Cf. Suid, V. KOfi^. t. i. p. 
1489. b. 

» See Pashley, i. 2+7. Pignor. 
de Serv. 193. 

* " The beautiful colour we 
" call auburn, and which the an- 
" cients expreB«ed by the term 
" golden, is the moit common 
" among the Greeks ; and they 
" have gilt wire and various other 
" ornaments (among which might 
" yet perhaps be recognised the 
" Athenian grasshopper) in ring- 
" lets, which they allow t 
" over their shoulders, m 
" their hair in long tresse 
" hang upon the back." — 
las. Essay, &c. p. 147, seq. 



1 float 
3 that 



AND ORNAMENTS. 



G7 



this manner, and dressed for the harem ' iti their tight 
flowered saiidala and semi-transparent robes already 
described, tliey were scarcely fartfier removed froui 
the state of nature than the Spartan maids them- 
selves. 

Contrary to the fashion prevalent in modern times 
the bosom, however, was always closely covered, be- 
cause being extremely full shaped it began very early 
to lose its firmness and beauty." Earrings, set with 
Red-Sea pearls of great price, depended from their 
ears, and an orbicular crown studded with Indian 
jewels surmounted and coiitraated strikingly with their 
dark locks. Add to these the jewelled throat bands, 
and costly and glittering necklaces. Their cheeks 
though sometimes pale by nature, blushed with rouge,' 



I 



' A tasle not greatly disBunilar 
prediies over the in-door dreas of 
the mwleni Greek women. "In 
" the gyneMEum," aays Chandler, 
" the nrl, like Thetis, treading on 
" A 8oh carpet, has her white and 
" delicate feet naked; tlie naiis 
" tinged with red. Her trowBera, 
" which in winter are of red cloth, 
" snd in tuniiner of fine calico of 
*' thin gau2e, descend from the hip 
*' to the ankle, hanging Isosely 
" about her limbs, the lower por- 
" tion embrmdered with flowera, 
" and appearing beneath the shift, 
" which has the eJeeveH wide and 
" open, and the seams and edges 
" curiously adorned with needle- 
" work. Her vest is of ailk. ex- 
" actly fitted to the form of the 
" bosom and the shape of the 
" body, which it ratlier covers 
" than conceals, and is shorter 
" than the Bhift. The sleeves 
" button occasionally to the hand, 
" and are lined with red or yel- 
" low satin. A rich zone encom- 
" passes her waist, and is faeten- 
" ed before by clasps of silver 



1 pre- 



" gilded, or of gold, set v 
" cious stones. Over the vest is 
" a robe, in summer lined with 
" ennine, and in cold weather 
" with fiir. The head-dress is a 
" skull-cap, red or green, with 
" pearls; a stay under the chin, 
" and a yellow fore-head cloth. 
" She has bracelets of gold on 
" her wrists ; and, like Aurora, 
" is rosy-fingered, the lips being 
" stained. Her necklace is b 
" string of aechina, a species of 
" gold coin, or of the pieces called 
" Byzantines. At her cheeks is 
" a lock of hair made to curl to- 
" ward the face ; and down her 
" back falls a profusion of tresses. 
" spreading over her shoulders." 
— ii. 140. 

- Lucian, Amor. § 41. Homer 
in nunierous passages celebrates 
the deep bosoms of his country 
women, nnd Anacreon, also, 
touches more than once on the 
same topic. 

* Anchusa. Theoph. Hist. 
Plant, vii. 8. 3. Dion. Chrysost. 



68 TOILETTE. DRESS, 

and they even possessed tlie art to superinduce over . 
tliis artificial complexion tL.it j>each-liko purple 
bloom which belongs to the very earliest, dewiest 
dawn of beauty. To the tint of the rose they 
could likewise add that of the lily. White paint 
waa in common use,' not merely among unmarried 
women, and ladies of equivocal reputation, but ^vith 
matrons the chastest and most prudent in Athens, 
for we find that pattern of an Attic gentlewoman, 
the wife of Ischomachos, practising after marriage 
every delusive art of the toilette." 

It by no means follows that all this attention ^ 
to dress had any other object than to please their 
husbands ; for the Turkish Sultanas who pass their 
lives in the moat rigid seclusion are no less sump- 
tuous in their apparel; but we know that at Athens, 
as in London, much of this care waa designed to 
excite admiration out of doors. For it is highly 
erroneous to transfer to Athens the ideas of female 
seclusion acquired from travellers in the East, whero 
no such rigid seclusion was ever known. Husbands, 
indeed, who had cause, or supjwsed they had, to be 
jealous, might bo put on the rack by beholding the 
crowds of admirers who flocked around their wives 
the moment they issued into the streets. But there 
was no remedy. The laws and customs of the coun- 
try often forced the women abroad to assist at pro- 
cessions and ^lerform their devotions at the shrines 
of various goddesses.* 



;. 268. Poll. vii. 95. Aristoph. 
Lysist. 4G. ct Scliol. Muret. 
Not. in Xen. Cyrop. p. 743, aeq. 
Xen. Cyrop. i. 3. 2, 

» Poll. V. 101, vii. 95. 

' Xenoph. (Econom. x. S. 60. 

' Cf. Xen. de Vect. iv. 8. 

• Luc. Amor. § 41. aeq. Cf. 
Caaaub. wi Theoph. Char. p. 339. 
Aristoph. Plut. 1015, el schol. 
Plut. Vit. K. Oral. Lycurg. In 
the country, loo, women wenl 



often ahroad, and evidently led 
a very comfortable life ; their 
habits, in fact, greatly resembled 
those of English country ladies;, 
the wives of men whose estalea 
lay contiguous freely visiting and 
gossiping with each other. Thus 
in the action on the damage 
cauaed by the torrent, we find 
the wife of Tisiaa and the mo- 
ther of Callicles discussing the 
Bpoiling of the barley and the 



AND ORNAMENTS. G9 

The dress of men included many of the garments 
worn by women; for example, the chiton of which 
there were several kinds, some with and some with- 
out sleeves. Among the latter was the Ea^otnis,' 
a short tunic worn by aged men and slaves, but 
the name was sometimes applied to a garment 
thrown looRely round the body, and to the chiton 
with one sleeve.'' Over this in Homeric times was 
worn as a defence agaiust the cold, the Chlahta " a. 
cloak strongly resembling a highlander's tartan, or 
the bunioose of the Bedouin Arab. It was, in fact, 
a square piece of cloth, occasionally with the comers 
.rounded off; ivhich, passing over the left shoulder, and 
under the right arm, was again thrown over the left 
shoulder, leaving the epear arm free.* This is what 
the iK>et means where he terms the Chlama double. 
It was wrapped twice round the breast, and fas- 
tened over the left shoulder by a brooch,' Even 
this, however, was not deemed sufficient in very 
cold weather, and a cloak of skins sown together 
with thongs was wrapped about the body as a de- 
fence against the rain or snow. Some persons ap 
IMjar to have worn skin-cloaks all the year round, 
for we find Anaxagoras, in the midst of summer at 
Olympia, putting on his when ho foresaw there 
wouhi be rain.^ Rustics also appear to have con- 
sidered a tunic and ekin-cloak necessary to com- 
plete their costume.' 



bariey meal, and meeting, evi- 
dently, as often as they lliought 
proper. In fact, before the quar- 
rel, the footpath acroee the Held 
waa clearly well worn. — l>e- 
moBth. in Call. § 7. 

1 Aristoph. Lyaiat. fi62. 

* Poll. vii. 49. 

* If the appearance of a ghost 
out be reganied as good testl- 
niony, it may be concluded that 
l)ie TheBBalians wore the chkniys, 
Rftcc Achillea when called up by 



p»^B.- 



ApoUonioB of Tyana, presented 
himaelf in that gannenL— Phi- 
lost. Viu A)>olLiv. 16. 

• Mull. Dor. ii. 283. Diog. 
Laert. ii. 47. Clolhca were sus- 
pended in the house oe 
Odyas. a. 440. 

> 11. ui. 330. Poll. Til, 

'• Diog. Laert. ii. iii. 5. 
not. Menag. t. ii. p- 49. 

' Dion, ChrjBOBt. i. 231. 
Rtiske. On the droM of the Arca- 
dians, Polywn. Stratagem, iv. 14. 



Cum 



70 



TOILETTE, DRESS, 



The Dorian style of dreea formed the poiut of 
transition from tlie simple elegance of the Homeric 
period to tlie elaborate splendour of the historic age 
at Athens. In this mode of clothing, a modern 
author remarks, a peculiar taste was displayed, an 
antique siraplieity " equally removed from the spleu- 
"dour of Asiatics, and the uncleanliness of barba- 
" rians." ' They preserved the use of the Homeric 
chiton, or woollen shii-t, and over this wore also 
the Chlavua or Himaiian, in the manner described 
above. To these was added the Odam^s, which, as 
the Spartan laws prohibited dyeing, was universally 
white, and denominated Hohleukos.^ 

It was of Tliessalian or Macedonian origin, of an 
oblong form, the points meeting on the right shoul- 
der, where they were fastened with a clasp. This 
garment was not in use in the heroic ages, and the 
earliest mention of it occurs in Sappho ; ^ but when 
once introduced, it quickly grew fashionable, at first 
among the young men, afterwards as a military 
cloak. At Athens it was regarded as a mark of 
effeminacy, and was fastened with a gold or jewelled 
brooch on the breast.* 

The men of Sparta, though less tliinly clad than 
the women, still went abroad very scantily covered, 
Their Tribon, a variety of the himation,* like the 
cloak of the poor Spanish gentleman, was clipped 
80 close that it would barely enclose their persons, 
like a case, but was thick and heavy, and calculated 
to last. Accordingly, the youth were allowed only 
one of these per annum, so that, in warm weather, it 
is probable that, with an eye to saving it for winter, 
they exchanged it for that more lasting coat with 



I 



' Miiller. Hist. Dor. ii. 877. 
See the picluresque description 
which Hesiod gives of the rustic: 
winter coatume of Bceotia. 0pp. 
et Dies, 534, eqq. Goettl. 

" Poll. vii. 46. 



' Zarfoi irpuiri) yap fufivtirtii 
r^t yXaftiilo^. — Ammonius, p. 
U7. Vttlcken. 

* Heliodor. i. and ii. 

'Sch.Aristoph. Nub. 415. Cf. 
Vesp. 116, 475. 



AND ORNAMENTS. 



71 



which nature had liiniished them.' In the towns, 
however, and as often as they thouffbt proper to put 
on the appearance of extreme modesty, the young 
Spartans drew close their cloaks around them so 
as to conceal their hands,*' the exhibiting of which 
has always been regarded as a mark of vulgai-ity. 
Hence the use of gloves, and the affectation of" soft 
white hands in modem times. The same notions 
prevail even among the Turks, who, like Laertes in 
Homer, wear long sleeves to their pelisses for the 
purpose of defending the hand, to have which white 
and well-shaped is among them a mark of noble 
blood. 

The Spartans had the good taste to suffer their 
beards and hair to grow long, and were at much 
pains to render them glossy and shining. Even in 
the field, contrary to the practice at Athens, they 
preserved this natural ornament of their heads, and 
we find them busy iu combing and putting it in 
order on the very eve of battle.^ It was usually 
j>arte<l at the top, and was, in tact, the most be- 
coming covering imaginable. But they set little 
value on cleanliness, and bathed and perfumed them- 
selves seldom, being evidently of opinion,* that a 
bravo man ought not to be too spruce. However, 
having no object to gain by aping the exterior of 
mendicants, they eschewed the wearing of ragged 
cloaks, which, indeed, was forbidden by law. 

But the Athenians ran into the opposite extreme. 
Wealthy, and fond of show, they delighted in a 
style of dress in the highest degree curious and 
magnificent, appearing abroad in flowing robes of 
the finest linen, dyed with purple and other bril- 



1 Plut. Lye. j ] G. Inat. Lac. 

* Xenoph. de Rep. Laced, iii. 
4, Of Phocion, an imitator of 
^lart&u nmnneri, the same thing 
it related.— Plut Phoc. 5 4. 



=■ Herod. Vu. 208, with the 
notes of Valckeuaar and Wea- 

Bcling. 

* Plut. Instit. Laoon. { .i. 




TOILETTE, DRESS, 

liant colours.' Beneath these they wore tunics of 
various kinds, which, though the fashion afterwards 
changed, were at first sleeveless, since we find the 
women, in Aristophanes, suffering the hair to grow 
under their arm-pits to avoid being disicovered when, 
disguised as their husbands, they should hold up 
their handti to vote in the assembly.' 

Like the women, they affected much variety and 
splendour iu their rings, which were sometimes set 
with a stone with the portrait engraved thereon of 
some friend or benefactor, as Atheuion wore on one 
of his the portrait of Mithridates.' 

In his girdle and shoes,' too, the Athenian be- 
trayed his love of splendour. The hair worn long 
like that of the ladies,* was curled or braided anil 
built up in glossy masses on the crown of the head, 
or arranged artfully along the forehead by golden 
grasshoppers.** But as all this pile of ringlets could 
not be thrust into the helmet, it was customary in 
time of war to cut the hair short, which the fashion- 
able young men reckoned among its most serious 
hardships. Hats' were not habitually worn, though 

^ Athen. xii. 5. Sch. Arirtoph. 
Eq. 1328. Nub. 971. 

' It 19 very clear from a passage 
in Demosthenes (De Fals. Leg. § 
72)i that hats or caps were Bome- 
tiniea worn in the city- There 
are those indeed who suppose 
the word to mean a wig; but 
BroJieuB disposes uf this by 
inquiiing whether sick persona 
would be likely to go to bed with 
their wigs on as men did with 
their TtXMia. Miscell. i. 13. 
However, 1 miut confess their 
wearing hats in bed ia still less 
likely. Tlie Boeotians appeared 
in winter with caps which covered 
the ears. Hesiod. Ojip. et Dies, 
^45. On the form of which, see 
Theoph. Hist. Plant, iii. " 
witli the note of Schncid, 
p. 191. 



' Thucyd. i. 6. Plat, de Rep. t. 
vi. p. Iti7. Tim. Lex. 188. 
Aristoph. Eccles. 332. Sch. A- 
ristoph. Eq. 879- Lucian. Amor. 
§3. 

GO, et 

* Athen. v. 49.— Even slaves 
were in the habit of wearing rings 
set with precious stones, some- 
times of three colours, of which 
several specimens are found in 
the British Museum. Thus, in 
Lucian, we find Parmenon, the 
servant of Polemon, with a ring 
of this kind on his little finger. — 
Uiall. Meret. ix. 2. Cf. Hemater. 
ad Poll. ix. 96. t. vi. p. 1 193. 

» Poll. vii. flZ, seii. 

' Casaub. ad Theoph. Oiar. p. 



I 
I 



- i 

J 



AND ORNAMENTS. 



73 



on Journeys or promenades undertaken during hot 
weather they formed a necessary part of the cos- 
tume. Above all things the Athenian citizen af- 
fected extreme cleanliness and neatness in his person, 
and the same taste descended even to the slaves who 
in the streets could scarcely be distinguished by dress, 
hair, or ornaments, from their masters.' 

Even the philosopliers, after holding out a long 
time, yielded to the influence of fashion, and, lest 
their profession should suffer, became exquisites in 
its defence. Your truly wise man, says an unexcep- 
tionable witness in a matter of this kind, has his 
hair closely shaved, (this was an eastern innovation,) 
but suflers his magnificent beard to fall in wavy 
curls over his breast. His shoes, fitting tight as 
wax, are supported by a net-work of thongs, dis- 
posed at equal distances up the small of the leg. 
A chlamys puffed out effeminately at the breast con- 
ceals his figure, and like a foreigner he leans con- 
templatively upon his staff.' 

But tlie art of dress appears to have received its 
greatest improvements in Ionia, where, according to 
Demooritos, the Ephesian, both the garments, at one 
time in fashion, and the stuffs of which they con- 
sisted, were varied with a skill and fertility of in- 
vention worthy of a |K>lished people. Some [>ersons, 
he says, appeared in rolies of a violet, others of a 
purple, others of a saffron colour, sprinkled with 
dusky lozenges. As at Athens, much attention was 
bestowed on the hair, which they adorned with small 
ornamental figures. Their vests were yellow, like 
a ripe quince, or purple, or crimson, or pure white. 
Even their tunics, imported from Corinth, were of 
the finest texture, and of the richest dyes, hyacin- 
tbine or violet, flame-coloured or deep sea-green. 
Others adopted the Persian calasiris,' of all tunics 

' Xenoph.de Rep. Athen.i. 10. * We find mention made of 

* A then. xj. ISO. On tlie Peroian dresaed variegaled with 

i;orgeuus dresa of tlic piuiiter the figures of animaU. Philort. 

Parrhasios. xii. 62. Icon. ii. 33. 



74 



TOILETTE, DRESS, AND ORNAMENTS. 



the most superb, and there were those among the 
opulent who efeii affected the Persian actcea. a shawl- 
mantle of the costliest and most gorgeous appear- 
ance. It was fonned of a close-woven, but light 
stuff, bedropped with golden beads in the form of 
millet-seed, which were connected with the tissue 
by slender eyes passing through the stuff and fas- 
tened by a purple thread.' 

Duris, ou the authority of the poet Aaios, draws 
a scarcely less extravagant picture of the luxury 
and magnificence of the Samians, who, on certain 
festivals, appeared in public adorned, like women, 
with glittering bracelets, their hair floating on their 
shoulders, skilfully braided into tresses. The words 
of Asios preserved in the Deipnosophist are as fol- 
low : " Thus jjroceed they to the fane of Hera, 
" clothed in magnificent robes, with snowy pelisses, 
" trailing behind them ou the ground. Glistening 
" ornaments of gold, like grasshoppers, surmount the 
" crown of their heads, while their luxuriant tresses 
" float behind in the wind, intermingled with golden 
" cliains. Bracelets of variegated workmanship adorn 
" their arms, as the warrior is adorned by his shield 
" thongs." ' Tliis excess of effeminate luxury, at- 
tended as everywhere else by enervating vices, ter- 
minated in the ruin of Samos. Similar manners in 
the Colophonians drew upon them a similar fete, 
and so in every other Grecian community ; for men 
never learn wisdom by the example of others, but 
hurry on in the career of indulgence as if in the 
hope that Providence might overlook them, or set 
aside, in their favour, its eternal laws. 




BOOK IV. 



PRIVATE DWELLINGS. 



The opinion appears to prevail among certain 
writers, that the private dwellings of the Hellenes, 
or at least of the Athenians, were always mean and 
insignificant.' This imaginary fact they account for 
by supposing, that nohles and opulent citizens were 
deterred from indulging in the luxuries of architec- 
ture by the form of government and the envious 
jealousy of the common people. But such a view of 
the matter is inconsistent with the testimony of his- 
tory. At Athens, as everywhere eleo, things followed 
their natural course. In the early ages of the com- 
monwealth, when manners were simple, the houses 
of the greatest men in the state differed very little 
from thoj^e of their neighbours. As wealth, however, 
and luxury increased, together with the developement 
of the democratic principle, individuals erected them- 
selves mansions vying in extent and splendour with 
the public edifices of the state ;* and as the polity 



Men had by this time advanced 
considerably li'om the state in 
wliieh they are supposed to haye 
built their huts in imitation of 
the swallow's nest. Vitruv. ii. 1 . 

" Plat. Repub. iv. t. vi. p. 165. 
Dion Chrysost. i. 362. ii. 459. 
Pern, coiit. Mid. j '14. — Luciaii. 
Anior. i 3i. 



■ But e 



from a fmgtneot of 
may inter the 



Bacchylides 

magnificence of Grecian houses 
forthepoor man who drinks wine, 
he says, sees his house blazing 
with gold and ivory : 

XpfiTfi i' iXi^arri re 

fiapfiaipouaiy olnai. 

Athen. ii. 10. 



76 



PRIVATE DWELLINGS. 



degenerated more and more into oclilocracy, the dwel- 
lings of the rich' increased in size and grandeur, until 
they at length outstripped the very temples of the 
gods. A similar process took place at Sparta, where 
shortly after the Peloponnesian war, the more dis- 
tinguished citizens possessed suburban villas, which 
seem to have been of spacious dimensions and filled 
with costly furniture." 

Ujton these points, however, I dwell, not from any 
belief that they are honourable to the Greek cha- 
racter, but because they are true. It would have 
been more satisfactory to find them preserving, in 
every period of their history, the stern and lofty 
simplicity of republican manners, far outshining in 
the eyes of the philosopher the palaces of Oriental 
kings glittering with gold and ivory and jewels, in- 
somuch that the cottage of Socrates, erected in the 
humblest style of Athenian domestic architecture, 
would be an object, were it still in existence, of 
far deeper interest to the genuine lover of antiquity 
than the mansions of Meidias or Callias, or even 
than the imperial abodes of Semiramis, Darius, and 
Artaxerxes. 

Nevertheless, wherever there exists opulence, it 
will exhibit itself in the erection of stately dwel- 
lings; and accordingly wc find that, prior even to 
the Ti-ojan war,^ commerce and increasing luxury had 
already inspired the Greeks with a taste for splen- 
dour and magnificence, which displayed itself espe- 
cially in the architecture and ornaments of their 
palaces and houses of the great.* 

Ifomcr, minute and graphic in his descriptions, 
delineates a very flattering picture of Greek do- 
mestic architecture in his time, when the chiefs 
and nobles had already begun to enshrine them- 
selves in spacious edifices, elaborately ornamented 

' Dem. Olynth. iii. § 9. De ' Cf. Alhen. i. 38. 

Kep. Ord. § 10. 

« Xenoph. HeUen. vi. 6. 27. • CE Mull. Dor. ii. 478. 



PRIVATE DWELLINGS. 77 

with, and surrounded by, all the circumstances of 
pomp known to their age.' 

In those days the greatest men did not disdain 
to apply themselves to agriculture, to have their 
dwellings surrounded by the signs and implements 
of the pursuit in which they were engage*!." And 
as in southern Italy the ancient nobles erected shops 
in front of their |)alaoys or villas, in which the pro- 
duce of their land was disposed of, so in the Ho- 
meric houses the same space was occupied by the 
farm-yard enclosed by strong and lofty walls, sur- 
rounded by battlements, witliiii which were their 
heaps of manure, harrows, ploughs, carts, and wag- 
gons, and stacks of hay and com ; ' and hither, too, 
in the evening were driven in their numerous flocks 
and herds, to protect them from the nightly marau- 
ders. The great entrance gates were in the heroic 
ages guarded by ban dogs,* which afterwards made 
way for porters,* and in still later times were suc- 
ceeded by eunuchs.® 

Occasionally for the canine doorkeepers were sub- 
stituted in commercial states gold and silver repre- 
sentations, more likely to attract than repel thieves; 
for example, at the entrance to Alcinoiis's palace 
were groups of this description, attributed to the 
wonder-working Hepha>sto8.'' A coarse imitation of 
this practice prevailed among the Romans, for we find 



' II. S. 657, »qq. 

* A similar ta«tc prevailed 
among the Merovingian princes 
of France: "The mansion of 
" the long-haired kings was sur- 
" rounded with convenient yards 
" and stables for the cattle and 
" the poultry ; the (^rden was 
" planted with useful vegetahles ; 
" the varioug trades, the labours 
" of ^ricultuTe, and even the 
" arts of hunting and fishing were 
" exercised by servile hands for 
■' the emolument of the sovereign; 
" his magazines were filled with 



" com and wine, either for sale 
" or consumption, and the whole 
" administration was conducted 
" by the strictest maxims of pri- 
" vate economy." — Gibbon, De- 
cline and Fall of the Roman Em- 
pire, ii. 356. 

' Hesych. v. nbXijc. 

* Feith. Antiq. Horn. iii. 10. 
p. 2+2. 

> Casaub. ad Theoph. Char. 
p. U5. 

opiat. Protag. t. i. p. 150. Cf. 
Aristid. t. i. p. 518. Jebb. 

I Odyss. I). 93. 



78 



PRIVATE DWELLINGS. 



in PetroniuB that Triinal<;bio bad his court guarded 
by a painted mastitf, over which in good square cha- 
racters were the words " Beware of the dog."' 

Along the walls of this enclosure the cattle-sbeda 
would in remoter ages appear to have been ranged, 
where afterwards stood suites of chambers for the 
domestics, or piazzas, or eolonades, to serve as cover- 
ed walks in extremely hot or bad weather. Within, 
on either side the gateway,'^ chiefly among the Do- 
rians, rose a pillar of conical shape, sometimes an 
obelisk, in honour of Apollo or of Dionysos, or, 
according to others, of both, while in the centre 
was an altar of Zeus Herceios, on which family sa- 
crifices were oflered up/ At its inner extremity 
you beheld a spacious portico, adjoining the entrance 
to the house, where in warm weather the young men 
often slept. From the descriptions of the poet, how- 
ever, it would appear to have been something more 
than a common portico, resembling rather the porches 
of our old English houses, roofed over and extend- 
ing like a recess into the body of the house itself. 
In the dwellings of the great, this part of the 
building, adorned with numerous statues, was pro- 
bably of marble finely polished if not sculptured, 
and being merely a chamber open in front could 
not in those fine climates be by any means an un- 
pleasant bedroom, particularly as it usually faced 
the south and caught the early rays of the sun. 
Here Odysseus* slept during his stay with Alcinoos, 
as did likewise Priam and the Trojan Herald while 
guests of Achilles in his military but.* 

In this porch were seats of handsome polished 



' Satyr, c. 29. p. 74. Hel- 
lenop. 

« Sch. Aristoph, Vesp. 875. 
Here the Roman i sacrificed to 
Janus, tlie Greeks to Apollo. 
Macrob. Saturn. 1. i. e. 9. Poll. 
iv. 123. Coniui. p, 790. 

' Eustatli ad Od. v. 376. p. 



790. Cf. Poll. i. 22, seq, Muret. 
in Plat, de Rep. p. 635. Soph. 
CEdip. Tyr. 16. 

* Odysa. .,. 345. Cf. II. C 
243. Heeych. v. rp6io[ioc. 

* a w. 673. Bqq. Cf. Feith. 
Antiq. Horn. iii. 10. p. 244. 



PRIVATE DWELLINGS. 



79 



stone, as in tbe palace of Nestor at Pylos, whicli, 
to render them more sliining, would apjiear to have 
been rubbed with oil,' Similar seats are found to 
this day before the bouses of the wealthy at Cairo 
and other cities of the East, where in the cool of 
the evening old men habitually take their station, 
and are joined for the purpose of gossip by their 
neighbours. In the larger to^vns of Nubia an open 
space planted with dates, palms, or the F,gypt\a.n 
fig-tree, more shady and spreading than the oak, 
and furnished with wooden seats, collects together 
the elders, who there enjoy what the Englishman 
seeks in his club, and tbe Greek found in his lesche 
— the pleasure of comparing- his opinions with those 
of his neighbours. 

When, in after times, this plain porch had been 
succeeded by a magnificent peristyle or colonnade, 
the primitive custom of sleeping in the open air was 
abandoned ; but here the master of the house with 
his guests took their early walk to enjoy the morning 
sun. It was customary among all ranks at Athens 
to rise betimes, as it generally is still in the warm 
countries of the South. Socrates and his young 
friend, the sophist-hunter,' coming to the house of 
Callias, soon after day-break, find its owner taking 
the air vrith several of his guests in the colonnade, 
the young men moving in the train of their elders, 
and making way for them as they turn round to re- 
trace their steps. There was usually at Athens a 
similar peristyle on both sides of the house — one 
for sunmier the other for winter, and a door gene- 
rally opened from the women's apartment into timt 
communicating with the garden, where the ladies 
enjoyed the cool air in the midst of laurel copses, 
fountains, and patches of green sward,' intersjieraed 
with rose-trees, violet-beds, and other sweet shrubs 
and flowers. 



' Odyw 

SiS, aeq. 

•Plat.] 



■. 406, sqq. Cf. i 
itw. t. ). p- 160. 



^ Plat. Epist. t. viii. p. 103. 
Athen. v. US. Poll. a. 466. 



80 PRIVATE DWELLINGS. 

The town-houses of Homeric times had generally 
uo aul6, but the porch opened directly into the street 
since it is here that, in the description of the shield, 
we find the women standing to behold the dancers 
and enjoy the music of the nuptial procession,' After- 
wards, as the taste for magnificence advanced, the 
whole facade of the corps de logis" was richly omar* 
meiited, while the outer gates were purposely left 
open, that the passers-by might witness the splen- 
dour of the owner. Occasionally, likewise, the great 
door, leading from the portico into the house, was 
concealed by costly purple hangings.' which, being 
passed, you entered a broad passage, having on either 
side, doors* leading into tbe apartments ou the ground 
floor, and conducting to an inner court, surrounded 
by a peristyle, where the gynaMiouitis,' or harem, com- 
menced. 

The apartments of palaces displayed, even in very 
early times, the taste of the Greeks for splendour 
and magnificence. The walls were covered with 
wainscoting inlaid with gold and ivory, as we still 
find in the East whole chambers lined with mother- 
of-pearl.* At first, the gold was laid on in thin plates, 
which, in process of time, led to the idea of gild- 
ing.^ Even Phocion, who affected great simplicity and 
plainness, had the walls of his house adorned with 
laminse of copper," probably in the same style as that 
subterraneous chaml>er discovered, during the last 



■ II. a. +96. Cf. Sch. Aris- 

toph. Nub. 93. 

* HeBych. v. ivintia. Caeaub. 
ad Theoph. Char. p. 330. Com- 
pare thu whole character of the 
" Vain Mon," pp. 57—59. E- 
tjrm. Mag. 346. 10. 

* Atheti. V. 25. Hesych. v. 
avXiiQ. Suid. in v. t. i. p. 491. d. 

* " The doors [at Tanjeers) are 
" richly carved, and placed in 
" areheg shaped like an ace of 
" GpadeB, a form so tonipletely 
" oriental, thai there is no mis- 



" taking its origin ; these, when 
" they opened on the verandah, 
*' were further ornamented with 
" curtains of rich crimson Bilk." 
— Napier, Excursions along the 
Shores of the Mediterranean, i. 
p. 264. 

* Hesych. v, yuyaitutrlTit- 

" Lady Montague's Works, 
ii. S34. 

T Plin. sxxiii. IB. Cf. Hion, 
Chrysost. t. i. p. 862. t. ii. p iS9. 
Pignor. de Serv. p. 214. 

8 Plut. Phoc. 5 18. 



J 



PRIVATE DWELLINGS. 



81 



century, in the excavations made at Home. It ap- 
pears, too, tliat, occaaioually, the walls of the apart- 
ments at Athens, as at H^rcnlaneum and Pompeii 
were decorated with paintings in bright colours,' 
probably in the same style, though as much supe- 
rior in beauty and delicacy of execution, as art, in 
the age of Pericles, was superior to art in the days 
of Nero. Still the paintings discovered in the ex- 
cavated Italian cities, — sometimes" grotesque and ex- 
travagant, as where we behold the pigmies making 
war upon the cranes, winged geniuses at work in a 
carpenter's or shoemaker's shop, or an ass laden with 
hampers of wine, rushing forward to engage a cro- 
codile, whilst his master pulls him back by the tail 
— BometiQies rural and elegant, consisting of a series 
of wild landscapes, mountains dotted with cottages, 
sea-shores, harbours, and baths. Nymphs and Cupids 
angling on the borders of lakes, beneath trees of the 
softest and most exquisite foliage, — may enable us 
to fonn some conception of the landscapes with 
which Agelarcos ^ adorned the house of Alcibiades. 

The halls and saloons on the ground-floor were 
paved with marble or mosaic work,* which often, if 
we may judge from the specimens left us by their 
imitators, represented pictures of the greatest ele- 
gance, containing, among other things, likenesses of 
the loveliest divinities of Olynipos.* These mosaics 
were wrought with minute shards of precious mar- 
bles of various colours, interspersed with pieces of 
amber,® and, probably, also, of glass, as was the 
fashion in Italy, where whole hyaline floors have 
been found consisting either of one piece or of 
squares so finely joined together, that the sutures 



' As, minium, Dioscor. v. 109. 

« Antich. di Ercol. t. i. tav. 34. 
p. IBl.tav. 35. p. 187. tav. 36. 
p. 191. tBV. 48. pp. 253, i57. t. 
ii. tav. 39. p. 273. Cf. Poll. x. 
84. 

* Andocid. cent. Alcib. § 7- 
VOL. II. 



• Plin. sxxvi. 60. Poll. vii. 
121. CrSir W. Hamilton, Ace. 
of DIkov. at Pomp. p. 7, Beq. pi. 5. 

* Galen, in Protrept, $ 8. t. i. 
p. 19. 

Horn. EircB. 10. p. 199. 
Franke, 



82 PRIVATE DWELLINGS, 

were invisible to the naked eye. No mention, I be- 
lieve, is made in Greek authors of lining the walls 
of apartments with g\aB&. or even of glass windows,' 
which, however, were common in the cities of Magna 
Grsecia in the age immediately succeeding that of 
our Saviour. It is extremely probable, however, 
that as the Greeks were as well acquainted as the 
Romans with the properties of the lapis specularis;' 
they likewise made use of thin plates of this stone, 
or talc, or gypsum, as they still do in Egypt for 
window-panes. So nmch, indeed, seems inferable 
from a passage of Plutarch,' as, also, that transpa- 
rent squares of horn were employed for the same 
purpose, as oyster-shells and oiled paper still are 
in China. Previously, however, tlie ■windows* (some- 
times square and situated high in the wall, some- 
times reaching from the ceiling to the floor) were 
closed with lattice-work* in iron, bronze, or wood, 
over which, in bad weather, blinds of hair-cloth or 
prepared leather were UHually drawn. 

The ceilings at first consisted merely of the beams, 
rafters, and planks, forming the roof, and snpijorting 
the layers of earth or straw that covered it ; but, by 
degrees, the wood-work was carefully painted, and 



• See the authorities collected 
by Nixon, Phil. Trans, t. i. p. 
12G, sqq. Seneca spealH of glass 
windows as a new invention, 
Epist. 90. Sir William Hamil- 
ton, however, in his Account of 
Diicoveries made at Pompeii, 
observes : — " Below stairs is a 
" room with a large bow-window ; 
"fiagments of large panes of 
" glass were found here, shewing 
" that the ancients knew well 
" the use of glasa for windows," 
— p. 18. Cf. CayluB, Rec. 
d'Ant. t. 2. p. 293. Mazoia, 
Pal. de Scaut. p. 97. Caatell. 
Villas of the Ancients, p. 4. 
Vitruv. vii. 3. 



" In lieu of the lapis specularis, 
they make use in Persia of thin slabs 
of Tabreez marble for the win- 
dows of baths, and other buildings 
requiring a soft subdued light. 
— See Fowler, Three Years in 
Persia, where the growth of this 
stone is curioualy described. — i. 
228, sqq. 

' De Plac. Phil. iii. 5. ed. Cor- 
sin. Flor, 1750, p. 81. Cf. PUn. 
Hist. Nat. si. 37. 

* Sir W. Hamilt. Ace. of Dis- 
cov. at Pomp. p. 7, »eq. An- 
tich. di Ercolano. t. i, tav. i. p. 1. 
tav. 3. p. 11. Cf. Schol. Aris- 
toph. Eq. 996. 

' Mazois, Pal. de Scaur, p. 98. 



PRIVATE DWELLINGS. 



83 



arranged so as to fonii a succeesion of coffers and 
deep sunken panels. Sometimes the whole ceiling 
consisted of cliamfered, or fretted cedar work,' or 
of cypress wood, or was covered with paintings in 
blue and gold, and supported on columns' lofty and 
deeply fluted for the purpose, as has been ingeniously 
conjectured,^ of receiving spears into the semi-cylin- 
drical cavities thus formed. If this idea be well 
founded, we have a very satisfactory reason of the 
origin of fluting columns, and it appears to be per- 
fectly consistent with Homer's account of Odysseus's 
chamber, where a number of lances are spoken of 
standing round a pillar.* 

The principal apartments, according to the fashion 
etill prevailing iii the East, were furnished with 
divans,* or broad immovable seats, running along the 
walls, which are now stuffed soft atop with cotton, 
and covered with scarlet or purple, bordered by gold 
fringe a foot deep. In the Homeric age they would 
appear to have been of carved wood, inlaid with 
ivory and gold, and studded with silver nails.'^ For 
these divans they had a variety of coverings, some- 
times skins, at others purple carpets, in addition to 
which they, as now, piled up, as a rest for the hack 
or elbow, heaps of cushions, purple above, and of 
white linen beneath.' By degrees;, these seats be- 
came movable and were converted into couches or 
sofas, manufactured of bronze, or silver, or precious 
woods, veneered with tortoiseshelh" In the palaces 
of oriental sultans they are sometimes made of 
alabaster, encrusted with jewels. Somewhere in the 



* By Payne Knight, Prolog. 
ad Horn. § 47. Cf. Feith. Aii- 

tiq. Homer, iii. 11.6. 
' Odyss, a. 127. seq. 



» Athen. ix. 67. Plat, de Rep. 
t. Ti. p. 35S. Cf. Gog. Origine 
des Loix, t. V. p. 4+3. PolL 
Onom. X. 84. Comm. p. 1552. 
Maz. Pal. de Scau. p. 102. Ti- 
bull. iii. 3. 16. Luc. de Dca 
Syr. ; 30. Cynic. § 9. Eurip. 
Great. 1361. 

' OdyBS. 3. 45, seq. Luc. 
Soinn. leu Gall. § 29. 



* Id. f,. 95, seq. 
6 Id. ft 65. ». 32. 
I Id. K. 352, seq. 



84 



PRIVATE DWELLINGS. 



more retired parts of the Domes were tlie picture- 
giillery and library, of neither of which have we any 
exa«t description. The fonner, however, faced the 
north, and the latter the west. If the libraries of 
the Greeks at all resembled in form and dimensions 
those found at Pompeii, they were by no means 
spacious ; neither, in fact, was a great deal of room 
necessary, as the manuscripts of the ancients stowed 
away much closer than our mo<lera books,' and were 
sometimes kept in circular boxes, of elegant form, 
with covers of turned Mood, The volumes consisted 
of rolls of parchment, sometimes jmrple at the back,* 
or papyrus, about twelve or fourteen inches in breadth, 
and as many feet long as the subject required. 
The pages formed a number of transverse compart- 
ments, commencing at the left, and proceeding in 
order to the other extremity, and the reader, hold- 
ing in either hand one end of the manuscript, un- 
rolled and rolled it np^ as he read. Occasionally 
these book# were placed on shelvea. in piles, with 
the ends outwards, adorned with golden bosses,* the 
titles of the various treatises being written on pen- 
dant labels. 

If we proceed now to the court^ dividing the Domos 
from the Thalamus we shall perceive, on both sides 
of the door leading out of the Andron, flights of 
steps ascending to the upper chambers where, in 
the heroic ages, the young men and strangers of 
distinction usually slept. Thus, in the jialace of 
Ithaca, Telemachos had a bed-chamber on the second 
story, whence the poet is careful to observe he en- 
joyed a good prospect.^ In later times, however. 



' Antich. di Ercol. t. ii. lav. 2. p, 
13. — Books were preserved from 
the motli by cedar-oil — Oeopon. 
V. 9. 

» Luc. de Merced. Conduct. § 
41. 

^ Luc. Imag. $ 9. 

* Luc. de Merced. Conduct. 



* Similar courts in the houies 
of Magna Grsecia are described 
as having had in the middle a 
square tank where the rain-water 
was collected, and ran into a 
reservoir beneath.— Sir W. Ha- 
milt. Ace. of Diacov. at Pomp, 
p. IS. 

* Odyss. n. as. leq. 




PRIVATK DWELLINGS. 85 

there were, on tlie ground floor, suites of apartnieiits, 
deuoDiinated Xenon, appl-opriated to the use of guests, 
who there lived freely and at ease as in their own 
houses. 

At the further extremity of the interior court a 
steep flight of steps led to an elevated basement and 
doorway, which formed the entrance into the tba- 
lamos.' This part of the house would appear to 
have been laid out in a peculiar manner, consisting, 
first, of a lofty and spacious apartment,'' where all 
the females of the family usually sat while engaged 
in emhroidery or other needlework.^ It likewise 
formed the nursery, and, at its inner extremity, in a 
deep recess, the bed of the mistress of the family 
appears to have stood, on either side of which were 
doors leading to flights of steps into the garden, 
set apart for the use of the women. 

It has by many been supposed, that the Thaiamos 
was a chamber particularly appropriated to the use 
of young unmarried ladies ; but. since we find Kelen 
and Penelope inhabiting the Thaiamos, it may be pre- 
sumed that it was common to all the females of the 
bouse. Hector, in his visit to Paris, finds him in the 
Thaiamos, turning about and polishing his arms, as 
if he meant to use them, while, close at hand, are 
Helen and her maids engaged in wearing or em- 
broidery. Tlie word was ol^en used in the same 
signification as Gynicconitis,* or "the harem;" and. 



' Eustath. ad Odyaa. x- P- 776. 
■ — These female apartments were 
sometimes hired out and inha- 
bited by men. — Antiph. Nee. 
Venef. | 3.— Mr. Fosbroke's ac- 
count is curiouB ; — " The thala- 
*■ tnoa won an apartment wheru 
" the JUotAers of/amilitt workt»l 
" in embroidery, in tapestry, and 
" other works, teith their mves, 
" or their friends." — Encyclop. 
of Ant. i. ao. 

^ Sometiinet, at least, roofed 



with cypress-wood, as we learn 
from MneBimachos, in hia Horse- 
breeder: ^aiv U daXd/twi' 
nvTraptoeopo^iiiv i&u, Mcjvt). — 
Athen. ix. 67. 

^ We find ladies, however, 
sometimes dining with their chil- 
dren in the Aul^. — Demoath. in 
Ev. et Mnea. § 16. 

♦ Heaych, v. yvraU. p. 866, 
Cyrill. Lex. He. Bren. Bret, ad 
Hesych. I. c. 



86 PRIVATE DWELLINGS. 

therefore, wbeo Theocritus ' speaks of a " maiden 
from the Thalamos," and Phocylidea, with the suapi- 
cious caution of a more vicious age, advises that young 
women be kept in " well-locked Thalamoi," it is clear 
that the female apartments generally are meant. 
These were, in Sparta, called oa («'hich, as is well 
known, in the common language of Greece, signi- 
nifies eggs), whence, according to Clearchos, ^ the 
fable which describes Helen proceeding from an egg, 
because bom and educated in the chambers so called. 
Throughout the Iliad and the Odyssey we find the 
poet speaking of this part of the house as inhabited 
by women. Here lived Penelope,' far from the 
brawls of the suitors who crowded the halls of the 
Domes; and here Ares pressed bis suit with success 
to Astyoche and Polymela, who both became the 
mothers of valiant sons.'' From which, among many 
other circumstances, it is manifest that, in those 
ages, the sexes met easily, even the entrance to the 
harem not being impracticable to a lover. 

The bedchambers of the young unmarried women 
appear to have Hanked the great central ball of the 
Thalamos. and here the female slaves likewise slept, 
apparently in recesses, near the chamber-doors of 
their mistresses, as we find particularly remarked 
in the case of Nausicaa and her maids. At Athens, 
the door of communication between the Andron* and 
the GynBEconitis was kept carefully barred and locked 
to prevent all intercourse between the male and 
female slaves, the keys being entrusted solely to 
the mistress of the house. 

As these apartments were less exposed than any 
other portion of the building, and far more care- 
fully guarded, it became customary, as in the East 
it still is, to lay up in the Thalamos, more espe- 
cially in the dark basement story, much valuable 

' Eidyll.ii.ia6. Phocyl. v. ' Odysa. o. 5 1 6. 

198. ' II. e. 514. .r, 184. 

' Athen. ii. 50. Cf. Sch. Arie- 
fjih. Vesp. 68. 



> Cf. Poll. vi. 7. Cffll. Rhodig. 



PRIVATE DWELLINGS. 



87 



property, such as arms, gold, silver, tlie wardrobe 
of both sexes, and even oil and wine. Among the 
Romans, or, indeed, among the Greeks, of a later 
age,' this step would scarcely have been taken, lest 
the ladies should have grown too assiduous in their 
attention to the skins. But in remoter ages these 
sordid fears had no existence. Accordingly, we find 
the prudent Odysseus, who apprehended, perhaps, 
the tricks of his domestics, stowing away his casks 
of choice old wine in tlie Thalamos, doubtless, con- 
sidering it safer there, under the keeping of Eury- 
clea, than it would have been anywhere else in the 
palace." 

In later and more civilized ages, the Thalamos 
was still used for the same purposes; for, in the 
establishment of Ischomachos, a pattern of Attic 
economy, we find that the more valuable portion of 
the family wardrobe, with the plate and other costly 
utensils, was there deposited. Corn, according to the 
suggestions of common sense, they laid up in the 
driest rooms, wine in the coolest. The apartments 
into which most sunshine found its way were ap- 
propriated to such employments and to the display 
of such furniture as required much light.* Their 
dining-rooms, where, also, the men usually sat when 
at home, they carefully contrived so as to be cool 
in summer and warm in winter, though, in severe 
weather, a good fire was often found necessary.* 
The same judicious principle commonly regulated 
the erection of their habitations, which were divided 



» Plut. Paral. Vtt. § 3. 

' Odyas. g. 337, 345. v. 4*2. 
SchoL 459. 46(i. P<.11. vii. 397. 

» Xen. Memorab. iii. 8, 9. 

* Anoxaad. ap. Athen. ii. 89. 
— So also thought Socrates, who 
obsen-M, that in winter every one 
will have a fire who can get 
wood- And, though he lumself 
wore the same garments all the 
year round, he considered it, ap- 



parently, a judiciouB praitice in 
others to put on warm clothing. 
—Xen. (Eton. svii. 3. Sch. 
Arbtoph. Acham. 716. When 
the dining-room was not fur- 
nished with a chimney, braziers 
were kindled outside the door, 
and carried in when the worst 
fumes of the charcoal hod eva- 
porated. — Plut. Symp. vi. 7. 



88 PRIVATE DWELLINGS. 

into two sets of apartments, suited to the two great 
divisions of tlie year. As we have already remarked, 
the principal front looked towards the south, that 
it might catch the rays of the wintry sun, whose 
more vertical summer beams were excluded by broad 
verandahs, or colonnades. 

In what part of the edifice stood the bathing-room 
(^uKaniov, so called from its having, in remoter ages, 
been heated with acorns, ZaKxtoi) ' I have been un- 
able to discover, though it appears certain that, 
even so far back as the heroic ages, a chttml>er 
was always set apart for the bath. At first, doubt- 
less, they were content with cold water ; but that 
this was soon succeeded by warm water' may be con- 
jectured from the tradition ascribing the first use 
of it to Heracles, whence warm baths were ever 
afterwards called the Baths of Heracles. 

Tlie form of the Puelos,' or vessel in which they 
bathed, appears occasionally to have resembled an 
Egyptian sarcophagus, and to have been sometimes 
round, and constructed of white or green marble, 
or glass, or bronze, or common stone, or wood,* in 
which case it would seem to have been portable. In 
the baths of Pompeii the marble basins, whether 
parallelogramatic or circular, were of spacious dimen- 
sions, and raised two or three feet above the pave- 
ment. A step for the convenience of the bathers 
extends round it on the inside, and at the bottom are 
marble cushions upon which they rested. In the labra 
of the Cirei-iaii female baths rose a smooth cippus in 
the form of a truncated cone, denominated omphalos, 
on which the ladies eat while chatting with their female 
companions,' 

When once the warm bath came into use, people 



I Etym. Mag. 186, 8. Atheii. 
i. 1 8. Phot. Bib. 60. b. Hesiod. 
Frsg. 53. Baths, at Sparta, were 
common lo both seneB.— Goguet, 
V. 428. Cf.Pashley, Travels, i. 
183. 



^ Baccius, de Thennis, p. SS5, 
Schol. Aiistoph. Nub. 1034. 

' Cf. Etymol. Mag. Ifil, 52, 
sen- Schol. Aristoph. Eq. 1055. 

* Baccius, de Therm, p. 399. 

> Alheii. xi. 104. 



I 
I 



PRIVATE DWELLINGS. 80 

employed it to excess, Imthing as frequently as five 
or six times a day, and in water so hot as to half 
scald themselves.' Immediately afterwards, to pre- 
vent the skin from chapping, they anointed their 
bodies with oils and perfumed unguents.^ Occasion- 
ally, instead of plunging into the water, they sat up- 
right, as is still the custom in the hammams of the 
East, while the water was poured with a sort of ladle 
on their head and shoulders. 

The public hatha, of which no full description refer- 
ring to very ancient times remains, were numerous 
in all Hellenic cities, more particularly at Athene, 
where they were surmounted with domes,' and re- 
ceived their light from above. These establishments 
were frequented by all classes of women who could 
afford to pay for such luxury, rich, poor, honourable, 
and dishonourable. 

The attendants, in later and more corrupt times 
at least, were men, whose sole clothing consisted of 
a leathern apron about the loins, while the ladies, who 
undressed in the Apodyterion, went through the va- 
rious processes of the bath in the same primitive 
clothing. It was, however, customary for them to 
enter the water together in crowds,* so that they kept 
each other in countenance. Here the matrons who 
had sons to marry studied the form and character of 
the young ladies who frequented the hatha ; and as 
all the defects both of person and features were neces- 
sarily revealed, it was next to impossible for any lady, 
not sufficiently opulent to keep up a bathing establisii- 
ment in her own house, to retain for any length of 
time an undeserved celebrity for heauty. In the 
baths of the East, the bodies of the bathers are 
cleansed by small bags of camel-hair, woven rough. 



■ Schol. Aristoph. Nub. 1034. 

» Plut. Alexand, J 40. 

1 Atben. xi. 104. 

• Victor, ad Arislot. Ethic, p. 
SI 4. There wat a cet of vIcioiiK 
ftllows, called rpiSaXXot, who 



paued their lives (Jiwrderly in 
ihe baths.— Etjm. Mag. 765. 55. 
ArintophaneB bestows the name 
on certain barbarian divinities. — 
Aves. 15^8. 



90 



PRIVATE DWELLINGS. 



and passed over the hand of the attendant ; or wito 
a handful of the fine fibres of the Mekka palm-tree 
combed soft, and filled with fragrant and saponaceous 
earths, which are rubbed on the skin till the whole 
body is covered with froth. Similar means were 
employed in the baths of Greece, and the whole was 
afterwards cleansed off the skin by gold or silver stlen- 
gides, or blunt scrajicrs somewhat curved towards the 
point.' 

The architectural arrangements of these baths," if 
we may draw any analogy from similar establish- 
ments in a later age, were nearly as follows : — Enter- 
ing the building by a lofty and spacious portico, you 
found yourself in a large hall, paved with marble and 
adorned with columns, from which, through a side- 
door, you passed into the Apodyterion, or undressing- 
room ; next, into a chamber where was the cold water 
in basins of porphyry or green ja.sper; immediately 
contiguous lay the Tepidarium, to which succeeded 
the Sudarium, a vaulted apartment furnished with 
basins of warm water, and where tlie heat was exces- 
sive ; from this, moving forward, you successively tra- 
versed saloons of various degrees of temperature and 
dimensions, until you found yourself in the dressing- 
room, whither your garments had been carried by 
your domestic, or the attendants on the baths.^ These 
establishments were likewise provided with water- 
closets,* placed in a retired part of the building, and 
furnished with wooden seats, basin and water-pipe, as 
in modem times. 

To diminish the chances of being robbed, steal- 
ing from a bath was at Athens made a capital 
offence ;* so that the persons who frequented them 



> Xenoph. Anab. i. S. 10. See 
one of these Btlengides in Zof-ga, 
BsEsi Rilievi, tav. S9. 

* Cf. Etymol. Mag. 384. 10. 
Poll. vii. 166, and Plut. Alexand. 
5 20, where he describes ihe lux- 
urious batlis of DiiriuE. 



' Lucian. Hippias. § 5, sqq. 

* Sir W. Hamilton's Ace. of 
Discov, at Pompeii, p. 41. Cf. 
Casaub. ad I'heoph. Char. p. 
269. 

^ Atistct. Problem, xix. 14. 
Casaub. ad Theoph. Char. p. 215. 



PRIVATE DWELLINGS. 



9t 



I 



ran very little risk. The price was usually mode- 
rate, though in some cities, as for exam])le at Plia- 
selis, they were in the habit of doubling their 
charges to foreigners, which drew from a witty so- 
phist a very cutting remark ; for his slave disputing 
with the keeper of the bath, and contending that 
his master ought not to be charged more than 
other persons, tlie sophist, wito overheard the dis- 
pute, exclaimed, " Wretch, would you make rae a 
** Phaselitan for a farthing?"' 

The roofs of the more ancient Greek houses were 
generally flat," not sloping upwards to a point, as 
was afterwards the fashion.' In Kgjpt and Syria, 
and almost throughout the East, the same taste 
still obtains ; and as palm trees, loftier than the 
buildings, often grow beside the walla, and extend 
their beautiful pendulous branches over a great part 
of the roof, nothing can be more delightful on a 
raild eerene evening than to sit aloft on those 
breezy eminences sipping coffee, gazing over the 
green rice fields, or watcliing the stars as they put 
forth their golden lamps through the violet skirts 
of day. But there a parapet usually preserves him 
who enjoys the scene from falling. It was "other- 
wise of old in Greece. The roof consisted simply 
of a number of beams laid close together and cover- 
ed with cement, so that, as was proved by the fate 
of Elpenor,* the practice of sleeping there in warm 
weather, quite common throughout the countrj', was 
not wholly without danger. 

On the construction of the kitchen,* which in 
Greek houses was sometimes a separate little build- 
ing erected in the court-yard, our information is 
extremely imperfect. It is certain, however, con- 



' Alhen. viii. 45. 

' A^sch. Agani. 3, sqq. We 
find, however, an allusion to the 
pointed roof in Iliad. ^, 713i 



' Antich. di Ere. lav. 3, 
p. 11. 

* Odyss K. ^59. EusUth. ad 
loc. p. 1669,1. 15. Feith. Ant. 
Horn. ill. If), p. 240. 

» Cr. Alhen. ix. 33. iii. 60. 



92 PRIVATE DWELLINGS. 

trary to the commoQ opinion, tliat it was furnished 
with a chimney,' and that the smoke was not per- 
mitted to find its way through an aperture in the 
roof. Thus much might be inferred from a pas- 
sage in the Wasps, when the oid dicast, in love 
with the courts of law, is endeavouring to escape 
from the restraint imposed on him by his son, by 
climbing out through the chimney. It is clear that 
he has got into some aperture, where he is bidden 
from sight, for hearing a noise in the wall, his son 
Bdelycleon, cries out, "What is that?" upon which 
the old man replies, " I am only the smoke." It 
is plain, that he would not, like a Hindu Yoghi, 
be balancing himself in the air, otherwise the young 
man must have beheld him sailing up towards the 
roof. But the matter is set entirely at rest by the 
Scholiast, who observes, that the Kuxnohoyyi was a 
narrow ehaimel like a pipe through which the smoke 
ascended from the kitchen. This explanation has 
been confirmed by the discoveries of Colonel Leake,' 
who on the rocky slopes of the hill of the Mu- 
seion and Pnyx, found the remains of a house 
partly excavated in the rock, in which the chimney 
still remained. 

The same convenience, also, existed in the Roman 
kitchens,' though they would appear to have been 
unskilfiilly constructed in both countries, since the 
cooks complain of the smoke being borne hither 
and thither by the wind, and interfering with their 
operations. However, this may have arisen from 
the numerous small furnaces which, as in France, 
were ranged along the wall for the purj)ose of cook- 
ing several dishes at once. The chimneys having 
been perpendicular, as in our old farm-houses, were 



' Cf. Sch. Aristoph. Nub. 91. 9. Ma/oig. Pal. de Scaur, p. 

Veep. 139, 1*7. 178. On the interior of a Ro- 

' Topog. of Alliens, p. 361. man house, see Pet. Bellori, 

' Cf. PerrauH. sur VitruT. vi. Frag. Vet. Rom, p. 31. 



PRIVATE DWELLINGS. 



93 



fiimislied witli stoppers to keep out the min in had 
weather.' 

That the kitchens were Bometimes not sufficiently 
airy and comfortable may be inferred from the prac- 
tice of a phihjsopliical cook in Damoxenos, who used 
to take his station immediately outside the door, and 
from thence give his orders to the interior opera- 
tives. Great care was nevertheless taken that it 
should be well lighted, and that the door should 
be so situated as to be as little exposed as possible 
to whirling gusts of wind.' From a passage in the 
Scholiast on the Wasps, and the existence of drains 
in the excavations on the hill of the Museion, it is 
clear that the Athenian houses were furnished with 
sinks,' though in the Italian kitchens there seem 
merely to have been little channels running along 
the walls to carry off the water. The floor, too, was 
constructed in both countries with a view at once 
to dryness and elegance,* being formed of several 
layers of various materials all porous though binding, 
so that it allowed whatever water was spilt to sink 
through instantaneously. The upper layer, about 
six inches thick, consisted of a cement composed of 
lime, sand, and pounded charcoal or ashes, the sur- 
face of which, being polished with pumice-stone, 
presented to the eye the appearance of a fine black 
marble. The roof in early times was no doubt of 
wood,* though afterwards it came to he vaulted or 
run up in the form of a cupola. The walls were 
sometimes decorated with rude paintings.'' 

The street-door of a Grecian house, usually, when 
single, opened outwards, but when there were fold- 

» Schol. ArUtoph. Veap. 148. * Vitruv. yiii. 4. 

< Athen. iii. 60 ix. 23. 

» Leake, Topog.of Ath. p. 361. 
Yet we find them sometimes 
throwing the water out of the 
window, crying. Stand out of the 
way. Schol. Aristoph. Acham. 
592. 



PalaU de Scaunis, 



example, 

Maioii, 



94 



PRIVATE DWELLINGS. 



ing doors they opened inwards as witli iia.' In the 
former ease it was customary wlien aiiy one hap- 
pened to be going forth, to knock, or call, or ring 
a l>ell, in order to warn passengers to make way." 
These doors were constructed of various materials,' 
according to the taste and circumstances of the 
owner, sometimes of oak. or fir, or maple, or elm ; 
and afterwards as luxury advanced they were made 
of cedar, Cyprus, or even of citron wood, inlaid aa 
in the East, with plates of brass or gold.* Men- 
tion is likewise made of doors entirely composed of 
the precious metals ; of iron also, and bronze and 
ivory. 

The jambs were generally of wood ;^ but likewise 
sometimes of brass or marble. The doors were fasten- 
ed at first by long bars passing into the wall on both 
sides;* and by degrees smaller bolts, hasps, latches, 
and locks and keys succeeded. For example the 
outer door of the Thalamos in Homer was secured 
by a silver hasp, and a leathern thong passed romid 
the handle and tied, perhaps, in a curious knot.' 
Doors were not usually suspended on hinges, but 
turned, as they still do in the East, upon pivots 
inserted above into the lintel and below into the 
threslihoid." In many houses there were in addi- 
tion small half-doors of open wood-work," which 
alone were commonly closed by day, in order to 



1 Cf. Antich. di Ereol. t. i. tav. 
34. pp. 175. 181. Sagittar. de 
Januis Veterum. p. 83. 

» Plut. Poplio. § 20. 

'Sagitt. de Jan. Vet. p. 152, 
»eci. Plin. xvi. 40. Theoph. Hist 
Plant. V. 4. 2. lii. 14. 1. Martial. 
xiv. 89, ii. 43. Lucian. 1. ix. 
Tertull. de Pall, c 5. Plin. xiii. 
15. Ovid. Metamorph, iv. 487. 

• Aristop!). Aeharn. 1072. 

' Sagitt. de Jan. Vet. p. 89, aqq. 

• SE^itt. de Jan. p. 67. 



' OdyBB. a. 441. Schol. 
EusUtli. ad loc.— c. 662. p. tB6. 
Cf. Schol. Aristoph. Vesp. 155. 

« Sagilt. de Jan. Vet. p. 41. 

9 Antich. di Ereo!. t. i. tav. 3. 
p. 1 1. It should perhaps be re- 
marked, that when housea were 
built on B solid basement the 
door was aometimes approached 
by a movable pair of steps. Id. 



ibid. tav. 8. 
p. 228. 



p. 89. 



PRIVATE DWELLINGS. 



95 



keep the children from running out, or dogs or pigs 
from entering. Tlio doors usually consiBted of a 
frame-work, with four or six sunken panels, as with 
us ; but at Sparta, so long as the laws of Lycurgue 
prevailed, tliey were made of simple planks fashioned 
with the hatchet.' In the great Dorian capital the 
custom was for persons desirous of entering a house 
to shout aloud at the door,^ which, at Athens,* was 
always furnished with an elegant knocker.* Door- 
handles, too, of costly materials and curious work- 
manship,' bespoke even in that trifling matter the 
taste of the Greeks. 

The materials commonly used in the erection of 
a house were stones and bricks. In the manufac- 
ture of the latter'' the ancients exhibited more 
skill and care than we ; they had bricks of a very 
large size, and half bricks for filUng up spaces, 
which prevented the necessity of shortening them 
with the trowel. Of these some were simply dried 
in the Bun, used chiefly in building the dwellings of 
the poor.' At Utica in Africa there were public 
inspectors of brick-kilns,^ to prevent any from being 
used which had not been made five years. In seve- 
ral cities on the Mediterranean bricks were manu- 
factured of a porous earth, which when baked and 
painted, as it may be conjectured, on the outside, 
were so light that they would swim in water.' To 



' Sanction, ap. Euseb, Pnep. 
Evang. i. 10. p, 35. 

« Vitmv. ii. S. 

B Id. ibid. 3. In lieu of ihese 
light bricks, pumice itones are 
now frequently used on the Bborcs 
of the Mediterranean, more par- 
ticularly in turning arches. They 
are, consequently, cut bto paral- 
leloptpeds, and exported in great 
quantiliea from the Lipari islandg. 
— Spallanzani, Travels in the 
Two Sicilies, &c. vol. ii. pp. 298, 
302, «qq. 



» Plut. Lycurg. § 13. Agesil. 
§19. 

< Plut. Inat. Lac. § 30. Cf. 
Theocrit. Ridyll. xsin. 39. 

' Schol. AriBtoph. Nub. 133. 

* Sometimes in form of a crow. 
Poll. i. 77. 

* See Donaldson's Collection of 
Doorways, pi. 8. 

« Winkelm. Hist, de I'Art. 
ii. 544. Cf. Xen. Memor. iii. 
17. Cyropad. vi. 3. 25. Plin. 
XXXV. U. Polyb. X. it. Plat, 
de Repub. t. vi. p. 15. 



96 PRIVATE DWELLINGS. 

diminish the weight of bricks, straw was introduced 
into them in Syria and Egypt, which was altogether 
consumed in the baking. In roofing such of their 
houses as were not terraced they employed slates, 
tiles, and reed-thatch.^ Possibly, also, the wealthy 
may have tiled their houses with those elegant 
thin flakes of marble, with which the roofe of tem- 
ples were occasionally covered. 

^ Poll. X. 1 70. Luc Contemplant § 6. SchoL Aristoph. 
Nub. 174. 



CHAPTER II. 



HOUSEHOLD FURNITURE. 



The movables in a Grecian house were divided 
into classes after a very characteriatic manner. First, 
aa a mark of the national piety, everything used in 
domestic sacriticeu waa set apart. Tlie second divi- 
sion, placing women immediately after the gods, 
comprehended the whole apparatus of female orua- 
ments ' worn on solemn festivals. Next were classed 
the sacred robes and military uniforms of the men ; 
then came the hangings, bed-furniture, aud orna- 
ments of the harem ; afterwards those of the men's 
apartments. Another division consisted of the shoes, 
sandals, slippers, &c., of the family, from which we 
pass to the arms and implements of war, mixed up 
familiarly in a Cireek house with looms, cards, spin- 
uiug-wheels, and em broidery- frames, just, as Homer 
describes them in the Thalamos of Paris at Troy, 
Even yet we have not reached the end of our in- 
ventory in mere classification. The baking, cook- 
ing, washing, and bathing vessels formed a separate 
class, and so did the breakfast and dinner services, 
the porcelain, the plate of silver and gold, the 
mirrors, the candelabra, and all those curious arti- 
cles made use of in the toilette of the ladies.- 

In well-regulated families a second division took 
place, a separation being made of such articles as 



> This profusion of wearing Alezand. Paed. i 



apparel was laid up in trunks 
and mallet i III of wicker work. 
The former were called n^i^roi, 
the latter niarai. — Ca&auh. ad 
Tbeoph. Char. p. 233. Clem. 
VOL. II. 



Hesych. 



also made of prcwes. — MozoIb, 
Pal. de Scaur, p. 1 20. 

' Xeroph. (Econom. ix. 6, Bq-j. 
Aristot. (EcoDom. i. 6. 



98 



HOUSEHOLD FURNITURE. 



might be required for Jaily use, from those brought 
forward only when routs and large jiarties were 
given. The movables of all kinds having been 
thus arranged in their classes, the next step was 
to deposit every thing in its proper place.' The 
more ordinary utensils were generally laid up in a 
spacious store-room, called tholos,^ a circular build- 
ing detached from the house, and usually termi- 
nating in a pointed roof, whence in after ages a 
sharp-crowned hat obtained among the people the 
name of Tholos. When a gentleman first com- 
menced housekeeping, or got a new set of domoB- 
tics, he delivered into the care of the proper in- 
dividuals his kneading troughs, his kitchen utensils, 
his cards, looms, spinning wheels, and so on ; and, 
pointing out the places where all these, when not 
in use, should be placed, committed them to their 
custody. 

Of the holiday, or show articles, more account 
was made. These, being brought forward only on 
solemn festivals, or in honour of some foreign guest, 
were entrusted to the immediate care of the house- 
keejier, a complete list of everything having first been 
taken ; and it was part of her duty, when she deli- 
vered any of these articles to the inferior domestics, 
to make a note of what she gave out, and take care 
they were duly returned into her keeping.^ 

But the above comprehensive glance over the arti- 
cles of furniture made use of in an Athenian gentle- 
man's establishment, though it may give some notiou 
of the careful and economical habits of the people, 
affords no conception of the splendour and magnifi- 
cence often found in a Grecian house : for, as we 
have already seen, their opinions are highly erroneous 
who imagine that in the Attic democracy the rich 
were by any prudential or political considerations 



> Cicero ap. Columell. De Re 


Ithaca. —OdyBB. x- 


4M, 459, 


Rust. xii. d. 


+66. 




' Odyaseua had a atorehouee 






of tliia kind in his palace at 


' Xen. CEcunom. i 


K. 10. 57. 



HODSEIIOLD FURNITURE. 



99 



restrained from indulging their love of ostentation 
bj the utmost di.splay they could make of wealth.' 
In fact, not content with outstripping their neigh- 
bours in the grandeur of their dwellings, furniture, 
and dress, these persons had often the ludicrous vanity, 
when they gave a large party, to excite the envy of 
Buch dinnerless rogues as might pass, by throwing out 
the feathers of game and poultry before their doors.* 
Indeed, since the Athenians exactly resembled other 
men, the exhibition of magnificence tended but too 
strongly to dazzle them; so that, among the arts of 
designing politicians, one generally was, to create a 
popular persuasion that they possessed the means of 
conferring important favours on all who obliged them. 
To proceed, however, with the furniture. Though 
the principal value of many articles arose from the ex- 
quisite taste displayed in the design and workmanship, 
the materials themselves, too, were often extremely 
rare and costly. Porcelain, glass, crystal, ivory, am- 
ber,* gold, silver, and bronze, with numerous varieties 
of precious woods, were wrought up with inimitable 
taste and fancy into various articles of use or luxury. 
Among the decorations of the dining-room was the 
side-board, which, though sometimes of iron, was more 
frequently of carved wood, bronze, or wrought silver, 
ornamented with the heads of satyrs and oxen.* Their 
tables, in the Homeric age, were generally of wood, 
of variegated colours, finely polished, and with orna- 
mented feet. Myrleanos, an obscure writer in Athen- 

■ That the sycophants were 
sometimes troublesome, however, 
is certain ; that is to Bay, in later 
agea. Speaking of the time of 
his youth, Isocrates says : — Oii- . 

itit o6r* drltpineTiTO riiy oMay 
•5r" fi"c»-«i ovjiWXXiiv, K. T. X. — 
Areop. § I S. Cf. Berginann. in 
loc p. 3G2, But their persecu* 
tion must always have been con- 
fined to a very few individuals, 
as people generally continued to 
display whatever they posscsKed 



down to the final overthrow of 
the state. 

^ Aristoph. Acham. 398. — 
Milehdl. The learned editor Tails 
to remark how little this custflm 
harmonizes with the fears which 
he imagines rich people felt at 

^ On the attractive power of 

this substance, see Flat. Tim. I. 
vii. p. 118. 

• Athen. v. 45. Lys. Frag. 
46. Oral. Att. t. ii. p. 647. 
H 2 



100 



HOUSEHOLD FURNITLBE. 



reus, imagines ' they were round, that they might 
resemble the disc of the sun and moon ; but from 
the passage in the Odyssey,' and the interpretation 
of Eustathius, they may be inferred to have l>een nar- 
row parallelograms,* like our own dining-tabies. The 
luxury of table-cloths being uiikuonni, the «ine spilled, 
&c., was cleansed away with sponges,* But the poet 
bad witnessed a superior degree of magnificence, for 
he already, in the Odyssey,* makes mention of tables 
of silver. The poor were, of course, content with the 
commonest wood. But as civilisation proceeded, the 
tables of the wealthy l)ecarae more and more costly 
in materials, and more elegant in form. 

it grew to l>e an object of commerce, to import 
from foreign countries the most curious kinds of 
wood," to be wrought into tables, which originally 
supported on four legs, rested afterwards on three, 
fancifiilly formed, or on a pillar and claws of ivory, 
or silver, as with us. There was a celebrated spe- 
cies of table manufactured in the island of Rhenea;' 
the great, among the Persians, delighted in maple 
tables with ivory feet, and, in fact, the knotted 
maple apjiears at one time to have been regarded 
as the most rare and beautiful of woods.* But 
the rage for sumptuous articles of funiiture of this 
kind did not reach its full height until Roman 
times, when a single table of citron wood 

(Gorgeous feasts 
On citron tables or Atlantic Btone)^ 



■ Deipnosoph. xi. 76< 

■ a. 111. 138. 

* I'his ii alio the opinion of 
Potter, ii. 376, 377 ; and Damm. 
in v.rpawtia, col, 1832. 

• Odyss.r. 859. Find. Olymp. 
i. 26. 

1 K. 354, aeq. 361, seq. In 
the letters atlriljuted to Plato we 
a made of silver tables. 



t. TiiL p. 397. SometimeB, also, 
ofbrasB. Athen. ix. 75. 

" Plin. Nat. Hist. xvi. 27. 

' Athen. xi, 27. 

B Athen. ii. 31. 

9 Paradise Regained, iv. 114, 
Bcq. where see Mitford'a curious 
and learned note. ii. 3dO, seq. and 
cf. Plin. v. 1. t. ii. p. «59. Hard. 
not. a. Uei.xiii. 29. t. iv. p. 746, 



HOUSEHOLD FURNITURE. 



101 



sometimes cost six or seven thousand pounds eter- 
ling. Already, Lowever, in the best ages of Greece, 
their tables were inlaid with silver, brass, or ivory, 
with feet in the form of lions, leopards, or other 
wild beasts.' 

In more early times, before the effeminate Ori- 
ental habit of reclining at meals obtained,* the 
Greeks made use of chairs which were of various 
kinds, some being formed of more, others of less 
costly materials, but all beautiful aud elegant in 
form, as we may judge from those which adoni our 
own drawing-rooms, entirely fashioned after Grecian 
models. The thrones of the gods represented in 
works of art, iiowever richly ornamented, are simply 
arm-chairs with upright backs, an example of which 
occurs in a camelian in the Orleans Collection,* 
where Apollo is represented playing on the seven- 
stringed lyre. This chair has four legs with tigers' 
feet, a very high upright back, and is ornamented 
with a sculptiu^d car and horses. They had no 
Epicurean notions of their deities, and never pre- 
sented them to the eye of the public lounging in 
an easy chair, which would have suggested the idea 
of infirmity. On the contrary, they are full of force 
and energy, and sit erect on their tlirones, as ready 
to succour their worshipers at a moment's warning. 
In the Homeric age these were richly carved, like 
the divans, adorned with silver studs, and so high 
that they required a footstool.* The throne of the 
Persian kings was of massive gold, and stood be- 
neath a purple cano])y, supported by four slender 
golden columns thickly crusted with jewels. 



*q<{. Petroiiius apeaJu of the 
" citrea mensa," p. 157. Erhard. 
Symbol, ad Pet ran. 709, seq. 
■hoWB that Nuniidian marble was 
in UK at Rome. 

' Potter, ii. 377. 

' In the Antichita di Krcolauo, 
we have the repreeentation of a 
very handsome anned chair, with 



upright back, beautifully turned 
legs, and thick and soft cushions, 
with low footstool, t, i. tav. 29. 
p. 155. Athen. xi. Ti. 

^ Pierrea Oravees, du Cabinet 
du Due d'Orleans, t. i. No. 46. 
Cf. No. 7, representing Zeus thus 

*Odyss..,.ICa. IJ. o. 3i)0, 4SS. 



102 



H0D8BH0LD FURNTTCRE. 



Bedsteads were generally of common wood such as 
deal,' bottomed sometimes with planks, pierced to 
admit air, sometimes with ox-hide thongs,' which 
in traversing each other left numerous open spaces 
between them. Odysseus's bedstead, which the hero 
was sufficient joiner to manuiacture with his own 
hands, was made of olive-wood, inlaid with silver, 
gold, and ivory. Sometimes the bed was supported 
by a sort of netting of strong cord, stretched across 
the bedstead, and made fast all round.^ Later 
ages witnessed far greater luxury, — bedsteads of 
solid silver,' or ivory embossed with figures wrought 
with infinite art and delicacy,' or of precious woods 
carved, irith feet of ivory or amber." Occasionally, 
also, they were veneered with Indian tortoiseshet!, 
inlaid with gold.' This taste would ap[>ear to have' 
flowed from the East, where among the kings of 
Persia still greater magniticence was witnessed even 
in very early times. Thus, speaking of the royal 
feast celebrated at Susa, the Scripture says, there 
were in the court of the garden of the king's 
palace " white, green, and blue hangings, fastened 
"with cords of fine linen and purple to silver 
" rings, and pillars of marble. The beds were of 
" gold and silver, upon a pavement of red, and 
" blue, and white, and black marble." A similar 
style of grandeur is attributed by Hellenic writers 
to the Persian king, who, according to Chares,* re- 
clined in his ])alace on a couch shaded by a spread- 



1 Athen. xi. 48. i. 60. ii. 29. 
Plat, de Rep. t. vi. p. 468. Cf. 
Xenoph. Memor. ii. 1,30. 

' TliJB bedslead was called 
Ittiyioy; (Odysa. ij. 336. seq.) 
when heaped with soft mattresaes 
it wat rv«™v Xt'xoc (345); 
tbf^ was the tenn applied to the 
whole, bed and bedstead. Iliad. 
«.. 644. Ody»s. K 3!»7,&c. find. 
Nem. i. 3. 



' OdysB. J-. 189. aeq. Schol. ad 
II. y. 448. 

* Plat, de Legg, t. viii. p, 397. 
" Athen. vi. 67. ii. 30. 

* Schol. ArJBtoph. Eq. 530. 

' Lucian. Luc, sive Asin. § 
53. Bedsteads of solid gold are 
spoken of in scripture, — Esther i. 
C Bodiart. Geog. Sac. i. 6. 30. 

* Athen. xiL 9, 55. 



HOUSEHOLD FURNITURE. 



103 



I 



iiig golden vine, the grape clusters of which were 
imitated by jewels of various colours. 

Four-poat bedsteads were in use in remoter ages, 
as appears from a white sardonyx in the Orleans 
Collection,' representing the surprisal of Ares and 
Aphrodite, by Hepbfestos. There is a low floating 
Tallauce fastened up in festoons, the tester is roof- 
shaped, and the pillars terminate in fanciful capitals. 
The figure of an eagle adorns the comers of the 
bedstead below. From a painting on the walls of 
Pompeii we discover, that the peculiar sort of bed- 
stead at present found almost universally in Franco 
was likewise familiar to the ancients, made exactly 
after the same fashion, and raised about the same 
height above the floor. With regard to the beds 
themselves they were at different times manufac- 
tured from very different materials, and those of 
some parts of Greece enjoyed a peculiar reputation. 
From a phrase in Homer,' it would appear that, in 
his times, beds were stufled in Thessaly with very 
fine grass. Those of Chios and Miletos were famous* 
throughout Greece. In other parts of the coimtry, 
persons of peculiar effeminacy slept on beds of sponge.* 
Sicily was famous for its pillows, as were also several 
other Doric countries. At Athens the rich were ac- 
customed to sleep upon very soft beds, placed on 
bedsteads considerably above the floor;' and some- 
times, it has been supposed, adorned with coverlets 
of dressed peacocks' skins with the feathers on.^ 

But the Greeks appear to have consulted their 
ease, and sunk more completely into softness and 
effeminacy, in proportion as they approached the 
East. Among the Peloponnesians most persons lived 
hard and lay hard ; greater refinement and luxury 



' No. 34. 

» U. f. 697. ^. 383. 
' Athen. xi. 72. 
* Athen. i. 32. 
'Xen-Mem. a. 1. SU. 



s Palm. Exercit. in Auct. Grac. 
p. 191. We find mention in an- 
cient EtuthofB or certain tribes who 
went clad in garments covered 
with the feathere of birds. Senec. 
Epiet. 90. 



104 



HOLSEHOLD FUBNITUEE. 



prevailed in Atttca ; but in Tonia and many of the 
JRg^B&n isles the great — altliough there were excep- 
tions as in the case of Attains — fell little short in 
self-indulgence of Median or Persian satraps. Some 
idea may be formed of their habits in this respect 
from the description of a Paphian prince's bed by 
Clearciios of Soli.' Over the soft mattresses sup- 
ported by a silver-footed bedstead, was flung a short 
grained Sardian carpet of the most expensive kind. 
A coverlet of downy texture succeeded, and upon 
this was cast a costly counterpane of Amorginian 
purple. Cushions, striped or variegated with the 
richest puri)le, supported his head, while two soft 
Dorian pillows'- of pale pink gently raised his feet. 
In this manner habited in a milk-white chlamys the 
prince reclined. Their bolsters in form resembled 
our own;^ but the pillows were usually square, as 
in France, though occasionally rounded off at both 
ends, and covered with richly chequered or varie- 
gated muslins. To prevent the fine wool or what- 
ever else they were stuffed with from getting into 
heaps, mattresses were sewn through as now, and 
carefully tufted that the ]iackthread might not break 
through the ticking.* 

Among the Orientals it is common at present for 
persons to sleep in their day apparel ; but even in 
the heroic ages it was already customary in Greece 
to undress on going to bed. When Agamemnon 
is roused before dawn by the delusive dream, the 
whole process of the morning toilette is described. 
First, says the j»oet. he donned his soft chiton which 
was new and very handsome ; next his pelisse ; after 
which he bound on his elegant sandals and suspen- 
ded his silver-hilted sword from his shoulder. Thus 
accoutred he issued forth, sceptre in hand, towards 
the ships." 

' Athen. vi. 37. * See the mattregs on which the 

» Athen. ii. 29, sijq. slatue of Hermaphroditoa reclines 

* Gitoiie, Nozie di L'liase e Pe- in the Louvre. 

nflopp, II Coatiime, kc. tav. 67. •"' 11. f. 42, eeq. 



HOUSEHOLD FURNITURE, 



105 



In Syria, children luxuriously educated are said to 
have been rocked in their cradles wrapped iu coverlets 
of Milesian wool.' The sheep of Miletos were, in 
fact, the Merinos of antiquity; and their wool being 
celebrated for its fineness and softness, it was not 
only employed in manufacturing the best cloths, but 
also in stuffing the mattresses of kings and other 
great personages who thought much of their ease. 
And as the vulgar imagine they become great by 
habiting themselves in garments similar to those of 
their princes, like the honest man who sought wis- 
dom through reading by Epictetus' lamp, the stuffi, 
couches, and coverlets of Miletos got into great vogue 
among the ancients. Virgil, Cicero, Servius, Colu- 
mella, and many other writers speak accordingly of 
their excellence, and their testimonies have, with 
wonderful industry, been collected by the learned 
Bochart.*^ 

But though Miletos had a reputation for this kind 
of Dianufacture, it by no means enjoyed a monopoly. 
The scarlet coverings of Sardis, and the variegated 
stuffs of Cyprus, produced by the famous weaver Ake- 
sas and his son Helicon,^ appear in many instances to 
have obtained a preference over all others. Pathy- 
mias, too, the Egyptian, distinguished himself in the 
same line.* 

All these bed-coverings were commonly perfumed 
with fragrant essences,' for which reason the volu])- 
tuOQS poets of antiquity dwell with a sort of rapture 
on the pleasure of rolling about in bed. Ephippos 
exclaims : — 

" How I delight 

To spring upon the dainty coverlets; 
Breathing the perfume of the rose, and steeped 
In tears of myrrh I" 



' Esther i. 6. LiLmenL iv. 5. 
Bochart. Geograph. Sac i. 6. SO. 
' Geog. Sac. i. 6. 28, aeq. 
' Eustath. ad Odyss. a. p. 3i. 



* Athen. ii. 30. 

^ In old timeB the whole b«d- 
oom waH sometimes perfumed. 
-Iliad, y. SSi. 



1U6 



UOUSEHOLB FURNITURE, 



Aristophanes, likewise, aud Sophrou, tlie mimo- 
grapher, make mention of these fragrant counterpanes, 
whicli were extremely costly, and inwrought, accord- 
ing to the latter, with figures of birds.' Elsewhere 
Athenasus relates that the Persian carpets contained 
representations of men, animals, and monsters.*^ Their 
blankets, like our own, were plain white ; but even 
so far back as the heroic ages, the upper coverings, as 
being partly designed for show, were of rich and various 
colours.' 

There seems to be good ground for believing, that 
if the Greeks did not borrow their philosophy from 
the East, they at least derived from them many of the 
vain and luxurious habits which at length rendered 
that philosophy of none effect. No one appears to 
have paid a single visit to Persia, or SjTia, or Egypt, 
without bringing back along with him some pestilent 
new freak in the matter of dress or furniture, wholly 
at variance with republican simplicity. We might 
adduce numerous anecdotes in proof of this. For the 
present we confine ourselves to the following. Among 
the Persians, renowned in all ages for sensual in- 
dulgences, it was judged of so much importance to 
enjoy soft and elegantly arranged beds, that in great 
houses persons were employed who attended only to 
this. An anecdote in illustration has been preserved 
by Athenteus. Timagoras, or, according to Phanias, 
Entimos of Gortyna, envying Themistoclea his recep- 
tion at the court of Persia, undertook himself a toad- 
eating expedition to that countr}'. Artaxerxes, whose 
ear could tolerate more flatterers than one, took the 
Cretan into fiivour, and made him a present of a 
superb marquee, a silver-footed bedstead, with costly 
furniture, and, along with them, sent a slave, as a 
Turkish pasha would send a cook or a pipe-lighter, 
because, in his opinion, the Greeks who prepared 



.,M..v... ... — Aristopli. aub. ad Theoph. Char. p. 172 

Frag, incert, £, Brunck. ' Feith. Antiq. Homer, iii. 8. 

■ Beipnosoph. xi. 5J. Caa- 4. 



' A then. 




HOUSEHOLD FURNITURE. 107 

sleeping-places for so many Persians at Marathon and 
Platsea, understood nothing of bed-making, 

Entimos evidently excelled the great Athenian 
in the arts of a courtier. In fact, he was the very 
prototy]>e of Ilajji Baba, and enjoyed even still greater 
influence over the Shah than the illustrious barber's 
son of Ispahan. Charmed by his cajolery, Artax- 
erxes invited him to his private table, where, usually, 
none but princes of the blood were admitted,' an 
honour, as Phanias assures us, which no other Greek 
ever enjoyed. For, though Timagoras of Athens 
performed kou-tou before the throne,' whereby he 
obtained great consideration among a nation of slaves, 
and was hanged when he got home, he was not in- 
vited to hob-and-nob with his majesty, but only 
enjoyed the distinction of having certain dishes sent 
him from the king's table. To Antalcidas, the Spar- 
tan, Artaxerxes sent his crown dipped in liquid per- 
fume, an agreeable compliment, but which he more 
than once paid to Entimos, whose extraordinary fa- 
vour at court in the long run, however, awakened 
the envy of the Persians. The canopy of the mar- 
quee presented to this Cretan was spangled with 
bright flowers, and, among the other articles of which 
the imperial gift consisted, were a throne of massive 
silver, a gilded parasol, several golden cups crusted 
with jewels, a hundred maple-tables with ivory feet. 



' Very nearly the same cus- 
tom! prevail in Persia at ihe pre- 
sent day, except that the rules of 
eliquettu seem to be Btill more 
rigidly observed. " It U a gene- 
" ml ctutom with the kings of 
" Persia to eat in solitary gran- 
" deur. The late Shah, how- 
" ever, would sometimcB have 
" select portions of his family to 
" hreakfast with him." On whicli 
occasion, " they used to squat 
'■ round him in the form of a 
" ci«icenti of which he was the 



" centre, and were all placed 
" scrupulously according to rank." 
—Fowler, i. 48. 

s Athen. -ri. 58. Vales, 
in Maussoc. p> 883, where he 
rects the old reading of the text, 
Cf. Xenoph. Hellen. vii. 1. 38. 
Plut. Pelop. § 30. Artax. § 22, 
Valer. Max. vi. 3. extern. 
Demosth. de Fals. Leg. § 42, 
where the orator accuses Tima- 
goras of having received a bribe 
of forty talents. 



108 



HOUSEHOLD J'URNITURE. 



a hundred goblets of silver, several vases of the same 
precious metal, a hundred female slaves, an equal 
number of youths, with six thousand pieces of gold, 
besides what was furnished him for his daily ex- 
penditure.' 

A gentleman travelling in Ireland witnessed the 
ingenuity of that ready-witted people in applying the 
same thing to various uses : first, he saw the table- 
cloth, on which he liad eaten a good supper, trans- 
ferred as a sheet to his bed, and, next morning, his 
kind hostess, oifering her services to put him in the 
right way, converted the same article into a mantle, 
which she wrapped about her shoulders. The Greeks 
were almost equally ingenious. With them what 
was a cloak by day became sometimes a counter- 
pane at night,^ in addition, perhaps, to the ordi- 
nary bed-clothes; for it is clear they loved to be 
warm, from the somewhat reproachful allusion of 
Strepsiades in the " Clouds " to the five sisi/j-ts,' rolled 
snugly up in which, his son, Pheidippides, could 
sleep while thoughts of his debts bit the old man 
like so many bugs, and roused him hours before 
day to consult his ledgers. All kinds of stromata 
were, in Plato's time, divided into two classes, first, 
coverings for the body, such as cloaks, mantles, and 
so on ; secondly, bed-clothes, properly so called. 

Tlie walls of their chambers were frequently hung 
with Milesian tapestry, a custom to which Amphis 
alludes in his Odysseus : 

A. MileBian hangings line your walU, you acent 
Your limbB with Bweeleat perfume, royal myndax* 
Piled on the bunting censor, fills the air 

With costly fragrance. 

B. Mark you that, my friend 1 

Knew you before of such a fumigation ? ' 



' Athen. ii. 31. 

* Xen. Anab. i. 5- 5. 

'Nub. 10. Cf. Av, 
Contionat. 838. ibique not. Pol 
lux, \-ii. :i&2, seq. X. 



ii2. 



* Cf. Poll. ^ 



5 Allien. XV. 43, Cf. Meineke. 
ine Ciit. in Com. Fiog- p. 7. 



nousEnoLD furniture, 



109 



Mention is likewise made among the ancients of 
purple tapestry, inwrought with pearls and gold.' 

Carthage enjoyed C€'lelirity for its manufacture of 
carpets and variegated pillows," a piece of luxury 
which, as we have seen above, had already Ijeen 
introduced in the heroic ages ; for Homer, in innu- 
merable passages, speaks of rare and costly carpets, 
and these were not only spread over conches and 
seats, but over the floor likewise.* Rolled up, they 
would occasionally appear to have served for pillows. 
The manufacture of carpets had, moreover, been car- 
ried to considerable perfection, for the poet speaks 
of some with a soft pile on both sides, which were 
evidently very splendid.* Theocritus,^ too, in his 
Adoniazusfe, enumerates, among the luxuries of the 
youthful God, 

Carpcta of purple, *ofter/ar than uleep,^ 



But in nothing did the Greeks display a more gor- 
geous or costly taste than in what may be termed 
their platet which was not only fabricated of the rarest 
materials, but wrought likewise with all the elabo- 
rateness and delicacy and richness of design within 
the reach of art. Among the Macedonians, after 



■ Mazoia, Pal. de Scaur, p. 
103. TibuH. iii. 3, 17, aeq. 
Alhen. iv. 29. 

* Athen. i. 49. 

* II. I. 200.— The use of mats 
first prevailed, (FcbIub, in v. 
ScirpuB.) but, as luxury increased, 
auperb carpets were substituted. 
— jfechyl. Agam. 843. Try- 
phiod. 'AXuati: 'Uutv. 343, sc<]. 
Hemster. Co mm. in Poll. viii. 
183. p. 287. Cf. Klausen. 
Comm. in vl'Isohyl. Again, p. 
197, aqq, 

* II. ,r. 22t. Poll. vi. 2. Sj- 
nea. Epist. 61. 



* Eidyll. XV. 195. 

6 A beautiful simile, wliich 
Virgil has imitated — 
" Muscosi fontes, ct lomno tiioi- 
lior herba." — Eclog. vii. 45. 
Shakespeare, too, lias, without 
imitation, struck upon a Himilar 
tlinught, where the amorous Troi- 
lus thus describes himself: — 



' But I £ 



weaker than a wo- 
I defp, fonder than 



no 



HOUSEUOLD FURNITIIRE. 



their Eastern coiiquest3, gold plate appears not 
liave been uncommon ; for at tlie grand supper de- 
scribed by Ilippolocbos in his letter to Lynceus, every 
guest is said to have used it.' The predilection for 
this sort of magnificence they acquired in Asia, where, 
at a banquet given to Alexander, the whole dessert 
was brought in tastefully covered with gold-ieaf.° In 
the reign of his father, Philip, the precious metals 
were rare in Macedonia, Indeed, that crafty old 
monarch, possessing but one gold cup in the world, 
had so good an opinion of his courtiers that, to pre- 
vent their thieving it, he slept every night with it 
under his pillow.* Gold was, more early, plentiful in 
Attica. Alcibiades, with tastes and habits unsuited 
to a democracy, carried so far his love of display as 
to make use of thuribles, or censers, and wash-hand 
basins of pure gold.* But the ostentatious son of 
Clinias, though extravagant, was in this respect only 
a type of his nation. Every rich citizen of Athens 
aimed at the same degree of splendour; and, in de- 
scribing his town-house or favourite villa, might, with 
little alteration, have adopted the language of the 
poet: — 

' " My house within the city 
Is richly fumiahed with plate and gold, 
Basins and ewers U> lave her dainty hands; 
My hangings ail of Tynan tapestry. 
In Wory cofFere have I stuffed my crowns ; 
In cypress chests my arras, counterpanes, 
Costly apparel, tents, and canepies, 
Fine linen, Turkey cushions bossed with pearl, 
Vallance of Venice, gold in needle-work. 
Pewter and brass, and alt things that belong 
To house or housekeeping." 

Socrates, in the Republic, speaking of what the 
prevailing fashion required to be found in a city, 
makes out a list of good things, not much inferior 
upon the whole to Shakspeare's, — beds, tables, and 



' Athen. iv. 2, sqq. Cf. iii. 1 00. 
* Athen. if. 42. 



' DeipnOBoph. ul tup. 
* Athen. ix. 75. 



HOUSEHOLD FURNITURE. 

other furniture; dainties of all kinds; perfumes, un- 
jfuents, sauces, &c. ; to wliicli the philosojilier adds 
apparel, shoes, pictures, tapestry, ivory, and gold : ' 
and these rare materials, as farther on he observes, 
were wrought into utensils for domestic purposes. 

One of the most plentifully furnished departments 
of a Greek house was the Ktdikeion, or " cupboard," 
usually closed in front with a curtain,'' where they 
kept their goblets, cups, and driuking-horns, under 
the protection of a statue of Hermes, who, as god 
of thieves, would, it was supposed, be respected by 
his children. The form and workmanship of these 
materials varied, no doubt, according to the taste and 
means of the possessor; but they were in general dis- 
tinguished for the elegance of their outline, the grace 
and originality of the sculpture, the fineness, delicacy, 
and minute finish of the execution. It is well 
known, as an able antiquarian^ has remarked, to what 
an excess the luxury of the table was carried among 
the ancients, and how much they surpassed us io the 
dimensions, the massiveness, the workmanship, the 
quality, and the variety of their drinking apparatus. 

Many persons, however, seem chiefly to have valued 
their plate as a mark of their wealth and magnifi- 
cence ; among whom may be reckoned Pythias of 
Pbigaleia, who, when dying, commanded the following 
epitaph to be inscribed upon his tomb : — 

Here jolly Pythias lies, 

A right honest man, nnd wise. 
Who of gobkta had very great atore, 

Of anilier, Bilver, gold, 

All glorious to behold. 
In number ne'er equalled before.* 

Amber goblets not being, I believe, in fashion 
among the modem nations of Europe, some doubt 



I. p. 86. de I'Acad. des Inscrip, t. xxiii, p. 



I Plal. De Rep. i. t, 
Cf. Tim. t. vii. p. 77. 

«Alhen.xi.3. Poll.x.lJ2. • Athen. =.i. 14. Among the 

tgyptiang were vues of papyrui. 
• Le Comte de Caylu*. Mem. Bochart. Geog. Sac. i. 240, 



112 UOUSEHOLD FURNITURE. 

may be experienced respecting the veracity of our 
friend of Pliigaleia ; but tlie ancients had otiier goblet- 
ary legends to bring forward in support of it. Helen,' 
it is said, justly proud of her beautiful bosom, dedi- 
cated in one of the temples of Rhodes, as a yotive 
offering, an amber goblet, exactly of the size and 
shape of one of her breasts, which, had it come down 
to posterity, might have furnished artists with a per- 
fect model of that part of the female form. However 
this may be, the aucients, in remote ages, set a great 
value on their cups, particularly such as were consi- 
dered heir-looms in the family, and laid apart to be 
used only on extraordinary occasions. Hence (Edipos, 
in the old Cyclic poet, is seized with fierce anger at 
his son, who had, contrary to his will, brought forth 
his old hereditary goblets to be used at an ordinary 
entertainment. 

" out of the gale of this villa 1 
" lately stkw a aktileton dug out ; 
" and by deBiring the labourers 
" to remove the skull and boiiei 
" gently, I perceived distinctly 
" the perfect mould of every fea- 
" ture of the face, and that the 
" eyes had been shut. I also saw 
" distinctly the impreBBion of the 
" large folds of the drapery of the 
" toga, and some of the cloth it- 
" self sticking to the earth. The 
" city was first covered by a 
" showerofhot pumice-Btoneaand 
" ashes, and then by a shower of 
" small ashes mixed with water. 
" U was in the latter stratum 
" that the skeleton above de- 
" scribed was foimd. In the Mu- 
" seum at Portici a piece of this 
" sort of hardened mud is pre- 
" served ; it is stamped with 
" llie impression of the breast 
" of a woman, with a thin dra- 
" pery over it The skeleton I 
" saw dug out was not above five 
*' feet from the surface. It is 
" very extraordinary that the im- 



1 Bruyerin, De He Cibaria, 1. 
i!i. c. 9. This goblet could by no 
means have been a diminutive 
one, if Helen resembled her couti- 
trywomen generally, who were 
celebrated for their large bosoms: 
(iaOlitoXTroi. — Anacr. v. 14. 
Bniyerin'a authority is Plin. Hist. 
Nat. ixxii. 23. " MinervfD tem- 
" plum habet Lindos, insula Rho- 
" diorum, in quo Helena sacravit 
" oalycem ex electro. Adjicit his- 
" toria, mammee sute mensura." 
This, 1 suppose, is what Rousseau. 
calls '■ Cette coupe et'lebre a qui le 
" plus beau sein du monde ser- 
" vit de moule." — Nouv. Heloise, 
1" partie. Lett. 23. t. i. p. 14*, 
— though, I confess, I am not ac- 
quainted with the authors by 
whom it has been celebrated. Se. 
veral votive offerings, represent- 
ing the female breast, may be seen 
in the British Museum, among 
the Elgin Marbles. But the most 
curious relic of the ancient female 
form is mentioned in the follow- 
ing passage : " In the street just 




HOUSEHOLD FURNITURE. 113 

Then Polyneicea of the golden locks, 

Sprung frum tlie Gods, berore his Tather placed 

A table all of silver, which had once 

Been Cadmus's, next filled the golden bowl 

With richest wine. At this old G<:dipos, 

Seeing the honoured relics of his sire 

Profaned to vulgar uses, roused to anger. 

Pronounced fierce imprecations, wished his sons 

Might live no more in aniity together. 

But plunge in feuds and slaughters, and contend 

Fur their inheritance; and the Furies heard.' 

AgathocleB, tyrant of Sicily, apjiears to have been 
an amateur of cnps, and would sometimes while ex- 
hibiting his collection to his friends make a good- 
humoured allusion to his original occupation. " These 
golden vessels," said he, " have been made out of those 
earthenware ones which I formerly manufactured."' 
Drinking-bowls in fact made no inconsiderable figure 
in ancient times. Ttiey were bestowed as the prizes 
in gymnastic contests, and in Greece men boxed and 
wrestled for the cup as horses run for it in Eng- 
land. Parasites, like the jester of Louis XIV., used 
sometimes to carry home the cups and dishes set 
before them at dinner ; but the tables were often 
turned when the subject gave and the prince pocketed 
the dole. 

A curious legend has been preserved to us con- 
nected with the subject of cups. Several princes 
uniting, in remote times, to send a colony to Les- 
bos, were commanded by an oracle to cast a virgin, 
during their voyage, into the sea, as a sacrifice 
to Poseidon. Obedience, in those superstitious ages, 
was seldom refused to such injunctions. The maiden 
was precipitated into tlie waves, but Enallos, one of 
the chiefs, in whom love had quenched the reverence 



" pression of the body and face 
" should have remained from the 
" year 79 lo ihU day. eBpecially 
" as I found the earth so litlle 
" hardened that it separated upon 
" the least touch." — Sir W. Ha- 



milton, Ace. of Discov. at Pom- 
peii, p. 13. 

■ Athen. xi. I i. 

Polyb. xii. 



« Athen, xi. K 
15. 6. XV. 3i.2. 



I 



114 



HOUSEHOLD FURNITURE. 



for oracles, immediately plunged in to save her. Nei- 
ther the chief, however, nor the virgin appeared again, 
and the fleet proceeded. The remainder of the tra- 
dition may be illustrated by an event said to have 
taken place in the Tonga islands.' They were pro- 
bably near some uninhabited isle, and instead of 
rising to the surface of the sea, emerged into a 
cavern elevated considerably above its level, and 
opening perhaps upon the land. " God tempers the 
wind to the shorn Iamb," says a modern writer, and 
so Enallos found it. By means unrevealed in the 
ancient narrative, the hero and his bride continued 
to subsist on the rock, and many years afterwards, 
when the colony was already flourishing, he one 
day presented himself before his old friends at Me- 
tbymna, and entertained them with a very romantic 
1 account of his residence among the Nereids at the 
I bottom of the sea, where he was honoured with the 
I tere of Poseidon's horses when sent out to grass. 
I At length, however, getting on the back of a large 
I ■wave it bore him upwards and he escaped from the 
I deep, bearing in his hand a golden cup. the metal 
«f which was so marvellously beautiful that in com- 
I |>arison ordinary gold appeared no better than brass.' 
Even the loftiest and least worldly-minded of the 
Homeric heroes, Achilles, set great value on a fa- 
vourite drinking-cup, which he preserved for his own 
particular use, and for pouring out libations to Zeus 
alone. Priam' was careful to include a rare goblet 
in the ransom of Hector's body, and a similar gift 
aided in alluring Alcmena from the paths of virtue.* 
But the most famous bowl of antiquity was that of 
Heracles, which, more capacious than the barber's 
basin in Don Quixote, eerved its illustrious owner in 
the double capacity of a drinking-cup and a canoe ; 
for when he had quenched his thirst, he could set 

' Iliad, u. 234. 
* Alhen. xi. 16. 




HOUSEHOLD FURNITURE. 



115 



his bow] afloat, and, leaping into it, Bteer to any part 
of the world he pleased. Some, indeed, speak of it 
as a borrowed article, belonging originally to the 
Sun, and in which the god used nightly to traverse 
the ocean from West to East.' 

To pass, however, over the goblets of mythology. 
It was fashionable to poesess plate of this kind finely 
sculptured with historical arguments; and history has 
preserved the names of Cimon and Athenocles, two 
artists who excelled in this style of engraving. These 
cups were sometimes of silver gilt, sometimes of mas- 
sive gold cnisted with jewels.* In addition to the 
two artiste named above, we may enumerate Crates, 
Stratonicos, M}Tmecide9 of Miletos, Callicrates the 
Lacedemonian, and Mys, whose " Cup of Heracles," 
celebrated in antiquity, had represented upon it the 
storming of Ilion, with this inscription, 

Troj'e lofty towers by Grecians sacked behold ! 
PatrhaBioB draught, by Mya engraved in gold.* 

The names by which the ancients distinguished 
their several kinds of goblets are too numerous to 
be here given. Some were curious — " Amalthea's 
Horn," " The Year," &c. Rustics made use of two- 
handled wooden bowls in which, when thirsty, they 
drew fresh milk from the cow in the fields.* There 
was a big-belHed cup with a narrow neck which 
being shaped like a purse, participated with this 
very necessary article in the name of Aryballos.* 

Glass cups of much beauty were manufactured in 
great abundance at Alexandria. Among these was 
the Battcalis, mentioned by Sopater the parodist, who 
says: — 



' Bentley, Diaaert. on Hial. i. 

175, Bqq. 

» Plin. Kxniii. 2. Juven. v. +2. 


PhUetaa : but Kayser, in his edi- 
tion of that author's fragments 
seems to have overlooked this 


Alhen.iy. 29. 
' Athen. xi. 19. 
• Alhen.xi. 25, states this from 


passage. 

* Athen. xi. 36. On the Can- 
tharoa, aee § 48. 



IIG HOUSEHOLD FURNITURE. 

Tis sweet in early mom to cool the lips 

With pure fresh water from tlie gushing fount, 

Mingled with honey in the Bauealis, 

When one o'er night haa made too free with wine. 

And feels sharp thiret-i 

The glass-workers of Alexandria procured earthen- 
ware vessels from all parts of the world, which they 
used as models for tlieir cups. Even the great 
sculptor Lysippos did not disdain to employ his ge- 
nius in the invention of a new kind of vase. Having 
made a collection of vcsecls of many various shapes, 
and diligently studied the whole, he hit upon a form 
entirely new, and presented the model to Cassander, 
who having just then founded the city of Cassandria, 
was ambitious of originating an invention of this 
kind. He was desirous, jwrhaps, of recommending 
by the elegance of his drinking-cups the Mendaian. 
wine exported in great quantities from his city.* 

There was a peculiar kind of cup called Gram- 
mateion, from the letters of gold chased upon its 
exterior. * Alexis mentions one of this sort in the 
following lines : 

A, But let ine first describe the cup ; 'twas round. 
Old, broken-eared, and precious small besides, 
Having indeed some letters on't. 

B. Yes letters ,- 
Eleven, and all of gold, foiming the name 
Of Saviour Zeus. 

A. Tush ! no, some other god.* 

A very handsome sort of cup was imported from 
Sidon. It had two handles, and was oniamented with 
small figures in relief. Drinking-vases were also 
formed from the large horns of the Molossiau and 
P(Bonian oxen ; and these articles were commonly 
rimmed with silver or gold.* Small cups were made 



I Athen. xi. 28. 

' Athen. xi. 28. 

' We find in Winkelmann, 
Hist, de i'Art t. i. p. 23, the re- 
pi'esentation of a glass gnimnia- 
teion, on which are the words : 



Bibe Vivas MuItisAnnis. See a 
detailed description of this vase 
by the Marquis Trivulsi, p. 46. 

* Athen. xi. 30. 

^ Theopomp. ap, Athen. xi. 34. 
SI. 



HOUSEHOLD FURNITURE. 



117 



liltle' account of. There was even oiie kind of bowl 
which, for its enormous capacity, was calleii the Ele- 
phant. 

A. If this hold not enough, see the boy coinea 
Bearing the Elephant I 

B. Immortal gods ! 
What thing is that ? 

A. A double-fountained cup, 

The workmanship of Alcon; it contains 
Only three gallons.' 

A very celebrated cup among the Athenians was 
the Therielean,'^ originally invented by Thericlea, a 
Corinthian potter, contemporary with Aristojibanes, 
This ware was black, highly varnished, with gilt 
edges ;^ but the name came afterwards to be ap- 
plied to any vessel of the same form from whatever 
materials manufactured. There were accordingly 
Thericlea of gold with wooden stands. The cups 
of this kind, made at Athens, being very expensive, 
an inferior sort, in imitation, was produced at Rhodes, 
which, as far more economical, had a great run among 
the humbler classes. The Thericlean was a species 
of deep chalice with two handles, and bulging but 
little at the sides. Theophrastus* sjreaks of Theri- 
clea turned from the Syrian Tuq>entine tree, the 
wood of which being black and taking a fine polish, 
it was impossible at a glance to distinguish them 
from those of earthenware. The paintings on these 
utensils appear to have been various. Sometimes 
a single wreath of ivy encircled them immediately be- 
neath the golden rim ; but it seems occasionally to 
have been covered with representations of animals, 
which gave rise to a forced and false etymology of 
the name.^ 



* Hiet. Plant, v. 4. ». cum not. 
SchnM. t. iii. p. 426. 

» Athen. w. 41. dXXoi fi Jcto- 
povat, OiipitKtior iyoitaodityat to 
xoHipwi' Sid TO lopat ^piuv aury 




118 



HOUSEHOLD FURNITURE. 



We have already observed, that the use of drink- 
ing-horns' was not unknown to the ancients. In fact, 
it seems, in very remote ages, to have been custom- 
ary to convert bulls' horns into cups with very little 
preparation ; and the practice of quaffing wine from 
this rude kind of goblet had by some been supposed 
to have suggested the idea to artists of representing 
Bacchos with horns, and to poets the epithet of the 
Bull Dionysos. He was moreover worshiped at 
Cyzieos under the form of a bull. Afterw^ds, as 
taiste and luxury advanced, these simple vessels were 
exchanged for horns of silver, which Pindar attri- 
butes to the Centaurs.^ Xenophon' found drinking- 
horns among the Paphlagonians, and afterwards even 
in the jtalace of the Thracian king Seuthes. ^Eschy- 
lus speaks of n-ilver horns, with lids of gold, in use 
among the Perrhsebians, and Sophocles, in his Pan- 
dora, makes mention of drinking-horns of massivo 
gold. Philip of Macedon was accustomed among 
his friends to drink from the common horn. Golden 
horns were found among the inhabitants of C)'thera. 
Horns of silver were in use at Athens; and, among 
the articles enumerated as sold at a public auction, 
mention is made of one of tliese vessels of a twisted 
form. 

Mirrors constituted another article of Hellenic 
luxury. These were sometimes of brass,* whence 
the proverb : 



19 by b 



B by wine are mirrored.* 



The best, however, until those of glass came into 
use, were made of silver or of a mixed metal, the exact 



' BiEckh.Pub. Econ. of AthenB, 
ii. «54. 

= Find. Fr^. Inoert. t4. i. 244. 
Dissen. Conim, ii. R59, Jacob. 
Anthol. vii. S38. Athen. xi. 51. 
Cf. Damm. v. Ei'poc* 

' Anab. vi, 1. 4. vii. 3. 24. »eq. 

* Xen. Conv. vii. 4. They were 



fiometimeH square and washed 
with silver. Caylus, Rec. d'Antiq, 
t. vi. p. 398. Cf. CieI. Rhodig. 
XV.12, 13. Plat. Tim. t. vii. 52, 
Beq. 61. Lucittn.Amor.§89. Ter. 
Adelph. ii. 3. 61. Cicero in PiBon. 
C.29. Poll. vii. 95.x. 126.164. 
* Alhen. x, 31. 



HOUSEHOLD FLRNITLRE. 



119 



I 



I 



compOBitioii of which is not now known. Another 
kind was faahioned from a species of carbuncle found 
near the city of Orchomenos,' in Arcadia. Glass 
mirrors^ also came early into use, chiefly manufac- 
tured, at the outset, by the Phcenicians of Sidon. 
The hand-mirrors were usually circular,^ and set in 
costly frames. To prevent their being speedily tar- 
nished they were, when not in use, carefully en- 
closed in cases.* 

There were mirrors, too, of polished silver, fashioned 
8o as to magnify immensely the objects they reflect- 
ed/ They invented also large cups containing within 
many diminutive mirrors, so that when any one looked 
into them, his eye was met by a multitude of faces 
ail resembling his own." In a temple of Hera in 
Arcadia, was a mirror fixed in the wall, wherein 
the spectator could at first scarcely, if at all, discern 
his own image, wliile the throne of the goddess and 
the statues of the other deities ranged around were 
most brilliantly reflected,' Many sorts of mirrors 
appear to have been made for the purjtose of jday- 
ing oflT practical jokes. For example, looking in one 
of these, a handsome woman would find her visage 
transformed into that of a Gorgon, so as to appear 
terrible even to herself. Others again were so very 
flattering, that a half-starved barber, viewing his 
figure tiierein, appeared to be gifted with the thewes 
of a Heracles. Another sort distorted the coun- 
tenance, or inverted it, or showed merely the half. 

Religion was the nurse of the fine arts, and first 
gave rise, not only to sculpture and painting, but 

■ Theoph. de Lapid. §. 33. 

' It i« to be obBerved, that be- 
fore the apphcation of quiclcBilrer 
in the construction of these glosBes 
(which I presume is of do great 
antiquity) the reflection of images 
by such specula must have been 
effected by their being besmeared 
behind, or tinged through with Quest. Nat. i. 4. 
tome dark colour, especially black, "> Paua. viii. S7. 7- 



which would olntnict the reftac- 


tion of the rays of 


light. 


Nixon 


in Philosoph 


, Tran 


B. t. IT 


. p. 602. 


Cf. Plin. sxxvi. 26 


i.§67. 




' Sch. Ari 


.Bloph. 


Nub. 


742. 


* Sch. Ar 


istoph. 


Nub. 


741. 


"Plaut-i. 


1 MoBtell. i.3. 101. 


" Plin. xxxjii. 


4S. 


Senec. 




120 



HOUSEHOLD FURNITllBE- 



also to those private collections of statues and pic- 
tures' in which we discover the perms of our mo- 
dem galleriea'^ and museums. The first step was 
made towards these when the Greek set up the 
images of his household gods upon his hearth. 
Thence, step by step, he proceeded, improving the 
appearance, enriching the materials, increasing the 
number of his domestic deities, with which niche 
after niche was -filled, till hia private dwelling be- 
came in some sort a temple. The religious feel- 
ing, no doubt, made way, in many cases, for a 
passion for show, or a nascent taste for the beau- 
tiful ; so that rude figures in terra-cotta, wood, or 
stone, were graduaiiy replaced by exquisite statues 
in ivorj', gold, or silver,' or the fairest marble, 
breathing beauty and life, with eyes of gems, and 
clothed with majesty as with a garment. Hence 
flowed the passion for mimetic representations and 
all tlie plastic arts. The gods were transferred from 
the fireside to the temple, to the agora, to the 
senate-hoHse, to the innumerable porticoes every- 
where abounding in (jtreece.* 

On their superb candelabra,' &c., matter for a 
curious volume might be collected. The lamps in 
common use,'' though sometimes very beautiful in 
shape, were of course fictile,^ such as we find in 
great numbers among the ruins of Greek cities, both 
in the mother country, and in their Egyptian and 
other colonies. Sometimes, however, they were of 
bronze, silver, or massi ve gold. A very beautiful 



birda resting liere and there tin 
tliu branches, ie Ibund in the 
Mus, CortoneiiB. tab. 80. — They 
were sometimes of gilt wood. — 
Winkelmann, i. 34. 

"Poll ii. 78. vi. 103. s. Ilo. 
Soph, Ajftx. 885, sqq, 

' Poll. X, 1 92. — On tlie brazen 
ladle (^apiiratra) for fillmg lamps 
with oii. Bee Sch- Arbtoph. Eq. 
1087. 



« Athen, xi. 3, Menage, Ob- 
servat. in Diog. Laert. vi. S3. 
p. 13R. a. b. 

' Poll. i. is. 

* Plat, de Hep. t, vi. p. BB. 

^ All elegant candelabrum, or. 
iianienled with tiie figure of a 
twisted aerpeiit, and a flight ul' 



HOUSEHOLD FyRNlTURE. 



lai 



Bpecimen in this lost metat was found, Iiy Lord 
Belmore, among the ruins of au Egyptian temple, a 
short time before my visit to the Nile. In many 
houses were magnificent chandeliers, suspended from 
thu ceiliug, with numerous branches, which filled 
the apartments' with a flood of light. The most 
remarkable article of this kind which I remember 
was that set up as a votive offering to Hestia. in 
the Prytaneion of Tarcntum, by Dionysios the 
Younger, which held as many lamps as there are 
days in the year.'' Among people of humble con- 
dition wooden chandeliers, or candlesticks, were in 
use.' In remoter ages they burned slips of pine- 
branches, the bark of various trees, &c., instead of 
lamps. They were aef|uainted with the use of hora 
and wicker lanterns.* 

Another kind of decoration of Greek houses we 
must not overlook, — their armour and implements 
of war,^ with which the poet Alcffios'' loved to adorn 
his chambers, though, like Paris, be cared little to 
make any otlier use of them. " My spacious man- 
■' sion," exclaims he, " gleams throughout with bra^ 
" zen arms. Even along the ceiling are ranged 
" the ornaments of Ares, glittering helmets, sur- 
" mounted by white nodding plumes; greaves of po- 
" lished brass are suspended ou the walls, with cul- 
" rasses of lineu, while, here and there, about my 
" apartments, are scattered hollow shields. Else- 
" where, you behold scimitars of Chalcis, and bald- 
" ricks, and the short vest which we wear beneath our 
"armour,"' Besides the artiries enumerated by the 
poet, there were shield-cases, sheaths for their spears, 

To.ofiixpac xiTiiiy(aKOi, ojyji /Umtv 

firtpov, iit'luy ^r/al, ^axigXlvov 

Kuraaait.it fttipiy fiiaor iaraXftt- 

(vii. 60) That i», " the in 



' Athen. xi. 48. ^ IJ. xv. 60. 

» Id KV. 61. • Id. KT. 59. 

^ The custom, also, in Lydia. 
Herod, i. 34. 

" Alccei Frag. \i. p. 95. Anacr. 
ed, Glasg. 

' Kiiwamiti: uf which Pollux fur- 
niahe« ua wUli an exact dewriji- 
tion: iili Kviraffvi^jXiiov irt^oiq- 



paMif ia a Hinall linen chiton, 
reaching inid-thiKh, according to 
Ion, who says, ' a short linen 
ku[>assis, dciicending to the mid- 
dle of the thigh.' " 



122 



HOUSEHOLD FUENITURE. 



quivers curionsly adorned, feathered arrows, and bows 
of polished horn, tipped at either end with gold. 

From these gorgeous and costly commodities the 
reader, we fear, will be reluctant to accompany us 
into the kitchen, where we must pick our way among 
kneading-troughs, pots and pans, Delphian cutlery' 
and honey-jars.' But as without these the warriors, 
as Homer himself acknowledges, could make but 
little use of their weapons, it is absolutely necessary 
we should inquire into tbeir cooking conveniences. 
To commence, however, we must allow ^ Clearchos 
of Soli, to enumerate a few of the articles found 
among the furniture of this important part of the 
house. There was, first, says he, a three-legged 
table, then a chytra, or earthen pot, which, as in 
France, was always preferred for making soup. It 
was not, however, of coarse brown ware, as with 
us; for, Socrates, in his conversation with Hippias 
on the Beautiful, observes that, when properly made, 
round, smooth, and well-baked, the chytra was very 
handsome, particularly that large sort which con- 
tained upwards of seven gallons. It had two 
handles, and was evidently glazed.* In stirring the 
chytra while boiling, the Attic cook made choice 
of a ladle turned from the wood of the fig-tree, 
which, it is said, communicated an agreeable flavour 
to the soup, and, in Socrates's opinion, was prefer- 
able to one of gold which, being very weighty, 
might chance to crack the pot, spill the broth, and 
extinguish the fire.* 

There was used in the kitchen a sort of candela- 
brum, or lamp-stand, which Clearchos merely names. 
Then followed the mortar, the stool, the sponge, 
the cauldron, the kneading-trough, the mug, tlie oil- 



' Hesych. v. AiXfuci) fiiix"<pn- 
« Athen. xi. 50, iHirtj, a vi- 
negar cruet. — Sch. Aristoph, Eq. 
iSVI.lpXil.a pklde-jar. — Ve»p. 
676. 



5 Athen. hv. 60. 

* Plat. Hipp. Maj. t. v. p. 425, 
Bqq. 

» Plat. 0pp. t. V. p. 439. aeq. 
Schol. Aristoph. Achom. £44. 



HOUSEHOLD FURNITURE. 



123 



flask, tb'e rush-basket, the large knife, the cleaver,' 
the wooden platter, the bowl, and the larding- pin.'' 
Pollux, who had, doubtless, served an apprentice- 
ship to Marcus Aurelius's cook, gives a formidable 
list of culinary utensils, from which we must be con- 
tent to select the most remarkable. First, however, 
we shall show how important a piece of sponge was 
to an Athenian cook. It often saved him his din- 
ner; for, if any of his 8te'\vpans, crocks, or kettles, 
bad Buffered from tlie embraces of Hephjestos, 
in other words, had got a hole burnt in them, a 
bit of sponge was drawn into the aperture, and on 
went the cooking operations as before.* In some 
houses culinary utensils \vere regarded as a nuisance, 
the presence of which was not to be constantly en- 
dured, and, accordingly, when the master desired to 
treat his friends, cookey was desjiatched early in 
the morning to Iiire pots and kettles of a broker. 
To this custom Alexis alludes in his Exile : 

How fertile in new tricka is Chffiriphon, 
To sup scot-free and everywhere find welcome ! 
Spies he a broker's dooF with pots to let ? 
There from the earliest dawn he takes his stand, 
To see whose cook arrives ; from him he learns 
"Who 'tis thai gives the feast, — flies to the house. 
Watches his time, and, when the yawning door 
Gapes for the guests, glides in among the first.* 

But we must not pass over the Pyreion or Try- 
panoD,^ the clumsy contrivance which supplied the 
place of our lucifers, phosphorus, and tinder-boxee. 
This was a hollow piece of wood, in which another 



' See & figure, probably, of that 
instrument in Mua. Chiaramont. 
tav. 21. 

« Athen. siv. 60. Poll. x. 95, 
•qq. — We find mention, also, of 
the cbeete-rasp. — SchoL Aristoph. 
Pftcifil. 

' Ari»toph.Aciiam.45D.Brunck 
is vastly scandalised at the idea 
of the Scholiast, that any man 
shouJd have been so poor in At- 



tica as to be driven to mend hia 
pots in the way commemorated 
in the text ; but a German com- 
mentator, who had looked more 
into kitchens, is satisfied that 
the practice prevailed, and wa* 
perfectly rational. In fact, simi- 
lar contrivances are still resorted 
to, even in England. 

* Athen. iv. 58. 

» Theoph. Hislor. Plant, v. 0. 7. 



124 



HOUSEHOLD FURNITURE. 



piece was turned rapidly till sparks of fire flew ouf 
Soldiers carried these fire-kindlers along with them 
as a iiccessarj part of their kit. 

The ordinary fuel of the Greeks consisted chiefly 
of wood and charcoal,'^ (kept in rush or wicker baskets.) 
though the use of mineral coal was not altogether 
unknown to them.* In Attica, where wood was al- 
ways scarce, they economically made use of vine-cut- 
tiDgs,* and even the green branches of the fig tree 
with the leaves on." The charcoal of Achamse, the 
best probably in the country, was sometimes pre- 
pared from the scarlet oak.'' To prevent the wood, 
used in their saloons, halls, and drawing-rooms from 
smoking, it was often boiled^ in water or steeped in 
dregs of oil. The use of the bellows" was known 
in Ilelias from the remotest antiquity. They had 
likewise a kind of osier flap, with a handle, and 
shaped like a fan, which at times supplied the place 
of a pair of bellows. 

There were choppiug-blocks ^ both of wood and 
stone, mortars,'" fish-kettles, frying-pans, and spits of 
all dimensions," some being so diminutive that thrush- 
es and other small birds could be roasted on them. 
Their ends in the heroic ages rested on stone hobs, 
but afterwards andirons were invented, probably of 
fanciful shape as in modem France. Occasionally 
they would appear to have been manufactured of 
lead. To these we may add the ovens, the bean 
and barley-roasters, the sieves of bronze and other 
materials, the wine-strainers in the form of colanders, 
the crate for earthern-ware, and the chafing-disli,'" 



' Plat, de Rep. iv, t.ri.p. 194. 
Pollux. X. 1+6. vii. 113. 

■ Cf. Scliol. Arisloph. Acham. 
Si, 302, 314. Plat, de Legg. t, 
viii. 116. 

3 Theoph. de Lap. § IG. 

* Schol. ArUtoph. LyNst. 308. 

' Schol. Aristopli. Acham. 312. 
Cf. Schol. Vesp.us.sae. 

" Sch. Arisloph. Acham. 587. 

^ PUn. Hiat. Nat. xv. 8. 



B SchoI. Ariatoph. Acham. 653. 

Athen. ii. 7I■ 
B Schol. Aristoph. Acham, 319. 

VeBp. S3S. Kptdypa a flesh-hook. 

Sch. E(j. 769. 

'" Schol. Aristoph. Veep. 91*. 
" Schol. Ariatoph. Nub. 179- 
'^ Arietoph. Acham. 34. Cooks' 

tables were made of wicker-work 

or oiive-woodi Etym. Mag. 298- 

36, Bcq. 



CHAPTER III. 



FOOD OF HOMERIC TIMES — MEAT, FISH, ETC. 



Havino described the implements with which a 
Greek meal waa prepared, let us next inquire of 
what materials it consiated, and how it waa eaten. 
There will be no occasion in pursuing this investiga- 
tion to adhere to any very strict method. It will pro- 
bably bo sufficient to make a few broad divisions and 
a flexible outline which we can fill up as the materials 
fall in our way. 

What the original inhabitants of Hellas ate might 
no doubt be satisfactorily inferred from the accounts 
wc posgesa of nations still existing in the same state 
of civilisation. But it is nevertheless curious to ex- 
amine their traditions relating to the subject. iKIian, 
who has preserved many notices of remote antiqui- 
ty, gives a list of various kinds of food, which, as 
he would appear to think, constituted the chief, if 
not the whole, sustenance of several ancient nations. 
The Arcadians lived, he says, upon acorns ; the Ar- 
gives upon pears, the Athenians upon figs;' the wild 
pear-tree furnished the Tirynthians with their favour- 
ite food; a sort of cane was the chief dainty of the 
Indians; of the Karamanians' the date; millet of 
the Mfeotse and Sauromata; ; while the Persians* de- 
lighted chiefly in cardamums and pistachio nuts.* 



' Cf. Plut. Quwat. GrKC. 51. 
'CC Dion. Perieg. 1082. 

* Thefle people were great ea- 
lere, and held none in estimation 
but those who resembled them. 
Aristoph. Acham, 74. sijq, 

♦ i^Elian. Var. Hist. iii. 3B. 



Pertzonius in his note on this 
passage observes, that oirioi; and 
a'X'"'^ ^"^ ''"^ different names . 
for the same thing, both signify- 
ing " the pear," the foriner term 
prevailing among the Argives, the 
latter among the Tirynthiani and 



126 



FOOD OF HOMERIC TIMES, 



The tradition that while some degree of civilisa- 
tion already existed in the East, many tribea of 
Hellas still subsisted upon acorns, has given rise 
to much curious disquisition. It is abundantly clear, 
however, that the fruit of our English oak is not 
what is meant ; for, upon this, no one who has 
made the experiment will for one moment imagine 
that man could subsist; but every kind of produc- 
tion comprehended by the Greeks under the term 
" acorn," (€aKafof). Gerard, an old English botanist, 
enumerates chestimts among acorns, and Xenophon 
calls dates " the acorns of the palm-tree." The 
mast, however, of a tree common in Greece, would, 
as Mitford thinks, afford a not unwholesome nou- 
rishment, though he is quite right in supposing that 
it could not have been a favourite food in more 
civilised times.' While upon the subject of acorns, 
this ingenious and able writer appears disposed to 
make somewhat merry with a certain project of 
Socrates. If we rightly comprehend him, which 
very possibly we do not, he means to accuse the 
philosopher of reducing the citizens of his airy re- 
pubUc to very short commons indeed," nothing but 
a little beecb-mast, and a few myrtle-berries. This 
borders strongly on the notion of the comic writer, 
who describes the Athenians as living on air and 
hope. But though abstemious enough, Socrates 
was not BO unreasonable as to require even his Uto- 
pians to fight and philosophise upon a diet so scanty. 



Laconian*. By the other Greeks 
both words were used promiscu- 
ously, though Srioi was the more 
common. This able commenta. 
tor objects to the aaaertion of hU 
author, that the Hindoos lived on 
cane, since they also at« millet, 
'rice. Sic. But Julian could real. 
\y have intended nothing more 
than that the articles he enume- 
rates were in common use among 
the nations spoken of. OtherwJBe 



the whole must be regarded as a 
mere iable. The canes, mention- 
ed by ^lian, are those bom 
which sugar has been from Tery 
remote antiquity extracted. 

Quique bibunt tenera dulces 
ab arundine soccos. 
Lucan. Pharsal. iii. 237. 

' See Ooguet, i. ItiO, seq. 



MEAT, FISH, ETC. 



127 



Before Le comes to the mast and the rayrtle-berriea, 
we find him enumerating wheaten and barley bread, 
salt, olives, cheese, and truffles, together with pulse 
and all such herbs as the fields spontaneously jiro- 
duce. For a deesert he would indulge them with 
figs, chickpeas, and beans, myrtle-berries, and beech- 
roast, or chestnuts roasted in the fire. Plato was 
aware how the luxurious wits of his time would 
turn up their noses at such primitive diet, and there- 
fore brings in Glaucon inquiring, — " If you were 
" founding a polity of swine, what other food would 
"you provide for them?"' Pausanias remarks, how- 
ever, that acorns long continued to be a common 
article of food in Arcadia,^ but only those of the 
fagus.' 

If we may credit some writers the ancient in- 
habitants of Hellas made use of food much more 
revolting than acorns, havLug been, in fact, canni- 
bals who devoured each other. There, no doubt, 
existed among the Greeks of later times traditions 
of a state of society in which human flesh was 
eaten by certain fierce and lawless individuals, such 
as Polyphemos, but nothing in their literature can 
authorise us to infer that the practice was ever 
general. Superstition seems on very extraordinary 
occasions to have impelled them into the guilt of 
human sacrifice, when the officiating priests, and, 
perhaps, some few others, probably tasted of the 
entrails, and Galen had conversed with individuals 



I Plat, de Rep.t. vi. p. 85. 

« CE PoUuc. i. 234. 

» PauB. viii. 1. 6. Pliny ob- 
servBi that the fruit of the fagus is 
tWMt " duldBsima omnium glans 
fi^" Hist. Nat. xvii. 6. Cf. 
Lucian. Amor. § 33. Theophraat. 
Hist. Plant, iii. 8, 2. This 
Arcadian dainty is still eaten 
in Spun. " In some parts (of 
Navarre) the mountains are girt 
at their base by forests of chest' 
nut trees or of the Spanish oak cal- 



led eneina, whose acorn roasted, is 
as palatable as the chestnut." (A 
Campaign with Zrnn&tacarregui, i. 
40.) The same writer observes, 
that the fruit of the erer-green 
arbutus, in shape like a cherry, 
thougli insipid and intoxicating 
in its effects, is also eaten by the 
«mniver0UB Spaniards, p. 51. See 
also Laborde's Itinerary of Spain, 
iv. 80, and Capell Brooke's Tra- 
vels, ii. 72. 



128 



rOOU OF HOMERIC TIMKS, 



who had been led by mere curiosity to sup on Dim 
flesh, anti found its flavour to resemble that of ten- 
der beef'.' But instances of this kind prove nothing; 
for how often does it not happen that mariners are 
even now driven by distressful circumstances to 
slaughter and eat their companions at sea ! And 
yet shall we on this account pass for anthropophagi 
with posterity ? 

The Greeks, however, were not content with one 
set of traditions, or upon the whole inclined to give 
currency to the most gloomy. On the contrary, 
their poets casting backward the light of their ima- 
gination, and kindling up the landscapes of the far 
past, called up the vision of the golden age, when 
neither the domestic hearth^ nor the altars of the 
gods were stained with blood, and the fruits of the 
field, — milk, honey, cheese, and butter sufliced to 
sustain life. But we must escape from these sha- 
dowy times, and come down to the age of beef 
and mutton. 

Food is, with great precision, divided by Aristotle 
into moist and dry, that is, into meat and drink.' 
A classification, the credit of which, as Feith con- 
tends, belongs to Homer.* In this poet, bread (ffiro?), 
the principal article of provision, is made indiscri- 
minately both from wheat and barley, though the 
latter grain is thought to have t)een first in use.' 
Herodotus found, in the matter of bread, a peculiar 
taste among the Egyptians ; barley and wheat they 
despised, though in no country are finer produced 



' See Bochart. Geog. Sac. i. 
309. 

« Cf. Plat. De Legg. vi. t. vii. 
p. 471. 

> Problem, x. 56, 58. 

* Iliad, a. 496. /J. 433, Beq. 

* tliud. f. 196, et 341. The 
sclioliast on thiB vene, observes 
that, befoi'e the invention ormilJH, 
men used to eat the raw grain. 
(Cf. on Iliad, a. 449, and Etym. 



Magn. V. oiiXnxvTai, 641, 29.) 
But this is merely an absurd con- 
ji'cture ; for they could, at least, 
have roasted the young ear aa in 
the East they stiU do, while it n 
full of juice, and have eaten it thu« 
with salt, when it is both plea- 
sant and nutritive. Besides, some 
means of reducing the grain lo 
meal apjjeara to have been kuowit 
almost from the beginning. 




MEAT, FISH. ETC. 



129 



than in Egyitt ; giving, very strangely, the prefer- 
ence to the olyra, by some supposed to be the 
spelt, but more probably Syrian dhourra, ears of 
which T observed sculptured on the interior of 
the pronaoB of Leto's temple at Esneh. Bread, in 
the Homeric age, was brought to table in a reed 
basket, the use of silver bread-baskets, or trays, not 
having been then, as Dnnatua thinks, introduced. 
But in this the learned commentator is mistaken; 
or, if they had no silver trays, at least they had 
them of brass and gold, to match their tables of 
massive silver.' 

Next to bread, flesh, in the heroic ages, was the 
greatest stay-stomach, jmrticularly beef, kid, mutton, 
and pork. They had not, however, as yet disco- 
vered many ways of cooking it. Nearly all their 
culinary ingenuity reduced itself in fact to roasting 
and boiling, a circumstance which led Athemcus,'' 
and the president Goguet to look back with great 
pity and concern on these unhappy ages when even 
princes, generally gourmands, were deprived of the 
supreme felicity of dining on ragouts, soups, and 
boiled brains. Servius,' too, and Varro are inclined 
to participate in this feeling of commiseration, and 



*"ni»d.X. 6Z9-OdyBs. k. S55. 
St^tM, Theocrit. Eidyll. xxiv. 
ISS, Kiq. Virgi!. ^neid. i. 705. 

' DeipnoMtph. i. 15. Origine 
des Loix, ii. 306. " J'ai dit que 
la limpticit^ faUoit le caracti're 
distinctifde sea preiniere ages. La 
Bianicre dont on se nourissoit 
9 en fait preuve. On ne toU 
' paroltre ni sauce ni ragout, ni 
mfme de gibier, dans la desciip- 

n que I'Ecritura fait du repas 
doniie par Abraham aux trois ati- 
I gd qui lui apparureiit dans la 
valleede Membri'. Ce Patriarche 
leur Bert un veau roti, ou, pour 
tnicux dire, grille ; du luit de 
beurre, ct du pain frais cuit sous 



la ccndre. Voil4 tout le fegtin. 
Ce &it niontre que lea repos alora 
^toient plus solides que dt'Ucats. 
Abraham avoit certainement in- 
tention de tr^ler scb botes du 
mieux qu'il lui etoit possible, et il 
faut observer que ce Patriarchu 
poss^doit de trcs-grandea richesees 
en or, en argent, en troupeaux et 
eii enclaves. On pent done re- 
garder le repas qu'U donne aux 
trois anges, comme le module 
d'un featin magnifique, et juger 
en consequence quelle 6toit de 
son terns lu mani^re de traiter 
splendidement.'' 

' Comm. ad ylineid. i. 710, 



130 



rOOD OF HOMERIC TIMES : 



the latter observes, tbat ainonn; their own ajicestors 
people were originally coiiipelled to dine on roast 
meat, though in the course of time the arts of boil- 
ing and soup-making were introduced.' With re- 
gard to Homer's heroes, however, our sympathies 
are somewhat relieved by finding, that learned men 
have overrated the extent of their misfortunes. 
They were not altogether ignorant of the art of 
boiling, as Athenaius himself admits, where he men- 
tions the boiled shin of beef which one of the 
drunken suitors flung at Odysseus's head. 

The flesh of young animals was not habitually 
eaten in those early ages, so that in denominating 
them public devourers of kids and Iambs, Priam 
accuses his sons of scandalous luxury.' In fact, 
with the design of preventing a scarcity of animal 
food, a law was enacted at Athens prohibiting the 
slaughter of an unshorn lamb, and from the same 
motive the Emperor Valens forbade the use of 
veal.* 

But there was nothing beyond the difficulty of 
catching it, to prevent the Homeric heroes from 
making free with game, such as venison, and the 
flesh of the wild goat ; * and from a passage in 
the Iliad, Feith infers, that even birds were not 
spared.^ We trust, however, that they feathered 
and cooked them, and did not devour them au na- 
turel, as certain Hindiie do their sheep, m-ooI and 
all. The Egyptians had a very peculiar taste in 
ornithophagy, and actually ate some kinds of birds 
quite raw, as they likewise did several species of 
fish ; and this not in those early ages when Isis 
and Osiris bad not reclaimed the bogs of the Nile, 
but in times quite modern, when Herodotus tra- 
velled in their country, and heard their vain priests 

' Feith, Antiq, Homer, iii. 1,3. Schweigh, Animad. in Allien, t. 

« II. w. 262. vi. p. 96, seq. 

^ Hieron adv. Jovian, ii. 75. , q , . . 

a. Diosc. ap. Athen. ix. 1 7. Eus- ' '" ' '" 

lath, ad II. w. p. M81. 12. « Iliad, x^, 852, M-q. 



MEAT, FISH. ETC. 



131 



I 
I 



lay claim to iiaviiif^ civilised Hellas. Both binis 
and fish, indeed, underwent a certain sort of pre- 
paration. Of the latter some were dried in the sun. 
others preserved in pickle, and the same process 
was applied to ducks, quails, and many other species 
of binly, after which they ■were eaten raw. We 
recommend the practice to our gourmands, and have 
no doubt they would find a pickled owl or jackdaw, 
devoured in the Egyptian style, altogether as ivliole- 
some as diseased goose's liver. It must not, how- 
ever, be dissembled, that many critics, concerned 
for the gastronomic reputation of the Egyptians, 
contend that, by the word which we translate " to 
pickle," ' Herodotus must have meant some kind 
of cookery; to which Wesseling replies, that, with- 
out designing to impugn the taste of those gentle- 
men, he must yet refuse to accept of their inter- 
pretation, since by observing that they roasted or 
boiled all other species of birds and fish, such as 
were sacred excepteil, the historian evidently in- 
tends to say, that these were eaten raw. The 
learned editor might have added, that Herodotus 
uses the same term in treating of the process of 
embalming," and we nowhere Icam that the nmm- 
mies were cooked before they were deposited in 
the tombs. 

But to return to the Homeric warriors; it seems 
extremely^ probable, notwithstanding the opinions 
of several writers of great authority, both ancient 
and modern, that the demi-gods, and heroes before 
Troy, admitted that efleiniuate dainty called Jish 
to their warlike tables. At all events the com- 
mon people understood the value of this kind of 
food,' and it may safely be inferred that their bet- 
ters, never slow in appropriating delicacies to their 



' Uporaptyeiitty. H 

I ?7, edit. Wessel. 

* Herod, i. 77, seq. ■ 

1. 

' Plato, among otliers, 



tliat, in the military messes of Kn 
heroes. Homer introduces neither 
fish nor boiled meat. l)e Rep. 
iii. t. vi.p. 141. 
• Odyss. r. 113. 



132 



FOOD OF HOMERIC TIMES: 



own use, soon porcoivod that fish is no bsul eating. 
Hunger would at least reconcile them to the fiavoiir 
of broiled salmon, as we find by the example of 
Odysseus's companions, who devoured both fish and 
fowl.' This is acknowledged by Athenscue ;'' but 
Plutarch contends, that they could have been dri- 
ven to it only by extreme necessity. At all 
other times he imagines they temperately abstained 
from food of so exciting a kind,^ though Homer 
describes the Hellespont as abounding in fish,' and 
more than once alludes to the practice of drawing 
it thence with hook and line.* Thus we find that 
angling can trace back its pedigree to the heroic 
ages; and the disciple of the rod as he trudges 
with Izaak in his pocket through bog and mire in 
search of a good bite, may solace his imagination 
with reminiscences of Troy and the Hellespont. But 
the good people of those days did not wholly rely 
for a supply of fish on this very tedious and ineffi- 
cient process ; tliey had discovered the use of nets, 
which Homer describes the fisherman casting on 
the sea shore.^ Though the poet, however, had 
omitted all allusion to this kind of food, its use 
might, nevertheless, have been confidently inferred, 
as may that of milk, common to all nations, though 
Homer mentions it only, I believe, in tlie case of 
the llippomolgians,' and the cannibal Polyphemus, 
who understood also the luxury of cheese.* Circe, 
too, who being a goddess may be supposed to have 
been a connoisseur in dainties, presents her para- 
mour Odysseus with a curious mixture, consisting ■ 
of cheese, honey, flour, and wine,* very savoury, no 



' Odyaa. fi. 330. sqq. 
' Deipnosoph. i. 47. 

* Plut. Sympos. viii. 8. 

♦ n. .. 360. 

5 II. T. 407. 

6 Od. X- S64, 8(|q. ] 



spoken of in the Iliad, (t. 487,) , 
this IB the only place where thi 
poet distinctly mentions their 
being used in taking tish. 



' II. < 

« Od. 

Eidyli. xi 

B Od. . 



236, 246. 



MEAT, FISH, ETC. 



133 



doubt, and by old Nestor considered of salutary na- 
ture, since Hecamede, at his order, prepares a plentiful 
Bujiply of it for the wounded Macbaon. Along with 
this posset, garlic was eaten as a relish.' 

Fruits and potherbs, as may be supposed, were 
already in use." Garlic we Lave mentioned above ; 
and Odysseus, after all his wars and wanderings, 
recals to mind with a quite natural pleasure the 
ajiple and pear trees which liis father, Laertes, bad 
given him when a boy.^ Alcinoos ])0S8es8ed a fine 
orchard, where, though the })roce83 of grafting is 
supposed to have been then unknown, we find a 
variety of beautiful fruits, as pears, apples, pome- 
granates, delicious figs, olives, and grapes; and in 
his kitchen-garden were all kinds of vegetables.* 
And the shadowy boughs of a similar orchard, co- 
vered with golden fruit, wave over Tantalos in 
Hadea, but are blown back by the wind whenever 
the wretched old sinner stretches forth his hand 
towards them.* From this circumstance Athenseus, 
with much ingenuity, infers that fmit was actually 
iu use before the Trojan war ! Apjtles seem then, 
as now, to have constituted a favourite portion of 
the dessert, though among the Homeric warriors they 
seem sometimes to have formed a principal part of 
the meal; for Servius*" describes tlie primitive re- 
pasts as consisting of two courses, of whicli the first 
was animal food, and apples the second. 

Salt was in great use in the Homeric ago, and by 
the poet sometimes called divine.' Plato, also, in the 
Timtcos,^ speaks of salt as a thing acceptable to the 
gods, an expression whleh Plutarch quotes with mani- 



' II. X. 623, gqq. Tliis mixture 
called rvt'EUf, is more tlian once 
nieiiliuned by Plato — Ue Rtip. 
iii. t. vi. p. 148. 

« Cf. Horn. II. X. 629, seq. 

» Od. u. 330. 

• Od. q. 115, Bqq. Plut. Syin- 

pOB. V. S. 

s Od. X. 587. sqq. 



1 Ad .^neid.i. 737. 

> II. (. 214. In later times it 
was customary to bruise thyme 
sinotl, and mingle it with salt to 
give it a finer flavour. Ariatopli. 
Achum. 77^. Suid. v. Supiri- 
rwKaX^v. t. i. p. 133C. b. 

8 Opera, t. vii. p. 80. 



134 



FOOD OF HOMERIC TIMES: 



fest approbation in a passage where he grows qnitd ' 
eloquent in praise of this article, which he denomi- 
nates the condiment of condiments, adding, that of 
some it was numbered among the Graces.' By the 
most ancient Greeks salt was, for this reason, always 
spoken of in conjunction with the table, as in the old 
. proverb, where men were advised " never to pass by salt 
f or a table," that is, not to neglect a good dinner.' Poor 
inen, who probably had no other seasoning for their 
food, were contemptuously denominated " salt-lickers."* ' 
But, in Homers time, there existed certain Hellenic 
trilies who had not yet arrived at a knowledge of this 
luxury; among whom, accordingly, even the most aris- 
tocratic personages were compelled to go without salt 
to their porridge.* The poet has, indeed, omitted to 
mention tbeir names ; but Pausanias supposes him to 
have alluded to the more inland clans of Epeirots, 
many of which had not yet, in those ages, acquired 
a knowledge of salt, or even of the sea." 

It appears to be agreed on all hands, that the pri- 
mitive races of men were mere water-drinkers. Ao 
cordingly they bad neither poets nor inn-keepers, nor 
excisemen, — three classes of persons who never flou- 
rish but where wine, or at least beer, is found. 
Homer more than once alludes to this vicious habit 
of the old world, where, with a sly insinuation of 
contempt, — for he was himself partial to the blood- 
red wine, — he tells us that this or that nation drank, 
like so many oxen or crocodiles, of the waters of 
such or such a river. Thus, when enumerating the 
allies of Ilion, he describes the Zeleians as those who 
sipped the black waters of the j^isepos." Pindar, too, 
in the hope of obtaining a reputation for sobriety, 
says, he was accustomed to drink the waters of 



' Sympoa. v. 9. 
s Enum. Adag. Chil. i. Ccnl. 
, Adag. 10. 

* 'AAdXti'x'"'- Erasm. Adag. 
vi. 33. or, as Persius espreases 



I terebrare Balinum." 



► Od. X. laL'. 
* pfius. i. 1. 1 a. 

' 11. /). SSi, eeq. 



MEAT, FISH, ETC. 135 

Thebes, wbicit, in his opinion, were very delicious,' 
though Hi]ipocratPs would unquestionably have been 
of a totally different May of thinking. The Persian, 
and afterwards the Parthian kings, appear in many 
cases to have entertained a temperate predilection 
for the water of certain streams, of which Milton 
lias given eternal celebrity to one: — ■ 

" Choiupes, amber stream, 
The drink of none but kings." - 

But evidently through mistake; for though historians 
pretend that the Parthian monarchs would drink of 
no water save that of the Choaspes, to which Pliny ' 
adds the Eulspus, it is by no means said that they 
enjoyed a monopoly of those streams. Perhaps our 
great poet confounded the Choaspes with those Gold- 
en Waters which, in Athenaius, are said to have 
been wholly reserved for the use of the king and 
his eldest son.* 

Wine, however, was invented Tery early in the 
history of the world ; and the virtue of sobriety was 
bom along with it: for, until then, it had been no 
merit to be sober. With whomsoever its use began, 
wine was well known to Homer's heroes, one of whom 
8p6ak.s of it, in conjunction with bread, as the chief 
root of man's strength and vigour.' Yet the warriors 
of those ages by no means exhibited that selfish par- 



Mq. 



» Find. Olymp. vi. 85. 
' Paradlae Regained, i 



' Hint. Nat. xxsi. 81. 
thonim regcs," says this writer, 
" ex Choaspe et EuIieo lanlum 
" bibunt ; et ea quamvis in lon- 
" gioqua comitatur eos." Hence 
TibuUuB has the following verses 
ill his Panegyric of MeBsahi, iv. 1. 
US: 

" Ncc ijuA vel Nilus vel i-e^ia 
Ivinp/ia Choaspes 

" Pre'fluii. 



Herod, i.188. /El. Var.Hist.xii. 
40. Cf. Strabo. 1. sv. c. 3. t. iii. 
p. 318. 

* Athen. Xii. 9. 'AyaSoxXnc 
c, eV r/>iry Hcpl Ku^Vvov, iv Hip- 
aaiQ ip>]aiy tivai nal ypvaoir 
KaXoiiuiyov viaifi. ilrai It rovTO 
Xitdias iSfoiiliaeyra, sai fiiflira 
irifdv dw avrim B fiivov (iavikia, 



> Iliad. .. 702. 



, 1(il. 



136 



FOOD OF HOMERIC TIMES : 



simony which led the Romans to debar their matrons 
the use of wine.' In Homer we find women, even 
while very young, jiennitted the enjoyment of it : 
for example. Nausicaa and her companions, who, in 
setting forth on their washing excursion, are fur- 
nished by the queen herself with a plentiful supply 
of provisions, and a skin of wine." Boys, likewise, 
in the heroic ages, met with similar indulgence; for 
Phoenix is represented permitting Achillea to join 
him in bis potations before the little urchin knew 
liow to drink without spilling it over himself.* This 
practice, however, is very properly condemned by 
Plato, who considered that no person under eighteen 
should be allowed to taste of wine, and even then 
hut sparingly.* After thirty, more dfscretion might, 
he thought, be granted them ; though he recommended 
sobriety at all times, save, perhaps, on the anniversary 
festival of Dionysos, and certain other divinities, when 
a merry bowl was judged in keeping with the other 
ceremonies of the day.* 

We shall now pass from the primitive aliments of 
the heroic times to those almost infinite varieties of 
good things which the ingenuity of later ages brought 
into use. The reader, not already familiar with the 
gastronomic fragments of ancient literature, will pro- 
bably be surprised at the omniverous character of 
the Greeks, to whom nothing seems to have come 
amiss, from the nettle-top to the peach, from the 
how's metra to the most delicate bird, from the shark 
to .the small semi-transparent nphya:, onnght along 
the shores of Attica.^ Through this ocean of dain- 

' Athen. x. 83. '^ Ass'a ilcBh was commonly 

' Od. f. 77, aeq. eaten liy the Athenians. Poll. 

' Iliad. 1. 487. Lx. 48, et Comment, t. vi. p. !t38, 

' Montaigne, whom few tilings seq. Their neighbours the Per- 



oF this kind had escapoil, reads 
fm-fj/, and thinks that men 
might lawfully get drunk alWr 
thui age. Essais, ii. 2. t. iii. p. 



278. 



* De Legg.ti. t. vti.p.aSS, sqij. 



enjoyed one dain- 
ty not knoivn, 1 believe, to the 
Greeks ; that is to say, a camel, 
which, we are tu!d, ihey some- 
times roasted whole. Herod, i. 
123. Alhen. iv. 6. In the opi- 



MEAT, FISH, ETC. 



137 



ties wo sball endeavour to make our way on the fol- 
lowing plan: — first, it will be our "hint to speak "* 
of the more solid kinds of food, as beef, mutton, pork, 
vea! ; we shall then make a transition to the soups, 
fowls, and fish ; next the fruit will claim our atten- 
tion ; and, lastly, the several varieties of wines. 

It has already been observed, that in the earliest 
ages men wholly abstained from animal food.' After- 
wards when they began to cast " wolfish eyes" upon 
their mute companions on the globe, the hog is said 
to have been the first creature whose character em- 
boldened them to make free with him. They saw 
it endued with less intelligence than other animals; 
and, from its stu])idity, inferred that it ought to be 
eaten, its soul merely serving during life, as salt, to 
keep the flesh from putrefying.^ The determining 
reason, however, apjsears to have been, that they 
could make no other use of bim, since he would 
neither plough like the ox, Dor be saddled and mount- 
ed like the horse or ass, nor become a pleasant com- 
panion, or guard the house, like the dog. 

It was loil^ before men in any country slew the 
ox for food ; his great utility was his ])roteetioD, 
and in some parts of the East tho well-meaning 
prieBthood at length compassed him round with the 
armour of superstition, which outlasted the occa- 
sion, and in India has come down in nearly all its 
strength to our own day. It was otherwise in 
Greece. There common sense quickly dissipated 
the illusion, which, while it was necessary, had 
guarded the ox, !in<l beef became tho favourite food 



nion of Arifitoile the flcsli of this 
animal nag singuinrly good : i-xci 
ii Kai Tti Kpia xal to ydXa Qcinra 
TdiTkiv. — Hist. Anim. vi. S6. It 
was thti poaeage, perhaps, that 
fint induced Heliogabalua to try 
u CBniel's loot, which he appears 
afterwards to have much affected. 
Laniprid. \'it. Anton. Hcliogab. 
$ 19. Hitt. Aug. Script, p. 195. 



The same emperor also tried the 
taste of an OBtrich, whose eggs an- 
ciently conslituled an article of 
food among certain nations of Af- 
rica. Lucian. de Dipsad. $ 7. 
Plato, Ue Legg. vi. t. vii. p. 



+71. 



• Cicero, De Nature Deoruin, 
64. Dion. Chrywst. i. S80, 

in not. Reisk. 



138 FOOD OF nOMERIC TIMES : 

of its hardy and active inhabitants, who likewise 
fed indiscriminately on sheep, goats, deer, hares, 
and almost every other animal, wild or tame. 

It has been seen that in remote ages fish did 
not constitute any great part of the sustenance of 
the Greeks. But public opinion afterwards under- 
went a very considerable change. From having 
been held in bo little estimation as to be left 
chiefly to the use of the poor, in the historical 
ages it became their greatest luxury.' And there 
arose among gounnands, those ancient St. Simo- 
nians, whose god was their belly, a kind of enthu- 
siastic rivalry as to who should bo first in the 
morning at the fish-market, and bear away, as in 
triumph, the largest Copaic eels, the finest pair of 
soles, or the freshest antkias.^ On this subject, 
therefore, our details must be somewhat more ela- 
borate than on beef and mutton. And first, we 
shall take the reader along with us to the market, 
whither it will be advisable that he carry as little 
money as possible, since, according to the comio 
poets, your Athenian fishmonger, not 'content with 
being a mere rogue, dealt a little also in the 
assassin's trade.' 

llie first thing which a rich gourmand inquired 
in the morning was, which way the wind blew. 
If from the north, and there was anything like a 
sea, he remained sullenly at home, for no fishing 
smacks could in that case make the Peirajeus ; * 
but if the wind sat in any other quarter, out he 



' The Pythagoreans, however, 
must be excluded from this cote- 
gory BJnce ihey abstained from 
tjsb because they kept perpetual 
silence like themselves. — Athen. 
vii. 80. Another and a. belter 
reason, perhaps, may be discover- 
ed in a [uiBBugD of Arclieslratos, 
who, observing that thesea-do); is 
delicious eating, proceeds to dis- 
pose of the objection that it feoln 



on human flesh, by saying, that ' 
all fish do the same. Id. vii. 85. 
From this fai't the Pythagorean! 
esteemed fish-eaters no better 
than cannibals at second-hand. 

- Cf, Scho!. Arisloph. Acliant. 
585. 

'' Amphis ap. Athen. vi. 5. 

* Allien, viii. 81. Cf. Xenoph. . 
Hellemv. i. 23. 



FISH. MEAT. ETC. 



139 



^weiit eagerly and stealthily with a slave and basket' 
at his heels, casting about anxious looks to discover 
whether any other impassioued fish-eater had got 
the start of him on his way to the Agora, who 
might clear the stalls of the best antbias or thunny 
before he could reach the spot. 

The unmoneyed rogue, however, whose ambitious 
taste soared to these expensive dainties, approached 
the market with a rueful countenance. Thus we 
find a poor fellow describing, in Antiphanes, his 
morning's pilgrimage in search of a pair of soles: 



I once believed the Gorgons fabulous : 
But in the agora quickly changed my creed. 
And turned almost to atone, the pests beholding 
Standing behind the fish stalla. Forced I am 
To look another way when I accost them. 
Lest if I saw the fish they ask bo much for, 
I should at once grow marble.^ 

Amphis, another comic poet, supplies ns with 
further details respecting the hardships encountered 
by those who had to deal with fishmongers at 
Athens. Much of his wit is, 1 few, intransferable, 
depending in a great measure on the vernacular clip- 
ping of Greek common in the market-place. But 
the s^ise, at least, may perhaps be given : 

" Ten thousand times more easy 'tis to gain 

Admission to a haughty general's tent. 

And have discourse of him, than in the market 

Audience to get of a cursed fishmonger. 

Ifynu draw near and say. How much my, friend, 

Costs tiiii or thai f — No answer. Deaf you think 

TI18 rogue must be, or stupid ; tor he heeds not 

A syllabic you say, but o'er his fish 

Bends silently like Telephos (and with good reason. 

For his whole race he knows are cut-throats all). 

Another minding not, or else not hearing, 



> This basket was usually of top. — Antich. di Ercol. tav. 21. 
-ushcs, ill form like 0. basin, and torn. i. p. II 1. 
*'ith a handle passing over the - Athen. vi, 4. 



140 FOOD OF HOMERIC TIMES: 

Pulls by the lega a polypus.' A third 
With saucy careleBsiiees replies, ' Four oboli, 
That 's just the price. For this no Icbb than eight 
Take it or leave it !' " • 

Alexis, too, that most comic of comic writers, 
seems to have imagined, that the humour of his 
pieces would be incomplete witliout a spice of the 
fishmonger. Commencing, like Amphie, with an 
allusion to the haughty airs of military men, he 
glides into his subject as follows : — 

However, this is still endurable. 

But when a paltry fishfag will look big, 

Cast down his eyes affectedly, or bend 

His eyebrows upwards like a fullstraiiied bow, 

1 burst with rage. Demand what price he asks 

For — say two mullets ; and he answers straight 

" Ten obols " — " Ten ? That 's dear ; will you take eight ? " 

" Yes, if one fish will serve you." — " Friend, no jokes ; 

I am no subject for your mirth," — " Pass on. Sir I 

And buy elsewhere." — Now tell mc is not this 

Bitterer than gall?^ 

But if the reader should be disposed to infer from 
these testimonies that the fishmongering race were 
saucy only at Athens, he will be in danger of fall- 
ing into error. Throughout the ancient world they 
were the same, and we fear that should any poor 
devil from Grub-street, or the Quartier Latin, pre- 
sume to dispute respecting the price of salmon with 
one of their cockney or Parisian descendants, he 
would meet with little more politeness. At all 
events their manners had not improved in the Eter- 
nal city,* for it is a propos of the Roman fishfags 
that Athenajus brings forward his examples of like 
insolence elsewhere. The poet Diphilos would ap- 
pear, like Archestratos, to have travelled in search 
of good fish and civil fishmongers, but his labours 



" Cf. Chandler, li. 143. 
Hist. Nat, ix. 45, t&i. 
' A then, vi. 5, 



» Athen. vi. 5. 

* DtiipnosDph. vi. 4. 



FISH, MEAT, ETC. 



141 



were fruitless; lie might as well Iiave peregrinated 
the world in the hope of finding that island where 
Boles are caught ready-fried in the sea. Such at 
least is the tenour of his own complaint : 

Troth, in my greener days I had some notion 

That here at Athens only, rogues sold lieh ; 

But evety where, it seems, like wolf or fox. 

The race is treacherous by nature found. 

However, we have one scamp in the ^ora 

Who beats 'all others hollow. On his head 

A most portentous fell of hair nods tliick 

And shades his brow. Observing your surprise. 

He has his reasons pat ; it grows forsooth 

To form, when shorn, an oflering to some god ! 

But that 's a feint, 'tis but to hide the scars 

Lefl by the branding iron upon his forehead. 

But, passing that, you ask perchance the price 

Of a sea-wolf — " Ten oboli" — very good. 

You count the money. " Oh not those," he cries, 

"JEffneUut I meant." Still you comply. 

But if you trust him with a larger piece. 

And there be change to give ; mark how the knave 

Now counts in Attic coin, snd thus aciiievea 

A two-fold robbery in the same transaction ! ' 

Xenarchos paints a little scene of ingenious roguery 
with a comic extravagance altogether Shakespearian, 
and incidentally throws light on a curious law of 
Athens, enacted to protect the citizens against stink- 
ing fish.* The power of invention, he ohserves- — 
willing to kill two birds with one stone — had to- 
tally deserted the poets in order to take up with 
the fishmongers ; for while the former merely hashed 
up old ideas, the latter were always hitting upon 
new contrivances to poison the Demos: 

Commend me for invention to the rogue 
Who sells fish in the ^ora. He know* 



cover them with a coating of wax. 



Mullets, caught at Damietta, are 
sent, thus preserved, throughout 
the Turkish Empire, as well as to 
different parts of Europe. Po- 
cockc's Description of the East. 



143 FOOD OF HOMEIUC TIMES : 

In (act there 's no mifltaking. — that the law 

Clearly and formally forbida the iriek 

or reconciling stale fish to the nose 

By constant watering. But if some poor wight 

Detect him in the fact, forthwith he picks 

A quarrel, and provokes his man to blows. 

He wheels meanwhile about his fish, looks sharp 

To catch the nick of time, reels, feigns a hurt: 

And pi'ostrate falls, just in the right position. 

A friend placed there on purpose, snatches up 

A pot of water, sprinkles a drop or two. 

For form's sake on his facOf but by mistake. 

As you must sure believe, pours all the rest 

Full on the fish, so that almost you might 

Consider them tesh caught.' 

By a law passed at the inBtance of the wealthy 
Aristonicos, Itimself no doubt an ichthyophagoB, the 
penalty of iniprisonraent was decreed against all 
those who, having named a price for their fish, 
should take less, in order that they might at once 
demand what was just and no more. In conse- 
queuce of this enactment, an old woman or a child 
might be sent to the fish-market, without danger 
of being cheated. According to another provision 
of this Golden Law, as it is termed by Alexis, fish- 
mongers were compelled to stand at their stalls and 
not to sit as had previously been the ctistom. The 
comic poet, in the fulness of his charity, expresses 
a hoj}e that they might be all suspended aloft on 
the following year, by which means, he says, they 
would get a quicker eight of their customers, and 



' Our readers will probably re- 
member the good old Italian mar- 
chioness, who having, perhaps, 
been cajoled, by the blarney of 
some Hibernian peripatetic, into 
the purchase of a pair of slrong- 
odouied soles, recommended to 
oui ma^atrates the adoption of 
an ordinance passed, as she af- 
firmed, by his grace of Tuscany. 
In that prince's territories, she 
assured their worships, the man 



who has fish to sell, mast trans- 
act buaineas standing on one leg in 
a bucket of hot water, a practice 
undoubtedly calculated to induce 
despatch and prevent haggling. 
This Tuscan enactment might 
evidently have been adopted with 
great advantt^e at Athens, where, 
however, legislation proceeded on 
exactly the same principles, and 
attained in this point an almost 
equal degree of perfeclion. 



L 



FISII, MEAT, ETC. 143 

carry on tlieir flealings with mankind from a ma- 
chine like the gwU of tragedy.' 

In consequence no doubt of the perpetually in- 
creasing demand, fish was extremely dear at Athens. 
Accordingly Diphilos, addressing himself to Posei- 
don, who, as god of the sea, was god also of its 
inhabitants, informs him that, could he but secure 
the tithe of fish, Iio would soon liecorae tlie wealth- 
iest divinity in Olympos. Among those who dis- 
tinguished themselves in tkis business in the agora, 
and apparently became rich, it is probable that many 
were metoiki, such as Ilermasos, the Egyptian, and 
Mikion, who, though his country is not mentioned, 
was probably not an Athenian. In ])roportion as 
they grew opulent, the gourmands on whom they 
preyed became poor, and doubtless there was too 
much truth in the satire which represented men 
dissipating their whole fortunes in the frying-pan. 
There were those also it seems who 8]>ent their even- 
ings on the highway, in order to furnish their daily 
table with such dainties. For this fact wo have the 
satisfactory testimony of Alexis in his Heiress : 

Mark you a fellow who, however scant 

III all things else, hath still wherewith to purchase 

Cod, eel, or anchovies, be sure i' the dark 

He lieB about the road in viail for travellers. 

If therefore you 've been robbed o'eniight, just go 

At peep of dawn to th' agora and seize 

The first athletic, ragged vagabond 

Who cheapens eela of Mikluii. He, be sure, 

And none but he's the thief: to prison with him !" 

They had at Corinth a pretty strict police regu- 
lation on this subject. When any person was ob- 
served habitually to purchase fish, he was interro- 
gated by the authorities respecting his means. If 
foand to be a man of property they suffered liira 
to do what he pleased with his own ; but, iu the 
contrary event, lie received a gentle hint that the 

' Athen. VI. 8. « Athen. vi. 10. 12. 



144 



FOOD OF HOMERIC TIMES : 



state had its eye upon bini. The neglect of this 
ailmonition was tbliowed, in the first place, by a tine, 
and ultimately, if persevered in, by a punishment 
equivalent to the treadmill.' These matters were in 
Athens submitted to tho cognizance of two or three 
magistrates, called Opsonomoi, nominated by the Se- 
nate.* With respect to the purchase of this class 
of viands, everywhere attended with peculiar diffi- 
culties, it may be said, that the aucients had con- 
siderably the advantage of us; since iu Lynceus of 
Sanios's " Fish-buyer's Manual," they possessed a sure 
guide through all the intricacies of bargaining in the 
agora. 

But before we proceed further with this part of 
our subject, we will demand permission of Lynceus 
to hear what Ilesiod has to say of saltiish, on 
which Euthydemos, the Athenian, composed a sepa- 
rate treatise, Accoi-ding to this poet, who boldly 
speaks of cities erected long after his death, im- 
mense quantities of fish were salted on the Bos- 
poros, sometimes entire, as in modern times,* some- 
times cut into gobbets of a moderate size. Among 
these were the oxyrinchos whose taste proved often 
fatal, the thumiy, and the mackerel. The little city 
of Pariou furnished the best kolias (a kind of mack- 
erel), and the Tarentine merchants brought to Athens 
pickled orcynos from Cadiz, cut into small triangu- 
lar pieces, in jars.* Physicians, indeed, inveighed 
against these relishes; but the gourmands would con- 
sult only their palates and preferred a short life with 
pickled thunny to that of 8atum himself on beef 
and mutton. 

But the Hesiod of Euthydemos (a creation pro- 
bably of his own) ia but very poor authority com- 
pared with Archestratos, who made the pilgrimage 
of the world in search of good cheer, and afterwards, 
for the benefit of posterity, treasured up his expe- 
rience in a grand culinary epic. In his opinion a 



I 



MEAT. Fisn, ETC. 145 

elicc of Sicilian thuniiy was a rare delicacy, while 
the saperda, though brought from the Pontes Eux- 
inos, he held as clieap as those who boasted of it.' 
The scombros, hy some supposed to be a species of 
thunny, though othera understand by it the common 
mackerel, stood high in the estimation of tliis con- 
noisseur. He directs that it be left in salt three 
days, and eaten before it begins to melt into brine.' 
In his estimation the horaion' of Byzantium was 
likewise a great delicacy, which he advises the tra- 
veller, who might pass through that city, to taste 
by alt means. It seems to have been there what 
macaroni is at Naples. 

Alexis, in one of his comedies, introduces the Svin- 
posiarch of an Eranos (president of a picnic) account- 
ing with one of the subscribers who comes to de- 
mand back his ring, and in the course of the dia- 
logue, where something like Falstaff's tavern-bill is 
discussed, we find the prices of several kinds of salt- 
fish. An omotarichos (shoulder piece of thunny) is 
charged at iivo chalci ; a dish of sea-mussels, seven 
chalci, of sea-urchins, an obol, a slice of kybiou, 
three obols, a conger eel, ten, and another jdate of 
broiled fish, a drachma. Tliis comic writer* rates 
the fish of the Nile very low, and he is quite right, 
for they are generally muddy and ill-tasted, though 
the Copts, who have considerable experience during 
Lent, contrive, by the application of much Arches- 
tratic skill, to render some kinds of them palatable. 
Sophocles, in a fragment of his lost drama of Plu- 
neus, speaks of salt-fish embalmed like an Egyp- 
tian mummy.* Stock-fish, as I know to my cost. 



> Athen. iii. 65. 

' Alhen. iii. 85. The Seom. 
bw Pelamye or mackerel of Pal- 
las, caught in the Black Sea, is 
pickled ill casks and nut eaten 
ibr a twelvcmonlh. Travels iu 
Soutbem Russia, iv. 21S. 

* Poterant iipala nominari, ut 
cfTf vel initio Eestatis satitu, quo 
VOL, II. 



lempore minus pinguia totus pis- 
cis esset. Schweigh. Animudv. 
in Athen. iii 85. t. vii. 313. Cf 
Plin. Nat. Hist-MxiirfS. Gea. 
ner, De Salaameiitis. 

* Ap. Athen. iii. 8li. Cf. He- 
rgd. ii. 77. 

» Athen. iii. 86, 



14G 



FOOD OF HOMERIC TIMES : 



18 atill a fashionable dish in the Mediterranean, es- 
pecially on board ship, and from a proverb preserved 
by Athenseus we find it was likewise in use among 
the Athenians.' 

The passion of this refined people for salt-fish fiir- 
uished them with an occasion of showing their gra- 
titude pubUcly. They Ijestowed the rights of citi- 
zenship on the sons of Chscriphilos, a metoikos who 
first introduced among them a knowledge of this sort 
of food.'^ A similar feeling prompted the Dutch to 
erect a statue to G. Bukel, the man who taught 
them to salt herrings.* 

^V'itllout enumerating a tenth part of the other 
species eaten among the Greeks, we pass to the shell- 
fish, of which they were likewise great amateurs. 
Epicharmos, in his marriage of Hebe, supplies a cu- 
rious list, which, however, might be extended almost 
ad infinitum. Among these were immense limpets, 
the buccinum, the cecibalos, the tethynakion, the 
sea-acorn, the purple fish, oysters hard to open but 
easy to swallow, mussels, sea-snails or periwinkles, 
skiphydria sweet to taste but prickly to touch, large 
shelled razor-fish, the black conch, and the amathi- 
tis. The conch was also called telline as the same 
poet in his Muses observes. Aicwos wrote a song 
to the limpet beginning with 

" Child of the rock and hoary sea." * 

Boys used to make a sort of whistle of tortoise 
and mussel shells. These mussels were usually 
broiled on the coals, and Aristophanes, very inge- 
nious in his similes, compares a gaping silly fellow 
to a mussel in the act of being cooked.* 

Like the sepia, of which excellent pilaus are made 
at Alexandria, the porphyra or purple fish was very 
good ef\^ing, and thickened the liquor in which it 

' Deipnoaoph. lii. 89. * Athen. iii. 30, 3 1 . Cf. Scheigh. 

* Athen. iii. 90. Aniniadv. t. vii, p. 68, sqq. 
' Goguet, Oiig^ne dea Loix, i. » Fragm, Babylon. 8. Brunck. 

£54. Athen. iii. 33. 



MEAT, FISH, ETC. 



147 



was boiled.' There was a small delicate shell-fish 
caught on the iBland of Pharos and adjacent coasts 
of Eg3T)t, which they called Aphrodite's ear,* and 
there is still found on the same coast near Canopos 
a diminutive and beautiful rose-coloured conch 
called Venus' s nipple. On the same shore, about 
the rise of the Nile, that species of mussel called 
telline was caught in great abundance, but the beat- 
tasted were said to be found in the river itself. A 
still (incr kind were in season about autumn in the 
vicinity of Ephesos. The echinos, or sea-chestnut,' 
cooked with ox3rmel, parsley, and mint, was esteem- 
ed good and wholesome eating. Those caught about 
Cephalonia, Icarhi, and Achaia were bitterish, those 
of Sicily laxative; the best were the red and the 
quince coloured. A laughable anecdote is told of 
a Spartan, who being invited to dine where sea-chest- 
nuts were breught to table; took one upon liis plate, 
and not knowing how they were eaten put it into 
his mouth, shell and all. Finding it exceedingly 
unmanageable, he turned it about for some time, 
seeking slowly and cautiously to discover the knack 
of eating it. But the rough and prickly shell still 
resisting his efforts, his temper grew ruffled ; crunch- 
ing it fiercely he exclaimed, " Detestable beast ! 
Well ! I will not let thee go now, after liaving 
thus ground thee to pieces ; but assuredly I will 
never touch thee again." 

Oysters were esteemed good when boiled with 
mallows, or monks' rhubarb.* In general, however, 

' remorlcably well ; eome running 
' about on the sharp rocks with 
' their naked feel, aa if devoid of 
' feeling, and iome examining the 
' Imtlom of the clear water for 
' the Echinus or sea-chestnut, ft 
' Bpeeies of shetl-iish common on 
' this coast, and now in perfec- 
' tion, the moon being nearly 
^'at the full." Vol. ii. p. 8. 
* Deniet, Seep. ap. Alhen. iii. 



' Athen. iii. 30. During their 
long luta the modem Greeks also 
eat the cuttle-fish, anaile, &c. 
Chandler, ii. 143. 

« Athen. iii. 35. 

^ Athen. iii, 40. The taking 
of this fish at Sunium is thus de- 
scribed by Chandler: "Meanwhile 
" our sailors, except two or three 
"who accompanied us, stripped 
"to their drawers to bathe, all 
" of them swimming and dicing 



148 



FOOD OF HOHBRIC TDCES : 



the pliysicians of antiquity considered them hard of 
digestioa. But lest the shelled-fish should usurp 
raore space than is their due, we shall conclude 
with Archestratos' list, in which he couples with 
each the name of the place where the best were 
eaught : 

For tnuKKlt you must go to ^nos ; oyiten 

You 11 find best at Abydos. Parioa 

Bejoiws in its urchina ; but if cockles 

Gigantic and sweet-tasUd you would eat, 

A rojage must be made to Mitylene, 

Or the Ambradan GuK nbere they abound 

With many other daintiea. At Messina, 

Near to the Faro, are petorian conchs. 

Nor are those bad you find near Ephesos ; 

For Tethyan oystere, go to Chalcedon ; 

But for the Heralds,' niay Zeus overwhelm them 

Both in the eea and in the agora ! 

Aye, all except my old friend Agathon, 

Who in the midst of Lesbian vineyards dwells,* 

We have already mentioned the magnificent eels 
of Lake Copais,' in Boeotia, a longing for which 
appears to have been Aristophanes's ciiief motive 
for desiring an end to the Peloponnesian war. 
Next in excellence were those caught in the river 
Strymon, and tlie Faro of Messina.* The ellops, by 
some supposed to be the sword-fish,^ was found 
in greatest perfection near SjTacuse; at least, in 



' Tlie Kiipiif, ceryx, so called 
b«^cautc the Heralds (<c7ipvxfc) 
iwed ilii shell instead of a trum- 
pet, when nmking proclamation 
of any decree in the agora. 

_ « Alhen. iii. 44. Cf. Polluc. 
vi. 47. The ancients made the 
moft of their fish in every way. 
They were hawked about the 
■trcutt in rush-baskets, as with 
UB. — Athcn. vii. 72. 

* Sell. Aristopli. Acham, 845. 
Lyniel. 36. Tliere were in the 
fountain at Arethura, ai we arc 
told by the philosophical Plutarch, 



eels that understood iheir own 
names. — Solert. Anim. § iS. 

* Archestratos gives the pre- 
ference over all other eels to those 
caught in the Faro of Messina. 
Athen. vii. 53. Very escellent 
and large eels are taken in the 
lake of Korion, in Crete, ftccord- 
ing to the testimony of Buondel- 
monte. Pashley, i. 72. 

' On the sword-fish fishery in 
the Strait of Messina, see Spallan- 
zani's Travels in the Two Sicilies, 
vol. iv. p. 331, sqq. 



FISU, MEAT, ETC. 



149 



the opinion of Archestratos; but Varro and Pliny 
give the preference to that of Rhodes, and otliers 
to that of the Pamphylian sea.' The red mullet, 
the hei>Beto8, tlie hepatos, the elacaten, the thunny, 
the hippouros, the hippos, or sea-horse, found in 
perfection on the shores ^ of Phoenicia, the ioulis, 
the kichl^, or sea-thrush, the sea-boar, the citharos, 
the kordylos, the river cray-fish, the shark, which 
was eaten when young, the mullet, the coracinos, 
the carp, the gudgeon, the sea cuckoo, the sea- 
woif, the tatos, the leobatos, or smooth ray, the 
lamprey,* the niyrrena, the anchovy.* the black tail, 
the torpedo, the morm>T08, the ori»hos, the oiios, 
the polypus, the crab, the sea^perch, the physa, or 
sea-tench, the raphis, the sea-dog,^ the scaros, the 
sparos, the scorpios, the saipe, or stock-fish, the sy- 
nodon, the sauros, the scepiuos, or halibut, the 
sciaina, the syagris, the sphynena, the sepia, the 
tflenia, the skate, the cuttle-fish, the hyca, the 
pliagros, the perca cabrilla, the cLromis, tlie gilt- 
head, the trichidon, the thratta, and the turbot;^ 
such is a list of the fish in common use among 
the Greeks. The species it will be seen has not 
in many cases been ascertained. 



' Athen. tu. 57- Animadv. t. 

is. p. £S0. 

' The finest prawni were taken 
at Mintumffi, on the coast of 
Campania, exceeding in size 
those of Smyrna, and the crabs 
{daraKoi) of Alenandria.— Alhen. 
i. 13. 

' See on Crasaua's lamprey. 
Plut. Solert. Animal. § 23. 



* Esteemed a delicacy cootced 
with leeks. Aristoph. Vesp. 43*. 
Cf. Acham. 901. Av. 76. 

* See Spallanznni'B Travels in 
the Two Sicilies, vol. iv. p. 343, 



CHAPTER IV. 



POULTRY, FRUIT, WINE, ETC. 



The reader by this time will, probably, be will- 
ing to escape from fish, though it would be easy 
to treat him to many new kinds, and along with 
us take a slice of Greek pheasant, or the breast 
of an Egyptian quail. lu other words, he will 
hear what we have to say on Hellenic poultry. 
Chrysippoa, in liis treatise on things desirable in 
themselves, appears to have reckoned Athenian cocks 
and hens among the number, and reprehends the 
people of Attica for importing, at groat expense, 
ham-door fowls from the shores of the Adriatic, 
though of smaller size, and much inferior to their 
o%vn; while the inhabitants of those countries, on 
the other hand, were anxious to possess Attic poul- 
try.' Matron, the parodist, who furnishes an amu- 
sing description of an Athenian repast, observes, 
that excellent wild ducks were brought to town 
from Salamis, where they grew fat in great num- 
bers on the borders of the sacred Lake." 
The thrush,' reckoned among the greatest deli- 



' A then. vii. XS. 

« Athen. iv. 28. 

> The soIitBiy sparrow inhabits 
ttie cliffs of Delphi, and the song- 
t)iruah is heard in the pine woods 
of Parnassus. Above these, when 
the heights of the mountain are 
covered with snow, is seen the 
Emberizft Nivalis, inhabitant alike 
of the frozen Spitzbergen, and of 
the Grecian Alp.— Sibil lorpe in 



Walp. Mem. i. 76, seq. Homer 
is said to have written a poem 
called 'Ewunx^'^'Ci because when 
he Bung it to the boys they re- 
warded him with thrushes. In 
consequence of the estimation in 
which these birds were held 
Kt\\iCui " to feed on thrushes," 
came to aignily " to live luxu- 
riously."— Payne Knight, Fro- 
legg. ad Horn. p. S. 



POULTRY, FBUIT, WINE, ETC. 



161 



cacies of the ancients, generally at grand enter- 
tainmcuts formed part of the proponia, or first 
course, and was eaten with Utile t-akos, called 
amctiskoi. If we may credit Epicharmos, a de- 
cided preference was given to sueli as fed on the 
olive. Aristotle divides the thrush into three spe- 
cies, the first and largest of whicli he denominates 
Txophagos, or the " mistletoe-eater ;" it was of the 
size of a magpie. The second, equal in higness 
to the black bird, he calls Trichas,' and the third, 
and smallest kind, which was named Has or Tulas, 
according to Alexander, the Myndian, went in 
flocks, and built its nest like the swallow.* Next 
in excellence to the thrush was a bird known by 
a variety of names, elaios, pirias, sycalis," the bec- 
cafico of the moderns, which was thought to be 
in season when the figs were ripe. They likewise 
ate the turtle and the ringdove,* which are excel- 
lent in Egypt ; the chaffinch, to whose qualities 
I cannot bear testimony; and the blackbird. Nor 
did they spare the starling, the Jackdaw, or the 
strouthanion, a small bird for which modern lan- 
guages cannot aftbrd a name. Brains were thought 
by the ancient philosophers an odious and canni- 
hal-Hke food, because they are the fountain of all 
sensation; but this did not prevent the gourmands 
from converting pigs' brains into a dainty dish,* and 
their taste has maintained its ground in Italy, Par- 
tridges, wood-pigeons, geese, quails, jays, are also 
enumerated among the materials of an Hellenic 
banquet. 



' The red-winged ihrush, well 
known to eportemen in hard 
weather. 

' Athen. li. 68. 

' Arist. Hirt. Anim. viii. S. p. 
221. ix. 49. p. 305. Bekk. 

* The turtle and the wood- 
piseoii ore found in the woods and 
thickeU. Among the larks, 1 



obaerved the crested lark to be 
the moat .requent species, with a 
small sort, probably the alauda 
campentris of Ltnnseus. Black- 
birds frequent the olive grounds 
of Pendeli. — Sibth. in Walp. 
Mem. i. 76. 

5 Alhen. ii. 69—72. 



152 



POULTRY, FRUIT, WINE, ETC. 



Goose's liver was in extreme request both at 
Borne and Atliens.' Another dainty was a cock 
served up with a rich snuce, containing much vine- 
gar. A risf oi)hanes speaks of the pheasant in hia 
comedy of the Birds ; and, again, in the Clouds, 
Athenseus rightly supposes him to mean this bird, 
where others imagine he alludes to the horses of 
the Phasis. Mnesilochos, a writer of the middle 
comedy, classes a plucked pheasant with keiis milk, 
among things equally diflicult to be met with, which 
shows that the bird had not then become common. 
It obtained its name from being found in imniensc 
numbers about the embouchure of the Phasis, and 
the bird was evidently propagated very slowly in 
Greece and Egypt, since we hud Ptolemy Philadel- 
phos, in a grand public festival at Alexandria, ex- 
hibiting it, among other rarities, such as parro- 
quets, peacocks, guinea-fowl, and Ethiopian birds 
in cages.'' 

Among the favourite game of the Athenian gour- 
mands was the Attagas,' or francolin, a little larger 
than the partridge, variegated with numerous spots, 
and of common tile colour, somewhat inclining to 
red. It is said to have been introduced from Lydia 
into Greece, and was found in extraordinary abuD- 



' See the fragment of Eubuloa'a 
Garland-Seller, in Athen. ix. 33. 

' Athen. ix. 38. 

^ No bird appears to have 
puzzled commentators more than 
the atfoffas, Bome supposing it to 
be the/i-ajieoihi, or groiue, which 
in Schneider's opinion ; others, as 
Passow, the fiuxd-ken ; others, 
^ain, as Ainsworth, consider it 
to have been a delicious bird, re- 
sembling our wood-cock, or snipe. 
Mr. Mitchell's edit, of the Achar- 
Kie of Aristophanes, 783. — Thia 
learned writer professes not to 
understand what Schneider means 
hy fraueulia. Tlio word in Ita- 



lian \ifraneolino, as appears from 
BelJon. V. 6: Les Italiens ont 
nomme cet oiseau Francolin, que 
parcequ'il est franc dans ce pays, 
c'est-k-dire, qu'il est defendu au 
peupie d'en tuer ; il n'y a que lee 



739. — Hardouin thinks, that the 
Attagas is the ffaUina msliea, or 
ffelinolte Je boit, which Laveaux 
explains to be a sort of partridge. 
— Cf, Diet. Franf. in voce, and 
Plin. Hist. Nat. xi. 68. ed. Frann. 
Cf. Schol. Ariatoph. Vesp. 357. 
This bird was plentiful about Ma- 
rathon, Poc. 249. 




POULTRY, FRUIT, WINE, ETC. 



153 



dance iu tlie Megaris. Another of their favourites 
was the porphyrion, a hird which might with great 
advantage be introduced into many countries of mo- 
dem Europe, since it was exceedingly domestic, and 
kept strict watch over the married women, whose 
faujp pas it immediately detected and revealed to 
their husbands, after which, knowing the revengeful 
spirit of ladies so situated, it very prudently hung 
itself. It is no wonder, therefore, that the breed 
baa long been extinct, or that the remnant surviving 
baa taken refuge in some remote region, where wives 
require no such vigilant guardians. In the matter 
of eating it agreed exactly with Lord Byron, loving 
to feast alone, and in retired nooks, where none 
could observe. Aristotle describes this half labulous 
bird as uuwebfooted, of blue colour, with long legs, 
and red beak. The pori)byrion was about the size 
of a cock, and originally a native of Libya, where 
it was esteemed sacred.' 

Another bird common in Greece, but now no 
longer known, was the porphyris, by some con- 
founded with the foregoing. Of the partridge, com- 
mon throughout Europe, we need merely remark, 
that both the gray and tlie red (the tiartavelle of 
the French) were common in Greece. 

If we pass from the poultry to puddings and 
soups,^ we sliall find that the Athenians were not ill- 
provided with these dainties. They even converted 
gniel into a delicacy,' and it is said, that the best 
was made at Megara, They had bean soup, flour 
soup, ptisans made with pearl-barley or groats.* 
We hear, also, of a delicately-powdered dish or soup 



' Alhen. ix. 40. Aratoph. 
Hilt. Anirn. i. 17. viii. 6. 

" Schol. AriBtoph. Eq. 103. 

'Schol. Aristoph. Eq. 803.— 
It was thought, also, to deserve a 
place among the offerings to As- 
clepios, eKpt-'cially by pious old 
women, who, having lost their 



teeth, could eat nothing else. In 
lieu of the claasical name otAOapa, 
tliis gruel obtained, in the dialect 
of the common people, the more 
homely deaigiiatlon of KvvpKouri. 
Schol. Plut.673. 



♦ Athen. i 



, 101. i 



154 



POULTRY, FRUIT, WINE, ETC. 



which was sprinkled over with fine flour and olives. 
The polphos, evidently soupe a la julienne, is said, 
by some, to have been compoBed of scraped roots, 
■vegetables, and flour. Others take it to mean a 
sort of tuade-dish, resembling macaroni or vermi- 
celli. Another kind of soup was the kidron^ which, 
according to Pollux,' they made of green wheat, 
roasted and reduced to powder. 

There was one dish fashionable among the an- 
cient Greeks mistaken by our neighbours, the French, 
for plum-pudding, which is still found in perfection 
in the Levant, where I have many times eaten of 
it. Julius Pollux^ has preserved the recipe for 
making it, and we can assure our gourmands, that 
nothing more exquisite was ever tasted, even in 
the best cafi^ of the Palais Royal. They took a cer- 
tain quantity of the finest clarified lard, and, mix- 
ing it up with milk until it was quite thick, added 
an equal portion of new cheese, yolks of eggs, and 
the finest flour. The whole rolled up tight in a 
fragrant fig-leaf, was then cooked in chicken-broth, 
or soup made with kid's flesh. When they con- 
sidered it well done, the leaf was removed and the 
pudding soused in boiling honey. It was then served 
up hissUig-hot. All the ingredients were used in 
equal proportions, excepting the yolks of eggs, of 
which there was somewhat more than of anything 
else, in order to give firmness and consistency to 
the whole.' 

Black puddings, made vrith blood, suet, and the 
other materials now used were also common at 
Athens.* Mushrooms and snails were great favou- 
rites ; and Poliochos speaks of going out in the 
dewy mornings in search of these luxuries.* In 
spring, before the arrival of the swallow, the nettle 

' Onoma«t. vi. 62. — MadeuBU- * Onomasl. i. 837. vi. 57, 69. 

ally from panic seed in Cario. — ' Vid. Schol, Ariat. Eq. 949- 

Scliol. Arialoph. Puc. 580, el Eq. Acham. 1066. 
803. Cf. Goguet, Oripne des * Amtoph. Eq. 808. 

Loix, i. 912. * Atheii. ii. l!l. 



POULTRY, FRUIT, WINE. ETC. 



155 



was collected and eaten, it being then young and 
tender' Leeka, onions, garlic, were in much request, 
the last particularly, which grew in great plenty 
in the Megarean territory, and hence, perhaps, the 
inhabitants were accounted hot and quarrelsome, 
garlic being supposed to inspire game, even in 
6ghting cocks, to which it was accordingly given 
in great quantities.' 

Among the herbs eaten by his countrymen, Ilesiod 
enumerates the mallow,^ and the asphodel, which 
are likewise said by Aristophanes to have constituted 
a great part of the food of the early Greeks. Goet- 
tling, therefore, not without reason, wonders that Py- 
thagoras should have prohibited the use of the mal- 
low. Lupines, pomegranates, horse-radish, the dregs 
of grapes and olives, all of which entered into the 
material of an Attic entertainment, were commonly 
cried about the streets of Athens.* But these edible 
lupines, (^(j,i>t) still eaten by the Egyptian peasantry 
and the poor generally throughout the Levant, must 
be distinguished from the common species. An 
anecdote of Zeno, of Cittion, M-ill illustrate the 
character of this kind of pulse, with which the 
philosopher was evidently familiar. Being one day 
asked why, though naturally morose, he became 
quite afTable when half-seas-over : *' 1 am like the 
lupine," he replied, " which, when dry, is very bitter, 
but perfectly sweet and agreeable after it has been 
well soaked."^ Kidney-beans, too, were in much 
request, and pickled olives, slightly flavoured with 
fennel. 

The radish* was esteemed a great delicacy, par- 



' Aristopb. Eq. 43a. Brunck. drink, replied, " Sir, I a 



istoph. Pac. 508. 
' Ct Lueian. Amor. 5 33. 

• Cf. Arist. Acham. 166. Eq. 
493. Allien, xiii. 22. 

* Tiiis is M good oa the reply 
of sn Engliiih labourer who, being 
reproached lur babbling in his 



■ hedgehog — when 1 'i 



Gffittling. Aristopli. Plut. 543. 
Bnmck. — Lobeck. Aglaoph. 
893. 



15G 



POULTRY, FRUIT, WINE, ETC. 



ticularly tliat of Thasos and Bceotia. And the seed* 
of tlie ground-pine,' still eaten as a dessert in Italy, 
entered, in Greece, also into tbe list of edible frnits.* 
The tree, I am informed, has been introduced into 
England, but I have nowhere seen its fruit brought 
among jieara, walnuts, and apples, to table. Hen's 
milk has already been spoken of among the good 
things of Hellas;' but lest the reader should sus- 
pect us of amusing him with fables, it should be 
explained, that the white of an egg was so called 
by Anaxagoras.* Eggs of all kinds were much es- 
teemed. Sometimes they were boiled hard, and cut 
in two with a hair ; but, mauy writers, confounding 
oa, the berries of the service-tree, with aia, eggs, 
have imagined that the Athenians, in the capri- 
ciousness of their culinary taste, actually ate pickled 
eggs, an idea which stira to the bottom the erudite 
bile of David Ruhnken.* Generally, eggs were eaten 
soft, as with us, or swallowed quite raw. Those 
of the pea-hen were considered the most delicate; 
next to these, the eggs of the chenalopex bergauder, 
or Egyptian goose, and, lastly, those of the hen. 
This, at least, is the opinion of Epicratea and He- 
racleides, of Syracuse, in their treatises on cookery." 

As when an entertainment was given the host ne- 
cessarily expected his guests to make a good dinner, 
they usually commenced the business of the day with 
an antecoenium or whet, consisting of herbs of the 
sharpest taste. At Athens, the articles which general- 
ly composed this course were colewort, eggs, oysters, 
oenomel — a mixture of honey and wine — all au])- 
poscd to create appetite.'' To these even in later 



' The kemelfl of the stone-pine 
are brought to table in Turkey. 
They are very coinmon in the 
kitchenB of Alegipo. — Ruasel] ap. 
Wolp. Mem. i.836. 

- Tim. Lex. Platan, v. mft- 
«uXn, p. 239. Ruhnken. Athen. 
ii. 43. 

' Schol, Ari3to])h. Vesp. 505. 



* Athen. is. 37. 

^ Not. ad Timtei Lex. Plat, 
p. 189. Cf. Platon. Conviv. 
Oper. iv. 404. Bekk. Athen. 
ii. 50. 

fi Athen. ii. 50. 

' Potter, Archseol. Qrac. i 
20. Stuck. Antiii- Conviv 
Pflron. Satyr. § 31. 3 J. 



POULTRY, FRUIT, WINE, ETC. 



157 



times were added the mallow and the asphodel, 
king's-spear or day-lily, gourds,' melouB, cucumbers. 
The melons of Greece are still delicious, and famous 
as ever in the Levant. Antioch was celebrated for 
its cucumbers, SmjTna for its lettuces. Mushrooms 
were always a favourite dish ;° and they had receipts 
for producing them, which even now, perhaps, may 
not be wholly unworthy of attention. 

The use, however, of this kind of food was always 
attended with great danger, there being compara- 
tively few species that could be safely eaten. Per- 
sons were frequently poisoned by them, and a pretty 
epigram of Euripides has been preserved, comraerao- 
ratuig a mother and three children who had been 
thus cut off, in the island of Icjiros : 

Bright wanderer through the eternal way. 

Has sight bo sad as that which now 

BedimB the splendour of thy ray, ■ 

E'er bid the streams of sorrow flow ? 

Here, side by side, in death are laid 

Two darling boys, their mother'B fare ; 

And here their sister, youthful maid. 

Near her who nursed and thought them fair.' 

Diodes, of Carystos, enumerates among wholesome 
vegetables the red beet, the mallow, the dock, the 
nettle, orach, the bolbos, or truffle, and the mush- 
room, of which the best kinds were supposed to 
grow at the foot of elm and pine trees.* 

The sion" {slum latifolium), another of their vege- 
tables, is a plant found in marshes and meadows, 
with the smallago." 

Another plant, of far greater celebrity, was the 
Silphion/ once extremely plentiful in" CjTenaica, afi 



■ The aisua, or long Indian 
gourd, so called because the seed 
was first brought from India to 
Greece. Atheu. ii. 53. 

«Schol. Aristoph. Nub. 1S9. 
ISl.EccleB. 1092. Theaph. Hist. 
Plant, vii. 13. 8. Dioscor, ii. 




300, Beq. Athen. xii. 44. 70. 
Plin. Hist. Nat. x\x. 1 1 . 

' Athen. ii. 57- 

* Athen, ii. 57. 59. 

i Plin. HiBt. Nat. xix. 11. 
Schol. Aristoph. Nub. 191. 199. 

^ Dioscorid. ii. 154. 

T Sch. Aristoph. Eq. 891. 



158 



POULTRY, FRUIT, WINE, ETC. 



also, tboiigh of an inferior quality, in Syria, Armenia, 
and Media, but afterwards so rare as to be thought 
extinct. Besides being used in seasoning soups and 
sauces, and mixed with salt for giving a superior 
flavour to meat, its juice occupied a high place among 
the materia medica/ A single plant was discovered 
in the reign of Nero, and sent to Rome as a present 
to the Emperor. Its seed, according to Pollux,^ was 
called magudaris, its root silphion, the stem caulos, 
and the leaf raaspeton. Be this as it may, it com- 
municated to the sauces in which it was infused a 
pungent and somewhat bitter taste, and was in no 
favour with Archestratos.* 

We come now to the fruit,^ and shall begin witb ^H 
that which was the pride of Attica, the fig.^ Accord^ ^H 
ing to traditions fully credited in Athens, figs were first ' 
produced on a spot near the city, on the road to Eleu- 
sis, thence called Hiera Suke, " the sacred fig-tree."* 
Like its men, the figs of Attica were esteemed the 
best in the world, and to secure an abundant supply 
for the use of the inhabitants it was forbidden to ex- 
port them. As might have been expected, however, 
this decree was habitually contravened, and the in- 
formers against the delinquents were called syco- 
phants, that is, " revealers of figs,"' a word which has 
been adopted by most modern languages to signify 
mean-souled, dastardly persons, such as informers al- 
ways are. The fig-tree of Laconia was a dwarfed i 
species, and its fruit, according to Aristophanes," i 



' It U called later, Plin. Hist. 
Nat. Jtix. 15. Hard. But PW- 
loxenos, in his Glosaary, writes 
Xrfiropioj'. Idem, See Dioseorid. 
ill. 76 ; and Strabo, xi. 13. t, ii. 
p. 452. Cf. Ezek. Spanh. Dias. 
iv. De Usa et Praestant. Nu- 
miain. p. t5S, Rqq. Brotier, in 
his notes on Pliny, observes, on 
the authority of Le Maire, that 
the Silphion ia atill found in the 
neighbourhood of Derne, where it 
is called cefe or aerra. 



- Onomast. vi. 67. 
' Ap. Athen. ii. 64. 

* Plat. Tim.t.Yii.p.Il9, 
yerin. de Re Cib. 1. ; * 
sqq. 

* At present the green I 
esteemed insipid in Greece. : 
house. Travels, i. 237. 

s Athen. iii. 6. Mettra. 1 
Alt. T. 16. p. S74. 
I Athen. iii. 6. 



POULTRY, FRUIT, WINE, ETC. 



159 



vourcd of iiatred aud tyranny, like the people them- 
selves. 

There is no kind of fig, 
Wlielher little or big. 
Save the Spartan, which here does not grow ; 
But thii, though quite amail, 
Swells with hatred and gall, 
A stem foe to the Demos, I trow.' 

Aristophanes, in Athenatus, speaking of fniit, couples 
myrtle-berrieB with Phibaleian figs.' 

According to the ancients, there were certain sorts 
of fig-trees that bore twice, thrice, and even four times, 
in the year. Sosibios, the Laconian, attributing the 
discovery of the fig to Bacchos, observes, that for this 
reason the god was, at Sparta, worshiped under the 
name of Sukites. Andriscos, however, and Agasthe- 
nes, relate that this divinity obtained the name of 
Meilichios, " the gracious," among the Naxians be- 
cause he taught them the use of figs. To eat figs 
at noon was regarded as unwholesome; and they were 
at all times supposed to be highly prejudicial to the 
voice, for which reason siugers should carefully eschew 
them.' 

The apples of Delphi eujoyed great celebrity, and 
probably, therefore, were mild, since these were thought 
superior, or at least more wholesome, than sharp ones. 
Quinces they esteemed still more salubrious than ap- 
ples, and, during certain public rejoicings, this fruit, 
handfuls of myrtle-Ieavee, crowns of roses and violets, 
were cast before the cars of their princes and other 
great men.* The Greeks loved to connect something 
of the marvellous with whatever they admired. To 
the quince they attributed the lionour of being a 
powerful antidote, observing that even the Phariac 
poison, though of extremely rapid operation, lost its 
virulence if poured into any vessel which had held 
quinces and retained their odour.' According to 



' Athen. iii. 7. 

" See Sthol. Aristoph. Acham. 



' Athen. iii. 19. 

* Sleiich. ap. Athen. iii. 20. 

' Athen. iii. 21. 



I 



100 



POULTRY, FRUIT, WINE, ETC. 



Hermon, in big Cretic Glossaries, the quince was call- 
ed Kodumala, in Crete. Sidous, a village of Corin- 
thia, was famous for its fine apples; and even Corinth 
itself, the " windy Ephjre " of Homer, produced them 
in great perfection. 



" where is t)ie maiden, sweeter far 
Than the ruddy fruits of Ephyre are ? 
When the winds of summer have o'er them hlown, 
Aud their cbeeka with autumn's gold have been strown ! " ' 



Another favourite fruit was the peach, introduced 
from Persia into Greece.* The citron, too, though 
supposed by some not to have been known to the 
ancient inhabitants of Hellas, perfumed in later 
ages the tables of the Greeks with its delicious 
fragrance. This is the fruit which, according to 
King Juba, was called in Africa " the apple of the 
Hesperides," a name bestowed by Timachidas on 
a rich and fragrant kind of pear called cptmelis. 
The oldest Greek writer who has described the ci- 
tron tree is Thoophrastus,' who says it was found 
in Persia and Media. Its leaf, he observes, re- 
sembled that of the laurel, the strawberry tree, or 
the walnut. Like the wild pear tree, and the oxy- 
acanthos, it has sharp, smooth, and very strong 
prickles. The fruit is not eaten, but together with 
the leaves exhales a sweet odour, and laid with 
cloths in coffers protects them from the moth. The 
citron tree, is always covered with fruit, some ripe 
and fit to Iw gathered, others green, with patches 
of gold; and, in the midst of these, are other 
branches covered thick with blossoms. It now 
forms the fairest ornaments of the gardens of He- 
liopolis, where it shades the Fountain of the Sun. 

> Antigonos CarystioB, ap. Crete. Mr. Pashley iipeaks of 

Athen. iii. 22. twelve diflerent kinds, and nearly 

" Vict. Var. Lect. p. 892. as many sorts oflemons. Travels, 

' Hist. Plantarum, iv. 4. 2. The i. 96, seq. 
orange attains great perfection in 



POULTRY. FRUIT, WINE. ETC. 101 

Antiplianes observeM, in liis Bcentian. that it liad 
only recently been introduced into Attioa : 

A. 'Twould be absurd to 8p«ak of what 'b to eat, 

As if you thought of such things ; but, fair maidj 
Take of these apples. 

B. Oh, how beautiful t 

A. They are, indeed, since hither tliey but lately 
Have come from the great king. 

B. By PhoGphoroB ! 
1 could have thought Ihem from the Hesperian bowerB. 
Where th' apples are of gold. 

A. There are but three. 

B. The beautiful is no where plentiful.' 

Athenseus, after quoting the testimony of poets, 
relates a curious anecdote « propos of citrons, 
which I shall here repeat : it has, probably, some 
reference to the secret of the Psylli. An opinion, 
it seems, prevailed in Kgypt, that a citron eaten 
the first thing in the morning was an antidote 
'against all kinds of poison, whether taken into the 
stomach, or introduced by puncture into the blood, 
and the notion arose out of the following circum- 
stance. A governor of Egypt, in the time of the 
Emjierors, had condemned two criminals to be ex- 
ecuted, in obedience to custom, by the bite of an 
asp. They were, accordingly, leil in the morning 
towards the place of execution, and on the way 
the landlady of an inn, wlio happened to be eating 
citrons, compassionating their condition, gave them 
some which they ate. Shortly afterwards they 
were exposed to the hungry serpents, which imme- 
diately bit them, but instead of exhibiting the 
usual symptoms followed by death, they remained 
uninjured. At this the governor marvelled nmch. 



■ Ap. Allien, iii. !7. Milford, 
Hist. Greece, i. 1 54, note 59, mis- 
led by Barthelemy (Anacharsis, 
ch. 59) coniounda Antiphancs. 
the comic poet. Iiorii B. C. 4(l7 
(Clinton, Fwt. Hellon. il. 81 ) witli 

VOL. II. 



Antiphon, the master of Thucy- 
dides, bom B.C. 473, and who 
died in the year 411. four years 
before the birth of Antiplianes. — 
Clinton, li. 31, 37. 



162 



POULTRY, FRUIT, WINE, ETC. 



ami at length demanded of the soklier who guard- 
ed them, whether they had taken anything pre- 
viously to tlieir arrival. Learning what had happened 
he put off the execution to the (bllowing day, and 
ordering a citron to be given to one and not 
to the other, they were once more exposed to the 
bite of the asp. The wretch who had eaten no- 
thing died soon after he was bitten, but the other 
experienced no inconvenience. Similar experiments 
were several times afterwards made by others, until 
it was at length ascertained that this exquisite 
fruit is really an antidote against poisons.' 

Another fruit of which great use was made, was 
the damascene plum, sometimes confounded with 
the brabylon. The cherry,' introduced into Italy 
by LuculluB, was known to the Greeks^ at a much 
earlier period, and is described by Theophraatus. 
The wild service berry,* the dwarf cherry, the ar- 
butus fniit, and the mulberry, formed part of their 
dessert. Even the blackberry, when perfectly ripe, 
was not disdained.' In fact, both the mulberry 
and blackberry were esteemed a preventive of gout, 
and an ancient writer relates, that this kind of 
fruit having failed during a period of twenty years, 
that disease prevailed like an epidemic, attacking 
persons of both sexes and ail ages, and extending 
its ravages even to the sheep and cattle. 

Filberts, walnuts, and almonds,* deservedly held 



> Athen. iii. 28. 

* Theoph. Hilt. Plant, iii. 1 3, 1 . 
' It WM spoken of by Xeno- 

phanes in hia treatise iripi tpvaiuis. 
Poll. vi. 4C. Now thig philo- 
sopher was bom about the 40tli 
Olympiad, 620 B. C— Cinton, 
Fast. Helien. ii. sub an. +77. 

* The berry of the cedar, about 
the same size ae that of the 
mj-rtle, had a pleasant taste, and 
was commonly eaten. — Theoph. 
Hist. Plant. Iii. 12.3. 



= Athen. ii. S3 — 37. A dainty 
of a very pecuJiar character ia 
Bometimes seen on tite tables of 
the modem Greeks. " We were 
served also with some ipaaKO- 
fiijXta, or sage apples, the inflated 
tumoura formed upon a species of 
sage, and the efl'ect of the punc- 
ture of a cynopa." — Sibth, 
Walp. Mem. t.i.p. 62. 
Flor. Grscc. t. i. pi. 15. 



^ Theoph. Hist. Plant i 



Sibth. ^m 



POULTRY, FKUIT, WINE, ETC. 



163 



a high placo in the eetimatioii of the ancients. Of 
almonds, the island of Naxos had the reputation of 
producing very excellent ones, and those of Cypros 
also enjoyed considerahle reputation. These latter 
were longer in form than the former; like pickled 
olives they were eaten at the commencement of a 
repast, for the purpose of producing thirst ; and 
bitter almonds were considered a preservative against 
intoxication, as we learn from an anecdote of Tibe- 
rius's physician, who could encounter three bottles 
when thus fortified, but easily succumbed if de- 
prived of his almonds. This fruit being extremely 
common in Greece, they had their almond-crackers, 
as we have our nut-crackers, which at Sparta were 
called moficerobatos but amygdalocaiactcs in the rest 
of Greece.' 

The larger kind of chestnut, sometimes denomi- 
nated the "acorns of Zeus," appears to have been 
introduced into Greece from the countries round the 
Pontos Euxinoa, where they were produced in 
great abundance, particularly in the environs of He- 
raclea. There was, likewise, a sort of chestnut im- 
ported from Persia, and another from the neigh- 
bourhood of Sardes, in Lydia. Botli these and the 
walnut were considered indigestible ; but not so the 
almond, of which it was thought gre^t quantities 
might be eaten with impunity.' The best kinds 
were produced in Tliasos and Cypros, and, when 
freshly gathered, the almonds of the south are, un- 
doubtedly, of all fruit, the most delicate. The 
walnuts aud -chestnuts of £ubcea, in the opinion 
of Mnesthcos, were difficult of digestion, but fatten- 
ing ; aud no one can have frequented the eastern 
shores of the Mediterranean without observing what 
an important article of food, and how nourishing, 
they are.' The pistachio nut, produced from a tree 



» Athen. ii. 40. 

' Oioieorid. i. 176. Atliei 



42. Cf. Hippwral. de I 
p. 484. Foes. 
' Athen. ii. 43. 



164 



POULTaV, FRUIT, WINE, ETC. 



resemiiling the almond-tref, was imported from Sy- 
ria and Arabia.' The persea, now no longer known, 
Ijut supposed to be represented on the walls of the 
Memnonium,'' at Thebes, is, also, said, by Poseido- 
nios, the stoic, to have grown In Arabia and Syria, 
and I brouglit borne a quantity of leaves, preserved 
in an Egyptian coffin, which are, probably, those 
of this tree. Pears, which were brought to table 
floating in water,' and service-berries, were grown 
in great perfection in the island of Ceos, and Bceo- 
tia was famous for its pomegranates,* 

Speaking of this fruit, which the Bceotiaus call 
sidi, Agatharchides relates the following anecdote : 
A dispute arising between the Athenians and Boeo- 
tians, respecting a sjfot called Side, situated on the 
borders, Epaniinondas, in order to decide the ques- 
tion, took out a pomegranate from under his robe, 
and demanded of the Athenians, what they called 
it. " Wioa" they replied. " Very good," said Epa- 
" minondas ; but we call it Side, and, as the place 
" derives its name from the fruit which grows there 
" in abundance, it is clear the land must belong to 
" us." And it was decided in favour of the Boeo- 
tians.* 



■ Athen. xiv. CI. 

' We find ihat the Peraea 
grew, likewise, in the island of 
Rhodes, but there, though flowers 
came, it produced no fruit. — 
Theoph. Hist. Plant, iii. 3, 5. 
For a full description of the tree 
see IT. 2, 5, and Cf. Caua. Plant. 
ii. 3, 7-— In Us original country, 
Persia, the fruit of tliis tree is 
said to have been poisonous, for 
which reason the companions of 
Cambyses carried along with 
them numerous young trees, 
which they planted in various 
parts of Egypt, that the inha- 
bitants, eating of the fruit, might 



periBli. But, through the in- 
fluence of soil and climate, the 
nature of the Persea was wholly 
changed, and, instead of a harsh 
and fatal berry, produced de- 
lieioua fruit. — ^lian. de Nat. 
Animal, ap. Scbneid. ad Theoph. 
Hiat. Plant, iv. 2, 5. t. lii. p. 

284. — Cf. Athen. sir. 61 

Sch weigh. Animadv. t. xii. p. 585. 
Plin 



. 13. ] 



i. 46. 



* The best pomegranates, how- 
ever, were grown in Egypt and 
Cilicia. — Theoph. Caus. Plant, 
ii. 13. 4. 

* Athen. siv. G4. 



POULTRY, FRUIT. WINE, ETC. 



165 



We liave already observed, tliat the palm-tree 
flourislied and produced dates in Greece, particu- 
larly in Attica and Dclos ; ' but it is clear, from a 
remark of Xenophon, that these dates were small 
and of an inferior quality; for, speaking of the pro- 
ductions of MesojMjtamia, ho says, that they sot 
aside for the slaves such dates as resembled those 
produced in Greece, wliile tlie larger and finer kinds," 
which were like amber in colour, they selected for 
their own use. They were also dried, as they still 
are in the East, to l>e eaten as a dessert, at other 
seasons of the year. From which we learn, that 
the* black date, which is larger and finer than the 
yellow, was not tlien cultivated in Persia. But 
neither dates, uor any other fruit, could compare 
with the grape, which is found in perfection iu almost 
every part of Greece, where, as iu Burgundy and, I 
presume, in the rest of France, the law regulated 
the period of the vintage, prohibiting indi>idual8 
from gathering their grajiea earlier under a heavy 
penalty,^ The best kind of grape in Attica, like 
that of the CV-tw Voiigeol in Burgundy, was the Ni- 
Jcmtrateim, supposed to !«? unrivalled for excellence, 
though the Rhodians pretended, iu tlieir J/ipponimi, 
to possess its equal.* 

From the grape we pass naturally to wine, which 
has of itself formed the subject of many treatises. 
It will not, therefore, be expected that we should 
enter into very minute details; though, if we are 
sparing, it will certainly not be for want of materials. 
D'Herlielot* relates an oriental tradition which at- 



' Theoph. Char, pp, 33, 233. 
Casaub. A very fiiio palm-tree 
is at present growing in one of 
the principal streets of Athens. 
— Blackwood's Magazine, April, 
\8Sb. 

" Pollux, i. 73. Herod. I «8, 
172, 193. ii. 156. iv. 172, 183. 



* Plato lie Legg.t. vili. p. 106. 
Bekk. Alhen. xi«. 68. 



♦ Atheii. xiv. 08. Cf. Bruyerin. 
dc Ke Cibaria, xi. 447, sqq. 



» liiliollitque Orientale, Artidu 
GianiBcliid. 



IGO 



POULTRY, FRUIT, WINE, ETC. 



tributes tlie invention of wine to the ancient Per- 
sian monarch Giamshiil ; and Bocliart, with Bome 
show of ingenuity, attributes to Bacchos, the Gre- 
cian inventor and god of wine, an origin which ' 
would confound him with the founder of Babylon,' 
A very celebrated wine, called nectar, is said to 
have been produced in the neighbourhood of that 
city." But, according to Theopompoa, it was the 
inhabitants of Chios who first planted and cultivated 
the vine, and from them the knowledge was trans- 
mitted to the other Greeks.' 

Tlieopbrastus* relates that, in the territory of 
Ileraclea, in Arcadia, there was a wine which ren- 
dered meu insane and women prolific* In the 
environs of Cerynia, in Achaia. grew a vine, the 
wine of which blasted the fruit of the womb, nay, 
the very grapes were said to possess a similar qua- 
lity.^ At Thasos were two kinds of wine, of which 
tlie one caused stupefaction, while the other was in 
the highest degree exhilarating.' The wiue called 
authosmias,^ according to Phanias of Eresos, was 
produced by mixing one part of salt-water with 
fifty parts of wine, and it was considered best when 
made with the grapes of young vines. The comic 
poets are eloquent in praise of the wines of Thasos, 
particularly of that mixed sort, of most agreeable 
flavour, which was drunk in their Prytaneion. Theo- 
phrastus^ gives the recipe for making it. They Uirew, 
he says, into the jars, a small quantity of flour 
kneaded with honey, the latter to impart a sweet 
odour to the wiue, the former mildness. A similar 



. i. 58. 



' Geog. Sacr. I, ii. 1; 

^ Clitereas. ap. Alhei 

' Athen. i. 47. 

* Hist. Plant, ix. 18. 10, seij. 
In Athenffiua, instead of Hcra- 
elea, we find Herasa, i. 57. Cf. 
^lian. Var. Hirt. xiii. 6. 

=• The same eflect was attri- 
buted to the waters of a founlain 
flowhig neai' u temple of Aphro- 



dite upon Mount Hymettos.— 
Chandler, ii. 164. 

"Plin. Hist. Nat. xiv. 18. 

T Athen. i. 57. 

" 'O rii'fliiiii- oifiijy tytiv olcoc 
— Etym. Mag. 108. 41. Cf. 
Suid. V. dvSoafiias. t. i. p. 289. 
b. Aristoph. Plut. 808. Kan. 
IISI. 

'-> De Odor. 51. 



POULTRY, I'RUIT, WINE, ETC. 



107 



effect was produced hy mixing up hard inodorous 
wine with one which wag oily and fragrant.' 

The wines of Cos, Mjudos, and Halicaniassoa, being 
thought to temper the crudity of rain and well-water, 
were, therefore, like all others containing a quantity 
of salt-water, in great request at Athens and Sicyon, 
where the springs were harsh. The Mareotic wine' 
was made from ■N-ineyards on tlie banks of the lake 
Mareotis, where the present Pasha has his gardens, 
in the vicinity of Marea, once a place of considerable 
importance, but now a small village. Attempts, how- 
ever, have been made by M. Abro, an Armenian, once 
more to cover the ancient sites with vineyards, several 
acres of ground being planted with cuttings imported 
from the great nursery grounds at Chambery, in Savoy. 

The town of Marea derived its name, according to 
tradition, from Maron,' a person who accompanied 
Bacchos in his military expedition, and, in honour of 
its founder, surrounded itself with the fruit-tree most 
agreeable to that god. The grapes here produced 
were delicious, and the wine, slightly astringent and 
aromatic, had an exquisite flavour. The Mareotio 
was white, of delicate taste, light, spai'kling, and by 
uo means heady. The best sort was the Ta:niotic 
so called from the teenia, '• sandy eminences," on which 
the vineyards were situated. This wine, in its pure 
state, had & greenish tinge, like the Jobanisberg, aud 
was rich and unctuous ; but, mingled with water, it 
assumed the colour of Attic honey. By degrees the 
vine grow to be cultivated along the whole course 
of the Nile.* but its produce differed greatly in differ- 
ent places, both in colour aud quality. Among the 
best was that of Antylla, a city near Alexandria, 

' Athen. i. 56. — Cydonia, in 
Crete, U conjectured, by Mr. 
Fashky, to have produced a 
good wine. — TmveU in Crete, i. 
as, seq. * Athen. i. 59. 

* Idem, i. CiO. Horat, Ciirm. 
i.S7. 14. 

The ctihivaliun o( tlie 




appears to have flour! shed in 
Egypt down to the reign of llii; 
Caliph BeamriUnh, who coni- 
muiided all the vineyards both in 
the viillcy of the Nile and in 
Syria to be utierly destrrijed. 
Maured AilatJifct Jenioleddini, 
p. 7. 



168 



POULTRY, FRUIT, WINE, ETC. 



the revenues arising from which the ancient kings of 
Egypt, and afterwards those of Persia, settled on their 
queens for their girdle. The wines of the Thcbaid, 
particularly those made about Koptos, were so ex- 
tremely light as to be given even in fevers, as, more- 
over, they passed quickly, and gieatly promoted di- 
gestion.' 

According to Nicander of Colophon, the word ohos, 
" wine," was derived from the name of Oineus, who 
having squeezed out the juice of the grape into vases, 
called it, after his own name, wine. Diphilos,'^ the 
comic poet, gives us, however, something better than 
etymologies in that burst of Bacchic enthusiasm in 
wliich, in verses fragrant as Burgundy, he celebrates 
the praises of the gift of Dionysos : 

" Oh 1 friend tu the wise, to the children uf song. 
Take me with thee, thou wisest and sweetest, along ; 
To the humble, the lowly, proud thoughts dost thou bring, 
For the wretch who lias thee ia as blythe aa a king : 
From the brows of the a^c, in thy humorous play. 
Thou dost smooth every furrow, every wrinkle away ; 
To the weak thou giv'st strength, to ihe mendicant goM, 
And a slave warmed by thee as a Hon is bold." 

Nectar, the poetical drink of tlie gods, was a 
sort of wine made near Olynipos in Lydia, by min- 
gling with the juice of the grape a little pure 
honey and flowers of delicate fragrance. Anaxan- 
drldes, indeed, regards the nectar as the food of 
the immortals, and ambrosia as their wine ; in which 
opinion he is uplield by Alcman and Sappho. But 
Homer and Ihycos take an ojiposite view of the 
matter.' 

Alexis speaks of those who are half-seas-over 
as much addicted to reasoning, Nicrenetus* consi- 
ders wine as the Pegasus of a poet, mounted ou 
the wings of which like Trygeeos on his beetle he 
soars " to the bright heaven of invention." At the 

' Athen. i. 60. 

^ Idem, 11. 1, where are col- 
lected many other etymologies 
and tmious fulileg. 



" Athen. ii. 8. ^H 

■ Or Nicarchos. Anthol. Gr^cc. ^^| 
li. leo. Athen. ii. 0. ^H 



POULTRY, FRUIT, WINE. ETC, 



1G9 

port of Munychia, too, good wine was held in high 
estimation ; indeed, the honest folks of this bo- 
rough, with small respect for the water njmjdis, 
paid particular honour to the hero Acratopotes, that 
is, in plain English, "one who drinks unmixed 
wine." Even among the Spartans,' in spite of their 
cothons, and lilack broth, certain culinary artistes 
set up in the Phydition, or common dining-hall, 
statues in honour of the heroes Matton and A'eraoji, 
that is, the genii of eating and drinking. In 
Aohaia, too, much reverence was paid to Dcipjieus, 
or the god who presides over good suppers.* 

As the Greeks had a marvellous respect for wine 
they, like the German paper enthusiast, almost ap- 
peared to imagine it could be made out of a stone. 
They had, accordingly, fig nine,' root wine, palm 
wine, and so on ; and their made or mixed wines 
were without number. There was scarcely an 
island or city in the Mediterranean that did not 
export its wines to Athens : they had the Lesbian, 
the Euboean, the Peparethian, the Chalyhonian, the 
Thasian, the Pramnian, and the Port wine. We 
have already observed, that wine was drmik mixed 
with flour,* and in the island of Thcrse it was 
thickened with the yolk of an egg. In the Me- 
garis they prepared with raisins or dried grapes* 
a wine called passim, in taste resembling the j^i^gos- 
thenic sweet wine, or the Cretan malmsey. But, 
however exquisite the wines themselves, it was not 
thought enough in the summer months unless they 
were brought to talile cooled with ice or snow,'' 
which was accordingly the 



' Athen, ii. 9. 

°- Alhen. ii. 9. Cf. x. 9, 

J Danim.2831.. ^/liroi-. Alhen. 

X. 67. Plato de Rep. t. ti. p. 

144. Xenojjh. Anab. p. 54. 138. 

Cyrop. p. 522. Plin. Higl. Nat. 

xiii. 4. Diod. Sic. ii. 136. On 

the oiro\ iniKlrqt vid. Fwg. fK- 

tun. Hip. in v. Dioiworid. v. 



he practice. 

Lotus 



wine. Tlieoph. Hial 
Plant, iv. 3. 1. HtTod. iv. 17? 
Athun. vii. 9—13. 

♦ Plato de Bepub. t. vi. f 
U4. Bekk. Athen. viii. 1. Oi 
the Pnminion cf. Alhen. 1, 17. 

> Athen. x. 41. 



CHAPTER V. 

ENTERTAINMENTS, 



Having now gone rapidly through the materials 
of which Grecian repasts consisted, it will next be 
necessary to describe tbe manner in which all these 
good things were disposed of, first to maintain the 
energy of the frame, and secondly, for mere plear 
sure and pastime. Locke, witb many other modem 
jihilosojihers, erroneously supposes the Greeks of re- 
mote antiquity to have been so abstemious as to 
content tbemselves with one meal per diem. But 
experience appears to have led all mankind on this 
point to much the game conclusion ; viz., that 
health and comfort require men to eat at least 
thrice in the day,' which accordingly was the prac- 
tice of the ancient Greeks, though Philemon and 
others enumerate four repasts. Our own ancestors, 
before the introduction of tea and coffee, appear 
to have been very well content with beer or ale 
for their morning's meal, so that we could not pity 
tlie Greeks even though it should be fomid that 
they had nothing better' than hot rolls, muffins, 
or crumpets, with strawberries, grapes, pears, and 
a flask of Chian or Falemian. ,Dut they soon found 
tbe necessity of some warm beverage ; and though 
it does not appear how it was jirepared, they bad 
a substitute for tea,^ in use at Athens, in Eu- 



1 jT^schjl. Palamed. fr. 168. 
Klausen. Comm. in Agnniem- 
iion. p. 13G. 

" In modem timeB a break- 
fast ill the Troad often consists 
of grapes, Hgs, wiiitu hojicy in 



the comb, and coffee.— Chandler, 


i. p. 87. 




3 Athen. X 


i. 26, 50. Pollux. 


ix. G7, m- 


Scho!. Arisloph. 


Acbam. 613. 


Cr. Boskh. Pub. 


E.:(i... of Atliei 


lis, i. 140. 



ENTERTAINMENTS. 1 71 

h(pa, in Crete, and, no doubt, in all other parts 
of Greece. This meal, of wliatever it consisted, 
was called acratisma, or ariston, and eaten at break 
of day.' Homer's heroes, whose business was light- 
ing, just snatched a hasty meal, and hurried to the 
field; but at Athens, where jjeople had other em- 
ployments, they breakfasted early, to allow them- 
selves ample time for despatching their afikirs in 
the city, if they had any, and afterwards at their 
neighbouring farms or villas,' The second repast, 
detpTum, or dinner, seems to have been eaten about 
eleven or twelve o'clock : the hesperisma,^ equiv- 
alent to our tea, late in the afternoon, and the 
dorpon, or supper, the last thing in the evening. 
But of these meals two only were serious afTairs, 
and the Iicsperisma was often dispensed with al- 
together. In fact, Athenaius, a great authority 
on this subject, considers it perfectly absurd to 
suppose, that tlio frugal ancients could have 
thought of eating so often as three times in one 
day.* 

As the greater includes the loss, instead of con- 
fining ourselves to the ordinary daily diuner of a 
Greek, we shall in preference describe their grand 
entertainments, introducing remarks on the former 
by the way. These repasts were divided into three 
, the public dinner, the pic-uic, and the mar- 



' Which we may infer from a 
paisage of Ariatotle, Hist. Anim. 
vi. 8. where describing the habits 
ofbirdi, be 6&y», rHv U tjia^ir 
}l fiiv B^Xlta anil ^ifXqc dp£n[xcy7i 
ri/v Tl riiyff Sktjv fVfHij'd ical 
(W( duparlaftaTOC iHpac, a i' 
a^ifv TO XoHTDf row T(fi6rou. — 
One of the Homeric Bcholiosta a 
more explicit: — tal n)f /lif 
vpiiTitv itdKovi' 6ftmoy, lirikaft- 
Sarov icpbitat a\ciov in aKvriaz 
uvoip;, — In Iliad j3. 3Sl. Cf. 
Allien. L 19. 



= Xenoph. (Econ. xi. 14. 

^Philemon, ap. Athen. i. 19. 
Suid. V. Siijryoy t. i. p. 671. a. h. 

* Deipnosoph v. 80. — roiirt Si 
oiiOiiort ovrt ftyiiiTT^ptt ovti figr 
rucXwij' I'^^wvro rpo^alc- — Schol. 
II. /3. 381. Yet Athenteus i. 19. 
EpeolcB in one place of a foi^h 
repast in Homeric timca.— rqc ii 
r(ra'f)njs ""fo^flC oBrwc 'Ofi^pet 
fiifivtirai — " <ri i' tpx^ ititXii/- 
aat" o KaXoiini riytt 3«Xi(*»', b 
ioTi [iiTati TOO fcf" ii/iiSy Xt-yOftf- 
rov dpiirriio Koi itirrou. 



1 72 ENTERTAINMENTS. 

riage feast. The last, so far as it had any peculiar 
features, has been described among, the circumstan- 
ces attending matrimony. We have, therefore, for 
the present, to do with two only ; and, as the 
Greek contrived to throw much of his ingenuity 
into all matters connected with feasting and merry- 
making, the discussion of this part of our subject 
should savour strongly of mirth and jollity. 

The grand dinner,' which they called eUap'me, was 
generally given at the expense of an individual, and 
its sumptuousncss knew no limit but the means of 
the host. Other kinds of feasts there were at which 
all the members of a tribe, a borough, or a fraternity, 
were entertained, not to speak for the present of the 
common tables of the Cretans, Spartans, or Prytanes 
of Athens. We now confine ourselves to those jovial 
assemblages of ]>rivate citizens whose object in meet- 
ing was not 80 much the dinner, though that was 
not overlooked, as the elevation of animal spirits and 
flow of soul produced by the uuion of a thousand 
different circumstances. 

When a rich man desired to see bis friends around 
him at his boai'd, he delivered to his deipnodeior,^ 
a domestic kept for this piu-iiose, a tablet, or as we 
should say, a card, whereon the names of the per- 
sons to be invited, with the day and hour fixed 
upon for the banquet, were inscribed. With brothers 
and other very near relations this ceremony was 
thought unnecessary.^ They came without invita- 
tion. So likewise did another class of men, who, 
living at large upon the public and lighting unbidden 
upon any sjiort to which they were attracted by the 
savour of a good dinner, were denominated* Flies, 



' On the aubject of dining see 
Pollux, vi. 9, seq. with the notes 
of Jungennnnn, Kuhn, Hemster' 
hlUB. &c. 

* Athcn. iy. 70. Ariatoph. 
Condon. 64S, et Sohol. 

^ For a. further account of the 



persons usually invited. Bee Athen. 
V.4. 

• Plut. SympOB. vii. 6. Each 
guest was also followed by a 
footman who stood behind his 
master's clmir and waited on him. 
Casaub. ad Tlieoph. Chiir. p. 219. 



ENTERTAINMENTS. 173 

and occasionally Shadrs or Pakabites. Tlierc was 
at one time a law at Athens, M'hicb a good deal 
nonplussed these gentlemen. It was decreed, tliat 
not more than thirty {lersons should meet at a mar- 
riage feast, and a wealthy citizen, desirous of "going 
the whole hog," had invited the full complement. 
An honest Fly, however, who respected no law that 
interfered with hia stomach, contrived to intrwluce 
himself, and took his station at the lower end of 
the table. Presently the magistrate apjiointed for the 
purpose, entered, and espying his man at a glanee, 
began counting the guests, commencing on the other 
side and ending with the parasite. " Friend," said 
he, " you must retire. I find there is one person 
" more than tlie law allows." " It is quite a mis- 
" take, sir," replied the Fly, "as you will find if you 
" will have the goodness to count again, beginning 
" on this side."^ Among the Egyptians, who shrouded 
all their poetry in hieroglyphics, a fiy was the em- 
blem of impudence, which necessarily formed the 
principal qualification of a Parasite, and in Hume's* 
opinion is no bad possession to any man who would 
make his way in the world. 

Archbishop Potter,' in bis account of Grecian en- 
tertainments, observes, upon the authority of Cicero 



To pcreons of this description the 
guests delivered the presents that 
were made them, or if they hap- 
pened to be bad characters, whnt 
they Btole. Alhen. iv. 2, Plut. 
Anton. § S8. Lucian. Conviv. 
«eu Lapith. § 4G. Rich men 
then as now were usually haunted 
by flatterers who would pluck off 
the burrs from their cloaks or 
the chaff which the wind wafted 
into their beards, and try to 
screw A joke out of the cireum 
stance by saying, they were grown 
grey 1 Theoph. Char. c. ii. p. 7. 
If the patron joked, they would 
stuff their chlamys into their 



mouths as if they were dying of 
laughter. In the street they 
would say to the person they met, 
" Stand aside, friend, and allow 
" this gentleman to pass !" They 
would bring apples and pears in 
their pocket for his little ones and 
be sure to give them in his sight, 
with great praise both of father 
and children. 

' Athcn. vi. 45, seq. 

* Nutliing, says this philoso- 
pher, carries a man through tin- 
world like a true genuine natural 
impudence. Essuya, p. 9, quarto, 

' Antiq. iv. 19. 



174 



ENTERTAINMENTS. 



and Cornelius Nepoa, that women were never in- 
vited with tlie men. ' But in this, ns has I)een 
shown in the pro]>cr place, he was misled by those 
learned Romans ; for, in many cities and colonies of 
Greece, no banquet was given at which they were 
not present. Even at Athens, where women of 
character thought it unbecoming to mingle in the 
convivial revelries of the men," in which wine con- 
stantly overleaps the boundaries of decorum, their 
place was supplied hy hetairie, whose polished man- 
ners, ready wit, and enlarged and enlightened under- 
standings, recommended them to theu- companions, 
and caused the laxity of their morals to he forgot- 
ten/ To proceed, however, with our feast : it will 
readily be supposed, that gentlemen invited out to 
dinner were careful to apparel themselves elegantly, 
to shave clean, and arrange their beards and moiis- 
tachios after the most approved fashion of the day. 
Even Socrates, who cared as little as most people 
for external appearances, bathed, put on a pair of 
new shoes, brushed his chlamys, and otherwise spruced 
himself up when going to sup at Agathon's with 
Phsedros, Aristophanes, Eryximachos, and other ex- 
quisites. Even in Homeric times the bath was 



' Plato giving directions for a 
marriage feast, obsenres, that five 
male and five female friends shouli 
be invited ; along with these, five 
male and five female relations, 
who with the bride and bride- 
groom, with their parents, grand- 
fathers, &c., would amount to S8. 
De Legg.vi. t. vii. Schweigh, ad 
Athen. t. vi. p. 60. Among tlie 
ancient Etruscans, who, if not 
Greeks, had many Greek customs, 
the women reclined at table with 
the men, under the same cover. 
Athen. i. 42. 

< Isteus, De Pyrch. Hered. § 2. 
That among the more simple and 
old-fnahioned citizens of Athens, 



however, men and women, when 
of the same family or clan, dined 
together, we have the testimony 
of Menander to prove. He in- 
troduces one of liis characters, 
apparently a fop, observing that it 
was a bore to be at a family party, 
where the father, holding the 
goblet in his hand, first made a 
speech, abounding with exhorta- 
tions: the mother followed, and 
then tlie grandmother prated a 
iiltle. Afterwards stood up her 
father, hoarse with age, and his 
wife, calling him her dei 
while he mean time nodded 
present. Athen. 
' Athen. v. 6. 



' dearest ; ^^H 
ided to ^H 



ENTERTAINMENTS. 



175 



among tlie preliminaries to dinner, and guests ar- 
riving from a distance were attended through all the 
operations of the toilette by female slaves.' But 
this genera! ablution was not considered sufficient. 
On sitting down to table water was again presented 
to every guest in silver" lavers or ewers of gold. 
And since they ate with their fingers, as still is 
the practice in the Levant, it was moreover custom- 
ary to wash the hands between every course,* and 
wipe them,* in remoter ages, with soft bread, which 
was thrown to the dogs, and in aftertimos with nap- 
kins. The Arcadians, however, about whose moun- 
tains all the old superstitions of Hellas clung like 
bats, found a very diiferent use for the cakes with 
which they wiped their fingers. They supposed 
them to acquire some mystic powers by the opera- 
tion, and preserved them as a charm against ghosts.' 
But we are proceeding too fast, for the guests 
are scarcely within doors, and our imagination has 
jumped to the conclusion. To return then. Immedi- 
ately on entering, and when the host had welcomed 
and shaken hands with all, such gentlemen as pos- 
sessed beards^ had them perfumed over burning cen- 
sers of frankincense, as ladies have their tresses on 
^■isiting a Turkish harem. The hands, too, after each 
lavation, were scented.' Before sitting down to table, 



' Odysi. i. 48, aqq. 

^ Athen. ix. !?. In some luxu- 
rioiiB houses wine mingled with 
spicea waa presented to the guests 
in lavers for the purpose of wash- 
ing their feet. Plut. Phoc. § 20. 
In the palace of Trimalcliio wc find 
Egyptian servants pouring water, 
cooled with snow, on the hands of 
the guests. Petron. Sat^T. p. 76. 

" Schol. Arialoph. Eq. -112. 

* Rich purple napkins were 
eomettmes used. Sapptio in 
Deipnosoph. ix. 79- These ar- 
lides are Btill in the Levant ela- 
borately emhroidcred. 



5 Athen. iv. 31. 

'' Horn. Odysa. y. S3, seq. 
Athen. xv. SJ. Similar customs 
still prev^ in the Levant : 
" When we viwted the Turks 
" we were received with cordiality 
" and treated with distinction. 
" Sweet gums were burned in the 
" middle of the room to scent the 
"air, or scattered on coals before 
" uB while Bitting on the sofa, to 
" perfume our moustachioR and 
" garments, and at the door, at 
" our departure, we were Bprink- 
" led with rose-water." Chand- 
ler, ii. 150. T Athen. ix. 77. 



17G 



ENTEBTAraMENTS. 



and while the cooJta were peppering the soup, fry- 
ing the fish, or giving the roast-meat aiiother turn, 
politeness reqnired the guests to take a stroll' in 
the picture-gallery and admire the exquisite taste 
of their entertainer in articles of virtu.' Here while 
the scent of the savoury viands found its way through 
every apartment, and Bet the bowels of the hungry 
jiarasites croaking, the rogues who had lunched well 
at home leisurely discussed the merits of Zeuxis or 
Parrhasios, of Pheidias or Polygnotos, or opened 
wide their eyes at the microscopic creations of 
that Spartan artist wtiose chisel produced a chariot 
and four that could be hidden under the wing of 
a fly. At length, however, the connoisseurs were in- 
terrupted in their learned disquisitions by the entrance 
of Xanthos, Davos, or Lydos, with the welcome in- 
telligence that dinner was on the table. 

But the appetites of the gourmands had still to 
encounter another trial, ' The Greeks were above 
all things a pious people^ and regarded every ban- 
quet, nay, every meal, in the light of a sacrifice, at 
which the first and best portion should be offered 
as an oblation to the gods,* with invocations and 
prayer, after which it was considered lawful to at- 
tend to their own appetites. An altsr, accordingly, 
of Zeus stood in the midst of every dining-room, 
on which these ceremonies were performed, and li- 
bations of pure wine poured.'' This done, the guests 



' Cf. Horn. Odysa. J. 43, sqq. 

" Aristoph.VoBp.ia08. Atlien. 
V. 6, where tlie splendid roofs 
and omBiiicntE of the court ore 
mentioned. These om amenta, 
KpeKdtia, whatever they were, 
must huve been worth looking at. 
See the note of Casaubon, Ani- 
madv. in Athen, t. viii.p, 27, seq. 
Consult likewise the note on 
Aristophanes in Bekker's edition, 
t.iii. p. GOS. 

' Atlien. V. 7. Cf. Plat. Symp. 
t. iv. p. 371), et Xenoph. Conviv. 



Schwi 



Animadv. 
26, scq. 



Athen. v 

* Casaubon mentions this as a 
thing nala crudilie. Ad Theoph. 
Charact. p. 232 ; but we must not 
on that account pass it over. 
Alexis poetically deplores the 
miseries of the half-hour before 
dinner. Athen. i. 42. 

' There was in great houses 
a person whose duty it was to 
assign each guest his place at 
table, oyofiaMiTup, or nouiencla- 
tor. Athen. ii. 9P, 



ENTERTAINMENTS. 177 

took their places, in the earlier ages on chairs, but 
afterwards, when they hatl become familiar with the 
East, on rich sofas, arranged round the board.' Oc- 
casionally, however, even ao late as the age of Alex- 
ander," princes and other great men chose to adopt 
the ancient custom, and, on one occasion, that con- 
queror himself entertained four hundred of his offi- 
cers, when seats of wrought silver, covered with 
purple carpets, were provided for all. 

The manner of reclining on the divans was not 
a little ludicrous. For, at the outset, while the ap- 
petite was keen, they stretched themselves flat upon 
their stomachs, in order, I presume, to command 
the use of both hands, and putting forward their 
mouths towards the table looked like so many spar- 
rows with their open hills projecting over the nest. 
But this they could conveniently do only when they 
had a large space to themselves. When packed 
close, as usually they were, one man, the chief in 
dignity, throwing off his shoes,' placed himself on 
the upper end of the divan, that is, next the host, 
reclining on one elbow supported by soft cushions. 
The head of the next man reached nearly to his 
breast, — whence in Scripture, the beloved disciple 
18 said to recline on the bosom of Christ,* — while 
the feet of the first extended down Ijehind him. 
The third guest occupied the same position with 
respect to the second, and so on until five indivi- 
duals sometimes crowded each other on the same 
sofa. 

As the heaven of the poets was but a coloBsal 



' Plin. xxxiii. 51. xxxiv. 8. 

^ At moat sumptuouR enter- 
tainmenta tiuttri were employed 
who, at. in the Kast, made trial 
of the dbhsB betbro the guests, 
lest they ahould be poiaoned. 
Thene persona were called iUa- 
rpoi and rporiVflcu. Athen. iv. 
71. 

1 Sthol. AriBtoph. Eq. 823. 

VOL. 11. 



* John, xiii. 23. On tlie cush- 
ions, of which there was a great 
variety, »ee Pollux, vi. 9, where 
he reckons among them the vinjp- 
iatov, which Mitford confounds 
with the affKw^a, or leathern 
bags which closed the row-port of 
war-galleys round the oar, to pre- 
vent the influx ofsea-wnter. 



fiflbBV flf eaiA, »e ■■», &•■ the fvactire of the 
^1^ mtrr «fac talk jiaae tmm^ mortals, eren 
MfajH. m^fmtti I7 BO JSnet ImCuodj. Nov, in 
Hiva; «e Sad ^oia mad goddesses miDgling free- 
If tiptheg at ^e feaft. Zens Utkes the head of 
At f»Mp, Beit kim aits kis dsQgfater Athena, nhJIe 
Ae Biperiil Boa, as Qaeen of Heaven, takes pre- 
e e J e ae r of all the Ae Olvmpiaas, hj placing her- 
«lf at the head of the oerondanr dinnities, directly 
eyyonle ho* knbatid. On one oct^asion ve find 
Alheaa, the tjfo of hocpatalitj and politeness, rield- 
iag mf her seat of honour to Thetis, becanse, as an 
OaeaBHd, she vas sofnewfaat of a stranger in Oivm- 
pos.* Potter \a» discussed, with more learning than 
penpieDitT, the question of precedence at table. 
To render the matter perfectlj intelligible wonld 
rcfjuire a jOan of the dining-room; but wanting this, 
it may be observecl, that in I*er§ia the king, or host 
of wliftt^^vor rank, xnt in the middk'. while the gueats 
nmgiiil thoniw'lvi'fl «'()invlly on both sides of him. 

I" 'li« ''. Ilu' bottom of the tabk- was the end 

iii-xt Mm door. Hon* no i>iu« wit, it Ix-ing left open 
for lilt' wTvnntit to bring Iti and remove the dishes. 
I'Voru (IiIm )ioin(, 011 eitlier Hide, the Beats angment- 
I'd In vuiiit', anil i'oiiii(>i|nontly the post of greatest 
liuiionr wiu tlu< intdtllt' of the other extremity.* 
Tlniro wvw ltiom\ howover. who made no account 
ol' thp"o nmtloi'*. hut snflort>d their guests to seat 
Un'mm'ivcw n« they jderucd. Thi*! was the case with 
Tlmoii. who. liHviiig invited n very miscellaneous 
|wrly. miuld not ln> nt the pains to Wttlc the ques- 
tion of imntHlonee In'twivn them; but a |H>mi*ous 
tiuUvtduHl of nrlRtttcmiie prehensions. dn<«se<t like an 
RoUw, itn-ivtu^ Inle with a larjjw n^inue. and sunrcj- 
l«jt i1h> ^Htiit)<«uy I^\iti the do*>r. went away ^[a^ 
(^Iwtsrvit^*. thor*' wm n»> lit place left ft>r Hm. Upoa 
wKK'h tW j^(«wtx who, Mji nutans ranait^ mn 



I 



.IM 



IM.an«l>,T)Uk.K«<. 



J 



ENTERTAINMENTS. 



179 



fu gone ill tlieir cups, burst into shouts of laugli- 
ter, and hade him mako the best of hie way home.' 

Somt; jiersoiis observed a very different order, in 
arranging their guests, grouping those together whom 
they considered suited by age or temper to each 
other, in order by this contrivance to produce gene- 
ral harmony, — the vehement and im]>etuous being 
placed beside the meek and gentle, the silent be- 
side the talkative, the ripe and fuU and expansive 
minds beside those who were ready to receive in- 
structioD. But verj' often, as at Agathon's, those 
sat next each other, who were most intimately ac- 
quainted or united together by friendship; for thus 
the greatest freedom of intercourse with the bright- 
est sallies of convivial wit were likely to Ijo pro- 
duced. 

At length, however, we must imagine the guests 
in their places and every thing in proper train. The 
servants bring in first one well-covered table, then 
a second, then a third, till the whole room is filled 
with dainties. Brilliant lamps and chandeliers poured 
a flood of light over the crowned heads of the guests, 
over the piled sweetmeats, over the shining dishes, 
and all the baits with which the appetite is caught. 
Then, on silver paterae, cakes whiter than snow were 
served round. To these succeeded eggs, pungent 
herbs, oysters, and thrushes.' Next several dishes 
of rich eels, brown and crisp, sprinkled thickly with 
salt, followed by a delicious conger dressed with 
every rare device of cookery, calculated to delight 
the palate of the gods. Then came the belly of a 
large ray. roimd as a hoop ; dishes, containing, one 
some slices of a sea-dog. another garnished with a 
sparos, a third with a cuttie-fish, or smoking polypus 
whose logs were tender as a chicken. While the 
sight of these dainties was) feasting the eyes of the 

' Sympos. i. 2. 1. rich ipicM, formed a part of this 

' Probably also the mytloloa, course. Srliol. Arislopli, Actiam. 
a dish flavoured with garlic and 173. Vo«p. 62. 

N 2 



180 



ENTERTAINMENTS. 



guefftfi, tlie nose« of the experieuceil iufonned tbem 
of the approach of a synodon,' which perfumed the 
[laasagea all the way from the kitchen, and, flanked 
with calamaries, covered the whole table. Shrimps 
too were there in their yellow cuirasses, sweet in 
flavour as honey, with delicious varieties of pufT pas- 
try bordered with fresh green foliage.* The teeth 
of the parasites watered at the sight. But while 
deeply engaged in the discussion of these good things, 
in came some smoking slices of broiled thnnny, a mul- 
let fresh from the fish-kettle, with the teats of a 
young sow cooked en ragoM. 

Pleasure of all kinds being supposed to promote 
digestion, female singers, flute-playera and dancers, 
were meanwhile exercising their several arts for the 
entertainment of the guests. But as they paid very 
little attention to them till the rage of hunger was 
appeased, we shall imitate their example, and proceed 
with the gourmandize. One of the greatest accom- 
plishments a boon conipaniou could possess, was the 
|M>wer to seize with the fingers, and swallow hissing- 
hot, slices of grilled fish or morsels of Iamb or veal 
I ))roiled like kabobs, so as to be slightly bunit and 
' cracking extenially, while all the juice and flavour 
of the meat remained within. And the acquire- 
ment being highly important, great pains were taken 
to become masters of it. For this purpose some 
accustomed themselves daily to play with hot po- 
kers, others case-hardened their fingers by repeatedly 
dipping them in water as hot as they could bear, 
and gargled their throats with the same, while one 
fiimous gourmand, more inventive than the rest, hit 
upon tlic ingenious device of wearing metallic fin- 
gerlings with which he could have seized a kabob 
even from the gridiron. These proficients in the art 
of eating, an art practised indeed by all, but poa- 
Bessed in perfection by very few, enjoyed great 
tnntages over the ignorant and uninitiated. 



I 
I 



= Pollux, vi. 77. 



great ad- ^^m 
:ed. And ^^1 



ENTERTAINMENTS. 



181 



sccordiogly, when invited out, they generally succeeded 
in bribing the cook to send in all hie dishes hot as 
Phlegethon, that, while the more modest and inex- 
perienced guests sat gazing on, they might secure 
the best cuts, and come again before the others 
could venture on a mouthful, 

Among the articles served up in this scorchhig state 
were calf's pluck, pig's harslet, with the chine, the 
kidneys, and a variety of small hors-d'oeuvre. To 
these may be added the head of a eucking-kid which 
had tasted nothing but milk, baked between two 
dishes well luted together ; giblets boiled ; small, 
delicate hams with their white sward unbroken ; pigs' 
snouts and feet swimming in white sauce, which the 
gourmand Pbiloxenos thought a rare invention. 
Roast kid and lamb's chitterlings, or the same viands 
boiled, formed a suiiplement to the dishes above enu- 
merated, and were usually done so exactly to a turn, 
that even the gods, Bacchos for example, and Ilermcs, 
the parasites of Olympos, might have descended ex- 
pressly to wag their beards over them. But the Levant- 
ines have always been enamoured of variety in cook- 
ery. Lady Wortley Montague counted iifty dishes 
served up in succession at the Sultana Hafiten's table ; 
and this she-barbarian, with all her wealth, could 
never rival the variety of invention of ail ancient Eleian 
or Sicilian cook, who usually closed the list of his 
dainties with hare, chickens roasted to the gold-co- 
lour celebrated by Aristophanes, partridges, pheasants, 
wood-pigeons or turtle-doves, which your true gour- 
mand should eat in the Thebaid, immediately after 
the close of harvest. But the dinner was not yet 
over. Tliere still remained the dessert to be disposed 
of, consisting of pure honey from the district of the 
silver mines, curdled cream, cheese- tarts, and all 
that profusion of southern fruit of which we have 
already spoken.' 

It is a well-known rule among modern gourmands, 



' Atheii. iv. 28. There waa a 
iud of cheese, apparently much 
1 use, imporled from Gylliion, 



I Lnconia. Lucian. Diall. Ht- 



182 



ENTERTAINMENTS. 



that no man should utter a syllable at table till the 
first course is removed, and precisely the same regu- 
lation prevailed among the ancients, Silence, how- 
ever, was sometimes interrupted by the arrival of some 
wandering buffoon, who, after long roaming about in 
search of a dinner, happened, perha]»s, to be attracted 
thither by the wings and feathers ostentatiously scat- 
tered before the door. This sort of gentry required 
no introduction : they had only to knock and an- 
nounce themselves to ensure a ready welcome ; for 
most men would willingly part with a share of their 
supper to be made merry over the remainder. The 
Athenian demos was |ire-eminently of this Imraour. 
No king, in fact, ever kept up so large an establish- 
ment of fools by profession, or, which is much the 
same thing, of wits, — fellows who grind their under- 
standings into pointed jests to tickle the risible mus- 
cles and expand the moutlis of sleek junketters, who 
esteem nothing laeyond eating and grinning. 

At a feast given by Callias, the famous jester, 
Philip, a-kin in spirit, I trow, to him of Macedon, pre- 
sented himself in this way, and, on being admitted, — • 
" Gentlemen," said he, " you know my profession and 
" its pri^nleges, relying on which I am come unin- 
" vited, being a foe to all ceremony, and desiring to 
"spare you the trouble of a formal invitation." — 
" Take your place," replied the host ; " your company 
" was much needed, for our friends appear to be 
" plunged up to the chin in gravity, and would be 
" greatly benefited by a hearty laugh." ' 

In fiftct, the heads of the honest people were filled 
with very serious meditations, being all in love, and en- 
deavouring to discover how each might excel the other 
in absurdity. Philip began to fear, therefore, that he 
had carried his jests to a bad market, and, in reality, 
made many vain attempts to kindle the spirit of 
mirth, and call home the imaginations of persons who 
had evidently suffered tbem to stray as far as the 
clouds. Aware that success on this poiut was indi 



= Xenoph. Cdiiv. i. 13, H. 



I 



I 
J 



ENTERTAINMENTS. 



183 



to Ins subsistence, the jester grew piqued 
at the indifFereare of his hearers, and breaking off 
iu the uiidst of his supper, wrapped up his head in 
his chlaniys, and lay down like one about to die. 
" What, now !" cried Caltias. '■ Has any sudden |ianic 
"seized on thee, fritMid?" — "The worst possible, by 
"Zeus!" replied Philip; "for, since laughter, like 
" justice, has taken its leave of earth, my occupation 
" is gone. Hitlierto I have enjoyed some celebrity 
" in this way, living at tlie public expense, like the 
" guests of the Prytaneion, because my drollery was 
" effective, and could set the tabic in a roar. But it 
" is all over, I see, witli me now, for I might as soon 
" hope to render myself immortal as acquire serioua 
" habits." All this he uttered in a pouting, desponding 
tone, as if about to shed tears. The company, to 
humour the joke, undertook to comfort him, and the 
effect of their mock condolences, and assurances that 
they would laugh if he continued his supper, was so 
irresistibly ludicrous, that Autolychos. a youthful 
friend of Callias, was at length unable to restrain 
his merriment; upon which the jester took courage, 
and apostrophising his soul, informed it very gravely, 
that there would be no necessity for them to part 
company yet.' 

The Greeks had, properly speaking, no drawing- 
rooms, so that, instead of retreating to another 
part of the house, they had the tables themselves 
removed immediately after dinner. Libations were 
then poured out to Zeus Teleios, and having sung 
a hymn to Pbcebos Apollo, the amiuements of the 
evening commenced. Profesnioual singers and mu- 
sicians were always hired on these occasions. They 
were female slaves, selected in childhood for their 
beauty and budding talents, and carefully educated 
by their owners." When not already engaged, they 
stood in blooming bevies in the agora, waiting, like 
the Labourers of Scripture, until some one should 



' Xenoph- Conviv. I. 15. Iti. 



= Cf. Luc. Amor. § 10. Sdiol. 
rUlopli. Acham. 1058. 



184 



ENTERTAINMENTS. 



hire them, upon which tliey proceeded, dressed ana 
ornamented witli great elegance, to tlie house of 
feasting. But, besides these, there were other ar- 
tistes who contributed to the entertainment of the 
demos, persons that, like our Indian jugglers, per- 
formed wonderful feats by way of interlude between 
the regular exhibitions of the damsels from the agora.' 

Xenophon introduces into that living picture of 
Greek manners called the Banquet, a company of 
this kind. Finding Philip's jokes dull things, he 
brings upon the scene a strolling Syracusan, with 
a beautiful female flute-player, a dancing girl who 
could perform surpassing feats of activity, and a 
handsome boy, who, besides performing on the cithara, 
was likewise able, on occasion, to sport the toe like 
his female companions. 

But, where philosophers were present, amusements 
of this kind were not allowed to occupy their whole 
attention. Every thing that occurred was made a 
baiidle for conversation, so that discussions, more or 
less lively, according to the temperament or ability 
of the interlocutors, formed the solid ground-work 
upon which the flowers of gaiety and laughter were 
spread. It was usual, immediately after supper, to 
perfume the guests, and great was the variety of 
unguents, essences, and odorous oils, made use of 
by the rich and vain upon these occasions ; but when 
Callias proposed conforming to the mode in this 
particular, Socrates objected, observing, that the 
odour of honourable toil was perfume enough for a 
man.'' Women, indeed, to whom every thing sweet 
and beautiful naturally belongs, might, he admitted, 
make use of ])erfunie, and they did so most lavishly 
as we have already shown, when we entered their 
dressing-room and assisted at their toilette. 

The Greeks, however, were careful not to convert 



' The Indian jugglers them- 
Belvea became known to the 



Greeks in the age of Alexander, 
^lian. Vor. Hiat. vUi. 7- 
" Xen. Conv. ii. 4. 



ENTERTAINMENTS. 



185 



their pleasure-parties into a mere arena for the ex- 
liibition of dialectic power. They from time to time 
glanced at philosophy, but only by the way, in the 
moments of transition from one variety of recreation 
to another. Their conversation was now and then 
brought to a pause by the rising of dancing girls,' 
robed elegantly, as we behold thera still on vases 
and on bas-reliefs, in drapery adapted to display 
all the beauty of their forms. Hoops were brought 
them, and while musicians of their own sex called 
forth thrilling harmonies from the flute, they exe- 
cuted a variety of graceful movements, in part 
pantomimic, — now casting up the hoops, now catch- 
ing them as they fell, keeping tiino exactly with the 
cadences of the flute. Their skill in this accom- 
plishment was 80 great, that many were enabled to 
keep up twelve hoops in the air at the same time, 
while others made use of poniards,* 

When the novelty of this exhibition was worn 
off a little, other iHffbrent feats followed. A hoop 
stuck all round with upright swords was placed in 
the midst of the apartment, into which one of the 
dancing girls threw herself head foremost, and while 
standing on her head balanced the lower part of 
her body round over the naked points, to the infi- 
nite terror of the spectators. She would then dart 
fortli between the swords, and, with a single bound, 
regain her footing witliout the circle.' To add to 
the entertainment of the company, some parasitical 
buflbon would at times undertake to exhibit his 
awkwardness as a foil to the grace of the dancers, 
frisking about with the clumsy heaviness of a bear, 
and exaggerating his own ignorance of orchestics to 
excite a laugh. Sometimes the female dancer, like 
our own fair tumblers, would throw back her head 
till it reached her heels, and then putting herself 
in motion, roll about tlie room like a hoop,* To 



I Luciaii. Amur. § 10. 
' Arteinid. Onelrocril. i. 68, 
Xoii. Convitf. ii. 8. 



* Xcu, Conviv. ii. L'^. 



180 



BNTEHTAINMKNTS. 



these, as a relief and a change, would succeed, per- 
haps, a youth with fine rich Toice, who accompanied 
himself on the lyre with ii song. 

But nothing could entirely restrain the Greeks 
from indulging in the pleasure of listening to their 
own voices. The buzz of conversation would soon 
be heard in different parts of the room, which, 
when Socrates was preeeut, sometimes provoked 
from him a sarcastic reproof. For exami)Ie, at 
Callias's dinner, observiofr the conijiauy broken up 
into knots, each labouring at some particular ques- 
tion in dialectics, and filling the apartment with a 
babel of confused murmurs ; " As we talk all at 
" once," said he, " we may as well sing all at 
"once;" and without further ceremony he pitched 
hia voice and began a song.' 

But when professed jugglers happened to be pre- 
sent, gentlemen were not long abandoned to their 
own resources for amusement. Trick followed trick 
in rapid succession. To the pantomimic dances, and 
the sword circle, succeeded the exhibition of the 
potter's wheel, in which a young girl seated on this 
machine, like a little Nubian at a cow's-tail in a 
sakia, was whirled round with great velocity,'^ but 
retained so much self-possession as to be able both 
to write and to read. These, however, were merely 
sources of momentary wonder. Other amusements 
succeeded capable of exciting superior delight, such 
for example, as the mimetic dance, which, like that 
of the ghawazi, could tell a whole story of love, of 
adventure, of war, of religious frenzy and enthu- 
siasm, transporting by vivid representations the fancy 
of the spectators to warmer or wilder scenes, calling 
up images and reminiscences of times long past, or 
steeping the thoughts in poetical dreams, filled with 
the cavemed nymphs, the merry Seileni, tlie frisking 
satyrs, Bacchos, Pan, the Hours, the Graces, sport- 
ing by moonlit fountains, through antique woods. 



' Xen. Conviv. v 



^ Xen. Conviv. vii. 3. 



ENTERTAINMENTS. 



187 



or cm tlie shelled and sand-ribbed margin of the 
ocean.' 

On some occasions a slight dramatic scene was 
represented. Clearing the centre of the banqueting 
hall, the guests ranged themselves in order as at 
the theatre. A throne was then set up in the open 
space, and a female actor, representing Ariadne, en- 
tering, took her seat upon it, decked and habited 
like a bride, and supposed to be in her Thalamos at 
Naxos. Dionysos, wlio has been dining with Zeus, 
comes flushed with Olvnijnan nectar into the harem 
to the sound of the Bacchic flute, while the nymph 
who has heard his approaching footsteps makes it 
manifest by her behaviour that her soul is filled 
with joy, though she neither advances nor rises to 
meet him, hut restrains her feelings with difficulty, 
and remains apparently tranquil. The god, drawing 
near with impassioned looks, and dancing all the 
while, now seats himself, and places the fair one on 
his knee. Then, in imitation of mortal lovers, he 
embraces and kisses her, nothing loth ; for, though 
she hangs down her head, and would wish to ajK 
pear out of countenance, her amis find their way 
round his neck and return his embrace. At this 
the company, we may be sure, clapped and shouted. 
Tlie god, encouraged by their plaudits, then stood 
up with his bride, and going through the whole 
pantomime of courtship, not coldly and insipidly, 
but as one whose heart was touched, at length 
demanded of Ariadne if in truth she loved him. 
Sometimes the mimic scene concealed beneath it 
all the reahty of passion. From personating ena- 
moured characters, the youthful actor and his part- 
ner learned in reality to love ; and what was amuse- 
ment to others contained a deep and serious meaning 
for them. This, Xenophon says, was ttie case mtli 
the youth and maiden who enlivened the banquet 
of Callias. Ahsorhcd in the earnestness of their 



L 



' rial, de Legg. > 



ENTERTAINMENTS. 

feelings, tliey seem to have forgotten the presence 
of spectators, and instead of a stage representation, 
gave them a scene from real life, where every im- 
passioned look and gesture were genuine, and every 
fiery glance was kindled at the heart." 

This, however, may be considered a serious amuse- 
ment, and something like broad farce was necessary 
to awaken the guests from the reverie into which 
the love scene had plunged them. Jesters were, 
therefore, put in requisition ; and, as even they 
sometimes failed to raise a laugh, their more hu- 
morous brethren the wits and jesters of the forests, 
or, in the language of mortals, monkeys were called 
upou to dissipate the clouds of seriousness. These 
were the favourite buffoons of the Scythian Aua- 
charsis, — not the Abbe Barthelemy's, — who said, 
he could laugh at a monkey's tricks, because his 
tricks were natural, but that he found no amuse- 
ment in a man who made a trade of it." Nor 
could Euripides at all relish punsters and manu> 
facturers of jokes, whom he considered, with some 
reason, as a species of animal distinct from man- 
kind. 

Many there be who exercise their wits 

In pving birth, by cutting jeala, to laughter, 

I hate the knaves whuse rude unbridled toii)^ee 

Sport with the wise ; and cannot for my Uie 

Think they are men, though laughter doth become tlieiu, 

And they have houses tilled with treasured stores 

From diatanl lands.* 

But if Euripides found nothing desirable in laughter, 
there were those who had a clean contrary creed, 
and lamented nothing so much as the loss of their 
risible faculties. On this subject Semoa has a story 
quite a propos. Parmeniscos, the Metapontine, hav- 
ing descended, he says, into the cave of Trophonios, 
became so extremely grave, that with all the ap- 

' Xen, Conviv. is. 1 — 7- ■' Eurip. Fragni. Melanipp, 20. 

« Athen. xiv. 2. 



ENTERTATNSIENTS. 1 89 

pliances, and means to boot, furnished by wealth, 
and they were not a few, he thereafter found him- 
self quite unable to screw up his muscles into a 
smile; which taking much to heart, as was natural, 
he made a pilgrimage to Delphi, to inquire by what 
means he might rid himself of the blue devils. Some- 
what puzzled at the strangeness of the inquiry, the 
Pythoness replied, — 

Poor mortal unmeny, who Beekeat to know 

What will bid thy brow soften, thy quips and cranka flow. 

To the house of the mother I bid thee rupair — 

Thou wilt find, if she 'b pleased, what thy heart covets, there. 

Upon this, Parmeniscos Lastened homeward, hoping 
soon to enjoy a good laugh as the reward of his indus- 
try ; but, Bnding his features remain fixed as cast-iron, 
he began to suspect the oracle had deceived him. 
Some time after, being at Delos, he beheld with ad- 
miration the several wonders of the island, and, lastly, 
proceeded to the temple of Leto, expecting to find in 
the mother of Apollo something worthy of so great 
a divinity. But, on entering and perceiving, instead, 
a grotesque and smoky old figure in wood, he burst 
into an immoderate fit of laughter, whereupon the 
response of the oracle recurred to his mind, and he 
understood it ; and, being thus delivered from his 
infirmity, he ever after held the goddess in ex- 
trcmest reverence.' 

Even from this story, therefore, it will be seen 
liow highly " broad grins " were estimated in anti- 
quity, particularly at Athens, where there was a 
regular " Wits' Club," consisting of threescore mem- 
bers, who assembled during the Diomeia.' in the 
temple of Heracles. The names of several of these 
jovial mortals have corae down to us ; Maudro- 
genes, for example, and Strato, Callimedon, who. 
for some particular quality of mind or body, ob- 

' Athen, xiv. 2. 53. Elym. Mag. 277. 8*. 

■' Eustfllh. ad Hind, ^. p. 337. MeurB. Gr»c. Feriat. ii. 9G. 



190 



ENTERTAINMENTS. 



tained the sofjriquei of the Lobster, Deinias, Mna- 
sigeitoii, auil Mensechniog. Tim reputatiou of these 
gentlemen spread rapidly through the city, aiid, 
when a good thing had a run among the small wits, 
it was remarked, that " the Sixty had said that." 
Or, if a man of talent were asked, whence he came, 
he would answer, " From the Sixty," This was in 
the time of Demosthenes, when, unhappily, jesters 
were in more request in Athens than soldiers ; and 
Philip of Macedon, himself no mean buiToon, learning 
the excellent quality of their bon mots, sent them 
a present of a talent of gold, with a request that, 
aa public business prevented his joining the sittings 
of the club, they would make for his use a collec- 
tion in writing of all their smart sayings, which 
was, probably, the first step towards those reposi- 
tories for stray wit, called "Joe Millers," that form 
so indispensable a portion of a bon vivanfs li- 
brary.' 

But we are all this while detaining the company 
from their wine, and those other recreations which 
the fertile genius of the Greeks invented to make 
the wheels of life move smoothly. Though the tables, 
according to the fashion of the times, were removed 
with the solid viands, others were brought in to re- 
place them, on which the censers, the goblets, the 
silver or golden ladles for filling the smaller cups, 
were arranged in order.^ The chairman, or, as he 
was then called, the king of the feast,' enjoyed ab- 
solute power over his subjects, and could deter- 
mine better than their own palates, how much and 
how often each man should drink. This important 
functionary was not always identical with the en- 
tertainer, but sometimes his substitute, sometimes 

' Athen. xiv. 3. son were governed by a code of 

* Among the Etruscans these taws, the making and reforniBtion 

ladles were of bronze, and of ex- of which employed the wits of no 

treraely elegant form, the point less personages than Xenophanes, 

ending in a swan's or duck's Spensippos, and Aristotle. Athen. 

' The proceedings of this per- 



ENTERTAINMENTS. 



191 



a person clioseu by lot.' Cnpacious bowls of wine,-' 
mingled with water, were placed on a sideboard, 
whence cup-bearers, sometimes of one, sometimes 
«f the other sex, but always selected for their youth 
and beauty, filled, with ladles,'' the goblets of the 
guests, whioh. when the froth rose above the brira, 
were, by an obvious nietajihor, said to be crowned.* 
Among the Doric Greeks, female cui)-bearers seem 
to have been always preferred ; the Ptolemies of 
Egypt cherished the same taste ; and the people 
of Tareutum, themselvea of Doric race, passing 
successively through every stage of luxury, came, 
at length, to be served at table by beautiful young 
women without a vestige of clothing. In most 
cases, these maidens were slaves, but, in some coun- 
tries, and everywhere, in remoter ages, the perform- 
ance of such offices was not regarded as any way 
derogatory to persons of noble or princely blood. 
But, whatever might be their birth, beauty of form 
and countenance constituted their chief recommen- 
dation. For there is a language in looks and ges- 
tures, there is a fountain of joy and delight con- 
cealed deep in the pliysical structure, and its waters 
laugh to the eye of intellect, and reflect into the 
hearts of those who behold it a sunnincss and ex- 
hilaration greater than we derive from gating on the 
summer sea. Hence, Ilebe and Ganymede were 
chosen to minister at the tables of the gods, even 
Zeus himself* not disdaining to taste of the plea- 
sures to be derived from basking in the irradiations 
of beauty. 

When the goblets were all crowned with the 

bowU with garlauda. — jUneid. 
iii. 52,1, — Homer, however. 
crowns liis bowls only with 
wine.— n... 471. 

» Homer. Iliad, i. 2. y. 23S. 
0. 813. Odyaa-o. 327. Juven. 
Sat. V. 60. Cf. Philo. Jud. de 
Vit. Contempl. t. ii. p. 47tf. 
Mongey. 



' Herat. Od. ii. 7. 25. 

« Sthol. Aristoph. Eq. 1 1 83. 
Vedp, 1005. 

' Euatath. ad Iliad, y. p. 333. 
Schol. Aristoph. Veap, 855.— 
A specimen of these ladles (dpli- 
rait^i) occurs in Mus. Chiara- 
uiont. pi. 2. 

* Virgil actually wrealha the 



192 



ENTERTAINMENTS. 



nectar of earth, the Master of the Feast ' set the 
example of good-fellowship by drinking to his guests, 
beginning with the most distinguished.' Originally, 
custom required him who drank to the health of 
another to drain off his cup while his comrade did 
the same; but, in after ages, they sipped only a por- 
tion of the wine, and, as they still do in the East, 
l)re8ented the remainder to their friend. The latter, 
by the rules of politeness, was bound to finish the 
goblet, or, where the antique fashion prevailed, to 
drink one of equal eize.^ The Macedonians, who, 
probably^ excelled the Greeks in drinking, if in no- 
thing else, disdained small cups as supplying a very 
roundabout way to intoxication, and plunged into 
Lethe at once by the aid of most capacious bowls. 
Tt was customary, when the practice of passing round 
the goblet had been introduced, for the king of the 
feast to druik to the next man on his right hand, 
who, in his turn, drank to the next, and so on till 
the bowl had circulated round the board. But dif- 
ferent customs prevailed in the different parts of 
Greece. At Athens, small cups, like our wine- 
glasses, were in use; among the Chians, Thracians, 
aud Thessalians, nations more prone to sensual in- 
dulgences, the goblets were of larger dimensions ; 
but, at Sparta, where sobriety and frugality long 
flourished, the practice was to drink from diminu- 
tive vessels, which, as often as required, were re- 
plenished by the attendants.* 

Isocrates, in his exhortation to Demonicos, marks 
the distinction between the true and false friend, 
by observing, that, while the latter thinks only of 
those around him, the former remembers the absent, 
and makes his affection triumph over time and dis- 
tance. And the Greeks generally had this merit. 

cup was drunk to the Agathode- 
mon. — Schol. Ariatoph. Eq. 85. 
Athen. xv. 47. 



' There ■ 



: certain barba- 
rians, who, to cement their 
friendships, drank wine tinged 

with eaeti other's blood. — Athen, 
XV, 47. 

* Plut. Syinp. i. a. 2. The first § 13. 



* Athen. k. 39. Plut. Cleom, 



ENTERTAINMENTS. 193 

Amid the enjoyments of tlie festive boaH, they re- 
called to mtud the friends of other days ; aud, having 
first performed libations to the gods, those best and 
purest of friends, drank to the health aud prosperity 
of former associates, now far removed by circum- 
stances,' and this they did not in the mixed beve- 
rage which formed their habitual potations, but in 
pure wine.* There was something extremely deli- 
cate in this idea, for tacitly it intimated, that their 
love placed the objects of it almost on a level with 
their divinities, in whose honour, also, on these oc- 
casions, a small portion of the wine was spilt in 
libations^ upon the earth. The young, in whose 
hearts a mistress held the first place,* drank deeply 
in honour of their beloved, sometimes equalling 
the number of cups to that of the letters forming 
her name," which, if the custom prevailed so early, 
would account for JEgisthos's being a sot. Sometimes, 
however, taking the hint from the number of the 
Graces, they were satisfied witli three goblets ; but, 
when an excuse for drinking " pottle deep " was 
sought, they chose the Muses for their patrons, and 
honoured their mistresses' names with three times 
three." This is the number of cheers with which 
favourite political toasts are received at our public 
dinners, though every one who fills his bumper, and 
cries " hip, hip, hip. hurrah ! " on these occasions, 
is, probably, not conscious that he is keeping up an 
old pagan custom in honour of the Muses. 

The number four was in no favour at the drinking- 
table, not because it was an even number, for they 
sometimes drank ten, but because some old super- 
stition had brought discredit on it. Our very fox- 
hunters, however, exhibit an inferior capacity to many 

honour of Zeu9. — Scol. Pind. I«h. 
vi. 82. 

♦Thwcrit. Eidyll. xiv. 18, et 
Schol. 

* Mart. Epig. i. 78. 

^Horat. Od. iii. 19. II, *(]q. 
LambinuB in loc. p. 143. 



' Theoc. Eidyll. vJi. 69 

» Cieero in Venr. Act. ii. Oral, 
i. § 26, and A«con. Fedan. in 
loc. 

' Antiphon. Ace. Ncc. Ven. 
§ 3 — The third libation was in 

VOL. II. 



194 EliTERTAINMESTS. 

of tlie ancients in aSsirs of ttie bottle, tboogh when 
it is the poets who perform the feat, we may safely 
consider them to be simply regaling their fancies on 
"air-drawn" goblets, which cost nothing, and leave 
no head-aches behind them. On this subject there 
is a very pretty song in the Anthology, which Potter, 
following some old edition, completely misrepresents.' 
It deserves to be well translated, and I would trans- 
late it well if I could. The following at least pre- 
serves the meaning : 

Pout out len cups of the purple wine, 

To cromi Lycidjces channa divine; 

One for Euphiante, joun^ and fair. 

With the spsHcling eye anj the raven hair. 

Then ! love Lycidice more, you say ? 

By Ihit foaming goblet I say ye nay. 

More valued than len is Euphrante to me, 

For, aa when the heavens unclouded be. 

And the stars are crowding far and nigh 

On the deep deep blue of the midnight sicy. 

The moon is still brighter and lovelier far 

Than the loveliest pknet or brightest star ; 

So, ' mid the stare of thii earthly sphere, 

None are so lovely or half so dear 

As to me Is Euphrant^ young and fair, 

With the sparltiing eye and the raven hair.' 

But the Macedonians entertained no respect for 
poetical goblets : they loved to sceut their moustachios 
with the aroma of the real rosy wine when it sparkled 
in the cup. — when it moved itself aright, as the wise 
king of Judah expresses it. Plutarch describes briefly 
one of their drinking-bouts which took place on the 
evening of the day wherein old Kalanos, the Hindu 
Yoghi, burnt himself alive to eBcajm the colic. 
Alexander, on-retuniing from the funeral pile, in- 
vited a number of his friends and generals to sup 
with him, and, proposing a drinking contest, appointed 
a crown for tlie victor. Prodigious efforts were made 
by all present to achieve so enviable a triumph ; but 
the man who proved himself to possess the most 
capacious interior waa Promachos, who is said to have 




394, te-i. c Marc. Argent, ap. Anlhol. Grec. ' 



'I M 

J 



ENTEKTAINMENTS. 



195 



swallowed upwards of two gallons. He obtained 
the prize, whicli was a golden crown, valued at a 
talent, but died within three days.' Chares, the Mity- 
leniaiif relates the matter somewhat diiierently. Ac- 
cording to him, Alexander celebrated funeral games 
in honour of Kalaiios, at his barrow, where horse- 
races and gymnastic contests took place,- and a poeti- 
cal encomium was pronounced upon the Yoghi, who, 
like the rest of his countrymen, was, doubtless, a 
great toper, and thence the drinkiiig-match instituted 
in the evening. Chares says tliere were three prizes ; 
the first, in value, a talent ; the second, thirty minae. 
or about a hundred and twenty pounds sterling ; the 
third, three mina?. The number of aspirants is not 
stated, but thirty-five (Plutarch says forty-one) perish- 
ed in cold shiverings on the spot, and six more died 
shortly after in the tents.' 

Numbers have celebrated the military genius of 
Alexander; but Athenxus alone has given him due 
credit for his truly royal power of drinking. Like 
his father, Philip, who, in his jolly humour, ruffled 
the Athenian dead at Cha?ronea, where he could 
safely beard the fallen republicans. Alexander delight- 
ed to spend his evenings among drunken roysterers. 
whose chief ambition consisted in making a butt of 
their bowels. One of these worthies was Proteas, 
the Macedonian mentioned by Ephippos, in his work 
on the sepulture of Alexander and Hephjestion. He 
was a man of iron constitution, on which wine, what- 
ever quantity he drank, appeared to make no im- 
pression. Alexander, knowing this, loved to pledge 
him in huge bowls, such as none, perhaps, but them- 
selves could cope with. This he did even at Baby- 
^m Ion, where the climate suffers few excesses to lie 

^B indulged in with impunity. Taking a goblet more 
^M Uke a pail than a drinking-cup, Alexander caused it 
^M to be crowned with wine, which, having tasted, he 
^1 presented the bowl to Proteas. The veteran imme- 



196 



ENTERTAINMENTS. 



diately drained it otF, to the great amusement of 
the company, and presently afterwards, desiring to 
pledge the king, he filled it up again, and sipping 
a little, according to custom, passed the bowl to 
Alexander, who, not to be outdone by a subject, 
forthwith drank the whole. But if he possessed 
the courage, he wanted the physical strength of 
Proteas: the goblet dropped from his hand, his 
head sank on a pillow, and a fever ensued of which 
the conqueror of Persia, and the rival of Proteas 
in drinking, died in a few days.' 

But to return from these barbarians : as the 
presence of sober persons must always be felt by 
hard drinkers to be a tacit reproach, it was one 
of the rules of good fellowship, that all such as 
Joined not in the common potations should depart. 
" Drink, or begone ! " said the law, and a good 
one in Cicero's opinion it was, for if men expe- 
rienced no disposition to join in the mirth and 
enjoyment of the company, what had they to do 
there ? ' 

From the existence of these rules, however, an 
inference has been drawn unfavourable to the Greek 
character, as if, because some were merry, the na- 
tion generally must of necessity have been wine-bib- 
bers.^ But this is scarcely more logical than the 
reasoning of a writer, who, because the comic poets 
speak chiefly of the mirth and lighter enjojTnents 
of the Athenians, very gravely concludes that they 
busied themselves about little else. Tlie truth 
is, that Hke all ardent and energetic people, they 
threw their whole souls into the affair, whether 
serious or otherwise, in which they happened to 
be engaged ; and besides, while the careftil and in- 
dustrious applied themselves to business, there was 
always an abundance of light and trifling people 
to whom eating and drinking constituted a serious 
occupation. 

> Athen. x. 44. "■ Tuscul. QuteiU li. 41. ^ Potter, ii. 806. 



CHAPTER VI. 



ENTERTAINHGNTS. 



The man upon the creations of whose art the 
principal enjoymente of Greek gourmands were based 
was the cook,' whose character and achievements 
ought not perliaps to be entirely passed over. We 
are, indeed, chiefly indebted for our informatiou to 
the comic poeta; but, in spite of some little exag- 
geration, the likeness they have bequeathed to us 
is probably upon the whole pretty exact. 

The Athenian cook was a singularly heterogeneous 
being, something between the parasite and the pro- 
fessed jester ; he was usually a poor citizen, with 
all the pride of autochthonei'ty about him, who 
considered it indispensable to acquire, besides his 
culinary lore, a smattering of many other kinds of 
knowledge, not only for the purpose of improving 
his soups or ragouts, but in order, by the orations 
he pronounced in praise of himself, to dazzle and 
allure such persons as came to the agora in search 
of an artist of his class. Of course the principal 
source of his oratory lay among pots and frying- 
pans, and the wonders effected by his art. Pliile- 
mon hits off with great felicity one of these wor- 
thies, who desires to convey a lofty opinion of him- 
self,— 

" How rtTOng is my dcgire Tore earth and heaven. 
To tell how daintily I cooked liia dinner 
'Ounit hia return ! By all Athena's owli ! 



■ On famouB CoolcR see Mux. Tyr. Dissert, 
vi. 70, Bcq. Athen. Ui. 60. 



ENTERTAINMENTS. 

"Tib no unpleasant tiling to hit the mark 

On all occasions. What a fish had I — 

And ah ! how nicely fried ! Not all bedevilled 

With cheese, or browned atop, but though well done^ 

Looking alive, in its rare beauty dressed. 

With skill so exquisite the fire I tempered. 

It seemed a joke to say that it was cooked. 

And then, just fancy now you sec a hen 

Gobbling a morsel much too big to swallow ; 

With bill upMed round and round she runs 

Half choking; while the rest are at her heels 

Clucking for shares. Just so 'twas with my soldiers; 

The first who touched the dish upstarted he 

Whirling round in a circle like the hen, 

Eating and running ; but his jolly conumles, 

Each a fish worshiper, soon joined the dance. 

Laughing and shouting, snatching some a bit. 

Some missing, till like smoke the whole had vanished. 

Yet were they merely mud-fed river dabs ; 

But had some splendid Bcaroa graced my pan, 

Or Attic glaucisk, or, saviour Zeus I 

Kapros from Argos, or the conger eel, 

Which old Poseidon exports to Olympos, 

To be the food of gods, why then my guests 

Had rivalled those above, I have, in fact. 

The power to lavish immortality 

On whom 1 please, or, by my potent art. 

To raise the dead, if they hut snuff my dishes ! " ' 

This honest fellow, in the opinion of Athenaeus, 
exceeded in boasting even that Menecrates of Sy- 
racuse, who for his pride obtained the surname of 
Zeus ; he was a physician, and used vauntingly to 
call himself the arbiter of life to mankind. He 
is supposed to have possessed some specific against 
epilepsy ; but being afflicted with a vanity at least 
equal to his skill, he would undertake no one's 
cure unless he first entered into an agreement to 
follow him round the country ever after as his 
slave, which great numbers actually did. Nicos- 
tratos, of Argos, one of the persons so restored, 
travelled in his train habited and equipped like 
Heracles; others personated Asclepios, and Apollo, 
while Menecrates himself enacted in this fantastic 

I Alhen. vii. 32. 



ENTERTAINMENTS. 199 

masquerade the part of Zeus ; and, as the actors 
say, he dressed the cliaractcr well, wearing a jmrple 
robe, a golden crown upon his head, sandals of the 
most magnificent descrijitiou, and beai-ing a sceptre 
in his hand.' 

But whatever might have been the conceit of 
our Syracusan physician, there were tliose among 
the cooking rat-L', who certainly lagged not far be- 
hind him. They usually stunned such as came to 
hire them with reciting tJieir own praises, laying 
claim to as much science and philosopliy as would 
have sufficed to set up two or three sophists. In 
fact, to take them at their word, there was no- 
thing which they did not kuow, nothing which they 
could not do. Painting they professed to compre- 
hend as profound connoisseurs, and, no doubt, the 
soles they fried tasted all the better for the accom- 
plishment. In astronomy, medicine, and geometry, 
they appear to have made a still greater profi- 
ciency than Iludibraa, notwithstaadiug that — 

" In malbeinatica he was greater 
Than Tycho Brahe, or Erra Pater ; 
For he by geometric scale 
Could take the size of poU of ale ; 
DiKem by sines and tangents strait 
If bread and butter wanted weight ; 
And wisely tell what hour o" the day 
The clock does strike by algebra." 

In all this he was a fool to the Athenian cooks ; 
for, by the help of astronomy, they could tell when 
mackerel was in season, and at what time of the 
year a haddock is better than a salmon. From 
geometry they borrowed the art of laying out a 
kitchen to the best advantage, and how to hang 
up the gridiron in one place, aud the ponidge-pot 
in another. To meiiicinc it is easy to see how 
deeply they must have been indebted, since it not 
only taught tbcDi what meats are wholesome, and 

" Alhen. vii. 3a. 



200 



ENTERTAINMENTS. 



what not, but also enabled tbeni by some sleight of 
art to (limiiiish the appetite of those voracious para- 
sites, who when they dined out ajipeared to have 
stomachs equal in capacity to the great tun of 
Heidelberg,' 

Many individuals, half guests, half parasites, used 
to extract considerable matter for merriment out 
of the dinner materials, that they might render 
themselves agreeable, and bo invited again. Thus 
Charmos, the Syracusan, used to convert every dish 
served at table into an occasion for reciting poeti- 
cal quotations or old proverbs, and sometimes, per- 
haps, suffered the fish to cool while he was display- 
ing his erudition. He had always civil things to 
say both to shell-fish and tripe, so that a person 
fond of flattery might have coveted to be roasted, 
in order that his shade might be soothed with this 
kind of incense, which even Socrates allowed was 
not an illiberal enjoyment. It was, however, a 
common custom among parasites to make extracts 
from the poets and carry them in portfolios to the 
tables of their patrons, where they recited all such 
as appeared to be « propos. In this way the above 
Charmos obtained among the people of Messina the 
reputation of a learned man, and Calliphanes,' son 
of Parabrycon,' succeeded no less ingeniously by 
copying out the first verses of various poems, and 
reciting them, so that it might be supposed he 
knew the whole. 

Cleanthes, of Tarentum, always spoke at table 
in verse, so likewise did the Sicilian Pamphilos ; 
and these parasites, travelling about with wallets 
of poetry on their backs, were everywhere wel- 
comed and entertained, which might with great 



L p. 1S61. c. 



' Athen. vii. S7- 

' Suidas ii 

> Athen. i 
" aiTof, et impa^aTftrijc vel Ttipa- 
" fia/rvrriii: convivam denotat iii- 
" vocatiun, qui abaquo Bymbolti 



"ad convivium venit; sic nomen 
"rapaflpuKuf (i verbo flpv-cu, 
" mordeo, rodo, deglutio) eum- 
" dem habet signilicatuin." — 

Scheigh. Aniiuadv. t. vi. p. Si. 



ENTERTAINMENTS. 



201 



propriety bave been adduced by Ilgen ' amoiig 
his other proofs of the imaginative character of the 
Greeks. 

ArchestratoB, the Syraeuean, belonged no doubt to 
this class. He composed an epic poem on good eating, 
which commenced with recommending that no com- 
pany, assembled for convivial enjoyment, should ever 
exceed four,* or at moat five, otherwise he said 
they would rather resemble a troop of banditti than 
gentlemen. It had prolmbly escai>ed him, that there 
were twenty-eight guests at Plato's banquet. Anti- 
phanes, after observing that the parasites had lynx's 
eyes to discover a good diimer though never invited, 
immediately adds, that the republic ought to get up 
an entertainment for them, upon the same principle 
that during the games an ox' was slaughtered some 
distance from the course at Olympia, to feast the 
flies, and prevent them from devouring the spec- 
tators. 

Besides Archcstratos, tlierc were several other cele- 
brated gastronomers among the ancients. Of these 
the principal were Timachidas, of Rhodes, who wrote 
a poem in eleven books on good eating,* Noume- 
nios, of Heraelea, pupil to the physician Dieuches, 
Metrcas, of Pitana, the parodist Hegemon, of Thasos, 
Bumamed the Lentil, by some reckoned among the 
poets of the old comedy, Philoxenos, of Leucadia, 
and a second Philoxenos, of Cythera, who composed 
his work in hexameter verse. The fonner, after 
chaunting the eulogium of the kettle, comes never- 
theless to the conclusion at last, that superior merit 
belongs to the fryiug[>an. He earnestly recommended 
truffles to lovers, but would not have them touch the 



■ De Scol. Poes. p. 8. 

« Athen. i. 7. 

' Alhen. i. 7. This ox was 
aacrificed to Zeus the Fly-Choier, 
in order to prevail on him to drive 
tlie swarms of insects, by which 
the spectators were incoiiuiioded, 



beyond the Alpheios. Cf. Plin. 
Nat. Hist, z. 40. ix. 3». Pau- 



on. De Nat. Animnl. 



* Athen. i. S. Suidos. v. Ti/ta- 
Xicac. t. i. p. S39, »eq. 



-202 



ENTERTAINMENTS. 



barbel. His anger burst forth with great vehemence 
against those who cut in pieces tish which shouht 
be served up whole; and, though he admits that a 
[Tolypus may occasionally be boiled, it was much 
better, be says, to fry it. From this man the Phi- 
loxenian cakes derived their name; and he it is whom 
Chrysippos reproaches with half scalding his fingers 
in the wann bath and gargling his throat with hot 
water, in order that he might be able to swallow 
kabobs hissing from the cotils.' He likewise used, 
at the houses of his friends, to bribe the cooks to 
bring up everything fiery hot, that he might help 
liimself before any one else could touch them. A 
kindred gourmand, in the poet Krobylos, exclaims: 
" My fingers are insensible to fire like the Dactyls 
" of Mount Ida. And ali ! how delightful it is to 
"refresh ray throat with the crackling flakes of 
" broiled fish ! Oh I am in fact an oven, not a 
" man ! " 

According to Clearchns it was this same Philos- 
enoB, who used to maraud about rich men's houses, 
followed hy a number of slaves laden with wine, 
vinegar, oil, and other seasonings. Wherever he 
smelled the best dinner be dropped in unasked, and 
slipping slily among the cooks, obtained their permia- 
flion to season the dishes they were preparing, after 
which he took his place among the guests where he 
fed like a Cyclops. Arriving once at Ephesos, by 
sea, be found, upon inquiry in the market, that all 
the best fish had been secured for a wedding feast. 
Forthwith he bathed, and repairing to the house of 
the bridegroom, demanded permission to sing the 
Epithalamium. Every one was delighted ; they could 
do no less than invite him to dinner. And " Will 
you come again to-morrow?" inquired the generous 
host. " If there be no fish in the market," replied 
Philosenos. It was this gourmand who wislied 
nature had bestowed on man the neck of the 






he fl 



ENTERTAINMENTS. 



203 



crane that the pleasure of swallowing might he pro- 
longed.' 

Pithyllos, another parasite, sumameil "the Dainty," 
not content with the niombrane which nature has 
spread over the tongue, superinduced artificially a 
sort of mucous covering, which retained for a con- 
siderable time the flavour of what be ate,' To pro- 
long his luxurious enjoyment as much as possible, 
he afterwards scraped away this curious coating with 
a fish. Of all ancient gounnands he alone is said 
to have made use of artificial finger-points, that he 
might be enabled to seize upon the hottest mor- 
sels. An anecdote so good as to have given rise 
to many modem imitations, is related of Philoxenoa, 
of Cythera. Dining one day with Dionysios, of Syra- 
cuse, he observed a large barbel served up to the 
prince, while a very diminutive one was placed be- 
fore him. Upon this, taking up the little fish, he 
held it to his ear and ajipeared to be listening at- 
tentively. Dionysios, expecting some humorous ex- 
travagance, made a point of inquiring the mean- 
ing of this movement, and Philoxenos replied, that 
happening just then to think of his Galatea,^ he 
was questioning the barbel respecting her. But as 
it makes no answer, said he, I imagine they have 
taken him too young and that lie does not under- 
stand me. I am persuaded, however, that the old 
fellow they have placed before your majesty must 
know all about it. The king, amused by his inge- 
nuity, immediately sent him the larger fish which 
he soon questioned effectually.* 

But the Athenians were not reduced to depend 
for amusement at table upon the invention of these 



' Suid.inv.*.Xo£.t.ii.p.l058. 
c. Athen. i. 10. 

^ Athen. i. 10. Suid. v. H,- 
6vU. t. ii. p. 526. c. 

* Making allusion perhaps to 
hia love for tialateaj the uustniM 



of DionysioB. Athen. i. II. 
>F.lian. Vor. Hist. xii. 44. Scliul. 
Aristopli. Plut. 290. 

•Athen. i. 11. Sev another 
anecdote of I his gourinand in 
/KUan. Var. Hist. x. 9. 



SM ENTERTAINMENTS. 

humble couipauions. They knew how, when occa- 
sion required, to entertain themselves, and, in the 
exuberance of their hilarity, descended for this pur- 
pose to contrivances almost infantine. They posed 
each other with charades, enigmas, conundrums, and, 
Bometiniee, in the lower classes of society, related 
stories of witches, lamias, mormos, and other hob- 
goblins believed in by the vulgar of all nations. 
Among persons engaged in public atfairs the ex- 
citement of political discussion was often, of course, 
intermingled witli their more quiet pleasures.' But 
with this we have, just now, nothing to do, uor 
with the enigmas which we shall describe anon. 
There was another and more elegant practice ob- 
served by the Greeks at convivial meetings, which, 
though not peculiar to them, has nowhere else, per- 
haps, prevailed to the same extent, — I mean tlie in- 
troduction of music and the singing of songs,* light, 
graceful, and instinct with wit and gaiety, to the 
barbitoB or the lyre. 

Among the Greeks, generally, the love of music 
and poetry seemed to be a spontaneous impulse of 
nature. Almost every act of life was accompanied 
by a song, — the weaver at bis loom, the baker at 
his kneading-trough, the reaper, the " spinners and the 
knitters in the sun," the drawer of water, even the 
hard-working wight who toiled at the mill, had hie 
peculiar song, by the chaunting of which he lightened 
his labour. The mariner, too, like the Venetian 
gondolier, sang at the oar, and the shepherd and 
the herdsman, the day-labourer and the swineherd, 
the vintager and the husbandman, the attendant 
in the baths, and the nurse beside the cradle. It 
might, in feet, be said, that from an Hellenic Til- 
lage music arose as from a brake in spring. Their 
sensibilities were tremblingly alive to pleasure. 
Tliere was elasticity, there was balm in their atmo- 



' Aiistoph. Aves. 1169. h^^- 



= Sch. Aristoph. Eq. 403. 



,tmo- ^m 



ENTERTAINMENTS. 



205 



re, and joy and freedom iu their souls. — How 
could they do other than sing ? 

But, if music and poetry thus diffiised their de- 
lights over the industry of the laborious, it was 
quite natural that where men met solely for enjoy- 
ment, these hest handmaids of enjoyment should not 
be absent. Accordingly, we find that while the 
goblet circulated, kindling the imagination, and un- 
bending the mind, the lyre was brought in and a 
song called for. Nor was the custom of recent 
date. It prevailed equally in the heroic ages, and, 
like many other features of Greek manners, derived 
its origin from religion. For, in early times, men 
rarely met at a numerous banquet, except on occa- 
sion of some sacrifice, when hymns in honour of the 
gods constituted an important part of the ceremo- 
nies. Thus Homer, describing the grand expiatory 
rites by which the Acha;an host sought to avert the 
wrath of Apollo, oI>Berve8, that they made great 
feasts, and celebrated the praises of the god amid 
their flowing goblets.' 

Yet, though the theme of those primitive songs 
may have been at first serious, it was, probably, not 
long before topics better adapted to festive meet- 
ings obtained the preference. At all events, they 
soon came to Imj in fashion. The first step appears 
to have been from the gods to the heroes, whose 
achievements, being sometimes tinged with the ludi- 
crous, opened the door to much gay and lively de- 
scription. And these convivial pleasures,' so highly 
valued on earth, were, with great consistency, trans- 
ferred to Olympos, where the immortals themselves 
were thought to heighten their enjoyments by songs 
and merriment. 

In the ages following, the art of enhancing thus the 
delights of social intercourse, so far from falling into 

■ Iliad, a. 492, ftqq. Ilgen, ' Canf. Odyss. 8. 73, iqq. n. 

Disq. de Scot. Poea. p. 55. I5i. 350. 



206 



ENTERTAINMENTS. 



neglect, grew to be more than ever cultivatetl. Even 
tlic greatest men, beginning from the Homeric Achilles, 
disdained not to sing. They did not, aays a jndicious 
and learned writer, consider it suiRcient to perform 
deeds worthy of immortality, or to be the theme of 
poets and musicians, or so far to cultivate their miuds 
as to be able to relish and appreciate the songs of 
others, bnt included music witliin the circle of their 
own studies, as an accomplishment without which no 
man could pretend to be liberally educated. For this 
reason it was objected by Stesimbrotoe, as a reproach 
to Cimon, that ho was ignorant of music, ami every 
other gentlemanly accomplishment held in estimation 
among the Greeks;' and even Themistocles himself 
incurred the charge of rusticity, because, when chal- 
lenged at a party, he refused to play on the citliara.* 

A different theory of manners jirevailed among the 
Romans, who, like tlie modem Turks, considered it 
unbecoming a gentleman to sing, lint to the Greeks, 
a people replete with gaiety and ardour, and whose 
amusements always partook largely of poetry, music 
presented itself under a wholly different aspect, and 
was so far from appearing a mean or sordid study, 
that no branch of education was held in higher honour, 
or esteemed more efficacious in promoting tranquillity 
of mind, or polish and refinement of manners. The 
lyre ia accordingly said, by Homer, to be a divine 
gift, designed to be the companion and friend of 
feasts, where it proved the source of numerous advan- 
tages. In the first place, jMjrsons too much addicted 
to the bottle found in this instrument an ally against 
their own failing, for, whether playing or listening, 
a cessation from drinking was necessarily effected. 
Rudeness also and violence, and that unbridled au- 
dacity commonly inspired by wine, wore checked by 
music, which, in their stead, inspired a pleasing exalt- 

r, we find Cimon repre- 



' Plut. Cim. § 4. Afterwards, liov 
Bcnted OB sin^ng with great Bkill. § !). 

* Cicero, Tuacul. QueebI. i. 2, Cf. Ilgen. De Scol. Poes. p. 63. 



I 
I 



J 



ENTERTAINMENTS. 



207 



ation of mind, and joy free from all admixture of 
)>a«»ion.' 

It has already been observed tbat the convivial 
song soon divested itself of its religious and sombre 
character; for, as parties are made up of persons dif- 
fering extremely in taste and temperament, it neces- 
sarily happened that when each was required to sing, 
much variety would bo found tn the lays, which gene- 
rally assumed a festive and Jocund air. Hymns in 
honour of the goda were more sparingly introduced,' 
nor was much stress laid on the praises of heroes;^ 
the spirit of joviality moulded itself into 



Every one poured forth what the whim of the mo- 
ment inspired, — jokes, love-songs, or biting satires, 
with the freedom and fertility of an improvisatore.* 

Tliosc convivial songs were divided by the ancients 
into several kinds, with reference eometinics to their 
nature, sometimes to the manner in which they were 
ctiaunted : the most remarkable they denominated Sco- 
lia, or zig-zag songs,* for a reason somewhat difficult of 
explanation. Several of the later Greek wTiters ap- 
pear to have been greatly at a loss to account for 
the appellation, which is, no doubt, a singular one ; 
hut the learning and diligence of Ilgen^ may be 
said to have fully resolved this curious question. 
After determining the antiquity of tlie Scolion, which 
Pindar ' supposes to have been an invention of Ter- 

' Athen. xiv. 24. Ilgen, Disq. 
De gcol. Poei. p. 64. 

' The hymn, for example, in 
honour of Pallas wai, in all ages, 
tung. Sch.Aristoph. Nub. 954. 

* Of Harmodios, for example, 
and AnBtogeiton. Sch. Aristoph. 
Acham. 94S. Sec Ilgen, DiBq. de 
Scol. Poe«. p. 69. 

' Conf, Horn. Hymn, in Henn. 



52, sqq. Find. Olymp. i. 24. 



^ Poll. vi. 108, with the notea 
of Seberand Jimgermann, t. v. p. 
142. 

• Who has publiahed a eollop- 
tion of these songs, accompanied 
by very interesting and instruc- 
tive notes. Ij:oXla- hoc est, Car- 
mina Convivalia Orwconim. Je- 
nw, 1 798. 

' Apud Plut. de Uunca, $ 28. 



208 



ENTERTAINMENTS. 



pander, or, at least, the verses of the song, but wliich 
Ilgcn dates as far back as the heroic period, he ob- 
serves, that the name itself was known in very remote 
ages, since they formed a separate class among the 
works of Pindar, and are mentioned by Aristophanes i 
and Plato,' and that, like the Cyclic cliorus, it arose 
out of the circumstances under which it was sung. 
For as this chorus was called Cyclic, or circular, be- 
cause chamited by persons moving in a circle round 
the altar of Bacchos, bo the Scolion, or zig-zag song,* 
received its name from the myrtle branch, or the 
cithara, to which it was sung, being passed from one 
guest to another in a zig-zag ' fashion, just as those 
who possessed the requisite skill happened to sit at table. 
To render this explanation perfectly intelligible, 
it will, perhaps, be necessary to describe succinctly 
the whole process of singing in company. At first, 
it has been conjectured, when manners were rude, 
and the language still in its infancy, singing, like 
I dancing, required no great art, and was little more 
[ than those wild bursts of melody still common among 
I the improvisatori of Arabia and other Eastern coun- 
[ tries, but that from these humble beginnings lyrical 
I poetry took its rise, preserving still the freedom of 
[ its original state, and rising, unshackled by the rigid 
I laws of metre, to heights of sublimity and grandeur 
E beyond which no human composition ever soared. 
[ By degrees some complex forms of verse obtained 
[ the preference, — such, for example, as those of Sappho 
[ and Alcffios, — and fixed and definite laws of metre 
were established. 



' Find. Frapn, Diseen. t. i, p. 

284, with the Commentary, t. ii, 

■ p.639,8qq. AnBtoph.Vesp. 1223, 

I I«40. Acham. 532. Pac. 130S. 

[ Hat.Gorg. t.iii. p. 13. Bekk. 

> SuidaB, T. ITKOXIOV, t. ii. p. 

759, e. sqq. Elym. Mag. 718, 
SS, sqq. Eustath. od Odyes. >j. 
276, 40. 

* Mr. Miiller, however, disap- 



proveB of this etymology. " It 
" IB much more IJJcely,' he wyi, 
" that in the melody to which 
" the scolia were sung, certain 
" libertiee and irregularitieg were 
" pennitted, by which the ex- 
" tempore execution of the aong 
" was faciiitaled." — History of 
Greek Literature, pt. i, chap. xiii. 
§ 16, seq. 



J 



EXTERTAINMENTS. 209 

The Scolion, however, always preserved something 
of its original spoiitaneons character, at least in ap- 
pearance, and the same thing may be predicated of 
all their festive lays. But before they gave loose to 
their gaiety, the deep religious sentiment M'hioh per- 
vaded the whole nation required a pa;an, or hymn, 
to be sung in honour of the gods, and in this every 
person present joined.' While thus engaged, each 
guest, it is supposed, held in his hand a branch of 
laurel, the tree sacred to Apollo.- To the psean suc- 
ceeded another air, which all present sang in their turn, 
holding this time a branch of myrtle,' which, like 
the laurel bough mentioned above, was called aisakos, 
or the " branch of song."* The singing commenced 
with the principal guest, to whom the symposiarch 
or host delivered the Cithara* and a^sakos, demanding 
a song, which, according to the laws of the table, no 
one could refuse. Having performed his part, the 
einger was, in turn, entitled to call npon his neigh- 
bour, beginning on the right hand, and delivering to 
him the Cithara and the myrtle branch. The se- 
cond, when he had smig, handed it then to the 
third, the third to the fourth, and so on until the 
whole circle of the company bad been made. It 
sometimes happened, though not often, that among 
the guests an individual, unskillsd in instrumental 
music, was found, and, in this case, he sang without 
accompaniment, holding the sBsakos in his hand." 

The poets who had the honour thus to cheer the 
convivial hours of the Greeks were, in remoter times, 
Simonides and Steeichoros, and, probably, Anacreon, 
with others of the same grade;' and, if we may 
credit Aristophanes, songs were also selected from 
the plays of iEschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, as 



' Plul. Symp. i. 1. Alhen, xiv. 

' Hegych. v. ^aaxos, ap. llgen. 
DeScol. Poes. p. 154. 

' Sch. Aristoph. Nub. 1339, 
1346. 

VOL. II. 



* Potter, Antiq. ii. +03. 

» Scol. Aristoph. Nub. 1337, 
seq. 

« rigen, De Scho!. Poei. p. 136. 

I Ariatoph. Nub. 1858. Conf. 
Schol. ad VeBp. 1 323. 



210 ENTERTAINMENTS. 

among ouraelves from Sliakespeare, Beaumont an< 
Fletctier, or Ben Jonaon. It may even be inferred 
that passages from Homer himself ' were sung ou 
these occasions ; or, if not sung, they were certainly 
recited by rhapsodists introduced for the purpose into 
the assembly, who, holding a laurel branch while thus 
engaged, proliably gave rise to the practice of passing 
round the myrtle bough. This branch, therefore, 
whether of myrtle or laurel,- constituted a part of a 
singer's apparatus. The latter was originally choeen 
as sacred to Apollo, the patron of music, and because 
it was also believed to be endowed with something 
of prophetic power, the Pythoness eating its leave? 
before she ascended the tripod, while it was the sym-i 
bol of ever-during song. Instead of the laurel^ 
myrtle was afterwards introduced, on account, pro^ 
bably, of its being sacred to Aphrodite, whose praises 
were celebrated in those amatory songs common at 
feasts. It may, likewise, have been considered an 
emblem of repuhlican virtue, since HarmodioB and 
Aristogeiton concealed their swords in a myrtlftj 
wreath.^ 

To proceed, however, with the Scolia. Thei 
lays, like the rest, made the circle of the company,' 
though not by passing in an unbroken series from 
man to man, but, as has already been said, from one 
skilful singer to another. In fact, the chanting of the 
scolia was a kind of contest which took place when all 
the other songs wero concluded.* The person who 
occupied the seat of honour chanted to the Cithara 
a eong containing the praises of some mortal or 
immortal, or the developement of some moral pre- 
cept or erotic subject, which was comprehended in 
a small number of verses. When he had finished, 
he handed the Cithara and myrtle, at his own dis- 
cretion, to some other among the guests, and the 



at 

tla^H 



' Schol. Arialoph. Nub. 1367. 

" Dreaig. de RhapsodiB. p. 7. 
Bqq. ap. Ilgon, De Scol. Poes. 
p. 157. Find. iBthm. iv. C3. 



' Ilgen, De Scol. Poes. 



ENTERTAINMENTS. 211 

person thus challenged, who could not refuse with- 
out passing for an illiterate clown, must at once take 
up the same subject, and, without delay or premedi- 
tation, break forth into a song in the same metre 
and number of verses, if possible ; and if unfamiliar 
with the Cithara, he could sing to the myrtle. The 
second singer now exercised his privilege and called 
upon a third, who was expected to do as he had 
done; so that very often the same idea underwent 
five or six transformations in the course of the even- 
ing. When the first argument had thus made the 
circle of the company, he who concluded bad the 
right to start a new theme, which received the same 
treatment as the first; so that sometimes, when peo- 
ple were in a singing humour, air followed air, until 
eight or ten subjects had received all the poetical 
ornaments which the invention of those present could 
bestow upon them. 

But to sing without wine would have been in- 
sipid. I have said the chanting of the scolia 
was a sort of contest, and, as he who contends and 
obtains the victory looks naturally for a reward, so 
the successful performer aspired to his, which, it 
must be owned, was not inappropriate, consisting 
of a brimming bowl, called odos, or the " cup of 
song," at once a mark of honour and a reward of 
skill.' All these particulars are inferable from the 
examples of the scoHon, which still remain ; and 
Aristophanes in the " AVasps," presents something 
like an outline, though dim and obscure, both of 
the argument and the mode of execution. He ima- 
gines a company of jolly fellows,^ such as Theoros, 
jEschines, Phanos, Cleon, Acestor, and a foreigner 
of tlie same kidney, and represents them as engaged in 
performing certain scolia for their own entertainment. 

But the idea we should form of this kind of song 

from the very comic passage in the " Wasps" differs 

materially from the theoretic view of Ilgen, since 

Philocleon constantly interrupts his son, terminat- 

' Athen. xi. 110. = Veap. 1220. 



212 ENTERTAINMENTS. 

ing each sentence for him in a manner wholly unex- 
pected, and of course calculated to excite laughter. 

But though musical, the Greeks would not imitate 
the grasshoppers,' who are said to sing till they 
starve; but, having accomplished the circle above- 
mentioned, proceeded to other amusements which, 
though too numerous to be described at length, must 
not be altogether passed over. In the heroic ages 
the discovei-y had not been made that rest after 
meals is necessary to digestion, which in later times 
was a received maxim, and accordingly we find 
from the practice of the Phseacians,' who, if an after- 
dinner nap had been customarj', would certainly have 
taken it, that the men of those times, instead of 
indulging in indolent repose out of compliment to 
their stomachs, sallied forth to leap, to run, to wrestle, 
and engage in other athletic sports, which by no means 
appear to have impaired their health or their prowess. 
As civilisation advances, however, excuses are found 
for laying aside the habits of violent exercise. Sci- 
ence, in too many cases, fosters indolence and pro- 
nounces what is fashionable to be wise. But to 
the race-course and the wrestling- ring, sedentary, 
or at least indoor, pastimes succeed, and, instead 
of overthrowing their antagonists on the pala?stra- 
fioor or the greensward, men seek to subdue them 
at Kottabos, or on the chess-board, or to ruin them 
at the card-table or in the billiard-room. 

The play of Kottabos,' invented in Sicily, soon 1 
propagated itself, as such inventions do, throughout ' 
the whole of Greece, and got into great vogue at 
Athens, where the lively temperament of the people 
inclined them to indulge immoderately in whatever 
was convivial and gay. The most usual form of 
the game was this, — a piece of wood like the up- 
right of a balance having been fixed in the floor 



' Plato Phredr. t. i. p. 65. 


' Athen. XV. a, aqq. xi.22, 58. 




75.— Suidas, v. roraf<f<.v. t. i. p. 


« Homer. Odyw. ft 97, sqq. 


1504, b. seq. Etym. Mag. 588. 


UBtalh. p. 295, 43. 


13, aqq. 



J 



ENTFJITAINME-NTS. 213 

or upon a stable basis, a small crousi-beaiii was 
placed on tlie top of it with a shallow vessel like 
the basiu of a pair of scales, at either end. 

Under each of these vessels stood a broad-mouthed 
vase, filled with water, with a gilt bronze statue, 
called Manes, fixed upright in its centre. The per- 
sons who played at the game, standing at some 
little distance, cast, in turu, their wine, from a 
drinking-cup into one of the pensile basins, which 
descending with the weight, struck against the head 
of the statue, which resounded with the blow. The 
victor was he who spilled least wine during the 
throw, and elicited most noise from the brazen 
head. It was, in fact, in its origin a species of 
divination, the object being to discover by the 
greater or less success obtained, the place occupied 
by the player in his mistress's affections. By an 
onomatopoea the sound created by the wine in its 
projection was called lata^; and the wine itself 
laiage. Both the act of throwing and the cup 
used were called ankida, from the word which ex- 
presses the dexterous turn of the hand with which 
the skilful player cast his wine into the scales.' 

Our learned Archbishop Potter, who has not un- 
skilfiilly abridged the at'count of Athenseus, con- 
founds the above with tlie koltahos katactos, another 
form of the game described both by Pollux and 
AtheniPus.' In this the apparatus was suspended 
like a chandelier from the roof. It wa*i formed of 
brass, and a brazen vessel, called the skiff, was 
placed beneath it. The player, standing at a little 
distance, with a long wand, struck one end of the 
kottabos, whicli descending came in contact with 
the skiff, or rather the manes within, and produced 
a hollow sound. Occasionally the small vessels at 
the extremity of the kottabos were brought down, 
as in the former game, by having wine cast into 

■ Potter, ii. W5, 40(i. xv. i. Cf. Plor. ChrJBlian ad 

' Pollux, vi. lOU, sqq. AUiBii. Arisloph. Pac. 8*3. 



ENTEKTAINMENTS. 

them. Another variety required the skiff to be 
filled with water, upon which floated a ball, au in- 
strument like the tongue of a balance, a manes, 
three myrtle boughs, and as many phials. In this 
the great art consisted in striking some one of these 
with the kottabos, and whoever conld sink most of 
them won the game. The prize, on these occasions, 
was usually one of those cakes called pt/ramos^ or 
something similar; but instead of these it was some- 
times agreed, when women were present, that the 
prize should be a kiss, as in pur game of forfeits. 
Another kind of kottabos, chiefly practised on those 
occasions which resembled our christenings, when on 
the tenth day the child received its name, was a 
contention of wakefulness, when the person who 
longest resisted sleep, won the prize. Properly, how- 
ever, kottabos was the amusement first described ; 
and so fashionable did it become, that persons erect- 
ed circular rooms expressly for the purpose, in order 
that the players might take their stand at equal 
distances from the apparatus which stood in the 
centre.*" 

It might, without any authority, be presumed that 
when people met together for enjoyment they would 
derive the greater portion of it from conversation, 
which would, of course, vary and slide 

" From grave to gay, from lively to severe, " 

according to the character or fluctuating humour of 
the company. The Spartans, like all militarj- people, 
were grievously addicted to jokes, which among them 
supplied the place of that elegant badinage, alterna- 
ting with profound or impassioned discourse, familiar 
to the more intellectual Athenians. The latter, how- 
ever, though free from the coarseness, possessed more 
than the mirthfulness of the Dorians, and in the 
midst of their habits of business and application to 




ENTE RTAIN M ENTS. 



215 



philosophy, knew better tliaTi any people how, amidst 
wine and good-eating, to unbend and enjoy the lux- 
ury of careless triHing and an unwrinkled brow. 
While some therefore retired to the kotttiboa-roora, 
which occupied the place of our billiard-room, others 
still sat clustered round the table, extracting amuse- 
ment from each other. Among these of course would 
be found all such as excelled in the art of small 
talk, who could tell a good story or anecdote, scat- 
ter around showers of witticisms, or give birth to a 
pun. Some, like the Spartans, had a Welsh passion 
for genealogies, and loved to run back over the his- 
tory of the " Landed Gentry " of old Hellas, to the 
time of Deucalion or higher; others coined their wis- 
dom and experience into fables, for which they ex- 
liibited an almost Oriental fondness ; while the greater 
number, like the princes in the Arabian Nights, 
exercised their wits in propounding and resolving 
difficult questions, enigmas, charades, anagrams, and 
conundrums. 

But the principal classes into which these eontri- 
vances were divided were two : etiigmas and griphoi,^ 
the former comprehending all those terminating in 
mere pleasure, the latter such questions and riddles 
as involved within themselves the kernel of wisdom 
or knowledge,' supposed to have been a dull and se- 
rious affair. Caaaubon,' however, vindicates it stoutly 
from this charge, affirming that in the griphos the 
utile was mingled with the didce in due proportion; 
80 that it must, according to Horace's opinion, have 
borne away the palm from most literary inventions. 
In point of antiquity, too, the riddle may justly 
boast; for, if to be old is to be noble, it has "more 
of birth and better blood " even than the hungry 
Dorians of the Peloponuesos, whom Mr. Mitchell 



' Vid. Clem. Akxan. Prolreii. * Aiiimadv. in Athen, x. 15. 

1. Diog. Laert. u. 33. Cf. Senliger, Poet. iii. 8*, where 

the distincttou made by Pollux u 
= Pollux, vi. 107. explained. 



216 

preferiy od tfai§ aceoant, before aD natioas erf* Ionic 
fsee. Like eremhiiig good ako it eomes firom the 
Eofft. The eartie«t mciitiofi of the riddle occare in 
the book of Judges,^ where Samson, during his 
marriage-feul at Thnnath. perplexes his guests 
the following riddle : 



''Out of the cater came lixth mea^ and oat irif the ftnog came 
Ibfth 



To which thej, being instmcted by his wife, re- 
plied: 

^ What b tweeter than booer ? and idiat k ffti«»fef than a 
Hon?" 

The word griphos, in its original acceptation, sig- 
nified a fishing-net, and hence by translation was 
employed to describe a captions or cunningly con- 
trived question, in which the wits of people were 
entangled.^ As the ancients delighted in this sort 
of intellectual trifling they were at the pains to be 
very methodical about it, dividing the riddle into 
several kinds, which Clearchos of Soli' made the 
subject of a separate work. This writer, a sort of 
Greek D'Israeli, defines the griphos to mean ^^a 
** sportive problem proposed for solution on condi- 
** tion, that the discovery of the sense should be 
** attended by a reward, and failure with punish- 
"mcmt.** His description of the seven classes could 
scarcely be rendered intelligible, and certainly not 
interesting to the modem reader. It will be more 
to the purpose to introduce two or three specimens, 
prefacing them by a few remarks. 

It has been above observed, that philosophical 
truths were often wrapped up in these sportive pro- 

' Chap. xiv. vv. 14. 1 8. Chy- 2 pdlux. vi. 108. Scalig. 

tmuii, in hit note on this passage, Poet. iii. 84. 
has several excellent and learned 

remarks on the suhject. Vid. ^ Schol. Aristoph. Vesp. 20. 

Hebf^r. ad Poll. t. v. p. 141. Athen. x. 69. 



ENTERTAINMENTS. 217 

blems, whifli purposely obscured, so as to afford but 
dim and distant glimpseB of the forms within, ne- 
cessarily exercised and sharpened the wit and in- 
duced keen and persevering habits of investigation. 
The reward also and the penalty bad the same ten- 
dency. A crown, an extra junket, and tlie applause 
of the company, cheered the successful ffidipos, while 
the lackwit who beat about the bush without catch- 
ing the owl, had to make wry faces over a cup of 
brine or pickle. Theodectes, the sophist, a man dis- 
tinguishcd for the excellence of his memory, ob- 
tained reputation as a riddle-solver, and denominated 
such questions the "springs of memory."' But what- 
ever the interrogatories thcmaelves may have been, 
the reward, to which their solution often led, was 
rather a source of forgetfulness, consisting of a goblet 
of wine which, when no inteqjreter could be found, 
passed to the propoundcr.' 

The riddle was of course a mine of wealth to the 
comic poets, who could not be supposed to forego 
the use of so admirable a contrivance to raise ex- 
pectation and beget surprise. But it is clear, from 
the examples still preserved, that they oftener missed 
than hit. Antiphanes's griphoi on "bringing and not 
bringing;" on the "porridge-pot;" on a "tart," &c., 
are poor things; but the following from the "Dream" 
of Alexis is good: 

A. A thing exists which nor immortal is, 
Not mortal, but to both belongs, and lives 
As neither god nor man does. Every day, 
"Tie bom anew and dies. No eye can see it. 
And yet to all 'tis known. 

B. A plague upon you I 
YoQ bore me with your riddles. 

A. Stilt, aU this 
is plain and easy. 

B. What then can it be ? 

A. Sleei* — that puts all Oiur cares and pains to flight.' 



' Pollux, vi. lOS. Suidas. v. ypi^o t. 

seq. 
» Etyni. Mag. 3U, 35, sqq. ' Alhen. x. 71. 



218 ENTERTAINMENTS. 

The following from Eubulos is not amiss : 

A. What is it that^ while young, is plump and heavy. 
But, being full grown, is light, and wingless mounts 
Upon the courier winds, and foils the sight ? 

B. The Thistle's Bbabd ; for this at first sticks fast 
To the green seed, which, ripe and dry, &ll8 off 
Upon the cradling breeze, or, upwards puffed 

By playful urchins, sails along the air. 

Antiphanes, in his Sappho, introduces a very in- 
genious riddle, partly for the purpose of offering a 
sarcastic explanation directed against the orators : 

There is a female which within her bosom 
Carries her young, that, mute, in fact, yet speak. 
And make their voice heard on the howling waves, 
Or wildest continent. They will converse 
Even with the absent, and inform the deaf.^ 

The poet introduces the " Lesbian maid,'' explain* 
ing the riddle, and this passage of the Athenian 
comic writer may be regarded as the original of 
those fine lines in Ovid, which Pope has so ele- 
gantly translated: 

Heaven first taught letters for some wretch's aid. 

Some banish'd lover, or some captive maid, 

They live, they speak, they breathe what love inspires, 

Warm from the soul, and faithful to its fires, 

The virgin's wish without her fears impart. 

Excuse the blush and pour out all the heart, 

Speed the soft intercourse from soul to soul. 

And waft a sigh from Indus to the pole. 

By this time, however, the reader will probably 
be of opinion, that we have lingered long enough 
about the dinner-table and its attendant pastimes. 
We shall therefore • hasten the departure of the 
guests, who after burning the tongues of the ani- 
mals that had been sacrificed, to intimate that what- 
ever had been uttered was to be kept secret, offered 

* Athen. x. 73. 



ENTERTAINMENTS. 219 

libations to Zeus, Hermes, and other gods, and took 
their leave, in ancient times before sunset ; but af- 
terwards, as luxury and extravagance increased, the 
morning sun often enabled them to dispense with 
link-boys. Examples, indeed, of similar perversions 
of the night occur in Homer and Virgil, but always 
among the reckless or etfeminate in the palaces of 
princes, whence, in all ages, the stream of immo- 
rality has flowed downward upon society to disturb 
and pollute it. The company assembled at Aga- 
thon's, also, sit up all night in Plato; and Aristo- 
phanes represents drunken men reeling home through 
the agora by daylight. 



220 



CHAPTER VII. 



THE THEATRE. 



It is far from being my purpose to repeat the 
information which may be obtained from a hundred 
authors on the rise and progress of scenic represen- 
tation in Greece. I shall, on the contrary, confine 
myself chiefly to those parts of the subject which 
others have either altogether neglected, or treated 
in a concise and unsatisfactory manner. It would, 
nevertheless, be beside my purpose to attempt the 
clearing up of all such difficulties as occur in the 
accounts transmitted to us of the Hellenic drama; 
and, in fact, notwithstanding the laborious investi- 
gations into which I have been compelled to enter, 
I feel that there are many points upon, which I can 
throw no new light, and which appear likely for 
ever to baffle the ingenuity of architects and 
scholars. 

Dionysos, being a deity connected with agricul- 
ture, his worship naturally took its rise, and for a 
long time prevailed chiefly, in the country. His 
festivals were celebrated with merriment ; and, the 
power of mimicry being natural to man, the rustics, 
when congregated to set forth the praise of their 
tutelar god, easily glided into the enactment of a 
farcical show. And dramatic exhibitions at the 
outset were little superior to the feats of Punch, 
though, so great was their suitableness to the na- 
tional character, that, in the course of time, every 
town of note had its own theatre, as it had of old 
its own dithyrambic bard ;' and dramatic writers were 

* Schol. Aristoph. A v. 1404. 



THE THEATRE. 



221 



multipliei] incomparably beyond wliat tliey Lave been 
in any other country. 

Both tragedy and comedy,' properly so called, 
took their rise in Attica, and there only, in the 
ancient world, flourished and grew up to perfection. 
The theatre, in fact, formed at length a part of the 
constitution, and, probably, the worst part, its ten- 
dency being to foster personal enmities, to stir the 
sources of malice, and, while pretending to purge 
off the dross of the passions by the channels of 
sorrow and mirth, to induce habits of idleness and 
political apathy, by affording in tho brilliant re- 
cesses of a mock world a facile refuge from the toils* 
and duties of the real one. Nevertheleps, it may 
be curious to open up a view into that universe of 
shadows wherein the vast creations of JlLsehylus, of 
Sophocles, of Euripides, of Aristophanes, and Me- 
nander displayed themselves before the eyes of the 
Athenians, with a costly grandeur and magnificence 
never equalled save in imperial Rome, 

It has been already remarked, that to the Diony- 
siac theatre of Athens the architectural speculations 
of Vitruvius on dramatic edifices apply, this build- 
ing having constituted the model on which similar 
structures were afterwards erected." By carefully 
studying its details, therefore, we shall be enabled 
to form a tolerably just conception of all the theatres 
once found in Greece, though each, perhaps, may 
have been slightly modified in plan, general arrange- 



^B 



' See Bentley, DisBert. on Phal. 
i. S51. 

* On the form and construction 
of sncient theatres, aee Chandler, 
TraveU, &c., who deuribes the 
ruinB of the theatre of Teos. i. 
110 ; of EphesDS, 138 ; of Mile- 
IM, (457 feet in length,) 168; 
of MyoB, 191 ; of Straloiiica, 
822 ; of Nysa, built with a blue- 
reined marble, 245 ; of Laodicea, 



ZC2 ; of ^gina, ii. 16; of A- 
thens, 113; of Eleusis, 215; on 
the theatre of Syracuse, see Antiq. 
of Athena, &c. Supplementary to 
Stuart, by Cockerel, Donaldson. 
&e. p. 38 — See a plan of the the- 
atre in the grove of Aaclepios at 
Epidauros, pi. 1. p. 5S, and an- 
other of that of DmtnysDB, near 
Joannino, pi. S. — (Com pare on the 
Dionyitac Tlieatre, Leake, Topog. 
of Athens, p. 53, »qq.) 



222 THE THEATRE. 

ment, and decorations, by the peculiarities of the 
site, and the science or taste of its architect. 

The great theatre of Bacchos, partly scooped out 
of the rock on the face of the hill at the south- 
eastern angle of the Acropolis, stretched forth, on 
solid piers of masonry, a considerable distance into 
the plain, and was capable of containing upwards 
of thirty thousand people. The diameter, accord- 
ingly, if it did not exceed, could have fallen little 
short of five hundred feet.' For we are not to sup- 
pose that, while Sparta,' and Argos, and Megalopolis, 
cities comparatively insignificant, possessed theatres 
of such dimensions, Athens, incomparably the largest 
and most beautiful of Hellenic capitals, would have 
been content with one of inferior magnitude/ 

To determine accurately the various parts of the 
theatre, and thus affix a distinct meaning to every 
term connected with it, has exercised the ingenuity 
of critics and architects for the last three hundred 
years, still leaving many difficulties to be overcome. 
I can scarcely hope in every case to succeed where 
they have failed. But the following explanation 
may, perhaps, convey of its interior an idea suffi- 
ciently exact for all practical purposes. 

Supposing ourselves to be standing at the foot 
of the KatatomS,* a smooth wall of rock, rising 
perpendicularly from the back of the theatre to the 
superimpending fortifications of the Acropolis, we 



' Even a provincial theatre is 
compared by the rustic io Dion 
Chrysoatom to a large hollow 
valley, i. 829 ; what then could 
the Abbe Dubos be thinking of 
when he wrote, " U etoit impos- 
" gible que leB altemtions du 
" visage que le masque cache fu- 
" rent aper9ilea distinctment des 
" apectateurs, dont pluaieurs e- 
" toient ^loignes de plus de douse 
" tofseM du comedien qui r6ci- 
" toil I "— Beflex. Crit. i. 609. 



'Scalig. Poet.i. 31. 

' Colonel Leake, Topog. of Ath. 
p. 59. Cf. Wordsworth's Athens 
and Attica, p. 29, The conjec- 
ture of Hemsterhuis on the pas- 
sage of DicaearchoB cannot be 
adopted. The words must apply 
to the theatre ; for he says tlie 
Parthenon charmed the spectators. 
But this could not apply to the 
Odeion, which was roofed. 



• Poll, i' 



123. 



THE THEATRE. 



223 



on either hand, surmounted by porticoes, 
lofty piers of masonry projecting like horns down 
the rocky slope into the plain and united at their 
extremities by a wall of equal height, running in 
a straight line from one point of the horseshoe to 
the other. The space thus enclosed is divided into 
three princi[>al parts, — the amphitheatre for the 
spectators, the orchestra,' filling all the space occu- 
pied by the modem pit, for the chorus, and the 
stage, ])roperly so called, for the actors. Each of 
these parts was again subdivided. Looking down 
still from the Katatome, we behold the benches 
of white marble, sweeping round the whole semi- 
circle of the theatre, descend like steps to the 
level of the orchestra, and intersected at intervals 
by narrow straight passages converging towards 
a point below.^ A number of the upper seats, 
cut off, by an open space extending round the 
whole semicircle, from the rest, was set apart 
for the women. Other diviaiona were appropriated 
to other classes of the population, as the tier of 
seats immediately overlooking the orchestra to the 
senators, or dicasts, another portion to the youth, 
another to foreigners and the guests of the state, 
while the remainder was occupied by the dense mass 
of citizens of all ages,^ with crowns of flowers on 
their heads. 

Above the level of the most elevated range of 
seats, and stretching round the whole sweep of the 
edifice,* arose a spacious portico,'' designed to afford 

Cockerel, Kinnaird, Donaldson, 



' Tim. Lex. Platon. in v. opxfl- 
m-pa.-p. 104. Poll. iv. 123. 

' Poll. iv. 1 23.— The Cunei, 
for greater convenience, had par- 
ticular marks, numbers, or names 
to distingiuBh them : the podium 
of the (fiazoma of the iheatre at 
Syracuse has an inscription cut 
on the fascia of the cornice to 
each cuneuB. — Antiq. of Ath. 
&c. Supplem. to Stuart, &-c., by 



&c., 

* For the children, see Plat, de 
Rep. t. vi. p. 128. Athen. x\. 
13. Cf. Aristid. t. i. p. 505. 
Jebb. 

• VitruT. T. 9. Donaldson, 
Theatre of the Greeks, p. 139. 

^ Among the Romans it was 
customary to carry along with 
them, as a defence against rain, 



2'24 



THE THEATRE. 



slielttT to the spectators during tlie contiuuwice" 
a sudden shower. Another range of porticoes ex 
tended along the small lawn or grove within tlie 
limits of the theatre, at the back of the stage, eo 
that there was little necessity for the Athenian 
people to take refuge, as some have imagined, from 
the weather in the public buildings, sacred or civil, 
in the vicinity. 

It would appear from an expression in Pollux,* 
that the lower seats of the theatre, appropriated to 
persons of distinction, were covered with wood,* 
notwithstanding which, it was usual, in the later 
ages of the commonwealth, for rich persons to have 
cushions brought for them to the theatre by their 
domestics,' together with ]iurple carpets for their 
feet. Theophrastus, accordingly, whom few striking 
traits of manners escaped, represents bis flatterer 
snatching this theatrical cushion from the slave, and 
adjusting and obsequiously smoothing it for his pa- 
tron.* To render their devotion to Dionysog still less 
irksome, it was customary to hand round cakes and 
wine during the representation, though, like Ho- 



I 



thick cloaks, rackctg, or mandi- 
lioHB. Ouleng. de Theat. i. 15. 
—The theatre of Regilla, built 
by HerodeB Atticus in honour of 
his wife, wag roofed with cedar. — 
Philoat. Vit. Sophist, ii. 1. 3. — 
In later ages a velarium appears 
to have been extended over the 
great Dionyeiac theatre, as was 
the custom at Rome. — Words- 
worth, Athens and Attica, p. 90. 
Cf. Dion. Caaa. xliii. p. 2i6. a. 
Hanov. 1606. 

' Onomast. iv. 122, — To kick 
the seats with the heel was called 
TTrcpyotoiTiii', which they did 
when they wanted to drive away 
an actor, id. ibid. Cf. Diog. 
Laert. ii. 8. 4. 

' On the old wooden theatre see 
Hesych. v. Ixpla- Suid. v. ii-pia. 



t. i. p. 1234. d. Sch. Aristoph. 
Theam. 395.— This theatre fell 
down whilst a play of PradnaB | 
was acting.— Suid. T. Uparlyact I 
t. ii. 585. d. ' 

3 Upon this practice Dr. Chand- 
ler has an ingenious conjecture. 
After attentively viewing the 
seats of several ancient theatre*, 
and "considering their height, 
" width, and manner of arrange- 
" ment, 1 am inclined to believe 
" that the ancient Asiatics sate 
" at their plays and public spec- 
" tacles, like the modemj with 
" their legs crossed or gathered 
" under them, and, it is probable, 
" upon carpets." — Travels, &c. 
i. 269. 

* Charact. c. ii. p. 10. Casaub. 




THE THEATRE. 225 

mer'B heroes, they were careful to fortify themselvee 
with a good meal before they ventured abroad. We 
are informed, moreover, that when the actors were 
had there was a greater consumption of confec- 
tionary, the pood people being determined to make 
up in one kind of enjoyment what they lost in 
another. Full cups, moreover, were habitually 
drained on the entrance and exit of the ohonis,' 

The orchestra, being considerably below the level 
of tlie stage, had in the middle of it a small square 
platform, called the Thymele," sometimes regarded 
as a bema on which the leader of the chorus mounted 
when engaged in dialogue with the actors ; sometimes 
as an altar on which sacrifice was offered up to 
Dionysos. That part of the orchestra which lay be- 
tween the Thymelo and the stage was denominated 
the Dromoe, while the name of Parodoi was be- 
stowed on those two spacious side-passages,' the 
one from the east, the other from the west, at the 
extremities of the tiers of seats which afforded the 
chorus ample room for marching in and out in rank 
and file, in the quadrangular form it usually af- 
fected. 

At the extremity of the orchestra a pier of ma- 
sonry called the Hyposccnion, adorned with columns 
and statues, rose to the level of the stage, where 
a most intricate system of machinery and decora- 
tion represented all that was tangible to sense in 
the creations of the poet. The stage was divided 
into two parts ; first, the Ocribas or Logeion,* 
floored with boards, and hollow beneath, for the 
purpose of reverberating the voice ; second, the 
Proscenion,* a broader parallelogram of solid stone- 

' Philoch. Frag. Sieb. p. fid. 45S, seq. Blancard. Scalig. Poet. 

AriBtot. Ethic.Nic. 5. Athen. xi. i. 21. Poll. it. 123. 

13. ' Sch. Aristoph. Acharn. 8. Cf. 
Vesp. 270. 

• Etym. Mag. 658. 7. Cf. • Plat.Conviv. I. iv. 41 1. Tim. 

458. 30. 743. 30. et Suid. v. Lex. v. 6iC(u€as, p. tOJ. Etym. 

mcifvii t. ii. p. 753, Heq. Cf. Mng. 620. 58. Poll. iv. 123. 

Thorn. Magist. in v. OvfuX-t, p. ' Poll. iv. 123. 

VOL. II. W 



226 THE THEATRE. 

work, neeeasary to support the vast apparatus flf 
machinery and decoration required by the character 
of the Grecian drama. The descent from the stage' 
into the orchestra was by two flights of steps si- 
tuated at either extremity of the Logeion, at the 
point where the Parodoi touched upon the Dromos. 
Beyond the Proscenion arose the Scene,' properly 
so called, the aspect of which was constantly varied, 
to suit the requirements of each successive piece. 
In most cases, however, it represented the front of 
three dift'erent edifices, of wliich the central one, 
communicating with the stage by a broad and lofty 
portal, was generally a palace. Sometimes, as in 
the Philoctetes, this portal was converted into the 
mouth of a cavern,' opening upon the view, amid 
the rocks and solitudes of Lemnos, while in otlier 
plays it formed the entrance to the mansion of some 
private person of distinction, but was always ap- 
propriated to the principal actor. The building on 
the right assumed in comedy the appearance of an 
inn, through the door of which the second actor 
issued upon the stage, while the portal on the left 
led into a ruined temple, or uninhabited house. In 
tragedy the right hand entrance was appropriated 
to strangers, while on the left was that of the fe- 
male apartments, or of a prison.* 

Upon the stage, in front of the doors, stood an 
altar of Apollo Aguieus, and a table covered with 
cakes and confectionary,^ which appears Bometiniea 
to have been regarded as the representative of that 
ancient table, on which. In tlie simplicity of Pro- 



> It IB impo«aibIe to adopt Ga- 
nelli'B idea on these flights of 
iteps, by the injudicioua position 
of which ID liiB plan, he entirely 
breaks up and destroy a tlie 
beauty of the Hyposcenion, espe- 
cially as the Scholiast on Aris- 
tophanes positively states, that 
they led from the Parodoi to the 
Logeion. — Sch.Ariato]jh, Eq.l4D. 



- On the fitage and scenery, 
see CasaliuB. — De Trag. et Com. 
c. i. ap. Gronov. Thesaur. t. viii. 
p. 1603. 

' Cf. Sch. Aristoph. Av. i. 

• Vid. Scalig. de Art. Poet, 
i. 21. 

1 Poll. iv. 123. Vid. Spanh. 
ad Callim. t. ii. p. 328, seq. 



leq. .^_ 



THE THELVTRE. 227 

tliespiaii times, tho solitary actor inoiinted wlieii 
engaged in dialogue with the clionis. 

When the stage was fitted up for tho performance 
of comedy, there stood near the liouse a painted scene 
representiug a large cattle-shed, with capacious double 
gates, for the admission of waggons and sumpter oxen, 
with herds and droves of asses, when returning from 
the field. In the Akestria; of Antiphanes,' this rus- 
tic building was converted into a workshop. Beyond 
each of the side-doors on the right and left were two 
machines,^ one on either hand, upon which the ex- 
tremity of the periactoi abutted. The scene on the 
right represented rural landscapes, that on the left 
prospects in the environs of the city, particularly 
views of the harbour. On these periactoi,^ were re- 
presented the marine deities riding on the waves, 
and generally all such objects as could not be in- 
troduced by machinery. By turning the periactoi 
on the right, the situation was changed, but when 
both were turned a wholly new landscape was placed 
>>efore the eye. Of the parodoi, or side-passages, 
that on the right led from the fields, from the har- 
bour, or from tho city, as the necessities of the piay 
required, while those arriving on foot from any 
other part entered by the opposite passage, and, 
traversing a portion of the orchestra, ascended the 
stage by the flights of steps before mentioned. 

The machinery* by which the dumb economy of 
the play was developed consisted of numerous i)art9, 
highly complicated and curious. To avoid labour, 
and, perhaps, some tediousneas, these might be passed 
over with such a remark as the above, but this would 
be to escape from difficulties not to diminish them. 
I shall descend to particulars. 

First, and most remarkable, was that machine called 
an Eccycloma,' much used by the ancients when 

' Scalig. reads Antipho. D« ^ Poll. iv. 126, 130, seq. 

Art. Poet. 1.21. * Vid. Biileng. DeThMt.c.21. 
= Miixai'iil for ftia. Cf. An- * 

not. Poll. iv. 126. '^ Poll, iv. 127, sd). 



WS TIIK TIIEATRE- 

scenes witliiii-doors were to be brought to 'view. 
It consisted of a wooden structure, moved 0!i wheelB, 
and represented the interior of an apartment. In 
order to pass forth through the doors, it was formed 
less deep than broad, and rolled forth sideways, turn- 
iDg round afterwards, and concealing the front of the 
building from wliich it had issued. The channels 
in the floor, which were traversed by the wheels, 
doubtless concealed beneath the lofty basis, received 
the name of Eiscyclema.' Sometimes, as in the Aga- 
memnon, it presented to view " the royal bathing 
" apartment with the silver laver, the corpse enve- 
" loped in the fatal garment, and Clytemnestra, be- 
" sprinkled with blood, and holding in her hand the 
" reeking weapon, still standing with haughty mien 
" over her murdered victim." ° On other occasions a 
throne, a corpse, the interior of a tent, the summit 
of a building, were exhibited ; and in the Clouds of 
Aristoplianes the interior of Socrates' house was laid 
open to the spectators, containing a number of masks, 
gaunt and pale, the natural fruit of philosophy.* It 
should be remarked that the Eccyclema issued through 
any of the doors, as the piece required the cells of 
a prison, the halls of a palace, or the chambers of an 
iun, to be placed before the eyes of the audience. 

That peculiar machine in which the gods made 
their appearance,* or such heroes as enjoyed the pri- 
vilege of travelling through the air, — Bellerophon, 
for example, and Perseus, — stood near the left side- 
entrance, and, in height, exceeded the stone skreen 
at the back of the stage. This, in tragedy, waa 
denominated Mechanc, and Krad^ in comedy,*' — in 

Xarriov' ^q^avo^ifac Si (Iircv 
avToiis, crcih) 5ro\Xrfi*ic a>t rpa- 
yyiiii fii})^avac rpoaiftpoy, ftwKit 
9euuc ifiifiovvTO avtpxotii*''">Q S 
i;aTtp\oiUviiv^ it tov oiipai-ov q 
aXXo n ToiovToy. SchoL Aristoph. 
Pac. 769. 

» Poll, iv. IS9. Etym. Mm 
405. 56. 534. 39. 



1 the Eu- 



. p. 91. 



* Sch. Arirtoph. Nub. 1 85. 

/"IX*'*'^C '"' riparn'ac tiedytty 
iy Toic tpdftatii. OXdray 'S.o- 
fiOToic' SiyOKkijt 6 iuiSctafifi- 
^oiDi i KapKiyau To'it tov .?n- 



n. Mas. 

J 



THE THEATRE. 



229 



this case resembling a fig-tree, which the Athenians 
called Krad^. The watch-tower, the battlements, and 
the turret, were constructed for the use of those 
watchmen, such as the old man in the Agamemnou, 
who looked out for signals, or indications of the com- 
ing foe. Tlie Phructorion ' was a pharos, or beacon- 
tower. Another portion of the stage was the Dia- 
tegia, a building two stories high in palaces, from 
tlie top of which, in the Pliceiiissoe of Euripides," An- 
tigone beholds the army. It was roofed with tiles, 
(and thence called Kcramos,) which they sometimes 
east down upon the enemy. In comedy, libertines 
aud old women, or ladies of equivocal character, were 
represented prying into the street for prey from such 
buildings. 

The Keraunoskopeion ' was a lofty triangular co- 
lumn, which appears to have been hollow, and fur- 
nished with narrow fissures, extending in right lines 
from top to bottom. Within seem to have been a 
number of lamps, on stationary bases, from which, as 
the periactos whirled round, sheets of mimic lightning 
flashed upon the stage from behind the scenes. 

The construction of the Bronteion,' or thunder ma- 
gazine, I imagine to have been nearly as follows : — 
a number of brazen plates, arranged one below an^ 
other, like stairs, descended through a steeji, vaulted 
passage behind the scene, into the bottom of a tower, 
terminating in a vast brazen caldron. From the 
edge of this, a series of metallic apertures,* probably 
spiral, pierced the tower wall, and opened without 
in ^nnels, like the mouths of trumpets. 

When some deity was required to descend to earth 
in the midst of lightning and sudden thunder, tlie 
Kerannoskopeion was instantaneously put in motion, 
and showers of pebbles from the sea-ehore were hurled 



> Poll. iv. 127. ISO. 
• Wem. Ibid. 



' Arirtoph. Av. llGI.el Schol. 
CT. Herod, ap. Const, in v. fpvie- 
riifiov. Poll, iv, 187. 

« Phren. 688, cum nol. et ' These were tailed ^x''"- 

Schol. Bekk. Poll. iv. Ml, 129. Schol. Aristoph. Nub. 2M. 



3S0 THE THEATRK. 

down the mouth of the Bronteioii, and, rolling over 
the brazen receptacles, produced a terrific crash, 
which, with innumerable reverberations, was poured 
forth by the Echeia upon the theatre." 

In a lofty gallery called the Theologeiou, extending 
over the marble skreen at the back of tlic stage, 
appeared the gods, when the drama required their 
presence; and hence, 1 imagine, the Hebrew colony 
which makes its appearance nightly near tlie roof 
of our own theatres Lave obtained the name of gods. 
Here Zeus, and the other deities of Olympos, were 
assembled in that very extraordinary drama of jEschy- 
lus, the Psychostasia, or weighing in the balance tlie 
souls of Achilles and Hector. 

They employed in the theatre the machine called 
a Crane," the point of which being lowered, snatched 
up whatever it was designed to bear aloft into the 
air. By means of this contrivance, Eos, goddess of 
the dawn, descended and bore away the body of 
JMemnon, slain by Achilles before Troy. At other 
times strong cords, so disposed as to resemble swings, 
. were let down from the roof, to sup]iort the gods 
or heroes who seemed to be borne through the air. 

Though by turning the Periactoi three changes of 
scene could be produced, many more were sometimes 
required, and, when this was the case, new landscapes 
were dropped, like hangings, or slided in frames in 
front of those painted columns. These usually repre- 
sented views of the sea, or mountain scenery, or the 
course of some river winding along through solitary 
vales, or other prospects of similar character, accord- 
ing to the spirit of the drama. 

The itosition of the Hemicycle is more difficult 
to comprehend. It appears to have been a retreat- 
ing semicircular scene, placed facing the orchestra, 
and masking the marble buildings at the back of 
the stage, when a view was to be opened up into 
some distant part of the city, or shijiwrecked ma- 



1 Sthol. Arifltoi>h. NuJ>. 203, di)i. 



'■ Poll iv. 130. 



A 



THE THEATRE. 



231 



linen were to be exhibited buffeting with the waves. 
Not very dissimilar was the Stropheiou,' which 
brought to view heroes translnted to Olympos, or 
on the ocean, or in battle stain, wliere change of 
position with respect tn the spectator was produced 
by the rotatory motion of the machine. 

The position of the Charonian staircase," by which 
spectres and apparitionn ascended from the nether 
world, is exceedingly difficult to be determined; but 
tliat it was somewhere on the stage appears to me 
certain, notwithstanding the seeming testimony of 
Pollux to the contrary. The hypothesis which 
makes the ghosts issue from a door immediately 
beneath the seats of the spectators, and rush along 
the whole dej»th of the orchestra, among the cho- 
rus and musicians, is, at any rate, absurd. It must 
have been somewhere towards the back of the 
stage, near the altar of Loxios. the table of shew- 
bread and those sacred aud antique images which in 
certain dramas were there esliibited. H«re, like- 
wise, was the trap-door, through which river-gods 
issued from the earth, while the other trap-door, 
appropriated to the Furies, seems to have been situ- 
ated in the boards of the Logeion, near one of the 
flights of steps leading down into the orchestra. 

The above synopsis of the machinery and deco- 
rations employed by the Greeks in their theatrical 
shows may, possibly, from its imperfection, suggest 
the idea of a rude and clumsy apparatus. But, as 
the arts of poetry, sculpture, painting, and architec- 
ture reached in Greece the highest perfection, and, 
as this perfection was coetaneous with the flou- 
rishing state of the drama, it is impossible to es- 
cape the conviction, that the art of scene-painting 
and the manufacturing of stage ma^^hinery, likewiee, 
nnderweut all the improvements of which by thetr 
nature they are susceptible. For, in the first place, 
it is not easy to suppose, that a i>eoj)ie, so fastidious 



ipoU-iv. 131. 



"li.\v. 133. 



232 



THE THEATRE. 



as were the Athenians, would have tolerated in 1 
theatre displays of ignorance and want of skill which 
everywhere else they are known to have over- 
whelmed with contempt and derision ; more especi- 
ally as, in the first place, the landscapes and objects 
represented were usually those with which they 
were most familiar, though the fancy of the poet 
sometimes ventured to transport them to the most 
elevated and inaccessible recesses of Mount Cauca- 
sus, to the summit of the celestial Olympos, to the 
palaces and harems of Persia, to the wilds of the 
Tauric Chersonese,' or even to the dim and dreary 
regions of the dead. The names, nevertheless, of 
few scene-painters, besides Agatharchos," have come 
down to us, though it is known, that, in their own 
day, they sometimes divided with the poet the ad- 
miration of the audience, and, on other occasions, 
enabled poets of inferior merit to hear away the 
prize from their betters. 

The character, however, of stage-scenery differed 
very widely in tragedy, comedy, and satyric pieces,* 
usually cousisting, in the first, of facades of palaces, 
with colonnades, architraves, cornices, niches, statues, 
&c. ; in comedy, of the fronts or courts of ordinary 
houses, with windows, balconies, porticoes, &c. ; 
while, in the satyric drama, the fancy of the painter 
and decorator was allowed to develope before the 
audience scenes of rural beauty remote from cities, 
as the hollows of mountains shaded with forests, 
wnding valleys, plains, rivers, caverns, and sacred 
groves. 

Of the Greciau actors,* whose business and pro- 
fession next require to be noticed, too little by far 
is known, considering the curious interest of the 
subject. Their art, however, would appear to have 
sprung from that of the rhapsodists, who chanted 



' Cf. Aiech. Prom. i. 
" Vitruv. Piwfat. lib. vii. Pint. 
Alcib. §!(!. 



' Vitruv. V. 8. 
763. 27. 
' Vid. Cagal. c. 2. 



Elym. Mag. 



THE THEATRE. ^33 

in temples, during religious festivals, anil afterwards 
in the theatres, the heroic lays of Greece. To a 
certain extent, indeed, the rhapsodist was himself 
an actor. His art required him to enter deeply 
into the spirit of the poetry he recited, to suit to 
the passion brought into play the modulations and 
inflexions of his voice, his tone, his looks, his ges- 
ture, so as vividly to paint to the imagination the 
jiicture designed by the poet, and sway the whole 
theatre by the powerful wand of sympathy through 
all the gradations of sorrow, indiguation, and joy.' 
By some writers, accordingly, the rhapsodist is ap- 
parently confounded with the actor, that is. he is 
considered an actor of epics,' though in reality his 
imitations of character were partial and imperfect. 

Actors formed at Athens part of a guild, or com- 
pany, called the Dionysiac artificers,^ among whom 
were also comprehended rhapsodists, citharcedi, ci- 
tharistcE, musicians, jugglers, and other individuals* 
connected wth the theatre. Theee persons, though 
for the most part held in little estimation, were yet 
somewhat more respectable than at Rome, where to 
appear on the stage was infamous,'' Like the rhaj>- 
sodists, they generally led a wandering life, some- 
times appearing at Athens,'' sometimes at Corinth, 



' Plal. Ion. t. ii. p. 1 83, seq. 
WolC Proleg. p. 95. Cf. S. F. 
Dresig. Comment. Lipg. 1 734. 
Gillies, Hist.of Greece, vol. i.e. 6. 

■ Diod. Sic. xiv. 10!». XY. 7. 

'PhiloBt. Vit. Soph. ii. 16. 
Vit Apoll. Tyan. t. 7. Van- 
dale, Diwert. 380, aeq. 

* Caaaub. od The«ph. Char. p. 
ISl. Athen. v. 4^. Antmadv. 

.. 883. 
" Plat, de Rep. viii. t. ii. p. 
2i9, seq. Athen. xiii. 44. In 
Roman times ue tind an actor 
travellinx from tlie capital to 
Seville in Spain, where with 



his lof^y cothurni, strange dress, 
and gaping mask, he frightened 
tlie natives out of the theatre. 
— Philost. Vit. Apoll. Tjaii. 
T. 9. Cf. Luc. de Saltat. § 27. 
A taste for the amuaeinents of 
the Grecian stage was diifuaed 
far and wide through the ancient 
world, so that we find the princes 
of Persia and Armenia not only 
enjoying the representation of 
Greek tragedies, but them selves, 

piling to rival the dramatic poets 
of Helios. Thus ArtavtLsdes, the 
Armenian prince, is said to hll^'e 
written tragedies, as well at hii- 



US* THE THEATRE. 

or Sicyon, or Epidauros, or Thebes, after the fashion 
aj>proved among the strollers of our own day. In 
the course of these wanderings they now and then 
fell in with rare adventures, as in the case of that 
company of comedians which, on returning from 
Messenia towards the Isthmus, was met by king 
Cleonienes and the S^mrtan army Hear Megalopolis.' 
To exhibit the superiority of his power and his con- 
tempt for the enemy, Cleonienes threw up, probably 
with turf and boards, a temporary theatre, where 
he and his army sat all day enjoying the jokes and 
wild merriment of the stage, after which, he be- 
stowed, as a prize, upon the principal performers, the 
sum of forty mime, or about one hundred and sixty 
pounds sterling. 

About this period, however, it was usual for the 
armies of Greece, republican as well as royal, to be 
followed by companies of strollers, jugglers, dancing 
girls, and musicians." Even in the army of Alex- 
ander, when proceeding on tlie Persian expedition, 
the " flatterers of Dionysos " ^ were not forgotten ; 
in fact, the son of Philip set a high value upon 
the performances of these gentlemen, and with truly 
royal munificence allowed them to enjoy their full 
share of the plunder of the East. Tlius, when Nico- 
creou, king of Salamis, and Pasicrates, king of Soli,* 
played the part of Choregi in Cyprus, in getting up 
certain tragedies there performed for the amusement 
of Alexander, and the actors, Thessalos, and Atheno- 



tories and onttiona, Bome of winch 
still existed In the age of Plu- 
tarch. The Parthian court was 
engaged in beholding the Bacchm 
of Euripides, in wliich Jaaon of 
Trallea waa the principal per- 
fonner, when Sillacea brought in 
the head of Marcua Crosaua, 
upon wluch both king and nobles 
delivered themselves up to im- 
iJiodeiate joy, and tlie iictor, sciz- 
iiiB upoii the Roniiin's head, ex- 



changed the part of Pentheus for 
that of Ilia mother, who appears 
upon the stage bearing a bleeding 
head upon her thyrsus ; for this 
he received a present of a talent 
from the king.— Plut. Crass. § 
as. Polyaan. vii. 41. 1. 

I Pint. Cleoni. § 12. 

- Plut. ubi supra. 

^ AiovufTornXaKtc. Atheo* 1| 



•Plut. Alex. § at). 



Atheoti^^l 



THE THE.VTHE. 



235 



fk>ros the Athenian, contended for the prize ; he 
was piqued at the victory of the Athenian, and, 
though he commended the judges for bestowing the 
prize on him whom they regarded as the best per- 
former, said, he would have given a part of hia 
kingdom rather than have beheld Thesealos over- 
come by a rival. 

Afterwards, when Athenodoros was fine<I by his 
countrymen for absenting himself from Athens during 
the Dionysiac festival, evidently contrary to the sta- 
tutes in that case made and provided, Alexander paid 
the fine for his bumble friend, though ho refused 
to make application to tlie people for its remission. 

An anecdote related of Ljcon of Soarphe, also 
shows the Jiigh value set by the Macedonian prince 
upon the amusements of the stage, and the influ- 
ence exercised over his mind by the Dionysiac ar- 
tificers, though, according to Antiphanes, lie wanted 
tlic taste to discriminate between a good play and 
a bad one. The Scarplieote being one day in want 
of money, as actors sometimes are, introduced into 
the piece he vraa (lerformiiig a line of his own 
making, beseeching the conqueror to bestow on him 
ten talents; Alexander, amuiicd by his extravagance, 
or captivated perhaps, by the flattery which accom- 
panied it, at once granteii his request, and thus 
npwarUs of two thousand four hundred pounds of 
the public money were expended for the moment- 
ary gratification of a prince.' 

The philosophers, almost of necessity, tliought 
and spoke of these wandering performers witli ex- 
treme contempt. Plato observes, that they went 
about from city to city collecting together thought- 
less crowds, and, by their beautiful, sonorous, and 
persuasive voices, converting republics into tyran- 
nies and aristocracies. Aristotle endeavoured to 
account for their evil character and agency.' They 



I PluL Alex. § 39. 

' Prob. XXX. 1 0. They i 



likewise corrupted by their pro- 
fcBbion, iincp, in femulc purl". 



236 



THE THEATRE. 



were worthless, he says, because of all men tney 
profited least by the lessons of reasou and philoso- 
phy, their whole lives being consumed by the study 
of their professional arts, or passed in intemper- 
ance and difficulties. 

Nevertheless, even among them there were dif- 
ferent grades, some aiming at the higher walks of 
tragedy and comedy ; while others were content 
to declaim rude, low songs, seated on waggons like 
mountebanks during the LeuEean festival.' Nor 
must this fashion be at all regarded as Prothes- 
piau, since it prevailed down to a very late period. 
And as in every thing the Greeks aimed at excel- 
lence and distinction, so even here we find that 
there was a contest between the poets who wrote 
the comic songs sung by these humble performers 
from their waggons.- 

The various classes of actors known to the ancients 
were numerous. Among the lower grades were the 
Magodos, and the Lysiodos/ who though confomidod 
by some, appear clearly to have been distinct; the 
former personating botli male and female characters ; 
the latter female characters only, though disguised 
in male costume. But the songs, and every other 
characteristic of their performances, were the same. 
The spirit of the coarse satirical farces they acted 
forbids my explaining their nature fully. 

There were even several authors who attained a 
" bad eminence " iu this department of literature, 
which especially affected the Ionic dialect, as Alex- 
ander, the iEtolian,* Pyretos of Miletos, a city noted 
for its dissolute characters, and Alexos, who obtained 



they frequently indulged in immo- 
dest gestures, ag is particularly 
related of Callipedes. Id, Poet. v. 
2. Cf. Macrob. Satumal, 1. ii. c. 1 0. 

' Oecasionaliy, as among our- 
selves, jugglers were introduced 
upon IhcstagCj swallowing a worda 



and performing other fantastic 
tricks — Plut. Lycurg. § 19. 

2 Sthol. Aristoph. Eq. 545. 

' Athen. iv. 80. v. 47- vi. fiU 
Cf. Euitath. ad Odyas. •{/. p. 100, 
sub fin. 

* Suid. 

1073. b. 



fXuatic, t. U. p. 



THE THEATRE. 



237 



on una account an opprobrious sobriquet. Tlte most 
remarkable, however, of this vicious brood would ap- 
pear to have been Sotades ' the Maronite, and his 
son Apollonios wlio WTote a work on his father's 
poems. Sotades was probably the original imitated 
by Pietro Aretino, who obtained in modern times a 
like reputation, though timely penitence may have 
snatched him from a similar eud. The ancient li- 
beller, enacting the part of Thersites, fastened with 
peculiar delight on the vices of princes, not from 
aversion to their manners, but because such scandal 
paved the way to notoriety. Thus at Alexandria, 
he covered Ijysimachos with obloquy, which, when 
at the court of Lysimachos, he heaped upon Ptolemv 
Philadelphos. His punishment, however, exceeded 
the measure of his offences. Being overtaken in 
the island of Caunos by Patrocles, one of Ptolemy's 
generals, the obsequious mercenary caused liim to 
be enclosed in a leaden box and cast into the sea.* 

The Magodos, then, was a wandering farce actor, 
not unlike the tumbling mountebanks one some- 
times sees in France and southern Europe He 
travelled about with an apparatus of drums, cym- 
bals, and female disguises, sometimes impersonating 
women, sometimes adulterers or the mean servants 
of vice ; and tlie style of his dancing and perfor- 
mances corresponded with the low walk he selected, 
being wholly destitute of beauty or decorum. It 
seems necessary, therefore, to adopt the opinion of 
Aristoxenos, who considered the art of the Hilarodos 
as a serious imitation of tragedy; that of the Ma- 
godos as a comic parody, brought down to the level 
of the grossly \'ulgar. The latter art would appear 
to have derived its name from the charms, spells, 
or magical songs chanted by the mountebanks who 
likewise pretended to develope the secrets of phar- 
maceutics. 



> Cf. Fabric. Bib. Orec, 



p. 



' Allien- siv. 13. 



238 THE THEATRE. 

Superior in every way to the Magodos and Lysio- 
dos was the Hilarodos,' who, thougli a wandering 
singer like the Italians and Savoyards of modern 
Eurojie, affected no littlo state, and was evidently 
treated with some respect. His costume, in confor- 
mity with the popular taste, displayed considerable 
ma^iificence, consisting of a goldeu crown, white 
stole and costly sandaU, though in earlier ages he 
appeared in shoes. He was usually accompanied by 
a youth or maiden who touched the lyre as he sung. 
The style of his performances was decorous and man- 
ly. When a crown was given him in token of ap- 
probation by the audience, it was bestowed on the 
Hilarodos himself^ not on the musician. 

A class of actors existed, also from very remote 
times, among the Spartans. They were called Deike- 
listiE,^ and their style of performing showed the 
little value set upon the drama at Sparta. The 
poetry of the piece, if poetry it could be called, was 
extempore and of the rudest description, and the 
characters were altogether conformable. Sometimes 
the interest of the play turned upon a man robbing 
an orchard, or on the broken Greek of an outlandish 
physician, whom people respected for his gibberish. 
This weakness, prevalent of course at Athens also, 
is wittily satirised by Alexis in his Female Opium 
Eater. 



" Now if a native 
Doctor prescribe, ' Give him a porringer 
or ptisan in the nioniing,' we despise Iiim. 
But in Bome brogae disguised 'tia admirable. 
Thus he who speaks of Bed is sligtited, while 
We prick otir ears if he but mention 'Baft, 
As if Bate knew some virtue not in Beet" * 



J 



' Cf. Athen. iv. 67. Salm. 
Exercit. PUn. p. 76. Voaa. In- 
Btitut. Poet. ii. 21. Rhinthon 
was the inventor of the Hilaro- 
tragcedi. i. e, Tragi -comedy. 
Suid, V. 'P/i-euv, t. ii. p. 685. b. 

•• Schol. Apoll. Rhod. i. 746. 



Plul. Ages. 81. Athen. jtiv. Ifi. 
Etym. Mag. 260. 42. 

^ I have substituted this jokei 
ft la Smollett, " for the miserable 
joke in the original." Beet, Attic^ 
fffvrXi'oi', became rivrXmr in the 
Doric brogue, Athen. i 



J 



THE THEATRE. 



239 



The Deikelistae, liowever, were not cjonfiiied to 
Lacouia, but, under various names were knowu 
iu most other parts of Greece. Thus, at Sicyon, 
they obtained the appellation of Phallophori, else- 
where they were called Autocabdali, or Improvisa- 
tori ; while iu Italy, (that is, among the Greek co- 
lonists,') they were known by the name of Phly- 
akes,* By the common people they were called 
the wise men (mxpiiTTctt), upon the same princi])le that 
actors in France are known by the name of artistes. 
The Thebans, renowned for the havoc they made in 
the language of Greece, denominated them the Vo- 
luntaries, alluding proleptically perhaps to the " vo- 
luntary principle." Semos, the Dolian, draws an 
amusing picture of these Improvisatori. Tlioso per- 
formers, he says, who are called Autocabdali made 
their appearance on the stage, crowned with ivy, 
and poured forth their verse extempore. The name 
of Iambi was afterwards bestowed, both on them 
and their poems. Another class who were called 
Ithyphalli,' wore those masks, whicli on the stage 
were appropriated to drunkards, with crowns of 
ivy and flowered gloves upon their hands. Their 
chitons were striped with white, and over these, 
bound by a girdle at the loins, they wore a Taren- 
tine pelisse descending to the ankle. They en- 
tered upon the stage by the great door ap])ro- 
priated to royal personages, and, advancing in si- 
lence across the stage, turned towards the audience 
and exclaimed, — 

" Make way there, a wide ipace 
Yield to the god ; 
For DionyMH has a mind to walk 
Bolt upright through your midst." 



' Among the miinica of this 
port of Italy, the most celebrated 
was Cleon, aumained the Mi- 
mauloB, who dispenaed with the 
use of ft mask.— Athen. x. 78. 



n. xir. 15. Cf. Suid. ti 
t. ii. p. ]D73. b. 



* Vid. Harpocrat. iti 
fuXXoi. MauH. p. 1^2. 



24*0 THE THEATRE. 

The Pliallopliori made their appearance uiimaskeS 
shading their face with a drooping garland of wild 
thyme, intermingled with acantlius-leaves, and sur- 
mounted by an ample crown of ivy, with violets 
appearing between its glossy dark foliage. Their 
costume was the caunace. Of these actors, some 
entered through the side-passages, others through 
the central door, advancing with measured tread, 
and saying, — 



" Bacchoa, to thee our muse belonga, 
Of dimple chont, and varied lays ; 
Nor fit for vir^n ears our songs. 

Nor handed down from ancient days : 
Presh flows the strain we pour to thee. 
Patron of joy and minstrelay ! " 



I 



After which, skipping forward, they made a halt 
and showered their sarcasms indiscriminately on 
whomsoever they pleased, while the leader of the 
troop moved slowly about, his face bedaubed with 
soot.' 

The superior classes of performers, whether actors 
or musicians, seem to have been held in much es- 
timation, and to have been still more extravagantly 
paid than in our own day. Thus Amoebasos, the 
Citharocdos, who lived near the Odeion at Atheug, 
received, but at what period of the republic is not 
known, an Attic talent a day. as often as he played 
in public' Music, however, was always in high 
estimation in Greece, where the greatest men, though 
they did not seek to rival regular professors in skill, 
yet learned to amtise their leisure with it. Thus 
the Homeric Achilles plays on the lyre, the sounds 
of which could not only cure diseases of the mind 
but of the body. A similar belief existed among 
the Israelites, as we learn from the example of 
Saul. 

Tliough talent must have been always respected 
in an actor, it appears to me that anciently they 



I Alhen. x 



' AtKen. xiv. 17- -^H 



THE TUntTRE, 



241 



mnde comparatively little figure, wliile there were 
frreat poets to excite admiration. But, afterwards, 
wlien dramatic literattire had sunk very low, the 
actor usurped the consideration due to the poet, as 
haa long been the case in this country. They then 
contended for the prize in the tragic contests,' and 
began to entertain a high opinion of their own 
merits. In fact, the ignorant being better calcu- 
late<l to feel than to judge, the actors often ob- 
tained the first prizes in the games, and were held 
in higher estimation than the poets themselves,' 

Thus persuaded of their own importance, they gra- 
dually exercised over the poor devils who composed 
plays for them, much the same tyranny as that in 
our own age complained of by the poetical servants 
of the theatre. That is. they despotically interfered 
with the framing of the plot, with the succession 
of the scenes, and procured episodes to be intro- 
duced, in order that they might show off their 
jioculiar abilities. This is evident from a passage 
in Aristotle's Politics,' where he observes that the 
celebrated actor Tlieodoros wonld allow no inferior 
performer to appear before liim on the stage, know- 
ing the force of first impressions; from which it is 
evident that the author was compelled to yield to 
his caprice. 

Antiquity has preserved the names of many cele- 
lirated actors, of whom several played a conspicuous 
though sometimes a dishonourable part in the great 
theatre of the world. Tlius Aristodemos, who per- 
fonned the first character alternately with Thcodoros, 
became afterwards a traitor and betrayed the state 
to I'hilip. Such too was the ctfee with Philocrates 
and iEschines, both actors,* and both rogues, Sa- 
tyros, a comedian of the same period, appears to 
liave been a man of high character and honour, who 
in consequence obtained the friendship of Denios- 



' Arirtot. Ethic. Niei 
■ Arittot, RheUiit. I 



iti. 4. 



' Polit. vii. 17. 

* Dem.de Fal, Leg. §58. 



242 



TUF, THEATIIE. 



thenes But the Gairick of that age seems toliave 
been Theocrines,' who by many, however, is supposed 
to have afterwards degenerated into a sycophant. 
Callipedes is chiefly known to us from the anec- 
dote which describes the check his vanity received 
from Agesilaos. Having acquired great reputation 
as a tragic actor, he appears to have considered him- 
self as equal at least to any king, and therefore, 
meeting one day with Agesilaos, he ostentatiously 
put himself forward, mingled with the courtiers and 
took much pains to attract his notice. Finding all 
these eftbrts useless, his pride was wounded, and 
goiug up directly to the Spartan, he said, 

"Dost thou not know me, king?" 

" Wliy," replied Agesilaos, "art thou not Calli- 
pedes, the stage-buffoon ? " ^ 

The account transmitted to us of jEsopos is some^ 
what puzzling; he is described as one of the actors* 
who performed iu the tragedies of ^schylus, but is 
Bald to have been at the same time a fellow of in- 
finite merriment who turned everything into a jest, 
a sort I suppose of comic Macbeth. (Eagros ob- 
tained celebrity in the part of Niobe,* iu the tra- 
gedy of jEschylus or Sophocles; and Aristophanes 
enumerates among the pleasures of Dicasts the power, 
should such an actor appear before them in a court 
of justice, of requiring him by way of pleading hiB 
own cause, to give them a few choice speeches of 
his favourite tragic queen. 

Among the most celebrated actors of antiquity was 
Polos, a native of ^gina, who studied the art ofi 
stage-declamation imder Arcbias, known in his own 
age by the infamous surname of Phugadotheras, t» 
the " Exile Hunter.'^ This misci-eant it was, wht^ 



I 



' Dem. de Coron. f 97. 

* AtieijX/nTQf. Plul. AgCB. 

§ 21. Apothegm. Lac. Ages. 57. 
>Sch. Ariatoph. Veap. 566. 
Flor. Christ ad loc. In Plato's 
time there were few or no octurs 
who excelled at the same time in 



tragedy and comedy. Plat, ds.] 
Rep. t. vi. p. laS. 

* Sch. Ariatoph. Veap. 579. 

splut. Dem. § S8. Vit. x.| 
Orat. 8. Another actor obtained I 
the name of the Partridge. Atheiul 



THE THEATRE. 243 

under the orders of Antipater, pursued Demosthenes 
to the temple of Poseidon in Cnlaurin, where, to es- 
cape the cruelty of the Alaccdoniaus, the orator put 
a period to his own life. 

l*olo8 appears to have risen s]>cedily to that emi- 
nence which he maintained to the last. A striking 
anecdote is related of the means by which he worked 
upon his own feelings, in order the more vehemently 
to stir those of his audience. On one occasion," 
having to perform the part of Electra, he took along; 
with him to the theatre an urn containing the ashes 
of a beloved son, whom he had recently lost, and thus, 
instead of shedding, under the mask of the heroic 
princess, feigned tears over the supposed remains of 
Orestes, he sprinkled the urn which he bore upon 
the stage with ttie dews of genuine and deep sor- 
row, lie eclipsed in rc|mtation all the actors of 
Ills time, and was in tra^jedy what Theocrines, in 
the preceding age, had been in comedy. His sa- 
lary, accordingly, was very great, amounting at one 
time to half a talent per day, out of wliich, to be 
sure, he was required to pay the third actor. 

He mast have led, moreover, a life of much tem- 
perance, otherwise he would scarcely have l>een able 
to accomplish what is related of him by Philochoros, 
who says, tliat, at seventy years of age, a little before 
his death, he performed the principal parts of eight 
tragedies in four days. His devotion to his art did 
not, however, carry him so far as that of the comic 
poets, Philemon and Alexis, who breathed their last 
upon the stage at the moment that the crown of 
victory was placed upon their hea<ls, and so were 
literally dismissed for the last time from the scene 
amidst the shouts and acclamations of the admiring 
multitude.^ But the passion of the Greeks for the 
arts of imitation did not confine itself to the enact- 
ing of human character and human feelings. Every 
species of mimicry found its patrons among them. 



' Aulus Gellius, vii. 5. 



"- Plut. An. Seni. § 3. 



244 THE THEATRE. 

There were, for example, persons who, by whistlingv^ 
could imitate tlie notes of the nightingale ; and ] 
Agesilaoa, being once invited to witness the per- 
formances of one of tliese artists, re|)lied somewhat ] 
contemptuously, *' I have heard tlie nightingale her- 
self"' Others, as Parmenion, could counterfeit to 
perfection the grunt of a pig,'^ though it is probable, 
that actors of smaller dimensions were called upon 
to perform in the comedy of Aristophanes, where 
the Megarean^ brings on the stage his daughters in 
a sack, and disposes of them as porkers, having first | 
carefully instructed them in the proper style of 
iqueaking. Other actors obtained celebrity* through 
their power of imitating by their voice the grating 
I or rumbling of wheels, the creaking of axletrees, 
the whistling of winds, the blasts of trumpets, the 
modulations of flutes, or pipes, or the sounds of 
other instruments. It was customary, too, among 
this class of performers, to mimic, doubtless, in pas- 
toral scenes, the bleating of aheep, and the bark 
of the shepherd's dog, the neighing of horses, and 
the deep bellowing of bulla. They could imitate, 
moreover, but by what means is uncertain, the pat- 
tering of hail-storms, the dash and breaking of 
water in rivers or seas, with other natural pheno- 
mena. It was customary, likewise, as in modern 
times, to introduce boats and galleys rowed along 
the mimic waters of the stage, an example of which 
occurs on an Etruscan Chalcidone, where we behold 
a little vessel of extraordinary form, with a mariner 
at bow and steni, paddled along a bank adorned 



with flowers, while 

' Plut. Ages § il. 

" Etym. Mag. 607. 25. 

3 Acham. S,^l. 

* Piut. de Aud. Poet. § ^ 
Plat, de Rep. t. vi. pp. 13 
—127. This philosopher, it i 
clear, entertained a less elevate 



platfc 



rorm, oocujiymg 



the 



"Art 



, who define it as follows : 
B a representation (filfitf~ 



I energy by means 
of which a subject becomes an 
object," — (MiiUer, cited by Mr. 
Donaldson, Theatre of the Greeks, 
p. 4,) —in other words, by which 
a nominative becomes an accu- 
sative. 






THE THEATRE. 



245 



>oats VAist, two nakcil ilancers are exhibiting their 
saitfltorial powers.' 

Very singular figures were also iiitrodueed upon 
tlie stage, as waHj)s, frogs, and birds, of sufficiently 
largo fjimensions to lie enacted by men; and still 
stranger personages nccasinnally made tbeir appear- 
ance, as where, in a kind of practical parody of the 
story of Andronieda," a whale emerges on the sea 
beach to snap off an old woman. In another drama 
the transformation of Argos was represented, after 
which this Inckless male duenna strutted like a pea- 
cock Iicfore the audience. lo, moreover, was changed 
into a cow, and liuippe, in Euripides, into a mare. 
What there was peculiar in the appearance of Amy- 
mone it is not oa*y to conjecture; bnt she was, possibly, 
represented in the act of withdrawing the trident of 
Poseidon from the rock, from which gushed forth 
three fountains. The rivers, and mountains, and cities 
introduced * were, doubtless, personifications, such as 
we still find in many works of art. The giants 
were simply, in all probability, huge figures of men, 
made to stalk about the stage, like elephants, with 
an actor in each leg ; and the Indians, Tritons, Gor- 
gons. Centaurs, with other personages of terrible or 
fantastic asi>ect, owed their existence, perhaps, to 
masks, if we may so speak, representing the whole 
figures. 

In what form the Seasons, the Pleiades,* or the 
nymphs of Mithakos, made their appearance on the 
stage, we are, I believe, nowhere told, though wo 
possess some information respecting the costume and 
figure of tliose other strange persons of tlie drama, 
the Clouds,* which came floating in through the Paro- 
doi, enveloped, some in masses of white fleecy gauze, 
like vapour, others in azure, or many-tinted robes. 



' MuB. Cortonens. tab. 60. 
' Schol. Aristoph. Nob. 518. 
' See the figure uf Alexandria 



in the Genirtiu Antiche Pigurate 
uf Agoslini. 



> Vid. Schul. AristoiJi. Nub. 
9. 343. ii2. 



246 TUE THEATRE. 

or in drapery like piled-up flooka of wool, to repre- 
sent the various jispects of the skies ; while a hazy 
atmosphere was probably diffused around them, as 
around the other gods, by the smoke of styrax or 
frankincense, burnt in profusion on the altars of the 
theatre. Here and there, through these piles of 
drapery, a mask with ruddy pendant nose, like the 
tail of a lobster, peered forth, and a human voice 
was heard chanting in richest cadence aud modu- 
lation the lively anapaests of the chorus. 

In the tragedy of Alcestifi, tlie grim, spectra! figure 
of Death was beheld gliding to and fro through the 
darkness, in front of the palace of Adnietos, while 
personifications stiH, if possible, more strange and 
wild, made their appearance in other dramas, — as Jus- 
tice, Madness, Frenzy, Strength, Violence, Deceit, 
Drunkenness, Laziness, Envy.' 

Plato, who entertained peculiar notions^ resixjcting 
the dignity of human nature, banished the theatrw 
from his Bepublic, because he thought it unbecoming 
a brave man, wlio had political rights to watch over 
and defend, to demean himself by low stage imper- 
sonations; and, from his account of what he would 
not have his citizens do, we learn what by others was 
done. Sometimes, he observes, the actor was re- 
quired to imitate a woman, (though this task often 
devolved upon eunuchs,) whether young or old, revil- 
ing her husband, railing at and expressing contempt 
for the gods, either jniffed up by the sujiposed stable- 
ness of her felicity, or stuug to desperation by the 
severity of her misfortunes and sorrows. Other female 
characters were to be represented, toiling, or in love, 
or in the pangs of labour; wliich shows that there 
was scarcely an act or passage in human life not 
occasionally imitated on the stage. 

Slaves of course performed an important part in 
the mimic world of the theatre; and with these, 
Plato, by some unaccountable association of ideas. 



' Df Ilei), t. vi. p. liiS. 



THE THEATRE. 247 

classes Btnitlis, and madmen, and vagabonds, and low 
artiticerB of every kind, and the rowers of j^lleys, and 
rogues, and cowards, below which his imagination 
could discover nothing in human nature. 

But it was these very characters, with their low 
wit, buffoonery, and appropriate actions, that consti- 
tuted tlie most effective materials of the comic jwet, 
whose creed was, that 



Les fouB sent ici-baa pom 



s plaisirs. 



They accordingly hesitated at no degree of gro- 
tesque buffoonery and extravagance, introducing not 
only low sausage-sellers with their trays of black-pud- 
dings and cltitterlings suspended on their paunches,' 
and drunkards lisping, hiccuping, and reeling about 
the stage,' but even libertines and profligates carry- 
iog on their intrigues in the view of the spectators. 
An example of this kind of scene occurs on an 
Etruscan bronze seal dug up near Cortona, which 
represents an adulterer in conference with his mis- 
tress, together with the Leno who brought them 
together.' 



I .Sch. Ariatopli. Eij. 150. 
- Allien, s. 33. 



Mu8. Cortonens. tulib. 18, lit. 
<. Hi, Kq. 17^0. Horn. 



248 



CHAPTER VIII. 

THEATRE (continued). 

Into the various questions which have been raised 
respecting the origin and constitution of the chorus 
it is not my intention to enter. It undoubtedly ap- 
pears, however, to have arisen amid the festivities 
of the vintage, when, after the grapes were brought 
home and pressed and the principal labours of the 
season concluded,^ the rustics delivered themselves 
up to wild joy and merriment, chanting hymns and 
performing dances in honour of Dionysos, the pro- 
tecting god of the vine. At first the number of 
the persons engaged in these dances could not have 
been fixed, since it is probable that all the vinta- 
gers, both male and female, joined in the sports, 
as they had previously joined in the labour. And 
this free and unformal character the Dithyrambic or 
Dionysiac chorus must have preserved, as long as it 
remained a mere village pastime. But when after- 
wards, advancing from one step to another, it assumed 
something of an artificial form and several chorusses 
arose which contended with each other for a prize, 
the performers must have undergone some kind of 
training,* both in singing and dancing, and then 
the number of the individuals constituting the cho- 
rus was possibly fixed. There appears to be some 
reason for thinking, that these exhibitions were more 
ancient than the congregation of the Athenians in 
one city, and that originally every tribe had its own 

* Cf. Ficorini, Degli Masch. attached to the training of the 
Seen. p. 15. chorus, see the substance of an 

^ On the importance afterwards inscription in Chandler, ii. 72. 



THE THEATRE. 249 

choruH,' since we find that afterwards, when all the 
inliabitaiits of Attica came to regard theraselves as 
one people, the Choreuta; were chosen from every 
tribe five. 

By what gradations, however, the village chorus 
was transformed into the Dithyrambic, the Ditby- 
rambic into the Satyric, and the Satyric again into 
tlio Tragic, it now appears impossible to ascertain ; 
but it seems to be quite clear.* that in many an- 
cient tragedies the number of the chorus was fifty,* 
as, for example, in the " Judgment of the Arms," 
by j^lschylus, in which silver-footed Thetis appeared 
upon the stage accompanied by a train of fifty 
Nereids.* Again, according to certain ancient au- 
thors,* in the Eumenides of ^Kschylus, the chorus 
of Furies at first amounted to fifty, which, rushing 
tumultuously, with frightful gestures and horrid 
masks," into the orchestra, struck so great a terror 
into the people, particularly the women' and chil- 
(IreDt that their number was afterwards reduced by 



' Sch. Arietoph. Av. 1401. 
Schneid. de Orig- Trag. Grsec. c. i. 
p. 2, The Ditliyranibic ode was 
•aid to have bwn invented by 
Arion at Corinth. Schul. I'ind. 
Olymg). xiii. iS, BtKj. The first 
choral songt were improvisations. 
Max. Tyr. Diascrl. xxi. p. 2+9. 

« Poll iv. 108. Sch. Aris- 
loph. Acham, 210. 

' Cf. Schol. od /Eschui. Tim, 
Orator. Alt. t. xii. p. 376. Tieta. 
ad Lycoph. p. 2J 1 , eq<|. See bIko 
Miiller, Di«iM:rt, on the Kumenidei 
of .XschyluH, p. 54. Schul. A- 
ristoph. Eq. 587 — " Noua savons 
" que sur les Theatres Greci In 
" femmeB daneaient dniia lea 
"chffiure." — Winke!. Mon. Iiied. 
iii. p. 8(i. 1 have found no 
proof ill any ambient author that 
ihiB was ihf pntctice among the 
Greeks 



• Sch. Aristoph. Acliam. S4S. 

* Vit. .tKschyl. p. vi. 

6 Bojtliger, Furies, p. 2. Toll, 
iv. no. Schol. Aristoph. Av. 
2SS. Eq. 586. 

T According to Mr. Bcetliger, 
however, ' chei les anciena Alhe- 
" niena lei fentmes ii'ont joniius 
" asiiste aux representations th^a- 
" tralea." — Furies, p. 8, note. 
But, in addition to the proofs of 
the contrary, accumulated in the 
preceding hook, the reader omy 
consult the tcsliniony of Aria- 
tides, who severely blanii.'g his 
countrymen for allowing their 
w-ives and children to frequent 
the theatres, t. i. p. 518. cC p. 
507.— Jebh. He xpeakji, Indeed, 
more particularly or the Sniynit- 
oteii ; but Smyrna nua an lu- 
iiiuii colony. — Herud. i. 141). 



250 



THIS THE.\TRK. 



law. I am aware tliat several distinguished scholars 
think very differently on this subject ; some maiu- 
taiaiiig, that the cliorus of Furies always consisted 
of fifteen, while others reduce their number to three. 
But, though both these opinions have been support- 
ed with much leaniing and ingenuity, it seems diffi- 
cult to admit cither the one or the other. In the 
first place, since every thing connected with the 
stage was in a state of perpetual fluctuation, since 
the masks and costume were repeatedly altered, 
since the number of the actors was augmented, 
since almost every arrangement of the theatre, and 
every characteristic of the poetry, underwent numer- 
ous modifications ; the chorus, also, it is probable, 
submitted to tlie same alterations or reforms till 
it settled in that tetragonal figure ' and determi- 
nate number which it afterwards preserved, as long 
as the legitimate drama existed in Greece. 

In one point of view the history of the chorus 
is extremely remarkable. At first, and for some 
time, it constituted in itself the whole of the spec- 
tacle exhibited at the Dionysiac festivals, where its 
songs and dances, accompanied by such rude music 
as the times afforded, satisfied the demands of the 
popular taste, and were consequently supposed to 
be everything that the god required. By degrees, 
as experience suggested improvements either in the 
music, in the manner of dancing, or in the mate- 
rials and composition of the odes, the movements, 
singing, and appearance of the Chorus, assumed a 
more artificial form, which was necessarily carried 
forward many steps in the career of amelioration 
by the institution of rival bodies of Choreuta?, who, 
from the natural principle of euuilation, endeavour- 
ed to excel each other. Next, a detached member 
of its own body, mounted on a table, enacted the 
part of a stranger or messenger come to announce 
something which it imported the servants of Dio- 



• Cr. Sthol. AriBtu|ih j^tluni, 



THE THEATRE. 



251 



D^s to know. This table was doubtless placed 
directly in front of the altar of Bacchos, on the 
steps of which the leader of the chorus was prob- 
ably mounted in after ages, to hold communica- 
tion with the stranger ; and, as this altar ripened 
through many gradations into the Thymele, so the 
aforesaid table rose through innumerable changes 
into the Logeion. It may be remarked, moreover, 
that the slope of a hill,' when any such existed 
near the village, would naturally be chosen on such 
occasions to afford the peasants an opportunity of 
standing behind each other on ascending levels, and 
thus, without inconvenience, beholding the show ; 
and where such natural aid did not present itself, 
they probably threw up embankments of turf in the 
semicircular form, which experience proved to be 
most convenient, and, out of this rude contrivance, 
grew those vast and magnificent structures, which 
afterwards constituted one of the noblest ornaments 
of Greece. 

The single actor, detached in the manner we have 
said from the Chorus, speedily acquired greater im- 
portance, and the aid of poetry was called in to 
frame and adorn his recitals ; and as, during the 
songs and dances of the Chorus, he necessarily re- 
mained idle, the idea soon suggested itself that a 
second actor* would be an improvement, upon which 
dialogue and the regular drama sprang into ex- 
istence. 

Among the principal duties of the Chorus was the 
[lerformance of certain dances, simple enough at the 
(mtsot, but, in process of time, refined and rendered 
so iutricate by art, that it required no little learning 
and ability to execute all their varied movements 
with dignity and grace. Somewhat to assist the eye 
and memory, the whole pattern, as it were, of the 
dance seems to have been chalked out on the floor 

' Cf. SwJig. Pod, i. l!l. Lc- " CI". HcByth, v. ^■.>ipii( li,^ 

ruj', Huines dcs plus Ix^kux Mon- i.(iitw»-. 
uraeM iv la Grcci-, p. I i. 



2j2 the theatre. 

of the orchestra;' while the greatest possible pains 
were taken in drilling the Choreutffi to open, file 
off, and wheel through their labyrinthine evolutions, 
without conTusion. The manner in which these per- 
sona usually entered the orchestra, that is to say, 
ranged in a square body, tliree in front and five 
deep, or five in front and three deep, has suggested 
to some the notion that they represented a military 
Lochos;* but besides that this is inconsistent with 
their Dionysiac origin, they did not always preserve 
this arrangement, but, on some occasions, came rush- 
ing in confusedly, while on others they traversed the 
Parodoa in Indian file. 

The musicians,' in the Greek theatre, took their 
station upon and about the steps of the Thymele, 
which answers as nearly as possible to the position 
of the orchestra in our own theatres. Here, also, 
Htood the Rhabducbi,* or vergers of the theatre, whose 
business it was to see that order was preserved among 
the spectators. 

With respect to the dances" performed by the 
Chorus, they wore so numerous, long, and intricate, 
that it would be here impossible to enumerate and 
describe the whole. They appear to have conceived 
the idea of representing almost every passion and 
action in human life by that combination of move- 
ments and gestures which the term pantomime, bor- 
rowed from their own language, expresses much bet- 
ter than our word dancing.® A taste, in some re- 



' ThiB, however, I merely con- 
jecture from Ihe practice of mark- 
ing with lineB the station of the 
choniB. Hesych. v.ypn^/io/. 

* When making their exit, it 
is said they were preceded by a 
flute-player. Sch. AriBtoph.Vesp. 
588. TheBemusieians wore, while 
playing, Btmps of leather called 
•fnfitilai, bound over their mouth 
in order to regulate the quantity 
of air transmitted into the pipe. 



Id. ibid. Sec Bumey, Hist, of 
Music, i. 279. 

= Cf. Torrent, in Suet. Domit. 
Com. p. 390. a. The best auletie 
were those of Thebea. Dion Cliry- 
soBt. i. 263. 

' Suidas, V, paScavjfoi, t. ii- p. 
672. f. Scalig. Poct.i. SI. 

» See Cai.uBnc, Trait^ Hirto- 
rique de la Daiice, iL i. t. L p. 
61, sqq. 

" It i^sald lliul certain ancient 



THE THEATRE. 



253 



Bpects aimilar, still prevails among the Orientals, 
wlinse Oliawazi and Bayaderes, tliough relying rather 
upon routine and impulse than on the resources of 
art. perform at festivals and marriages, and before 
the ladies of the harem, little love-pieces ami pastoral 
scenes, which evidently belong to the class of mimetic 
dances described by ancient authors. 

In tragedy, such as it existed in the polished ages 
of Greece, the movements were slow and solenm, 
and, no doubt, full of dignity. The spirit of comedy 
retjuired brisk and lively, and frequently tolerated, 
audaciously wanton dances; while the Chorus of the 
Satyric Drama would appear to have been rude and 
clownish rather than indecent, indulging in grotesque 
movements, ludicrous and extravagant gestures, and 
that rustic and farcical style of mimicry which may 
he supposed to have prevailed among the rough 
peasantry of Ilellas. 

In classing the various dances, it will, perhaps, be 
sufficient if we divide them into lively and serious.' 
joining with tlie latter all such as attempted to 
embody a symbol or an allegory. 

In certain dramas of Phryniehos the Chorus repre- 
sented a company of wrestlers," who contrived by the 
quick, flexible, and varied movements of the dance, 
to imitate all the accidents of the palaestra. Some- 
times they personated a party of scouts in the active 
look-out for the enemy, each with his right hand curved 
above the brow ; this was one form of the Scops,* On 
other occasions the dancer mimicked the habits of the 



poets were called orchestic, — 
as Theapis, Plirj'tiiciioa, Pratinaa, 
Carcinoa, — not only because they 
adapted the subjects of their pieces 
to the dances of the chortuses, 
but, also, because they instructed 
in dancing the chorusscs of other 
dramatic writers. Athen. i. 39. 
The above poet, Corcinos, wag Uke- 
wise celebrated for being the father 
of three sons who danced in the 
tmgic cboruases, and, from their 



extremely diminutive stature, ob- 
tained the name of Quails. Schol. 
Aristoph. Poc. 7S1. 

' Hesycli. v. ififiiXtia. Sch. 
Ariatoph. Nub. 53^. Poll. iv. 
90. Athen. xiv. 27, seq. Luc de 
SalUt. § as. 26. Flat. Sympo- 
siac. ix. 15. I. 

* Suid. V, ^^vfjjfov raXatrfia, 
t. ii. p. 1093. b-c. d. 

» Pull. iv. 103. Athen. xiv. 



SS4 THE THEATRE. 

Scope, or mocking-owl, twirling about the head, and 
appearing to bo absorbed in an ecstasy of imitation, until 
taken by the fowler. The jMirfonnance of a piece like 
this, by a immerrtus Chorus, sometimes breaking off 
into a brisk gallopade, sometimes maintaining the same 
position, jigging, pirouetting, and ducking the crest, 
must, no doubt, have appeared infinitely comic ; and 
yet it could have been nothing in comparison with 
the MoqihasmoB,' in wliicli, not the characteristic pe~ 
culiarities of a single owl, but those of the whole 
animal creation were " taken off." Thus we may 
suppose that the Ilegemon of the Chorus started aa 
a baboon, his next-door neighbour as a hog, a third 
as a lion, a fourth as an ass, and so on, each maik 
accommodating his voice to the character he had, 
pro tempore, assumed, and gibbering, grunting, roar- 
ing, braying, as he leaped, or gamboled, or bounded, 
or scampered about the orchestra. Anon the frisky 
foresters were transformed into slaves, who would seem 
to have been introduced to the audience pounding 
something, perhaps onions and garlick, in a mortar. 

The Oclasma,^ a dance borrowed from the Persians, 
reminds one strongly of the performances of the ne- 
groes in the interior of Africa, the whole Chorus 
alternately crouching upon its heels, and springing 
aloft, like the frogs of Aristophanes about the fens 
of Acheron. Not, jxjrhaps, un-akin to this, were 
those three frenzied dances, alluded to rather than 
described by the ancients, — that is to say, the 
Thermaustris,' which seems to have consisted of a 
series of violent bounds, like the performances of 
the Ilurons and Iroquois;* the Mongas, which, from 
the name, probably represented the friskings and cara- 
collings of a jackass; and the Kemophoros,* or daut 
of the first-fruits, wherein the Chorus appeared upoi 

1 Poll. iv. 103. Cf. Xenoph. * Cf. Dodwell, Ciaasical To* 

Conviv. yi. 4. in Greece, vol. u p. 138, seq. 

* Poll. vi. 9!). 

' Pfeiffer. Antiq. Grac. ii. 58. =■ Athen. xlv. ; 

p. 383. 104. 



I 



THE THEATRE. Z&O 

the stage, some tearing censers, otliers fruit-bask eta, 
evulently in a character resembling that of Bneclianals. 

To tbis species of dance belonged, also, the Heca- 
terides, in which the performer interpreted his desires 
or |)as6ion by furious gestures of the hands. Tlie 
Kclaetisma was a female dance,' requiring the exer- 
tion of great force and agility, its characteristics 
consisting in flinging the heels backwards above the 
level of the shoulders. Corresponding, in some mea- 
sure, to the Eclactisma, was the Skistas,^ in which 
the dancer bounded aloft, crossing his legs several 
times while in the air. There was a dance, evidently 
of a very extraordinary description, which they per- 
formed to an air called Thyrocopicon,' or "knocking 
at doors," possibly representing the frolics of such 
wild youths as anticipated the scape-graces of our 
own day. The Motlion was a loose dance, common 
among sailors ; the Baukismos, Bactriasraoa, Apo- 
kinos, Aposeisis, and Sobas,* were laughable, but 
lewd dances,* resembling the Bolero and Fandango 
of the Spaniards.^ 

The lieducomos was a dance expressive of the 
outbreaks of joy, and the Knismos,' represented the 
pinching, struggling, and quarrels of lovers. The 
Deimalea was a Laconian dance performed by Sa^ 
tyrs and Seileni, skipping and jumping a1>out in a 
circle." Another Spartan dance* was the Bryallika, 
of a ludicrous and licentious character, performed 
by women in grotesque masks, whence e courtezan 
at Sparta was denominated, Bryallika. The name 
of Hypogy pones,'" was bestowed on certain performers 
who imitated old men, flourishing their sticks about 

* On the character of the old 
comedy, which tolerated theie 
dancea, tee Pitit. Lucull. § 39. 
Demet. § 12. Pericl. } S. 

" Poll. iv. 99. 

I Id. ib. 



' Poll. iv. 1 0. 2. Aristoph. Vesp. 
U92. U95,elSchol. 

» Poll. iv. lOS. See. in the 
Miu. Cortonens. Ub. 60, the re- 
pretentstion of a group of dancen 
on a plstform in a tnat, on the 
margin of the ica. 

> Athen. xiv. 9. 

* Athen. xiv. 27. 



' Poll. iv. 104. 
9 See Miiller. ii. SB*. 
'<• Poll. iv. 1 01. 



256 THE TIIEATBi:. 

the stage, aa we are informed they did in the 
play of Simermnos.' Akin in spirit to tliese were 
the Gypones,' who modo their appearance in trans- 
parent Tarentine robes, and mounted on stilts pro- 
bably in the form of goats' feet, to give them a 
resemblance to the j^jgipanes, worshipped as gods 
of the woods. A peculiar dance in honour of Arte- 
mis took its rise in the village of Carya in Lnconia, 
where its invention was attributed to Castor and 
Polydeukes. No description of it, so far as I know, 
has come down to us; but the maidens by whom it 
was performed probably bore, and steadied witli one 
hand, a basket of flowers on their heads, thus form- 
ing the model of those architectural figures, still 
from them called Caryatides.' The representation 
of this performance was, doubtless, a favourite sub- 
ject among Spartan artists or such as were employed 
by the Spartans, as may perhaps be fairly inferred 
from the circumstance, that the device on the ring, 
which, in return for a comb, was presented by Cle- 
archus to Ctesias to be shown to his friends at Lace- 
diemon, was a dance of Caryatides.* 

Amid the laxity of morals which prevailed in the 
later ages of Greece, the Pyrrhic,* once supposed to 
be pecuUar to warriors, degenerated into a dance of 
Bacchanals, with thyrsi instead of spears, or carry- 
ing torches in one hand, while with the other they 
sportively cast light reods at one another. The story 
told in this mimetic performance referred to remote 
antiquity, and was both curiously and elaborately 
intricate, comprehending all the adventures of Bae- 
chos and bis merry crew during the Indian expedi- 
tion, and assuming towards the conclusion a tra- 
gical form, developing the sad story of Pentheus.* 

Among the dances of a grave character are enu- 



' Sohol, Arialoph. Nub, 534. 

• Poll. iv. 10*. 

' Vitruv. i. 1.— Poll. 

* Plut. Artaxeri. § 18. 

^ Duport. ad Theoph. Char. 



10*. 



6. p, 305, Bqq. Poll. iv. 99 

Athen. xiv. 89, On the Cretan 

warlike dances Orsites and Epicre- 
diQ3, id. xiv. 2G.— Luc. de Saltnt, 
§ 0. fi Atlien xiv. a9,.,' 




THE THEATRE. 



257 



memted the Gingra performed like tlie Pocliemos 
to slow and solemn music, the Lion and the Tetra- 
comos,' a warlike measure performed in honour of 
Heracles and supposed in its origin to have had 
some connexion with the Tetracoraoi of Attica, that 
is, the Peinceus, Phaleron, Oxypeteones, and Thymo- 
tadff?.' We read, moreover, of dances in which the per- 
formers represented certain historic or mythological 
personages, such as Rliodope, Phtedra, or Parthenope. ^ 
The Anthema,* or Flower-dance, appears to have 
been chiefly performed in private parties by women, 
who acted certain characters and chanted, as they 
moved, the following verses : 

Where ie my lovely panley, soy i 

My \ioleta, roaeB, where are they i 

My psraley, roaea, violets fair, 

WTiere are my flower* ? Tell me wliere. 

The Athenians, however, seem to have imagined 
that there was nothing in nature which might not 
be imitated in the dance, by the turns and mazes 
of which they accordingly sought to represent the 
movements of tlie stars.* A similar fancy, if Lti- 
eian may be credited, possessed the Indian Yoghis, 
who every morning and evening before their doors 
saluted the sun, at his rising and setting, with a 
dance resembling his own," which, as that luminary 
no otherwise dances than by turning on its axis, 
must have been a performance resembling that of 
the whirling derwishes, whose hroad symbolical petti- 
coats are meant, T presume, to represent the disk of 
the sun. But the dance most difficult of comprehen- 
sion is that upon which they bestowed the name of 



' PolL iv. 90. 

* Poll. iv. 105. 

' Luc. de Saltai. § 2. 

* Atheii. xiv. 27. 

* It may poasibly have been 
thiv dance that Eumelos 

VOL. n. 



Arc- 



tinoa, on old Corinthian poet, in- 
troduced Zeus himself sporting 
the toe : — 

MdatrciiTiy S" ip^iiTO warqp 
dyrour ri Oci/v ti. Athen. i. 40. 

Cf. riut. Sympoa. ix. 1 5. 

» Luc. dc SalUt. 5 1 7. 



268 THE tiu:atre. 

xo(r^ov exwugoMtig,^ or the " Conflagration of the World.*^ 
Of the figure and character of this performance an- 
tiquity, I believe, has left us no account, thougli it pro- 
bably represented, by a train of allegorical personages 
and movements, the principal events wliich, according 
to the Stoica, are to precede the delivering np of the 
Universe to fire.'^ Scaliger,* who docs not attempt to 1 
explain this strange exhibition, observes, however, J 
pertinently, that it was a dance in which Nero might I 
have figured, his burning of Rome deserving in some I 
sort to be regarded as a rehearsal of this piece. 

There existed among the Spartans* i 
dance denominated Hormos, or the Necklace, per- I 
formed by a chorus of youths and virgins who moved f 
through the requisite evolutions in a row. The line j 
was headed by a young man who executed his part 1 
in the firm aud vigorous steps proper to his age, J 
and which he would afterwards be expected to pre- 
serve in the field of battle. A maiden immediately 
followed, but. instead of imitating his masculine man- 
ner, confined herself to the modest graceful paces and 
gestures of her sex, and this alternation and inter- 
weaving, as it were, of force and beauty, auggestingf i 
the idea of a necklace composed of many coloured I 
gems, gave rise to the appellation. 

The dance of the Crane," among the Athenianai^ I 
in some respects resembled the above. It was, ao- | 
cording to tradition, first invented by Theseus, who | 

" seua, after liia escape from the 
"labyrinth of Crete. The pea- 
" Bants perform it yearly in the 
" street of the Frank convent at 
"the conciuBion of the vintage; 
"joining hands and preceding 
" their mules and asBes, which 
" are laden with grapeB in pon- 
" niers, in a very curved and in- 
" tricate figure ; the leader waving 
" a handkerchief, which has been 
" imagined to denote the clue 
" given by Ariadne." Chandler, 
il. 151. 



I Athen. xiv. 37. 

' Cf. Lips, Pbysiolog. Stoic, ii. 
32. t. iv. p. D55. 

3 De Poet. i. Ifi. 

* Luc. de Saltat. § 1 2. 

*Poll. iv. 101. Spanh. ad 
Callim. t. ii. p. 513. Plut. Thes. 
§ 21. Cf. Douglas, Essay on some 
points of Resemblance, &c., p. XiS. 

" One of the dances still per- 
" formed by the Athenians has 
" been supposed that which was 
" called the Crane, and was said 
" to have been invented by The- 



J 



THE THEATRE. 259 

landinj^ at Deloa on his return from Crete, offered 
sacrifice to Apollo and dedicated tiie statue of A]thro- 
dite which he had received from Ariadne, after which 
he joined the young men and women whom he had 
delivered, in performing a joyous dance' about the 
altar of Horns erected by Apollo, from the spoils 
of his sister's bow. The Choreutse, engaged in ex- 
ecuting the Geranos, or Crane, formed themselves 
into one long line with a leader in van and rear, 
and then, guided by the design on the floor of 
the orchestra, described bj- tlieir movements the 
various mazes and involutions of the Cretan laby- 
rinth, until, having traversed all its intricate passages, 
they emerged at once, like their great countryman 
and his companions, into light and safety. Other 
dances there were, which, however curious they may 
have been, cannot now be described from the scanty 
materials left us ; such were the dance of Heralds, 
or Messengers, the dance of the Lily," the Chitonea, 
the Pinakides, the dance of the Graces,' and that 
of the Hours, in which the performers floated about 
with a circle of light drapery held over the head by 
both hands.* 

If from the dances we now pass to the Cho- 
reutse,-' by whom they were perfomied, we whall 
find that they generally made their appearance in 
the orchestra with golden crowns upon their heads, 
and habited in gorgeous raiment, frequently inter- 
woven or embroidered with gold.^ The Chorus, 
however, like the actors, must have constantly va- 
ried its costume, to suit the exigencies of the 
drama; sometimes to perform the part of senators, 
sometimes of Nereids, sometimes of female suppli- 



' Like the Cyclii- Chorus. Vid. 
Izetzes ad Lycoph. i. p. i5\, tqq. 
Sch. Aristoph. Nub. 311. 

* Athen. iii. 82. xiv. 87. 

*Poll.iv.93. Xenoph. Conviv. 
vii. 5. Plat. De Legg. vii. t. viii. 
p. 55. Cf. Herm. Commeiit. ad 



Arist. Poet, xxvii. 3. p. 190, sqq. 

•Scdig. Poet. i. 18. 

» Cf Buleng. de Thent. c. 55. 

" Deni. cont. Mid. § 7, seq. 
Allien, iii. 62. Anlmodv. t. vii. 
p. 815. 



260 



TUE THEATRE. 



ants, sometimes of urn-bearers, sometimes of clones, 
or wasps, or birds. When in the tragedy of jEs- 
cbj'lus they were required to personate the Furies, 
their exterior was the most frightful that can well 
be imagined, — their long but scanty robes consist- 
ing, as has Ijeen conjectured, of black lamb-skins, 
slit up below and exposing their tawny withered 
limbs to sight, while their blood-stained eyes, livid 
tongue hanging out, and hair like a mass of knotted 
serpents, easily accredited the belief of their being 
infernal existences. Thus habited, with fingers ter- 
minating in black claws,' and grasping a burning 
torch, they burst upon the view of the spectators, 
like so many hideous phantoms conjured up by an 
imagination diseased with terror. 

The costume of the actors,' which some modem 
writers suppose to have been extremely monoto- 
nous,' was in reality, however, as rich, varied, and 
characteristic as the masks of which we sliall pre- 
sently have to epeak. Gods, heroes, kings, chiefs, 
soothsayers, heralds, rustics, the hctairie, and their 
mothers ; gay youths, flatterers, libertines, procurers, 
cooks, satyrs, slaves, &:c., had each and all their 
appropriate dresses and ornaments, modified, no 
doubt, from time to time by the change in public 
taste, and the fancy of the poets. The divinities 
had almost to be wholly framed by the Dionysiac 
artificers. Conceived to be of superhuman stature, 
it was necessary that the actors who represented 
them should, in the first place, be lifted up on Co- 
thurni,' or half-boots, the soles of which were many- 
inches high,* their limbs and bodies were enlarged 



' Brettiger, Furies, p. 28, sqq. 
and pi. ii. Ca«aub. ad Athen. xiL 
2. Amtoph. Plut. 423. 

' On the actors' wardrobe, see 
Poll. iv. 113, aqq. 

' Miiller, Diasert. on the Eu- 
menideB, p. 100. Mr. Donaldson, 
Theatre of the Greeks, p. 132, 
adopts this opinion. 



* Luc> Jup. Tragcod. § 41< 
Cf. Xen. Cyrop. \m. S, 17. 
Poll. ii. 151. vii. 62. 

' See Winkel. Monum. Ined. 
t. iii. p. 84. c. IK. § 1. Leeex- 
treniitea dea Cothumea etoient 
ronda et quelquefois un pen ai- 
guea ; mda on n'en vit jamais 



THE THEATRE. 2ti I 

by padding, their arms lengthened by gluves, while 
their counteDances, which might be ignoble or even 
ugly, were concealed by masks of exquisite ideal 
beauty, rising above the stately forehead in a mass 
of curls, which at once corresponded with the no- 
bleness of their features and augmented their colos- 
sal height : add to all this robes of purple, or 
scarlet, or azure, or saffron, or cloth of gold, float- 
ing about the person in graceful folds, and training 
along the floor, and we have some faint idea of 
the celestial personages who with gemmed sceptres 
and glittering crowns made their appearance on the 
Grecian stage. 

The queens and heroes,' who were constantly be- 
held grouped in converse, or in action, with these 
sublime dwellers of Olympos, were clad in a cos- 
tume scarcely less majestic ; tiie former, for example, 
in times of prosperity, issued forth from their pa- 
laces in white garments, with loose sleeves reaching 
to the elbow, and closed on the upi)er part of the 
arm by a succession of jewelled agraffes,* their 
tresses confined in front by a golden sphendone, or 
fillet, crusted with gems, while their robes termi- 
nated below in long sweeping trains of purple.' But 
when their houses were visited by misfortune, the 




Tettampe, de Vaaali. p. 85. Cf. 
Luc. de Saltat. § 87. Their 
height depended first upon the 
stature of the aclor, second, upon 
that of the character represcnled. 
Sometimes they were latiatied 
with attributing four cubits even 
to the heroes. — Aristoph. Kan. 
1046. Cr. Athen. v. 27. But 
the ghost of Achilles when it ap- 
peared to ApoUonios of Tyana, 
rose five cubits in height, and, no 
doubt, the spectre was careful to 
accommodate itself to public opin- 
ion.— Philost. Vit. Apoll. Tyan. 
iv. 16. Aul. Cell. iii. 10. See, 
also, Scalig. Poet. i. 19. Scaliger 



relates d prupot of the Cuthurnui 
a facetious remark of his father : 
" Italas mulieres altissimis socds 
"usos vidimus; quaravis diminu- 
" tiva dieant voce Socculos. Pa- 
"tris mei perfacetum dictum 
" meminL Ejusmodi uxorum 
" diniidio tantum in lectis ftui 
" maritos, alter dimidio cum 
"soccis depoaito," p. 53. 

■ PolLiv. 119. 

* CC Mus. Chiaramont. taw. 
3. 7. 16. 

3 Full. Tu. GO. Bifittiger, Fu- 
ries, p. 32. Luc. Jup. Tragoed. 
§11. 



262 



THE THEATRE. 



milk-wbite pelisse was exchanged for one qnince- 
colonred or blue, while the purple train was con- 
verted into black. The costume of the kings,* like- 
wise varied by circumstances, consisted usually of 
an ample robe of purple, or scarlet, or dark green, 
descending to the feet, a rich cloak of cloth of 
gold, or of some delicate colour, adorned with gold 
embroidery, and a lofty mitre on the head.^ When 
any of these characters, as Tydeus or Meleager, was 
engaged in hunting or war, he wore the scarlet or 
purple mantle called Ephaptis,' which in action was 
wrapped about the left arm. Athenseus, in describ- 
ing the horsemen of Antiochos, observes, that these 
Ephaptides * were embroidered with gold and adorned 
with the figures of animals. Bacchanals and sooth- 
sayers, like Teiresias, generally appeared upon the 
stage in an extraordinary garment, denominated 
Agrenon,* formed of a reticular fabric of wool of 
various colours. Dionysos himself,® in whose ho- 
nour the theatre with all its shows was created, 
descended from Olympos in a saffron- coloured robe 
compressed below the bosom by a broad flowered 
belt, and bearing a thyrsus in his hand.^ This girdle, 
in the case of other gods, or heroes, was sometimes 



* On voit parmi les plus belles 
peintures d*Herculaneum iin de 
ces premiers acteurs^ ou protago- 
nistes, avec une large ceinture de 
couleur d*or^ une sceptre dans une 
main, et I'ep^e au cote. — Winkel- 
mann. Monum. Ined. t. iii. p. 84. 
Pitt. Ercol. i. 4. i. 41.— Plutarch 
observes, that, together with their 
royal garments, actors assumed 
the very strut of kings. — Vit. 
Demet. § 18. — Demetrius more- 
over, is said to have resembled a 
tragic actor, because he went clad 
in cloth of purple and gold, and 
wore sandals of purple and gold 
tissue. § 41. 

« Aristoph. A v. 512, et Schol. 



Nub. 70. Poll. iv. 115. Suid. 
V. tSvoTig. t. ii. p. 264. e. — The 
actor who personated Heracles 
made his appearance with club 
and lion's skin. — Luc. de SaltaU 
§27. 

s Poll. iv. 1 1 6, 1 1 7. Aristoph. 
Nub. 71, et Schol. Lysist. 1189. 

♦ Deipnosoph. v. 22. 

«Poll. iv. 117. Hesych. v. 
dypriyov* 

6 Poll. iv. 118. 

^ It behoved the actors, how- 
ever, to take care of their gold and 
jewels, since it would appear that 
thieves found their way even to 
the stage. — Aristoph. Acham. 
258. 



THE THEATRE. 263 

replaced by one of gold.' Persons overtaken by 
calamity, especinlly exiles, wore garments dirty- 
white, or sad-coloured, or blaek, or quince-coloured, 
or bluiati. The costume of Pbilocfetes, Telephos, 
(Eneus, Phcenix, Bellerophoutes, was ragged. The 
Seileni appeared in a shaggy Chiton, and the other 
[KirBonages of the Satyric drama in the skins of 
tiawns, or guats, or sheep, or pards, and, sometimes, 
in the Theraion or Dionysiac garment, and a flowered 
cloak and a scarlet Himation. Old men were dis- 
tinguished by the Exomis,' a white Chiton of mean 
appearance, having no scam or arm-hole on the 
left side — ^j-oung men by the Campule,' a scarlet or 
deep purple Himation, — the parasites by bearing 
the Stleugis and flask (as country people by tiie 
Lagobalon) and by black or sad-coloured robes, ex- 
cept in the play of the Sicyonians, where a person 
of this class, being about to be married, sported a 
white garment, — the cook by an Himation double 
and unfulled, — priesteRses by white robes, — comic 
old women by such as were tjuince-co loured or dusky, 
like a cloudy morning sky in autumn, — the mothers 
of the hetairDC wore a purple fillet about the head, 
— the dresses of young women were white and deli- 
cate. — of heiresses the same with fringes. Punioboski 
wore garments of various colours, with flowered 
cloaks, and carried a straight wand, called ufiaKo;.* 
There were, likewise, female characters which wore 
the Para}iechu and the Symmetria, a chiton reaching 
to the feet, with a border of marine purple. 

We now come to the masks,^ a subject upon which 



' Poll, i 



116. 



' Uinn. Chiyaost. L 2^1. Sea- 
Jig. Poet. i. 13. 

'Poll. iv. 119, sqq. 

* Scalig. Poet. i. 19. 

* When actors displeaBod the 
audience they were sometimes 
compelled to take ofT their masks 
and bee thow who hiued them. 



n-hich was regarded aa a serious 
punishment. Duport. ad Tlieoph. 
Char. p. 308. We ought, perhapn, 
to understand Lucian fm ffi-ano, 
when he informs us that actors 
who performed their parts 
were scourged. Piscalor. § 33. 
On the derivation of tin; woni 
fM!r>ona, Aul. GeU. v. 7. CE 



ill 



264 



THE THEATRE. 



much has been written, though very little has been 
explained. The primary difficulty connected with 
them is, to determine whether they were so cou- 
Btructed as to resemble a speaking-trumpet,' whieh, 
by narrowing the stream, and compressing, as it were, 
the particles of the voice, cast it forth condensed 
and corroborated upon the theatre.' which it was thus 
enabled to penetrate ami fill, even to its utmost 
extremities. My own opinion, after bestowing much 
attention upon the subject, is, that the mask was ia 
reality so constructed as to communicate additional 
force and intensity to the voice ; but whether by 
roofing or encircling the artificial mouth by metal- 
He plates, or thin laminae of the stone called Chalco- 
phonos,^ it is now scarcely possible to determine. 
Be this, however, as it may, there existed in some 
theatres other contrivances for conveying and aug- 
menting the volume of the actor's voice ; these were 
the Echeia,* vases generally of metal, finely toned, 
and arranged according to the musical scale, in a 
succession of domed cells,* running in diverging lines 
up the hollow face of the theatre. They rested with 
one edge upon a smooth and polished pavement, the 
mouth outward, and the external edge reposing on the 
summit of a small, blunt obelisk," while a low open- 
ing in each cell enabled the resonances, or echoes, ■ 
thus created, to issue forth, and fill the air with 



i. 153. sqq. Scalig. Poet. i. 81. 
Antiq. of Athens, &c. Supple- 
mentary to Stuart, by Cockerell, 
Kinnaird, Donaldson, &c. p. 39. 



Ariatoph. Poet. c. 5. Scalig. Poet. 
1. 13, on Die derivation of irjioj- 
iiiwov. Etym, Mag. 091. 1. 

' Vid. Caseiod. iv. 51. Plin. 
xlvii. 10. Solin. cxxxvii Lu- 
cian. de Saltat. § 27. De Gym- 
nast. § 23. A tragic poet, 
Hieronymos, exposed himself to 
ridicule by introducing into one 
of his pieces a maak of frightful 
aspect. Aristoph. Acham. 390. 

* Cf. Suid. V. fXottfc t. ii. p. 
1073. Diog. Laert. iv. p. 27. 

' Plin. xxxvii. 56. 

' See Biimey's Hist, of Music. 



5 Vitniv. V. 6. Antiq. of Ath. 
by Cockerell, Donaldson, &c. p. 
39. Tectum porticua quod est 
in sumnia gradations, respondet 
SiensB altitudinem, ut vox cre- 
acens cequsliter ad sumcnas gTa~ 
dationes et tectum perveniaU , 
Buleng. de Theat. c. 17. 

^ Marinus's edition of Vitniv, 
t. iv. tab. 81. 



THE TIIEATRK. 265 

sound,' which, however the fact may be accounted 
for, produced no isolated reverberations, no confusion. 
The materials wherewith the masks were construct- 
ed varied, no doubt, considerably in different ages ;* 
but that they were ever manufactured of bronze or 
copper is scarcely credible, if we reflect upon the 
weight of so voluminous an apparatus, covering the 
- entire head and neck, composed of cither of those 
metals. Such metallic specimens as have come down 
to us are to be regarded simply as model-masks, 
or as works of art, designed by the statuary as orna- 
ments. The intention, at first, of this disguise being 
to give additional boldness and eelf-coulidence to the 
actor, by concealing from his neighbours the shame- 
facedness which a raw performer would sometimes 
natunilly feel while strutting about in imperial robes, 
and pouring forth the sesquipedalia verba of Pelias 
and Telephos, they were contented to cover the face 
with a piece of linen, having openings for the eyes 
and a breathing-place,^ To this appears to have 
suceeeeded a mask manufactured from the flexible 
bark of certain trees.* shaped, of course, and coloured 
to resemble the human countenance. The next step 
was to emidoy wood, some kinds of which, while 
possessing the advantage of extreme lightness, might 
be wrought with all the delicacy and fineness of a 
statue, while, better than any other material, it would 
receive that smooth and polished enamel by which 
were represented the texture* and complexion of 
the skin. Specimens of masks of this kind have been 
found anmng nations in a very rude state ; among the 

' Suid. in flt'iTTic, p. 1315. d. 



> Empty pota were Imilt into 
Ihe walU of certain pubiic edi- 
fices to augment the sound of the 
voice. Aristot. Prob. xi. 8- i. I - v. 
5. The orchestra was sometimes 
strewed with chaff, which was 
found to deaden the voice. 85. 



Poll. ] 



Plin. 



.51. 
« Scalig. Poet. i. 14. PoU. iv. 



* \irg. Qeotg. ii. 387. 

* Vid. Horat. de Art. Poet. 
278. Athen. xiv. 77. Suid. v. 
Xnifx'XXoc, t, ii. p. 1160, f. Ktym. 
Mag. 376. 47. Poll. iv. 133, 
sqq. Bchol. Soph. (Edip. Tyi. 
80. 



266 



THE THEATRE. 



inhabitants, for example, of Nootka Souud, whose dress, 
we are told,' " is accompanied by a mask represent- 
" ing tlie head of some auimal: it is made of wood, 
" with the eyes, teeth, &c., and is a work of consi- 
" derabie ingenuity. Of these masks they have a 
" great variety, which are applicable to certain cir- 
" cumstances and occasions. Those, for example, 
" which represent the head of the otter or any other . 
" marine animals, are used only when they go to 
" hunt them. In their war expeditions, but at no 
" other time, they cover the whole of their dresB 
" with large bear-skins." 

But while the above improvements were going 
on in the national theatre,' the rustic drama con- 
tinued to preserve its original simplicity, the actors 
to prevent their being recognised, shading their brows 
with thick projecting crowns of leaves, and daubing 
tlieir faces* with lees of wine. Thus disguised they 
chanted their songs upon the public roads, sitting 
in a waggon,* whence the proverb, "he speaks as 
from the waggon," t. c. he is shamelessly abusive, 
which was in fact the case with the comic ]joets. 

The masks were divided into three kinds, the 
Tragic, the Comic, and the Satyric. Those be- 
longing to Tragedy were again subdivided into nu- 
merous classes, representing every marked variety 
of character, and every stage of human life from 
childhood to extreme old age. In the highly varied 
range of countenances thus brought into play, the 
mask-maker enjoyed abundant opportunities of ex- 
hibiting his skill. The hair, of course, was real and 
adjusted on the mask like a wig,^ differently fa- 



' Meare's Voyage, p. 254. 

* On the Roman Stage the 
actors appeared in hats up to the 
age of LiviuB Androtiicus. Ros- 
ciua Gallus was the first who put 
on a mask, which he did on ac- 
count of his squinting. Ficorini, 
Maach. Seen. p. 15. On the ori- 
gin of tlie Mask sec PaccichelU 



De Larvifl, Capillamentis, et Chi- 
rotheci*. Neap. 1693. 

*Scho!. Aristoph. Nub. 29. 
Scalig. Poet. i. 13. 

* Schoh Aristoph. Eq. 515. 
Nub. 29.— Demoath. De Coron. 
§ 37- Ulp. in. 5 5. 

"Scalig. Poet. i. 13.— Poll. iv. 

I 3,1, gqij. 



THE THEATRE. 2G7 

sliioned and coloured according to the age, habits, 
and complexion of the wearer. In some cases it 
was gathered together and piled up on the fore- 
head,' in a triangular figure,- adding many inches 
to the actor's stature; at other times it was combed 
smoothly downwards, from the crown, twisted round 
a fillet and disposed like a MTeath about the head 
as we sometimes find it in the figures of Asclepios 
and the pLiloso|iher Archytaa. Some characters were 
represented wholly bald, with a garland of vino- 
leaves or ivy wreathed about the brow,' others were 
simply bald in front, while a third class exhibited 
a bushy fel! of hair, something Uke a lion's mane. 
Young ladies displayed a profusion of pendant curls, 
kept in order by the fillet or sphendone, or gathered 
up in nets, or twisted about the head in braided 
tresses. In rei)resenting certain characters the eye- 
sockets were left open, so that the actor's eyes 
could be seen moving and flashing within;* but on 
other occasions, when the part of a squinter was to 
be acted by a performer who did not squint or 
vice versa, as in the case of Uoscius Gallus, the 
mask-maker must have represented the eyes by 
glass or some other transparent substance, through 
whicli the actor could see his way. This waa ne- 



' Cf. Thucyd. i. 6, et Schol. 
^Jian.Var. Hiat. iv. 82. 

' See a beautiful head of Aphro- 
dite with B pole of curU. {oyxos) 
Mus. Chiaramont. tav. 27. Cf. a 
tro^c female mask, with the liair 
bound by a fiUct, in the Cabinet 
d' Orleans, pi. S2. 

' It may be remarked that per* 
BoiiB ridiculed upon the stage 
were introduced with maskg ex- 
actly rcBembling their counte- 
nances. They seJEed, however, 
upon the ludicrous featuiea^ which 
any one happened to possess, as 
the eyebrows of Chtorephon, and 
the baltliiess of Socrates. Sch. 



Aristoph. Nub. U7, 884. This 
applies to living characters. The 
dead were protected trom ridicule 
by thelaws.Seh.Pac. 631. The 
Comic mask was aaid to have been 
invented by Mason. Athen. xiv. 
77. The Comte d« Caylus, how- 
ever, attributes the invention of 
masks to the Etruscans. Recueil 
d' Antiij. i. 147. seq. 

* Cic. de Orat. ii. 46. See in 
Agostini Oemme Antiche, pi. 1 7, 
a represeiitAtion of one of these 
masks. For examples of hideous 
masks see Mus. Flureiit. t. i. pp. 
45—51. 



268 



THE THEATRE. 



cessarily the case in the part of the poet Thamyris/ 
who, like our own Chatterton, had eyes of different 
colours, one blue, the other black, which, as Aris- 
totle informs us, was common among the horses of 
Greece. 

The time of acting, as is well-known, was du- 
ring the Dionysiac and Lensean festivals, in the 
spring and autumn.* The theatres being national es- 
tablishments, in the proper sense of the word, were 
therefore open, free of expense, to all the citizens, 
who were not called together as with us by play- 
bills,' but for the most part knew nothing of what 
they were going to see till they were seated in the 
theatre, and the herald^ commanded the chorus of 
such and such a poet to advance. Previously to the 
commencement of the performance the theatre was 
purified by the sacrifice of a young hog, the blood 
of which was sprinkled on the earth.^ 



1 Poll, i V. 14 1 . Dubos, Reflex. 
Grit. 8ur la Poes. et sur \& Peint. 
i. 603. 

> Schol. Aristoph. Eq. 545. 
Acham. 536, Cf. Dem. cont. 
Mid. § 4> et annot. Plut. Vit. 
X. lUiet. Lycuig. 

* Winkelmann, however, sup- 
poses they had a kind of play- 



bill, Monum. Ined. ilL p. 86^ 
founding his opinion upon a mis- 
interpretation of Pollux, iv. ISl. 

^ Aristoph. Acham. 10^ sqq. 

«Sch. iEschin. Tim. p. 17. 
Orator. Att. t. xiii. p. 377. Va- 
les, ad Harpoc. 99, 296. Suid. 
V. Kaddpfftoy, t. i. p. 1 346. a. Poll, 
viii. 104. 



BOOK V. 



RURAL LIFE. 



THE VILLA AND THE FARMYARD. 



If we now, for a moment, quit the city and its 
amusements, and observe the tone and character 
of Hellenic rural life, we shall find, perhaps, that 
there existed in antiquity a still greater contrast 
between town and country than in modern times. 
From the poetry of Athens, rife with sylvan ima- 
gery, we, no less than from its history, discover 
how deeply they loved the sunshine and calm and 
quiet of their fields. The rustic population confined 
to the city during the Peleponnesian war almost 
perished of nostalgia within sight of their village 
homes. Half the metaphors in their language are of 
country growth. The bee murmurs, the partridge 
whirrs, the lark, the nightingale, the thnish, pour 
their music through the channels of verse ami 
prose. The odours of ripe fruit, of new wine "pur- 
'* pie and gushing," the fresh invigorating morning 
breeze from harvest fields, from clover meadows 
dotted with kine, the scent of milk-pails, of honey, 
and the honey-comb, still breathe sweetly over the 
Attic page, and prove how smitten with home de- 
lights the Athenian people were, 

" With plesaunce of the breathing fields yfed." 

This their manly and healthful taste, however. 



270 



THE VILLA AND 



istantly, 



of 



malice 



xposed til em to the J 



time 
eir enemies. for the valleys and 
grassy uplands of Attica, being thickly covered 
nith villas and farmhouses,' the first act of an in- 
vading army was to lay all those beautiful home- 
steads in ashes. Tims the Persians, in their two 
invasions, destroyed the whole with fire and sword. 
But the gentlemen, immediately on their return, 
rebuilt their dwellings" with greater tiiste and mag- 
nificence, BO that, before tlie breaking out of the Pe- 
loponnesian war, it is probable that, as a scene of 
unambitious affluence, taste, high cultivation, and 
rustic contentment, nothing was ever beheld to 
compare with Attica. Here and there, throughout 
the land, perched on rocks, or shaded by trees; 
were small rustic chapels dedicated to the nymphs, 
or rural gods.^ On the mountains, and in soUtary 
glens, and wherever springs gushed from the clifft, 
caverns were scooped out by the hands of the lei- 
surely shepherds,* and consecrated by association 
with mythology. Fountains, also, and water-courses, 
altars, statues,'* and sacred groves,^ protected at once 
by religion and the laws,' imprinted on the land* 
scape features of poetry and elegance. 

Another cause which, in the eyes of the Athe- 
nians, imparted sanctity to their lands, was the prac- 
tice of burying in them their dead. The spot se- 
lected for this sacred purpose seems usually to have 
been the orchard, where, amid fig-trees and trailing 
vines,^ often" near the boundaries of the estate, might 
be seen the ancient and venerable monuments of 
the dead. All Attica, therefore, in their eyes, ap- 



I 
I 



' I)emosth.mEv.etMnes.§lS. 

e Thucyd. li. 65. 

' In the neighbourhood of the 
Isthmus the thepherda of the 
present day often pass the winter 
months in mountain caveraa. — 
Chandler, ii.p.261. 

* Theocrit. i. US, seq. 

* Cf. Iliad, t. 305, aeq. 



*■ On the wild olive and other 
trees, of which these groves were 
composed, the eye of the passen- 
ger usually beheld auBpended a 
number of votive offerings. — Scb. 
Aristoph. Ran. 943. 

T Cf Plat. Phffid. t. i. p. 9. 

" Eurip. Baech. 10, seq. Cf. 
Kirch, de Funer. Rom. iii. 17. 




THE FARMYARD. 271 

peared holy as asepulohre ; and, as every one guartied 
his own aiiceHtral ashes, to sell a farm cost a man's 
feelings more than in countries where people inter 
those they love in public cemeteries ; and this cir- 
cumstance with many would operate like a law of 
entail.' 

But it is easy thus to present to tlie imagination 
a general picture of the country. What we want 
is to thrust aside the impediments, to dissipate the 
obscurity of two thousand years, and lift the latch 
of a Greek farmhouse, such as it existed in the days 
of Pericles. 

In the first place it was common in Attica to 
erect country-houses in tlie midst of a grove of sil- 
ver fire," which in winter protect from cold, and in 
Slimmer attract the breezes that imitate in their 
branches the sound of trickhng runnels, or the dis- 
tant murmur of the sea. Towards the centre of the 
grove, with a spacious court in front and a garden 
behind, stood the house,' sonietimos with flat, some- 
times with pointed roof, ornamented with a pic- 
tureg<|ue porch, and surrounded with verandahs or 
colonnades. Occasionally opulent persons had on the 
south front of their houses large citron trees,* grow- 
ing in pots, on either side the door, where they 
were well watered and carefully covered during win- 
ter.* In the plainer class of dwellings, numerous 
outhouses, as stables, sheds for cattle,** henroosts, 
pigstyes, &tc., extended round the court, while the 



1 Demosth. in Callicl. $ 4. 

' Sthol. AriBtoph. E'). 406. 
On Uie miuLC oF the pine-groves, 
the Schol. on Theocritus, i. 1, has 
an amusing passage : i^ n'rtrccvii- 
►II, Jcu ri fukoupycl, aara to 
^lOiipiiXfta. c. T. X. 

* Called in Ijatin pogus from 
iriiy^, a fountain. Serv. ad Virg. 
Oeorg. 1 83. See also the note of 
Gibbon, t. iii. p. 410. 

• Geop. X. 7. II. These pots. 



like those in which the palm-tree 
was cultivated, were pierced at 
the bottom like our own, Theoph. 
Hiat. Plant, iv. 4. 3. 

^ Ab tlie omnge-tree is still in 
Lemnos. Walp. Mem. i. 280. 

« The stalls for cattle were built 
as often as convenient, near the 
kitchen and facing the east, be- 
cause when exposed to light and 
heat they became amooth- coated. 
Vitruv. vi. 9. Cf. Varro. i. IJ. 



272 THE VILLA AND 

back-front, genially in the East the principal, opened 
upon the garden or orchanL • 

Moch pains was nsoaily taken in selecting the site 
of a farmhouse,* though opinions of course Taried 
according to the peculiar range of experience on 
which thej were based. In general such positions 
were considered most favourable as neighboured the 
sea, or occupied the summits or the slopes of moun- 
tains,^ more especially if looking towards the north.' 
The Ticinity of swamps and marshes, and as much 
as possible of rivers, was avoided, together with 
coombs, or hollow valleys, and declivities facing the 
south or the setting sun. If necessitated by the 
nature of the ground to build near the banks of a 
stream, the front of the dwelling was carefully turned 
away from it, inasmuch as its waters communicated 
an additional rigour to the winds in winter, and in 
summer filled the atmosphere with unwholesome 
vapours. The favourite exposure was towards the 
east whence the most salubrious breezes were sup- 
posed to blow, while the cheerful beams of the sun, 
as soon as they streamed above the horizon, dissi- 
pated the dank fogs and murkiness of the air. Not- 
withstanding the warmth of the climate, moreover, 
they loved such situations as were all day long illu- 
minated by the sun, whilst every care was taken 
to fence out the sirocco, a moist and pestilential 
wind, blowing across the Mediterranean from the 
deserts of Africa. In Italy, nevertheless, the far- 
mer often selected for the site of his mansion the 
southern roots of mountains, further defended from 
Alpine blasts by a sweep of lofty woods. 

According to the fashion prevailing in antiquity, 

^ G«op. ii. S. Cf. Vitruv. L 4. pluviis omni tempore anni seevit. 

< Petatur igitur aer calore et Columell. De Re Rust. i. 4. 
frigore temperatus^ quern fere me- 

diu8 obtinet collis, quod neque ' The same opinion is held by 

depressus hieme pruinis torpet^ Hippocrates, De Morbo Sacro. cap. 

aut torret sdstute vaporibus, neque ?• p. SOS, ed. Foes. 'O Bopciyc 

elatus in summa montium per- vyieiyoraTOs iffti rHv dyifivy. 

exiguis ventorum motibus, aut C£ Plin. iL 48. Vanro. LIS. 



THE FARMYARD. 273 

farmhouses were built liigli, large, and roomy, though 
Cato' shrewdly advises, that their magnitude should 
bear some relation to that of the domain, lest the 
villa should have to seek for the farm, or the farm 
for the villa. 

Much, however, would depend upon the tasto of 
the individual ; but in a plain farmhouse more atten- 
tion appears to have been paid to substantial com- 
fort, and something like rough John-Builism, than to 
that cold finical elegance which certain persons are 
fond of associating with whatever is classical. An 
Attic fanner of the true old republican school was 
anything but a fine gentleman. He scorned none 
of the occupations or productions by which he lived. 
On entering his dwelling you found no small diffi- 
culty in steering between bags of corn,' piles of 
cheeses, hurdles of dried figs' or raisins, while the 
racks groaned with bams* and bacon flitches. If 
they resembled their descendants,'' too, even their 
bedchambers were invaded by some 8j)ecie8 of pro- 
visions, for there in the present day you often be- 
hold long strings of melons suspended like festoons 
from the rafters. In one comer of the ground-floor 
stood a corbel filled with olive-dregs, recently pressed, 
in another a wool-sack or a pile of dressed skins." 
Yonder in the room looking into the garden, with 
the honey-suckle twining about the open lattice, 
were madam's loom and spinning-wheel, and carding 
apparatus, and work-baskets ; and there with the 
lark' might you sec her, serene and happy, suckling 
her young democrat, and rocking the cradle of a 



' De Re Rust. 3. '■ lU redi- 
" ficea, ne villa fundum quterat^ 
"neve fundus villain. CI". Co- 
limi. De Re Rust. i. i. It 
may liere by the way be ob- 
served that, during the flourish- 
ing periods of Roman agriculture. 
farms were generally rather small 
than large. Plin. HUt. Nat. viii. 
21. Schulz, Antin. Rustic. § vii. 

VOL. II. 



^ Schol. Aristoph. Nub. 43. 
' Philast. Icon. ii. 26. p. 6^1. 

* Cf. Atheii. iv. 38. 

* Walp. Mem. i. 281. 

" Aristoph. Nub. 45, seq. et 
Schol Schol. Eq. 80.5. 

T Plat. Ue Legg. viL 1. viii. p. 
40. Aristoph, Lysist. 18, sqtj. 



274 



THE VILLA AND 



second with lier foot, thriftily giving directions the 
wliile to Thratta, Xanthia or "the Qeatr-handed " 
Phillis.' 

The kitchen must sometimes have been in 
disorder; geese and ducks waddling across the floor, 
picking up the spilled grain, or snatching awaj the 
piece of bread and hdney which my young master 
had juttt put down on the stool to play at a game 
of romps with Thratta, Up in the dusky comer 
there, behind a huge armchair or settle, you may 
disicern a very auspicious looking CDclosure, from 
which, at intervals, issues a suppressed grunt ; it 
is the pigsty.^ But be not offended ; the practice 
is classical ; and jiigs, in my apprehension, are as 
pleasant company as geese and many other animals. 
Now, that geese were fed even about palaces, we 
have the testimony of Homer, whose Penelope, the 
the beau idial of a good housewife, says — 

" Full twenty geese have we at home, that feed 
On wheat m water steeped."* 

But the whole economy of geese-feeding * has 
lieen transmitted to us ; in the first place, the birds 
usually preferred were those most remarkable for 
their size and whiteness.* The ancients esteemed 
the variegated, or spotted, as of inferior value. The 
name rule applied to fowls. The chenoboscion,* or 
enclosure in which the geese were kept, was com- 
monly situated near ponds or freshes,^ abounding 
with rich grass and aquatic plants. Geese, it waa 
observed, are not nice in the article of food, but 
devour eagerly nearly all kinds of plants, though 
(lie chick-pea, and the couch-grass, the laurel and 



♦ Cf. Vict. Var. Led. p. 89!. 

* Geop. xiv. 22, Varro. iiL 
10. Coliim. viii. 14. 

«Poll. ix. 16. Hereabodu 
De Re Rust. lib. it, p. SS5. a. 

T Cf. Pallad. i. 30. Plin. x- 79. 
Plaut. Trueu!. iL 1. 41. 



I 




' Ariiitoph. Acliam. 272, Veep. 
824. Pac. 1138. Thosm, 280, 
seq. Suid. V. Oparra.t. p. 133U.a. 

' 'Eire njc tFTTiac rpi^ova, ^oi- 

povc. — Schol, Aristoph, Vesp. 
844. Lyiiit. 1073, Poll. ix. IG. 
* OdyBs. r. 536. 



TIIE FARMYARD. 



275 



I 



the laurel-rose,' were by the ancients supposecl to 
be hurtful to them. Of their eggs some were 
hatched by hens, but such as were designed to be 
sitten on by the goose herself, (who, during the 
period of incubation ' was fed on barley steeped 
in water,) were marked by writing or otherwise, 
to distinguish them from the eggs of their neigh- 
bours, which it was thought she would not be at 
the pains to hatch. For the first ten days after 
they had broken the shell the young goslings were 
kept within-doorH, where they were fed on wheat 
steeped in water, polenta a preparation of barley- 
meal dried at the fire, and chopped cresses. This 
period over, they were driven out to feed and after- 
wards to water ; they who tended them taking great 
care that they should not he stung by nettles, or 
pricked by thorns, or swallow the hair* of pigs or 
kids, which they imagined to be fatal to them. 

When full-grown geese were intended to be fat- 
tened, the cuBtom was, to conhne them in dark and 
extremely warm cells.* Their food was scientifically 
varied and regulated, proceeding from less to more 
nutritious, until they were judged fit for the table. 



I JEXxaxi. De Nat. Aaim. v. 29. 
ThU ingeniouB wnter, anxious to 
remove from geese the reputation 
of folly, relates that, when tra- 
vening Mount Taurus, eonscioua 
of their disposition to cackling, 
they carry stones in their bills, 
ftnd thus frequently escape the 
eagles which inhabit that lofty 
ridge of mountains. This the poet 
Phile undertakes to confirm in 
Terse:— 
\l9ov It ry oro/taTi fi^ vXa^fp 

'Ot^ip raXovift TnOpov, ti/ttiSei 

To«c o'irove yhf ^(ri rove Xl*^' 

moirotis, 
EMifft tiivit cXXox?** 'P^ ToU 




Jamb. De Animal. Proprietat. 
c. 15. p. 62. 



' Which according to Aristotle 
was thirty days. — Hist. Anim. 



* Pallad. L 30. CaTendum est 
am, ne pulli eonim setas glu- 



* The Quintilian Brothers, ap. 
Geop. xiv. 22. For the fate of 
these illustrious authors, Maxi- 
mua and Condianua, see Gibbon, 
i. H2. "Sint calido et tene- 
" broso loco : quteres ad creandas 
" adipes multum conferunt." Co- 
lum. viii. 1 4. 



■J 



276 



THE VILLA AND 



At first their diet consisted of a preparation com- 
posed of two parts polenta, and four parte bran boiled 
in water. Of this tbey were permitted to eat as 
much as they pleased three times a day, and once 
again at midnight, while water was furnished them 
in abundance. When they had continued on this 
regimen for some time, they were indulged with a 
more luxurious table, — nothing less than the most 
exquisite dried tigs, wliicb, being chopped small, and 
dissolved in water, were served up as a sort of jelly 
for twenty days, after which the pampered animal 
itself was ready for the spit. 

Occasionally that delicate and humane device, for' 
the practice of which Germany has, in modem times, 
obtained so enviable a celebrity, of enlarging preter- 
naturally the dimensions of the liver, was resorted 
to by the ancients,' whose mode of proceeding was 
as follows : during five-and-twenty days, being cooped 
up as before in a place of high temperature, the 
geese were fed with wheat and barley steeped in 
water, the former of which fattened, while the latter 
rendered their flesh delicately white. For the next 
five days certain cakes or balls, denominated colly- 
ria," the composition of which is not exactly known, 
were given them at the rate of seven jier day, after 
which the number was gradually augmented to fif- 
teen, which constituted their whole allowance for other 
twenty days. To this succeeded the most extra- 
ordinary dish of all, consisting of bolusscs of leavened 
dough, steeped in a warm decoction of mallows, by 
which they were puffed up for four days. Their 
drink, meanwhile, was still more delicious than their 
food, being nothing less than hydromeV or water 
mingled with honey. During the last six days dried 
tigs, chopped fine, were added to their leaven, and 
tlie process being thus brought to a conclusion, the 
gourmands for whom they were intended, feasted on 



' Eupolis, ap. Athen. ix. sa. 

' Cf. Suiii. V. toWiipa. t. i. p. 

1*89. a. Poll. :. 2+8. Etym. 



Mag. 5i6. 2G. Schol. Aristoph. 
Pac. 132. 

' Cf. Dioscor. v. 30. 



THE FARMYARD. 



277 



the tcnderest geese and tLu largest livers in the 
Murld. It should be added, however, that before 
being cooked the liver was thrown into a basin of 
warm water, wliich the artistes several times changed. 
Geese, adds the ingenious gastronomer to whom we 
arc indebted for these details, are, both for flesh and 
liver, much inferior to ganders. The Greeks did 
not, however, like the Romans and the modema, 
select young geese fur this species of cidinary apo- 
theosis, but birds of a mature age and of the largest 
size, from two to four years old, which only proves 
the superior strength and keenness of their teeth. 

Ducks were kept in ponds, carefully enclosed, and, 
perhaps, covered over that they might not fly away. 
In the centre were certain green islets,' planted with 
couch-grass, which the ancients considered as bene- 
ficial to ducks as it was hurtful to geese. Tlieir usual 
foo<l, which was cast In the water encircling the 
islets, consisted of wheat, millet, barley, sometimes 
mixed with grape-stones and grajje-skiua. Occasion- 
ally they were indulged with locusts, prawns, shrimps,' 
and whatever else aquatic birds habitually feed 
on. Persons desirous of possosaing tame ducks were 
accnstomed to beat about the lakes and marshes^ 
for the nest of tlie wild bird. Gi\'ing the eggs 
to a hen to sit on, they obtained a brood of duck- 
lings perfectly domesticated.* Wild ducks were 
sometimes caught by pouring red wine, or the lees 
of wine, into the springs whither they came to 
drink. 

AVith respect to ham-door fowl, originally intro- 
duced from India and Media into Greece, the 
greatest care appears to have been taken to vary 
and improve the breeds. For this purpose cocks 

rcic Zl ipvOpat Ka/jfiUpovi;. He- 

» Cf. PhiioBt, Icon. i. 9. p. 776. 
* Coluin. viii, 15. Hi'ivghach. 
Do Itc lluet. lib. iv. p. 288. a. 



' Geop.Jtiv. 23. Varro.iii.ll. 
^Eliiui. De Nat. Anim. v. S3. 
Ariatot. De Hist. Anim. viii. 
3. Athen. ix. 5i. PhiU. De 
Anitn. Proprietal. c. 1+. p. 59. 

* Alhtn. iii. 04. Kovplin' 



278 



THE VILLA AND 



and hens were imported ' from tbe shores of the 
Adriatic, from Italy, Sicily, Numidia, and Egypt, 
while those of Attica were occasionally exported 
to other countries. There appears to have been 
a prejudice against keeping more than fifty fowls" 
about one farmyard, some traces of which may 
also be discovered in the practice of the Arabs.* 
The fowl-house furnished with roosts,* as with us, 
was 90 coutrived and situated as to receive from 
the kitchen a tolerable supply of smoke, which was 
supposed to be agreeable to these Median strangers. 
The food of fowls* being much the same all the 
world over, it is unnecessary to observe more than 
that the green leaves of the Cytisus were supposed 
to render them prolific. To preserve them from 
vermin, the juice of rue, by way I suppose of 
charm, was sprinkled over their feathers.** The 
proportion of male birds was one to six. Ilena 
were usually put to sit about the vernal equinox, 
during the first quarter of the mooo, in nests care- 
fully constructed of boards, and strewed with fresh 
clean straw, into which, as a sort of talisman against 
thunder, they threw an iron nail, heads of garlic, and 
sprigs of laurel.' During the period of incubation, 
the eggs which had previously been kept in bran 
were turned every day. 

Tlie other inhabitants of the farmyard were pea- 
cocks,^ commonly confined in beautiful artificial islands 



1 Athen. vii. 23. Of these 
birda die black were eatecmed 
lesB than the white, ix. 15. On 
the fighting cocIcb. Plin. x. 24, 
^Bch. Eum. 864, 869. Schol. 
ad JEseh. Tim. Orat. Attic, t. 
xii. p. 379. Schol. Aristoph. Eq. 
493. = Oeop. xiv. 7, 9- 

' Arabian Nights, Story of the 
Ass, tbe Ox, and Uie Labourer, 
vol. 1. p. S3. 

* Ta^pol. Sch. Aiistoph. Nub. 



■ 
■ 



227- 



* Beans, however. 



chewed as they were supposed to 
prevent them from laying. — Geo- 
ponic. ii. 35. But cocks were suf- 
fered to feed on them, at least when 
they belonged to poor men. — Luo. 
Mycill. 5 4. ^ Dioscor. ii 

^ Geop. xiv. 7. II. Colum. 
viii. 5. 

" Schol. Aristoph. Acham. 
Petit. Leg. Att. p. 877. 
xiv. 18. 1. Athen. xjv, 70. 
the poetical description of thii 
bird by Phile : Du Animal. Pro- 
prielat. c. 8. p. 32, sqij. 



al. Pro- I 



THE FARMYARD. 



279 



provided with elegant sbeds ; pheasants ' from the 
shores of the Black Sea ; * guinea-fowls from Nu- 
midia,' though according to other authors they were 
originally found in /Etolia;* partridges, quails, and 
the attagas. Thrushes were bred in warm rooma 
with slight perches projecting from the walls, and 
laurel boughs or other evergreens fixed in the cor- 
ners.' Over the clean floor was strewed their food, 
dried figs, which had been steeped in water, and 
mixed with flour or barley meal, together with the 
berries of the myrtle ; the lentiseus, the ivy, the 
laurel, and the olive. They were fattened with mil- 
let, panic, and pure water.'' Other still smaller birds 
were reared, aud fattened in hke manner. Every 
farmhouse had, moreover, its eolumbary and dove- 
cotes,^ sometimes so large as to contain five thou- 
sand birds. They usually consisted of spacious build- 
ing8,° roofed over and furnished with wiudows closed 
by lattice work, made so close that neither a lizard 
nor a mouse could creep through them. lu the 
floor were channels and basins of water, in which 
these delicate birds ^ might wash and plume them- 



' Qeoi^ xiv. 19. Ciilum. viii. 
le. Pallod. i. 28. Athen. is. 
97, Beq. Suid. V. fanavol. t. i. 
p. ]0;)3. a. b. Aristoph. Nub. 
109. 

* According to Diogenes Laer- 
tius, (i. iv. 51) both pheasants 
■nd peacocks were fhmiliar to the 
Greeks in the days of Solon. 

•Athen. xiv, 71. Julian. De 
Nat. Anim. v. 27. Arialot. Hist. 
Auim. ¥1, 2. A number of theae 
Wrds were kept on the Acropolis 
of Athene — Suid. v. fitXiaypiitc. 
t. n. p. Ui. a. 

* Within the enclosure for these 
birds pellitory of the wall was 
probably planted, as they loved 
to roll in and pluck it up. — 
Theoph. Hist. PlanUi. 6. II. 

» Cf. Pollux, ii. 2*. 



" Geop. xiv. 24. 5, seq. 

' The king of Tuban, in Java, 
had formerly his bed surrounded 
by cages of turtle-doves, which 
roosted on pcrehes of various co- 
loured glass. — Voyage de La 
Comp^nie dea Indes, i. S3S. 

*> Varro. iii. 7- Columell. viii. 
8. Pollad. i. 94. 

9 For the food with which 
they were supplied, see Oeopon. 
xiv. 1 . 5. Occauonally when 
the birds were permitted to fly 
abroad, their owners sprinkled 
them with unguents, or gave 
til em cumin seed to eat, in 
order that they might attract 
and bring back with them flights 
of doves or wild pigeons to Uieir 
cells. — Id. xiv. 3. I. So also 
Palladiug : Indueuut alias, si 



280 



TUE VILLA AND 



selves, and adjoiiiiiig was & oliaml>er into wbich such 
as were required for Bale, or tlie table, were en- 
ticed. Even jackdaws were kept about farmyards, 
and like common fowls had perches set up for 
them.' 

Much pains was taken by the ancients to im- 
prove the breed of animals.' Polycrates, tyrant of 
Samos, introduced into that island the Molossiaa 
and Spartan dogs, goats from Seyros and Naxos. 
and slieep from Attica and Miletos.' The fineness 
and beauty of Merinos were also known to the an- 
cients, who purchased from Spain rains for breed- 
ing at a talent each, that is, about two hundred 
and forty-one pounds sterling.* 

Horses were at all times few, and, consequently, ' 
dear in Greece ; they were, therefore, seldom em- 
ployed in agriculture, but bred and kept chiefly for 
the army, for religious pomps and processions, and 
for the chariot races at Olympia. Originally, no 
doubt, the hoi-se was introduced from Asia, and, up 
to a very late period, chargers of great beauty and 
spirit, continued to be imported from the shores of 
the Black Sea.'' Princes, in the Homeric age, ap- 
pear to have obtained celebrity for the beauty of 
their steeds, as Laonicdon, Tros, and Rhesos; and 
it was customary for them to possess studs of brood 
mares in the rich pasture lands on the sea-shore. 
That of Priam, for example, lay at Abydos, on the 
Hellespont.^ 

The high estimation in whicli horses^ were held 
in remote antiquity, may be gathered from the nu- 
. Blancard. Of the com- 



ouinino paacanlur asEtdue, vel 
hirct alarum balsami Itquore tan- 
gantur, i. 24. Cf. Plin. x. 52. 
- 1 Schoi. Aristoph. Veap. 129. 

« Cf. Arist. Hiat. Aniin. vii. 
6. 5. 

' Athen. xii. 57. 

4Strab.iii. S. t. i. p. 231. 

» Aristoph. Nub. 109. Suid. 
V. ^aiTuii-ut. t. it. p. loss. 
b. Thoin. Mngist, v. ^uo.(i»dJ. 



mentatora on AristophaneB, how- 
ever, Honie by the word ^aoiayoX 
understand horses, and some 
plieasanla. The probability is, 
that they imported both, and 
that the poet means to play upon 
the word. 

" Iliad. S. 500. 

' See also Iliad. 
Troleg. 80, se^. 



f upon ^^H 
Wolf. ^H 



THE FARMYARD. 



281 



mcrous faUes invented respecting tbem, — as that of 
tbe centaurs in Thessaly, of the winged courser of 
Belleroplioutes, and the Muses, and of the marvel- 
lous «teeds presented by Poseidon to Peleus on Lis 
marriage with Thetis. They were reckoned, like- 
wise, among the moat precious victims offered in 
Bacrifice to the gods. Tlius we find the Trojans 
plunging live horses into the whirlpool of the Sca- 
mander ' to deprecate the anger of that divinity. 
The Romans, likewise, in later times, sacrificed horses 
to the ocean ; ' and, in many parts of Asia, it ap- 
pears to have been customary in nearly all ages, to 
otfer up, as anciently in Laconia,' this magiiiSceDt 
animal on the altars of the sim/ Thus, among the 
Armenians, whose breed, though smaller than that 
of the Persians, was far more spirited, this practice 
prevailed as it still does in Northern India, and 
Xenophon,* a religious man. observes in tbe Ana- 
I>a8i8, that he gave bis steed, worn down with the 
fatigues of the march, to be fed and offered up by 
the Komarch, with whom he had been for some 
days a guest. From Homer's account of Pandarua 
we may infer, that the possessors of fine horses 
often submitted to great personal inconvenience 
rather than hazard tlie weil-being of their favourites. 
Far this wealthy prince,^ wlio possessed eleven car- 



> Iliad $. 132. 

' Fest. V. October, t ii, p. 521, 
eeq. v. Panibiu, p. 555. Lomeier, 
de LuBtrat. eap. 23. p. 293, »eq. 
Propert. iv. i. 20, with \h<t note 
of Frid. Jacub, in whose edition 
it is. V. i. 20. 

» Pauwn. iii. 20. 4. Feet. 
V. October, t. ii. p. 530, tells uB 
that this hone was sscriliced to 
tbe wlnda. 

* Herod, i. 216. BrisBon. do 
lU-gn. Pen. ii. 5. The reaion wliy 
the horse viat selected a« a victim 
to tbe SUM, was th4l its switYness 
Ufpcared (u resemble that of the 



god:— wcrai.'uriirai'T)! raKvrarf, 
Bochart. Hierozoic. pt. i, L ii. 
c. 10. Clear, in Philost. ViL 
Apoll. Tyan. i. 31. p. 29. Jus- 
tin, i. 10. Suid. V. fiiOpov. t. ii. 
p. 163, f. This practice is like- 
wise mentioned by Ovid, (Fait, 
i. 385, Be<).) 
Placat equo Persis radiia Hyperi- 

01 la dnctum, 
Ne detUT celeri rictiina tarda deo. 
Cf. Vigenere, Imagps des Philos- 
trates.p. 773. Par. 162?. 

* Anab. iv. fl. 35. 

'' Iliad. (. 192, se<|. 



282 



THE VILLA AND 



riages and twenty-two steeds, came on foot to the 
aasistance of Priam, lest tbcy should not find a plen- 
tiful supply of provender at Troy. 

Several countricB were famous' for tbeir breed of 
horses, as Cyrene, Egypt, Syria, Phrygia, and the 
Phasis." Thessaly, too, particularly the neighbour- 
hood of Triccae, abounded in barbs, as did like- 
wise Bceotia. But one of the most remarkable races 
was that produced in Nisseon,' a district of Media, 
which seoma to have been white, or of a bright 
cream colour,* and of extraordinary size and swift- 
ness. On one of these Masistios* was mounted dur- 
ing the expedition into Greece. Apollo, in an ora^ 
cle is said to have 8{>oken of the beauty of mares, 
alluding, perhaps, to those of Elis, which were re- 
markable for their lightness and elegance of form ; 
and Aristotle celebrates a particular mare of Phar- 
satis, called Dicsea, which was famous for bringing 
colts resembling their flires.^ Among the Homeric 
chiefs, Achilles and Eumelos boasted the noblest 
coursers, as we learn from a picturesq^ue and striking 
passage in the Catalogue :' " And now, O Muse, 
" declare, which of the leaders and their horses were 
" most illustrious. Excepting those of Achilles, the 
" finest steeds' before Troy were those of Eume- 
" Io8 from Pherai, swift as birds, alike in mane, in 
" age, and so equal in size, that a rule would stand 
" level on their hacks. They were both bred by 
"Apollo in Pieria, both mares, and they bore with 
" them the dread of battle. Noblest of all, how- 



' Sch. Knd. Pyth. iv. I. 
' Sch. Aristoph. Nub. 1 10. 
»Strab. xi. 13. p. 453. Tovc 

a Nijira/ouc iTirouci ole c^puirTa 
□i ^aaiXcig dplirroic aZat Ka\ fit- 

yloToic Cf. Herod, i. 189, on 
the sacred horsea of Persia. 

* Suid. T. (TTOc Niiraioc. t. i. 

p. 1271. d. who rclatee that, ac- 
cording to Bome, the breed was 
found near the Erythrean Sea. 



^ Herod, ix. 20. Cf. II. i. 
583. S. 142, aeq. In Philostra- 
tuB we lind mention mode of a 
black Nissan mare with white 
feet, large patch of white on the 
breast, and white nostrils. — Icon, 
ii. 5.p. 816. 

Hist. Aniin. vii. 6. 



THE PARHTARD. 



283 



" ever, were the coursers of Achilles. But he, in 
*' his luiiur-prowed, sea-passing ships remains iu- 
" censed against Atreides, the shepherd of his 
"people; his myrmidons amuse themselves on the 
" sea^shore with pitching the quoit, launching the 
"javelin, and drawing the bow; their horses, stand- 
" ing beside the cbariots, feed upon lotus, trefoil and 
" marsh parsley ; and the chariots themselves, well 
" covered with hangings, are drawn up in the tents 
" of the chiefs, while the soldiers, sighing for the 
" leading of their impetuous general, stroll carelessly 
" through the camp without joining in the war." 

The food of the Homeric horses,' was little in- 
ferior to that of their masters, since, besides the 
natural delicacies of the meadows, they were in- 
dulged with sifted barley and the finest wheat.' 
The halter with which, while feeding, they were tied 
to the manger seems usually to have been of leather. 
Aristotle/ remarks, that horses are fattened less by 
their food than by what they drink, and that, like 
the camel,* they delight in muddy water, on which 
account they usually trouble the stream before 
they taste it. 

The Greek conception of equine beauty' differed 



' Iliad, ft. 560. CC i. 123, seq. 
365. 407- K 565, aeq. 

» n. e 196. On an ancient 
cryBtal engmvrf in Buonaruti a 
mtui with cap and short breeches 
is represented feeding an ass with 
com. Ogserv. Istorich. sop. ale. 
Medagl. Aiitich. p. 345. 

'Hist. Anim. viii. 10. 

* rhile applies the same obser- 
vation to the elephant : 

'Yfwp hi mvu tX^Soc afBorof 

nx^f oil KaSapoy, Kai itciii^ ob 

Six,,. _ 

'AXX'oJi' puTapuy Kal mrfffin- 

lamh. de Animal. Pro- 
prietat-c. 39. p. 56. 165, seq. 



^ Geop. xvi. 2. Philost. Icon. 
i. 2S. p. 804. Notwithstanding 
the admiration of the Greeks Tor 
horses we do not find that they 
made any attempt to natumliza 
among them those Shctlands of 
the ancient world which, accord* 
ing to a very grave naturalist, 
were no larger than rams. These 
diminutive steeds were found in 
India: — Uapa yt roic ^^XXoic 
KaXovitivoii riiv 'Ivtif, liin yk/t 
Kni Aifi/aii' tTipot, TinrtM yt- 
vovrat rHy icpiuy ob fiil(oUf. 
Julian, de Animal, xvi. 37. 
Modem writere relate the same 
thing of a certtun breed of oxen 
in India : " Naturalists speak of 
'' a diminutive breed of axca in 



284 THE VILLA ,1KD 

but little from our own, since they chiefiy loved 
horses of those colours which are still the objects of 
admiration : as snow-white, with black eyes like those 
of RheaoB, which Plato thought the most beautiful ; 
cream-coloured, light bay, chestnut, and smoky grey. 
They judged of the breeding of a horse by the short- 
ness of its coat and the dusky prominence of its 
veins. As a fine large mane greatly augments the 
magnificent appearance of this animal, they were 
careful after washing to comb and oil it' while they 
gathered up the forelock in a bajid of gilded leather* 
The floors of their stables were commonly pitched 
with round pebbles bound tight together by curbs 
of irou.' 

Horses were usually broken * by professed grooms, 
who eutered into a written agreement with the 
owners implicitly to follow their directions.* The 
jirocess was sufficiently simple. They began with 
the year-and-a-half colts,* on which they put a halter 
when feeding, while a bridle was hung up close to 
the maiiger, that they might be accustomed to the 
touch of it, and not take fright at the jingling of 
the bit.^ The next step was to lead them into the 
midst of noisy and tumultuous crowds in order to 
rliscover whetlier or not they were bold enough to 
be employed in war." The operation was not com- 
pletely finished till they were three years old. When, 
on the course or elsewhere, horses had been well 
sweated,^ they were led into a place set apart for 



" Ceylon, and the neighbourhood 
" of Sumt, no larger than a New- 
" foundland dog, which, though 
" fierce of aspect, are trained to 
" draw children in their little 
" carts." Hindoos, i. 23. 
' Iliad, x281,Beq. 

• n. t 358. 

3 Xenoph. de Re Equest. iv. *, 
*Plat. deRep. t. vi. p. 158. 

* Xenoph. de Be Equest. ij. S. 
Cf. iHconom. iii. 1 1 . xiii. 7- 

6 Geop, xvi. i. II. 



T Xen. de Re Equeat, 10. 6. 
Poll. viii. 184. 

" The swimming powers of the 
war-horae were probably aug- 
mented by exercise, since we find 
them passing by swimming &om 
Rhegium to Sicily. Plut. Ti- 
mol. § 1 9. This feat, howeva, 
was nothing to that of the stags 
which swam from Syria to Cyprual 
/Klian. De Nat. Anim. v. 5ti. 

a Sch. Aristoph. Nub. 32. 
25, 28. 



I stags ^_ 
yprual ^^H 

Cf. ^H 



THE FARMYARD. 



285 



the purpose, ami, in ortlor to dry themselves, made 
to roll in the Bund. It was customary for owners 
to mark their horses with the Koppa,' or other let- 
ter of the alphabet, whence they were sometimes 
called Koppatias, Samphoras, &c. 

The mule and the ass were much employed in 
rural labours, the former both at the cart and the 
plough, the latter in drawing small tumbrils, and in 
hearing wood" or other produce of the farm to the 
city.' The wild ass * was sometimes resorted to 
for improving the breed of mules, whicli, in the 
Homeric age, were found in a state of nature among 
the mountains of Paphlagonia.' 

But their cares extended even to swine, which, if 
King Ptolemy may be credited, were sometimes 
distinguished in Greece for their great size and 
beauty. He, in fact, observes in his Memoirs, that 
iu the city of Assos he saw a milk-white hog two 
cubits and a half in length, and of equal height ; 
and adds, tliat King Eumenea had given four thou- 
sand drachma, or nearly two hundred pounds sterling, 
for a boar of this enormous size, to improve tUe 
breed of pigs in his country/' So that we perceive 
those great generals, whom posterity usually contem- 
plates only in the cabinet or in the battle-field, were, 
at the same time, in their domestic policy, the rivals 
of the Earls Spencer and Leicester. Superstition, 
among the Cretans, prevented the improvement of 
bacon; for as a sow was said to have suckled the 



' Ariatoph. Eq. eoi. Nub. 25. 
Spanh. in ioc. Athen. xi. 3U. 

* In carting wood from Mount 
Ida in the Troad oxen ore at pre- 
sent Bubatituted for asses, and 
the bodies of the Tehicles they 
drav, in form resembling ancient 
cars, are constructed of wicker- 
work. Chandler, i. 47. 

' Lucian. Luc. 



43. Cf. Artemid. Oneirocrit. ii. 
12. p. 07. 

*Geop. xvi. 21. Varro ii. C. 
3. To account for tliis care it 
may be observed, that rich men 
sometimes tode, as they still do 
ill ihc East, on aucs superlily 
caparisoned and adorned with 
bcIU. Lucian. Luc. sive Asin. 
§48. " II. e. 853. 

6 Athen. ix. 1 7. Cf. Sleph. Pe 
Aain. § Urb. 18*. e. 



286 THE VILLA AND 

infant Jupiter, and defeniled his helpless infancy, they, 
in gratitude,' abstained from hog's flesh. 

In all farms the care of cattle necessarily formed 
a principal employment. The oxen^ were used in 
ploughing, treading out the com, drawing manure to 
the fields, and bringing home the produce of the 
harvest. To prevent their being overcome by fatigue 
while engaged in their labours, the husbandmen of 
Greece had recourse to certain expedients, one of 
which was, to smear their hooft ^vith a composition 
of oil and terebinth, or wax, or warm pitch :^ while, 
to protect them from flies, their coats were anointed 
with their own saliva, or with a decoction of bruised 
laurel berries and oil.* Their milch cows, in the 
selection of which much judgment was displayed,' 
were commonly fed on eytisus and clover; and, still 
further to increase their milk, bunches of the herb 
dittany were sometimes tied about their flanks. The 
usual milking-times" were, in the morning imme- 
diately after the breaking-up of the dawn, and in 
the evening about the close of twilight ; though, 
occasionally, both cows, sheep, and goats were milked 
several times during the day. In weaning calves 
they made use of a species of muzzle.' as the Arabs 
do in the case of young camels. Their pails, like 
our own, were of wood,^ but somewhat differently 
shaped, being narrow above, and spreading towards 
the bottom. When conveyed into the dairy the milk 

' Athen. ix. 18. 

= Scheffer, De Re Vehic. p. 80 ; 
et vid. Dickenson, Deiph. Phse- 
nicizant. c. 10. p. 116, seq. 
HercBbach. De Re Rust. p. 236, 
aqq. 

* Geop. xvii. 9, with the note 
of Niclas. AriBtoph. Hist. Anim. 
viii. 7. 28. Cato. De Re Rust. 
7«. Plin. jutviii. 81. 

* African, ap. Geop. xvii. 11. 

* Geop. xvii. 2, 8. 



" Buttm. Lcxi!. p. 86. 
' Hesjch. V. initraa\os- 
« EuBtath.adOdyss. I. p.219. 
Their milk-cupB were soiuetimeg 
of ivy. Eurip. Fragin. Androni. 
27. Athen. xi. 53. Macrob. Sat. 
V. 21. Cf. on the milk-pans and 
cheeae-vati. Poll. x. 130; Theo- 
crit. Eidyll. v. 87. Milk-pwli 
were BometimeB called rcXAcif, 

afioXyol, ■yakaKTV&oKa, aud OUt 

out of tbese they Bometimea drank, 
Schol. i. 25. 



I 



J 



THE FARMYARD. 



I poured i 



I pans,' 



; the form of wbieli I have 



hitiierto found no information.' That they skimmed 
their miik is evident (whatever they may have done 
with the cream), from the mention of that thin 
pelHcle which is found on it only when skimmed, 
whether scalded or not. "Here, drink this!" said 
Glycera to Menander, when he had returned one 
day in exceeding ill-humour from the theatre. " I 
" don't like the wrinkled skin," replied the poet to 
the lady, whose beauty, it must be remembered, 
was at this time on the wane. " Blow it off," replied 
she, immediately comprehending his meaning, " aud 
take what is beneath."' Milk, in those warm lati- 
tudes, grows sour more rapidly than with us; but 
the ancients observed that it would keep three days 
when it had been scalded, and stirred until cold with 
a reed or ferula.* 

The Greeks of classical times appear to have made 
uo use of butter,* though so early as the age of Hip- 
pocrates thoy were well enough acquainted with its 
existence and properties.'^ Even in the present day 
Imtter is much less used in Greece than in most 
European countries, its place being supplied by fine 
olive oil. For cheese, however, they seem to have 
entertained a partiality, though it is probable that 
the best they could manufacture would have lost 
very considerably in comparison with good Stilton 
or Cheshire, not to mention Parmasan. It was a 
fevourite food, however, among soldiers in Attica, 
who during war used to supply themselves both with 



' Cf. II. ». 642. ct Schol. Ve- 
nd. Etym. Mag. 059. *1. Athen. 
xi. 91. 

* Even Pliilosti&tue, while 
mentioning theie veMcb, filled to 
the brim with milk, on which 
the creftm lies rich and shining, 
□mits to furnish any hint of theii 
form : — J^rrijptc ydXatros, QV 
XiVKov /loyoi; dXKi Kal oriXi- 



r^; EiriiroXafbiiiTqc at>rj> iripiXqc* 
Icon. i. 31. p. 809. 

' Athen. xiii. 49. 

• Geop. xviii. 19. 4. 

^ See Beckman. Hist, of Inv. L 
372, aeq. Butter is made at 
present in Greece by filling a Bldn 
with cream and treading on it. 
Chandler, ii. Z4A. 

^ Foes, CEconom. Hippoc. v- 
wiKiptof, p. S06. 



288 



THE VILLA AND 



cheese and meal.' Their cheesc-lope or r* 
most cases resembled our own, consisting of the 
liquid substance found in the men of new-born 
animals, as calves, kids, or hares, which was consi- 
dered superior to lamb's rennet.* Occasionally they 
employed for the sanio purpose burnt salt or vine- 
gar, fowl's crop or popper, the flowers of bastard 
saffron, or the threads which grow on the head of 
the artichoke. For these again, was sometimes sub- 
stituted the juice of the fig-tree;' or a branch freshly 
cut* was used in stirring the milk while warming 
on the fire. Tliis cheese would seem, for the most 
part, to have been eaten while fresh and soft,* like 
that of Neufchatel, though they were acquainted 
with various means of preserving it for a consider- 
able space of time. Acidulated curds were kept 
soft by being wrapped in the leaves of the tere- 
binth tree, or plunged in oil, or sprinkled with salt. 
When desirous of preserving their cheese for any 
length of time, they washed it in pure water, and, 
after drying it in the sun, laid it upon earthen jars 
with thyme and summer savory. Some other kinds 
were kept in a sort of pickle, composed of sweet 
vinegar or oxyrael or sea-water, which was poured 
into the jars until it entirely penetrated and covered 
the whole mass. When they wished to communi- 
cate a peculiar whiteness to the cheese, they laid 
it up in brine. Dry cheese was rendered more 
solid and sharp-tasted by being placed within reach 
of the smoke. If from age it were hard or bitter, 



' Sch. Aristoph. Pac. 394. 

« Varro. De Re Rust. ii. 1 1. 4. 
Colum. vii. 8. Eustath ad II. t. 
p. 472. Hesyeh. v. OTic. — 
M<firia: dToc 'ArriKo/, Trvria'Ek- 
\iliic, p. 205. Cf. Ariatot. Hist. 
Anim. iv. 21. 

' The cheese made in this man- 
ner was called diriac. Eurip. 
Cyclop. }S&. Atiien. xiv. 75. 
Schol. Ariatoph. Veap. 353. 



Dioscor. i. 183. Plin. xxiii. 6S. 
Plut. SympOB. tI. 10, 

♦ Geop. xviii.lg. These cheeaw 
were Bometime* made in box-wood 
moulds. Colum. vii. 8. 

* Phiiostratus describes one of 
these delicate little cheeses freshly 
made and quivering like a slice of 
blanc-manger : — mi rpu^uXic If' 

cripov fliXkov fcon-ayi)< 
Xii/ovaa. Icon. i. 31. p. 



I 
I 
I 



^H 



tlirc 



THE FARMYARn. 



into 



289 



preparation of barley-meal, 
tLen soaked in water, and wliat rose to the top 
was skimmed ofT.' 

That the milk-women in Greece understood all the 
arts of their jirofession may be gathered from the 
instructions which have been left us on the best me- 
thods of detecting the presence of water in milk. If 
you dip a sharp rush into milk, says Berjtios, and 
it run off easily, there is water in it. And again, 
if you pour a few drops upon your thumlwiail, the 
pure milk will maintain its position, while the adul- 
terated will immediately glide away ! ■ 

Their mode of fattening eattle' was as follows: 
first they fed them on cabbage chopped small and 
steeped in viuegar, to which succeeded chaff and gur- 
gions during five days. This diet was then exchanged 
for barley, of which for nearly a week they were 
allowed four cotyla; a-day, the quantity being then 
gradually augmented for six other days. As of ne- 
cessity the hiude were stirring early, the cattle began 
even in winter to I>e fed at cock-crowing; a second 
quantity of food was given tliera about dawn, when 
they were watered, and their remaining allowance 
towards evening. In sunmier their first meal com- 
menced at day-break, the second at mid-day, and 
the third about sunset. They were at this time of 
the year suffered to drink at noon and night of 
water rendered somewhat tepid ; in winter it was 
cou8ideral)ly warmer. 

About MoRsynos, in Thrace, cattle were sometimes 
fed upon fish, which was likewise given to horses, 
and even to sheep. Herodotus, who meutions a 
similar fact, calls food of this description yj^os, 
" fodder,"* though hay or dried straw was. doubt- 
less, its original meaning. The provender of cattle 
in the district about Mnia appears to have been 



' Geop. xviii. 19. 

* Geop- xviii. 20. 

* Geop. xvii, 12. 



• Herod, v. IC. Allien, vii 

JEliaa. ie Nat. Anim. v. 

Heretbach. Cf. Sch. Aristoph. Pac. 891. 



290 THE VILLA AND 

SO wholesome, that the herds which fed upon it , 
were never afflicted by the mange/ 

Among the animals domesticated and rendered ' 
useful by the Greeks we must, doubtless, reckon 
bees,* which, in the heroic ages, had not yet l>een 
confined in hives. For, whenever Homer describes 
them, it is either where they are streaming forth 
from a rock,' or settling in bands and clusters on | 
the spring flowers. So, likewise, in Virgil, they 

Hunt the golden dew ; 
In Bumnier time on tops of lilies feed. 
And creep within their belh to suck the balmy seed. 

In that Boeotian old savage, Hesioil,' however, wo 
undoubtedly find mention of the hive where he is j 
uncourteously comparing women to drones— 

As when within their well-roofed hives the bees 
Maintain the mischief- working drones at eaae, 
Their task pursuing till the golden sun 
Down to the western wave his course hath run, 
Filling their shining combs, while snug within 
Their fragrant cells, the drones, with idle din. 
As princes revel o'er their unpaid bowls. 
On others' labours cheer their worthless souls. 

As the honey of Attica constantly, in antiquity, 
enjoyed the reputation of being the finest in the 
world/ the management of bees naturally formed ia j 



■ Theoph. Hist. Plant, iv. 1 4. S. 
« Athen. iii. 5D. Sch. Aris- 
toph. Vesp. 107. 

* 11. e. 67- fi. 67. Odyss. 
c. 106. 

* Theogon. 594, seq. — Pro alft- 
eXotat, quod pnebet R. S., cieteri 
Mas. afiiivi/T<ri. Schreferus tamen 
nialebat alftSkotaiy twripc^tin. 
GcBttling. But Goguet, who has 
considered this passage, does not 
think that " hives " are meant ; 
because, if their use had been 
known in the limes of Hesiod, 



he would not have failed to leave j 
us some directions on the subject. 
Origine des Loin, t. iii. p. 399. 
Wolff, following in the fooateps 
of Heyne, gets easily over the 
difficulty by pronouncing the 
whole pass^e, v. 590 — 612, ^| 
spurious. GiBttltng, p. 55. C£ 7 
Schol. Ariatoph. Nub. 937. ' 
Pbile, de Animal, Proprietat. 
28. p. 87, seq. 

* The pasturage of Hymettos, 
however, was, by Pausanias, re- 
garded as second to that of the 



lat of the ^m 



THE FARMYARD. 



291 



tliat country an iniportaut bmiicli of rural economy. 
The natural history, moreover, of the bee was stu- 
died with siaglar eiithutiiam by the Greeks in ge- 
neral. Aristnmachos of Soli, devoted to it fifty- 
eight years, and PhiliscoB, the Tbasian, who passed 
his life among bees in a desert, obtained on that 
account the name of the Wild Man. Both HTote 
on the subject.' 

This branch of rural economy was carried to very 
great perfection in Attica. The vocabulary" con- 
nected with it was extensive, as every separate 
operation had its technical term, by the study of 
which, chiefly, an insight into their practice is ob- 
tained. Thus, from certain expressions employed 
by Aristotle^ and Pollux, it seems clear that bee- 
managers, whom we may occasionally call melit- 
turgi, constituted a separate division among the 
industrious classes ; and these, instructed by ctmstant 
experience, pr(»bably anticipated most of the im- 
ptovements imagined in modern times. For example, 
instead of destroying the valuable and industrious 
little insects for the purpose of obtaining possession 
of their spoils, they in some cases compelled them 
by smoke to retire temporarily from the hive, whence 
their treasures were to be taken ; and in the mining 
districts about Laureion they understood the ar^ 
concerning which, however, no particular are known, 
of procuring the virgin honey pure and unsmoked.* 

The grounds of a melitturgos or bee-keeper were 



ver Halya, 
' tBine, and 
n the fields. 



Alazones on th( 
whore the bees ■ 
worked in commi 
i. 32. 1. 

' Plin. Hbt. Nat. xi. 9. 

» Poll. i. 854. Artemid. Onei- 
rocrit. ii. 22. n. 109. 

3 Hist. Anim. v. 82. ix. 40. 
Etym. Mag. 458. 44. 

* Tou ii /jt'XtToc, npiorou orrac 
rif mii'Tiul' Tov 'Attikov, iro\u 
fiXriOTOv ^difi TO ly role a'pyv- 



raXoSo'iv 

OTo TOU TpvTDv rSc aKivaaicMC' 
Strab. ix. S. t. ii. p. 246.— 
Wheler deacribea the modem 
method observed by the Athe- 
nians in taking honey without 
destroying the bee, but in a style 
so lengthy and uncouth, that I 
must content myBelf with a re- 
ference to his travels. Book vi. 
p. 412, seq. 



292 



THE VILLA AND 



chosen and laid out with ]icculiar care.' In a shel- 
tered spot, generally on the thymy slope of a hill, 
the hives were arranged in the midst of flowers and 
odoriferous shrubs. And if the necessary kinds had 
not by nature been scattered there, they were planted 
by the gardener. Experience soon taught them what 
blossoms and flowers yielded the best honey," and 
were most agreeable to the bees. These, in Attica, 
were supposed to be the wild pear-tree, the bean, 
clover, a pale-coloured vetch, the syria, myrtle, wild 
poppy, wild thyme, and the almond-tree.* To which 
may be added the rose, balra gentle, the galingale 
or odoriferous rush, basil royal, and above all the 
cytisus,* whioh begins to flower about the vernal 
equinox, and continues in bloom to the end of Sep- 
tember.* Of all the plants, however, aflected by the 
bee, none is so grateful to it as the thyme, which 
so extensively abounds in Attica and Messenia^ as 
to perfume the wliole atmosphere. In Sicily too, 
all the slopes and crests of its beautiful hills, frotn 
Palermo to Syracuse, are invested with a mantle of 
thjme,' and other odoriferous shrubs, which, accord- 
ing to Varro, gives the superior flavour to the Sici- 
lian honey. Box-wood abounded on mount Cytoros, 



' On the management of bee* 
in Circassia and other countries 
on the Black Sea, see Pallas, 
Travels in Soulhern Russia, ii. 
p. 204. 

s On the coast of the Black Sen 
bees sucked lioney from the grape. 
Geop. V. 2. 

» Arist. Hist. Anim. ix. 26, 87. 

* Geop. jtv. 3. 6. 

» Varro, De Re Bust. iii. 16. 

"Siblhorpe in Walpole's Me- 
moirs, t ii. p. 63. Geop. xv. 2. 
5. SpeakingofHymettoa, Chand- 
ler observes, that it produces a 
Buccession of aromatic plants, 
herbs, and flowers, calculated to 
supply the bee with nourishment 
both in winter and i 



143. " Lea montagnes (des ilea) 
" Bont couvertea de thym et de 
" lavande. Les aballes, qui y 
" volent par nu^es, en tirent iia 
" miel qui eat aussl transparent 
" que notre gelee." Delia Rocca, 
Traite sur lea Abetlles, t. i. 6. 

^ Thia plant in Greece flowers 
about mii^ummer, and those who 
kept bees conjectured whether 
honey would be plentiful or not, 
according as it was more or less 
luxuriant. Theoph. Hiat. Plant. ' 
i-i. 2, S. The wild thyme of 
Greece was a creeping plant which 
was sometimes trained on poles or 
hedges, or even in pits, the sides 
of which it apeedily covered. Id. 



J 



I 



THE FARMYARD. W3 

in Galatia, and iu the island of Corsica, oil which 
account the hunej of the latter country was bitter.' 

In selecting a spot for hives, the ancients observed 
a rule which I do not recollect to have been men- 
tioned hy modern bee-keepers, and that was to avoid 
the neighbourhood of an echo,^ which by repeating 
their ow^n buzzing and munnuring suggested the idea 
perhaps of invisible rivals. Place them not, says 
Virgil,' 

Near hollow rocks that render back the Bound, 
And doubled images of voice rebound. 

Care was taken to conduct near the hives small 
runnels of the purest water, not exceeding two or 
three inches in depth with shells or pebbles rising 
dry above the surface, M'hereon the bees might alight 
to drink.* When of necessity the apiary was situated 



' Theoph. Hist. Plant, iii. 1 6. 5. 
The honey of niodeni Crete ii ea- 
toented of a good quality. Paih- 
ley. Travels, vol. i. p. 56. 

' Echo, in the mythology, is 
Mud to have been beloved of Pan, 
by which she seenis tacitly to be 
connected with the generation of 
Panic Terrors Polyten. Stratagem, 
i. 2. 1. Offensive smells ore 
often reckoned among the aver- 
sions of bees, but I fear without 
good reason. At least they have 
Bomelimes been found to select 
strange places wherein to deposit 
their treasures of sweets. In the 
book of Judges, chap. xiv. ver. 8, 
seq., it is related that, when Sam- 
eon, on his way to Timnalh, 
turned aside to view the carcass 
(if a young lion which he had a 
short time preriously alain, " be- 
' hold, there was a swarai of bees 
' and honey in the carcass of the 
' lion, and he look thereof in his 
' hands and went on eating, and 
' came to his father and mother. 



" and he gave them and they 
"did oat, but he told not theni 
"that he had taken the honey 
" out of the carcass of the lion." 
Upon this passage the follow- 
ing may serve as a note : — 
"Among this pretty collection 
" of natural curiosities, (In the 
"cemetery of Algesiras,) one in 
" particular attracted our atten- 
" tion ; this was the contents of a 
" small micovered cofhn in which 
" lay a child, the cavity of the 
" chest exposed and tenanted by 
" an industrious colony of bees. 
" The comb was rapidly progress- 
" ing, and 1 suppose, according to 
" the adage of the poet, they were 
" adding sweets to the sweet, if 
" not perfume to the violet,** 
Napier, Excursions on the Shores 
of the Mediterranean, v. i. 127. 

* Georg. iv. at), with tlie com- 
mentaries of Serviua and Philar- 
gyriuB ; and Varro, De Be Rust. 
iii. 16. 

* Cf. Geop. XV. 2, 3, 4. 



204 



THE VILLA AND 



on the margin of lakes or lai^r streams other ccm*] 
trivances were h&d recourse to for the convenience 
of the airy labourers. 

Then o'er the ruaiiiiig stream or standing klce 
A passage for thy weary people make. 
With osier floats the standing water strow. 
Of tnassy stones make bridges if it flow, 
That basking in the sun thy beta may lie 
And resting there theit flaggy pinions dry, 
When late returning liome the laden host 
By raging winds ia wrecked upon the coast. 

Their hives were of various kinds and shapes. 
Some, hke the modern Circassians, they made with 
fine wicker-work, of a round form and carefully plas- 
tered on the inside with clay.^ Other hives were 
constructed of bark, especially that of the cork-tre^ 
others of fig, oxya, beech, and pine-wood," others, as 
now in Spain, of the trunk of a hollow tree, others 
of earthenware, as is the practice in Russia; and 
others again of plaited cane of a square shape, three 
feet in length and about one in breadth, but so con- 
trived that, should the honey materials prove scanty, 
they might be contracted, lest the bees should lose 
courage if surrounded by a large empty space. The 
wicker-hives were occasionally plastered both inside 
and outside with cow-dung to fill up the cavities 
and smooth the surface.* A more beautiful species 
of hive was sometimes made with the lapis specu- 
laris,* which, being almost as transparent as glass, 
enabled the curious owner to contemplate the move- 
ments and works of the bees.' When finished, they 
were placed on projecting slabs, so as not to touch 
or be easily shfiken. There were generally three 



' Vir. Georg, iv. 34, seq. Var- 
ro, iii. 16. Colum. ix. 2—7. 
Seh, Ariatoph. Nub. S9S. Vesp. 
941. Callim. Hymn. i. 50. Cf. 
Wheler, Travels into Greece. 
Book vi. p. 411. 

^ Geop. XV. 2. 7. Cf. Theoph. 
HIeI. Plant, iii. 10. 1. 



' Geop. XT. E. 8. Varro, iii. 1 6. 
Colum. ix. 14. Pallad. to. 8. 

Cato. 81. 

*P]in.xsi.47. 

* At present the hives, we are 
told, are eet on the ground in 
rows enclosed within a low wall. 
Chandler, ii. 143, 



THE FARMYARD. 295 

rows of hives rising above each other like Egyptian 
tombs on the face of the wall, and there was a pre- 
judice against adding a fourth. 

The fences of apiaries were made high and strong 
to protect the inmates from the inroads of the bears,' 
which would otherwise have overthrown the hives 
and devoured all the combs.' Another enemy of the 
bee was the Merops,^ which makes its appearance 
about Hjinettos towards the cud of summer.* 

There were, in ancient times, two entrances, 
one on either hand, and on the top a lid, which 
the Melitturgos could remove when he desired to 
take the honey, or inspect the condition of the bees. 
The best of these lids were made of bark, the \vor8t 
of earthenware, which were cold in winter, and in 
summer exceedingly hot.* It was considered ne- 
cessary during spring and the succeeding season 
for the bee-keeper to inspect the hives thrice a 
month, to fumigate them slightly, and remove 
all filth nod vermin. He was careful, likewise, to 
destroy the usurpers if there were more than one 
queen,'' since, in Varro's^ opinion, they gave rise to 



the honey, which he sflcrwards 
Hucka at hia leisure. Schneider, 
Observ, Bur UUoa, t. ii. p. 199. — 
Si* a very oniuaing chapter on 
the enemicH of the bee in Delia 
RocL-a, iii. 219, »qq. 

* Sibthorpe in Walp. Mem, i. 
75. The practice, moreover, of 
Btealing liives wai not unknown 
to the ancientB. Plat. De Legg. 
t. viii. p. 104. 

a Colum. ii. 6. DeUa Rocca, 
however, conaidcn this kind as 
equal to any other, except that 
it is more fn^e. t. ii. p. 1 ?■ 

"Geop. XV. 2. 15. 

T De Re Rust. iii. 16, 18. 
Colum. ix. 9. C. Hist. Anion, v. 
1.9,23. Xenoph. Uiconom. vii. 



' Pliile gives a long liat of the 
bees' foei, which bef^ns aa fol- 

'O^iCi Ii Kai inp>tK, koi \c\ifiiy, 
la'' ^pjyot, 

KOI ^kayi, 
Ka! aaiipoc u)(/iot, Kal fayeir 
^nvdc iupo\li. 

Iamb. De Animal. Proprietat. 
c. 30, y. 104, seq. 

' Arist. Hist. Anim. riii. 5. 
Plin. Nat. Hist. viiL 54. 

" Betides this enemy the bees 
of America have another ttill 
more audacious, that b to say, the 
monkey, which either carries off 
thoir combs or cnishes them for 
the piirpoM' of dipping lus tail in 



296 THE VILLA AND 

sedition ; but Aristotle tiiinks there ought to be ' 
several, lest one should die, and the hive along 
with it. Of the queen Ijees there are three kinds* 
the black, the ruddy, and the variegated ; though . 
Menecrates, who is good authority, speaks only of j 
the black and variegated.' Aristotle, however, de- 
scribes the reddish queen bee as the best. Even 
among the working insects there are two kinds, the I 
smaller, in fomi round, and variegated in colour, 
the larger, which is the tame bee, less active and j 
beautiful. The former, or wild bee," frequents the 
mountains, forests, and other solitary places, labours ' 
indefatigably, and collects honey in great quantities; 
the latter, which feeds among gardens, and in man's 
neighbourhood, fills its hive more slowly.' With 
respect to the drones, or males, which the working 
bees generally expel at a certain time of the year, 
the Attic nielitturgi got rid of them in a very in- 
genious manner. It was observed, that these gen- 
tlemen though no way inclined to work, would yet | 
occasionally, on very fine days, go abroad for exer- 
cise, rushing forth in squadrons, mounting alofl into j 
the air, and there wheeling, and sporting, and ma- 1 
noeuvring in the sun.* Taking advantage of their \ 
absence, they spread a fine net over the hive-en- \ 
trance, the meshes of which, large enough to 
admit the bee, would exclude the drone. On re- | 
turning, therefore, they found themselves, according j 
to the old saying, "on the smooth side of the door," 
and were compelled to seek fresh lodgings.* 

In late sjtrings, or when there is a drought or < 
blight, the bees breed very little, but make a great j 
deal of honey, whereas in wet seasons they keep i 
more at home, and attend to breeding. Swarms in i 
Greece "^ appeared about the ripening of the olive, i 



' Cf. Geop. XV. 3, 6. 
' On the humble bee, Bee Sch. 
Aristoph. Acham. SSI. 

' Vurro, De He Rust, ill- 1 6. 
• AiUt. Hisl. Anim. ix. 27. 



' Arist. Hist. Anim. v. 21. 
Cf. Xenoph. CEcon. xvii. 14, eeq. 

•^ Cf. Sch. Aristoph. Vesp. *2fl. 
In the island of Cuba, where the 
lame bee was originally intro- 



lie j 

1 



I 



TUE FARMYARD. 

Aristotle is of opinion, that honey is not manufac- 
tured by the bee, but falls perfectly formed from 
the atmosphere, more especially at the heliacal rising 
or setting of certain stars, and when tlie rainbow 
appears. He observes, too, that no honey is found 
before the rising of the Pleiades,* which happens 
about the thirteenth of May.* This opinion is in 
exact conformity with the fact, that at certain sea^ 
eons of the year what is called the honey dew des- 
cends, covering thick the leaves of the oak, and 
several other trees, which at such times literally 
drop with honey. On these occasions the bees find 
little to do beyond the labour of conveying it to 
their cells, and, accordingly, have been known to 
till the hive in one or two days. It has been ob- 
served, moreover, that autumn flowers, which yield 
very little fragrance, yield, also, little or no honey. 
In the kingdom of Pontos there was a race of white 
Ikhjs which made honey twice a month ; and at 
Theniiscyra there were those which built their combs 
both In hives and in the earth, producing very little 
wax, but a great deal of honey.' 



iluced by the English, it has been 
found to Bwaim and multiply 
with incredible rapidity, each 
hive sometimes sending forth two 
BwannB per month, m> that the 
mountains are absolutely filled 
with them. This rapid increase 
seems to have taken place chiefly 
in the neighbourhood of the sugar 
plantations, which they were long 
since supposed to deteriorate by 
extracting too much honey from 
the cane. Don Ulloa, Memoires 
I'hiloiophiques, &c., t. i. p. IBS. 
In North America where bees are 
known among the natives by the 
name of the " English Flies," 
they betray an invariable ten- 
dency for migrating southward. 
Kulni. t. it. 487. Schneider, 
Observ. Bur Ulloa, ii. 198. 



' Hist. Anim. v. 28. Orion 
rises on the 9th of July, Goett- 
Ung od Heaiod. 0pp. et Dies, S98. 
ArcturuB, ISth September. Id. 
610. 

< A similar opinion has been 
sometimes maintiuned also by the 
modems : — '■ I have heard," ob- 
serves Lord Bacon, "from one 
" that was industrious in hut- 
" bandry, that the labour of the 
" bee is about the wax, and that 
" he hath known in the beginning 
" of May, honey combs empty 
" of honfiy, and within a fort- 
" night when the sweet dews 
" fall filled like a cellar."— Sylva 
Sylvarum, GI2. 

' Arist. Hist. Anim. v. 23. In 
the Crimea wild licvs are found 
in great abundance in the clefts 



I 
I 



298 THE VILLA AND 

When the time of year arrived for robbing the 
bee, some hives were found to produce five, others 
ten, others fifteen quarts of honey, still leaving suffi- 
cient for winter consumption.' And in determining 
what quantity would suffice great judgment was re- 
quired; for if too much remained the labourers grew 
indolent, if too little they lost their spirits. How- 
ever, in this latter case the bee-keepers, having as- 
certained that they were in need of food, introduced 
a number of sweet figs, and other similar fruit into 
the hive, as now we do moist sugar iu a split cane. 
Elsewhere the practice was to boil a number of 
ri<'h figs in water* till they were reduced to a jelly, 
which was then formed into cakes and set near the 
hive. Together with this, some bee-keepei-s placed 
honey-water, wherein they threw locks of purple 
wool, on which the bees miglit stand to drink.' 
Certain melitturgi, desirous of distinguishing their 
own bees* when spread over the meadows, sprinkled 
them with fine flour. Mention is made of a person 



and caverns of tbe mountains. — 
Polks, Travels in Southern Rus- 
wa, iij. 324. Among tlie numer- 
ous species of wild be^s found in 
America there is one which pre- 
eminently deserves to be intro- 
duced into Europe and brought 
under the dominion of man. This 
bee does not, like the ordinary 
kind, deposit its honey in combe 
but in separate waxen cells about 
the size and shape of a pigeon's 
egg. As the honey of this bee is 
of an excellent quality, many 
persons in South America have 
been at the pains to tame its 
maker, whose labours have proved 
extremely profitable. — Schneider, 
Observ. sur UUoa, li. ZOO. 

' Arist. Hist. Anim. ix. 27. 
24. In Attica, the honey was 
taken about the summer solstice ; 



at Rome about the festival of 

Vulcan, in the month of August. 
— Winkelmaun. Hist, de 1' Art, 
i. 65. But commentators ore 
not at all agreed respecting the 
meaning of Pliny, whom tiiia 
writer relies upon. nj. 15. Ct 
Sch. Aristoph. Eq. 797. 

^ Arist. Hist. Anim. ix. 27. 
19. Sch. Aristoph. Eq. 752. Cf. 
Meurs. Grmc. Ludlb. p. IS. 

s Varro, de Re Rust. iii. 16. 

* A gentleman in Surrey de- 
sirous of knowing his own bees, 
when he should diance to meet 
them in the fields, touched their 
wings with vermilion as they 
were issuing from the hive. Be- 
ing one fine day in summer on 
a visit at Hampstead, he found 
them thickly scattered among the 
wild flowers on the heath. 



I 



THE FARMYARD. 298 

who obtained five thouBaiid pounds' weight of honey 
iuinually; and Varro ' speaks of two soldiere who, 
with a email country house, and an acrti of ground 
left them liy their father, realised an independent 
fortune, 

TheophniBtus, in a fragment" of one of hie lost 
works, speaks of three different kinds of honey, one 
collected from flowers, another which, according to 
his philosophy, descended pure from heaven, and a 
third produced from canes. This last, which was 
sometimes denominated Indian honey, is the sugar 
of modern times. There apjiear, likewise, to have 
been other kinds of sugar manufactured from dif- 
ferent nuhstances, as Tamarisk and Wheat.* The 
honey-dew, on the production of which the ancients* 
held many extraordinary opinions, was supposed to 
be superior to the nectar of the bee. 

Amyntas, in his Stations of Asia, cited by Athe- 
nxus, gives a curious account of this sort of honey 
which was collected in various parts of the East, 
particularly in Syria. In some cases they gathered 
the leaves of the tree, chiefly the linden and the 
oak, on which the dew was most abundantly* found, 
and pressed them together like those masses of Sy- 
rian tigs, which were called palat&e. Others allowed 
it to drop from the leaves and harden into glo- 
bules, which, when desirous of using, they broke, 
and, having poured water thereon in wooden bowls 
called lahaitas, drank the mixture. In the districts 
of Mount Lebanon ^ the Loney-dew fell plentifully 



■ De Re Riut, i 



' Preserved by PhotiuB. 
liath. cod. 27S. p.529. b. 



> Herod, vii. 31. Cf. iv. 194. 



• On the orinn of the honey- 
dew, lee the Quarterly Jounial 



of Agriculture, No. .XLIV. p. 
499, »qq. 

» Theoph. Hist. Plant, iii. 7. 
6. Cf. Hes. 0pp. et Dies, !32. 
seq. Cf. Lord Biicon, Sylva 
Sylvarum. 490. 

" Schneid. Comni. ad Tlieopli. 
Frag. t. iv. p. 82ie. 



300 THE VILLA AND THE FARMYARD. 

several times during the year, and was collected 
by spreading skins under the trees, and shaking 
into them the liquid honey from the leaves ; they 
then filled therewith numerous vessels, in which it 
was preserved for use. On these occasions, the 
peasants used to exclaim, ^^ Zeus has been raining 
honey ! " 



CHAPTEH II. 



GAEDEN AND OHCHAHD. 



LoBD Bacon, who loved to be surrounded by plants 
and trees and flowers, delivers it as his opinion, 
that the scientific culture of gardens affords a surer 
mark of the advance of civilisation than any improve- 
ment in the science of architecture, since men, he 
observes, enjoyed the luxurj' of magnificent palaces 
before that of picturesque and well-ordered garden- 
grounds. This, likewise, was the conviction of' the 
ancient Greeks,' in whose literature we everywhere 
discover vestiges of a passion for that voluptuous 
solitude which men taste in artificial and secluded 
plantations, amid flower-beds and arbours and hang- 
ing vines and fountains and smooth shady walks. 
No full description, however, of an Hellenic gar- 
den has survived ; even the poets have contented 
themselves with affbnliiig us glimpses of their " stu- 
dious walks and shades." "We must, therefore, endea- 
vour, by the aid of scattered hints, chance expres- 
sions, fragments, and a careful study of the natural 
and invariable productions of the countrj', to work 
out for ourselves a picture of what the gardens of 
Peisistratos, or Cimon, or Pericles, or Epicurus, 
whom Pliny' denominates the magister horforum, or 

den of the Indian kinga, «-ith its 
evergreen groves, fiBh-ponds, and 
flights of peacocks, pheasants, and 
parrots, reckoned sacred by the 
Brahmins. Cf. Xenoph. (Eco- 
nom. iv. 13, where he celebrates 
the fondness of the Persian kings 
for gardens. 



' But see Dr. Nolan on the 
Grecian Rose, Trans. Boy. Soe. 
iL p. 330, and Poll. i. 229. 

" Hist. Nat.itix.4. Dr. Nolan, 
p. 330. Nie. Cauasin. De Elo- 
quent, xi. p. 7S7, wq. Cic. De 
Scnect. § 17. Julian. De Nat. 
Anim. xiii. IS, has a brief but 
hiterenting description of the gar- 



302 



QAHDEN AND ORCnARD. 



any other Grecian gentleman, must in the best ages 
have heen. 

That portion of the ground ' which was devoted 
to the culture of sweet-smelling shrubs and flowers, 
usually approached and projected inwards between 
the back wings of the house, so that from the win- 
dows the eye might alight upon the rich and varie- 
gated tints of the parterres ^ intermingled with ver- 
dure, while the evening and morning breeze wafted 
clouds of fragrance into the apartments.' The lawns, 
shrubberies, bosquets, thickets, arcades, and avenues, 
were, in most cases, laid out in a jiicturesque though 
artificial manner, the principal object appearing to 
have been to combine use with magnitiecncc, and 
to enjoy all the blended hues and odours which the 
plants and trees acclimated in Hellas could aftbrd. 
Pi-otection, in summer, from the sun's rays, is, in those 
southern latitudes, an almost necessary ingredient 
of pleasure, and, therefore, numerous trees, as the 
cedar,* the cypress, the black and white poplar,* the 
ash, the linden, the elm, and the platane, rose here 
and there in the grounds, in some places singly, else- 
where in clumps, uniting their branches above, and 
affording a cool and dense shade. Beneath these 
umbrageous arches the air was further refrigerated 
by splashing fountains,^ whose waters, tiirough nu- 



' Here sometimes were grown 
both vegetableB, u lettuces, i&- 
disheB, parsley, &c., and flowering 
shrubs, aa the wild or rose-laurel, 
which w&s supposed to be a dead- 
ly poison to horses and asses. 
Lucian. Luc. siv. Asin. § 17. 

» Luc. Piacat. § 6. 

' Geop. X. 1. 1. xiL 9. 

* The cedar still grows wild 
on the promontory of Sunium, 
Chandler, ii. 8. 

» Sibth. Flor. Grffic. t. i. pi. 4. 

8 Plato describes, though not 
in a garden, a fountain and a 
plane-tree, 



turesque and harmonious, that it 
has captivated the imagination of 
all succeeding writers, many of 
whom have sought to express 
their admiration by imitating it 
in their own style: — ''H re yap 
irXdravoc auri; jiak' a/ifiXa^qc 
T£ Ka'i ii^i)X/f, rou rt dyvau to 
iiiioc to! ro av9twv ■wayiiakav, 
cal biQ ayiii)y i^ti rijt ayOifQ, iie 
Sf tiuciararoi' irnptjjoi roc rd- 
jcoy ij Tt ai irtiyi) ^^apicordn} 
iriro r$c TtXarafov ^tt ftdKa ^v- 
jlfioo C^nroc, <3c ri ye ry jroSi 
rft/i/jpcfffflai- yvfiifAy T^ Tiyaiv Kal 
'AX'Xiiou lEpoi' dio riiv KopHv re 



GARDEN AND ORCHARD. 



31 »3 



merous fair channela, straight or winding, as tlie use 
demanded of them required," spread tliemselves over 
the whole garden, refreshing the eye and keeping 
up a perpetual verdure. Copses of myrtles, of roses, 
of agiius-castus," aud other odoriferous shrubs inter- 
mingled, clustering round a pomegranate-tree, were 
usually placed on elevated spots,'' that, being thus 
exposed to the winds, they might the more freely 
diffuse their sweetness. The spaces between trees 
were sometimes planted with roses,* and lilies, and 
violets, and golden crocuses ;" and sometimes pre- 
sented a breadth of smooth, close, green sward, 
sprinkled with wild-flowers, ns the violet and the blue 
veronica,* the pink, and the pale primrose, the golden 
motherwort, the cowslip, the daisy, the pimpernel, 
and the periwinkle. In many gardens the custom 

urinixoftivbiv Kai 3ib Siavyic iiid' 
Tiov iiaTrKtaoiUVuv tiraippO^iruic 
rfXX^Xoic, Sn-av iifiwy favipui^ 
dTOKBTafalyioBai /iiXoc. Epist. 
Lib.i. Epist. 3. p. 14- On the epi- 
thet tifi^iXatplit, whicli HuIidIccu 
(ad Tim. Lex, p. 2*) observes 
was almost exclusively appro- 
priated by the ancients to the 
Plane tree, see Apollon. lUtod. li. 
733. Wellauer. et schol. 

' Where running water was not 
to be obtained, they constructed 
two gardens, the one for winter. 
which depended on the showers, 
the other on a northern exposure, 
where a fresh, cool air was pre- 
served throughout the summer. 

' Osed hy rustics in crowns. 
A then. xv. 12. Prometheus was 
crowned with agnus-matus. 13. 

' Geop.xi. 7. Plin. IT. 18. 

♦ Geop. X. 1. 3. 

' Which delighted particularly 
in the edges of paths and trodden 
places. Theoph. Hist, Plant, vi. 6. 1 . 

Sibth. Hor. Oroc. I. i. pL JS, 



Msl dyaXfiATuv iotar ifyar il 
F al floiiXii, TO liTtyovv ToZ 
rifirov it dyaitifov xai a^olpu 
JJw* Stpirov Ti Kal \iyvpbv uttj- 
jli ry ri)' Tcrriyoiy \op^, iruv- 
rwc a eo^itdrcTTO)' ro r^t Tuai ori 
iy ^pifia rpoaayrii irtiy/i m'^vcc 
KaraKXiviyTi r^f «^oXiJf jray- 
KaXtvc cx^iv. Phced. t. i. p. 8, 
seq. The prevailing image in 
tliis passage is thus expressed by 
Cicero : " Cur non imitamur So- 
" cr&tem ilium, qui est in Phie- 
" dro Piatonifl ; nam me htec tua 
" platanus admonuit, qus non 
" minus ad opacandum hutic lo- 
" cum patulis est diffusa nunis, 
" quam ilia cujus umbram secu- 
" tus est Socrates qua mJhi vi- 
" detur non tarn ipea aquula, 
" qute dewribitur, quam Platonis 
" oratione crevisse." De Oral. i. 
7. The picture is sliriilly va- 
ried by AristiniEtos, who intro- 
duces it into a garden: — 'H fi 
iricyq \apicirTdTTi iTro ry rXa- 
ra'cfi ^£1 C^roc <^ fidka ^JAi^pov, 
&i yi Tf »oci TtKfiiipaaBai, tiii 
eia^nvovi; Toaoiroi; Atti evv 



304 



GARDEN AND ORCHARD. 



was, to plant each kind of tree in separate groups, 
and each species of flower-bed also had, aa now in 
Holland,' a distinct space assigned to it ; so that 
there were beds of white violets,* of irises, of the 
golden cynosure,' of hyacinths, of ranunculuses, of 
the blue campanula, or Canterbury bells, of white 
gilliflowers, carnations, and the branchy asphodel. 

One of the principal causes which induced the 
Greeks to attend to the culture of ornamental shrubs 
and flowers, was the perpetual use made of them in 
crowns and garlands.* ^Tearly all their ceremonies, 
whether civil or religious, were performed by indi- 
viduals wearing certain wreaths about their brow. 



• haiag, Notes of a Traveller, 
p. 6. 

« Geop. XI. 21, 23, Bqq. 
> Sibth. Ftor. Gnec. t. i. pi. 79. 
pi. 203. pi. 334, &c. 

* Ilpiirov ^iy ydp dif' Ji- fSo(»- 
ol ivSpuivot, ravra ft yq i^pii ip- 
yal^o/iiyoii' Koi A^' ^y Toiyvv JSu- 

Zi oaa KOOfiovm jimfiovi Koi dydX- 
liara, eai olj aiiro! «off/Jouvrat, 
tra! ravra ^trti ifilariiiy oafiSiv 
ical Stafiariay irapiyf^it. K, r. X. 
Xenoph. CEconom. v. 2, 8eq. 

Pliny has a curious passage on 
the use of crowns among the Ro- 
mans, which Holland liaa thus 
translated : " Now when these 
" garlands of flowers were taken 
" up and received commonly in all 
" places for a certain time, there 
" came eoon after into request 
" those chapleta which are named 
" Egyptian ; and after them, 
" winter coronets, to wit, when 
" the earth affordeth no flowers 
" to make them, and these eon- 
" sisted of horn shavings dyed 
" into sundry colours. And so 
" in process of time, by little and 
" little crept into Rome, also the 
" name of corolla, or as one would 



" say, petty garlands ; for that 
" these winter chapleta at first 
" were so pretty and small : and 
" not long after them, the costly 
" coronets and others, corolla- 
" ries, namely, when they are 
" made of thin leaves and platea 
" and latten, either gilded or »il- 
" vered over, or else set out with 
" golden and silvered spangles, 
" and BO presented." xw. 2. Pol- 
lux afforda a list of the principal 
flowera used in crowns by the 
Greeks: rd ?i iv roie ort^rfvotc 
aydt], poia, la, >f^i>'a, rriirvfiSpia, 
dytfiSiyai, tpmXae, npisoQ, vaKty- 
0OQ, iXl)(pvaos, IffiCpiisaKis, i\c- 
ytioy, 5puaXic, dvOpiaxoi, riip- 
KKTioc, fiiXiXiiiTov, dyOifilti rrofi- 
Qiy'it. no) riJiXXa fiira roTc o^fltiX- 
^loic rcp^iy, iipiniy ijliiay o<n^pt)- 
aiy ix"' Cralinua enumerates 
among gariand flowers, those of 
the smilax and the cosmosandalon. 
Onomaat. vi. 106. Athen. xv. 32. 
Cf. Theoph. Hist. Plant, vi. 1. « 
— 6. 4. Persons returning from a 
voyage were sometimes crowned 
with flowers. Plut. Thea. § US. 
Soldiers alao going to battle. 
Ages. § 19. Cf. Philost. Icon. i. 
24. p. 799. Plut. Sympos. iii. 1. 



L 



GARDEN AND ORCHARD. 30j 

Thus the Spartans, duriug the Proinachian festival,' 
shaded their foreheads with plaited tufts of reeds — 
priests and priestesses, soothsayers,'^ prophets, and en- 
chanters, appeared in their several capacities before 
the gods in temples or sacred groves with symbo- 
lical crowns encircling their heads, as the priests of 
Hera, at Samos, with laurel,' and those of Aphrodite 
with myrtle,* while the statues of the divinities them- 
selves were often crowued with circlets of these 
" earthly stars." In the festival of Europa, at Co- 
rinth, a crown of myrtle, thirty feet in circumference, 
was borne in procession through the city.* The ac- 
tors, dancers, and spectators of the theatre usually 
appeared crowned with flowers,^ as did every guest 
at an entertainment, while lovers suspended a pro- 
ftision of garlands on the doors of their mistresses, 
as did the devout on the temples and altars of the 
gods.' 

Most of the flowers cultivated, moreover, sug- 
gested poetical or mythological associations ; for the 
religion of Greece combined itself with nearly e\ery 
object in nature, more particularly with the beau- 
tiful, so that the Greek, as he strolled through his 
garden, had jierpetually liefore his fancy a succession 
of- fables connected with nymphs and goddesses and 
the old hereditary traditions of his country. Thus 
the laurel recalled the tale and transformation of 
Daphne,^ the object of Apollo's love — the cypresses 
or graces of the vegetable kingdom," were the ever- 
lasting representatives of Eteocles' daughters, visited 
by death because they dared to rival the goddesses 
in dancing — the myrtle'" was a most beautiful maiden 
of Attica, fairer than all her countrywomen, swifter 
and more patient of toil than the youth, who there • 



Alhe 


n. XT. 


12. 


r Alhen. XT. 9. 


Id. X 
Id. s 

Id. X 

Id-x 


V. 16. 
y. 13. 
V. 18. 

V. it. 




« Geop. xj. f. Ovid. Melam. 
650. 

9 Geop. xi. *. 


Id. X 


V. 86. 




« Geop. xi. 6. 



OAILDSN AND OKCHARD. 



*i *-lf ^^^ 



300 

fore slev her tliroagh en\'j — the pine' was the talt 
and graceful mistress of Pan and Boreas — the mint 
that of Pluto — while the rose-campiou spmng from 
the bath of Aphrodite, and the humble cabbage from 
the tears of Lycurgua, the enemy of Dionysos.* 

It has [Sometimes been supposed/ that the flower 
which constitutes the greatest ornament of gardens 
was wholly unknown in the earlier ages of Greece. 
But this theory, imagined for the purpose of de- 
stroying the claims of the Anacreontic fragments to 
be considered genuine,* is entirely overthrown by 
the testimony of several ancient writers, more par- 
ticularly Herodotus,* who speaks of the rose of sixty 
leaves, as found in the gardens of Midas in Thrace, 
at the foot of the snony Bermios. Elswhere, too, 
he compares the flower of the red Niliac lotus* to 
the rose; and Stesichoros,' an older poet than Ana- 
creon, distinctly mentions chaplets composed of this 
flower. 



Many a. yellow quince was there 
Piled upon the regal chair, 



» Oeop. xi. 1 0. Cf. Plot. Sym- 
|K>>> vol. iii, 1, where he assigns 
the reason why the pine was sa- 
cred to PoBei3on and Dionysos, 
The foliage of the pine-forests 
was so dense in Bceotia as to per- 
mit neither snow nor rain to pene- 
trate through. Theoph. Hist. 
Plant, iii. 9. 0. The shade of 
BUch trees, therefore, would be 
more especially coveted. 

* Sch. Aristopli. Eij. 537. Geop. 
xii. 17. 16. 

' By Dr. Nolan. See his paper 
on the Grecian Hose. Trans. Roy. 
Socof Lit. ii. 327, Bqq. 

»Cf. Athen. xv. 11. 

' Ot St, (iiTiKit/iffoi it SXXtjy 
yifv rqe yiamiiyitic, oieijffai' ir«- 
Xac rif Kfiruv niv Xiyoiitftav 
ilvot Wltu rov VopSliiti. ff Toiai 



inrrpipcpovra rwy SKKiiiV ir roit' 
Toiai tuj u £iXi)VDc roiiri irqa'otn 
SXw, wc Xiyirai iiito i/l<iKcS6yttr. 
virip Si Ttjy K^nuiv ovpoc Ktzrait 
Jicpfilov ovyofia, aSarov &iro j^(i- 
fiuii-ot. viii. 138. On the arts 
and manners of this Midas, who, 
together withOrpheus and Eumol- 
pos was the founder of the Hel- 
lenic religion, see J. G. Vo«s. de 
Idololat. i. 2i, and Bouhier, Dis- 
sert, sur Herod, ch. SO. 

6 Cf. Theop. Hist. Plant. W. 87. 

T Athen. iii, 21. Stesichoroi 
lived before Christ about G3t. 
Clint. Past. Hellen. ii. 5, Crowiw 
of roses are mentioned by Crati- 
nua who was bom ol9 b.c. which 
shows that roses must have been 
largely cultivated in his time. 
Alhen, xv. 27. 



i 



J 



(JABDEN AND ORCHARU. 307 

MKiiy « verdant myrtie-bough, 
Many a ro»e-crown feally wreathetl, 

Witli iwisted violets that grow 

Where the breath of spring liad brealheiJ. 

Homer,' too, it is evident, was familiar nith the 
rose, to whose fragrant petals he conijtares the 
fingers of the morning, and not, as has twen ima- 
gined, to the blood-red Hower of the wild pome- 
granate tree." 

According, moreover, to a tradition preserved to 
later times, the seasons of the year, which in remote 
antiquity were but three, they symbolically repre- 
sented by a rose, an ear of corn, and an apple/ 
This division is thought to have Iteen borrowcil 
from the Egyptians, in whose country, however, the 
apple was never sufficiently naturalised to be taken 
as an emblem of one of the seasons of the year. 

But, at whatever period the rose began to be 
cultivated, it evidently, as soon as known, shared 
with the violet the admiration of the Athenian peo- 
ple, whose extensive plantations of this most fragrant 
shrub recall to mind the rose gardens of the Fay- 
oum, or Serinaghur. Tlie secret, moreover, was early 
discovered of hastening or retarding their maturity, 
so as to obtain no ahuudant supply through every 
month in the year.* Oceasionally, too, numbers of 



" 11. B. 477. <- 708. Cf. He- 
siod. 0pp. et Dies, filO. To 
place the matter beyond dispute. 
Homer ipeaks of oils rendered 
fragrant by the perfume of the 
rose ; — pototm ei jfpiir iXalf. 
]l. ij:. 1B6. 

• DioKor. i. 154. 

' " Les Egyptiens, »elon le d^- 
" partement de leur Roy Honis, 
" n'en mettaient itie troig (wi- 
" soni) : le printemps. Teste, et 
" I'automne : leur attribuanx 
" qustre mois A chacune, et lei 
" figurans par une roie, une 
" espy, el unr pomme, on rui- 



" sin." Les Imagex de Platte 
Peinture des deux PliiJost rates, 
par Vigem'^re, Paris, fol. 1627, 
p. 555. 

* Oeop. xi. 18. A Bpeciei of 
perpetutd rose is said lo have 
been recently digcoviTL-d in France, 
where " A Parinian florist, we are 
" told, has succeeded in producing 
" a new hybrid rose from the 
" Bourbon rose and Gloire de 
' ' Rosom^e, the flowers of which 
" he had TertiliAed with the pol- 
" len of some Damusk and hy- 
" brid China nises. The plant 
" is extremely beautiful, the co- 



308 GARDEN AND ORCHARD. 

rosebuds were laid among green barleystalke, plucked 
up by the roots, in unglazed ampboras, to be brought 
forth and made to blow when wanted. Others de- 
posited tbem between layers of the same material 
on the ground, or dipped them in the liquid dregs 
of olives. Another mode of preserving the rose was 
exceedingly curious, — cutting off the top of a large 
standing reed, and splitting it down a little way, 
tbey inserted a number of rosebuds in the hollow, 
and then bound it softly round and atop with pa- 
pyrus in order to prevent their fragrance from ex- 
haling.' How many varieties of this flower' were 
possessed by the ancients it is now, perhaps, im^ 
possible to determine ; but they were acquainted 
with the common, tho white, and the moss rose^, 
the last, in Aristotle's'' opinion, the sweetest, togs* 
ther with the rose of a hundred leaves,* celebrated] 
by the Persian poets. Even the wild rose was not 
wholly inodorous in Greece.* Roses were artifici- 
ally blanched by being exposed while unfolding to 
powerful and repeated fumigations with sulphur." 
The roses which grew on a dry soil were sup- 
posed to be the sweetest, while their fragrance 
was augmented by planting garlic near the root.^ 
To cause them to bloom in January, or in earlji 
spring (for even in the most southern parts o^J 



" lour bright crimson shaded with 
" Maroon purple, and is further 
" enriched with « powerful fra- 
" grance." Times, March 84th, 
]84l. 

"Geop. ]d. J 8. 12. 

' Plinius varia genera comme- 
morat, Mileaia ardentisaimo co- 
lore, Alabandica albicantibus fo- 
UU, Spermonia viliaeima, Da- 
moscente albse distillandis nquis 
usurpantur. DifTerunt foliorum 
multitudine, asperitate, Itevore, 
colore, odore. — Heresbachiufl, de 
Re Rustica, lib. ii. p. 1S1. a. 



*Prob!em.xii.8. Theoph.Hist. 
Plant, vi. 6. 5. 

• Athen. xv. 29. Plin. xxU 
Cf. Theoph. Hist. Plant. 



vi. 6. 4. 

^ As Dr. Nolan seems to sup- 
pose. On the Grecian Rose. 
Transact, Roy. Soc. ii. 888. 
Though Theophrastua states the 
contrary very distinctly. Hist. 
Plant, vi. 8. 1—6. 4— 7.5. Tha 
white rose appears at present to 
be commonly cultivated 
tica.— Chandler, ii. 181. 

BGeop, xi. 18. 13. 

' Geop. xi. 18. 1. 



1 

^sent to ^^H 
At- ^H 



I 



GARDEN AND ORCHARD. 3(t9 

Greece the roue season only comineuces in April)' 
various means were resorted to ; eometimes, the 
bushes were watered twice a-day during the whole 
summer; on other occasions, a shallow trench was 
dug at a distance of about eighteen inches round 
the bush, into whicli wann water was poured 
morning and evening;' while a third, and, perhaps, 
the surest, . method was to plant them in pots, or 
baskets, which, during the winter months, were 
placed in sheltered sunny spots by day,' and carried 
into the house at night ; afterwards, when the sea- 
son was Buflicieutly advanced, these portable gardens 
were buried in the earth. 

Another favorite denizen of Hellenic gardens was 
the lily, which, probably, introduced from Suza or 
from Kgypt, beheld the virginal snow of its bells com- 
pelled, by art, to put on various hues, as deep red 
and purple,* — the former, by infusing, before planting, 
cinnabar into the bulb, — the latter, by steejiing it 
in the lees of purple wine. Tliis flower naturally 
begins to bloom ^ just as the roses are fading ; but, 
to produce a succession of lilies at different seasons, 
some were set near the surface, which grew up and 
blossomed immediately, while others were buried at 
different depths, according to the times at which 
they were required to flower. 

Along with these, about the dank borders of 
streams or fountains, grew the favourite flower of 
the Athenian people, purple, double, white, and gold,* 

" The violet dim. 
But tweeter than the lids of Juno's eyes. 
Or Cylherea'a breath ; " t 

' Pasliley, Trav. i. 8, who • Geop. xi. 90. Heresbach. 

observeB, tliat the rose ia com- de Re Rust. p. 122. b, Theoph. 

nion m February at Malta. Hist. Plant, vi. 6. 4, 8. 

« Geop. xl. 18. 5. Plin. xxi. > Plin. xxi. 13. 

4. Pallad. iii. 21. 2. « Colum. Ue Cuitu Hortoruiii, 

^Oeop. xL 18. 4^ Cr. lui. x. 102. 
19.3. » Winter'i Tale, iv. 5. 



310 



GARDEN AND URCHAHU. 



the pauby,' "freaked with jet;" the purple cyper 
the iris, the water-mint,^ and hyacinth,' and the 
narcissus,* and the willow-herb, and the blue speed- 
well, and the niarah-marigold, or. brave bassinet, and 
the jacinth, and early daffodil, 

" That come betbre the swallow dai'cs, and take 
The winds of March with beauty." 

A netting of wild thyme' tufted with sweet mint, 
and marjoram,^ which, when crushed by the foot, 
yielded the most delicious fragrance, embraced the 
sunny hillocks, while here and tiiere singly, or in 
beds, grew a profusion of otlier herbs and flowers, 
some prized for their medicinal virtues, others for 
their beauty, others for their delicate odour, as the 
geranium, the spike-lavender, the rosemary,' with 
its purple and white flowers, the basil," the flower- 
gentle, the hyssop, the white privet, the cytinus, the 



I 



< Sibth. Flor. Grtcc. I. i. tab. 
922, tab. 318. SchoL Aristoph. 
Eq. ISao. Theoph. Hist. Plant. 
vi. 6. 4. The finest violetBj cn>- 
cuues, &c., in the ancient world, 
were auppoaed to be found in 
Cyrene. Id. vi. 6. 5. 

- DioBCor. ii. 155. 

' On the birth of the Hya- 
cinth, see Eudoeia in the Anet- 
doU Gneca, i. -108. 

■* Theoph. Hist. Plant, vi. 6. 
9. 8. 2, This flower flourishes 
after the setting of ArcturuB, 
about the autumnal equinox. — 
" We were ferried over a narrow 
" stream fringed with Agnus- 
" Castus, into a garden belonging 
" to the convent, A number of 
" vernal flowers now bloasometl 
" on its banks ; the 

! was cnmsoned with an 
■■ extraordinary glow of eolour- 
" ing. The eoil which was a 



" sandy lo&ni, was further enli* ' 
" voned with the Ixia, the giasa- 
" leaved Iris, and the enamel- 
" blue of a species of speedwell, 
" not noticed by the Swedi^ 
" NaturaUst," Sibth. Walp. Mem. 
i. 282, seq. 

^ This plant was brought from 
Mount Hymettos, to be culti- 
vated in the gardens of Athens. 
The Sicyonians, likewise, trana- 
planted it to their gardens from 
the mountains of Peloponnesos. — 
Theoph. Hist. Plant. \-i. 7. S. 

6 Theoph. Hist. Plant, vi. 7. ♦. 

T Dioscor. iii. 8t). Sibth. Flor. 
GrtEc. t. i. tab, 14, tab. 198, Beq. 
tab. 310, tab. 518, tab. 549. Co- 
lum. X. De Cult. Hort. 96, sqq. 

" The bawl-gentle was water- 
ed at noon, other plants morning 
and evening. — Theoph. Hirt. 
Plant, vii. 5. S. 



I 




r.ARDEN AND ORCHARD. 



sweet uiarjorani, the rose-cam pion, or columbine,' 
the yellow amaryllis, and the celandine. Here, too, 



L 



with the balm-gentle, the red, the pnrjile, and the 
coronal aiiemone/ the convolvulus, yellow, white, pale 
[►ink, and blue, together with our LadyVgloves, the 
flower of the Trinity, southernwood,* and sumnier- 
savory,* oenanthe," gith, the silver sage,' Saint Mary's 
thistle, and the amaranth, while high above all rose 
the dark pyramidal masses of the rhododendron," with 
its gigantic clusters of purple flowers. 

How many of the lovely evergreens" that abound 
ill Greece were usually cultivated in a single garden, 
we possess no means of ascertaining, though all ap< 
pear occasionally to have been called in to diversify 
the picture. The myrtle,'" whose deep blue berries 
were esteemed a delicacy," in some places rose into 
a tree, while elsewhere it was planted thick, and bent 

' Diowor. iii, 114. 
' Coluin. X. 399, seq. Engl. 
TnuiB. 

* The Bnemone among other 
Bowen beauttlies the fieldi uf 
Attica, so early as the month of 
February. — Chandler, ii. 211. 
" Lee conipagnes et lea collines 
" sont rouges d 'an em ones." — 
Delia Rm:ca, Traits «iir \e» A> 
beiltea, t. i. p. 5. 

• Cultivated usually in pots, 
reBemblJng the gardens of Adonia. 
Theoph- Hist. Plant- vi. 7. 3. 
Thickela ofthb shrub constitute 
one of the greatest beauties of 
the ialaode of the Archipelago. 
" Les lauriers roses, que I'on con- 
" serve en Prance avec lant de 
" soin, viennent u I'aventure dans 
" les praMes, et le long de» ruis- 
" leaux qui en sont bord6s. 
" Rien n'est plus agrtable que 

:s beaux arbres, dv 



" la hauteur de douze a quinze 
" pieds, varies de fleurs rouges et 
" blanches, »e croiser (rfir les 
" branches d'en haut, but un 
" ruisseau ou sur le lit d'une 
" fontaine, et faire un berceau 
" qui dure quelquelbis un grand 
" quart de lieue." Delia Koecs, 
Traite Coniplet sur les Abeilles, 
t. i. p. 6. 

" Schol. Ariatoph. Achani. 253. 

« Theoph. Hist. Plant, vi. 8. S. 

I Sibth. Flor. Gnee. t. i. tab. 
27. 

* Known aho by the names of 
ytlpiov and poioia^vT]. — Dinscor. 
iv. 8S. Geop. ii. *2. I . 

9 Theoph. Hist. Plant, i. 9. 3. 

'0 Cf. OuB. Hist. Rar. Plant. 
i. 43. p. 65. 

" Plat. De Rep. t. vi. p. 85. 
The berry, both of the myrtle 
and the laurel, assumed, we are 
told, a black colour in ihe garden 



312 



GARDEN AND ORCHARD. 



and fashioueti into bowers,' which, when sprinkled 
with its snowy blossoms, combined, perhaps, with 
those of the jasmine, the eglantine, and the yellow i 
tufts of the broad-leaved philyrea,' constituted some ] 
of the most beautiful objects in a Greek paradise. 
Thickets of the tamarisk,^ the strawberry-tree,* the 
juni]jer, the box, the bay, the stjTax, the andrachne^ | 
and the white-flowered laurel, in whose dark leaves 
the momiug dew collects and glistens in the sun like I 
so many tiny mirrors of burnished silver, varied the i 
surface of the lawn, connecting the bowers, and the 
copses, and the flower beds, and the grassy slopes 
with those loftier piles of verdure, consisting of the 
pine tree, the smilax, the cedar, the carob, the | 
maple,* the ash, the elm tree, the platane," and 
the evergreen oak which here and there towered 
in the grounds. In many places the ^ine shot up 
among the ranges of elms or platanes, and stretch- 
ed its long twisted arm from trunk to trunk, like 
so many festoons of iDtermingled leaves and ten- 
drils, and massive clusters of golden or purple 
grapes.' Alternating, perhaps, with the lovely fa- 



of Antandros. — TheophraBt. Hist. 
Plant, ii. 3. 6. 

' Hemgterhuii, Annot. ad 
Poll. ix. 49. p. 943. Ct Dion. 
Cljryaoat. u 873. 

sSibthorp. Flor. Gnec. t. i. 
tab. a, tab. 367, tab. 374, ««[. 

™ TKeoph. Hist. Plant, i. 9. 3. 

* The strawberry-tree is found 
flounBhing in great beauty and 
perfection on Mount Helicon, and 
its fruit is said to be exceedingly 
Bweet— Chandler, ii. 290- 

" Sibth. Plor. Gnec. tab. 361. 

^'EvOa TtXttrayoi fiiv a/t^t- 

fiirpiov, KoX K6a ^oKdaKri, &pa 
^ipovt iravOeiv (iuifluio. Aris- 
ticnet. Epist. lib. i. Epist. 3. j>. 
13. There was, according lo 
Varro, an evergreen platane tree 



in Crete, i. 7. The same platane 
is mentioned by Theophrastui, 
who infonnB ub, that it grew be- 
side a Fountain in the Gortynian 
territory where Zeus first reclined 
on landing from the sea with 
Europa, i. 9. 5. Near the dty 
of Sybaris, there is said to have 
grown a common oak which en- 
joyed the privilege of being unde- 
tiduouB. Ibid. 

'"A/jiriXoi !'i xa/i/i^etif ir$d- 
fpa Tt iii^i)Xai TtpiMrTOfTtu 
mwapirrovt; iiQ oVacXf v ^^iic 
cVl ToXu rov au^(')-a *]doc dear 
Tiiv KiiKXf ruyan^ovfiivuv ^- 
vpur, iv o! ftiv opyiiaiy, ol Si 
vcpKai^ovaiv iti ii ofi^aKic ol Si 
olyayOat forouon: — Arialfenet. 
Epist. lib, i. Ep. 3. p. IS, seq. 




GARDEN AND ORCHARD. 31.1 

vourite of Dionjsos, the blue and yellow clematis ' 
suspended their living garlands around the stems, 
or along the boughs of the trees, in union or con- 
trast with the dodder, or the honeysuckle, or the 
delicate and slender briony. And, if jierchanc* a 
silver fir, with its bright yellow flowers,' formed part 
of the group, large pendant clusters of mistletoe, 
the food sometimes of the labouring ox,' might fre- 
quently be seen swinging thick among its branches. 
In some grounds was probably cultivated the quer- 
CU8 subcr,* or cork tree, with bark four or five 
inches thick, triennially 8trii>ped off,^ after which 
it grows again with reuewed vigour. Occasionally, 
where streams and rivulets '' found their way through 
the grounds, the black and white poplar, the willow, 
and the lentiscus, with a variety of tufted reeds, 
crowded about the margin, here and there shading 
and concealing the waters. 

Proceeding now into the orchard we find, that, 
instead of walls, it was, sometimes at least, if it 
touched ou the confines of another man's grounds, 
surrounded by hedges ' of black and white thorn, 
brambles, and barberry hushes, as at present " hy im- 
penetrable fences of the Indian cactus.^ On the 



■ Sibth. Flor. Grac. tab. 516. 

5 TheophrMt. Hist. Plant. 1. 
la. 1. 

1 Dodwell, iL 455. Sibth. in 
Walp. Mem. i. S63. There was 
a species of mistletoe called the 
Cretan, which found equally con- 
genial the climatet of Achaia and 
Media. Theoph. Hist. Plant, 'a. 
1, 3. 

* That is to say at a late pe- 
riod, for in the time of Theo- 
phrastu< it would seem not to 
have been common in Greece, if 
it had been at all introduced. 
Hist. Plant, iii. 17. 1. 

> Dodwell, ii. 455. 

'■ Even the platane, also, de- 
lights in hunild places. Theoph. 



Hist. Plant, i. i. 2. The black 
poplar was said to bear fruit in 
several parts of Crete, iii. 3. 5. 

' Geop. V. 44. Cf. Arteinid. 
Oneirocrit. iL S4. p. 112. 

8 Walp. Mem. i. 60. 

8 The cactus, as moat travellers 
will have remarked, flourishes lux- 
uriantly in Sicily even among the 
beds of lava where Uttle else will 
grow ; it appears, however, to de- 
light in a volcanic soil. Spallanza- 
ni. Travels in the Two Sicilies, 
" i. 209. In the .^olian Islands it 
" thrives so well that it usually 
" grows to the height of ten, 
" twelve, and sometimes fifteen 
" feet , with a stem a foot or more 
" in diameter. The fruits, which 



314 



GAHUEN AND ORCHARD. 



banks of these hedges, both inside and out, were 
found, peculiar tribes of plants and wild flowers, in 
some places enamelling the smooth close turf, else- 
where flourishing thickly in dank masses of verdure, 
or climbing upwards and interlacing themselves with 
the lofty and projecting thorns, such as the enchan- 
ter's nightshade, the euphorbia, the iris tuberosa, the 
red-flowered valerian, the ground-ivy,' the physalls 
somnifera, with its coral red seeds in their inflated 
calyces,- the globularia, the creeping heliotrope, the 
penny-cress,' the bright yellow scorpion-flower, and 
the broad-leaved cyclamen or our LadyVseal, with 
pink flower, light green leaf, veined with white and 
yellow beneath. The ancient Parthians surrounded 
their gardens with hedges of a fragrant, creeping 
shrub denominated philadelphos or love-brother, * 
whose long suckers they interwove into a kind of 
network forming a suflicient protection against man 
and beast. In mountainous districts, where rain- 
floods were to be guarded against, tlie enclosures 
frequently consisted of walls of loose stones,* as is 
still the case in Savoy on the edge of mountain 
torrents. 

It was moreover the custom, both in Greece and 
Italy, to plant, on the boundary line of estates, rows 
of olives or other trees,^ which not only served to 



'■ are nearly aa large as turkeys' 
'• egga, are sweet and extremely 
" agreeable to the palate. It is 
" well-known that the fruits grow 
" at the edges of the leaves, the 
■■ number on each leaf is not con- 
" slant, but they are frequently 
" numerous, as I have counted 
■• two and twenty on a single 
'■ leaf." iv.97. 

' Sibth. Flor. Grtec. t. i. tab. 29. 
tab. 157. tab. 185. 

■ Sibth, in Walp. Trav. p. 7.1, 
seq. On the seasons uf these 
wild flowers see Theoph. Hist, 
riant, vii. 0. 2. 

' Dioscor. ii. !8(j. 






( Callicl. § I. 3. 



«Cf. VaiTo.;. 15. MagiiMis- 
cellan. lib. iv. p, 1 87. b. As the 
cotton-tree in modem times hu 
been supposed not to thrive at a 
much greater distance than twen- 
ty miles from the aea; so, among 
the ancients, the olive was sup- 
posed not to flourish at a greater 
distancetlian three hundred stadia, 
Theoph. Hist. Plant, vi. 2. 4. Both 
opinions are probably erroneous, 
as tlie olive-tree is found in per- 
Ibction in the Fayouni, and the 
cutton-jilant in ITpper Egj-pt. 



HARDEN ANU OUCIIARD. 



315 



mark the limits of a mau'» territory, but shed an 
air of beauty over the whole country. A proof of 
this practice prevailing in Attica, has with much 
ingenuity' been brought forward from tiie " Froge," 
where Bacchos, addressing the poet jEschylus in 
the shades, observes "It will be all right provided 
your anger does not transport you beyond the olives." 
It may likewise be remarked that in olive-grounda,' 
the trees, excepting the sacred ones called moriee, 
were always planted in straight lines, from twenty- 
five to thirty feet' apart, because, in order to ripen 
the fruit,* it is necessary that the wind should be 
able freely to play upon it from all sides. And 
further because they delight in a warm dry air like 
that of Libya, Cilicia,* and Attica, the best olive- 
grounds were generally supposed to be those which 
occupied the rapid slopes of hills where the soil is 
naturally stony and light. The oil of the plains was 
commonly coarse and thick. 

Among these olive grounds iu summer, the song 
of the tettix'' is commonly heard; for this musical 
insect loves the olive, which, like the sant of the 
Arabian desert, yields but a thin and warm shade.' 



■ Vict. Var. Lect. p. 874. 
But the Scholiast (Aristoph. Ran. 
1 086) givea a. different though leaa 
probable interpretation to the pa«- 
fwge. 

» Cf. Sibth. Plor. Onec. t. i. 
tab. 3. 

> Cato. De Re Ruslicfi 6. Thty 
were aometimei also grafted, ue 
are told, on lentiuus stocka. Plul. 
Sympoi. ii. 6. 1. 

* In Syria and aome olliet 
warm countries the olive was aaid 
to produce fruit in cluster?. Theo- 
pbraet.Hiat. Plant. i.l 1.4. And 
when tliiB fruit was found chiefly 
on the upper branches, they au- 
(fured a productive year. id. i>'14. 
i, Geop. IX. 2, 4. The ancients 
entertuned extraoi-duiary ideas 
concerning the purity of the olive. 



which they imagined bore more 
freely when cultivated by penons 
of chaste minda. Thus the olive- 
grounds of Anaairboa, in Cilicio, 
were thought lo owe their extra- 
ordinary fertility to the reserved 
and modest manners of the youtha 
who cultivated them. Id. ix. i. 6. 

»Geop. ix. 3. 1. Virg. Georg. ii. 
179. The heads of olive-«tocks 
when frcahly planted were covered 
with clay, which wa* protected 
from the wet by a shell. Xenoph. 
(Econom. xix. 1*. The pits lor 
the planting of the olive and other 
Ihiit-trees were of considerable 
depth and dug long beforehand. 
Theoph. Hist. Plant, i. (i. 1. 

6 Cf. Heaiod. Opp. el Die*. 
JSi, seq. 

^ Oi> yiiovra, ii rirriyti ^noi- 



316 



GARDCN AND ORCUARD. 



The tettix, iii fact, though never found in an un- 
ivooded country, as in the plains about Cyrene, 
equally avoids the dense shade of the woods.' Here 
likewise" are found the blackbird, the roller, and 
three distinct species of butcher-bird — the small grey, 
the ash-coloured, and the redheaded. 

In an Attic orchard were most of the trees reared 
in England, together with many which will not btaud 
the rigour of our climate. — The apple,* cultivated 
with peculiar care in the environs of Delphi and 
Corinth ; the pear,' the cherry from Cerasos on the 
southern shore of the Black Sea,^ which sometimes 
grew to the height of nearly forty feet,*' the damas- 
cene,' and the common plum. Along with these 
were likewise to be found the quince," the apricot, 
the peach, the nectarine, the walnut, the chestnut, 
the filbert, introduced from Pontos,^ the hazel iiut, 
the medlar, and the mulberry, which, according to 
Menauder, is the earliest fruit of the year.'" With 
these were intermingled the fig, white, purple, and 
red, the pomegranate," from the northern shores of 
Africa, the orange,'^ still planted under artificial shel- 



V Kupftt-p 






fi^ ScySpa loTiv' 3(0 i 

ov yirorrai iv rf 1(01^1 

Tt^v v6\iv jroXXo/, fioXia 

cXalai' oil yap ylvovra 

ado,. Ariatot. Hist. Anim. V. 30. 

Cf. Phile, de Animal, Proprietal. 

c. 35. p. 81. 

' In Spain, however, these in- 
sects ex)iibit a somewhat diflerent 
taste, being there found amid the 
foliage of the most leafy treea. 
" Every oak in the cork-wood 
near Gibraltar was the abode if 
not of haiinony, at least of noise, 
and the concert kept up amidst 
the foliage by the numerous 
grass or rather tree-hoppers was 
quite deafening." Napier, Ex- 
cursions oil the shores of the 
Mediterranean, ii. p. 3. 

' Sibth. in Walp. Mem, i. 75. 



3 On the cultivation of the ap- 
ple see Theophrast. Hist. Plant, i. 
3. 3. Geop. xviii. 18. 

* Allien, xiv. C3. Etym. M^. 
123. 20. 

* Geop. X. 41. Plin. sv. SS. 
Atheii. ii. 35. 

6 Theoph. Hist. Plant. iii. IS. 1. 

T Etym. Mag. 21!.4>Bqq. 

" Geop. X. 3. 7.^. 

9 Geop. xiii. 1 9. Athen. ii. 38. 

»« Athen. ii. 12. Vid. Cffil. 
Rhodigin. vij. 1 5. Bochart, Geog. 
Sac. col. 629. 

" Theophrast. Hist. Plant, i. 3. 
3. The fruit of the pomegranate- 
tree lost much of its acidity in 
Egypt. Id. Hist. Plant, ii. 2. 7- 

'^ In Greece the onuige-trefl 
and the lemon blossom in June, 
Chandler, ii. :i38. 



GARDEN AND ORCIIAllD. 



317 



ter at Lemnos, the citron, the lemon,' tlie date- 
[lalm.'^ the pistachio, the almond, the service, and 
the cornel-tree. 

As these gardens were arranged with a view no 
loss to pleasure than to profit, the trees were plant- 
ed in lines, which, when sufficiently close, formed 
a series of umbrageous avenues, opening here into 
the la^vn and there into the vineyard, which gene- 
rally formed part of a Greek gentleman's grounds. 
And such an orchard decked in its summer pride 
with foliage of emerald and fruit, ruddy, purple, and 
gold, the notes of the thrush, the nightingale,' the 
tettix, with the "amorous thrill of the green-finch,"* 
floating through its boughs, and the perfume of the 
agnus-castus, the myrtle, the rose, and the violet, 
wafting richly on all sides, was a very paradise. 

Not unfrequently, common foot-paths traversed 
these orchards and vineyards, in which case the 
passers-by were customarily, if not by law, permit- 
ted to pick and eat the fruit,'' which speins also 
from the account of our Saviour to have been the 
practice in .ludiea. The contrary is the case in 
modern Europe. In Burgundy and Switzerland, 
where pathways traverse vineyards, it is not un- 
common to see the grapes smeared with something 
resembling white lime which children are assured 



' Cf. Chandler, ii. 850. 

' In Baltyionia the palm-tree 
was by some thouglit to be propa- 
gated by off-shools, Theophrast. 
HUt. riant, ii. 2. 2. In Greece, 
the ftuit Bcldom ripened complete- 
ly, iii. 3. 5. 

*'Eri Si rit tfiryovv Tijt aipat 
Xiyvpir tirilX" y fiouaiKf riSv 
rtTuywv X°PV ^' ''*' ""^ ""^ •'•''" 

iyiySyn iiH Kai iii\i6vu, Wlp\ 
vfTiifjifui rd vdftaTa, /iiXwJou- 
91V. fJXAtt Ka\ Tur aWuiv ft jv ^w 



tfifiiXut D^iXotliTur avOpuiiroii. 
AriBtienet. Epist. lib. i. Ep. 8, 
p. 17. 

♦ " The amorous thrill of the 
" green-finch was now heard di»- 
" tindly. The little owl hooted 
" frequently round the walls of 
" the convent. In the river be- 
" low, Dttera were frequently 
" taken. On the sideB of the 
" banks were the holes of the 
" river-crabs; and thegreen-back- 
" ed lizard was sporting among 
" the grass." Slblh. in Walp. 
Trav. p. 76. 

> Plat. De Legg. t. viii. p. 107. 



318 



GARDEN AND ORCHAHD, 



is a deadly poison. This, while in the country, 
regarded as a mere stratagem, intended to protect 
tlie rineyards from depredation, though there seems 
after all to be too much reason to believe the ne- 
farious practice to exist in several localities. At 
least two children were recently killed at Foix by 
eating poisoned grapes on the way-side. 

The Greeks placed much of their happiness in 
spots like those we have been describing, as may 
be inferred from such of their fabulous tradi- 
tions,' as relate to the garden of the Hesperides,- 
the gardens of Midas, with their magnificent roses, 
and those of Alctnoiis,' which still shod their fra- 
grance over the pages of the Odyssey. From the 
East, no doubt, they obtained, along with their no- 
blest fruit-trees, the art of cultivating them, and, 
perhaps, that sacred tradition of the Garden of 
Eden, preserved in the Scriptures, formed the basis 
of many a Hellenic legend.* The Syrians acquired 
much celebrity among the ancients for their know- 
ledge of gardening, in which, according to modem 
travellers, they still excel. Of the manner of cul- 
tivating fruit-trees in the earlier ages very little is 
known. No doubt they soon discovered that some 
will thrive better in certain soils and situations than 
in others, and profited by the discovery; but the 
art of properly training and grafting trees is com- 
paratively modern.'' 

No mention of it occurs in the Pentateuch, though 
Moses there gives directions how to manage an or- 
chard. For the first three years the blossoms were 
not to be suffered to ripen into fruit, and even in 
the fourth all that came was sacred to the Lord. 



■ Eudoc. Ionia. 434. 

* Plin. xix. 19. Atiien. si. 39. 
^ BtBttig. Frsgm. Bur les Jar. des 

Anciens, in Magaz. Ency doped. 
Ann. Tii. t. i. p. 337. Cardinal 
Quirint, Primordia Corcyne, c. 
vii. p. 60, sqq- 

* See in Xf nophon a brief de- 



scription of the gardens of Cyrug. 
CTlconom. iv. 21. Upon thia pas- 
sage our countryman. Sir Thomas 
Browne, has written an elaborate 
treatise. 

■' On the varioim methods of 
propagating trees sec TheophrMt. 
Hist. Planl. il, 1. 2. 



GARDEN AND ORCHARD. 319 

From the fiftli year, onward, they might do with 
it what they pleased. Of these regulations the in- 
tention was to prevent the early exhaustion of the 
trees. Homer, also, is silent on the practice of 
grafting, nor does any mention of it occur in the 
extant works of Hesiod, though Manilius ' refers to 
his poems in proof of the antiquity of the practice- 
By degrees, however, it got into use ; '^ and, in the 
age of Aristotle,* was already common, as at present 
almost everywhere, save in Greece,* since no fruit 
was esteemed excellent unless the tree had been 
grafted. Some few of the rules they observed in 
this process may be briefly noticed.^ Trees with a 
thick rind were grafted in the ordinary way. and 
sometimes by inserting the graft between the bark 
and the wood, which was called infoliation/ Inocu- 
lation, also, or introducing the bud of one tree into 
the rind of another, was common among Greek gar- 
deners.' They M-ere extremely particular in their 
choice of stocka.* Thus the fig was grafted only on 
the platane* and the mulberry ; Ihe mulberry on 



, 227. 



L 



' ABtronomicon, ii. p. 30. I. 4. 
Scalig. et not. p. 67. 
«Cf. Athen. xiv. 68. 
» De Planti*, li. 6. 

• Hobhouee, Travels, i 
Thi«recti, Etat Actuel 
Grew, t. i. p. 297. 

* Geop. iii. 3. 9. Clem. Alex- 
and. Stromal. I. vi. Opera, t. Ii. 
p. 800. VeneL 1657. 

"Geop. xii. 75. x. 75. 19. 

T Geop. X. 77. Colum. v. 11. 
1. Pallad. vii. 5. i. Plin. xvii. 
8fl. Cato.42. Virg. Georg. ii. 
73, »qs. 

« Geop. 1. 76. 

9 Introduced by Dionyiioi tlie 
elder into Rlicgium. where it 
attained, however, no great size. 
Thewph. Hist. Plant, iv. B. 0. 
The tame naturalist speaks of 
t«o plane tree*, the one at Del- 



phi, the other at Caphje in Ar- 
cadia, said to liave been planted 
by the hand of Agamemnon, 
which were still flouriBhing in 
his own days, iv. 13. 8. This 
tree attains a prodigious sixe in 
Peloponnesos. Chandler, Tra- 
vels, ii. 308. Our traveller was 
prevented from measuring the 
stem by the fear of certain Alba- 
nian soldiers who lay asleep un- 
der it ; but TheophiastUR pves 
us tlie dimensions of a large pla- 
lane, at Antandros, whose trunk, 
he says, could scarcely be em- 
braced by four men, while its 
height before the springing forth 
of the Iwughs was fifteen feet. 
Having described the dimension* 
of the tree, he relates a very ex- 
traordinary fact in natural his- 
tory, namely, that this platane, 



320 



GARDEN AND ORCHARD. 



the chestnut,' tlie beecli, tlie npple, the terebinth, 
the wild pear, the elm, and the white poplar, 
(whence white mnlberries;) the pear on the pome- 
granate, the quince, the mnlberry, (whence red 
peare,) the almond, and the terebinth; apples" on 
all sorts of wild pears and quinces, (whence the 
finest apples called by the Athenians Mellmela,)' 
on damascenes, also, and vice versa, and on the 
platane, (whence red apples.)' Another method of 
communicating a blush to this fruit was to plant 
rose-bushes round the root of the tree* The walnut 
was grafted on the strawberry-tree only ;^ the pome- 
granate on the myrtle ' and the willow ; the laurel 
on the cherry" and the ash; the white peach on 
the damascene and the almond ; the damascene on 
the wild pear, the quince, and the apple ; chestnuts 
on the walnut, the beech, and the oak ; ' the cherry 



having been blown down by t!ie 
winds and lightened of its branches 
by the ajte, rose again Bpontane- 
oualy during the night, put forth 
freah boughs, and flourished as 
before. The same thing is re- 
lated of a white poplar in the 
museum at Stagira, and of a large 
willow at Philippi. In this last 
city a soothsayer counselled the 
inhabitantB to offer sacrifice, and 
set a guard about the tree, aa a 
thing of auspicious omen. The- 
oph. Hist. Plant, iv. 16. 2, seq. 
Cf. PlLn. xvi. 57. In corrobo- 
ration of the narrative of The- 
opbrastus, Palmerius relates, that, 
during the winter of 1684-25, 
while Breda was besieged by 
Ambrosio Spinola, he himself 
aaw in Brabant an oak iwenty- 
five feet high, and three feet in 
circumference, overthrown by the 
wind, and recovering itself ex- 
actly in the manner described by 
the great naturalist. The vul- 
gar, who regarded it aa a mi- 



racle, preser%'ed portions of its 
hark or branches as amulets. — 
Excercitationes, p. 598. 

' Plut. Sympos. ii. 6. 7. 

« " It is reported," observes 
Lord Bacon, " that, in the low 
" countries, they will graft an ap- 
" pie scion upon the stock of a 
" colewort, and it will bear a 
" great flaggy apple, the kernel 
" of which, if it be set, will be a 
" colewort and not an apple." 
Sylva Sylvarum, +53. 

' Geop. X. 20. 1. Varro. i. 
59. Mustea (mala) a celeritate 
mitescendi ; qux nunc melimela 
dicuntur, a sapore melleo. — Plin. 
XV. 15. Dioscor. i. 161. 

♦ Plut. Sympos. ii. 6. I. 

s Geop. X. 19. 15, cum not. 
Niclas. 

* Inseritur vero ex fffltu uncis 
arbutus horrida. Virg. Georg. 
ii. 69, with the note of Servius. 

Plut.Sympo9.il. 6, 1. 



» Plin. J 



., 14. 



9 Castanea inseritur in «e, et 



GARDEN AND ORCHARD. 



321 



on tbe tercbintli, and the peach ; the quince on the 
oxyacantlms ; t)ie myrtle on the willow ; ami the 
apricot on the damascene, and the Tha«ian almond- 
tree. The vine, also, was grafted on a cherry and 
a myrtle-stock, which produced, iu the first case, 
grapes in spring,' in the second, a mixed fruit, be- 
tween the myrtle-berry and the grape.' When the 
gardener desired to obtain black citrons, he inserted 
a citron-graft into an apple-stock, and, if red, into 
a mulberry -stock. 

Citrons were likewise occasionally grafted on the 
pomegrauate-tree. In the present day, the almond, 
the chestnut, the Hg, the orange, and the citron, 
with many other species of fruit-trees, are no longer 
thought to require grafting.' 

In illustration of the prolific virtue of the Helle- 
nic soil it may be mentioned, that young branchless 
pear-trees, transplanted from Malta to the neighbour- 
hood of Athens, in the autumn of 1830, were the 
next year covered thick with fruit, which hung 
even upon the trunk like hanks of onions.' 

Notwithstanding the early season of the year at 
which Claia distributes her gifts in Greece, nume- 
rous arts were resorted to for anticipating the produc- 
tions of summer,'' though of most of them the na- 
ture is unknown. It is certain, however, that they 



in talice, led ex satice tardiiu 
maturat, et tit asperior in sapore. 
Pallad. nii. 7. 32. Cf. Virfi. 
Georg. ii. 71. Plutarrh speak* 
of certain gardens on the banks 
of the CephiMoi. in Bwolia, in 
which he beheld [ware growing 
on an oak-stock: ^-rar H <al 
Iplitt dxtovs aynddc ixfipovimi. 

gympoi. ii. 6. 1 . 

' Oeop. X.41. S. iv. 12. 5. 

« Oeop. iv, 4. 

' Thierwh, Ctat Actuel de la 
Gr^ce. t. i. p. 208. 

♦ Idem. t. i. p. 28S. Speaking of 

VOL. II. 



the fertility of t)ie island*. Delia 
Rocca remarks; " Lc tcrroir y 
" est s\ bon, et le» arbres y vien- 
" nent si vltc, que j'w vu n 
" Naxie des pepins d'orange de 
" Portugal pounaer en inoins de 
." huit am de grand* arangers, 
" dont lea fruits ^toient len plus 
" delicieux du monde, et la lige 
" de Varbre si haute, qu'il failoit 
•' une longue echelle pour y mon- 
" tcr. " — Ttuiti Complet des 
Abeillei, t. i. p. 6. 

* On the artificial ripening of 
dates. Theoph. ii. 8. 4. 



322 



GARDEN AND ORCHARD. 



possessed tlic means of ripening fruits throughout ] 
the winter, either by hothouses or other contrivances ] 
equally efficacious.' During the festival celebrated ' 
in honour of the lover of Aphrodite, the seeds of 
flowers were sown in those silver pots, or baskets, 
called the gardens of Adonis,' and with artificial 
heat and constant irrigation compelled to bloom in 
eight days. Among the modern Flindus corn is still 
forced to spring up in a few days, by a similar 
process, during the festival of Gouri.^ To produce 
L rathe figs,* a manure, composed of dove's dung 
[ and pepper and oil, was laid about the roots of the 
tree. Another method was that which is still em- 
ployed under the name of caprification, alluded to 
by Sophocles.'' For this purjiose care was taken to 
rear, close at hand, several wild fig-trees, from which 
might be obtained the flies made use of in this pro- 
cess,^ performed by cutting off bunches of wild tigs 
and suspending them amid the branches of the eulti»j 
vated species,' when a fly issuing from the formal 



' Alheii. iii. 19. Plut. Phoc. 
[ $ 3. _Xenoph. Vectigal. i, 3. 

av fxuy yf^yoi, ay 
f vrcpfidTuv KljSoiro Kal tynapjra 
[ PovXoiTO yti'toBai, irdrtpo ujiov- 
P 2p &v ^cpovt iIq 'AiuiyiSot irq- 
■ roue opwc \alpoi iciiipuv caXoi^c 
ty iffjtpaiaiy ocrit yiyyofiivov^. 
—Plat. Phoad. t. i. p. 99. Suid. 



. 'Af^i 



t. i 



. 84. 1 



Theoph. HUt. Plant. 
Cbub. Plant, i. 1 2. 2. Eustath. 
pad OdysB. \. p. 4S9. 4. 

* Tod, Annaia of ItajaBt'lian, 
vol, i. p. £70. 

* Cf. Athen. iii. 12. Theo- 
phrast. Hist. Plant, i. 3. 3. The 
fhiit of the Egyptian sycamore, 
or Pharaoh's fig-tree, was eaten 
in antiquity as now, AthenfBus, 
who was a native of the Delta, 
•aye they used to rip open the 
skin of the fruit with an iron 



claw, and leave it thus upon the 
tree for three days. On the 
fourth it was eatable, and ex- 
haled a very agreeable odour- 
Deipnosoph. ii. 36. Theophraa- 
tua adds, that a little oU waa 
likewise poured on the fruit when 
opened by the iron. De Catu. 
Plant, i. IT. 9. ii. 8. 4. In Malta 
figs are still aometimes ripened 
by introducing a little olive oil 
into the eye of the fruit, or by 
puncturing it with a straw or 
feather dipped in oil. Napier, 
ExcurEions along the Shores of 
the Mediterranean, vol.ii. p. 144. 
Cf. Lord Bacon, Sylva Sylvarum, 
4-46. 

* Ap. Athen. iii. 10, C£ 
Theoph. Hist. Plant, i. 8. I. 

^ Aristot. de Gen. Anim. t. i. 

^ Suid. V. fpiviot. t. i. p. 
1038. d. 




GARDEN AND ORCHARD. 



323 



pricked the slowly ripening fruit and accelerated its 
maturity.' In growing the Tarious kinda of fig they 
were careful to plant the Chelidonian, the Erinean, or 
wild fig, the Leukerinean, and the Phibaleian' on 
plains. The autumn-royals would grow anywhere. 
Each sort has its peculiar excellence. The following 
were the best : the colouroi, or trancated, the formi- 
nion, the diforoi, the Megaric, and the Laconian, 
which would bear abundantly if well- watered.* 
Uhodes was famous for its excellent figs, which 
were even thought worthy to be compared with 
those of Attica,* Athenajus, however, pretends that 
the best figs in the world were found at Rome. 
There were figs with a ruddy bloom in the island 
of Pares, the same in kind as the Lydian tig.' 
The Leukerinean produced the white fig.* 

The fancy of Hellenic gardeners amusetl itself 
with effecting numerous fantastic changes in the 
appearance and nature of fruit. Thus citrons, le- 
mons, &c., were made, by the application of a clay 
mould, to assume the form of the human face, of 
birds and other animals.' Occasionally, too, they were 
introduced, when small, into the neck of a bottle 
provided with breathing holes, the figure of which 
they assumed as they projected their growth into 
all its dimensions. We are assured, moreover, that, 
by a very simple process they could produce 

' Cf. Toumefort, t. ii. p. 23. 
'' Schol. ArUtoph. Acharn. 76 7 

* Athen. lii. 7. The Laconian 
fig-tree wasnot commonlyplanted 
in Altica. Frag.Ariatoph.GeoTg. 
4. Bninck. T)ui kind of fig re- 
quirea much watering, which was 
found to deteriorate the flavour 
of olher kinds. Theoph. Hist. 
Plant, i. 7. 1. 

* Athen. iii. S. 

» Athen. iii. 9. In the fig- 
tree orchard* of Asia Minor the 
■pa«e« betwc«n the trees are 
■own, at in vineyarda, with com. 



and the busheB are often filled 
with nightingales. — Chandler, i. 
244. 

"Athen. iu. 10. There was. 
also, a ipecies which received it< 
name from resembling the crow 
in colour. Sch. Aristoph. Pac. 
611. Philosl. Icon. i. 31. p. 
809, where figs are enumerated 
!n his elegant description of the 
Xenia. Cf. Pausaii. i. 37. Vi- 
truv. 

' Geop. X. 9. Clui. Bar. Plant. 
Hist. i. 4. 



324 



GARDEN AND ORCHARD. 



peaches, almonds,' &c., covered, as though lay magii^ 
with written characters. The mode of operation 
was this, — steeping the stone of the fruit in water for 
fleveral days, they then carefully divided it, and taking 
out the keniel inscribed upon it with a brazen ]>en 
whatever words or letters they thought proper. This 
done, they again closed the stone over the kernel, 
bound it round with papyrus, and planted it ; and 
the peaches or almonds which afterwards grew on 
that ti-ee bflre every one of them, mirabile dictu f 
the legend inscribed upon the kernel. By similar 
arts' they created stoneless peaches, walnuts without 
husks, figs white one side, and black the other, and 
converted bitter almonds into sweet.* 

The rules observed in the planting of fruit-trees 
were numerous.* Some, they were of opinion, were 
best propagated by seed, others by suckers wrenched 
from the root of the jiarent stock,' others, again, by 
branches selected from among the new wood on the 
topmost boughs. A ruile practice, too, common 
enough in our own rural districts, appears to have 
been in much favour among them, — bending some 
long pendant bough to the ground, they covered 
a part of it with heavy clods, allowing, however, the 
extremity to appear above the earth. When it had 
taken root it was severed from the tree and trans- 
planted to some proper situation. At other times, 
the points of boughs were drawn downi and fixed 
in the ground, which even thus took root, and sent 
the juices backwards, after which the bough was 



I 



t Geop.x. 14. 60. Pallad. ii. 
15. 13. 

»Geop.x. 16. 53. 76. 

" Geop. X. 59. Theoph. Hist. 
Plant.ii. fl. 1. Caus. Plant, i. 9. 1. 
Plin.xvii.43. Pallad. ii. 15. II. 

* Geop. X, 3. Cf. Xenoph, 
<Econom. xix. 3. 

* Plin. xvii. 1 3. When a tree 
waa barren, or had loat its 
strength in blooming, they split 
it at the root, and put a Btone 



into the fissure to keep it opcfl^.l 
ai^cr which it was said to best' 
well. Theoph. Hist, Plant, it. 
7- 6. It wa« cuatomary, more- 
over, to wound the trunks of 
almond, pear, and otlier trees, 
as the Bervice-lree in Arcadia, in 
order to render them furtile. Id. 
ii. 7- 7. The berriea of the cor- 
nel and Bervice-trees were sweeter 
and npened earlier wild than 
when cultivated, iii. 2. 1 ■ 



GARDEN AND ORCHARD. 



325 



cut off and a new stock produced. Trees generated 
by this method, rs well ae those planted during 
the waning moon,' were supposed to spread and 
grow branchy, while those set during the waxing 
moon attained, though weaker, to a inucli greater 
height. Tt ought, perhaps, to be further added, 
that all seeds and plants were put into the ground 
while the moon was below the horizon.' Those trees 
which it was customary to renew by seed were the 
pistachio, the filbert, the almond, the chestnut, the 
white peach, the damascene, the pine-tree, and the 
edible pine, the palm, the cypress, the laurel, the 
ash, the maple, and the fig. The apple,' the cherry, 
the rhamnus jujuba, the common nut, the dwarf 
laurel, the myrtle, and the medlar, were propagated 
by suckers; while the qui(?ker and surer mode of 
raising trees from boughs was frequently adopted 
in the case of the almoml. the pear, the nmlberry, 
the citron,* the ap})le, the olive, the quince,* the 
black and white poplar, tbe ivy, the jujube-tree, 
the myrtle, the chestnut, tbe vine, the willow, the 
box, and the cvtisus. 

But the thrifty people of Hellas seldom devoted 
the orchard-ground entirely to fruit-trees. Tbe cus- 
tom seems to have been to lay out the whole in 
beds and borders for the cultivation of vegetables, 
and to plant trees, at intervals, along the edges and 
at the corners. These beds, moreover, were often, 
as with us, edged with parsley and rue; whence the 
proverb, — " You have not proceeded beyond the rue," 
for " You know nothing of the matter."^ 



' The ancientB believed that 
tlie moon ripeiiB fruit, promotes 
digestion, and caugea putrefaction 
in wood, and aiiimal lutntanccs. 
Athen. vii. 3. Cf. Plut. Bympoa. 
iii. 10. 

»Qeop. X. 2. 13. 

' Cf. Vigeni^rc, Images ilcs Plii- 
loatrales, p. 48. 

* " Vet oiungen et les citron- 
" tiiers pedumetit I'air par la 



" quantltc prodlgieuse dee fleure 
" dont ill sont charges, et qu» 
" s'epanouisBent aux premifTeg 
" chaleure." — Delia Bocca, Trait4 
sur k-B Abeillei, t. i. p. 5. 

* Originally of Crete. Pashley, 
i. 27. KoioiiaXor in the ancient 
dialect of the country. Athen. 
tii. 2. 

* Schol. Ariitopli. Ve«p. 480. 
Geop. xii. \.X. 



326 GARDEN 4ND OBCOUtD. 

Tlie rustics of antiquitT, who put geQerally gre&t 
faith in speils and talismann. posseted an eitra- 
orciinary charm for ensuring unfailing fertility to their 
gardfiMt; they buried an ass's head deep in the mid- 
dle of them, and sprinkled the ground with the juice 
of fenugreek and lotus.' Somewhat greater efficacy, 
however, may bo attributed to their laborious methods 
of manuring and irrigation." 

The aei>ect of such a garden differed very little, 
except perhaps in luxuriance, from a similar plot of 
ground in Kent or Middlesex. Here you perceived 
beds of turnips, or cabbages, or onions; there, let- 
tuces, or endive, or succory,^ in the process of blanch- 
ing, or the delicate heads of asparagus, or broad- 
beans, or lentils, or peas, or kidney-beans, or arti- 
chokes. In the most sunny spots were ranges of 
boxes or baskets for forcing cucumbers.* Near the 
brooks, where such existed, were patches of water- 
melons,* the finest in the world ; and here and there, 
clasping round the trunks of trees,'^ andj suspending 
its huge leaves and spheres from among the branches, 
you might behold the gourd,' as I have often seen 
it in the palm-groves of Nubia. It may be added, 
that the pumpkin, or common gourd, was eaten by 
the Gret'ka," as it is still in France and Asia Minor." 

Ijettuces'* were blanched by being tied a-top, or 



■ Oeop. xii. 6. PalW. i. 35. 1 6. 

* Lucian. Luc. liv. Asin. § iS. 
» Geop. ii. 37. 40. 

* TheM wore covered with 

Silat(?s of the lapie spwularii, and 
umiahed with wheels, that they 
might tlie more easily be moved 
in and out from under cover. 
Colum. De Re Rust. xi. 3. p. 
461 : iee alto Caitell, Villas of 
the Ancients, p. 4. 

* These aru fomid growing at 
praieat even in the cometeries. 
" Des melons d'eau qui vegiHent 
" 5* et 14 sur ces tombes aban- 
" doimees, resembltnl, par leur 



" forme et leur palour, d des 
" crfines humaine qu'ou ne e'eet 
" pas donne ta peine d'ens^ve- 
" lir." Chatcaub. Itin. i. 87. 
These fruit are considered so in- 
nocent in the Levant as to be 
given to the sick in fevere. Chand- 
ler, i. p. 77. 

6 Colum. De Cult. Hortor. 234. 

1 Sch. Aristoph. Acham. 494. 

8 Athen. iii. 1. 

B Chandler, i. 317. 
'" See StrattU's Invocation to 
the Caterpillar. Athen. ii. 79. 
Theoph. Hist. Plant. viL St. 4. 
5. 4. 



I 




GARDEN AND ORCHARD. 327 

being buried up to a certain point in sand.' They 
were, moreover, supposed to be rendered more rich 
and delicate by beinjr watered with a mixture of 
wine and honey, as was the practice of the gourmand 
Aristoxenos, who having done bo over-night, used 
next morning to cut tbem, and say they were eo 
many green cakes sent him by mother Earth," 

The Greek gardeners appear to have delighted 
exceedingly in the production of monstrous vegetables. 
Thus, in the case of the cucumber, their principal 
object api>ear3 to have been to produce it without 
seed, or of some extraordinary shape.^ In the first 
case they diligently watched the appearance of the 
plant above ground, aud then covering it over with 
fresh earth, and repeating the same operation three 
times, the cucumbers "it bore were found to be seed- 
less. Tiie same effect was produced by steeping the 
seeds in sesamum-oil for three days before they were 
sown. They were made to grow to a great length 
by having vessels of water* placed daily within a 
few inches of their points, which, exciting by attrac- 
tion a sort of nisiis in the fruit, drew tbem forward 
as far as the gardener thought necessary."' They 
were made, likewise, to assume all sorts of fonns by 
the use of light, fictile moulds," as in the case of 
the citron. Another method was, to take n large 
reed,' split it, and clear out the pith ; then intro- 
ducing the young cucumber into the hollow, the 

" LordBucon.iiavidgriblicedlhU 
fiift, adds the following lage re- 
mark ; " If you Bet a atakc or prop 
" atBcertain distance from it(the 
■*' vine), it will grow that way, 
" which in far itranger than the 
■' other : for that water may work 
" byasympathyof attraction; but 
*■ this of the itake leemeth to tie 
" a reasonable diacourse," Syli-a 
Syl varum, 408. 

« Theoph. HiBt. Plant, vii, S. 
S. Plin. Hist. Nat. xix. 24. 

> Plin, xix. iS, 



' Geop. xii. 13. S. Pallad. ii. 
14.2, 

* Atlien. i. 12. 

* Qeop, xii. 10. 1, aqq. Pallad, 
iv. 9. 8. 

* Plin. xix. 83. PaUad. iv, 
9, 6. 

At qui sub triehila manantem 

repit od undam, 
Labentemque sequens nimio te- 

nuatiir am ore, 
Candidua, effiEtffi tremebundior 

uberc pnrcm. 
Colum. X. De Cult. Hortor. 394. 



328 GARDEN AND ORCHARD. 

sections of the reed were bound together, and 
fruit projected itself through the tube until it 
quired an enormous length. It is observed by Thi 
phrastus, that if you steep the seeds of cucumbers 
in milk, or an infusion of honey, it will in]prove 
their flavour.' They were, moreover, believed to ex- 
pand in size at tlie full of the moon, like the sea- 
hedgehog.^ A fragrant smell was suiiposed to be 
communicated to melons ' by constantly keeping the 
eeed in dry rose-leaves. To preserve the seed for 
any length of time, it was sprinkled with the juii 
of house-leek. 

The JN'Iegareans, in whose country melons, gourds,^ 
and cucuniliers were plentiful, were accustomed to 
heap dust about their roofs during the prevalence of 
the Etesian winds, and found this answer instead of 
of irrigation.^ It appears from the following p'roverb, 
— " The end of cucumbers and the beginning of pom- 
pions," — that the former went out of season as tlio 
latter came iu.^ % 

To procure a plentiiul crop of asparagus, they used 
to bury the shavings of a wild ram's horn, and well 
water them.' By banking up the stalks, moreover, 
immediately after cutting the heads, they caused new 
shoots to spring forth, and thus enjoyed a fresh sup- 
ply throughout the year. This plant was probably 
obtained from Libya,* where it was said to attain, 
in its wild state, the height of twelve, and sometimea 
even of thirty cubits ; ^ and on the slopes of Lebanoni 






' Ct Athen. iii. r,. 

" Athen. iii. 2. 

* The belt melong at present 
known in Greece are those of 
Cephalonia, which lose their Ba- 
vour if transplanted. Hobhouse, 
Trav. &c., i. 227. Cf. Chandler, i. 
p. 14. 

' Schol, AriBtoph.Acham.49i. 

» Theoph. Hist. Plant, ii. 7. 
S. 

f^ Schol. Aristoiih. Pac. 9ii6. 



' Geop. xii. 18. 2. Plin, 
42. Dioscor. ii. 152. The phy- 
Bician, however, modestly professes 
hia unbelief: tvioi li loropiiitnr, 
Sn idf ric Kpiov nipara avyKo'^ac 
Karopiit^, ^vcrai doirdpayoc i-fiot 
ci d-iciBavoy. 

" The asparagus, however, has 
been found, in modem timetr 
growing wild among the mint 
h)pid>iuTos. Chandler, ii, 249. 

Athen. U, 63. 



1 



GARDEN AND ORCHARD. 



329 



ill >Syria, it has in our o\tii day been aeeii from twelve 
to fifteen feet higli. 

That kind of cabbage wliich we call savoya was 
»U{)poae<l to fiourisb best in saline spots, on which 
account the gardeners used to sift pounded nitre ' 
over the beds where it was Bown, an was the prac- 
tice also in Egypt. In and about Alexandria," how- 
ever, there was said to be some i)eeuliar quality in 
the earth which communicated a bitter taste to the 
cabbage. To prevent this they imported cabbage- 
seed from the island of Rhodes, which produced good 
|)lantB the first year, but experienced in the second 
the acrid influence of the soil.* Kume was cele- 
brated for its fine cabbages, which, when full-grown, 
were of a yellowish green colour, like the new leather 
sole of a sandal. Broccoli and sea-kale and cauli- 
flowers would appear to have been commonly culti- 
vated in the gardens of the ancients. There was, 
likewise, among them a sort of cabbage supposed to 
•have some connexion with the gift of prophecy;* 
and by this, probably, it was, that certain coniio 
personages used to swear, as Socrates by the dog, 
and Zeno by the caper-bush. 

Radishes* were rendered sweet by steeping the 
seeds in wine and honey, or the fresh juice of grapes : 
Nicander speaks of preserved turnips,^ Parsley-seed 
was put into the earth in an old rag, or a wisp of 
straw.' surrounded with manure, and well- watered, 
which made the plant grow large. Rue they sowed in 
warm and sunny spots, without manure." It was de- 
fended from the cold of winter by being surrounded 
with henps of ashes,' and was sometimes planted in 

> Theoph. Hial. Plant. vU. 1.3. 

<> Athen. iv. II. 

T Theoph. Hwt. Plant, vii. 4. 
1. 6. 4. Ariitoph. Concioti. 355, 
et schol. 

" Geop. xii. 1. 

' Geop. xii. 25. I. 



' Geop. iL41. 

' Athen. ix. 9. Suid> v. k^o'm- 
epi.t.i.p. 1518. b. Cf. Foei. (Eco- 
iiom. Hippoc. v.K^/i^fwv.p. S14. 
DioKoriii. ii. 146. 

' Cf. Steph. BjKim. do Urb. 
p. 488. b. 

* Cf. Casaub. Aniniadv. in 
Athen. ix. a. t. t. p, 24. 



330 



GARDEN AND ORCHARD. 



pots, probably to be kept in apartments for the sake 
of its bright yellow flowers,' and because, when smelt, 
it was said to cure the head-ache. The juice of wild 
me, mixed with woman's milk, sharpened the sight, 
in the opinion of the ancients." The juice of sweet 
mint, which was a garden herb, squeezed into milk,* 
was supposed to prevent coagulation, even should 
^ rennet be afterwards thrown into it. 

Both the root and bean of the nymphaja nelumbo 
> or red lotus,* were eaten in Egypt," where its crim- 
I sou flowers were woven into crowns which diffused 
I an agreeable odour, and were considered exceedingly 
refreshing in the lieat of summer.'* This plant wj 
by the Greeks of Naucratis denominated the melt- 
lotus, to distinguish it from the lotus with white 
flowers. Theophrastus' observes, that it grows in the 
marshes to the height of four cubits, and haa i 
striped root and stem. This lotus was also anci- 
ently found in Syria and Cilicia, but did not there 
I ripen. In the environs of Torone in Chaleidice,' 
however, it was found in perfection in a small marsh. 

The lupin,^ and the caper-bash, probably cultivated 
for the beauty of its delicate white flowers,'" dete- 
riorated m gardens," as did likewise the mallows," 



I 
I 



1 Cf. Sibth. Flor. Qnec tab. 
S68. 

' Dioscor. iii. 5S. Oeop. xii. 
S5.4,. 



n toWdu 



' d^\i/ti<rag 



' Geop. : 

*The ro 
(Ud by the 



24. 



e-cDloured lotus was 
poet Pancratcs to 
have been produced from the 
blood of the lion slain by the 
Emperor Adrian. Athen. xv, 21. 

^ Nicander in Georgicis &p. 
Athen. iii. ]. 
Xrti'/iKiic xuafiovAiyuirTioy,o^pa 

Si TrtBTijttira 
'AK/iaiov Kapwoiti KiSupia oaifu- 



'Ec x^P^C i/tOcoi 

aiy, dpi^nc 

■P/4ae f iy So 

uporlBitfti. 

See the note ofSchweigh- i 
Kuser, t. Tii. 10. ] 

' Histor. Plant, iv. 10. 
" It was also found in Thea- 
protia. Athen. iii. 3. 

9 Geop. ii. 39. Apuleius re- 
lates that the lupin-flower turned 
round with the sun, even in clou- 
dy weather, so that it served a* ] 
a sort of rural clock. Cf. PUn. , 
xviU. 07. 

'° The caper'bush bloasoDiB in I 
June. Chandler, ii. 275. 

" Theoph. Hist. Plant, i. 3. C. 
Cf. Sibth. Flor. Grtec tab. 488. 
1" Athen. ii. 52, 



GARDEN AND ORCHARD. 



331 



wbich, tojfether with the beet, were said to acquire 

in gardens the Iieight of a email tree.' The stem 

of the mallows was sometimes used as a walking 
stick. Its large pale red flower whicli 

Follows with ita bending liead the sun,' 

constituted one of the ornaments of the garden. 

Besides these the ancients usually cultivated in 
their grounds two species of cistue, one with pale 
red flowers now called the long rose, the other which 
about midsummer has on its leaves a sort of fatty 
dew, of which laudanum is made;' together with 
the blue eringo,* rocket, cresses, (which were planted 
in ridges.) bastard parsley, penny-royal, anis.'' water- 
mint, sea oiiioux, monk's rhubarb, purslain, a leaf 
of which placed under the tongue quenched thirst, 
garden coriander, hellebore, yellow, red, and white, 
bush origany," with its pink cones, flame-coloured 
fox-glove, brank'Ursine, or bear's foot, admired for 
its vast p)Tamid of white flowers, chervil, skirwort, 



' Theojjh. Hiet. Plant, i. 9. ft. 
Cf. *ii. 3, 3. Hesiod reckons the 
mallow and the asphodel among 
eitible plants. Opp. et Dies, 4t. 
Gffittling, therefore, (in loc.) won- 
ders Pythagoras should have pro- 
hibited the mallow. Cf. Aristoph. 
Plut. 543. Suid. V. «i/jot. t. I. 
p. 1336. e. Horot. Od. i. 32. 16. 

' Colum. de Cult. Hortor. 253. 
Cardan in his treatise De Subli- 
litat« having undertalcen to assign 
the cause why certain flowers 
bend towards the tun, his antago- 
nist, J. C. Scaliger, remarks ujion 
his philosophy as follows : — " De 
lloribus, qui ad Solem conver- 
tunlur non pessime ais : tenue 
humidiun ad Sotis calorem, se ha- 
bere, ut corii ad ignem. Cieteruin 
adhuc Integra restat quaestio. 
Rosis enim tonuissimum esse hu- 
midiun test ant ur omnia. Non 



convertuntur tameru Platonic! 
flores quosdam etiam Lunro di- 
cunt esse &miliares: qui sane 
huic Sideri, sicut illi suo caiiant 
hymnos, sed mortalibus ignot«a 
auribus." Exercit, 170, $ 2. 
" The cause(of the bowing of the 
" heliotrope) is somewhal obscure ; 
•' but I take it to be no other, but 
" that ttie part against which the 
" sun heatetli, waxeth more faint 
" and flaccid in the stalk, and 
" thereby less able to support the 
flower." Bacon, Sylva Sylvaruni 
§493. 

' Sibth. Flor. Gnec. t. 1. tab. 
25 S, seq. 

• Colum. X. de Cull. Hortor. 
2^0, sqq.Sch.AriBtoph. Nub. £35. 

» Theoph. Hist. Plant, i. 72. 2. 

" Schol. Ariftoph. Acham. ««6, 
937. 



3SZ fiABDE.\ AND ORCBAKD. 

the mouniful elecatmpane, giant fenoel, dil), mustlf^ 
and wake-robin, whicli was sowd, 

Soon at the [lunic tree, whose ninneroiis giaiiu, 
When thoroughly ripe, a bright red coverii^ hide«, 
Itielf ilid with in Moody t>log»onu clothe.i 

Other garden herbs were the cumin, the seed 
of which was sown with abuse and curses,' the sperage- 
berry. the dittander, or pepperwort, turnips,* and 
|)anmips, (found wild in Dalmatia,)* with onions, gar- 
lic, and leekft.' For these last Afegara was famous* 
as Attica was for honey, which suggested to the 
Athenians an occasion of compiiment to themselves,^ 
it having been a saying among them, that they were 
as superior to the Alcgareans as honey is to garlic 
and leeks. 

The cultivation of that species of leek called ge- 
thyllis was carried to great perfection at Delphi,^ 
where it was an established custom, evidently with 
a view to the improvement of gardening, that the 
person who, on the day of the Tlieoxenia," presented 
the largest vegetable of this kind to Leto should 
receive a portion from the holy table.^ Polemo, who 
relates this circumstance says, that he had seen on 
these occasions leeks nearly as large as turnips. The 
cause of this ceremony was said to be, that Leto 
when great with Apollo longed for a leek, 

Mushrooras'" were sedulously cultivated by the an- 
cients, among whoso methods of producing them 
were the following. They felled a poplar-tree" and 



' Coluni. X. De Cult. Hortor. 
374. EngliBh TranHlution. Tlieaph. 
Hint, riuiit. vii. 12. 1. 

» Theoph. HiBt. Plant, vii. 3. 3. 
Cf. Dioacor. iii. 68, eeq. 

s Athen. iv, 11. 

* A then. ix. 8. 

» Theoph. HisU Plant, irii. 4. 
7, 10, II. Aristoph. Plul. 263, 
et whol. Eq. 67S. 494. Vesp. 
680. Achium. 166, 500. Plut. 
383. 



" Schol. Aristoph, Pac, 246. 
252. 

? Cf. Schol. Aristoph. Eq. 675. 

B This passage hat escaped the 
diligence of Meursius, Graec. Fe- 
rial, p. 150. 

9 Athen. ix. 13. 

10 Dioscor. ii. 200, eeq. Pliii. 



Nub. 189, 191. 
Gcop, xii, 36. 



:les. 1 092. 

J 



GARDEN AND ORCHARD. 



333 



laying ita trunk in the earth to rot, watered it assi- 
duously, after whicli mushrooms, at the proper time 
sprung up. Another method was to irrigate the 
trunk of the fig-tree after having t-overed it all round 
with dung, though the best kind in the opinion of 
others were such as grew at the foot of elm and pine- 
trees.' Those springing from the upper roots were 
reckoned of no value. 

On other occasions' they chose a light sandy soil 
accustomed to produce reeds, then burning brush- 
wood, &:c~, when the air was in a state indicating 
rain, this ambiguous species of vegetable started 
forth from the earth with the first shower. The 
same effect was produced by watering the ground 
thus prepared, though this species was supposed to 
be inferior. In France, the most delicate sort of 
mushrooms are said to proceed from the decayed 
root of the Eryngium. 

This vegetable appears to have been a favourite 
dish among the ancients, together with the truffle,' 
eaten both cooked and raw ; * and the niorrille.* 
That particular kind, called geranion, is the modern 
crane's bill. The Misu, another sort of trufHe," 
grew chiefly in the sandy plains about Cyrene, and, 
as well as tlie Iton,^ found in the lofty downs of 
Thrace, was said to exhale an agreeable odour re- 
sembling that of animal food. Tliese fanciful luxu- 
ries, which were produced among the rains and 
thunders" of autumn, continued to flourish in the 
earth during a whole year, but were thought to be 



' A similar olfflcrvalion U made 
in France respecting the truffleB, 
the best of which are ■uppowd to 
grow about thu roots and under 
the shadow of the oak. Trollope's 
Summer in Western France, li. 
S5i. 

» Geop. xli. 41.2. 

'Sch. Arialoph. Nub. 189. 

* This was more particularly 
the cue on the Tauric Cherso- 



nese. — Theoph. Hist. Plant, vii. 
13. 8. 

* Theophrart. Hist. Plant, i. 
10.7. 

« Theoph. Hiat. Plunl. t. 6. 
I.f. 

^ Athen. ii. 62. 

* riut, Sympos. iv. 2. 1. who 
relates that the icm attained to 
a vety large lixe in Eli*. 



334 GARDEN AND ORCHARD. 

in seoBon in spring. Truffle-seed was usually ini^ 
ported from Megara, Lycia, and Getulia; but in 
Mytelene the inhabitants were spared this expense, 
their sandy shores being annually sown from the 
neighbouring coast by the winds and showers. It 
has been remarked, that neither truffles nor wild 
onions were found near the Hellespont.' 

What methods the ancients employed for disco- 
vering the truffle, which grows without stem or leaf 
in a small cell beneath the surface of the earth, 1 
have nowhere seen explained. At present' their 
existence is said to be detected in Greece, not by 
the truffle hound, but by the divining rod. On the 
dry sandy downs of the Limousin, Gascngne, An- 
goiimois, and Perigord, as well as in several partB 
of Italy,^ they are collected by the swineherds ; 
for the hogs being extremely fond of them utter 
grunts of joy, and begin to turn up the earth as 
soon as they scent their odour, upon which the 
herdsmea heat the animals away, and carefully pre- 
serve the delicacy for the tables of the rich. At 
other times they are discovered in the following 
manner: the herdsmen stooping down, and looking 
horizontally along the surface of the Landes, ob- 
serve here and there, on spots bare of grass and 
full of fissures, clouds of very diminutive flies hatch- 
ed in the truffle, and still regaling themselves with 
ita perfume. In some parts of Savoy they have 
been found two pounds in weight. 

' Vid. Theoph. HUt. Plant, i. > Valmont de Bomare, Di«t»- j 

6.13. D'Hist. Nat. t. ii. p. 2), se<i. 

» Walp, Mem. i. 28 t. 



CHAPTER III, 



VINEYARD, VINTAGE, ETC. 



One of the principal branches of husbandry ' in 
Greece was the culture of the vine, probably intro- 
duced from Phoenicia,'' Long before the historical 
age, however, it had spread itself through the whole 
country, together with several parts of Asia Minor, 
as may be inferred from the language of Homer.' 
who frequently enumerates Tincyards among the 
possessions of his heroes. Like most things the 
origin of which was unknown, the vine furnished 
the poets and common people with the subjects of 
numerous fables, some of which were reckoned of 
suthcieut importance to be treasured up and trans- 
mitted to posterity. Thus, among the Ozolian Lo- 
crians, it was said * to have sprung from a small 
piece of wood, brought forth iii lieu of whelps by 
a bitch. Others supposed a spot near Olympia^ to 
have given birth to the vine, in proof of which the 



' The importance of this branch 
of cultivation in some countries 
may be perceived from the fact, 
that in France it is gaid to afford 
employment to 2,800,000 fami- 
lies, compriung a population of 
6,000,000, or nearly one-fifth of 
the population of the entire king- 
dom. Times, Aug. 3, 1838. 
The quantity of land devoted to 
the culture of the vine was esti- 
mated in 1823, at 4,370,000 
acres, the produce of vhich a- 
mounled lo 920,721,088 gallons, 
32,516,220/. 15«. sterling. Red- 
i^ng. Hist, of Modem Wine*, 



chap. iv. p. 5G. In the Greek 
Budget uf 1836, the tax on cattle 
produced 2.100,000 drachmas, 
on bees 35,000, olive-ground* 
04,776, and on Tineyards and 
currant - groun dB5S,269. — Parish, 
Diplomatic Hiatory of the Mo- 
narchy of Greece, p. 175. 

« Or according to Athcnteus, 
from the shores of the Red Sen. 
Deipnosoph. xv. 17. 

> Iliad, ji. 561. 7. 184. t. 
152, 294. Cf. Find. hth. viii. 



VINEYARD, VINTAGE, ETC, 



^ 



inhabitants affirmed a miracle was wrought annually 
among them during the Dionyaiac festival. Thejr 
took three empty brazen vessels, and having closely 
covered and sealed them in the presence of wit- 
nesses, again opened them after some interval of 
time, not stated, when they Mere found full of 
wine. According to other authorities, the ennrona 
of Plinthin&, in Egypt, had the honour of being I 
the cradle of Dionysos, on which account the an- 1 
cient Egyptians were by some accused of inebriety, 
though in the age of Herodotus ' there would ap- 
pear to have been no vineyards in the whole valley 
of the Nile. In reality,^ the vine appears to be a 
native of all temperate climates, both in the old 
world and the new, and will even flourish^ and pro- 
duce fine grapes in various situations within the I 
tropics, where clusters in different stages of ripe*J 
Dess may be observed u]K>n its branches at all &e»>'^ 
flons of the year. 

The opiniona of Grecian writers respecting the 
I toil best suited to the cultivation of the vine, hav- 
f ing been founded on experience, generally agree 
Srith those which prevail in modern times.* They 
' preferred for their vineyards the gentle acciivitiea 
of hills,' where the soil was good, though light and 
porous, and abounding in springs at no great depth 
from the surface." A considerable degree of mois- 
ture was always supposed to be indispensable, on 
which account, in arid situations, large hollow sea- 
shells, and fragments of sandstone' were buried in 
the soil, these being regarded as so many reservoirs 
of humidity. 

phiques, t. li. p. Ifi. Voyages, 
t. i. p. 487, 491. 

• Virg. Geor^. ii. 276. 

3 " Q\idd colJes Bacchus ama* 
" ret." Manil. Astronom. ii. p. 
31. G. Scalig. 

'• Geop. V. 1. 

' Geop. v. 9. 8. Virg. Oeoig. 
il. 348. 



' ii. 77. 

« Cf. Redding History of Mo- 
dem Winea, chap. i. p. 2. An 
intereBting and able wBrk, 

» Nienhoff in ChurchUl's Co\- 
leclion, ii. 264. Burbot, iii. 
13. Ulloa, Memoires Philoso- 



VINEYARD, VISTAOE, ETC. 



G37 



By some tlie vine was even tliouglit to delight iit 
the rich alluvial soil of plains, such as is fouiul in 
Egypt,' where, in later times, the banks of the Nile, 
from Elephantine to the sea, seem to have present- 
ed one vast succession of vineyards." But superior 
vines were produced on a few spots only, as at 
Koptos, and in the neighbourhood of Lake Mareo- 
tis, where showera of sand, pouring in from the de- 
sert or the sea-shore, diminished the fatness of the 
ground. With respect to Koptoa, we possess, how- 
ever, no precise information.,' but are expressly told, 
that the Slareotic vineyards covered a series of sandy 
swells, stretching eastward from the lake towards 
llosetta,* On the southern coulines of Egypt, in 
the rocky and picturesque island of Elephantine, the 
vine was said * never to shed its le-aves ; but as none 
grow there at present, the traveller has no oppor- 
tunity of deciding this question, fn Greece the vine- 
yards of the plains were generally appropriated to 
the production of the green grape, tho purple being 
supposed to prefer the sides of hills, or even of 
mountains, provided it were not exposed to the 
furious winds upon their summits. Several sorts of 



1 KoXUtrrq hi yn ■.nl h tnro 
rwf piorruv mrafiiiv ^uaitt'ita, 
iStv cot ril*' \'iyvvTOr iraifoo- 

fiif. — Florent. ap. Geop. v. i. 4. 

* Jemaleddiii. Maured Allata- 
fet, p. 7. All these Tines it will 
be remembered were cut down 
by order of the Caliph Beamril- 
lah, eren in the province of the 
Fayoum. Some Testiges, how- 
ever, of vineyards were here dis- 
covered by PococLe. " I observ- 
" ed," says he, " about thii lake 
"(Maris) several roots in the 
"ground, that seemed to me to 
" be the remains of vine*, for 
" which the country about the 
"lake was formerly famous. 
" Where there is little moisture 
" in the air, and it rains sn «el- 

VOL. IT. 



" dam, wood may remain sound 
" a great while, though it is not 
" known how long these vine- 
" yards have been destroyiid." 
Vol. i. p. 65. 

' Though with regard to the 
nature of the wine itself we ore 
told, that it was so light as to be 
given to perwns in feven, — 6 ii 
card Ti)v Btifiatia, xai fuiXiara 
6 rnTti rifv Kdirro* rdXif, ovrwc 
csri Xirroc. <ai ivaniloTOi, co! 
T-a^Iuc imrrn'oc, ic "»■£ n/pl- 
raivovin itiifunof ft^ jiKdrrtiy. 
Athen.i. 60. 

♦ Athen. i. 60. Herat. Od. i. 
57- 14. Strab. xvii. 1. t. iii. p. 
*2^. 



^ 



L 



838 VINEYARD, VINTAGE, ETC. 

white grape, also, as the Psillian, CorcjTean, and 
the Chlorian, delighted iu elevated viueyards,' though 
it was often judged necessary to reverse these rules, 
and compel the hill-nurslings to descend to the plains, 
while those of the plains were in their turn exposed 
to the climate of the mountains. 

Much judgment was thought to be required in 
selecting the site of a vineyard, though almost every- 
thing depended on the climate and general configu- 
ration of the district in which it was situated. Thus 
in warm countries, as in the Pentapolis of Cyrene, 
the vineyards sloped towards the nortli ; in Laconia, 
they occupied the eastern face of Mount Taygetos, 
while in Attica and the islands, the hills often ap- 
pear to have been encircled with vines. Upon the 
whole, however, those were most esteemed which 
looked towards the risiug sun and enjoyed, without 
obstruction, the first rays of the morning.' And 
this also is the case in the Cote d'Or, where the 
best winee, as the Chanibertin, the Via de Beaune, 
and that of the CIos Vougeot, are grown on eastern 
declivities. In some parts of Greece, the vine was 
strongly affected by the prevalence of certain winds, 
as those of the east and the west in Thessaly, which in 
the forty cold days of winter were attended by frost 
that killed its upper extremities, and sometimes the 
whole tnmb. At Chalcis, in Euboea likewise, the 
Olyrapias, a westera wind, parched and shrivelled, 
or, as the Greeks express it, burnt up the leaves, 
sometimes completely destroying the shrub itself.^ 
In such situations it was accordingly found neces- 
sary to protect it by a covering* during the preva- 
lence of cold winds. At Methana, in Argolis, when 

' Geop. V. 1. 15. Cf. Oeop. ^ Qeop. v. 4. 1. 

iii. 2. " The shiftiiiff of inoiiQd , ™. , „ m . , „ . 

»i, . m.™, to belto the i™, „ Prft' '^^"!'- ^ J ,■,"■ 'l "; 

" and Mt, but with tlii. »ulio„, "; "'"■ ''ft "u 't V k *°'* 

■■ th.t all thmg. do prapar toi ?«' "" ™gW»«*«>l »f the «« 

•■ when they m advineed to the "." ""''^'"^ prop.tiou. to the 



better." Bacon, " Sylva Syl- 



Geop. ' 



varum," *39. ■* TUeoph. Caiia. Plant, v. 12. 5. 



VINEYARD, VINTAGE, ETC. 



339 



the south-east in spring btew up the 8aroiiic gulf,' 
the inhabitants, to defend tliem from it, spread over 
their vines the invisible teguments of a spell; which 
was eftected in the following manner: taking a milk- 
white cock, and cutting it in halves, two men seized 
each a part, and then, standing back to back, started 
olt" in opposite directions, made the tour of the vine- 
yard, ami, returning whence they had set out, buried 
the cock's remains in the earth. After this the Libs 
might blow m it listed, since it possessed no power 
to injure any man's property within tlio consecrated 
circle.^ The prevalence of the north wind during 
autumn was considered auspicious, as they supposed 
it to hasten the ripening of the fruit. 

When the husbandman had resolved on the for- 
mation of a new vineyard, he first, of course, en- 
circled the spot with a hedge' whicli was made both 
thick and strong for the purpose of repelling the 
flocks and herds, which, as well as goats, foxes, and 
soldiers, loved to prey upon the vine.* His next 
care was to root up the hazel bush and the ole- 
aster, the roots of the former being supposed to be 
inimical to the Dionysiac tree, while the oily bnrk 
of the latter rendered it peculiarly susceptible of 
taking fire, by which means vineyards would often 
appear to have been reduced to ashes. So at least 
says Virgil.* 

Root up wild oUvea from thy laboured lands, 
For Bparkling tire from hini^' unwary hands 
Is often scattered o'er their unctuous rinds. 
And oflen spread abroad by raging wind* ; 
For first the unouldering flame the trunk receives, 
Ascending thence it crocldea iu the leaves ; 



' On the prevalence of these 
winds in winter and spring, toge- 
ther with the causes of the pheno- 
menon, see Aristot. Problem. 



" PauB. ii. 34. 
Travels, ii. 2*9. 



ChMidler. 



' Virg. Qcorg. ii. 871, aqq. 



i. t99, sqq. PT^den't 



40 ^JfEYARD, VINTAGE, ETC. 

At length victorious to the top aspires. 

Involving all the wood in imolcy dm. 

But most when driven by winds the flainin|( storm 

Of the long filea destroys the beauteous form ; 

In ashes then the unhappy vineyard lie«. 

Nor will the blasted plants Iruni ruin rise, 

Nor will the vrithered stock be green again. 

But the wild olive shoots, and shades th' ungrateful plain. 

The next operation' was to trench the ground and 

► throw it into lofty ridges, which, hy the operation 
I of the summer sun, and the rain and winds and 
I frosts of winter, were rendered mellow and genial. 

Occasionally a species of manure, composed* of poun- 
ded acorns, lentils, and other vegetable substances* 
. Was dug in for the purpose of giving to the aoir 
i the warmth and fertility retiuired by the vine. 

The ground having remained in this state during 
I a whole year, its surface was levelled, and a serii 
of shallow furrows traced for the slips by line, ra^ 
ther close, on rich alluvial plains, but diverging 
I more and more* in proportion to the elevation 
I the site. Generally the vine was propagated by 
I dips of moderate length, planted sometimes upright 
I or a I'aiguille,* as the phrase is in Languedoc, some- 

> times obliquely,* which was generally supposed to 
■ be the better fashion. Along with the slip a hand-~ 
I full of grape-stones was usually cast into the fur^ 

row," those of the green grajie with the purple vim 
and those of the purple with the green, in orderj 
to cause it the sooner to take root. With 



e- 



' Geop. iii. 4. Cf. Virg. Geoi^, 
ii. S59, seq. et Serv, ad loe. 
' Geop. V. 24. 

* Virg. Georg ii, 274, seq. 

* Skippon in Churchill, Collec- 
tion of Voyages, vi. 780. 

* UoTipa ti okor TO n'Xq^o 
dp^di' n^iic wpoc rev tiiipavov 

\ pKinov ifyfi ftaWov fie p^nunfini 
B^ro, t) cai TKayiif n vnii rq 
tTo^i/3Xii^ti'>t yp SrJit an, uaii 
(Ii(r9ai Haitip ydfifia vmoy; 



ovru I'll ii'n" icKiiovit ydp hy o! 
o^&aXfio! Kard yijt iltV Ik ii 
rwf o^iaXfiiHi' col Avui opw 
(iKaoTafovra rd ^vrd. Xenoph. 
(Econom. xix. 9. aeq. 

* Geop. V. 9. This practice is 
noticed by Lord Bacon who ad- 
vises gardeners to ext«nd the ex- 
periment by laying " good store " 
of other kernels about the roots 
of trees of the same kind. Sylvft . 
Sylvarum,i.35. 



VINEVAKU, VINTAGE, ETC. 



341 



the practice was always to bet two slips together, so 
that if one missed the other might take, and when 
both grew, the weaker was cut off or removed. 
Several stones, ' about the size of the . fist, were 
placed round the slip above whatever manure was 
used, the belief being, that they would aid in pre- 
venting the root from being scorched by the sun 
in the heats of summer.* Some touched the lower 
point of the slip with cedar oil which prevented it 
from decaying, and likewise by its odour repelled 
vermin. 

To produce graj)ea without stones the lower end 
of the slip was split, and the pith carefully extract- 
ed with an ear-pick.' It was then bound round 
with a papyrus leaf, thrust into a sea-onion and 
thus planted. Vines proiJucing medicinal grapes 
were created by withdrawing the pith from the 
lower part of the slip, but without splitting, and 
introducing certain drugs into the hollow,* closing 
up the extremity with papyrus and thus setting it 
in the earth. The wine, the grape, the leaves, and 
even the ashes of such a vine were thought to he 
a remedy against the bite of serpents and dogs, 
though no security against hydrophobia. Another 
mode of producing stonelees grapes was to cut short 
all the branches of a vine already growing, extract 
the pith from the ends of them, and fill up the 



' Geop. iv. 7. Mviiiioii uf llie 
ntoiielesB grapes of Persia occurs 
in niaijy Irarrller*, and, by Mr. 
Kowler. one of the most recent, 
are enumerated under tlie name of 
tiiinit, among t)ie choicest fruili 
of that country. Three Years in 
Persia, vol. i. p. 323. It may 
here be remarked, that certain 
»urts of vines, among others the 
Capneion, produced soiiietlntes 
white cluiteri, somelirries purple. 
Theophrast. Hist. Plant, ii. 3. i. 
Cf. de Caus. Plant, v. J. 1. 1. r. A. 

* Geop. iv, 8. 



' Virg. Georg. ii. 34«. 

' A similar remark is made 
by Lord Bacon : " It is an as- 
" sured experience, " he says, 
" that an heap of flint or stone 
" laid about the bottom of h wild 
" tree, a* an oak, elm, ash, Sic, 
" upon the first planting, doth 
" make it prosper double as much 
" OS without it. The cause ii 
" for that it retaineth the mois- 
" ture which blleth at any time 
'■ upon the tree and suffereth it 
" not to be exhaled by the sun," 
Sylra Sylvamm, WS. 



342 VINEYARD, VINTAGE, ETC. 

cavity once a-week with the juice of sylphion,^ bind^ | 
ing them carefully to props that the liquor might 
not escape. A method was also in use of producing 
green and purple grapes on the same cluster,* This 
was to take two slips as nearly as possible of the 
same size, the one of the white, the other of the 
black grape, and, having split them down the mid- 
die, carefiilly to fit the halves to their opposites, 
so that the buds, when divided, should exactly 
meet. They were then bound tight together with 
papyrus thread, and placed in the earth in a sea- ' 
onion,' whose glutinous juice aided the growing to- ' 
gether of the severed parts. Sometimes instead of 
slips, offuhoots removed from the trunk of a large 
vine, with roots attached to theai, were used. On 
other occasions the vino was grafted, like any other 
fruit-tree, on a variety of stocks,* each modifying 
the quality and flavour of the grape. Thus a vine 
grafted on a myrtle-stock,^ produced fruit partaking 
of the character of the myrtle-berry. Grafted on a 
clierry-tree, its grapes underwent a different change, 
and ripened, like cherries, in the spring. As the 
clay encircling the junctures of these grafts grew dry, 
and somewhat cracked in hot summers, it was cua- 
tomary for gardeners to moisten them every evening | 
with a sponge dipped in water.^ 

The husbandmen of antiquity were often somewhat I 
fanciful in their practices. In onler, when forming f 
a nursery,' to coax the young plants to grow, the I 
beds to which they were transferred, were formed f 
of a stratum of earth brought from the vineyard I 

• Oeop. iv. 7. * Colum. v. 1 1. 

— Ad lilt S vitium prop^ine 

* Oeop. iv. 14. Altas marital populoB, 

Jnutilesque falcc raiuos an 
' It has been remarked also by tons 

ancient naturalists that a fig-tree Feliciorea inserit. 

planted in a sea-onion, grows Horal. Ejiod. ii. 9, icq.ui 

c)iiicker and u more free from ' Geop. iv. 4, eeq. 

vermin. Theoph. Hist. Plant, i. '^ Geop, iv. \2. 

5. 5. ' Vii'g. Gcorg. ii. itjo, »e<j. 



VINEYARD, VINTAGE, ETC. 



343 



whence they also were taken. Another nicety was 
to take care, that they occupied precisely the same 
position with respect to the quarters of the heaveus ' 
as when growing on the parent stock." 

" Beudes to plant it aa it was they mark 

The heaven's four quartere on the tender harlt, 
And to the north or south reatore the lide 
Which at their birth did heat or cold abide, 
So strong ii custom ; such effects coit use 
In tender souls of pliant plants produce." 

When desirous of extending the plantation in an 
old vineyard, instead of the methods above described, 
they had recourse to another, which was to bend 
down ' the vine branch, and bury it up to the point 
in the earth, where it would take root, and send forth 
a uew vine, and in this way a long series of leafy 
arcades * may sometimes have been formed. At the 
foot of their vines some cultivators were in the habit 
of burying three goats' horns' with their points down- 
wards, and the other cud appearing above the soil. 
These they regarded as so many receptacles for re- 
ceiving and gradually conveying water to the roots, 
and, consequently, an active cause of the vines* fer- 
tility. 



' Lord Bacon givei this ex- 
periment a place in his philoso- 
phy, observing, that " ia all trees 
" when they be rentoTed (espe- 
" dally fruit-trees) care ouglit to 
" be taken that the sides of the 
" trees be coasted (north and 
" south) and as they stood be- 
" fore." SylTa Sylvarum, 471. 

« Virg. Georg. li. 270, seq. 

' An analogous practice is ob- 
served in the pepper gardens of 
Sumatra: — "When the vines 
" originally planted to any of the 
" chinkareens (or props) are ob- 
" served to fail or miss; instead 
" of replacing them with new 
" plants, they frequently conduct 



"one of the shoots, or tuckers, 
" from a neighbouring vine, to 
" the spot, through a trench 
" made in the ground, and there 
" sufler it to rise up anew, often 
"at the distance of twelve or 
" fourteen feet from the parent 
"stock." Manden, History of 
Sumatra, p. 111. 

' Virg. Georg. u. 26. Serv. ad 
loc. 

* Geop. iv. 2. The nymphs 
are smd to have been the Durses 
of Bacchos, because water sup- 
plied moisture to the vine. The 
explanation of Athennus is forced 
and I'old. ii. 2. 



344 



VINEYARD, VINTAGE, ETC. 



Respecting the seasons of planting,' opiuioQB vera 
divided, some preferring the close of autumn, im- 
mediately after the fall of the leaf, when the sap 
had forsaken the branches, and descended to the 
roots ; others chose, for the time of this operation, 
the early spring, Jnst before the sap mounted ; while 
a third class delayed it until the buds began to swell, 
and the tokens of spring wore evident. To these | 
varieties of practice Virgil makes allusion, — 

When winter froeis constrain the field with cold, 
The fainty root can take no steady hold ; 
But when the golden spring revt^aU the year, 
And the white bird returns whom serpents &ar, 
That season deem the best to plant thy vines ; 
Next that, is when autumnal warmth declines, 
Eve heat \a quite decayed, or cold begun. 
Or Capricorn admits the winter sun. 

But the above were not the only rules observed ; 
for, besides the general march of the seasons, they took , 
note of the phases of the moon," whose influence 
over vegetation all antiquity believed to be very 
powerful. Some planted during the four days imme- ■ 
diately succeeding the birth of the new moon, while 
others extended their labours through the first two 
tjuarters. The act of priming' was performed when 
that planet was in its wane. 

There were in Greece* three remarkable varieties 
of the vine, created by difference in the mode of ' 
cultivation.* The first consisted of plants always 
kept short, and supported on props, as in Franqe ; 



■ Geop. V. 7, »eq. Virg. Georg. 
ii. 323, aqq. 

= Geop. V. 10, 

' Geop. ili. I. 

* Of, Theoph. Caus. Plant, iv. 
S. 6. 

s The low vines of Asia Minor 
are now pruned in a very parti- 
cular manner. " As we approach- 
■' ed Vourla the little valkys 
" were all preen with corn, or 



" filled with naked rine-stocka in 
" orderly arrangement, about s 
" foot and a half high. The peo- 
" pie were working, many in a 
" row, turning the earth, or 
" encircling the trunks with tar, 
" to secure the buds from grubs 
" and worms. The shoots which 
" liear the fruit are cut down 
" again in winter." Chandler, i 



VINEYARD, VINTAGE, ETC. 



345 



the second of tree-climbers, tlieiice callcl Aiiaden- 
(Imdes; the third sort eujoyed iieitiier of tbeae advau* 
tages,' but being groMn chiefly in steep and stony 
places, spread their branches over the earth, as is still 
the fashion in Syra' and other islands of the Archi- 
pelago. 

Vine-props' appear to have commonly consisted of 
short reeds, which, accordingly, were extensively cul- 
tivated both in Hellas and its colonies of Northern 
Africa, where the musical cicada, whose excessive 
multiplication betokened a sickly year, bored through 
the rind, and laid its eggs in the liollow within.' 
From an inconvenience attending the use of this kind 
of support came the rustic proverb, " The prop haa 
defrauded the vine;"' for these reeds sometimes took 
root, outgrew their clients, and monopolized the mois- 
ture of the soil. 

In rich and level lands,^ particularly where the 
Aminian vine' was cultivated, the props often rose 
to the height of five or fix feot ; but in hill-vine- 
yards, where the soil was lighter and less nutritive, 
they were not suffered to exceed that of three feet. 



' On the cultivation of the Co- 
rinth grope, see Chandler, ii. 3S9. 

* Abbe Delia Rocca, Treiie 
Complct des Abeilles, i, SOS. 
Lord Bacon, who had heard of 
this manner of cultivating the 
vine, observes, that in this stale 
il wai Rupposed to produce grapes 
of superior magnitude, and ad- 
\i%e% to extend the practice to 
hops, ivy, woodbine, &c. Sylva 
Sylvnnim, 623. 

» Geop. V. 22. 27. Reeds de- 
light in sunny ipota, and tire 
nourished by the rain. They 
were cultivated for props, and. 
if thoroughly smoked, the insects 
called !*-(; were killed, which 
would otherwise breed in them, 
to the great injury of the 



riin. 



cr. 



Hchol, Aristoph. Acham. 1140. 
9S3. Vorro, L 8. In the island 
of Patidataria the vineyard waa 
filled wnth traps, to protect thu 
grapes from the mice. Id. ib. 

* Aristoph. Hist. Anim. v. 24. 
5. 

" Sch. Aristoph. Vesp. lags. 
Cf. Thorn. Magist. v, x''P'^- P- 
Oil, scq. Blancard. cum not. 
Stieber. et Oudendorp. Ammon. 
v.jfapal. p. 145, with the note 
of Valckenaer, Liban.Epiat.31B. 
p. I (It seq. Wolf. 

" Geop. V. 27. 

' cr. Geop. iv. 1 . Dioscor. v. 
6. Virg. Georg. ii. 37- Ser^ius, 
on the authority of Aristotle, re- 
lates that the Aminian vines were 
transplanted from Thessalv into 
Italy. Cf.Tier. ad loc. 



346 



^INEVABD. VINTAGE, ETC. 



Wliere reeds were not procurable, asli-props' were 
subi^tituted, but tbey were always carefully barked, 
to prevent cantharides, and otber insects hurtful to 
the vine, from making nests in them. Their prii 
would appear to have been considerable, sioce 
find a husbandman speaking of having laid out 
hundred drachma in vine-props.* To prevent their 
Bpeedily decaying they were smeared a^top with pitch, 
and carefully, after the vintage, collected and laid 
up within doors.' 

A vineyard, consisting wholly of Anadendrades,* 
most common in Attica, presented, in spring aiid' 

I summer, a very picturesque appearance, especially 
when situated on the sharp declivity of a hill.* The 
trees designed for the support of the vines,* planted 
in straight lines, and rising behind each other, terrace 
above terrace, at intervals of three or four and twenty 
feet, were beautiful in form and varied in feature 

. consisting generally of the black poplar, the 
the maple, the elra,^ and probably, nJso, the platani 
which is still employed for this purpose in Crete.^' 
Though kept low in some situations, where the soil 
was scanty, they were, in others, allowed to run to 
thirty or forty, and sometimes, as in Bitbyuia, even 
to sixty feet in height. 

The face of the tree along which the vine climbed 
was cut down sheer like a wall, against which the 
purple or golden clusters bung thickly suspend* 



to ^^ 

r 
t, 
1 

T 

e 
1 

6 

y 

ete.^^H 



' Sch. Ariatoph. Veep. 1110. 
Acliam. 1177. In the ^olian 
iBl&ndg the vlnca ore supported 
on a frame-work of poles and 
trees, over which they spread 
themselves with estraordinary 
luxuriance. Spallanzani, iv. 99. 

= Sch. Aristoph. Pac. lUGi. 

* Virg. Georg. 408, ieq. 

* Which were pruned b Janu- 
ary (Qeop. iii. I), and esteemed 
the most useful, iv. 1. The solid- 
eat and hardest vires were thought 
10 hour the least fruit. Thcoph. 



Hist. Plant, v. 4. I. C£ C 
ler, i. 98. 

* Dem. in Nicostrat. § 5. 

" " Vilem vidua* ducit ad i 
bores." 
Hor. Carm. iv. 3. 30. .J 

' Vi:^. Georg. iL 361, : 
An ainictA vitibua ulmo. Hn 
Epist. i. 16.3. 

« Paahley, Travels, i 
oab is now used for the i 
purpose in Asia Minor. ChandlerJl 
i. lit. 



VINEYARD, VINTAGE, ETC. 



347 



while the young hranchee crept along the boughs, 
or over bridges of reeds,' uniting tree with tree, 
and, when touched with the rich tints of autumn, 
deUghting the eye by an extraordinary variety of 
foliage. As the lower boughs of these noble trees 
were carefully lopped away, a series of lofty arches 
was created, beneath which tho breezes could freely 
jjlay, abundant currents of pure air beiug regarded 
as no less essential to the perfect maturing of the 
grape '^ than constant sunshiue. Sometimes the vine, 
in its ascent, was suffered to wind round the trunk 
of its supporter, which, however, by the most judi- 
cious husbandmen, was considered prejudicial, since 
tlie profusion of ligatures which it threw out in its 
passage upwards was thought to exhaust too much 
of its strength, to prevent which wooden wedges' 
were here and tliere inserted between the vine stem 
and the tree. In trailing the branches, moreover, 
along the boughs, care was taken to keep them as 
much as possible on the upper side, that they might 
enjoy a greater amount of sunshine, and be the more 
exposed to be agitated by the winds. 

These Anadendradee,* which were supposed to pro- 
duce the best and most lasting wines, probably, as at 
present, ripened their produce much later than the 
other sorts of vines on account of the trees by which 



■ Goettling ad Heuod. Scut. 
Heracl. 298. 

' Another means of augment- 
ing the fertility of the vine ia 
noticed by Lord Bacon, whose 
diligent study of antiquity was 
at least as remarkable ai his 
superior intellect. " It is strange, 
" which is observed by some of 
" the ancients, that dutt bulpeth 
" the fruitfulness of trees and of 
" vines by tiotne \ inaoniucli as 
" they cut dust upon them of 
" purjHiBe. It should seem that 
" powdring whenashowerconieth 
" niaketli a kind of soiling to the 



" tre«, being earth and water 
" finely laid on. And they nol« 
" that countiiea where the fields 
" and waies are dusty bear the 
" best vines." SylTB Sylvaniin, 
6£6. 

»Geop. iv. 1.16. 

♦These vines were 
called &fiafialvit. 
Veap. S2£, et Schoi. Itae rus< 
tics engaged in pruning them, 
feeling theniselves secure in their 
lofty station, used to pour tlieir 
rough raillery and invectives on 
tlKi passers-by. Horace, Satir. i. 
7. £9, Bcq. 



likewise 
Aristoph. 



348 



VINEYARD, VINTAGE, ETC. 



they were Bliaded. In modern Crete,' where, how- 
ever, they are never pruned, their grapes seldom 
ripen before November, and sometiraee they furuish 
I the hazaiir of Khania with fresh supjdies till Christ- 
I was. The same is the eaae also in Kgj'pt. 
I Occasionally, too, more especially in Cypros, the 
[ Anadendradfs grew to an enormous size. At Po- 
I polonium, in Etriiria, tliere was a statue of Jupiter 
I carved from a single viue; the pillars of the temple 
of Hera, at Metapontuni, consisted of so many vines ; 
I wad the whole staircase leading to the roof of the 
fene of Artemis, at Epliesos, was constructed with 
the timber of a single vine from Cypros. To ren- 
der these things credible, we are informed, that, al 
Ararabys, in Africa," there was a viue twelve feet 
I in circumference, and modern travellers have found 
i them of equal dimensions in other parts of the 
world,' In France, for example, the celebrated 
Anne, Due de Montmorenci, had a table made 
with a single slab of vinewood, which, two hundred 
years afterwards, Broticr * saw preserved at the town 
of Ecouen. , 

To return, however : the wide spaces between the'' 
trees were not in this class of vineyards allowed td 
remain entirely idle, having been sometimes sown' 
with com, or planted with beans, and gourds, and 
cucumbers, and lentils.^ The cabbage' was carefully 
excluded,^ as an enemy to Dionysos. In otlier 
these intervals were given up to the cultivation 
fruit-trees, such as the pomegranate, the apple, thi 
quince, and the olive. The fig-tree was regarded 



h 



1 On the vines of this iBland 
cf. Meurs. Cret. c. 9. p. 103. 

' Bochart. Geog. Sac. Para 
Alt. 1. i.e. 37. p. 712. Cr.Plin. 
Hist. Nat. V. L 

^ TozzeW, Viaggi. t. iv. p. 208. 

* Not. ad Plin. xiv. i. 1. 

* Geop. iv. I. V. ", seq. 
^ Barley and other grain are 

still in modem timet, sown be- 




tween the vincB in Asia Minot 
Chandler, i. 114. The i 

practice has been [lartially 
troduced into the -liolia 
V. 100- 
' Suid. V. Kftd^tri, t. i. 
b. — -Bapti djiitiXif oil 
Elym. Mag. 534, 47. 
" So was Ihe Imirel. 
Cans. Plant, ii. 18. *. 



VlNEVAItD. VINTAGE, ETC. 



349 



pernicious though often plauted in ruws on the out- 
side of the vineyard. 

Respecting those vines which were cultivated with- 
out the aid of props,' or trees, we possess little in- 
formation, except that there were such. But, as they 
are etill found in the country, it is probable, that 
the mode of dressing them now prevailing nearly 
resembles that of antiquity. They are generally, in 
Syria, planted along the steep sides of mountains, 
where they spread and rest upon the stones, and 
have their fruit early ripened by the heat reflected 
from the earth. Frequently, also, they are planted 
on more level ground, in which ca.se, as soon as 
the grapes acquire any size, the husbandman passes 
through the vineyard with an amiful of forked 
wooden props which he skilfully introduces beneath 
the branches and fixes firmly so as to keep the 
clusters from touching the mould. The reason for 
adopting this method is the furious winds which 
at certain seasons of the year prevail in many of 
the Grecian islands, preventing the growth of woods 
and prostrating the fig and every other fruit tree to 
tlie earth. The spaces between the lines are turned 
up annually by a peculiar sort of plough' drawn by 
oxen, in front of which a man advances, lifting up 
the vines and holding them aside while they pass. 
Tliis destroys the M-eeds, and, at the same time, all 
the upper roots of the vine, which compels it to 
descend deeper into the earth, where it finds a 
cooler and more abundant nourishment. lu this 
respect the practice of the ^yrotes closely resembles 
that of their ancestors. Some husbandmen were 
careful, likewise, while weeding," to remove the 
larger stones, though they are often supposed, by 
preserving moisture, to do more good than harm. 



' This creeping v 



; cultivaUd 
on in Spain. ■ 



• Delia Rocca, Traite Complet 



sur let Abeilles. t. i. p. 709, tqq. 
Cf. Thienwh, Etat ActucI de la 
Orioe, t. i. p. 288. 296. Damm. 
Nov. Lex. Gnec. Etym. 1122. 
' Geop. T. 1 9. 



350 



VINEYARD, VINTAGE, ETC. 



I 



It IB a peculiar feature in the character of the 
ancients that they loved to attribute to the inferior 
animals the first hints of various useful practices. 
Thus they maintained it was the ass that, by brows- 
ing on the extremities of the vine, which only made 
it bear the more luxuriantly, taught them the art 
of pruning as well perhaps as that of feeding on 
the tendrils and tender branches,' which among them 
were esteemed a delicacy. To manifest their grati- 
tude for this piece of instruction they erected at 
Nauplia," a marble statue in honour of this ill-ueed 
quadruped, who has seldom, I fear, from that day 
to this, been so well treated. The rules observed 
in pruning^ resembling those still in use, it is un« 
necessary to repeat them, though it may be worth 
mentioning, that the husbandman, who coveted an 
abundant mintage, was careful to lop his vines* with 
his brows shaded by an ivy crown. They esteemed 
it a sign of a fruitful year when the flg-tree and 
the white vine put forth luxuriantly in spring,* after 
which they had only to petition the gods againut 
too much rain, or too much drought," and those 
terrible hailstorms which sometimes devastate whole 
districts. Against this calamity, however, they had 
a preservative, which was to bind an amulet in the 
shape of a thong of seal-hide or eagle's wing, about 
one of the stocks,' after which the whole vineyard 
was supposed to be secure from injury. The same 



k 



I Theoph. CauB. Plant, ri. 12. 

9. After the vintage the goat 
and the camel, amung the modem 
Asiatica, are Bometunes let into 
the vineyard to browse upon the 
vine. Chandler, i. 163. 

* Paua. ii. 38. 3. See, however, 
another interpretation of the pas- 
sage in the Talt of a Tub, where 
the author gravely inBiBtB, that, 
by AsB, we are to understand a 
critic. Sect. iii. p. 96. 

Cf. Plat. De Rep. t. vi. p. 53. 



Schol. Aristoph. Eq. 1 66. See 
an exact representation of tb« 
pruniiighook in the hand of Ver* 
tumnus. Mus. Curtonens. pi. 
3B. This inBtrument was usually 
put into requisition about Um • 
veGpertinal rising of Arcturua. 
Hesiud. 0pp. et Dies, 56Q, sqq. 
* Geop. V. 24. J 

5 Theoph. CauB. Plant, i. 20- 5. | 
»Sch. Aristoph. Nub. HIT. | 
Kiist. 

TGeop. i. U. Cf. Sch. Aris- | 



VINEYARD, VINTAGE, ETC. 



351 



effect was produced by atriking a clialezite stone 
with a piece of iron on the approach of a etorm, 
and by hanging up in the vineyard a picture of a 
bunch of grapes at the setting of the constellation 
of the Lyre.' To repel the ascent of vermin along 
the trunk it was smeared with a thick coat of bitu- 
men,' imported Irom Cilicia, while to, preserve the 
branches from wasps a little olive-oil was blown 
over them.' 

While the grapes were growing, the ancients, fol- 
lowing in the track of nature, supposed them to need 
shade, since the leaves at that time put forth most 
abundantly, to screen the young fruit from the scorcli- 
iiig sun; but wlien they began to don their gold or 
purple hues, observing the foliage shrivel and shrink 
from about them, in order to admit the warm rays 
to penetrate and pervade the fruit they then stripped 
the branches and ha.stened the vintage,* plucking 
moreover the clusters as they ripened, lest thoy 
should drop off and be lost. But this partial ga- 
thering of the grapes could only take place in their 
gardens, or where the vine was trained almiit the 
house; for in the regular vineyards the season of 
the vintage was regulated by law,' as in Burgundy 
and the south of France, in order to protect the 
public against the pernicious frauds which would 
otherwise be practised. This, in Attica, usually co- 
incided with the heliacal rising of the constellatiou 
A returns.' 

When the magistrate had declared that the sea™ 
eon of the vintage ^ was come, the servants of Bac- 



toph. Nub. 1109. Huabondmen 
were accustomed to nul the beads 
tind feet of snimRls to the trunki 
of Ireei to prevent thiar being 
withered by Ihe opemtion of the 
eril eye. Sch. Ron. 944. 

» Geop. ii. 14. 

« Theoph. De Lapid. j 49. 
Schneid. Cf. Sii John Hill, nuti>8. 



p. aOO. It was likewise ohtwned 
from Seleucia Pieria in Syria. 
Slrab. vii. 5. t. ii. p. 106. 

' Geop. iv, 10. 

' Xenuph. Qieon. xii. 9. 

'Plat. De Legg. t. viii. lOG. 
Geop. V. 45. 

« Cf. Geop. i. 9. 6. 

^ Cf. riul. ThM. 5 22. 



35-2 



VINEYARD. VINTAGE, ETC. 



cho9 hurried fortli to tlie vine-clad liills, converting 
their labours into a pretext for !:%uperabundant niirtb 
and revelry. The troops of vintagers, composed of 
youths and maidens, with crowns of ivy on their 
heads, and accompanied by rural performers on the 

[ flute or phormiux, moved forward with shout, and 
dance, and song, to the sacred enclosures of Dii 

\ nysos, surrounded with plaited hedgerows, and bli 

I streamlets.' Here, whore 



" the Bhowcring grape* 

In Bacchanal proiuaion reel to earth 



Purple and gushing,' 

they at once commenced their joyous task. With 
flharp pruning-hooks ' they separated the luxuriant 
* clusters, gold or purple, from the vine, and piling 
I them in plaited baskets of osier or reed, bore them 
I on their shoulders to tlie wine-press. In this opera- 
I tion, as I have said, both men and women joined ; 
I but the press was trodden by men only, * who, half 
[ intoxicated by pleasure,* and the fumes of the young 
[ vine, chanted loudly their ancient national lays in 
I praise of Bacchos. 

The wine-press, which stood under cover, aonn 
I times consisted of two upright, and many 
rbeams,* which descending with great weight upoi 
"the grapes squeezed forth all their juices, and thei' 
felling through a species of strainer,* upon an 

' 11. a. 561, eqq. 

'Scut. Heracl. 291, aeq. On 

the modem modes of gathering 

I the grapeB, see Redding Hist. 

«f Modem Wines, chap. ii. 86, 

et seq. 

' The practice is still the same 
in the Levant: — "The vintage 
" was now begun, the black 
" grapes being spread on the 
" ground in beds exposed to the 
" aun to dry for raisins ; while 
" in another part, the juice was 
" enpressed for wine, a man with 
" feet and legs bare, treading the 



1 



ing 
inii^^ 



" fruit in a kind of cietem, with 
" a hole or vent near the bottom, 
" and a veaicl beneath it to n- ■ 
" ceive the liquor," Chandler, u^ 

P.O. J 

'' Anacreon, Od. 52. See » ■ 

representation of the whole pith- 
cess in the Mus, Cortonens, pi. 9, 
where the i-intagers are dad in 
skins ; and Cf. Zoega, Bassi Iti>, ■ 
lievi, tav. 26. 

» Antich. di Erc< 
p. 187. 

"Schol. Aristnph, Pac. ; 



527. '^1 



VINEYARD, VINTAGE, ETC. 



353 



clined slab, were poured through a small cliantiel 
formed for the purpose, into a broad open vessel 
communicating with the vat. Into the proeesa 
of wine-making' it is unnecessary to enter. It 
will be sufficient, perhaps, to say that, when made, 
it was laid up in skins or large earthen jars until 
required for use. The wines of modern Attica and 
the Morea" are preserved from becoming acid by 
a large infusion of resin.' 

The sports,* which took place during the vintage, 
were loud and frolicsome, and distinguished some- 
times for their excessive licence. They brought 
forth a number of wine skins, filled tight, to the 
village green, and there smearing them liberally with 
oil the staggering rustics sought, each in his turn, 
to leap and stand upon one of them with his naked 
foot.^ The missing, slipping, and falling, the awk- 
ward figure they sometimes made upon the gromid, 
the jokes, and shouts, and laughter of the by- 
standers, mingled with the twanging of rustic instru- 
ments, and the roar of Bacchanalian songs, consti- 
tuted the charm of the rural Dionysia, out of which, 
through many changes and gradations, arose, as we 
have seen, the Greek drama. In order without 
shame to give the freer licence to their tongues, 
they sometimes covered their faces with masks, 
formed with the bark of trees, which, there can 
be no doubt, led to those afterwards employed in 
the theatre. Sometimes a sort of farce* was acted. 



' For the making of the iweet 
wine (jii^Xirot olrot) which re- 
sembled, perhaps, our Congtantia 
or Malaga, and enjoyed extraor- 
dinuy favour amons the ancients 
Heeiod gives particular directions. 
0pp. et Diva, 611, sqq. Colum. 
xii. 39. Pltn. Hirt. Nat. wv. 8. 
Pailad. xi. 19. 

J'Sibth. in Walp. Mem. ii. 
33i. Chandler, \t.S5\. 

» A few drops of the oil whicli 
VOL. II. 



ran from olives without pressing 
VfQTe supposed liy the ancients to 
render the wine stronger and 
more lasting. — Geop. vii, 12.20. 
On the boiled wine, olpaiov. Cf. 
Sch. Ariatoph. Vesp. 878, 

• Virg. Georg. ii. 580, sqi). 
Hes. Scut, Heracl. 20 1 , sq^. Cf. 
8chol. Theocrit. i. 48. 

" See Book ii. chapter 3. 

^ Serv. ad Virg. Gcorg. 11. 389 



354 



VINEYARD, VINTAGE, ETC. 



representing the searcli of the Atlionians for the 
bodies of Icarioa and Erygonc. The foniier, accord- 
ing to tradition, was the person who taught the in- 
habitants of Attica the use of wine, with which on 
a certain occasion he regaled a number of shepherds. 
These demi-savages, observing their strength and 
their reason fai], imagined themselves to have been 
poisoned, and falling, in revenge, upon the donor, 
put him to death. His dog Moera escaped, and 
leading Erj-gone to the spot where her father had 
I been murdered, she immediately hung herself on 
the discovery of the corpse. Upon this they were 
I all transported to the skies, and changed into so 
many constellations, namely Bootes, ^ the Dog, and 
j the Virgin, by whose brilliancy we are still re- 
I joiced nightly. Soon afterwards the maidens of Ati- 
I tica were seized with madness and hung themsel "" 
I in great numbers, upon which the oracle being coi 
I tBnlted, commanded the Athenians to make search 
for the bodies of Icarios and Erygone. Being able 
to discover them nowhere on earth, they suspended 
ropes from the branches of lofty trees, by swinging 
to and fro on which they appeared to be condnct- 
' Ing their search in the air; but many of these ad- 
venturous explorers receiving severe falls, they wez^ 
afterwards contented with suspending to the ro[ 
little images after their own likeness, which thi 
sent hither and thither in the air as their sal 
tutes. 

But all the produce of tlie vineyards was not 
propriated to the making of wine, great quantities 
of grapes' being preserved for the tabic, or con- 
verted into raisins.^ Tlie latter were sometimes 
made by being carefully gathered after the full 
moon, and put out to dry in the sun, about ten 
o'clock in the morning, when all the dew was eva- 



on^^H 



> ^1. de Anim. i 



* Geop. iv. 15. Onto, 7. Co- 
lum. xii. 39. Pallad. 11. S2. 



' In the narai climate of Aria 
Minor grapes were sometimea 
turned into raisins, on the stalkj 

l>y the sun. — Chandler, 



J 



VINEYAUP, VINTAGK, ETC. 



355 



porated. For this purpose, there was in every 
vineyard, garden, and orchard, a place called Thei- 
lopedon.' which would seem to have been a smooth 
raised terrace, where not grapes only, but myrtle- 
berries, and every other kind of fruit, were ex- 
posed to the sun on fine hurdles. Here, likewise, 
the berries of tlio Palma Christi ^ were prepared 
for the making of castor oil. Anotlier method was 
to twist the stem of the cluster ' and allow the 



' Ewtath. ad Odyaa. ij. p. 27(5. 
Schol. Aristoph. Nub. 51. tpt- 
ftaOpa, Jhiit-baslieta, 219. 

< Diotcor. i. 38. 

' Oeop. V. St. Thia we find 
is Btill the practice iii the islands 
of the Aruhipelago, for tbe pur- 
poae of making sweet wine. M. 1' 
AbW della Rocca, who mentions 
it, cnumeratea at the tame time 
the most delicious sorts of gntpea 
now cultivated in Greece — " On 
" peut juger si lea vius y aont 
" esquia, et si le» anciens eurent 
" raUon d'appcller Noxie I'lle de 
"Bacchus. Les raiains y aont 
" monstrueux, el il arrive sou- 
" Tent que dans un repos, on n'en 
" sert qu'im aeul pour le fruit ; 
"maia aussi couTre-t-il toute la 
" profondeur d'un grand bassin : 
" lea grains en sont gros conime 
" noB danias noirs. II y a dons 
" lea ilea des raisins de plus de 
" vingt aortes r lea niuscata de 
" T^nedos et de Samoa Tempot- 
" tent suT tous lee autrea ; ceux 
" de T£nedoB sont plus ambrcs ; 
" ceux de Samoa, plua dclicats. 
" Lea Sentorinois, pour donnet 
" ime taveui plus exquiae i leurs 
" raisins, leur tordent la queue 
" lorsqu'ils commcncent a niurir ; 
"apres quelques joun d'un aoleil 
"ardent, lea raisins deviennent 
" u demi flctris, ce qui fail un 
" Tin dont ceux de In Cicutat et 



" de Saint-Laurent n'approchent 
" pas. Lea autres aottes de lai- 
*■ sins aont Vdidkonij petit faisin 
" blanc qu'on mange vers la mi- 
"juillet ; le samia gros raisin 
" blanc qu'on &it secher ; le 
" tiriqui, ainsi nomm^ parce qu'il 
" a le gout de la cerise ; fcelony' 
" e/ii, qui a la figure de I'ongle 
" d'un aigle, et qui eat trea sa- 
" voureux ; le malvoiiie, le mus- 
" cat violet, le corinthe, et plu- 
" aicura autres dont les noms 
*'me Bont echappes," Traite 
sur lea Abeilles, t. i. p. 6, seq. 
Speaking of the prodigious pro- 
ductiveness of vines. Columella 
mentions one which bore upwards 
of two thousand clusters, De Re 
Rust. iii. S. A vine producing 
a fitlh of this quantity has been 
thought extraordinary in modem 
Egjpt : " II n'eat pas croyable 
" combien rapporte un scul pied 
" de vigne. il y en a un dans 
" la maison Coniuloiie de France, 
" qui a portc 436 grosses grappes 
" de raisin, et qui en donne or- 
" dinairement 300." — De Mail- 
" let. Description de I'Egypte, p. 
17.* In the Grecian Archi- 
pelago, however, the vine has 
ticen known to yield still more 
abundantly than in Egypt: "On 
"a compte pendant troia ans 
" consecutife, cent trente-quatre 
" grappea de rdsin sur une 
2*8 



356 VINEYARD, VINTAGE, CT<.:. 

grapes to dry on tbe vine. Tliey were then laid 
up in vessels among vine leaves, dried also in the 
sun, covered elose with a stopper, and depoeited ia 
a cold room free from smoke. 

To preserve the grapes fresh some cut off with 
a sharp pruninghook the clusters separately, others 
the branches on which they grew, after which, dip- 
ping the stem into pitch and removing tlie damaged 
grapes with a pair of scissors, they spread them in 
cool and shady rooms, on layers of pulse-lialm, or 
hay, or straw,' The halm of lentils was usually 
preferred, because it is hard and drj', and repels 
mice. On other occasions, the branches were kept 
suspended, having sometimes been previously dipped 
in Bweet wine. Grapes were likewise preserved in 
pitched coffers, immersed in dry saw-dust of the 
pitch tree, or the silver fir, or the black poplar, 
or even in millet flour. Others plunged the bunches 
in boiling sea-water, or if this were not at hand, 
into a preparation of wine, salt, and water, and then 
laid them up in barley straw. Others boiled the 
ashes of the fig-tree, or the vine, with which they, 
sprinkled the bunches. Others preserved grapes by, 
suspending them in granaries, where the grain be-- 
neath was occasionally moved, for the dust rising 
from the corn settled on the outside of the clus- 
ters, and protected them from the air. Another 
method was to boil rain-water to a third, and then, 
after cooling it in the open air, and pouring it into 
a pitched vessel, to fill it with clusters perfectly 
cleansed. The vessel was then covered, luted with 
gypsnm, and laid by in a cold place. The grapes 
in this way remained quite fresh, and the water 

" Bouche ; et aur un autre ccp "d'une foia assure qu'on avoitJ 

"de vigne plante dans un terrain "fait soixante-quinae bouteUlei 

" tres-gniB, on a compte juBqu'a "de vin, ovec le raisin d'un seul 1 

"quatre cent quatre - vingta "cep." DellaRocca, t. i. p. 65. 
" S'^PP*'* ! ^^ I'intendant de 
« i'eveche de notre ile in 'a plus ' Geop. iv. 15 . 4. 



I 



VINEYARD, VINTAGE. ETC. 357 

itself acquiring a vinous taste was admin iatered to 
sick persons in lieu of wine. Occasionally, also, 
grapes as well as apples were kept in honey. 

Tlie most extraoniinary, and perliaps the most ef- 
fectual contrivance,' however, was to dig near the 
vine a pit three feet deep, the bottom of which 
was covered with a layer of saud. A few short 
stakes were theu fixed upright in it, and to these 
a number of vine branches laden with clusters were 
bent down and made fast. The whole was then 
closely roofed over so as «ouipletely to keep out 
the rain, and in this way the grapes would remain 
fresh till spring. 

Tlio labours of the vintage being concluded, the 
husbandman next turned his attention to olive gather- 
ing and the making of oil. This, in Greece, was 
ft matter of great importance. The olives, therefore,' 
for all the better sorts of oil, were picked by hand, 
and not, as in Italy, su(fere<l to fall. When aa many 
were gathered as could conveniently be pressed during 
the following night and day, they were spread loosely 
on fine hurdles, and not hea|M.*d up lest they should heat 
and lose the delicacy of their flavour. They were, like- 
wise, cleansed carefully from leaves and every particle 
of wood, these substances, it was supposed, impairing 
the quality and durability of the oil. Towards even- 
ing a little salt was sprinkled over the olives, which 
were then put into a clean niill,^ and so arranged 
that they could be bruised without crushing the 
stones, from the juice of whicli the oil contracted 
a bad taste. Having been sufficiently bruised, they 
were conveyed in small vessels to the press, where 
they were covered with hurdles of green willows, 
upon which, at first, was placed a moderate weight, 
— for that which flows from slight pressure is the 

' Qeop. iv. 11. Pallad. xti. was ground, like the olive, iii u 

I i- mill. Tor the making of oil. The 

- G«op. ix. 19. 2. kernels vrere used in feuding jiigs, 

> The &uit of ihe tumbinth or for fuel- Gc«p. ix. la. 



358 



VINEYARD, VINTAGE, ETC. 



sweetest and purest oil, on which account it was 
drawn off in clean leaden vessels,' and preserved 
apart. Greater weight was then added, and the mass 
having been well writhen, the second runnings were 
laid up in separate vessels. The next step was to 
cause the precipitation of the lees, which was effected 
by mingling with the crude oil a little salt and nitre. 
It was then stirred with a piece of olive-wood, and 
left to settle, when the aniurca or watery part sank 
to the bottom. The pure oil was then skimmed off 
with a shell, and laid up in glass vases, this sub- 
stance having been preferred on account of its coM 
nature. In default of these, pickle-jars, glazed with 
gj-psum, were used, which were de]>osited in cool J 
cellars facing the north." 

The Greeks had a variety of other oils besides that 1 
procured from the olive,' as walnut-oil, oil of tere- I 
binth, oil of sesamum, oil of violets, oil of almonds, ( 
oil of Palma Christi, or castor-oil, oil of saffron, oil I 
of Cnidiau laurel, oil of datura, oil of lentisk, oil ■ 
of mastic, oil of myrtle, and oil of mustard. They J 
had, likewise,* the green and wild-olive oil, and tlio | 
double-refined oil of Sicyon, together with imitationB I 
of the Spanish and Italian oils, 

As fruit of all kinds was in great request among 
the Greeks, they had recourse to numerous contriv- 
ances' for ensuring an unfailing 8u]>ply throughout 
the year. At many of these our gardeners may» J 
perhaps, smile, but they were, nevertheless, most of j 
them ingenious, and, probably, effectual, though the * 
fruit thus preserved may have been dear when brought 
to market. Into the details of all their methods it 
will be unnecessary to enter : the following were the 



' Cf. Cato, De Re Rust. 66. 
ThU clear pure oil, aometimes 
rendered odoriferous by perfumes, 
(II. >f/. 186,) was chiefly em- 
ployed in lubricating the body. 
ThuB we find the vir^n in He- 
siod anointing her limbs witli 
olive-oil to defend herself from 



the winter's cold, 0pp. et Diet,>d 
519, sqq. 

' Vitruv. vi. 9. 

» Geop.ix. 18. 

* Geop. ix. 19, Beq. iii. 
Dtoscor. i. 140. 

^ Gcop. X. 10—70. Cf. » 
oig, Pal. de Scaiirus, p. 1 82, 8C<J. 



VINEYARD, VINTAGE, ETC. 



351) 



principal and most curious. Walnuts, cliestnutR, 
filliLTts, &c.. were gathered and kept in the onliuary 
way. They understood tiie art of blanching almonds, 
which were afterwards dried in the eun. Medlars, 
service-berries, winter-apples, and the like, having 
been gathered carefully, were simply laid up in straw, 
whether on the loft-floor or in baskets. This, like- 
wise, was sometimes the case with quinces, which, 
together with apples and pears, were, on other occa^ 
sions, deposited iu dry fig-leaves. For these, in the case 
of pears and apples, walnut-leaves were often sub- 
stituted, sometimes jiiled under and over them in 
heaps, at other times wrapped and tied about the 
fruit, the hues aud odours of which they were sup- 
posed greatly to improve. 

Citrons,' pomegranates,' apples, quinces, and pears, 
were preserved in heaps of sand, grai>e8tones, oak, 
poplar, deal, or cedar sawdust, sometimes sprinkled 
with vinegar, cho])ped straw, wheat, or barley, or 
the Bceds of plants, all of which sufficed equally to 
exclude the external air. Another method with 
apples^ was to lay them up surrounded with sea- 
weed iu unbaked jars, which were then deimsited 
in an up]M>r room free from smoke and all had 
smells. When sea-weci was not procurable they 
put each a])plc into a small separate jar closely 
covered up and luted. These apple-jars were 
often lined with a coating of wax. Figs were, in 
like manner, preserved green * by being enclosed 
in 80 many small gourds. Citrons and pomegranates 
Were often suffered to remain throughout the winter 



' rultodius, i\ 



10. 



" We find mcnlion in modern 
time* of a ■pecies of pomcgrsnate, 
the kernels of whicJi are witliout 
stones, poculiot apparently to thii 
island of Scio. " It is usual to 
" bring theni to tablu, in B plate, 
■' Bprinkled with ro«.-water." 
Chandler, i. 58. 



' Cr. Philost. Icon. t. 31. p. 
809. ii. 2. p. 812. 

• FieuB virides scrvnri pouunt 
vej in nielle ordinfttte, ne se in- 
vicem tangant, vel iiingulie intra 
vlridem cucurbllani clauue, locis 
unicuique taretii, ct item teuera, 
<|u(e s^catur, incluMis, BURpenm ca 
cucurbitu, ulii iion sit ignis vel 
tuonuc rallud. iv. 10. 



360 VINEYARD, VINTAGE, ETC. 

oil the tree, defended from wet and wind by being 
capped with little fictile vases bound tightly to the 
branches to keep them steady. Others enclosed 
these fruits, as well as apples, in a thick coating 
of gypsum, preventing their falling off by binding 
the stem to the branches with packthread. Nor 
was it unusual, even when gathered, to enveIoi>e 
apples, quinces, and citrons, in a covering of the 
same material, or potter's clay, or argillaceous earth, 
mixed with hair, sometimes interposing between the 
fruit and this crust a layer of fig-leaves, after which 
they were dried in the sun. When at the end, 
perhaps, of a whole year the above crust was broken 
and removed the fruit came forth perfect as when 
plucked from the bough. It is possible, therefore, 
that, in a similar manner, mangoes, maugusteens, and 
other frail and delicate fruit of the tropics, might 
bo brought fresh to Europe, and that, too, in such 
abundance as to make them accessible to most per- 
sons. To render pears and pomegranates durable, 
their stems were dipped in pitch, after which they 
were hung up. In the case of the latter the fruit 
itself was sometimes thus dipped ; and, at other times, 
immersed in hot sea-water, after whicli it was dried in 
the sun. One mode of preserving figs was to plunge i 
them in honey so as neither to touch each other, I 
nor the vessel in which tbey were contained; onother^vl 
to cover a pile of theru with an inverted vase of 
glass, or other pellucid substance, closely luted to 
the slab on which it stood. Cherries were gathered 
before sunrise, and put, with summer savory above , 
and below, into a jar, or the hollow of a reed, whicbJ 
was then tilled with sweet vinegar, and closely eo-J 
vered. Mulberries were preserved in their own juice,] 
a|>t>Ie8 and quinces in pitched coffers, wrapped in 
clean locks of wool, jiears by being placed in salt* 
for five days, and afterwards dried in the sun, : 
were also figs, which were strung by the stalks 1 

" Cato, 7. Vano. i. 59. Coluin. xii. 14. 



VINEYARD, VINTAGE, ETC. 



SGI 



a piece of cord or willow twig, like so many Iiaiiks 
of onions ' as they are sold in modern times. Else- 
where they were preserved, as dates in Egyj>t, by 
being [iressed together in square masses, like bricks.*^ 
Damascenes were kept in must or sweet wine, as 
were also pears, adding sometimes a little salt and 
jujubes, with leaves, above and below. The same 
course was pursued with apples and quinces, which 
communicated to the liquor additional durability and 
the most exquisite fragrance. Quinces, whose sharji 
effluvia prevented their being placed with other fruit, 
were often put into closely-covered jars, and kept 
floating in wine to which they imparted a delicious 
perfume. The same custom was observed witfi ro- 
s|tect to figs, which were cut off on the bearing 
branch a little before they were ripe, aud hung, bo 
as not to touch each other, iu a square earthen 
jar. Upon the same principle ajiples were preserved 
in jars hermetically sealed, which, for the sake of 
coolness, were plunged in cisterns or deep wells.^ 

It may, perhaps, he worth while to mention, in 
passing, that, like ourselves, the ancients possessed 
the art of extracting perry and cider* from their 
pears and apples ; and from pomegranates a species 
of wine which is said to liavo been of an extremely 
delicate flavour. The Egyptians, also, made wine 
from the fruit of the lotos.' 



> SchoL AiiBtoph. &]. 755. 
Sibth. in Walp. Mein. ii. 61. 

» Phot. ap. Bruiickh. ad Aris- 
tnph. Pac. 574. 



» Theoph. Hiat. Plant, iv. 3. i 



CHAPTER IV. 



STUDIES OF THE FARMER. 



In other branches of rural economy the country ^ 
I gentlemen of Attica exhibited no less enthusiasm 
or skil). Indeed, throughout Greece, there pre- 
I vailed a Bimilar taste. Every one was eager to iu- 
[ struct and be instructed ; and so great in conse- 
I qucnce was the demand for treatises on husbaudrjf ] 
V tiicoretical and practical, that numerous writers, the ' 
I names of fifty of whom are preserved by Varro,' 
made it the object of their study. Others without 
I Committing the result of their experience to writing, 
[ devoted themselves wholly to its practical improve- 
f ment. Tliey piircliaacd waste or ill-cultivated landSi 
and, by investigating the nature of the soil, skilfully 
adapting their crops to it, manuring, irrigating, and 
draining, converted a comparative desert into a pro- 
ductive estate.' We can possibly, as Dr. Johnson 
insists, improve very little our knowledge of agri- 
culture by erudite researclics into the methods of 
the ancients ; though Milton was of opinion, that 
even here some useful hints might be obtained. ' 
In describing, however, what the Greeks did, I atal 
not pretending to enlighten the present age, bu^J 
to enable it to enjoy its superiority by instituting a^fl 
comparison with the ruder practices of antiquity. 

Already in those times the men of experience J 
and routine,^ had begun to vent their sneers against! 
philosophers for their profound researches into tbej 
nature of soils,* in which, however, they by no means V 

" De Re Rusticfi, i. 1. Cf. »Cf. P]at.DeLegg.t.vu.p.IlI. j 

Culum. i. 1. t. viii. p. 103. j 

" Xt^nopli. (liconom. xx, 22, • Xenoph. (Ecomim. xvi. I,J 



STUDIES OV THE FARMER. 



3(i3 



designed to engage the husbandman, but only to 
present him, in brief and intelligible maxime, with 
the fruit of tbcir labourn. Nevertheless tlie prac- 
tical husbandman went to work a shorter way. lie 
observed his neighbour's groumls,' saw what throve 
in this soil, what in the other, what was bettered 
by irrigation, what in this respect might safely be 
left to the care of Heaven ; and thus, in a brief 
6])ace, acquired a rough theory wherewith to com- 
mence operations. An agriculturist, the Athenians 
thought, required no recondite erudition, though to 
his complete success the exercise of much goo<l sense 
and careful observation was necessary. ]i]very man 
would, doubtless, know io what seasons of the year 
he must plough and sow and reap, that lands ex- 
hausted by cultivation must be suffered to lie fallow, 
that change of crops is beneticial to the soil, and so 
on. But the great art consists in nicely adapting 
each operation to the varying march of the seasons, 
ill converting accidents to use, in rendering tlie 
winds, the showers,' the sunshine, subservient to your 
juirjioses, in mastering the signs of the weather, and 
guarding as far as possible against the injuries sus- 
tained from storms of rain or liaxl. 

There was in circulation among the Greeks a 
small body of precepts, addressed more especially to 
husbandmen, designed to promote the real object of 
civilisation. Quaint, no doubt, and iucffably com- 
monjdaco, they will now a]i|>ear, but they served, 
nevertheless, in early and nide times, to soften the 
manners and regulate the conduct of the rustic Hel- 
lenes. Who first began to collect and preserve them 
is, of course, unknown ; they are thickly sprinkled 
through the works of Hesiod,* and impart to them 

' The Bight of a rich and thri- 
ving neighbour operaled iikcwiso 
» a ipur to his indiuti^ : — 
Eic iTiperyap Wt rf Ifiiy ipyoio 

liXolMtay oc ffrnwcii /'tf aiii'iiifii- 
rat i)ii ^Tlill^^'. 



yilrofn yilrnr 
Eic A^tyov oiriv&JiT* iiya9^ ff 
' Epu: ^!t lipOTaiau 

Hesiod. 0pp. ct Dies, 21, win. 



364 



STUDIES OF THE FARMER. 



an air of moral dignity which relieves the monotony 
that would otherwise result from a mere string of 
agricultural maxims. The chief aim of the poet 
seeius to be, to promote peace and good neighlx»ur- 
hood, to multiply among the inhabitants of the fields 
occasions of joining the " rough right hand,"' to ap- 
ply the sharp spur to industry, aud thus to augment 
the stores, and, along with them, the contentment, 
of his native land. Be industrious, exclaims the 
poet, for famine is the companion of the idle, 
bour confers fertility on flocks and herds, and is tl 
parent of opulence. He who toils is beloved 
gods'' and men, while the idle hand is the object 
of their aversion. The slothful man envies the pro- 
sperity of his neighbour ; but glory is the reward of 
virtue. Prudence heaps up that which profligaoj 
dissipates. Be hospitable to the stmnger, for 
who repels the suppliant from his dour is no Ii 
guilty thau the adulterer, than the despoiler of the 
orphan, or tho AVTctch who blasphemes iiis aged 
parent on the brink of the grave: of such men the 
end is miserable, when Zeus rains down vengeance 
upon them in recom]»enso for their evil actions. Be 
mindful that thou offer up victims to the gods with 
pure hands and holy thoughts, — to pour libations in 
their temples, adoru their altars, and render them 
propitious to thee in all things. When about to 
ascend thy coucli to enjoy sweet sleep, and when 
the sacred light of the day-spring first ajipears, omit 
not to demand of heaven a pure heart and a cheer- 
ful mind, with the means of extending thy posses- 
sions, and protection from loss. When thou makest 
a feast, invite thy friends and thy neighbours, and 
in times of trouble they will run to thy assistance 
half-clad, while thy relations will tarry to buckle 
on their girdles. Borrow of thy neighbour, but, in 
reimying him, exceed rather than fall short of whi 



' Sch. Aristoph. Pac. 190. 
ripoi dBar^Toiatir. 



yop mvytuueiv aifiyovc* 

Opji. ct Diea. 303, b 




STUDIES OF THE FARMER, 



3Cr) 



18 his due. Rise betimes. Every little makes n 
niickle. Store is no sore. Housed corn breaks no 
sleep. Drink largely the top and the bottom of the 
jar; be sparing of the middle:' it is niggardly to 
stint your friends when the wine runs low. Do unto 
others as they do unto you. — These seeds of morality 
are simple, as I have said, and far from recondite; 
but they produced the warriors of Marathon and 
Platsea, and preserved for ages the freedom and the 
independence of Greece. 

The other branches of an Hellenic farmer's studies 
comprehended something like the elements of natural 
philosophy, — the inflnence of the sun and moon, the 
rising and setting of the stars, the motion of the 
winds, the generation and effects of dews, clouds, 
meteors, showers and tempests, the origin of springs 
and fountains, and the migrations and habits of 
birds and other animals. In addition to these things, 
it was necessary that he should be acquainted with 
certain practices, prevalent from time immemorial in 
his country, and, probably, deriving their origin from 
ages beyond the utmost reach of tradition. The source 
of these we usually denominate superstition, though it 
would, perhaps, be more proper to regard them as 
the offspring of that lively and plastic fancy which 
gave birth to poetry and art, and inclined its |>os6es- 
sors to create a sort of minor religion, based on a 
praiseworthy principle, but developing itself chiefly 
in observances almost always minute and trifling, and 
sometimes ridiculous. To describe all these at length 
would be beside my present purpose, which only re- 
quires that I mention by the way the more remark- 
able of those connected especially with agriculture. 

Tlie knowledge of soil was called into play both 
in purchasing estates and in appropriating their seve- 
ral parts to different kinds of culture. According to 
their notions, which appear to have been founded 
on long experience, and in most points, I believe, 

' Cf. Plut. SympoB. vil. 3. 



sm 



STUDIES OF THE FARMER, 
nth those wliich still 



prevail, a rich blai 
mould, deep, friable, and porous,' which would resist 
equally the effects of rain and drought, was, for all 
purposes, the best. Next to this they esteemed a 
yellow alluvial soil, and that sweet warm ground 
which best suited vines, corn, and trees. The red 
earth, also, they highly valued, except for timber. 

Their rules for detecting the character and qua- 
lities of the soil appear to have been judicious. 
Good land, they thought, might l>o known even from 
its appearance, since in drought it cracks not too 
much, and during heavy and continued showers be- 
comes not miry, but suffers all the rain to sink 
into its bosom. That earth they considered inferior 
which in cold weather becomes baked, and is covered 
on the surface by a shell-like incrustation. Tliey 
judged, likewise, of the virtue of the soil by the lux- 
uriant or stunted character of its natural produc- 
tions :* thus they augured fevourably of those tracts 
of country which were covered by vast and lofty 
timber-trees, while such as produced only a dwarfed 
vegetation, consisting of meagre bushes, scattered 
thickets, and hungry grass, they reckoned almost 
worthless. 

Not content with the testimony of the eye, some 
husbandmen were accustomed to consult both the 
smell and the taste; for, digging a pit of some depth, 
they took thence a small quantity of earth, from the 
odour of which tUey drew an opinion favourable or 
otherwise. But to render surety doubly sure, they 
then threw it into a vase, and poured on it a quan- 
tity of potable water, which they afterwards tasted, 
inferring from the flavour tlie fertility or barrenness 
of the soil, Thia was the experiment most relied 



' Geop. ii. 9. In these ricli 
loams, paTticularly on the banks 
of the Stymphalian and Copaic 
lakes, wheat haa been known to 
yield a return of fifty-fold. Thi- 
ersch, Etat Act. de la Grece. t. iL 
p 17. 



Other spots, again, return thirty- 
fold. Sibth. in Walp. Mem. i. 60. 
" The pitch-pine indicated a 
light and hungry soil ; the cy- 
press, a clayey soil. PhilosL 
Icon. ii. 9, p. 775. 



J 



STUDIES OF TnE FARMER. 



807 



on; tlmugli many considered tlmt soil sweet which 
produced the basket-rush, the reed, the lotos, and 
the bramble. On some occasions they employed an- 
other method, which was, to make a small excava- 
tion, and then, throwing back the earth into the 
ojiening whence it had been drawn, to observe whether 
or not it filled the whole cavity:' if it did so, or 
left a surplus, tiie soil was jndged to be excellent; 
if not, they regarded it as of little value. Hoila 
possessing saline qualities were shunned by the an- 
cients, who carefully avoided mingling salt with their 
manure, though lands of this description were rightly 
thought to be well adapted to the cultivation of 
palm-trees,'' which they produce in the greatest per- 
fection," as in Phcenicia, Egypt, and the country round 
Baliylon.* 

Another art in which the condition of the hus- 
bandman required him to be well versed was that 
of discovering the signs of latent springs,* the exist- 
ence of which it was necessary to ascertain before 
laying the foundation of a new farm. The inves- 
tigation was complicated, and carried on in a variety 
of ways. First, and most obvious, was the inference 
drawn from plants and the nature of the soil itself; for 
those grounds, they thought, were intersected below by 
veins of water which bore upon their surface certain 
tribes of grasses and herbs and bushes, as the couch- 
grass, the broad-leaved plantain, the heliotrope, the 
red-grass, the agnns-castus, the bramble, the horse- 
tail, or shave-grass, ivy, bush-calamint, soft and slender 
reeds," maiden-hair, the mclilot, ditch-dock, cinque- 

doom-polm, generally, I belidve, 
BuppoBed to be peculiar to Upper 

Egyj* and the countries beyond 



> Geop. ii. t ]. 

= The Orecian husbandman, 
therefore, when planting polm- 

trees in any other than a sandy th« cataract, was anciently ci 
ioil, sprinkled salt on the earth vated also in Crvte. Tlieoph, 
■ "■ ■ Hiat. Plant, i. 6. 3. 
' Geop. ii. 4, wjq, 
» Philort, Icon. ii. ». p. 775. 



1 Geop. ii. 10. 

• Xenoph.Anab.iL3.16. The 



368 



STUDIES OF THE FARMER. 



foil, or five leaf-grass, broad-leaved bloodwort, thi 
rush, nightshade, mil-foil, colt's-foot or foal's-foot, tre- 
foil or pond-weed, and the black thistle. Spring-heads 
were always supposed to lurk beneath fat and black 
loam, as, likewise, in a stony soil, especially where 
the rocks are dark and of a ferruginous colour. But 
in argillaceous districts, particularly where potter's^ 
clay abounds, or where there arc many pebbles 
pumice-stones,' they are of rare occurrence. 

To the above indications they were in most 
careful to add others. Ascending ere sunrise 
higher level than the spot under examination. 



' Spallanzani, in his scientific 
Travels in the Two Siciliea, de- 
■cribea and explains the cause of 
the rarity of springs in volcanic 
countries. In some districta 
among the roots of JEin& the fe- 
male peasants are compelled to 
travel ten miles, at certain aea- 
Bons of the year, in search of 
water, a jar of which costs, conse- 
quently,aImostaday'6Joumey.Tol. 
Lp-!99, sqq. In another part of 
tiie same work he investigateB the 
origin of springs in the v^oEian 
isles, which he iUustrates by the 
example of Stromholi. iv. 128. 
In this island there are two foun- 
tiuns, one of slightly tepid water, 
Kt the foot of the mountain, the 
other on its slope. " Je recon- 
" Irai," observes Monsieur Do- 
lomieu, " a moitie hauteur une 
" source d'eaufroide, douce, legate 
" et tres bonne u boire, qui ne 
" tarit jamais et qui est I'u- 
" nique ressourse dea habitans 
" lorsque leurs citernes BOn»epui- 
" Beea et lorsque les chaleurs ont 
" desseche une seconde source qui 
" est au pied de la montagne 
" ce qui arrive tous les etes." 
He then adds with reason : " Cette 
" petite fontaine dans ce lieu tr^s 
" clev^ au milieu des ccndres 



But 

the^ 



" volcaniques, est trfs remarqua- 
" ble, elle ne pent avoir son re- 
" servoir que dans une poitite 
" de montagne isolee, toute de 
" lable et de pierres poreuses, ma- 
" tieres qui ne peuvent point 
" retenir I'eau, puisqu'ellea sent 
" permeablea a la fum^e." Vd 
age aux lies de Lipari, t. i. 
ISO. He then endeavours to 
count for its existence by eva] __ 
ration. In the island of Salm^ 
among the same .diolian group, 
there is another never-feiling 
spring, which, as some years no 
rain falls in these islands during 
the space of nine months, has 
greatly perpleiced the theories of 
naturalists. Spallanzani conceivag^i 
however, that the phenomen 
may be explained in the usi 
vvay : " It appears to me, 
says, " extremely probable, that 
" in the internal parts of an 
" island which, like this, is the 
" work of fire, there may be im- 
" menae caverns ttiat may b* fill- 
" ed with water by the rains ; 
" and that in some of these which 
" are placed above the spring, 
" the water may always continue 
" at nearly the same hdght," 
Travels in the Two Sicilies, toL 
iv. p. 136. 



"ill 



J 



STUDIES OF THE FARMEH. 369 

observed by the first rays aiiJ before the light thii-k- 
eiied, wlietber they could detect the presence of any 
exhalations, which were held unerringly to indicate 
the presence of springs below. Sometimes inqui&i- 
tion was made duriug the bright and clear noon, 
when the subterraneous retreats of the Naiads were 
supposed in summer to be betrayed by cloudlets of 
thin silvery vapour, and in the winter season by 
curling threads of steam. Tn this way the natives 
of southern Africa discover the existence of hidden 
fountains in the desert.' Swarms of gnats flitting 
hither and thither, or whirling round and a.scending 
in a column, were regarded as another sign. 

When not entirely satisfied by any of the above 
means, they had recourse to the following exjwri- 
ment:* sinking a pit to the depth of about four feet 
and a half, they took a hemispherical pan or lead 
basin, and having anointed it with oil, and fastened 
with wax a long flake of wool to the bottom, placed 
it inverted in the pit. It was then covered with 
earth about a foot deep, and left undisturbed du- 
ring a whole night. On its being taken forth in 
the morning, if the inside of the vessel were covered 
thickly with globules, and the wool were dripping 



' Le Vaillatit, t. viii, p. 16i. 
Even in the aoulhem province* of 
France, the diacoverj- of hidden 
springs is an srt of no mean iiii- 
portELHce : Bnd the persona who 
poesesB it ore reganled as public 
bcnefoclora. Thus, aa I learn 
fnmi my friend M. Louis Fro- 
ment, of the department of tlie 
Lut, M. Pammelle, a cure hav- 
ing a living in that part of the 
country, is held in high estima- 
tion on account of the power 
he possesses of discovering tlie 
lurking retreats of spring-hrutls. 
He is able, from a certain dis- 
tance, and without the least hesi- 
tation, to pninl out the soiirce of 

VOL. II. 



living water, determine the depth 
at which it b to be found, say, 
without ever falling into error, 
what is the quantity and what 
the quality of the water. With- 
out seeking to penetrate the plan, 
of which he keeps the secret, his 
countrymen avul themselves of 
the advantages o^ered to them ; 
and the inhabitants of one village, 
situated on a calcareous table- 
land, have discovered, by the 
assistance nf M. I'aramelle, a 
source in their market-place, 
whilst before ihey were compelled 
to seek water at a distance of five 



nilea 






370 



STUDIES OF THE FARMER. 



wet, it was concludeil there were springs beneati 
the depth of which they calculated from the seal 
tiness or profusion of the moisture. A similar tri 
was made with a sponge covered with reeds. 

Since most streams and rivers take their rise ■ 
lofty table-lands or mountains, which by the anciett 
were supposed to be richer in springs in propof- " 
tion to the number of their peaks, it would seem 
to follow, that scarcely any country in Europe 
should be better supplied with water than Greece. 
Experience, however, shows, that this in modem 
times is not the fact, several rivers supposed to 
have been of great volume in antiquity, having 
now dwindled into mere brooks, and innumerable 
streamlets and fountains become altogether dry; on 
which account the credit of Greek writers is often 
impugned, it being supposed that the natural charac- 
teristics of the country must necessarily be inva^ 
riable. But this is au error. For the existence < rfg 
springs and rivulets de|)ends less perhaps on thj 
presence of mountains than on the prevalence 
forests, as Democritos' long ago observed. No^H 
from a variety of causes, still in active operatic 
the ridges and hills and lower eminences of 
dern Greece have been almost completely denn 
ded of trees, along with which have necessari^ 
disappeared the well-springs, and runnels, and i 
cades, and rills, and mountain tarns, which ancieTv 
ehed beauty and fertility over the face of Hell 
whose highlands were once so densely clad 
■woods" that the peasants requiring a short cut : 



1 Oeop. ii. 6. 

« Cf. Heniod. 0pp. et Dies, 233, 
where he epeaks of swamiB of wild 
bees on the slopes of the moun- 

In another passage this poet 
describes the ravages and devas- 
tation of a hurricane amid the 
fountain forests : 



1 Sc Aqvc 



liovidpa 



, Kd<' llftm 






tM5c 



iftiryiiieaQ fipii 



fiifivKt li ■yaia 



STUDIES OF THE FARMER. 



371 



one valley to anotiier, were conipeHetl to clear them- 
selves a patliway with tlie axe. ' To restore to 
Greece, therefore, its waters, and the beauty and 
riches depending on thoui, the mountains must be 
again forested, and severe restraint put on the wan- 
tonness of those vagrant shepherds who constantly 
expose vast woods to the risk of entire destruction 
for the sake of procuring naore delicate -grass for 
their flocks.' 

In Attica,^ both fields and gardens were chiefly 
irrigated by means of wells which, sometimes, in 
extremely long and dry summers, failed entirely, 
thus causing a scarcity of vegetables.* The water. 



Tt ra'jfelai 

ifivivToiy, Kai Ttava 0Of rurt 

i-jpiroc vXi). 

0pp. el Dies, 504, sqq. 

The pine and pilch trees, it is 
related Ijy Theophrastua, were 
often uprooted by tlie winds in 
Arcadia. Hist. Plant, iii. 6. 4. 

' Theuph. Hist. Plant, iii. 3. 
7. In all countries, small and 
great, the progress of civilisation 
haa been inimical to forests. Thus 
in the little island of Stromboli, 
containing about a thousand in- 
liabitanls, attempt a were made 
towards the end of the eighteenth 
century to enlarge the cultivable 
ground by clearing away the 
WDode. Spallanzani, Travels in 
the Two Sicilies, vol. iv. p. 126, 
sei]. The difficulty of extirpating 
trees ia illustrated by Theophras- 
tus who relates that, in a spot 
near Phcneon in Arcadia, a well- 
wooded tract was overflowed by 
the water and the trees destroyed. 
Next year, when the flood had 
siibaidcd and the mud dried, each 
kind of tree appeared in the situa- 



tion which it had formerly occu- 
pied. The willow, the elm, the 
pine, and the fir, growing in its 
own place, doubtless from the 
roots of the former trees. Hist. 
Plant, iii. 1. 8. Agwn : the 
Nessos, in the territory of the 
Abderites, constantly changed its 
bed, and in the old channels trees 
sprung up so rapidly that, in three 
years, they were so many atrips 
of forest. Id. iii. I. 5. 

« Thiersch, Etat Actuel de la 
GriVe. t. i. p. 876. It ia remarked 
by Theophrastus, however, that 
pine forests, being destroyed by 
fire, shot up again, as happened 
in Lesbos, on a mountain near 
Pyrrha. Hist. Plant, iii. 9. 4. 

'Cf. Chandler, i. p. 261. 
The apparatus now used in ir- 
rigation by the Sciots exactly 
resembles that of the Egyptian 
Arabs. Id. i.3\5. 

* Demosth. Adv. Polycl. § 
16. On the supply of water to 
Athens we possess little positive 
information, though we cannot 
doubt that all possible advantage 
was taken of those pure Kourcea 
which are still found in its neigh- 
bourhood. " In no country ne- 



STrniES OF THE FARMER. 



<«niiif> mn- ^^ 



372 



we fliul, was drawn up by precisely the same ma- 
chinery ae is still employed for the purpose. 
The invention of these conveniences of primary 
necessity having preceded the birth of tradition, 
has, by some writers, been attributed to Danaos, 
wlio is supposed to have emigrated from Egypt into 
Greece, Arriving, we are told, at Argos, he, upon 
the failure of spontaneous fountains, taught the in- 
habitants to dig wells, in cousequence of which he 
was elected chief. But where was Danaos himself 
to have learned this art ? He is said to have 
an Egyptian, and Egypt is a country so entirelj 
without springs, that two only exist within its limits, 
and of these but one was known to the ancients. 
Of wells they had none. Danaos could, therefore, 
if he was an Eg}'ptian, have known nothing of 
springs or wells; and, if he had such know" 
must have come from some other land,' 

Where there existed neither wells nor fountains, 
people were compelled to depend on rain-water, col- 
lected and preserved in cisterns." For this purpose 
troughs were in some farm-houses run along the 
eaves both of the stables, barns, and sheep-cotes, as 
well as of the dwelling of the family, while others 
iised only that which ran from the last, the roof of 
which was kept scrupulously clean. The water was 
conveyed through wooden pipes* to the cisterns, 
which appear to have been frequently situated in 



nself ^ 
beeid^H 
;irelj^H 

its. 

re, 



" ceasity wrs more Ukely to liave 
" created, the liydragogif art 
" than ill Atllca ; and we have 
" evidence of the attention be- 
" stowed by the Athenians upon 
" their canals and Ibuntaina in 
" the time of Themifltocles, as 
" well as iji that of Alexander 
" the Great," Col. Leake, on 
ionie disputed points in the To- 
pography of Athens. Trana. Lit. 
Soc. iii. 189. Cf. Aristoph. Av. 
Schol. 998. Phit. Thetnist. §31. 
AriE.t. Polit. vi, 8. vii. la. We 



find, from Theoph rest us, that there 
was in his time, an aqueduct in 
the Lyceum with a number of 
plane trees growing near it. 
Theoph. Hist. Plant, i. 7. 1. 

' Mitford, i.3.i, seq. In B«o. 
tia. Babylonia. Egypt, and Cy- 
renaica, the dew served instead 
of rain. Thpoph. Hist. Plant. 






STUUIES OF THE rAlUlER. 



373 



the front court.' Bad water tliev purified iu several 
ways : by casting into it a little coral powder,' Humll 
linen bags of bruised barley, or a quantity of laurel 
leaves, or by pouring it into broad tubs aud ex- 
posing it for a considerable time to the actiou of 
the 8UI1 and air. When there happened to be about 
the farms ponds of any magnitude, they introduced 
into them a number of eels or river crabs, which 
opened the veins of the earth and destroyed leeches. 
A scarcely less important branch of the farmer's 
studies was that which related to the weather and 
the general march of the seasons.' Above all things, 
it liehoved him to observe diligently the rising and 
setting of the sun and moon. He was, likewise, 
carefully to note the state of the atmosphere at the 
disappearance of the Pleiades, since it was expected 
to continue the same until the winter solstice, after 
which a change sometimes immediately supervened, 



' Sir W. Hamiilon, Ace. of 
DiscoT. at Pompeii, p. 13- 

* Water wa* cooled by being 
«kiapenile(l in vcueU over the 
inouttiB of welU; and sometimes 
boiled previouBly to render the 
process more complete. For, ac- 
cording to the PeripatetJcB, iroi' 
vcup KpoSip^afQiv \}/ux'Ttii /laX.- 
Xov, itimp TO role flaaiXivai 
xapaaxtvaZ6fitr<iyf Sray i't'l^V 
P'XP" i'lfft, Tipinipiiowai ry 
dyyttif ■)(%6ra m\X>)>', <ai yivi- 
roi i^uxp<ir(pot-. Plut. Synipoa. 
Ti. 4. 1. 

' Oeop.i.«— 4. 1 1 . Theophrait. 
De Sigiiis Pluvianim et de Ven- 
tis, pattim. Our own Bgricul- 
tiirisl«, also, were formerly much 
addicted to these slu.iies. Thus, 
■' The oke apples, if broken in 
" sunder about the time of their 
■' withering, do foreshewe ihe «e- 
" quel of the yeare, as the ex- 
" pert Kentish huiibaiidnieii have 



" gbBerved, by the liiing things 
" found in them : as, if they 
'■ find an ant, they foretell plen- 
'' tie of graine to inaue ; if a 
" whole worm, like a gen till or 
" tnaggot, then they pmgnosticate 
" murren of beasts and cattle ; 
" if a spider, tlien (sale they) 
" we shall have a pestilence or 
" some such like sickness to fol> 
" lowe amongst men. These 
" things the learned, also, have 
" observed and noted: for Ma- 
" thiolus, writing upon Diosco- 
" rides saith, that before they 
" have an hole through them, 
" they conteine in them either 
" a flic, a spider, or a womie ; 
" if a flie, then warre insucth ; if 
" a creeping worme, then scarcitie 
" of victuals ; if a running spi- 
" der, then followeth great sick- 
" nesB and mortalitiu." Ger- 
raj^, Herball, Third Book. c. 
as. p. 1IS8. Cf. Lord Bacon, 
SjlvaSylvatum, 561. 



374 



STUDIES OF THE FARMER. 



Otherwise there was usually no alteration till tbe 
vernal equinox.' Another variation then took place 
in the character of the weather, which afterwarde 
remained fixed till the rising of the Pleiades, unde: 
going successively freah mutations at the summa 
Bolstice and the autumnal equinox. According 
their observations, moreover, a rainy winter^ 
followed by a dry and raw spring, and the contrarya 
and a snowy winter by a year of abundance. Bu^ 
as nature by no means steadily follows this cou 
exhibiting many sudden and abrupt fluctuations, i^ 
was found necessary to subject her restless pheno^B 
mena to a more rigid scrutiny, in order that rule)' 
might be obtained for foretelling the approach 
rain, or tempests, or droughts, or a continuance ■ 
feir weather. Of these some, possibly, were foundei 
on imperfect observation or casual coincidences, 
a fanciful linking of causes and effects ; while otberg 
we cannot douljt, sprang from a practical familiarity 
with the subtler and tnore shifting elements of i 
tural philosophy. 

As nothing more obviously interests the husband- 
man than the seasonable arrival and departure of 
rains, everything connected with them, however re- 
motely, was observed and treasured up with scru- 
pulous accuracy. Of all the circumstances pre-sig- 
nifylng their approach tlie most certain was supposed 
to l>e the aspect of the morning ; for if, before sun- 
rise, beds of purpurescent clouds ' stretched along 
the verge of the horizon, rain was expected that 
day, or the day after the morrow. The same augury 
they drew, though with less confidence, from the ap- 
pearance of the setting sun,* especially if in wintec. 



' Cf. Heuod. 0pp. et Diee, 
iSe, Beq. 

' Cf. Lord Bacon, Sylva Sylva- 
nim. 675.812. 

' Cf. Arato. PrognosU 102, gqq. 
But, on the other hand, " purua 
" oriens, atque non fervens, se- 



wintec^^ 



" lenum diem nuatiot." 
Hist. Nat. X 
Problem, xsvi 

* The aun-sets of the Mediter- 
ranean exliibit, &3 most travellers 
will have observed, a variety of 
gorgeous phenoniena, whic^, ^J 




STUDIES OF TllK KARMKR. 



375 



or spring it went down tlirougli an accumulation 
of clouds or witli masses of dusky rack on the left. 
Again, iT, on rising, the sun looked pale, dull red, 
or spotted : ' or, if, previously, its rays were seen 
streaming upwards;' or, if, immediately afterwai-ds, 
a long band of clouds extended beneatli it, intersect- 
ing its descending beams ; or if the orient wore a 
sombre hue ; or if piles of sable vapour towered into 
the welkin ; or if the clouds were scattered loosely 
over the eky like fleeces of wool ; ' or came waving 



tietukeniog certaLn Blatet of the 
atmosphere serve ag bo many ad- 
monition b to the liuslisiKlmiin. 
Tlie »un before ^ing down " aa- 
" Bumed," observes Dr. Chandler, 
'■ a variety of fanlaitjc aliapei. 
" It was surrounded, first, with 
" a golden glory of great entetit, 
" and flamed upon the surface of 
" the sea in a long column of 
" fire. The lower half of thu 
" orb 80011 afler emerged in the 
" horizon, the other portion re- 
" maining very large and red, 
'• with half of a smaller orb be- 
" neath it, and icpantle, but in 
" the some direction, the circular 
" rim approaching the line of its 
" diameter. Thwe two, by de- 
" grees, united, and then changed 
" rapidly into different figures, 
" until the n.-«emUance was that 
" of a copacioug pwich-bowl in- 
" verted. The rim of the bot- 
" torn extending upward, and 
" the body lengthening below 
" it, became a mushroom on a 
" stalk with a round head. It 
" was next metamnrphused into 
" a flaming caldron, of which 
" the lid, riling up, swelled 
" nearly into an orli and va- 
" nished. The other portioii put 
" on several uncirculiir forms. 
" and, after many twinklings and 
" faint giimmerings, slowly dis- 



" appeared, quite red, leaving the 
" clouds hanging over the dark 
" rocka on the Barhary shore fine- 
" ly tinged with a vivid bloody 
" hue." Travels, i. p. i. Ap- 
pearance* similar, though of in- 
ferior brilliance and variety, are 
sometimes witnessed in the West- 
em Hemisphere. Describing the 
beauties of an evening on the Ca- 
ntulJAn shore, $ir K. H. Bonny- 
castle observes : " First, there 
" was a double sun by reflee- 
'' tion, each disk equdly dis- 
" tinct ; aflerwards, when the 
" orb reached tlie mark x, a solid 
" body of light, equal in breadth 
" with the sun itself, but of great 
" length from the shore, shot 
" down on the sea, and remained 
" like a broad fiery golden co- 
" lumn, or bar, until the black 
" high land bid the luminary 
"itself." The Canadas in 18*1. 
V. i. p. 34. 

' Ille ubi nascentcm maculis 
variaverit ortum 
Conditus in nubem, medioque re- 

fugerit orbe ; 
Suf pecti tibi lint imbres. 

Virg.Gcorg. i. *41, »qq. 

"Plin. Hist. Nat. xvi'ii. 78. 
Aratus, Prognost. 137, sqq. 

" Cf. Plin. xriii. 8*. " Si 
■' nulies ul vcllera lanto spaigen- 
" tur niultu! ab orienle, aqunin 



876 STUDIES OF THE FARMER. 

Up from the south in long sinuous streaks — tbe 
"mares' tails" of our nautical vocabulary — the lius- 
bandmau reckoned with certainty upon rain, floods, 
and tempestuous winds. Among the signs of showers 
peculiar to the site of Athens may be reckoned these 
following : if a rampart of white ground-fogs l>egirt 
at night the basis of Hvinettos; or, if its summits 
were capped with vapour ; ' or, if troops of mists 
settled in the hollow of the smaller mount, called 
the SpringleBs ; or, if a single cloud rested on tbe 
fane of Zeus at j^i^gina." The violent roaring of tl 
sea upon the beach was the forerunner of a gall 
and they were enabled to conjecture from whi 
quarter it was to blow, by the movements of tl 
waters, which retreated from the shore before a nortl 
wind ; while, at the approach of the sirocco, they 
were piled up higher than usual against the cliffs. 
Elsewhere, in Attica, they supposed wet weather 
to he foretold by the summits of Euboea rising clear, 
sharp, and unusually elevated through a dense floor 
of exhalations, which, when they mounted and ga- 
thered in blowing weather about the peaks of Cft.' 
phareus," on the eastern shores of the island, pi 
saged an impending storm of five days' continuant 
But here these signs concerned rather the mariner 
than the husbandman, since the cliffs that stretched 
along this coast are rugged and precipitous, and 
the approaches so dangerous that few vessels which 
are driven on it escape. Scarcely are the crews 
able to save themselves, unless their bark happen 
to be extremely light. Another portent of foul wea- 
ther wag the apparition of a circle about the moon. 



led 

1 






" in triduum priBs^ent ;" and 
Virg. Georg. i. 397: 
Tenuis nee lana per ccalum vel- 
lera ferri. 
■ If the Mounta Pames and 
BrylesauB appeared enveloped in 
clouds, the ci re um stance was 
thought to foretel a tempest. 



Theopli. de Sign. Pluv. iii, 6 
Cf. Strabo. ix. 11. t. ii. p. 25S. 
^Pausan. ii. 30. 3. Knd. 

Nem. V. 10. DieBcn Mil 

i^ginetica, § 5. p. 19. 

' Dion. ChrysDBt. i. £22. 
Aristot. Prob. xxvi, 1. 



STUDIES OF THE FARMER. 377 

while, by the double reflection of its orb north aud 
south, that luminary appeared to be multiplied into 
three. At night, also, if the nubecula,' called the 
Manger, in the constellation of the Crab, shone 
less luminously, it betokened a similar state of the 
atmosphere. A like inference " was drawn when 
the moon at three days old rose dusky; or, with 
blunt horns ; or, with its rim, or whole disk, red ; 
or blotted with black spots ; or encircled by two 
halos.^ 

The phenomena of thunder and lightning, like- 
wise, instructed the husbandman who was studious 
in the language of the heavens: thus, when thun- 
der was heard in winter or in the morning, it be- 
tokened wind ; in the evening or at noon, in sum- 
mer, rain ; when it lightened from every part of 
the heavens, both. Falling stars' likewise denoted 
wind or rain, originating in that part of the hea- 
vens where they appeared. 

Among our own rustics the whole philosophy of 
rainbows has been compressed into a couple of dis- 
tichs : 

A iwnbow at night 

Is the ihef^rd's delight. 

A runbow in the morning 

Ii the shepherd's warning. 

And Upon this subject,^ the peasants of Hellas 
had little more to say; their opinion having been 

■ Thia is explained by Lord > CC Seneca. Quieri. Nat. i. 

Bacon. " The upper regions of e. ft. 

" the air," he observes, " perceive * Aristot. Problem, xxvi. *4. 

"the collection of the matter of Alexond. Aphrodis. Problem. L 

" tempest and wind before the air 72. Plin. xviii. 80. Virg. Georg. 

" here below. And. therefore, the i. S65, sqq. 
" observing ofthe smaller stars is Sajpe etjam Stellas, vcnto iin- 

" a sign of tempests following." pendente, videbis 

Sylva Syl varum, 812. Prtecipites cibIo labi, noctisque 

* Similar observations have per umbram 

been made in most countries, Ai Flamnianini longos a tergo al- 

we find fnim the signs of the bescere Iractun. 

weather collected by Erra Paler. » On the effects of the rain- 

and translated by Lilly, Part iv. bow the ancienis held a curious 

§ 3 — 5. opinion, which Lord Bacon thiu 



378 STl'DIES OF THE fARMEll. 

that, in pro]>ortioa to tlie number of rainbows, wouU 
be the fury and continuance of tlie showers witJ 
which they were threatened. 

Other signs of mutation in the atmosphere the 
discovered in almost every part of nature; for ex-*l 
ample, when bubbles rose on the surface of a riTern 
they looked for a fall of rain; as also when small 
land- birds were seen drenching their plunutge; when 
the crow was beheld washing his head upon the 
rocky beach,' or the raven flapjiing his wings, while 
with his voice he imitated amidst his croaking the 
pattering of drops of rain; when the peasant was 
awakened in the morning by the cry of the passing J 
crane,' or the shrill note of the chaffinch withia>l 



expounds; — "It hath been ob- 
" served by the ancients, that 
" where a rainbow seemeth to 
" hang over or to touch, there 
" breathed foilh a aweet smell. 
" The cause is, for that this hap- 
" peneth but in certain matters 
" which have in themselves some 
" sweetness, which the gentle dew 
" of the rainbow doth draw forth, 
" and the like to soft showers, for 
" they also make the ground 
" sweet, but none are so delicate as 
" the dew of the rainbow where 
"it falleth." Sylva Sylvarum. 
" S32. His Lordship here, ai in 
many other places, adopts the 
explanation of the Peripatetics 
while he seems to be himself 
assigning the cause of the phe- 
nomenon. Aristotle (Problem. 
12. 3) enters fully into the 
subject, which appears to have 
been brought under the notice 
of philosophers by the shepherds 
who had observed that when cer- 
tain thickets had been laid in 
ashes the passing of a rainbow 
over the spot caused a sweet 
odour to exhale from it. The 
same fact is noticed by Thco- 



vii. 7. 

ir^vOcy (K I'tftair tyiadfrtit 

iIt' dpoToio Tf a^fia ^pci, 

j-f'^oros iSpiji' 

t?UK nV?poc diiourtu. 
Hesiod. 0pp. et Dies, 448, sq^ 1 
To the same purpose. Homer; — 1 
II. y S, sqq. 

lliiTf Trtji itXayyri yifdvav it 

Xti oiipni'ofli Trpo, 
mr' Uiioly yu^wyrL ^(lyoif^ 



STUDIES OF THE FARMER. 



379 



bis dwelling. Flights of iHlaiuI birds flocking to the 
continent,' preceded drought; as a number of jack- 
daws and ravens flying up and down, and imi- 
tating the scream of the hawk, did rain. The 
incessant shrioka of the screecli-owl and the ve- 
hement cawing of the crow, heard during a se- 
rene night, foretold the approach of storms. The 
barn-door fowl and the house-dog also played the 
part of soothsayers, teaching their master to dread 
impending storms by rolling themseWes in the dust. 
Of similar import was the flocking of geese with 
noise to their food, or the skimming of swallows 
along the surface of the water." Again, when troops 
of dolphins were seen rolling near the shore, or oxen 
licking their fore-boofs, or looking 8outh\Tards, or, 
with a suspicious air, snufling the elements,' or 
going bellowing to their stalls ; when wolves ap- 
proached the homesteads; when flies bit sharp,* or 
frogs croaked vociferously, or the ruddock, or land- 
toad, crept into the water ; when the salamander li- 
zard appeared, and the note of the green-frog was 



And Aristophanes : — (Av. 710, 

UftiiTa uiv ^poi ^airofilf 4' 
"Zittipuy liiy, orar yiparoi 






jf Tire vautXiipf 
:pffidaarTt xadiv- 



' All birds which frequent tlie 
sea, more particulai'ly thuae which 
Ry high, ore observed to seek 
t«rTS firnift at the approach of 
foul weather ; — ' AiiiaroriXovt 
dtoiiw XiyetTOt, ori ilpa yiparoi 
it TDtlc rtXdyovt: tit rijy yijy ti- 
Tofifvoi, ^ttfiuyot tiwitXiiy la)(Ov- 
pnl vromifiairovai ry miviifTi. 
.I^liau. De Not. Anim. vii. 7. 



Before (he great earthquake of 
1783, which shook the whole of 
Calabria and destroyed the city 
of Messina, the mewi and other 
aquatic birds were observed to 
forsake tlie sea and take refuge 
in the inountainii. Spallaiizani, 
Travels in the Two Sicilies, vol. 
iv. p. IJiS. 

' Aut arg:uta tacus circumvolitat 
hirunda. Virg. Georg. i. 377. 
" Hirundo tain jiucta oquam vo- 
litans, ut penna stcpe percutiat " 
Pljn. xviii. 87- 

* Plin. xviii. 88, Virg. Georg. 
L 375. — JElion, De Nat. Aniui. 
vii. 8, deacribes ttie ox before 
rain snuffing tlie earth, and adds : 
wpdSara !i ipvrrotrn rn7( oirXaJc 
r^v yijy, toiii aijfialyiiy \riftwya. 

* Cf. j£lian De NaU Anim. 
viii. 8. 




3H0 STUDIES OF THE FARMER. 



heard in the trees, tlie rustic donned bis capote, 
and prepared, like Anaxagoras at Olympia,' for a 
shower. The flight of the storm-birds, kepphoi,' 
was supposed to indicate a tempest from the point 
of tlie heavena towards which they flew. When 
in bright and windless weather clouds of cobwebs,* 
floated through the air, the hnsbaudman anticipated 
a drenching for his fields, as also when earthen pottf 
and brass pans emitted sparks ; when lamps spat;, 
when the wick made mushrooms ;* when a halo en- 
circled its flame,^ or when the flame itself was dusky. 
The housewife was forewarned of coming hail-storms, 
generally from the north, by a profusion of bright 
sparks appearing on the surface of her charcoal (ire ; 
when her feet swelled she knew that the wind would 
blow from the south," Heaps of clouds like bur- 
nished copper rising after rain in the west por- 
tended fine weather ; as did likewise the tops of 
lofty mountains, as Atbos, Ossa, and Olympos, ap- 
pearing sharply defined against the sky ; while an 
apparent augmentation in the height of promon- 
tories and the number of islands foreshowed wind. 



I 



■ Biog. Laert. i 3. 5. Julian 
(De Nat. Anim. vii. 8) relates a. 
curious otiecdote of Hipparchos 
who, from some change in the 
goatskin cloak he wore, likewise 
foretold a rain storm to the great 
admiration of Nero. 

^ Probably the storm-finch ob- 
Berved frequently on the wing 
flying along the ilvgean sea, par- 
ticularly when it ia troubled, 
Sibth. in Walp. Mem. i. 76. 

' Cf. Ariatot. Problem, xxvii. 
63, where he inveatigateB the 
causes of the phenomenon ; and 
Plin. Nat. Hi»t. xi. 28. 



* Vid. Aristoph. Vwp. S6e. 
The Scholiast entertains a some- 
what diflerent notion : — ^air 
5ti viTov u^Wovroc ytrioBat 61 
Tttpl rifv SpvaWiia roiJ Xj^m 
trriyQfjpii; dT05r7Jco(>', oSc /ivc^- 
rat rvr X^yli, uic rov Xvyvov ii/- 
avTievfiivou Vf vorlp^ ttipf kqX 
' SparOt; " •) Xfrj^roio ftvU^Ttf iyti- 
povrni irtp] fiiifiy, vvtrtt ntrd 

^ Aristot. Meteorol. iii. 4. S«- 
neca, Quiest. Nat. 1. 8. 

^ Ct Aristot. Problem, xxn. 



CHAPTER V. 



THE VARIOUS PROCESSES OF AGRICULTURE. 

If we now pass to the actual labours of the farm, 
and the implementa by which they were usually car- 
ried on, we shall find that the Grecian husbandman 
was no way deficient in invention, or in that inge- 
nuity by which men have in all countries sought to 
diminish their toila. For the purpose of procuriug 
at a cheap rate whatever was wanted for the use 
of the establishment,' smiths, carpenters, and potters, 
were kept upon the land or in its immediate neigh- 
bourhood; by which means also the necessity was 
avoided of often sending the farm-servants to the 
neighbouring town, where it was observed they con- 
tracted bad habits, and were rendered more vicious 
and slothful.* Waggons, therefore, and carts, and 
ploughs, and harrows, were constructed on the sjiot, 
though it was sometimes necessary perhaps to obtain 
from a distance the timber used for these implements, 
which was generally cut in winter-time. They ex- 
hibited much nicety in their choice of wood. Thus 
they would have the poplar or mulberry- tree for the 
felloes of their wheels ; the ash, the ilex, and the 
oxya, fur the axle-tree, and fine close-grained maple 
for the yokes of their oxen,' sometimes carved in 
the form of serpents which seemed to wind round 
the necks of the animals, and project their heads 

' Geop. ii. 411. lUustmting the 
wretched condition of a tyrant 
dwelling in the midst of a nation 
that a!>hon him, Plato draws the 
picture of a man being in a re- 
mote part of the country with his 
wife and children, surrounded by 
a gang of fifty or sixty slaves, 
with scarcely a free neighbour at 
liatid to whom, in cane of neceH- 



sity, he might fly. In what ter- 
ror, he says, must this man live, 
lest his slaves should set upon 
and murder him, with all his Ik- 
mily t Ue Repub. t. vi. p. 439. 

' Carts were sometimes roofed 
with skins, ticheffer, De Re Ve- 
hie. p. HAG. leq. Justin, u. X. 

» Theoph. Hist. Plant, v. 7. C. 



382 



THE VARIOUS PROCESSES 



on either side.' Their harrows, it is probable, 
formed hke our own. Tlie conBtructloii of 
plough,* always continued to be extremely slnipli 
In the age of Hesiod* it consisted of four parts, 
the handle, the socket, the coulter, and the beam ; 
and very little alteration seems afterwards to have 
been made in its form or structure, till the intro- 
duction of the wheel-plough, which did not, it is' 
believed, occur until after the age of Virgil. The' 
more primitive instniment, however, would seem to 
have consisted originally of two parts only, one 
serving the purpose of handle, socket, and share, the 
other being the beam by which it was fastened to 
the yoke. In the antique implement* the beam wag 
sometimes made of laurel or elm, the socket of oak, 
and the handle of ilex. 

Before mills were invented, the instrument by 
which they reduced corn iuto flour was a large 
mortar, scooped out of the trunk of a tree, fur- 
nished with a pestle upwards of four feet in length, 
exactly resembling that still in use among the Egyp- 
tian Arabs. To give the pestle greater effect it was 
fixed above in a cross-bar, seven feet long, and 
worked by two individuals.^ By this rude contri- 
vance, it is possible to produce flour as fine aa that 
proceeding from the most perfect boulting machinek* 
In addition to these they jtossessed winnowing fiin^' 
scythes, sickles, pruuing-hooks, fern or braken -scythes, 
saws and hand-saws, used in pruning and grafting, 
8]>ades, shovels, rakes, pick-axes, hoes, mattocks,- 
two, and three pronged, — dibbles, fork-dibbles, and 
grubbing-axes.^ When rustics were dealing away 

, Hirt.] 



' Scheffer, De Re Vehic. p. 1 H. 

'Pollux. X. 1-28. Goguet, 
Orig. deB Lois, i. 1S9, Beq, Pal- 
lad, i. 43. Colum. ii. 3. 

' 0pp. el Dies, 467, seq. Vid. 
Goettl. ad v. 431. Etym. Mng. 
173, 16. Poll. i. 252. The 
Syrians used a small plough, with 
which they turned up extremely 



— one, I 

^s, and^H 

away^H 

h. Hi«t.^| 



shallow furrows. Theoph. 
Plant, viii. 6. 3. 

* Hesiod, Opp.etDies, 435,Ma, 

'* Idem, 423, seq. 

oPoU. X. 129. Pallad. 
Bruiickh. not. ad Aristoph. Pac 
5fi7. Cf. Eurip. Bacch. 844. 
Sell. Aristoph. Pac, 5 J8, seq. 680. 
Plat, de Repiih.t.vi. p. S\. 



OF ACRICULTCRE. 



383 



underwood or cutting down brakes, they went clad 
in hooded ekin-cloaks, leather gaiters, and long 
gloves.' 

On the suhjeot of manure ^ the Greeks appear 
to have entertained very just notions, and have left 
behind them numerous rules for using and prepar- 
ing it. Fn lean lands which required most the help 
of art, they were still careful to avoid excess in 
the employment of manure, spreading it frequently 
rather than copiously ; for as, left to themselves, 
they would have been too cold, so, when over en- 
riched by art, their prolific virtue was thought to 
be consumed by heat. In applying it to plants, 
they were careftil to interpose a layer of earth lest 
their roots should be scorched. Of all kinds of ma- 
nure they considered that of birds the best,^ except 
the a<]uatic species, winch, when mixed, however, 
was not rejected. Most husbandmen set a peculiar 
value on the sweepings of dovecotes,* which, in small 
quantities, were frequently scattered over the fields 
with the seed. 

On the preparation of manure-pits they bestowed 
much attention.^ Having sunk them sufficiently 
deep in places abundantly supplied with water, they 
cast therein targe quantities of weeds, with all de- 
scriptions of manure, among which they reckoned 
even earth itself, when completely impregnated with 
humidity. When they had Iain long enough to be 

temid. OneirocriL iL 24. p. III. 
Lulet. 

' Pallad. I. 43. Colum. i. 8. 

= Geop. ii. 81, scq. Theoph. 
Hist. Plant, rii. 6. 1. i. 7. 4. 
To exemplify the importance of 
manure, it i» remarked by this 
writer, thai manured com ripeni 
twenty dnya earlier than that 
which wants this advantage, 
viii. 7. 7. 

* Geop. ii. f\. 4. From a 
speech of the Earl of Radnor, in 
the House of Lords, May 25, 
1841, we team thai our own 



bmnera hare begun to malce ex- 
periments with tliii kind uf ma- 
nure on the lands of Great Bri- 
tain, and that ship-luads of bird's 
dung have been imported for the 
purpose from the Pacific. The 
rocks and nn^ler islands along 
the American coast are sometimes 
white with this substance. Kep- 
pel, Life of Lord Keppel, i. 48. 

* Geop. sii. 4. 3. v. 86. S. 

* Xenoph. (Kconom. xx. 1 0. 
Cf. Artemid. Oneirocrit. ii. 2fl. 
p. lU. 



384 



THE VARIOUS PROCESSES 



entirely decayed, they were fit for use. To the abova-J 
were sometimes added wood-ashes, the refuse 
leather-dressers, the cleansing of stables, and cow- 
houses, with stubble, brambles, and thonis reduced 
to ashes. In maritime situations sea-weed,' also, 
having been well washed in fresh water, was min-< 
gleil in large proportion with other materials, and, 
where possible, a channel was made conducting 
the muck and puddle ^ of the neighbouring road 
into the pit, which at once accelerated the putresi- 
cence of the manure and augmented it. The Attio 
husbandmen had a mode of enriching their lands' 
somewhat expensive, and, as far as I know, peculiar 
to themselves; having sown a field, they allowed 
the corn to spring up and the blade to reach a 
considerable height, ujJon which they again ploughed 
it in as a kind of sacrifice to the earth. A practice^ 
not altogether unlike, still prevails in the kingdoin 
of Naples, where the husbandmen sometimes bury 
their beans and lupins, just before flowering, for ma- 
nure.' 

In ploughing there was great variety of practice 
and in small farms, where the soil was light, they 
had recouTfic to what may be denominated spade 
liusbandry. Most lands were ploughed thrice; first, 
immediately after the removal of the preceding crop ; 
secondly, at a convenient interval of time ; and, tbird- 
iy,' in the sowing season, when the ploughmaD scat- 
tered the grain in the furrows as they were laid 
open while a lad followed at his heels with a hoe 
breaking the clods and covering the seed that it might 



k 



' Geopon, ii. 28. 

« The practice of mingling wa- 
ter with the manure was in great 
use among the ancients, particu- 
larly in the island of Rhodes, in 
the cultivation of the palm-trees. 
Theoph. Hiat Plant, i. 6. 3. 

' Xenoph. (Econom. Jtvii. 10, 
Cf. Ear! of AbenJeen. Walp. Mem. 
i. 850. In surhlaiidB the farmers 



suffered their cattle to eat down 
the young corn to prevent its too 
great luxuriance. Tlieoph. Hist. 
Plant, viii. 7- 3. 

♦ Swinburne, Letters from iho 
Courts of Europe, i. 114. 

' Cf. Xenoph. CHconom. xvul 
10, aeq. Theoph. Hist. PIan^ 



I 
I 




Of AORICL'LTl'RE. 



385 



not lie ilevoureil by tlit- birds.' Ocpixsioiially, in very 
hot weather, and in certain situations, the farmer 
|>loiighe(l all night;- first, out of conaidcration to the 
oxen, whose health would Lave suffered from the 
sun ; secondly, to preserve the moisture and rich- 
ness of the soil ; and, thirdly, by the aid of the dew, 
to render it more pliable. On these occasions, if 
was customary to employ two pair of oxen and a 
heavier share in order to produce the deeper fur- 
rows, and turn up the hidden fat of the earth. In 
choosing a ploughman they took care that he should 
bo tall and powerful,' that he might be able to 
thrust the share deeper into the ground and wield 
it generally with facility: and yet they would not, 
if posssible, that he should be under forty years of 
age, lest, instead of attending to his duties, his eye 
should be glancing hither and thither, and his mind 
be roving after his companions.* When in particu- 
lar haste to complete his task, the ploughman often 
carried a long loaf under his arm, which, like the 
French peasants, he ate as he went along.' In tliis 
department of rural labour it may be observed, mules 
were sometimes employed as well as oxen," Uotli 
were directed and kept in order by a sharp goad.' 

As the Greeks well understood the practice of fal- 
lowing, their lands were then, as now, suffered to 



I 



' Heaiod. 0pp. el Diei, 469, 

' Oeop. ii. S8. 

' Geop. ii. t. 

* Hewod. 0pp. at Die*, 443, 
wjq. 

" Heaiod. 0pp. ct Vies, 442. 
" Vide Athcnoeuin. quern Lmiziub 
laudavit— iii. u. 114. e. liicc ex 
Philemone referentem : |3Xw/i(- 

Xi'ouc SpTOvs avo^n^ioAtii \iyci 
T1>Vt ij^OITOC ifTDjAat:, ovj 'Pu- 
fiaioi, talparovi Xiyotin. AtTa- 
jiXuifiof SpohniuB inti^lUgit do 

vo teleriter edtntt. Minime 

6. Phiic« ruElici 

VOL. 11. 



suai habcnt, ut Gervia omnibun 
teqiiaii partes fmngendo poaiiit di- 
riniere. v, Philostral. Imagg. p. 
95. IG. JucoIb." Gtetlling in loc. 
p. 173. 

« Hesiod. Opp et DioB, 40. 
Dickinaon. Delplii Ph(eiiir!ixaiit«s. 
c. 10. p. 101, Bijq. 

T Scheffer. de Re Vdiie. 180. 
Mq. Srhol. Arietoph. Nub. 449. 
The necks of these snimalt. when 
galled by ihe yoke, were cured 
by Ihe leaves of l.lat^k brioiiy 
»lt*p«l ill wiiiii. DioKOr. iv. 
IS5. 

2 C 



386 



THE VARIOUS PROCESSES 



regain their strength by lying for a time idle ;* and 
it seems to have been as much their custom as it 
is still of their descendants,* for the poor, at least, 
to roam over these fallow grounds, collecting nettles,' 
mallows, the sow-thistle or jagged lettuce,* dande- 
lions, sea-purslain, stoches, hartwort, briony sprouts, 
gentle-rocket, usually found in the environs of tovi^iis, 
and about the courts of houses, gardens, and ruins, 
with other wild herbs for salads, or to be eaten as 
vegetables. 

The rules observed in sowing were numerous, and, 
in many instances, not a little curious. As a matter 
of course, they were careful to adapt the grain to 
the soil :* thus rich plains were appropriated to wheat, 
and in the intervals cropped with vegetables; mid- 
dling grounds to barley;^ while poor and hungry 
spots were given up to lentils, vetches, lupins, and 
such other pulse as were cultivated on a large scale. 
Beans and peas, however, were supposed to thrive 
best in fat and level lands. The principal sowing- 
time^ was in •autumn ; for, as soon as the equi- 



* Xenoph. (Econom. xvi. 13, 
seq. Cf. Schulz. Antiquitat. 
Rustic. § 7. 

* Sibthorpe, in Walp. Mem. v. 
i. p. 144. 

^ Sch. Aristoph. Eq. 420. He- 
siod alludes to this diet where he 
celebrates the inferiority of the 
half to the whole : — 

N^irto«, oif^E *itratny 6ai^ vrXioy 

Ohh^ Sffov iv fia\f\)(p t€ Koi dtr- 
^o^eXu fjiey oveiap. 

0pp. et Dies, 40, seq. 

Cf. on the proverb in the first 
verse, Diog. Laert. i. 4. 2. Ari- 
stot. Ethic. Nicom. i. ?• Ovid. 
Fast. V. 718. 

* Theoph. Hist. Plant, vi. 4. 
8. 

^ Geop. ii. 12. 



^ A fine kind of barley was 
cultivated on the plain of Mara- 
thon, which obtained the name 
of Achillean, on account, as Dr. 
Chandler conjectures, of its tall- 
ness. ii. 184. Attica, in fact, 
produced the best barley known 
to the ancients. Theoph. Hist. 
Plant, viii. 8. 2. 

7 Geop. ii. 14. — ^^weiSdv 6 
liiTOtrtapivoQ "xpoyoc eXOi^, TrdrreQ 
vov 01 &ydputnoi npog rov •Scor 
dwo^Xiirovffiy, oirtJrt /3^c£oc r^v 
yfiy wf^fitrtt avrovc anelpeiy, Xen- 
oph. CEconom. xvii. 2. There 
was a second sowing-time in the 
spring, and a third in Bummer 
for millet and sesame. Theoph 
Hist. Plant, viii. 1. 2, sqq. In 
Phocis, and other cold parts of 
Greece, they sowed early, that 
the com might be strong before 



OF AGRICULTURE. 



3H7 



noctial rains had moisteneii the eartb, tlie sower 
immediately went fortb to sow, committing to tlie 
ground the hopes of the future year. Tiie best 
time for scattering wheat they placed somewhere in 
November, about the setting of the constellation 
called the Crown. They were careful in this o[ie- 
ration to avoid the time when the south wind ' blew, 
and, generally, all cold and raw weather, as it ren- 
dered the earth uiigeiiial, and little apt to fructify 
that which was entrusted to it. Great skill was 
supposed to be required in scattering the seed : in 
the first place, that it should be equally distributed ; 
and, secondly, that none should fall between the 
horns of the oxen, superstition having taught them 
the belief that such grain, which they denominated 
Kerasbolos." if it sprang up at all, would produce 
corn which could neither be baked iior eaten. A 
favourite somng sieve was made of wolfs-hide, pierced 
with thirty holes as large as the tips of the fingei-s. 
In later ages much virtue was supposed to reside 
in the barbarous term Phriel,* which they, accord- 
ingly wrote on the plough. The choice of grains 
for sowing necessarily afforded much exercise* to their 
ingenuity: seed wheat, they thought, should be of 
a rich gold colour, full, smooth, and solid ; barley, 
white aud heavy ; Iroth not exceeding one year old, 
for they quickly deteriorated, and, after the third 
year, would not they supposed grow. 'ITiis, however, 
was an error, since barley han been known to pre- 
serve its vitality upwards of two thousand years. 

It was customary often to renew seed by sowing 
the produce of mountains on plains ; of dry places 
in moist, and the contrary.' To try the compara- 



the winter nunc on. | 7. In an- 
cient Italy com woa chiefly com- 
mitted to the ground in Septem- 
ber and October ; though in mild 
seasons the work of sowing went 
on throughout Ilie winter. SchiJze. 
Antiquitates RuRtics, $4, p. <J. 



• Cf.AriBt«t. Problem, xnvi.-'i. 
' Plat, de Legg. t. viii. p. 119. 

Tim. Lex. Plat. p. 85. Bulink. 
Plut. Sympoa. vli. 'i. 
' Geop. ii. 1 0. 

• Geop. ii. IG. 

• Geop. ii. 17. 



388 THE VARIOUS PROCESSES 

tive value of different qualities of grain * they took 
a sample of each, and sowed the whole in separate 
patches of the same bed, a little before the rising 
of the Dog-star. If the produce of any of these 
samples withered, through the influence they sup- 
posed of Syrius, the wheat which it represented was 
rejected. As com when committed to the earth is 
exposed to numerous enemies, they had recourse to 
a variety of contrivances for its preservation : to 
protect it from birds, mice, and ants,* they steeped 
it in the juice of houseleeks, or mixed it with helle- 
bore and cypress leaves, and scattered it out of a 
circle, or sprinkled it with water into which river 
crabs had been thrown for eight days, or with pow- 
dered hartshorn or ivory. Not satisfied with these 
precautions, they had likewise recourse to scare- 
crows,'' fixing up long reeds here and there in the 
fields, with dead birds suspended to them by the 
feet. This long list of contrivances they closed by 
a spell: taking a live toad, they carried it round 
the field by night, after which they shut it up care- 
fully in a jar, which they buried in the middle of 
the grounds. 

When the corn began to spring up it was dili- 
gently weeded* a first and a second time. They 
would not trust entirely, however, to the industry of 
their hands, but called in to their aid certain charac- 
teristic enchantments, some two or three of which 
may be worth describing. First, to subdue the 
growth of choke-weed they planted sprigs of rose- 
laurel, at the corner and in the middle of their 
fields, or set up a number of potsherds, upon which 
had been drawn with chalk the figure of Heracles 

* Geop. ii. 15. s Among the husbandmen of 

* Geop. ii. 1 8. '* The bunting, Asia Minor people are employ- 
the yellow-hammer, and a spe- ed to drive away the birds as the 
cies of Emberiza, nearly related com ripens. Chandler, i. 1 00. 
to it, frequent the low bushes 

" in the neighbourhood of com- * Geop. ii. 24. Cf. Xen. CEco- 
" fields." Sibth. in Walp. Mem. nom. xv. 1.13, seq. 
i. 77. 



(t 



OP AGRICCLTURE. 



389 



strangling the lion. But the most ettectual ut' 
all Bpells, was for a young; woman, naked and with 
dishevelled hair, to take a live cock in her hands 
and bear him round the fields, upon which, not only 
would the choke-weed and the restliarrow vanish,' 
but all the produce of the land would tuni out of 
a superior quality." 

Aa the ancients well understood the value of hay, 
they took much pains in the formation and manage- 
ment of meadows. In the first place, all stones, 
stumps, bushes, and brambles,^ were diligently re- 
moved, together with whatever else might interrupt 
the free play of the scythe in mowing. They avoid- 
ed, moreover, letting into them their droves of hogs, 
which wero found to turn up the soil and destroy 
the roots of the young grass. In moist lands, too, 
even the larger cattle were excluded, as the holes 
made by their hoofs * in sinking broke up the fine 
level of the turf. Old hayfields, in districts where 
much rain fell, grew in time to be clothed with a 
coating of moss,* which some farmers sought to re- 
move by manuring the ground with ashes ; but the 
more scientific agriculturists ploughed them up, and 
took precisely the same steps as in the formation of 
a new meadow, that is, they sowed the ground with 
beans, turnips, or rape-seed, which, in the second year, 
were succeeded by wheat; on the third it was tho- 
roughly cleared out. and sown with hay-seed, min- 
gled with vetches, after which the whole field was 
finely levelled by the harrow. 

The rules observed by them in the regulation of 
ibeir hay harvest" were, first, to mow I>efore the 
grass or clover was withered, when it became less 
rich and nutritive ; second, to beware in making the 



Cr. Schuls. Aotiqujt. Riutic. 
i. 42. Theoph. Hist. 



" Lord Bacon, Sylva Sjlvi 



" Geuu. 1 
I'lttrit. VI. ; 

* Coluiii. 



' Much liay was laid up in 
Eub<ea for consuinptinn during 
VarTo, i. 41}. tlie winter iiiontlis. — Diuii C 



* cr. Ht'siod. Opp. ut Uien, 481). aast. i 



1 Cliiy- 



390 



THE VARIOUS PROCESSES 



ricks, that it was neither too dry nor too damp, 
since in the former case it was little better than 
straw, and in the latter was liable to spontaneous 
combustion.* It may be observed further, that 
clover* was usually sown in March or April, and 
though commonly mown six, or at least five, times 
in the twelve months, did not require to be re- 
newed in less than ten years.* 

Harvest usually commenced in Greece about the 
rising of the Pleiades,* when the corn had already 
acquired a deep gold colour, though not yet so ripe 
as to fall from the ear, which in barley happens 
earlier than in wheat, the grain having no hose.^ 
Among the Romans operations were preceded by 
the sacrifice^ of a young sow to Ceres, with liba- 
tions of wine, the burning of frankincense, and the 
offering of a cake to Jove, Juno, and Janus. They, 
at the same time, addressed their prayers to the 
last-mentioned gods, nearly in the following words : — 
"O father Janus or Jupiter, in making an obla- 
"tion of this cake I offer up my prayers that thou 
" wouldst be propitious to me and my children, my 
" house, and my family ! " '' 

At Athens, as soon as the season for reaping® had 



1 Colum. ii. 19. 

2 Kai TTjy fioTVLvriv hit ^^^ 
/laXiora Tpi<j>ovaav tovq iirirovc 
aird Tov vXeovdi^eiy iyrav^a 
iSlfifQ MridiKtIy KoKovfiey. Strab. 
xi. 13. t. ii. p. 453. 

' Pallad. v. 1. Schol. Aris- 
toph. Eq. 604. 

* Geop. ii. 25. Hesiod. 0pp. 
et Dies, 383. xiv. cal. June. 
Cf. Plin. Hist. Nat. xviii. 69. 

5 Pallad. vii. 2. 

^ The custom with which the 
modem Greeks hail the approach 
of summer is picturesque and 
beautiful : " On the first of May 
" at Athens, there is not a door 
" that is not crowned with a gar- 
'* land, and the youths of both 



"sexes, with the elasticity of 
"spirits so characteristic of a 
"Greek, forget or brave their 
"Turkish masters, while with 
"guitars in their hands, and 
" crowns upon their heads, 



* They lead the dance in hon- 
our of the May.' " 
Douglas, p. 64. 

7 Cato, 134. 

® The harvest began earlier in 
Salamis than in the neighbour- 
hood of Athens. Theoph. Hist, 
Plant, viii. 2. 1 1. Chandler, vol. 
ii. p. 230. In Egypt barley was 
reaped on the sixth month afler 
sowing, and wheat on the seventh. 
Theoph. Hist. Plant, viii. 2. 7. 



OF AURICLI.TURE. 



3yi 



come round, those liardy eitizeiis wlio lived by let- 
ting out their strength for Iiire,' ranged tlieniBelves 
in bands in the agora, whither the farmere of the 
neighbourhood resorted in searcli of harvesters. They 
then, in consequence of the hot weather, proceeded 
half-naked^ to the fields, where, taking the sickle in 
hand, and separating into two divisions, they stationed 
themselves at either end of the piece of corn to be 
reaped, and began their work with vigour and emu- 
lation, each party striving to reach the centre of 
the field before their rivals.' On other occasions 
they took advantage of tbo wind,* moving along with 
it, whereby they were su[)posed to benefit consider- 
ably, avoiding the beard or chaff which it might 
have blown into their eyes, and having by its action 
the tall straw bciit to their hand. 



In Greece, barley required seven 
or eight monthB to ripen ; wheat 
still more. This latterffrain came 
tu maturity more Bpeedily In Si- 
cily, and returned thirty-fold. 5 8. 
In a district in the island of 
Ithndes they reaped barley twice 
in the year. J 9. Harvest was 
thirty days earlier in Attica than 
in the Hellespont. S. 10. There 
was a kind of wheat in Euhcea 
which ripened very early ; and 
there was introduced front Sicily 
into Achua another kind which 
was fit for the sickle in two 
months. Id. viii. 4. 4. Ulieut 
returned in Babylonia, even to 
negligent husbandmen, fifty-lbld, 
and to inch as properly cultivated 
their lands, a hundred-fold. Id. 
viii. 7. i. 

' Dem. DeCor. § 16. 

' Or perhaps wholly bo when 
thev happen^ to be inhobitunts 
of the warm lowlands on the sea- 
shore and valleys. At least tliis 
is the opinion of Hcaiod who 
raunsf^lit the husbandman, yufii-iiy 



amlfity, yvfiyhy ci fiouriiv, ynfi- 

rtpoc- 0pp. et Dies, S9I, sqi- 
Aristophanes alludes to the 
same custom. Lysist. ] 175. 

'ilj'j ytuipytiv yu/tcoc dniiiii; 
floiKoiiai. And Virgil. " Nudus 
ara, sere nudus," GeoTg- i- S9D, 
upon which Serviua remarks: 
"Non dial nudum ease dehere, 
" quasi aliter non oporteal aut 
" poMit ; ted sub tanta serenitate 
" dicit lifec ajrendu, ut et aniictua 
" [lOBsit con tern ni," fie this, how- 
ever, as it may, the precept of 
Hesiod and Virgil is liierally ob- 
served in Egypt, wliere the rustics 
often perform their labour stark 

' II. X. Ii7, seq. 

ivSu si'ii &ri[iOt, tl dyrlof ; elit 
dyTiiK.iptly, tywyf xo^'"'' WP' 
ol/wti, Koi roic ofifiavi vui rain 
Xipol yiyvtrm, drrior d\Jiffttv 
Kui d$i^v ^ipiHtiy, Xenoph. 
Uiconoui. xviii. 1. 



392 THE VARIOUS PROCESSES 

In many parts of Greece, though the practice was 
not general, the women joined in these labours. The 
reapers, as they advanced, laid the com behind them 
in long lines upon the stubble, and were followed 
by two other classes of harvesters, one of whom 
bound it into sheaves which the others bore back 
and piled up into mows. Of the whole of these 
operations, together with the plenteous feast which 
interrupted or terminated their toils. Homer has 
left us a graphic picture in the Iliad : ^ 

There in a field 'mid lofly com, the lusty reapers stand, 

Plying their task right joyously, with sickle each in hand. 

Some strew in lines, as on they press^ the handfuls thick behind. 

While at their heels the heavy sheaves their merry comrades bind. 

These to the mows a troop of boys next bear in haste away. 

Piling upon the golden glebe the triumphs of the day. 

Among them wrapped in silent joy, their sceptered king appears, 

Beholding, in the swelling heaps, the stores of future years. 

A mighty ox beneath an oak the busy heralds slay, 

With grateful sacrifice to close the labours of the day. 

While near, the husbandman's repast the rustic maids prepare. 

Sprinkling with flour the broiling cates whose savour fills the air. 

In these remote and unsettled times it behoved 
the rustic to keep a sharp look-out on the sheaves 
left behind him on the field, as there were usually 
prowlers,* lurking amid the neighbouring woods and 
thickets, ready to pounce upon and carry off what- 
ever they saw unguarded. 

The implement used in cutting wheat seems always 
to have been the sickle, while in the case of barley 
and other inferior grains, the scythe was commonly 
employed. In some parts of ancient Graul, where 
no value was set upon the straw, corn was reaped 
by a sort of cart,^ armed in front with scythes, 
having the edges inclined upwards, which, as it was 
driven along by an ox, harnessed behind, cut off 
the ears of com, which were received into the tum- 

^ <r. 550, seq. Hesiod. 0pp. et Dies, 605. Cf. 

^'llfiepoKoiroi aV<^/>€y, an ele- the note of Goettling on verse 375. 
gant euphonism for ** thieves." ^ Pallad. vii. 2. 



OF AGRICULTURE. 



393 



bril. In this manner the produce of a whole field 
niiglit be got ill easily in a day. Reaping among 
the ancient inliabitante of Italy' was performed in 
three ways: first they reaped close, as in Umbria, 
and laid the handfuls carefully on the ground, after 
wliich the ears were separated from the straw, 
and borne in baskets to the threshing-floor. Else- 
where, as in Picenum, they made use of a ri|)- 
plo or serrated hook, having a long handle with 
whicli the ears only were cut oft", leaving the 
straw standing to be afterwards collected and raked 
u|> into mows. 

In the neighbourhood of Rome they reaped with 
the common sickle, holding the upper part of the 
straw iu their left hand, and cutting it olF in the 
middle. This tall stubble was afterwards mown and 
carried off to be used as fodder or bedding for cattle. 
In Upper Egypt and Nubia, the dhoura stalks are 
left about two feet in height to support the crop 
iif kidney-beans whicli succeeds next in order. 
Among the Athenians' when the corn grew tall 
the stubble was suffered to remain to be burned 
for manure ; but, when sliort, the value of the straw 
led them to reap close. 

In separating the grain from the straw the ancients 
made use of horses, oxen, and nmlee, which, pa.ssing 
round and round over the threshing-floor, trod out 
the com. All the labourer had to do was to guide 
the movements of the cattle, and take care that 
no part of the sheaf remained untrodden." From 



1 Vano. i. 50. 

^ Kai tiKpoTOfioii^ ^'&>'i (f >}i V 

i o aikafiot rev airov, lyuy', 
ifqr, cdrw^lr hr rtftvoifii, (fa 
'iKani rd aj(ypa fiaWny -yiyciirai. 
'Etii' ti vJ'iiXoi J, nofiiiu lijJSic 
iir ToiiTr fiiooTOitiy, ira fiffri at 

A\DlJtTtC flO^Sim HtfHTTOV novov, 
fif/Ti o'l XitfimvTt^, liv uvt'tv tpoa- 
Hovrai. To ?(' ir rp yp Xti^^ti 



ilyovjiai Ka't saraKav^i* reyw^i- 
\tiy ar r^i' y^f KnJ tic 'dtrpoy 
ififlXri^ii' rifv cospot- oufurXjjSi/- 
ruf. Xeiioph. I^cononi. xviii. 2. 
» Xcnoph. lEconom. xviii, 4. 
The »aine ciutom atill prevails in 
Southern Europe and in tli« Kast. 
" Com )« trodden oul in Qranada 
" in circular-fomied tliroshing- 
'■ floor*, in llie ujien fielde ; the 
" animals employ^ are muW 



394 



THE VARIOUS PROCESSES 



a very humane law in the Old Testament we 
learn, that among some nations it was customary 
to tie up the mouths of such animals as they em- 
ployed in this labour, which was forbidden the Is- 
raelites : " Thou shalt not," says the Scripture, " muz- 
zle the ox that treadeth out the com." Nor was 
it practised among the Greeks in the age of Homer/ 
whom we find describing the oxen bellowing as 
they made their unwearied round. The threshing- 
floor, which was of a circular form,* stood on a 
breezy eminence, in the open field, where, as at 
present, in modern Greece, and in the Crimea,^ a 
high pole was set up in the centre, to which the 
cattle were tied by a cord determining the extent 
of the circle they had to describe.* The end being 
nailed, every turn made by the cattle coiled the 
rope about the pole and diminished their range, un- 
til, at length, they were brought quite close to the 
centre, after which, their heads were turned about, 
and by moving in an opposite direction the cord 
was unwound. Great pains were taken in the con- 
struction of this threshing-floor, which was some- 
what elevated about the centre, in order, as Varro 
observes, that what rain fell might speedily run oflEl 
It was sometimes paved with stone, or pitched with 
flints, but more commonly coated with stucco, made 
level by a roller, and well soaked with the lees of 
oil which at once prevented the growth of weeds 



" or oxen." Napier, Excursions, 
&c., i. 156. Again, in the Troad, 
" The oxen or horses being har- 
'< nessed to a sort of sledge, the 
" bottom part of which is arm- 
<< ed with sharp flints, are dri- 
" ven over the com, th^ person 
" who guides the cattle balancing 
" him or herself with gi'eat dex- 
" terity whilst rapidly drawn 
" round in revolving circles." Id. 
ii. 1 7 1 . Cf. Fowler, Three Years 
in Persia, i. 173, and Chandler, 
i. 320. ii. 234. 



^ Iliad, V. 495, seq. Hesiod. 
0pp. et Dies, 599. 

* Suid. V. &.\wd t. i. p. 186. c. 
Philoch. Frag. Siebel. p. 86. E- 
tym. Mag. 73. 56, seq. Colum. 
ii. 20. Geop. ii. 26. Senec. 
Qusest. Nat. i. 2, 

3 Earl of Aberdeen in Walp. 
Mem. i. 150. Pallas, Trav. in 
South. Russia, vol. iv. p. 148, 
seq. 

* Schneid. ad Xenoph. CEcon. 
xviii. 8. 



OF AGRICULTLRK. 



3!)5 



and grass, preserved it from craeking, and repelled 
the approaeh of mice, ants, and moles, to which oil- 
lees are destruetive." Tboug-li some authorities ad- 
vise that it should be situated under the master's, 
or at least the steward's, eye, it was goiiemlly 
thought advisable to keep it at a distance from 
the house and gardens, since the finer particles of 
ehair, borne thickly through the air, caused ophthal- 
mia, and often blindness," and proved exceedingly 
injurious to all plants and pulpy fruits, more par- 
ticularly grapes. In some parts of the ancient 
world, exposed to the chances of summer rains, 
the threshing-floor was covered ; and, even in Italy, 
an umbracula,' or shed, was always constructed close 
at hand, into which the com could be removed in 
case of bad weather. But this in the sunnier cli- 
mate of Greece was judged unnecessary. In obe- 
dience to a notion prevalent among Ilelleuic farmers, 
the sheaves were piled up with the straw towards 
the suutli, by which means they believed the grain 
was enlarged and loosened from the hose, AVhen 
the farmer happened to be scant of cattle he made 
use of a threshing-machine,* which consisted of a 
kind of heavy sledge, toothed below with sharp 
stones or iron. Occasionally, too, the flail * was 
used, especially in the case of such com as was 
laid up in the barn and threshed during winter. 

In winnowing," when the breeze served, they sim- 
jdy threw the grain up into the air with a scoop, 
until the wind had completely cleared away the chaff. 
In serene days they had recourse to a winnowing 
machine, which, though turned by the hand, was of 
great power, as we may jodge from its being eni]>loye<l 
in cleansing vetches, and even beans.* To receive 
the chaff, which was too valuable to be lost, pits 



• Vmto. do Re Rust, i. 51. 
I Geop. ii. 26- 

' Varro. i. 51. Pallad. i, 36. 

* Halhem. Vrtt. p. 85. Thc- 
h. Hist, riant, iii. 8. 



^Colum. ii. 21. 

"^ Plat Tim. t. 

Xt:3iopli. (1-J«aiimu. i 

' II. y. 588. 



396 



THE VARIOUS PROCESSES 



appear to have been sunk all round the threshing- 
floor, which, for the passage of the men and cattle, 
would appear to have been covered, save in the 
direction of the wind.^ When the corn was designed 
for immediate use, one winnowing was deemed suf- 
ficient ; but that which was intended to be laid up 
in the granary* underwent the operation a second 
time. 

On the building and preparation of granaries ^ the 
ancients bestowed great pains. Every means which 
could communicate to grain firmness and durability 
appears to have been tried by them ; and their suc- 
cess was answerable to their diligence, for, in their 
granaries, wheat was preserved in perfection fifty, 
and millet a hundred years.* Their methods, how- 
ever, were various ; some laid up their grain in hol- 
low rocks and caves, as in Thrace and Cappadocia ; 
others sank deep pits in the earth * where they found 
it to be perfectly free from humidity, as in Farther 
Spain, while others, as in Hither Spain, Apulia, taid 
Greece,^ erected their granaries on lofty basements 
fronting the East, and with openings towards the 
north and west winds.^ There was usually a range of 
numerous diminutive windows near the roof, to supply 



1 II. £.562. 

2 See on the vessels in which 
the produce of the harvest was 
received, Pollux, x. 129. 

3 Cf. Pallad. 1. 19. Colum. 
i. 6. A granary, commonly (tito- 
0vXaJce7ov, was, by Menander, in 
his Eunuch, denominated ffiro- 
€6\ioy ; among the Siciliotes and 
Greek colonists of Italy poyoc ; 
as in the Busiris of Epicharmos. 
Poll. ix. 45. 

* Varro. i. 57 » 

^ The same practice is still 
found in several of the Grecian 
islands. " lis font dans les champs 
" un trou proportionne a la quan- 
" tite de bled qu'ils y veulent 
" serrer; il est ordinairement de 



t€ 



<i 



« 



iC 



i€ 



it 



" cinq pieds de diametre, sur 

" deux ou trois de profondeur. 
On en tapisse rinterieur 
d environ un demi-pied de paille 

*' brisee sous les pieds des bcBufs ; 
on y serre ensuite le grain, de 
maniere qu*il s'eleve par des- 
sus la terre, a una hauteur 
a-peu-pres egale h, la profondeur 

'* du trou ; on le couvre avec 

** un demi-pied de paille, sur la- 
quelle on met trois ou quatre 
pouces de terre." Delia Rocca, 

Traite Complet sur les A bellies, 

t. i. p. 198, seq. 

^ Geop. ii, 27. 

7 Cf. Lord Bacon. Hist, Life 
and Death, p. 5. 



(€ 



li 



OF AORICULTt'RE. 



im 



free vent for the Iieated air, wliile tlie floor, in many 
cases, contained small apertnres for tlie admission of 
the coo! breezes benea,th. The walls were built with 
suitable solidity, and having, together with the floor, 
been plastered with rough mortar,' made commonly 
witli hair, for which chaff was sometimes substituted, 
received a coat of fine stucco, on the preparation 
of which much care was bestowed. It was generally 
composed of lime, sand, and powdered marble, mois- 
tened with the Ices of oil, the peculiar flavour and 
odour of which were supposed effectually to repel 
the approaches of mice," weevils, and ants. Instead 
of this a common stucco, formed of clay, was often 
used. Occasionally the grain was packed up in bas- 
kets or large jars,' such, it may be presumed, as those 
still em]doyed for the purpose in Africa, where they 
are common ly kept in a corner outside the door. 
Beans and other pulse were preserved in oil-jars 
nibbed with ashes.* 

Before the produce of the new year was carried 
in, the granaries, having been carefully swept, were 



' But, according to Theophras- 
tus, com kept beat in granorieB 
unplastercd with lime. Hist. 
Plant, viii. 10. 1. In a certain 
part of Cappodocia called Petra, 
com would keep fit for sowing 
forty years, and for food sixty or 
Kveuty, although in that district 
cloths and other articles decay 
rapidly. Id. viii. IQ. 5. 

' Among tanie anitnals dostgn- 
ed to protect the farmstead from 
Termin. the weast-'l was sometimes 
used. Horn. BalTuchom. 52, Orid. 
Met. is. 383. Luc. Timon. 5 81. 
Periion. ad Mian. Var. Hiat. xiv. 
i. Muncker. ad Anton, Lilwr. 89. 
Plin. Hist. Nat. xix. 1 6. Welckcr. 
ad Simon. Am»rg. p. 43. 

* From which they carefully 
cleansed the spider'swebs: e'arfa'y- 
yioj*- cXaetint dpaJ^l■la. Hesiod. 



0pp. et Dies, 475. Cf. 600. A si- 
milar method still prevails in the 
islands of the Archipelago when 
the grain is intended for the mar- 
ket : " Ceux qui veulent porter 
" leurs grains a la villc, les niet- 
" tent dans de« Taacs de terre 
" cuitc, qu'ils rcmplissent a deux 
" ou trois poucct pri-s ; ensiiit« 
" lis L'tendent par dessus quelques 
" feuilles de figuier sauvage, ap- 
■' pcle omi, et en Latin copriji- 
" cut; enfin ils acheTent de rem- 
" plir leg vases avec de la cen- 
" dre, et les couvrent d'une eeprce 
" d'ardoise, mois plus forte et plus 
" opaisso que cello dont on r« 
" sert en France pour couvrir Ie» 
" mnisons." Delia Rocca, Trwte 
Cotnptet sur les AbetUes, t. i, p. 
200. 

• Varro. i. 57. 



398 



THE VARIOUS PROCESSES 



smeared all over with oil-lees. Various other pre- 
cautions were, likewise, taken to protect the sacred 
gifts of Demeter from depredation, such as drawing 
on the floor broad lines of chalk,^ or strewing hand- 
fuls of wild origany round the heaps, or sprinkling 
them with the ashes of oaken twigs or dry cow's 
dung, or sprigs of wormwood and southernwood, or, 
in greater quantity, the leaves of the everlasting. 
Instead of these, in some cases, they made use of 
powdered clay* or dry pomegranate leaves, rubbed 
small, and passed through a sieve, a chcenix of which 
was sprinkled over a bushel of corn. The favourite 
plan, however, seems to have been, to spread a layer 
of half-withered fleabane over the floor, on which 
were poured about ten bushels of wheat, then a layer 
of fleabane, and so on, until the granary was full.* 



1 Geop. ii. 29.^ 

« Thi8 substance was brought 
from Olynthos and Cerinthos, in 
Euboea. It is said to have improved 
the appearance of the wheats 
though it deteriorated its quality 
as an article of food. Theoph. 
viii. 10. 7. 

3 The granaries of the island 
of Syra, with the contrivance by 
which com is there preserved at 
the present day, are thus described 
by Delia Rocca : — " Les granges, 
" appelees en Grec defioviaf ont 
" commun^ment une vingtaine 
** de pieds de long, sur huit i dix 
" de hauteur et de largeur. On 

les remplit jusqu'k la moiti6 

de leur hauteur, de paille bien 
** foulee : on pratique un espace 
^' de trois ou quatre pieds, que 
" Ton remplit de grain. A c6te 
** on en forme un autre, que Ton 
" remplit de meme, et ainsi de 
** suite, selon T^tendue de la 
" grange, et la quantite de grain 
" que Ton a ; cela fait, par des 
" ouvertures pratiquees dans la 
" couverture, on recouvre de paille 



« 



t€ 



if 



<f 



tout le bled, jusqu*^ ce que la 
grange soit exactement remplie. 
Quand on veut en faire usage, 
'' on commence par le tas le plus 
" voisin de la porte ; on enleve 
** d*abord la paille avec beau- 
" coup de precaution : plus on 
" approche, plus cette precaution 
" augmente ; enfin, pour 6ter les 
" demiers brins de paille, on se 
" sert d'un balai de milleper- 
'^ tuis ou d*autres plantes que 
" Ton fait secher ; et si malgr^ 
'' tous ces soins, la suriace du 
monceau de grain n'est pas bien 
nette, on acheve d'en enlever 
toutes les menues pailles en 
la vannant avec un chapeau 
car les paysans de nos lies per- 
" tent comme ici,dans les champs, 
'' des chapeaux ronds de feutre ; 
" ils en portent aussi de paille, 
" que Ton travaille avec beau- 
" coup de delicatesse k Sifanto." 
Trait^ Complet sur les Abeillea. 
t. i. p. 1 99, seq. Among the tribes 
of Northern Africa a more com- 
plete system of preserving grain 
prevails. "The Arabs^ in lieu 



<€ 



CC 



<t 



CC 



CC 



OF AGRICULTURE. 



309 



Wlicat thus Inyeil up was supposed uot only to last 
many years, but also to preserve its wciglit in bread- 
making. To render barley durable, they strewed over 
it laurel leaves, or the ashes of laurel wood, as, like- 
wise, everlasting, calaminth, and gypsum, or ]>laced 
a tightly-corked bottle of vinegar,' in the middle of 
the heap. To communicate greater plumpness to 
all kinds of grain, they sprinkled over the piles a 
mixtnre composed of nitre,'' spume of nitre, and fine 
earth, which. Iike\vi80. acted as a preservative. To 
render flour more durable, they thrust into it small 
maple branches, stripped of their leaves, or little 
cakes of salt and cumin.* 

The fruits of the earth having been thus safely 
lodged within doors, the grateful husl)andmen cele- 
brated in honour of their rural gods, Demeter and 
Dionysos, a festival which may, perhaps, be denomi- 
nated that of the Harvest Home. In Attica it took 
place in the great temple at Eleusis, and continued 



" of gmnaries, preaerre all their 
" grain in pits ; forty or fifty of 
" these are made, each to con- 
" tain about a thousand bushels ; 
" the spot selected is h dry, 
" sandy soil, the hole being foim- 
" ed in Ihc shape of a targe carth- 
" en jug, the aides ore plastered 
" with mortar about a foot in 
" thickness, and the wheat or 
" (prain filled up la the mouth, 
'* which is led just large enough 
" for a man to get in at, and 
" ia about three feet below the 
" surface of the ground ; this 
" is now plastered over also, and 
" filled with the soil around 
" to the same level as the sur- 
" rounding country. The <^arth 
" talceii out in forming the pita 
" is removed to a distance, and 
" being scattered abroad, in a 
" month or two the grass grows 
" over the surfiice, and no one, 
" imlcse those who have buried 



" this treasure, would imagine 
" that there was anything bc- 
" neoth their feet. The grain 
" thus buried preserves for many 
" years. I have eaten bread at 
" the Esmmtla mode from whoat 
" OS old OS the Sultan, having 
" bcon buried the year of hia 
" birth, and it was a« good as 
" that made of flour from this 
" year's crop." Colonel Scotl, 
Journal of a Residence In tho 
EMnaillaofAbd-el-Kader. p. 155, 
seq. Mandelslo(lib.iLc.iii.)found 
cum- vaults of similar construction 
in tlie Azores ; and molt travel- 
lers who have visited the island 
of Malta will have observed in 
the fortilicationi of Valetta that 
series of curious and beautiful 
granaries excavated in the form 
of a bottle in the solid rock. 

' Geop. ii. 90, BC<i. 

" Geop. ii. 28. 

■■ Geop. ii. an. 



400 THE VARIOUS PROCESSES OF AGRICULTURE. 

during several days. No bloody sacrifices were on this 
occasion ofltered up ; but, in lieu of them, oblations 
of cakes and fruit with other rustic oflferings, designed 
at once to express their gratitude for past blessings, 
and to render the gods propitious to them in future. 
The first loaf made from the new corn was probably 
eaten or oflfered up on this day, since it received 
the name of Thargelos, or Thalusios, from Thalusia, 
the denomination of the festival.^ 

Before we quit the farm, it may be observed, 
that the ancients kept a number of slaves, consti- 
tuting a kind of rural police, whose occupation 
wholly consisted in guarding the boundaries of estates.* 
These, among the Romans, were denominated rangers, 
or foresters. There were others to whom the care 
of the fruit was entrusted ; and both these classes of 
persons were probably elderly men, remarkable for 
their diligence and fidelity, who were rewarded, by 
appointment to this more easy duty, for their honest 
discharge in youth of such as were more painful and 
laborious. Boys were sometimes set to keep watch 
over vineyards,^ as we may see in the first Eidyll of 
Theocritus, where he gives us a lively sketch of such 
a guardian plotted against by two foxes. 



J Vid. Theoc. Eidyll. vii. 3. 
Etym. Mag. 444. 13. Athen. 
xiii. 65. iii. 80. Meurs. Graec. 
Fer. p. 15. p. 142. Dem. adv. 
Neaer. § 27, with the authorities 
collected by Taylor. 

^ Such of these as had charge 
of the timber may be denominated 
wood-reeves, a term which an- 
swers very well the Latin Saltu- 
arius. The slave-guards of forests, 
in Crete, were called Ergatones. 



Hesych. ap. Meurs. Cret. p. 
190. 

* Casaub. ad Theoph. Char, p, 
223, seq. Theocrit. Eidyll. acxv. 27. 
Cf.Feith. Antiq. Horn. iv. i. 276, 
sqq. Vineyards in Athens still re- 
quire guards. Speaking of his ap- 
proach to Athens from the Peiras- 
eus. Chandler observes : — ** In a 
*' tree was a kind of couch, shelter- 
" ed with boughs, belonging to a 
" man employed to watch there 
" during the vintage." ii. 27. 



CHA1*TER VI. 



PASTORAL LIFK. 



BiJT withiii ttie circle of Hellenic country life' 
there was a kind of [mrenthetical existence, a 
remnant of tlie old nomadic habits, once common, 
perhaps, to the whole race, — I mean the pas- 
toral life, of which we obtain so many glimpses 
through the leafy glades and grassy avenues of Greek 
poetry. No doubt, the fancy of ima^native men, 
thirsting for a degree of sini|>licity and happiness 
greater than they find around them in cities or 
villages, is apt to kindle and shed too glorious a 
light on approaching the tranquil solitudes, the pine 
forests, the mountain glens, the hidden lakes, the 
umbrageous streams that leap and frolic down the 
wild rocks of a country so rife with beauty as Greece. 
Nevertheless, adhering strictly to truth and reality, 
there is, in such regions, nmcli about the pastoral 
life to delight the mind. In the first place, the 
occupations of an ancient shepherd left him great 
leisure, and he was generally, by habit no less than 
by inclination, led to prize that " dolce far niente" 
which, in all southern climates, constitutes the chief 
enjoyment of existence. 



' The chann of that repose 
and freedom from care supposed 
to be tasted in the Beclusion of 
the country, appears in all ages 
to have led to the belief, thnt 
there U something more natural 
in fields and forests than b cities, 
though it be quite as necessary 
that man should have dwrltinga 
as that he should cultivate the 

VOL. I(. 



(^und. The paradox, however, 
is thus expressed by Varro ; Di- 
vina natura dedit agros, ars hu- 
mana sdificavit urbes. l)e Re 
KusU iii. 1, which Cowptr, un- 
consciously perhaps, has thus 
translated. 



402 



PASTORAL LIFE. 



And indeed all the world over, repose, both of 
mind and body, is sweet. But not entire repose. 
Accordingly the Grecian shepherd, whose flocks fed 
tranquilly, whose condition, assured, and pinched by 
no necessities, left him at liberty to consult his own 
tastes in his recreations, took refuge from idleness 
in music and soug.^ At first, and perhaps always, 
their lays were rude ; but nature, their only teacher, 
infused into them originality and passion, such as 
we find in the only poet of antiquity, save Homer, 
in whose verses the fragrance of the woods still 
breathes. Whether like Paris and Anchises they 
kept their own flocks or undertook the care for 
others, they were still on the mountains perfectly 
free. Their education was peculiar. Abroad much 
after dark,^ in a climate where the summer nights 
are soft and balmy beyond expression, and where 
the stars seem lovingly to crowd closer about the 
earth, they necessarily grew romantic and supersti- 
tious.* Events occurring early in their own lives or 
handed down to them by tradition, long meditated 
on, were in the end invested with supernatural at- 
tributes. Under similar circumstances their national 
religion had probably been first formed. They in 
the same way, in every canton, created a local re- 



1 Travellers find among the 
modem shepherds of the East 
much the same tastes and habits. 
" The hills," observed Dr. Chand- 
ler, speaking of Lydia, " were 
" enlivened by flocks of sheep and 
" goats, and resounded with the 
" rude music of the lyre and of 
" the pipe ; the former a stringed 
" instrument resembling a guitar, 
" and held much in the same 
" manner, but usually played on 
" with a bow." Chandler, i. p. 
85. Cf. Theocrit. Eidyll. i. 7. 
vni. 9. 

^ The same habits still prevail : 
** We could discern fires on Lesbos 



as before on several islands and 
capes, made chiefly by fishermen 
and shepherds, who live much 
abroad in the air, to bum the 
strong stalks of the Turkey wheat 
and the dry herbage on the moun- 
tains." Chandler, i. 11. Of. p. 
320. 

3 Among other things we find 
them putting the strongest faith 
in dreams — at least we may sup- 
pose the fishennen in Theocritus, 
who lay so much stress on the 
visions of the night, to hold a 
creed pretty nearly akin to that 
of shepherds. Eidyll. 21. v. 29. 
sqq. 



PASTOR.\L LIFE. 



403 



ligion.' Their very creed was poetry. Tree, rock, 
mountain, spring, every thing was instinct with di- 
vinity, not mystically, as in certain philosophical 
systems, but literally; and, as they lielieved, the im- 
mortal race, their invisible companions at all hours, 
could when they pleased put on visibility, or rather 
remove from their ej'os the film which prevented 
their habitually beholding them. 

It is well known that, in the preseut day, among 
the nomadic nations of Asia, the sons of the chiefs 
still follow their flocks in the wilderness. And this 
in the heroic ages was likewise the case iu Greece,^ 
where youths of the noblest families watched over 
their fathers' sheep and cattle. Thus Bucolion, son 
of Laomedon, led to pastnre the flocks of his sire, 
and, in the solitudes of the Phrygian mountains, was 
met and loved by a nymph,' Two sons also of 
Priam pursued the same occupation ; * and thus 
among the Hebrews, David, the son of Jesse, passes 
his youth in the sheepfold, and his manhood on A 
throne. In this secluded and solitary life the sights 
and sounds of nature became familiar to them, the 



' The gods they prindpally 
worshiped were Pan, the Muset, 
and the Nymphs. To the 
Nymphs and Pan they tacrificed 
M to godg presiding over moun- 
toiiiB, where th«y themselves 
usually waiiderwi. Pan, more- 
over, was skilled in the pipe, the 
instrument of their race. The 
Musn they adored as the god- 
desKS of poetry and music. SchoL 
Theoc. i. 6. In rent 12 of the 
same Eidyll. the Nymphs arc 
spoken of where tlie ofHce of the 
Muses is in contemplation, which 
may easily be explained. For 
the Muses arc properly the 
Nymptis of those fountains which 
inspire poets with their lays. Cf. 
Voas. ad Virg. Eclog. iii. 84. 



By the Lydians the Muses were 
denominated Nymphs. Schol. 
Theoc. Eidyll. vU. 92. Cf. Ei- 
dyll. V. UO. Lye. CaB9and,27*. 
ibique Schol. et Potter. Kiessl. ad 
Theoerit. 

* Lycoph. Cassand. 91, seq. in 
common with Homer and the 
other ancient poets, represent 
princes as shepherds. The guard- 
ing of flocks was then, in fad, a 
rpf^I oeeupatioti, Didymos, ad 
Odyss. V. St.t, observes, that ro 
waXaiby Ka'i e'l rHy CamXiut- ral- 
iti irafa'iraXDi (1. raraitoXoi) 
irnAotriTO, caWnolfiaii'Oi'. Meurs. 
ad Lycoph. p. 1181. Varr. De 
Re Rust. ii. |. 

> 11.C.25. Odyss. o. 385, seq. 

* n. i. 1 0(5. 



404 



PASTORAL LIFE. 



voice of sudden torrents rushing from the mountains,* 
the roar of lions springing on their folds, or the sweet 
moonlight silvering both mountain and valley. It 
is with the shepherd's life that Homer connects 
that noble description of the night which Chap- 
man has thus translated : 

As when about the silver moon, when ^r is free from wind,^ 

And stars shine clear,' to whose sweet beams high prospects and 

the brows 
Of all steep hills and pinnacles thrust up themselves for shows. 
And even the lonely valleys joy to glitter in their sight. 
When the unmeasured firmament bursts to disclose her light. 
And all the signs in heaven are seen, that glad the shepherd's 

heart. 

The glimpses of pastoral life, albeit too few, are 
still frequent in Homer, who loves, whenever pos- 
sible, to illustrate his subject by bringing before our 
minds the image of a shepherd. Thus Hector, lift- 
ing a large rock, is compared to a shepherd bearing 
a ram's fleece.* 

As when the fleece, though large yet light, the careful shepherd 

rears, 
With both hands plunged within its folds, so he the rock uptears. 



1 Iliad. ^. 452, seq. c. 137. 
0, 555. 

* The following picture by 
Milton almost seems to be de- 
signed to form a contrast to the 
above : 

As when from mountain-tops the 
dusky clouds 

Ascending, while the north wind 
sleeps, o'erspread 

Heaven's cheerful face, the low- 
ring element 

Scowls o'er the darkened landscape 
snow or shower ; 

If chance the radiant sun, with 
farewell sweet, 

Extend his evening beam, the 
fields revive. 



The birds their notes renew, and 

bleating herds 
Attest their joy, that hill and 

valley rings. 

Parad. Lost, ii. 488, sqq. 

Iliad 0. 559, sqq. Here shep^ 
herd, observes the Scholiast, is 
used for herdsman. Hoifjiiiy cTirev 
drri Tov fiovKoXog Sia rvKrog ydp 
ai fidtQ vEfioyTQi, in loc. i. 238. 

^ On this passage *Af>/oTap)(oc 
rijy Kara ^v<nv Xafiirpay Xeycc 
Kay fill rfkiiBovoa ^ u ydp ?rXi|- 
poereXrjyoQ ^y, eKeKpvKTO dy /udX- 
Xoy rd aarpa. Schol. Bekker. 
t. i. 238. Cf. Eustath. in Iliad. 
6. U i. p. 621. 

^ Iliad, /i. 451, seq. 



PASToaAL LIFE. 



405 



Again, the Trojan forces following their leader, 
jEneas, suggest to his mind the idea of innume- 
rable flocks bounding after a ram to drink.' 

The people followed, as the flouk the sha^y ram Biicceeda, 
Who to the cooling streanilet's bank the wooUy nation leads 
(While swells the shepherd's heart with joy) from pasture on the 
meads. 

Elsewhere, he describefl a troop of hungry wolves 
attacking the flocks on the mountains : — ■* 

As when the hungry wolves, on folds fomiken by the watch. 
Descend, the kids and tender lambs by thievish force to snatch ; 
Or when the timid browsing crew are scattered far and wide. 
And seized, by witless shepherds left upon the mountain side. 

But, in another place, th ey are represented eon- 
tending with a lion by night for the body of one 
of their flock.' 

Thus the night- watching shcplierda strive, but vainly, to repel 
The angry lion, whom the Btitign of want and rage impel, 
Upon the carcase faBteiis he : his heart no fear can quell. 

Where the number of tlie flock required the care 
of several men a chief shepherd (iiriTOifiKi') was ai>- 
|>ointed to overlook the rest.* Among the ancients 
twenty sheep 'were thought to require the attention 
of a man and a boy;* but, in modem times, three 



> Iliad, v. 491, sqq. 

" Iliad. T. 354, sqq. 

' Iliad, ff. 161, acq. 

*Odyss. p. 131. The duties 
of this servant are described by 
Vnrro, who likewise states the 
physical qualities required to 
be found in shepherds. Con- 
tra, pemoctare od suum quem- 
que gregem esse omnes sub 
uno magistro pecoris cum esse 
majorem natu potius quam alios 
et peritiorem qu^m reliquos, quud 
its qui a!tat«, et scientia pra- 
stant animn »quion.' reliquis pa- 
rent. Ita tamen oportet letate 



prtestare ut ne propter senectu- 
tem minus sustinere posdt labo- 
res. Neque enim senes, nequc 
pueri callium difficultatem, ac 
inontiumarduitatem, atque aspe- 
ritatem facile fenmt: quod pa- 
tiendum illis qui greges sequun- 
tur pra-sertini aimenticios, ac cs- 
prinos quibus rupes ac silvffi ad 
pabulandi cordi. De Re Rust, 
li. 10. Cf. Colum. ii. 1. 

» Geop. xviiU 1. Yet we find 
mention in Demosthenes of a 
shepherd with a flock of fifty 
sheep under his core. In Gverg. 
ct HncB. $ 13. 



406 



PASrTORAL LIFE. 



men and a boy, with four or five dogs, are some- 
times entmsted with a flock of fiye hundred, of 
which two-thirds are ewes/ The proportion of rams 
to ewes is at present as four to a hundred. 

From very remote ages shepherds had learned 
to avail themselves of the aid of dogs,^ which in 
farms were usually furnished with wooden collars.' 
The breed generally employed in this service, in 
later ages at least, was the ^lolossian,^ which, though 
exceedingly powerful and fierce towards strangers, 
was by its masters found sufiiciently gentle and 
tractable. The shepherd's pipe,^ frequently made 
of the donax, or common river-reed,* likewise used 
in thatching cottages, formed a no less necessary 
accompaniment. Another of their instruments of 
music was the flute crooked at the top, finely po- 
lished and rubbed with bees' wax.^ 

As the Arcadians, descendants of the Pelasgians, 
derived one of their principal delights from music,® 
it is reasonable to infer that the ancestral nation, 
preeminently pastoral, was likewise addicted to this 
science. The feeding of herds and flocks consti- 
tuted the principal occupation of the Proselenoi,^ 
who were little devoted to agriculture, as may be 
inferred fit)m their acorn-eating habits; for no na- 
tion ever continued to feed on mast after they 



^ Leake^ Travels in the Morea^ 
vol. i. p. 17. 

* Plat, de Rep. iv. t. vi. p. 
1S04. Columella describes with 
poetical enthusiasm the charac- 
ter and qualities of the shep- 
herd's dog, which he refuses to 
class among dumb animals^ its 
bark being, according to him, full 
of meaning : • " Canis falso dicitur 
''mutus custos nam quis homi- 
" num clanus, aut tanta vocifera- 

tione bestiam vel furem prae- 

dicat quam iste latratu? quis 
'* famulus amantior domini ? quis 
*' fidelior comes? quis custos incor- 



it 



t€ 



(€ 



« 



« 



ruptior ? quis excubitor inveniri 
potest vigilantior ? quis denique 

" ultor aut vindex constantior ? 

" Quare vel in primis hoc animal 

*' mercari tuerique debet agricola, 
quod et viilam et fructus fami- 
Hamque, at pecora custodit.** 

DeRe Rustic^, 7. 12. 

* Sch. Aristoph. Vesp. 897. 

♦ Aristot. Hist. Animal, ix. 1, 
^ Luc. Bis Accus. §11. 
6Plat.Rep.iii. §10. Stalb. 

7 Theocrit. i. 129. Plat, de 
Rep. t. vi.p. 132. Mosch. Eidyll. 
ill. 54. 8 Athen. xiv. 22. 

^Etym. Mag. 690. 11. 



1'ASTOU.VL LIFE. 



407 



could obtain bread. A report prevailed in the an- 
cient world tliat the Arc-udians were of a poetical 
temjH;raiHent, to which Virgil alludes in the well- 
known veit 



Arcades ambo, 
Et cantare pares et rcspoiidert! parati. 

And as iniprovisatori thcj may possibly have ex- 
celled, though Greece knew nothing of an Arca- 
dian literature. However, chiefly after the example 
of Virgil, the poets of iiiodem times have always 
delighted to convert Arcadia into a kind of pas- 
toral Utopia, which is done by SannaJtaro, Tasso, 
Guarini, Sir Philip Sydney, Daniel, and many others. 
Palmerius a Grentmesnil' discovers something like 
the descendants of the Arcadians among the Irish, 
whose pastoral taste for music he conceives to be 
commemorated by the triangular harp in the na- 
tional insignia. 

Their usual clothing consisted of diptheraj, or 
dressed sheepskins," just as at the present day 
among the Nubian shepherds, whom one may see 
thus clad, roaming through the sandy hollows of 
the Lybian desert. On the inside of these skins 
the traitor Hermion wrote the letters wtiicli betrayed 
the designs of his countrymen to the enemy iu La- 
conia.^ Others wore goatskin cloaks, whieh they 
likewise used as a coverlet at night.* Eurijiides in- 
troduces his chorus of satyrs complaining of this 
miserable costume.* 



•■ Sic ethodic audio Hib«nioi, Cf. Vesp. 442. Kiiit Eq. 998. 



" qui pecuariam exercent, musiLie 
" deditos, et triangulari citlinm 
" (quam vocamuj haqfe) plerum- 
" que se obleclare Boli?re, unJe 
" uunt iniignia rcgni Hibcmia> 
" fuine oUm et erne ad)iuc tale 
" musicum iiulnunentuni." Dsk. 
Gncc. Ant. p. 61. 

« Schol. Arisloph. Nub. 1A. 



BekV. Luc. Tim. §8. We find 
mention al»o made of a cloak of 
wolfskin. I'hiloslrot. Vit. So- 
phint. ii. 0. 

* Suidss. V. ^i^ifHi. t. i, p. 
757. e. 

* HarleH. ad Tlwocrit. v. i, 

* Cyclop. 7!>. seq. 



408 PASTORAL LIFE. 

** Much loved Bacchos where dost thou 
Lonely dwell afar. 
Shaking thy gold locks at eve 
Like a blazing star ? 
While I thy minister am fain 
To serve this one-eyed Cyclop swain, 
A slave borne down by fortune's stroke 
In a wretched goatskin cloak." 

And thus simple was ever their appearance in 
the East. But, as I have hinted above, their very 
great leisure,^ the accidents of their occupation, and 
the grand and regular march of natural phenomena 
in those countries, often ripened their intellects be- 
yond what the condition of a modern heath-trotter 
renders credible. Thus, in the mountains of Chal- 
dflea, astronomy and all -its parasitical sciences took 
birth among the shepherd race. From temperament 
and circumstances, the inhabitants of thinly-peopled 
tracts, if unvexed by wars, are profoundly medita- 
tive. What they behold in serene indistraction 
gradually rouses their thoughts, and presenting itself 
again and again, attended always, as the phenomena 
of the heavens are, by the same accidents, compels 
them to study.* 

^ Lord Bacon considers the " After dinner I walked out 

pastoral state preferable in some " with a shepherd's boy to her- 

respects to the agricultural : — ** barise ; my pastoral botanist 

The two simplest and most ** surprised me not a little with 

primitive trades of life ; that " his nomenclature ; I traced the 

" of the shepherd (who by reason " names of Dioscorides, and Theo- 

•* of his leisure, rests in a place, " phrastus, corrupted, indeed, in 

**and living in view of heaven, "some degree by pronunciation, 

" is a lively image of a contem- ** and by the long «crie« annoruni, 

•* plative life) and that of the ** which had elapsed since the 

*' husbandman ; where we see the " time of these philosophers, but 

" favour of God went to the " many of them were unmutila- 

" shepherd and not to the tiller " ted, and their virtues faithfully 

" of the ground." — Advancement •* handed down in the oral tradi- 

of Learning, p. 64. Shepherds *' tions of the country. My shep- 

made libations of milk to the "herd boy returned to his fold 

Muses. Theocrit. i. 143, seq. "not less satisfied with some 

"paras that I had given him, 

2 Even yet we find the shep- " than I was in finding in such 

herds of Greece retain some " a rustic a repository of ancient 

smack of classical learning : '' science.'' — Sibth. in Walp. i. 



(t 



fASTORAL LIFE. 



409 



But soHtudo is lesa surely the nurse of science 
than of sujierstition. The leaven, which in popu- 
lous cities scarcely swells visibly in the breast, fer- 
ments unrestrainedly in the depths of woods, in the 
hi^li-piled recesses of mountains, in the gloom of 
caverns, where nature invests itself with attributes 
which address themselves powerfully to the heart, 
and appears almost to hold communion with its 
oftsjiring. Hence the wild mythologies of Nomadiu 
races, which are not loose-hanging creeds, to he put 
off and on like a cloak, but a belief inwrought 
into their souls, a part of themselves, and perhaps 
the beat part, since it is from tliis that springs the 
whole dignity and poetry of their lives. In all 



66, seq. There is in Sir John 
Fiirtescu?, De Laudibus Legum 
Anglite, translated by Robert 
Miilcaster, in the reign of Queen 
Elizabt^th, a passage describing 
the paBtoral habite of our ances- 
tors, and the intellectual supeii- 
ority they engendered, which 
api-ears to me to excellent, that 
I cannot regist the temptation 
to introduce It here : — " England 
" is 80 fertile and fmitefull, that 
" comparing quantity to quantity 
"it sunnounteth all other landes 
" in fruitefulnessc. Yea, it bring- 
" etii forth tniite of itselfb, scant 
" provoked by inanu'i iudustrie 
"and labour. For there the 
"landes, the fieldes, the groves, 
" and the woodcs, doc so aboun- 
"dantlye springe, that the same 
" uiitilled doe commonly yield to 
" their owners more prolilc then 
" tilled, though else they bee 
" most fhiitelull of come and 
"gniine. There also are fieldes 
" of pasture inclosed with hedges 
*- und ditches, with trees planted 
" and growing uppon the same, 
" wliirh ore a defence to their 
'■ heaidcs of shecpe and cattctl. 



" against stormee and heate of 
" the sunne ; and the pastures are 
" connnonly watered, eo tiiat eat- 
" tell shutte and closed therein 
" have no neede of keeping nei- 
"ther by day, nor by night. 
" For there bee no wolves, nor 
" beares, nor lyons, wherefore 
" their aheepe lye by night in 
" the fields, unkept within their 
" foides wherewith their land is 
" manured. By the meanei 
" whereof, the men of that coun- 
" trie are scant troubled with 
"any poinefull labour, wherefore 
" they live more spiritually, ns 
" did the ancient fathers, which 
" did rather choose to keepe and 
'■ feede caltell. than to disturlie 
" the quietnesse of the minde with 
" care of husbandrie. And heere- 
" of it Cometh, that menne of 
" this countrie are more apte and 
" fitte to disceme in duubtfull 
"causes of great examination 
"and trial], than ore menne 
" whotlye given to moyling iti 
" the ground ; in whom that 
" rurall exercise engendereth 
" rudeness of witte aiul tninde." 
chap. 29. 



410 PASTORAL LIFE. 

coiiutries fablea rise iti the fields, to flow into and 
be lost m the cities. Observe the wild picture 
which Plato, in his Academic Dream, presents to 
ns of a group of Lydian shepherds. It has all the 
poetical elements of an Arabian tale. 

Tradition, he says, represented Gyges the ancestor 
of Crcesus as a hired shepherd, who with many 
others guarded the imperial flocks in the remoter 
districts of the country. At this time happened a 
great earthquake, attended by floods of rain, which, 
in the parts where they were, opened up a vast 
chasm in the earth. Gyges arriving alone at the 
mouth of the gap stood amazed at its depth and 
magnitude, but observing a practicable descent went 
down, and roamed through its subterraneous pas- 
sages. Many marvellous things, according to th«' 
niythos, did he there see, and among the rest A 
hollow brazen horse, with doors in its side, through, 
which looking in, he beheld a colossal naked corpSfl^ 
with a jewelled ring on its hand. Transferring tfaJB 
to his own finger Gyges departed. 

Shortly afterwards, still wearing the signet, ho 
went to the assembly of shepherds, which met 
monthly, for the purpose of selecting a person to 
bear the usual report of the flocks to the king. 
Sitting down among the rest he happened to turn 
the beavil of his ring towards himself, upon which 
he became invisible to his comi)aniou8,' as he clearly 
discovered from their discourse, which proceeded i 
if about an absent man. Smitten with much wondi 
he returned the gem to its former position and 
again became visible. He made the experiment 
over and over and always with success; upon which, 
like another Macbeth, a vast scheme of ambitioa 
darkly shadowed itself u])on his mind, and a cro' 

■ The reader will in this place when after pushing his specula^ 

perhaps remember the dream of lions as far as they could go he 

Rouraeau, on the enjoyment determines that he was much 

which tlie possession of such a better witliout it. — Reveries du 

ring would have afforded him; Promeneur Solitaire, iii, I37, 



I 

1 

Qd^" 

;nt 
Jh, 
ioa^_ 

iwtt^H 



PASTOILVL LIFE. 



411 



tinge<l slightly with hlood swam before him. It 

d<H« not, however, appear timt like the Tliaiie of 

Cawdor lie was peri»lexo(i with scruples. He does 
not say, — 

" Why do I yield to that suggeBtion, 
WhoBc horrid image dolh unfix my hair. 
And make my seated heart knock at my riba. 
Against the use of nature ? Present facts 
Are less than horrible in)aginingB. 
My thought whose murder's yet but phantasy. 
Shakes so my single slate of man, that function 
1b smothered in surmise, and nothing is, 
But what IB not." 

Gyges, with the ruthless resolution of an Orien- 
tal, forms his plan at once, and coolly works it out. 
lie procures himself to be elected one of the mis- 
sion to the king, and on arriving at the capital, 
dishonours the queen, murders his master, and as- 
cends the throne.' 

This may be regarded as a specimen of the shep- 
herds' tales.' But they moved for the most part in 
an atmosphere of superstitinii, lind ceremonies of 
their own, a mythology of their own, and of the 
whole the pervading spirit was love. In communi- 
ties highly civilised, this passion commonly degene- 
rates into a plaji-hing, despised when weak, and 
mischievous when strong. It is otherwise in the 
early stages of society. There, in proportion to 
their freedom from the aspirations and anxieties of 
ambition, men seek happiness in the cultivation of 
the alTcctions. The society of women is to them 
all in all. And the evils that infest them, disturb 



I Plat. Rep. ii. 5 3. Cf. x, 
§ 1'2. Stallb. Among the guds 
similar powers were attribute to 
the helmet of Hadea. Thut, in 
Homer, Athena is concealed from 
Mars by the effect of this en- 
chanted piece of armour. — Iliad, 
(, 8«A. Apolbd. ii. 4, 2. 



* To the tame class belongs 
that tradiUon of a braien tablet 
thrown up by a fountain in Ly- 
cia foretelling the overthrow of 
the Persian monarchy by tlie 
Ga'eks.— Plut. Alexaud. § 1 7, 



412 PASTORAL LIFE. 

tbuir quiet, and engender crime, spring, too, froi 
the same bitter-sweet fountain, which flo 
honey or gall according to the temper of those wl 
drink of it. Consequently, in contemplating the 
pastoral life of Greece, we must beware not to 
overlook the shepherdesses,' those heroines of Bu- 
colic poetry, whose freshness and nature still sur- 
vive in Theocritus, and other fragments of anti- 
quity, and may operate as an antidote to that in- 
sipid spawn whose loves and lamentations alTect UB 
like ipecacuanha in modern pastorals. | 

In these latitudes of society, at least, women enJ 
joyed their freedom, and the glimpses presented to' 
us of them as they there existed may be regarded 
among the chief charms of Greek poetry. Only, 
for example, observe the picture which Chaeremoa, 
the Flower Poet, has delineated of a bevy of 
tiful virgins sporting by moonlight : 

" There one reclined aparl I saw, within the moon's pale Kglit, 
With bosom through her parted robe appearing snowy white; 
Another danced, and floating free her garments in the breeze 
Siie seemed as buoyant as the wave that leaps o'er summer s 
While dusky shadows all around shrunk backward from the plao^ 
Chased by the beaming splendour shed like sunshine Irom hei faocrj 
Beside this liviug picture stood a maiden passing fair 
With soft round arms exposed; a fourth with free and graceful »ir. 
Like Dian when tho bounding hart she tracks through morning dew, 
Bared through the opening of her robes ber lovely limbs to view. 
And oh I the image of her charms, as clouds in heaven above. 
Mirrored by streams, left on my soul the stamp of hopclesa lov«. 
And slumbering near them others lay, on beds of sweetest flow( 
The dusky petaled violet, the rose of Paphian bowers. 
The inula and saffron flower, which on their garments cast. 
And veils, sucli hues as deck the sky when day is ebbing fast 
While far and near tall marjonim bedecked the fairy ground. 
Loading with sweets the vagrant winds that frolicked all aroi 

In the ordinary bucolic poets women to be sul 
are sketched with a rude pencil, though coquettij 

■ Cf. Varr. I>e Re Rust. ii. 10. « Athen. xiii. 87. 




, PASTORAL LIFE. 413 

aa queens, of wlik-Ii wo liavf an oxeniplification in 
the picture on the shejihenrs cup : ' 

Anil there, by ivy shaded, sits a maid divinely wrought, 
With veil and circlet on her brows, by two fond lovere sought. 
Both beautiful with flowing hair, both sueing to be heard, 
On this side one, the other there, but neither is preferred. 
For now on thia, on that anon, slie pours her witching smile. 
Like sunshine on the buds of hope, in fiitsehood all and guile. 
Though ceaselessly, with swetUng eyes, they seek her heart to 

move. 
By every soft and touching art that wins a maiden's love.- 

Then? is here no straining after the ideal. Like 
Titian's beauties, these shepherdesses are all crea- 
tures of this earth, filled witli robust health, dark- 
eyed, warm, impassioned, and somewhat deficient in 
reserve. They understand well how to act their 
part in a dialogue. For every bolt shot at them 
they can return another as keen. Each bower and 
bosky bourne seems redolent of their smiles ; their 
laughter awakens the echoes; their ruddy lips and 
pearly teeth hang like a vision over every bubbling 
spring and love-hiding thicket which they were wont 
to frequent. Hence the charm of Tlieocritus. And 
a still stronger ehann perhaps would have belonged 
to the pages of him who should have painted the 
shepherd's life of a remoter age,^ when none were 
above such an occupation, which therefore united 
at once all the dignity of lofty independence with 
the careless freedom of manners and unapprehensive 
enjoyment in which consisti* the secret source of all 
the pleasure which rustic pictures attbrd. Most of 
his creations, though not all, are in this respect want- 



> This wai the mvaiiSmv, a 
gobtet or cup turned of ivy vood. 
It was usually rubbed with wax 
and polished, for the purpose of 
bringing out the beautiful carving 
which adorned it. Cf Etyni. 
Mag. 5\6.SS. 



■ Theocrit. i. 33, sqij. 

' Though even here we detect 
the preMnce of hirelings; for Ho- 
mer observe*, that, among the 
Lestrigons, such shepherds as 
could do with little sleep received 
double wages. Odyss. k. Si, ki). 



414 PASTORAL LIFE. 

ing. Ideas of penury' slip in, anJ, in the midst 
rich poetry, check the developement of pleasurabli 
feelings. For the musical swain.s thougli appareiitl; 
ambitious of nought but the reputatiou of song, pei 
mit us to discover, that they are but hirelings tendingi 
flocks not their own. The contrast between persons 
of tliis class and those wiio are owners of the sheep; 
they tend, is forcibly pointed out in the sacred lan- 
guage of Christ : " I am the good shepherd : thftj 
" good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. But 
" he that is an hireling and not the shepherd and 
" whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf 
" coming, and leaveth the sheep and fleeth, and 
" the wolf catcheth them and seattereth the sheej 
"The hireling fleeth because he is a hireling, 
" careth not for the sheep. I am the good shep* 
" herd and know my sheep and am known of mine. 
" As the Father knoweth me even so know I the 
" Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep."' 
The same affectionate tenderness is attributed to 
shepherds in the prophetic writings : " he shall feedr' 
" his flocks like a shejtherd, he shall gather the 
" lambs with his arm, and carry them in Ids bosom, 
" and shall gently lead those that are with young."* 

In the matter of virtues and vices, the shepherds 
of antiquity were very much, no doubt, like other: 
men. Their habits were such as grew naturally oiife' 
of their position. Towards whatever their feelings led 
them they proceeded vehemently, and with that sin-? 
gleuess of purpose which belongs to men of simple; 
and decided chai'acter.* They were too commonlj 



teriaticB, that ambition and 1 
spirit of conquest are poweriullyT 
excited by the ahepherd's manner 
of life. " The thrones of Aaa 
" have been repeatedly overturned 
" by the aliepherds of the north, 
" and their arms have spread ter- 
" n>r and dcvaslation over tlie 
" mo8t fertile and warlike coun- 
" tries of Europe. On this occk"* 



tid ^_ 

I 



■ In fact black slaves, from 
Africa, were sometiinea employed 
as Bhepherde, at least in Sicily. 
Theoc. i. S4. 

' John, X. 11, sqq. 

' haiab, xl. 11. 

* It has been observed by Qib- 
Iwn, who had diligently studied 
the pastoral nations of Asia in 
their general habits and charac- 



PASTORAL LIFE. 



415 



creatures of mere impulse. From the peculiar form of 
their commuDion with nature, which, like the masses 
of Egjjttiaii architecture, was continued and mono- 
tonous, they acquired a peculiarity of mental tem- 
perament, warm, as it were, in parts, and cold in 
parts. Every circumstance aroimd them tended to 
rouse, pique, and inflame the passion of desire and 
its concomitants ; the pairing of their flocks, of 
the hirds, of the very wild beasts whose courage or 
ferocity they dreaded ; their own leisure combined 
with tiie excess of health, the influence of climate, 
the solicitations of opportunity, impelled them into 
excess; and, accordingly, their morals in this respect 
sank to a low standard, and rendered them any 
thing but mo<lel8 of the golden age. The intellect 
of course was comparatively little cultivated ; and 
there being no other check upon the feelings, sui- 
cides, murders of jealousy, and other evidences of 
ill-regulated passion would often occur.' 

But, in proportion as we pierce furtlier hack into 
antiquity, these tragical incidents Iwcome fewer ; not 
merely because our knowledge of those ages is more 
scanty, but that in ruder times morality is com- 
paratively lax, and men's taste less fastidious. The 
rigid laws of marriage were then little olwerved. 
Women passed from husband to husbaud without 
losiug character or caste; and when they produced 
illegitimate offspring attributed the paternity to some 



" uon, as well as od many others, 
'* the sober historian ia forcibly 
" awakened from a pleasing vision 
" and ig compelled wilh some re- 
" luctance W confeM, that the 
" pastoral mnmicn which have 
" been adorned with the fwrest 
" attributes of peace and inno- 
" cence are mudi better adopted 
" to the fierce and cruel habits of 
" a military life." Decline and 
Fall of Uie Roman Empire, iv. 348. 
Hippocrates in his brief but vigo- 



rous manner has presented us 
with a picture of the Scythian 
shepherd's life in ancient times 
(De At-r. et Loc. § 98, e<jq.) and 
from modem travellers we find 
that it differed very little from 
that which they lead at the pre- 
sent day. See the travels of Bu- 
briquis in Hatcluyt, i. 101, iqq. 
See also the notes of Coray on 
HippocrateB, t. ii. 380, seq. 

* Theocritus describes Daphnis 
dying for love. Eidyll. i. 135. 



eas H 
hv ^ 



41G PASTORAL LIFE. 

god, and scarcely coiisidert'd the circumstance a mis-- 
fortune.' Half the princes of the flomeric age were 
illegitimate; for this is what is always meant by 
saying they were descended from the gods. jEneaa 
was the son of some young woman whom Anchii 
met on the mountains, where he pastured bis 
thcr's flocks and pretended to have been loved by 
Aphrodite.' Persons so circumstanced were, doubt- 
less, capable of much romance. Nymphs and god- 
desses peoi>led their imagination, and their ima^- 
uation let loose its brood upon the woods. Poetwl 
afterwards, able to infuse a soul into these rustiei 
traditions, gave a local habitation and a name 
every beautiful legend they could collect. Hei 
that sunny picture, the interview of Aphrodite an< 
Ancbises amid the lofty recesses, the grassy sloi 
the sparkling leaping brooks, and old umbrageoi 
forests of Rlouut Ida. Already, however, the foi 
of dress was known, which Montaigne afterwardi 
celebrated ; for the Homeric bard, about to recordi 
an interview between the goddess and her sbeph* 
lover, instead of supposing her to have been 

" When utindorned, adorned the moBt," 

describes all the arts of a luxurious toilette. 

The picture, however, of pastoral life which hi 
suggests rather than describes, is worked out witW 
strokes of great simplicity. All the other herds- 
men disperse in the execution of their several du- 
ties, leaving Anchises alone in the cAttle-sheds,* 
spacious in dimensions, and tastefully erected, whero 
he amuses his solitary leisure with the music of " ' 
cithara. While thus engaged he beholds the 
proach of the goddess,' aud is at once struck wii 

1 Horn. Hymn, ad Van. 54, the visits of a very different 

Bqq. trcBB as he pastured liis herds 

« Compare Troliope, Notes on Mount Osaa, near the Hsmo- 
St. John, X, i, nian spring ; for a dragon of 



sds,' 
lero^H 

ap-M 
ritl^l 



' Aleuas, the Thessalian, is enomious size, becomiDg 
said to have Wn favoiirod with nioured of liis lieauly and goldc 



PASTORAL LIFE. 417 

her beauty and the splendour of her raiment. At 
the unearthly vision his love is kindled ; but the 
poet, skilled in the mysteries of the heart, ohasteus 
his passion by overmastering fecliuga of reverence, 
such as necessarily belong to unsophisticated youth. 
Anchises constitutes, indeed, the beau ideal of an 
heroic shepherd, simple, high-minded, ingenuous, 
venturous and fearless in contests with man or 
beast, but iu his intercourse with woman gentle, re- 
verent, 

'• And of hia port as meek aa ia a maid," 

In fact, the gallant knights of romance seem rather 
to have been modelled after the heroic warriors of 
Greece, than from any realities supplied by the chi- 
valrous ages. The author of the Hymn is careful 
in describing the shepherd's couch, to insinuate with 
how great strength and courage he was endowed, 
lie reclines, we are told, on skins of bears and 
lions slain by his own hand, though over these 
there were cast, for show, garments of the softest 
texture.' 

Throughout this work it has been seen how the in- 
fluence of climate and position concurred in the for- 
mation of the Greek character. We may ourselves 
put the doctrine to the proof by observing the effect 
upon our minds of those reflections of landscapes which 
apiK?ar in language ; rude Boroal scenes exciting the 
spirit of contention and energy; while the soft val- 
leys, groves, and odoriferous gardens of the South 
produce a calm upon our thoughts favourable to the 
more benevolent emotions. Hellenic shepherds, 
therefore, no other causes preventing, may upon 
the whole be supposed to have been humane. 

hair, fre^iuently approached the th? fountain wa* bo near it, may 

alicpherd vfith preitnts of gwne bo hoped was a work of lupcr- 

of her own catching. Having cro^ialion. j-Klian. Do Nat. Ani- 

laid her gif^i at his (eet, she maJ. viii. 11. 
would ktas his locki and lick his 

faco with her totigue. which, a« < Hjmn. ad Vener. I£8, pqq. 

VOL. II. 2 K 



418 



PASTORAL LIFE. 



Indeed, the very curious adventures of a sophist,^ 
in the mountains of Eubcea, preserved among the 
literary wrecks of antiquity, open up to our view 
a picture of pastoral life which, in spite of much 
rudeness and indigence, exhibits the Greek charac- 
ter in its original roughness and simplicity, full of 
kindness, full of gentleness, full of hospitable pro- 
pensities, which would do honour to the noblest 
Arab Sheikh. And the material scene itself, in 
every feature Grecian, harmonises exactly with the 
moral landscape. 

The eastern shores of the island of Negropont, 
beetled over by Mount Caphareus,* and indented by 
no creeks or harbours, were in antiquity infamous 
for shipwrecks, notwithstanding that they formed 
the principal station of the purple fishers.' Cast 
away on this coast, the sophist Dion, for his elo- 
quence surnamed of the golden-mouth, fell in with 
a pastoral hunter who, entertaining him generously, 
furnished at the same time a complete idea of the 
rude herdsman, who preserved in the vicinity of the 
highest civilisation known to the old world the sim- 
plicity of the Homeric Abantes.* Nay, this wild 
sportsman, pursuing with his huge dogs a stag along 



1 Dion ChrysoBtom. Orat. vii. 
t. i. p. 219, sqq. Phot. 166. a. 24. 

^ On this mountain and the 
mythological legends attached to 
it, see Virg, iEn. xi. 260, with 
the note of Servius. Ovid. Me- 
tamorph. xiv. 472. Cf. Propert. 
V. 115, sqq. Jacobs. Plin. iv. 21. 
An ancient scholiast, quoted by 
Morell, thus relates the revenge 
of Nauplios : HavwXioc rov vUoq 
^rl rov HaXafiriBovc rov (povov 
dfjivvSfJLeyoQ roue "EXKiiraQ rov 
dvifiov avrol^ivtrravTOQ* inii rov- 
Tov SicL ^aXdrrric cytXwv. avro^ 
ovroc Toy Katprfpia KaraXa^ijity 
clra yvKroc irvptjivuty diro rCuy 
etceitre vtrptaBiHy vdyiity, ^irdra 



wpotTyiiy, dtc ^^ riyi evwpoad^ 
djcry role dirorofioig KprifxyolQ cic 
fidOoc €^pi(tMtfj,iyois Kal yoipdoi 
ouiXTfjifjiEvoic. Kal ovrtag dirpd' 
girnaQ dirbiX6yro. Schediasm. 
&c., in Dion. t. ii. p. 580, seq. 
Cf. Strab. viii. 6. t. ii. p. 195. 
Apollodor. ii. i. 5. Orph. Argo- 
naut. 204^ sqq. 

* On the purple fisheries of 
Eubcea, cf. Feder. Morell. Sche- 
diasm. &c., in Dion. ii. 576. 
Reiske. and Aristot. Hist, Ani- 
mal. V. 15. 

* A life equally simple is led 
by the Albanian shepherds of the 
present day. « They live on the 



PASTORAL LU'E. 



419 



tlio cliffs, powerful in limb, hale in colour, and with 
loii^ linir streaming over liis shoulders, appeared to 
be the oatural descendant of thoBO Heroic warriors.' 
Armed with his hunting-knife, he flays and cuts up 
the stag upon the spot, and taking along with him 
the skin and choicest pieces of venison abandons the 
remainder on the beach. As they go along he dis- 
j'lays the knowledge wherewith experience stores 
the rustic mind. lie understands the signs of the 
weather, and from the clouds which caji the sum- 
mits of Caphareus foretells how long the sea will 
continue unnavigable." 

Ilude as an American baekwoo<l8raan, he was pre- 
cipitated, by the rare luck of meeting with a stran- 
ger, into equal inquisitivencss and garrulity. He put 
questions without waiting for im answer. He gos- 
sipped of his own concerns; explained without being 
aske<l the whole economy of his life ; and exhibiteil 
all that enthusiasm of beneficence which belongs to 
human nature when uncorrupted by the thirst of 
gold. There is a rare truth in the description; far 
too much ever to have gracetl a sojihist's tale, un- 
less nature had supplied the model. 

" There are two of us," says he, " who inhabit toge- 
ther the same rude nook, Laving married sisters, 
by whom we have both sons and daughters, ^\'e 
derive our subsistence principally from tlie chaso, 
paying but little attention to agriculture, since we 
ha%'e 110 land of our own. Nor were our fathers 
!K?tter off in this respect than ourselves ; for, though 
freeborn citizens, they were poor, and by their con- 



" mountains, in the vale or the 
" plain, OB the varying aeasone 
" require, under nrbours, or 
" iheds, covered with boughs, 
" tending their llockR ahrond, or 
" milking the ewes and ihe-gimts 
" at the fold, and making cheese 
" and butter to supply the city." 
Chandler, ii. p. \35. 

I Iliad, ll 5U. u. 4C+. The 



long hair of t)ieae ancient war- 
riors is thus mentioned by the 
Homeric Scholiast : rd oriau 
fiipn r« KffaXqc troiiCi-r(c ri-- 
Cjiiiac W^i*. tiAor ii rnuro r^c 

Tdc rp(\at fofld'uc •X"*'' *■ '• 
p. 83. Bokker. 

« Ct Thcoph. Do Sign. Phi». 
i. 22. 

2 B 9 



420 



PASTORAL LIFE. 



dition constrained to tend the herds of another, 
a man of great property, owning vast droves of 
cattle, numerous horses and sheep, several beauti- 
ful estates, with many other possessions, and all 
these moimtains as far as you can see. This opu- 
lence, however, became his ruin. For the emperor, 
casting a covetous eye upon his domains, put him 
to deaths that he might have a pretext for seizing 
on them. Our few beasts went along with our 
master's, and the wages due to us there was no 
one to pay. 

" Here, therefore, of necessity we remained^ where 
two or three huts were left us, with a slight wooden 
shed in which the calves had been housed in the sum- 
mer nights.* For, during winter, we had been used to 
descend for pasture to the plains where, in the pro- 
per season, stores of hay were also laid up; but 
with the re-appearance of summer we returned again 
to the mountains. The spot which had formed our 
principal station now became our fixed dwelling. 
Branching off on either hand is a deep and shady 
valley, having in the middle a rivulet so shallow as 
to be easily traversed, both by cattle and their young. 
This stream, flowing from a spring hard by, is pure 
and perennial and cooled by the summer wind blow- 
ing perpetually up the ravine. The encircling forests 
of oak stretch forth their boughs far above, over a 



^ Had Bernardin de St. Pierre 
read this when he wrote his In- 
dian Cottage ? 

* An equal degree of content- 
ment to that which in this recital 
we find exhibited by the Euboean 
herdsmen^ is still in our own 
times displayed by the rough pea- 
sants of the Lipari islands, in the 
midst of far greater privations : — 
'' It is incredible at the same time 
'' how contented these islanders 
" are amid all their poverty. U- 

lysses perhaps cherished not a 

greater love for his Ithaca than 



€< 



it 



" they bear to their Eolian rocks 
" which, wretched as they may 
appear, they would not ex- 
change for the Fortunate islands. 
Frequently have I entered their 
'* huts which seem like the nests 
of birds hung to the cliffs. They 
are framed of pieces of lava iU- 
*' joined together, equally desti- 
" tute of ornament within and 
" without, and scarcely admitting 
" a feeble uncertain light, like 
" some gloomy cavern. Spal- 
lanzani. Travels in the Two Si- 
cilies, iv. 1 47. 



(€ 



€t 



(C 






PASTORAL LIFE. 



421 



cariffit of soft verdure, which descends with a gentle 
slope into the stream, giving birth to a few gad-flies,' 
or any other insect hurtful to herds. Extending 
around are nnmerous lovely meadows, dotted with 
lofty trees, where the grass is green and luxuriant 
throughout the year" 

The eloquence of this description, I mean in the 
original, is not unworthy to be compared with that 
in the Phfedrus" which has given eternal bloom to 
the platane-tree and agnus castus on the banks of 
the Ilissos. 

The conversion of these herdsmen into hunters 
is narrated by Dion with a patient simplicity worthy 
of Defoe. An air of solitude, snatched from Robin- 
son Crusoe's island, seems to breathe at his bidding 
over Eubcea. The same education operates strange 
changes both in man and dog ; and bringing them 
into hostile contact with wolves, wild boars, stags, 
and other large animals, gives the latter a taste for 
blood, and renders him tierce and destructive. Sub- 
sisting by the chase, they pursued it summer and 
winter, following both hares and fallow-fleer by their 
tracks in the snow. In their intervals of leisure 



Aapcr, acerba sonanB.- quo lota 

extern Uk sylvia 
Diffugiunt annenta ; furit mugili- 

bus sether 
ConcuBBtifi, sylvreque et Bicci ripa 

Tanugri. 

Qeorg. iii, 1 43, sqq. 

See the note of PhilargyriuB in 
toe. AriatoL Hiit. Animal, iv. 4. 



' The absence of these tonnen- 
tors of cattle was considered a 
matter of great importance by the 
ancients. VirpI, where he i* 
giving directions respecting tiie 
best pastures 8 lu ted to the youthful 
mothers of (he herds, celebrates 
the exploits of the gadfly : 
Saltibus in vacuis paecant, ct ple- 
na secundum 
Fhiiiiina : diubcus ubi, et viiidis- 

sima gramine ripa, 
Spvluncceque tegant, et soxea pro- 

cubet umbra. 
Est lucos Sklari circa, ilicibuaque 

virentem 
Plurimus Alburnum Tolitani, cui 

nomen a<ilo 
Romanuni est, lestrum Oraii ver- 

tcre voeanles: 



" Plat. 0pp. t. L p. 9. To pro- 
tect from pollution spots shaded 
by noble trees they were accus- 
tomed to consecrate them to some 
god, and to erect beoeath the over- 
honing branches statues and al- 
tars. iXib. In Crete the fountains 
are often shaded still b^ majestic 
plane-trees. Pashlcy, ti. 31. 



422 



PASTORAL LIFE. 



they strengthened and beautified their dwellings, 
saw their children intermarry and grow up to suc- 
ceed them, without even once approaching any city 
or even village. 

The style of hospitality prevalent among such men 
in antiquity differs very little from that which one 
would now find in the hut of a good-natured Al- 
banian.^ Their industry rendered them independent, 
and their independence rendered them generous. By 
degrees their rustic cottages were surrounded by a 
garden and fruit-trees, their court was walled in, 
and luxuriant vines hung their foliage and purple 
fruit over windows and porch. On the arrival of a 
stranger, the wife takes her station at table beside 
her husband. Their marriageable daughter, in the 
bloom and beauty of youth, aids her brothers in 
waiting at table, where host and guest recline on 



* Or even in the shed of a 
Turkish shepherd in Asia Minor. 
Dr. Chandler has a passage illus- 
trative of the hospitality of pasto- 
ral tribes^ which is at once so 
picturesque and concise that I am 
tempted to transcribe it : *' About 
" two in the morning our whole 
attention was fixed by the 
barking of dogs^ which^ as we 
advanced, became exceedingly 
furious. Deceived by the light 
" of the moon we now fencied we 
'* could see a village, and were 
** much mortified to find only a 
" station of poor goatherds with- 
'* out even a shed, and nothing 
'* for our horses to eat. They 
were lying wrapped in their 
thick capotes or loose-coats by 
<< some glimmering embers, among 
*^ the bushes in a dale under a 
spreadmg tree by the fold. 
They received us hospitably, 
heaping on fresh fuel and pro- 
ducing caimac or sour curds 
and coarse bread which they 



(( 



<€ 

a 



€< 



« 



i( 



tt 



€C 



<€ 



<€ 



it 



** toasted for us on the coals. 
'^ We made a scanty meal, sitting 
" on the ground lighted by the 
*' fire and by the moon, after 
" which sleep suddenly overpow- 
" ered me. On waking I found 
" my companions by my side, 
** sharing in the comfortable cover 
" of the Janizary's doak which 
^* he had carefully spread over us. 
" I was now much struck with 
^' the wild appearance of the spot. 
" The tree was hung with rustic 
*^ utensils, the she-goats in a pen 
" sneezed and bleated and rustled 
" to and fro ; the shrubs, by which 
'' our horses stood, were leafless, 
** and the earth bare ; a black 
" cauldron with milk was aim- 
'' mering over the fire, and a 
" figure more than gaunt or sa- 
" vage close by us was struggling 
'* on the ground with a kid whose 
" ears he had slit, and was en- 
deavouring to cauterise with a 
piece of red-hot iron." Chan- 
dler, vol. i. 180, seq. 



it 



<( 



PASTORAL LIFE. 423 

highly raised divnnB of leaves covered with the skins of 
boasts. The young maiden, like a rustic Hebe, pours 
out the wine, dark and fragrant, while the youths 
served up the dishee and then laid out a table for 
themselves and dined together. And the sophist, 
versed in the courts of satraps and kings, conceived 
these rude hunters of the tnouutains the happiest 
and most enviable of mankind. 

But a pastoral picture is incomplete \vithoiit love. 
The youthful beauty of Capharuus, hidden, like 
another Nouronihar' from the world, is accordingly 
beloved by her cousin, an adventurous hunter like 
her sire, who joins the family circle in the eveuing, 
accompanied by his father, bringing iu his hand a haro 
as a present to his mistress. The old man salutes 
the guest, the youtli offers his present with a kiss, 
and immediately undertakes the office of the girl, 
who thereupon resumes her place beside her mother. 

Observing this arrangement, the stranger inquires 
whether she is not soon to be married to somo 
Wealthy peasant, who might benefit the family, 
upon which the youth and maiden blush, and her 
father replies, 

" Nay, hut she will take a husband, humble in 
" rank, and tike ourselves a hunter," glancing at tbo 
same time at the tover. 

"How is it then that you wait?" inquired the 
stranger. "Do you exjiect him from the village?" 

" No," answered the father, " he is not far off; 
" and so soon a^ we can fix upon a fortunate day 
" the nuptials will Ijo celebrated." 

" And by what do you judge of a fortunate ilay ? " 

"The moon must be approaching the full, the 
" weather fair, and the atmo8i>hero transparent." 

" And is the youth in reality an abk- hunter ? " 

" I am," said the young man, answering for hioi' 
self, " in the chase of the stag or boar, as you 
" yourself, if you please, shall judge to-morrow " 



k 



< Uutory of the Caliph Vftthok. p. 102- 






424 PASTORAL LIFE. 

" And did you take this hare, my friend ? " 

" I did,^' replied he with a smile, " having set a 
** gin for him bv night ; * the weather being sur- 
^^ passing beautiful, and the moon larger than it 
"ever was before." 

Upon this both the old men laughed, and the 
lover abashed held his peace. 

" But,'* observed the father of the maiden, " it 

is no fault of mine that the solemnity is deferred ; 

we only wait at your father's desire, till a victim 

can be purchased ; for a sacrifice must be offered 

" to the gods." 

•* With respect to the victim," interposed the 
maiden's younger brother, "he has long provided 
"one, and a noble one too, which is now feeding 
" behind the cottage."' 

" And is it truly so ? "" demanded the old man. 

" It is,'" replied the lad. 

"And where,*' addressing the youth, "did you 
" procure it ? '* inquired they. 

" When we took the wild sow,* which was fol- 
lowed by her litter," answered he, " and the greater 
" number, swifter than hares, made their escape ; I 
"hit one with a stone, and my companions coming 
"up threw a skin over him. This I secured, and 
"exchanged in the village for a young domestic 
"pig which has been fatted in a sty behind the 
" house." 

" I now understand," exclaimed the father, " the 
" cause of your mother's mirth when I would won- 
"der what that grunting could be, and how the 
" barley was disappearing so fast.*' 

" Nevertheless," observed the young man, " to be 
"properly fatted our Eubcean swine require acorns.* 

^ Cf. Philost. Icon. ii. 26, p. occasionally make their appear- 

851. ance in the latter country. 176. 

2 The wild hog is still one of ^ To this best and inost eco- 

the most common animals in the nomical food for hogs. Homer 

forests of Greece and Asia Minor, makes allusion where he intro- 

Chandler, i. 77. Even wild bulls duces the goddess Circe attending 



PASTOHAL I.1FE. 



425 



"However, if you will just step this way I will 
" show licr to you." 

Upon which off they went, the boys quite at a 
run, and in vast glee. 

In the meantime, tho maiden going into the 
other cottage, brought forth a quantity of split ser- 
vice-berries,' medlars,' and winter ajiples, and bunches 
of superb grapes, bursting ripe,' and, brushing down 
the table, she spread thera out there upon a layer 
of clean fern. Next moment the lads returned 
bringing in the pig, with much joking and shouts 
of laughter. Then came, too, the young man's mo- 
ther, with two of his little brothers, and they brought 
along with them nice white loaves, with boiled eggs 
in wooden salvers, with a quantity of parched peas. 
Having embraced her brother, with his wife and 
daughter, she sat down beside her husband, and 
said, 

" Behold the victim, which my son has long fed 
"for his marriage, and the other things also are 
" ready ; botli the barley-meal and the flour. A 
" little wine, perhaps, may bo wanting, but even 
" this we can easily procure from tho village." 

And her son standing near her, fixed liis eyes 
wistfully upon his fiither-in-Iaw. 

The latter smilingly observed, — 

" All delay now is on the lover's part, who, per- 
" haps, is anxious to fatten his pig." 



to her sty, wliich she hod fJUrd 
with the transfurmed i-oiiipaniooa 
of Odyueus : 

capwoy re •.'panlrj^ 

Od. .. Z41,»ii«l. Cf. y. +09. 



1 food of the hog to which ii. 26, p. S51. 



he elsewhere odds ihe fruit of the 
iiMb. viU. 9. 

' Cf. Theopli. HibU Plant, ii. 
2. lO.ii.7.7— iii. C. fl— vi.8. II. 
'Oil, aicpofpirwy <[cot fll^mt fi':- 

Tim. Lec. Platon. in voce with 
the note of Ruhnken. 

' On the three kinds of med- 
ian, Theoph. HiKt. PItuit. iii. ) 2. A. 
Philost. Icon. L 31, p. 80V. 



426 PASTORAL LIFE. 

** As to her,*' said the youth, " she is borstiDg with 
« fat." 

Upon this the sophist^ willing to aid the loyer, 
interposed, and remarked, — 

^ But you must take care lest while the pig is 
** fattening he himself grow thin.'' 

!* The stranger's remark is just," said his mother ; 
^ for already he is more meagre than he used to be ; 
^' and I have of late observ^ him to be wakeful at 
** night, and to go forth from the cottage." 

*^ Oh ! that," said he, *^ was when the dogs barked, 
^* and I stepped out to see what was the matter." 

" Not you !" said his mother, — ^ but went mo]Hng 
*^ about. Let us, therefore," continued she, ^ put him 
" to no further trial." 

And throwing her arms about her sister, the maid- 
en's mother, she kissed her; whereupon the latter, 
addressing her husband, said, — 

** Let us grant them their desire." 

To which he agreed ; and it was resolved, that the 
marriage should be solenmissed in three days, the 
stranger being invited to remain and witness it, which 
he did. 

The above picture of an obscure herdsman's life 
in its naked simplicity, void of all embellishment, 
will probably be thought more trustworthy than the 
elaborate descriptions of the poets, notwithstanding 
that, even in these, it is easy to separate the real 
from the fictitious. 

In the estimation of the Greeks the herdsman^ 
commonly ranked before the shepherd, and the latter 
before the goatherd, — for the dream of rank pursues 
mankind even amid the quiet of the fields, — and 
their manners are supposed to have corresponded. 

^ Robust persons, with loud obtained among the Greeks the 

voices, were ordinarily chosen for name of roi/icVec ; while the 

herdsmen, while goatherds were keepers of other flocks and herds 

selected for their lightness and were termed alvoXoc, SchoL 

agility. Geop. ii. 1. Shepherds Theoc i. 6. 



PASTORAL LIIE. 427 

PuIIux,' however, reckons tlie goatherd next after 
the iierdsman, and again inverts the order. \'^arro, 
on the otiicr hand, gives precedence to the shepherd 
as the most ancient, the sheep, in hia opinion, having 
been the animal earliest tamed. 

In point of utility tlie goat, in some parts of the 
ancient world, rivalled the sheep, prodncing fine hair 
which was shorn like wool.* I may remark, too, in 
passing, that the large-tailed sheep still common in 
Asia Minor, as well as at the Cape, were anciently 
plentiful in Syria, where, according to the great 
naturalist,' their tails attained a cubit in breadth. 
In some parts of Arabia another more curious breed 
was found, mth tails three cubits in length, to carry 
which they were supplied by the ingenuity of the 
shepherds with wooden carriages.* 

In most parts of Greece, as well as in the East, 
it was custorasry to bring home the sheep from pas- 
ture towards evening, and shut them up for the night 
in warm aud roomy cotes, which were surrounded by 



» Onomaat. i. 2i9. 

" Arist. Hist. Anim.viU. 27.3. 
Things manufactured from the 
hair of thia animal were called 
KMma. Etym. Mag.513. +1. 

» Arist. Hist. Anini. viii. 27. 
S. Speaking of the neighbour- 
hood of Smyrna, — The " sheep," 
observed Dr. Chandler, " have 
" bruad tails, hanging dowti like 
" an apron, wme weighing eight, 
" ten, or more pounds. These 
" are eaten as a dainty, and the 
" fat, belbre they are full-grown, 
" accounted ai delicious as mor- 
" row." Travels, i. 77. Of Hie 
broad-tailed riieep mentioned by 
the ancients the most remark- 
able were thoee of India, where, 
according to Ctoaioa. of veradoua 
memory, both they and the goats 
went larger than asses : — rd irpo- 
£ara rif 'l»'fw>' Ktil tu olycc ft'- 



iovt ovuy ilai, ml 
nVd Tiainipuy Ktil ft wc ('! ru 
wo\i, ijipvoi Si eiipdc [ifyaKat' iiu 
Tww rot-a'Jwf drorinroviny Iva 
fvfbiKrui oxE^'vOiit. Phot. Bil>- 
lioth. Cod. 78. p. 4G. b. Bek- 
ker. >Elian. de Nat. Aiiiiiinl. iv. 
38. relates, without any lynip- 
toins of incredulity, preciwly the 
same fact; and then adds a cir- 
cumstance which may keep in 
countenance the Abyssinian story 
of Drucc respecting the carving of 
a rump-steak from a live cow, 
— for the Indiana, observes JE- 
lisn, were in the habit of cutting 
open the tails of the rams, ex* 
tracting all the fat, and then tow- 
ing tliem up i^in so dexlemuily 
that in a short time no trace of 
the Iiicisiuri remained visible. 

* Herud. iii. 113. i£Uaii.Hist. 
Auiui. X. 4. 



428 



PASTORAL LIFE. 



wattled fences,^ strong and high, both to prevent 
them from leaping over, and to exclude the wild 
beasts which, in remoter ages, abounded in the moun- 
tains. They were carefully roofed over, and every 
other precaution was taken to render them perfectly 
dry, the floor being usually pitched with stones, and 
slightly inclined. Their bedding^ consisted of cala- 
minth and asphodel and pennyroyal and polion (a 
sort of herb whose leaves appear white in the morn- 
ing, of a purple colour at noon, and blue when the 
sun sets^) and fleabane and southernwood and ori- 
gany,* all which repel vermin. The more completely 
to effect the same purpose, they were, likewise, in 
the habit of fumigating the cotes from time to time, 
by burning in them several locks of some shepherdess's 
hair,^ together with gum ammoniac, hartshorn, the 
hoofs or hair of goats, bitumen, cassia, fleabane, or 
ealaminth, for the smell of which serpents were 
thought to have a peculiar aversion.^ Their ordinary 
food, while in the folds, consisted of green clover and 
cytisus, fenugreek, oaten and barley straw, and vege- 
table stalks,^ which were supposed to be improved 
if sprinkled on the threshing-floor with brine, figs 
blown down by the wind, and dry leaves. 



1 Bound together, probably, by 
wild succory or cneoron, as in mo- 
dem times by the withe-wind. 
Theoph. Hist. Plant, vii. 11. d. 
vi. 2. 2. 

2 Geop. xviii. 2. 
5 Plin. xxi. 7. 

^ Dioscor. iii. 32. 

* Geop. xviii. 2. 

^ Aristoph. Eccles. 644. Geop. 
xviii. 2.4. 

7 Geop. xviii. 2. Apropos of 
Cytisus, it is observed by -^s- 
chylides, in iElian. de Nat. Ani- 
mal, xvi. 32, that the rustics of 
Cios, on account of the aridity 
of the island, possessed few flocks. 
Those they had, however, were 
fed entirely on the leaves of the 



cytisus, the fig-tree, and the olive, 
mingled occasionally with the 
straw and halm of vegetables. 
The lambs reared on this island 
were of singular beauty, and sold 
at a higher price than those of 
most other parts. In Lydia and 
Macedonia sheep were sometimes 
fattened upon fish, which must 
have given the mutton of those 
countries a somewhat unsavoury 
odour. iElian. De Nat. Animal. 
XV. 5. Another favourite food 
of sheep was the leaves of the 
white nymphsea, the tender shoots 
of which were eaten by swine, 
while men themselves fed upon 
the fruit. Theoph. Hist, Plant 
iv. 10. 7. Children, too, it u 



PASTORAL LIFE. 



429 



In the sliort atnl sliwrp days of winter,' they were 
not led forth to pasture till both the dew and 
the hoar frost had disappeared ; but in Bummer 
the shepherds were careful to be a-field with tho 
dawn while the dew was still heavy on the grass. 
In Attica' and the environs of Miletus, where was 
produced the finest and costliest wool in the an- 
cient world, the sheep' were protected from rain 
and dust and brambles and whatever else couhl 
damage their fleeces* by housings of purple leather.* 
The same practice prevailed also in the Megaris, 
where Diogenes beholding a flock of sheep" thus 
clad, while the children, like those of the Egyp- 
tian peasants were suffered to run about naked, 

yov Tar ipimy, ^ Kai Tuy MtAi;a/- 
aiy fidfipii, a\\d Ka'i tic rify ko- 
pal^v ^p6ay &9Tt naX upoaoituov 
rat Xa^irjiflt aV ahruv' wimp cni 

0( KoXoVffqKol dvu TOO iflUVVfAOU 

Xputfiaroc itXiialov olicoii^i^. 
Strab.xii. 8. t. iii.p. 74. Plin.Nat. 
Hint. viii. 73. Cf. Chandler, Travels 
in Greece and Atia Minor, i. £6S. 
The country round AbydoR aiao 
was celebrated for its bkck flocks 
among which not a single white 
theop was to be discovered. A'Man 
de Nat, Animal. S. 32. 

* Varro. de Ro Rust. ii. 2. 

* Horace speaks of the " pcl- 
lites oves Odeii." Od. ii. G. 10. 

^ Dlog. Laert. vi. 41. Tho 
practice ii noticed also by Pliny 
wlio Bays, — "Ovium suinmn gc- 
" nera duo, tectum et colonicum ; 
" illiud molliuB, hoc in paKuo 
" delicatiui, quippo tjuum t«ctum 
" rubis vescatur. Operinienta ei 
" ejt Arabicis pnecipuo." Nai. 
Hiat. viii. 72. Columella also men- 
tioiiB these coTeriDgs : — " Mulle 
" vero pecus, etiam velatneii 
" ijuo protegitur, amittit atijue 
" id non parvo aumptu reporatur. 
" vii. 3, seq. 



said, regarded as a delicacy the 
slalka of the phleoa, the typha, 
and the butomoa. The rools of 
this fruit were given as food to 
caltle. Id. ibid. 

■ Geop. xviii. i. 

" Cf. Athen, v. CO. Horn. 11. 
e. 305, siiq. 

' Tliosc of the neighbouring 
country of Bisotia are now, how- 
ever, more highly valued. "Flocks 
" iif sheep whoae fleeces were of a 
" remarkable blackness were feed- 
" ing on the plwn ; the breed 
" was considerably superior in 
" beauty and size to that of Atti- 
•' ca." Sibth. in Walp. i. 65. 
To dream of sheep of this colour 
was regarded by the ancients as 
unlucky. Artemid, Oneirocrit, ii. 
1 i. p. 96. The finest black sheep 
in the ancient world were found 
in a district of Phrygia in the 
iiM^bourhaod of the cities of 
Colo»i and Laodicea, the wool of 
which not only exceeded that of 
Miletos in softness, but was of a 
glosay jet colour like that of the 
raven's wing, ^ifu e' u rtfil 
r.)y AaoSlatar towok fpn/JnVwi' 
dptrdc, aim tic ftnXt 



430 



PASTORAL UFE. 



said, ^ It IB better to be a M^arean^s ram 
than his son." ^ian* allodes to tUs saying f<H- 
the purpose of noticing the ignorance and mint of 
education prevalent among the Megareans. We 
find likewise in Plutarch* another version of the 
anecdote taxing these Dorians with avarice and 
meanness. Augustus imitated the saying of Dioge- 
nes and applied it to Herod, hearing of vrfaose 
cruelty to his family, he said^ ^ It were better to be 
Herod's hog than his son."' But if the Megareans 
lived pooriy they built grandly: so that of them it 
vFas said, that they ate as if they were to die to- 
morrow, and built as if they were to live for ever.* 
Sheep, as most persons fkmiliar vrith the country 
will probably have observed, are wont in hot sum- 
mer days to retire during the prevalence of the sun^s 
greatest heat beneath the shade of spreading trees,^ 
at which time a green sweep of uplands dotted 
with antique oaks or beeches,^ each with its stem 
encircled by some portion of the flock reposing upon 
their own fleeces, presents a picture of singular b^u- 
ty and tranquillity. The picturesque features of the 
scene were in old times enhanced by the addition 
of several accompaniments now nowhere to be found, 
consisting of statues, altars, or chapels, erected in 
honour of the rural gods or nymphsJ Fountains, 
moreover, of limpid water® in many places gushed 
forth from beneath the trees, where there were usu- 



* Var. Hist. xii. 56. 
« De Cupiditate. § 7. 
^ Macrob. Sat. ii. 4. 

* Tertull. in Apolog. ap. Me- 
nag. ad Laert.yi. 41. t. ii. p. 141. 
b. c. 

* Geop. xviii. 2. 

^ Nor in Asia Minor is the 
shade of trees always deemed 
sufficient. ** We came/' says Dr. 
Chandler, " to a shed formed 
'* with boughs round a tree, to shel- 
*' ter the flocks and herds from the 
«' sun at noon." Travels, i. 25. 



f Schol. Theoc L 21. C£ Plat 
Phsdr. t. i. p. 9. 

^ I cannot resist the tempta- 
tion to introduce in this place 
the picture in miniature of a 
Greek landscape from the pictu- 
resque and beautiful journal of 
Dr. Sibthorpe : " We dined un- 
der a rock, from whose side de- 
scended a purling spring among 
violets, primroses, and the starry 
hyacinth, mixed with black Si- 
lyrium and different coloured or- 
ches. The flowering ash hung 
from the sides of the mountain. 



I 



1'ASTORAl, LIFE. 431 

ally a number of scats for the accommndatioii of 
tho slippliertis and sliophordesses. In these re- 
treats tliey g;eneraily jiasKed the sultry hours of the 
day, playing on the pastoral flute or the syrinx, 
chanting their wild lays, or amusing each other 
by the relation of those strange legends which in- 
habited the woods and Itinely mountains of Groeco.' 
There prevailed among them a superstition against 
disturbing by their music or otherwise that hushed 
stillness which most persons must have observed 
to characterise the rammer noon. At this hour of 
the day the God Pan,' in the opinion of Greek 
shepherds, took his rest after the toils of the diase, 
reclining under a tree in the solitary forest;' and, 
as ho was held to be of a hasty choleric disposition, 
they abstained at that time from piping tli rough 
fear of provoking his anger. The other Gods like- 
wise were believed to enjoy a short sleep at this 
time, as we find in the case of the nymph Aura, in 
the DionysiacB.* 

From a ])&9sage in St. John's gospel it would 
appear, that the practice prevailed among the Ori- 
ental shepherds of distinguishing the several mem- 

under tiie shade of which bloomed 
saxifrageB, and the gnowy Inopy- 
rum, with the CampttniilB Pyra- 
midalia ; this latter plant U now 
called x<'pi'°*'1 ' '' yields abun- 
dance of a BWeel milky fluid, and 
was «aid to promote a secretion 
of milk, a ({uality fint attributed 
to it under the doctrine of sig- 
nature*. Our guide made no«e- 
gayB of the fragrant leaves of the 
Fraxinelia ; the common nettle 
was not forgotten as a pot-herb, 
but the Imperatoria seemed to be 
the favourite salad. Among the 
ahrubB 1 noticed our gooaeberry- 
tree, and the Cellii Aiittrolid grew 
wild among the rocks." Walp. 
Mem.i. 63. 

' See Heeiod. 0pp. ct Dies, 
5S2, sqq. 



* To dream of this god was 
considered auspieious by shi'p- 
herds. Arlomid. Oneirocrit. ii. 
42. p. 138. 

' Schol. Theoc. i. 13. Cal. 
Hynm. in. Lav. PoU. 7S. ibique 
interp. Nem. Rclog. iii. J. Cf. 
Hom.ll.r.l3.0d...9. Tlu- shep- 
herd in iho Anthology (Jacob, t. 
ii. no. Zi7. p. Cm) is not so re- 
ligious aa Theocritus' goatherd, for 
he boldly pipes in the mom ond 
at noon vu totfiilv ly tpia<n /it- 
aafi^.piySv ayy^&^i TUydc orpi'ff- 

ivv. Kiewling. ad Theoc. i. \5. 

* Nonn. xlviii. S58, f<Y\. Cf. 
Phitost.Icon.ii.ll.et J. Ii.Carp> 
zov. Diip. Phil. De (Juiete Uei, 

p. IC, sqq. 



432 



PASTORAL LIFE. 



bers of their flocks by separate names: "Tlie sheep 
"hear his voice, and he calleth his own sheep by 
" name and leadeth them out. And when he put* 
" teth forth his own sheep he goeth before them, 
" and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice." 
We likewise find traces of the same custom in 
Sicily, Crete, and various other parts of Greece, 
where goats, and heifers, and sheep, enjoyed the 
privilege of a name, as Cynoetha, Amalthea, and 
others. In later times it was judged preferable, 
that the flock should follow their shepherds by the 
eye, for which reason they were accustomed to stuff 
their ears with wool.* To prevent rams from but- 
ting, they used to bore a hole * through their horns 
near the roots. Sheep were generally shorn ' during 
the month of May, and after the wool had been 
clipped, they were commonly anointed with wine, 
oil, and the juice of bitter lupins.* In remoter ages 
the practice prevailed of plucking off the wool in- 
stead of shearing it ; and this barbarous method, at 
once so painful to the sheep and so laborious to 
the shepherd, had not been entirely abandoned in 
the age of Pliny. * It was a rule among the 
pastoral tribes, that the number of their flocks 
should be uneven.^ The shepherds of Greece be- 
stowed the name of Sekitai,^ (from fffjKog an enclo- 
sure) upon lambs taken early from the ewes, and 



* Geop. xviii. 4. 

- Ferocia ejus cohibetur comu 
juxta aurem terebrato. Plin. Nat. 
Hist. viii. 72. Cf. Geopon. viii. 
5. To the sanie purpose writes 
also Columella : — Epicharmus Sy- 
racusanus qui pecudum medici- 
nas diligentissime conscripsit af- 
firmat pugnacem arietem mitigari 
terebra secundum auriculas fora- 
tis comibus qua curvantur in 
flexu. Columell. vii. 3. 

3 It is observed by the ancients 
that long lank wool indicated 



strength in the sheep, curly wool 
the contrary. G«op. xviiL 1, seq. 

♦ G«op. xviii. 8. 

^ Duerat quibusdam in locis 
▼ellendi mos. Plin. Nat. Hist, 
vii. 73. Veli» undo essent plures 
accepi caussas inquies quod ibi 
pastores palatim ex ovibuB ante 
tonsuram inventam vellere lanam 
sint soliti, ex quo vellera dicuntur. 
Varr. de Ling. Lat. iv. Cf. De 
Re Rust. ii. 11. Isidor. xix. 27. 

® Geop. xviii. 2. 

7 Schol. Theoc. i. 9. 



PASTORAL LIFE. 



433 



by band. Tliey were usually kept in a coto 
lart from tbe other sbeep. 

As flocks, in most jiarts of Greece, were exposed 
'to the nipacity of the wolf,' the shepherds had re- 
course to an extraordinary contrivance, to destroy 
this fierce aitimal ; kindling large charcoal fires in 
open spaces iu tlie woods, they cast thereon tbe 
powder of certain diminutive fish, caught in great 
numbers along the grassy shores of Greece, together 
with small slices of lamb and kid. Attracted by 
the savour which they could snuff from a distance, 
the wolves flocked in great numbers towards the 
fires, round which they prowled with loud bowlings, 
in expectation of sharing the prey, the odour of 
which had drawn them thither, Stupified at length 
by the fumes of the charcoal, they would drop upon 
the eartli in a lethargic sleep, when the shepherds 
coming up knocked them on the head." 



■ Prom the relations ot tmvel- 
len it would appear that the 
metliod observed by the ancient 
Gre«kB in ridding theniaelves of 
the wolf is no longer known to 
their deaccndants, though the ap- 
prehension of their de»tnietivene»s 
and ferocity be as great as ever. 
Solon, it u n-ell known set a 
price in his laws on the head of a 
wolf, which appears to have va- 
ried in different ages ; (cf. Plut, 
Solon. § S3. Schol. Aristoph. 
Av, 369 ;) but could never have 
amounted to the sum of two 
talents. Whatever the ancient 
price may have been, however, it 
was paid by the magistrates ; 
but " the peasant now produces 



used by v 
IS." Chan 



" the skins in the bazaar or n 
" kct, and is recompensed b 
" luntary contributions." C 
ler, ii. p. 145. Close by a 
khan on mount Pomes, which U 
covered with pine trees. Sir 
George Whelcr saw a very cu- 
rious fountain, to which the 
wolvts, bears, and wild boors 
conmionly descend to drink. Id. 
p. 197. 

»Oeop. xviii. 14. Neverthe- 
less, when a wolf bit a sheep 
without kilting it, the flesh was 
supposed to he rendered more 
tender nnd delicate, an effect 
which Plutarch attributes to tlie 
hot and fiery breath of the beast. 
Sympot. IL 9. 



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