Book 11
4
In all this Chamæleon appears to be ignorant that it is not a small cup which in Homer is given to the Cyclops by Ulysses; for if it had been a small one, he would not have been so overcome with drunkenness after drinking it three times only, when he was a man of such a monstrous size. There were therefore large cups at that time; unless any one chooses to impute it to the strength of the wine, which Homer himself has mentioned, or to the little practice which the Cyclops had in drinking, since his usual beverage was milk; or perhaps it was a barbaric cup, since it was a big one, forming perhaps a part of the plunder of the Cicones. What then are we to say about Nestor's cup, which a young man would scarcely have had strength enough to carry, but which the aged Nestor lifted without any labour; concerning which identical cup Plutarch shall give us some information. However, it is time now to lie down at table.
