Book 4
7
If you do this as I bid you, You will ask us all to a supper, Not to such as that in Thrace, Given by Iphicrates— Though, indeed, they say that Was a very noble feast. For that all along the market Purple carpets there were spread To the northern corner; And a countless host of men With dirty hands and hair uncomb'd Supped on butter. There were too, Brazen goblets, large as cisterns, Holding plenty for a dozen Of the hardest drinkers known. Cotys, too, himself was there, Girt around, and bearing kindly Rich soup in a gold tureen; Tasting all the brimming cups, So as to be the first to yield Of all the guests t' intoxication. There was Antigenides Delighting all with his soft flute, Argas sung, and from Acharnæ Cephisodotus struck the lyre, Celebrating Lacedæmon And the wide land of the Heraclidæ, And at other times they sung Of the seven-gated Thebes, Changing thus their strain and theme. Large was the dowry which 'tis said Fell to the lucky bridegroom's share: First, two herds of chestnut horses, And a herd of horned goats, A golden shield, a wide-neck'd bowl, A jar of snow, a pot of millet, A deep pit full of leeks and onions, And a hecatomb of polypi. This they say that Cotys did, King of Thrace, in heartfelt joy At Iphicrates's wedding. But a finer feast by far Shall be in our master's houses; For there's nothing good or fine Which our house does stand in need of. There is scent of Syrian myrrh, There is incense, there is spice; There are delicate cakes and loaves, Cakes of meal and polypi, Tripe, and fat, and sausages, Soup, and beet, and figs, and pease, Garlic, various kinds of tunnies, Ptisan, pulse, and toast and muffins, Beans, and various kinds of vetches, Honey, cheese, and cheesecakes too, Wheat, and nuts, and barley-groats, Boasted crabs, and mullets boil'd, Roasted cuttle-fish, boiled turbot, Frogs, and perch, and mussels too, Sharks, and roach, and gudgeons too, Fish from doves and cuckoos named, Plaice, and flounders, shrimps, and rays. Then, besides these dainty fish There is many another dish,— Honeycombs and juicy grapes, Figs and cheesecakes, apples, pears, Cornels, and the red pomegranate, Poppies, creeping thyme, and parsley, Peaches, olives, plums and raisins, Leeks and onions, cabbages, Strong smelling assafœtida, Fennel, eggs, and lentils cool, And well-roasted grasshoppers, Cardamums and sesame, Ceryces, salt, and limpets firm, The pinna, and the oyster bright, The periwinkle, and the whelk; And besides this a crowd of birds, Doves and ducks, and geese and sparrows, Thrushes, larks, and jays, and swans, The pelican, the crane and stork, Wagtails and cousels, tits and finches; And to wash all these dainties down There's wine, both native and imported, White and red, and sweet and acid, Still or effervescent.
