And when this man had thus hammered on not only this dish but our ears also, another slave came in, bringing in a dish called ματτύη. And when a discussion arose about this, and when Ulpian had quoted a statement out of the Dictionary of Cookery by the before-mentioned Artemidorus relating to it, Aemilianus said that a book had been published by Dorotheus of Ascalon, entitled, On Antiphanes, and on the dish called Mattya by the Poets of the New Comedy, which he says is a Thessalian invention, and that it became naturalized at Athens during the supremacy of the Macedonians. And the Thessalians are admitted to be the most extravagant of all the Greeks in their manner of dressing and living; and this was the reason why they brought the Persians down upon the Greeks, because they were desirous to imitate their luxury and extravagance. And Cratinus speaks of their extravagant habits in his treatise on the Thessalian Constitution. But the dish was called ματτύη (as Apollodorus the Athenian affirms in the first book of his treatise on Etymologies), from the verb μασάομαι (to eat); as also are the words μαστίχη (mastich) and μάζα (barley-cake). But our own opinion is that the word is derived from μάττω, and that this is the verb from which μάζα itself is derived, and also the cheese-pudding called by the Cyprians μαγίς; and from this, too, comes the verb ὑπερμαζάω, meaning to be extravagantly luxurious. Originally they used to call this common ordinary food made of barley-meal μάζα, and preparing it they called μάττω. And afterwards, varying the necessary food in a luxurious and superfluous manner, they derived a word with a slight change from the form μάζα, and called every very costly kind of dish ματτύη; and preparing such dishes they called ματτυάζω, whether it were fish, or poultry, or herbs, or beasts or sweetmeats. And this is plain from the testimony of Ale is, quoted by Artemidorus; for Alexis, wishing to show the great luxuriousness of the way in which this dish was prepared, added the verb λέπομαι. And the whole extract runs thus, being [p. 1060] out of a corrected edition of a play which is entitled De- metrius:—
Take, then, this meat which thus is sent to you;But the Athenians use the verb λέπομαι for wanton and unseemly indulgence of the sensual appetites.
Dress it, and feast, and drink the cheerful healths,
λέπεσθε, ματτυάζετε.
