Athenaeus, The Deipnosophists
C. D. Yonge, B.A., Ed.

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And I have been surprised at your not asking where [p. 209] The word χόνδρος, groats, comes from. Whether it is a Me- garian word, or whether it comes from Thessaly, as] Myrtilus does. And Ulpian said,—I will stop eating if you will tell me by whom these Megarian, or Thessalian groats are spoken of. And Aemilianus said,—But I will not refuse you; for seeing a very splendid preparation for supper, I wish that you should arm yourself for the fray, being filled with barley like a game cock; and I wish you to instruct us about the dishes which we are going to partake of. And he, getting out of temper, said,—Whence do you get this word ἐδέσματα? for one has no breathing time allowed one while constantly forced to ask these questions of these late-learned sophists. But, says Aemilianus, I can easily answer you this question; but I will first speak of the word χόνδρος, quoting you these lines of Antiphanes, out of his Antea,—

A. What have you in your baskets there, my friend?
B. In three of them I've good Megarian groats.
A. Do they not say Thessalian are the best?
B. I also have some similago fetch'd
From the far distant land Phœnicia.

But the same play is also attributed to Alexis, though in some few places the text is a little different. And, again, Alexis says, in his play called The Wicked Woman—

There's a large parcel of Thessalian groats.

But Aristophanes, in his Daitaleis, calls soup χόνδρος, saying—

He would boil soup, and then put in a fly,
And so would give it you to drink.

He also speaks of similago; and so, though I do not remember his exact words, does Strattis, in his Anthroporaistes, or Man-destroyer. And so does Alexis, in his Isostasiu. But Strattis uses σεμιδάλιδος as the genitive case, in these words—

Of these two sorts of gentle semidalis.

The word ἐδέσματα is used by Antiphanes, in his Twins, where he says—

Many nice eatables I have enjoy'd,
And had now three or four most pleasant draughts;
And feel quite frisky, eating as much food
As a whole troop of elephants.

So now we may bring this book to an end, and let it have its [p. 210] termination with the discussions about eatables; and the next book shall begin the description of the Banquet.

Do not do so, O Athenæus, before you have told us of the Macedonian banquet of Hippolochus.—Well, if this is your wish, O Timocrates, we will prepare to gratify it.