And Herodotus, comparing the drinking parties of the Greeks with the banquets in fashion among the Persians, says—“But the Persians are accustomed to honour that day above all others on which they were born. And on that day they think it right to have a more splendid feast than on any other day. And on that day those of them who are rich serve up an ox, and an ass, and a horse, and a camel, all roasted whole in ovens: but those who are poor serve up only the smaller animals, such as sheep; and they do not eat a great deal of meat, but great quantities of sweetmeats, and no salt. And on this account the Persians say that the Greeks, when they eat, leave off being still hungry, because after supper nothing is served up to them worth speaking of. For that if anything good were put before them they would not leave off eating it: but they sit very long at their wine. And it is not allowed to them to vomit, nor to make water in the presence of one another. And these laws are strictly observed among them. And after they have drunk hard they are accustomed to deliberate on the most important affairs. And whatever they determine on at these deliberations, the next day the master of the house, wherever they were when they deliberated, proposes to them over again when they are quite sober; and if they adopt the same determination when sober, then they act upon it, but if not, they a abandon it: and whatever they decide on when sober, they reconsider when they are drunk.”
Athenaeus. The Deipnosophists. Or Banquet Of The Learned Of Athenaeus. London. Henry G. Bohn, York Street, Covent Garden. 1854.
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