"But still, in this line, τις is wanting, for the sentence, when complete, should run—

so that the meaning would be, that there is no man who could lift the cup up from the table without an effort, but that Nestor raised it easily, without any labour or distress. For the cup is described as having been large in size, and very heavy in weight; which however Nestor, being very fond of drinking, was easily able to lift, from his constant practice.

85. "But Sosibius, the solver of questions, quoting the lines—

writes on this expression—'Now, the poet has been often reproached for making that the rest of the men could only lift this cup by a great effort, but that Nestor alone could do so without any extraordinary exertion. For it appeared unreasonable, that when Diomede and Ajax, and even Achilles too were present, Nestor should be represented as more vigorous than they, when he was so far advanced in years. But though these accusations are brought against him, we may release the poet from them by transposing the order. For in that hexameter—

if we take γέρων out of the middle, we shall unite that to the beginning of the preceding line, after ἄλλος μὲν, and then we shall connect the words as before—

Now then, when the words are arranged in this way, Nestor only appears to be represented as the only one of the old men who could lift the cup without an extraordinary effort.'

"These are the observations of that admirable solver of difficulties, Sosibius. But Ptolemy Philadelphus the king jested upon him with some wit, on account of this and other much talked-of solutions. For as Sosibius received a royal stipend, Ptolemy, sending for his treasurers, desired them, when Sosibius came to demand his stipend, to tell him that he had received it already. And when, not long after, he did come and ask for his money, they said they had given it to him already, and said no more. But he, going to the king, accused the treasurers. And Ptolemy sent for them, and ordered them to come with their books, in which were the lists of those who received those stipends. And when they had arrived, the king took the books into his hands, and looking into them himself, also asserted that Sosibius had received his money; making it out in this way:—These names were set down,—Soter, Sosigenes, Bion, Apollon, Dion; and the king, looking on these names, said—My excellent solver of difficulties, if you take Σω from Σωτὴρ, and σι from Σωσιγένης, and the first syllable βι from Βίων and the last syllable from Ἀπόλλωνος, you will find, on your own principles, that you have received your stipend. And you are caught in this way, not owing to the actions of others, but by your own feathers, as the incomparable Æschylus says, since you yourself are always occupied about solutions of difficulties which are foreign to the subject in hand."

86. There is the holmus also. This, too, is a drinking-cup, made in the fashion of a horn. Menesthenes, in the fourth book of his Politics, writes thus—"A twisted albatanes and a golden holmus. But the holmus is a cup wrought after the fashion of a horn, about a cubit in height."

87. There is also the oxybaphum. Now common usage gives this name to the cruet that holds the vinegar; but it is also the name of a cup; and it is mentioned by Cratinus, in his Putina, in this way:—

But that the oxybaphum is a kind of small κύλιξ, made of earthenware, Antiphanes proves plainly enough, in his Mystis, in the following words.[68] There is a wine-bibbing old woman praising a large cup, and disparaging the oxybaphum as small. So when some one says to her—

she answers—

And also in the Babylonians of Aristophanes we hear of the oxybaphum as a drinking-cup, when Bacchus speaks of the demagogues at Athens, saying that they demanded of him two oxybapha when he was going away to trial. For we cannot think that they asked him for anything but cups. And the oxybaphum, which is put before the people who play at the cottabus, into which they pour their drops of wine, can be nothing else but a flat cup. Eubulus also, in his Mylothris, mentions the oxybaphum as a cup—

88. There is the oinisteria too. The young men, when they are going to cut their hair, says Pamphilus, fill a large cup with wine, and bring it to Hercules; and they call this cup an oinisteria. And when they have poured a libation, they give it to the assembled people to drink.

There is the ollix also. Pamphilus, in his Attic Words, describes this as a wooden cup.

89. There is also the panathenaicum. Posidonius the philosopher, in the thirty-sixth book of his History, mentions some cups called by this name, speaking thus—"There were also cups made of an onyx, and also of several precious stones joined together, holding about two cotylæ. And very large cups, called panathenaica, some holding two choes, and some even larger."

There is the proaron too. This was a wooden cup, into which the Athenians used to pour mixed wine. "In hollow proara," says Pamphilus.

90. Then there is the pelica. Callistratus, in his Commentary on the Thracian Women of Cratinus, calls this a κύλιξ. But Crates, in the second book of his treatise on the Attic Dialect, writes thus:—"Choes, as we have already said, were called pelicæ. But the form of this vessel was at first like that of the panathenaica, when it was called pelica; but afterwards it was made of the same shape as the œnochoe, such as those are which are put on the table at festivals, which they formerly used to call olpæ, using them for infusing the wine, as Ion the Chian, in his Sons of Eurytus, says—

But now a vessel of that sort, which has been consecrated in some fashion or other, is placed on the table at festivals alone. And that which comes into every-day use has been altered in form, being now generally made like a ladle, and we call it choeus." But Clitarchus says that the Corinthians, and Byzantians, and Cyprians call an oil-cruet, which is usually called lecythus, olpa; and the Thessalians call it prochous. But Seleucus says that the Bœotians call a κύλιξ pelichna; but Euphronius, in his Commentaries, says that they give this name to a choeus.

91. There is the pella. This is a vessel resembling the scyphus, having a wider bottom, into which men used to milk the cattle. Homer says—

But Hipponax calls this pellis; saying,—

showing, I imagine, very plainly that the pellis was not a drinking-cup, but that on this occasion they used it as one, from want of a regular culix. And in another place he says—

But Phoenix the Colophonian, in his Iambics, interprets this word as identical with the phiala; saying,—

And in another part he says—

But Clitarchus, in his Dialects, says that the Thessalians and Æolians call the milk-pail pelleter; but that it is a drinking-cup which they call pella. But Philetas, in his Miscellanies, says that the Bœotians give the name of pelleter to a culix.

92. There is also the pentaploa. Philochorus mentions this, in the second book of his treatise on Attic Affairs. But Aristodemus, in the third book of his Commentary on Pindar, says that on the third day of the Scira, games are celebrated at Athens, in which the young men run races; and that they run, holding in their hands a branch of the vine loaded with fruit, which is called oschus. And they run from the temple of Bacchus to the temple of Minerva Sciras; and he who has gained the victory takes a cup of the species called pentaplous, and feasts with the rest of the runners. But the cup is called pentaplous, as containing five (πέντε) ingredients; inasmuch as it has in it wine, and honey, and cheese, and meal, and a little oil.

There is the petachnum. This is a cup of a flat shape, which is mentioned by Alexis, in his Dropidas; and the passage has been already cited. And Aristophanes also mentions it in his Dramas, where he says—

93. There is the plemochoe, too. This is an earthenware vessel, shaped like a top, not very steady; and some people call it the cotyliscus, as Pamphilus tells us. But they use it at Eleusis on the last day of the Mysteries, which day they call Plemochoai, from the cups. And on this day they fill two plemochoæ, and place one looking towards the east, and the other looking towards the west, saying over them a mystic form of words; and the author of the Pirithous names them (whoever he was, whether Critias the tyrant, or Euripides), saying,—

There is a vessel, too, called the pristis; and that this is a species of cup has been already stated in the discussion on the batiacium.

94. There is the prochytes, too. This is a kind of drinking-cup, as Simaristus says, in the fourth book of his Synonymes. But Ion the Chian, in his Elegies, says—

and Philetas, in his Miscellanies, says it is a wooden vessel, from which the countrymen drink: and Alexander also mentions it in his Tigon. And Xenophon, in the eighth book of his Cyropædia, calls some kinds of culices, prochoides, writing thus (and it is of the Persians that he is speaking):—"But it was a custom among them not to bring prochoides into their banquets, evidently because they think that not drinking too much is good both for the body and the mind. And even now the custom prevails that they do not bring them; but they drink such a quantity of wine that, instead of carrying in their cups, they themselves are carried out, when they can no longer go out themselves in an upright attitude."

There is also the Prusias; and it has been already said that this is an upright kind of cup, and that it derived its name from Prusias king of Bithynia, who was a man very notorious for his luxury and effeminacy; as is mentioned by Nicander the Chalcedonian, in the fourth book of his History of the Events of the Life of Prusias.

95. There are also rheonta; for this was a name given to some cups: and Astydamas mentions them in his Mercury, speaking thus:—

There is also the rhysis. This is called a golden phiala by Theodorus; and Cratinus, in his Laws, says—"Pouring a libation from a rhysis."

96. There is also the Rhodias. Diphilus, in his Stormer of Walls (but Callimachus calls the play The Eunuch), speaks thus—

Dioxippus, too, mentions this cup, in his Miser; and so does Aristotle, in his treatise on Drunkenness; and so also does Lynceus the Samian, in his Letters.

97. There is also the rhytum—ῥυτόν. The υ is short, and the word has an acute accent on the last syllable. Demosthenes, in his speech against Midias, speaks of "rhyta, and cymbia, and phialæ." But Diphilus, in his Eunuch, or The Soldier, (and this play is a new edition of his Stormer of Walls,) says—

And Epinicus, in his Supposititious Damsels, says—

And, speaking of the rhytum, he says—

But formerly a drinking-horn was also called a rhytum; and it appears that this kind of vessel was first made by Ptolemy Philadelphus the king, to be carried by the statues of Arsinoe: for in her right hand she bears a vessel of this kind, full of all the fruits of the season; by which the makers of it designed to show that this horn is richer than the horn of Amalthea. And it is mentioned by Theocles, in his Ithyphallics, thus—

But Dionysius of Sinope, in his Female Saviour, giving a list of some cups, has also mentioned the rhytus, as I have said before; but Hedylus, in his Epigrams, mentioning the rhytum made by Ctesibius the engineer or machinist, speaks thus—

But Theophrastus, in his treatise on Drunkenness, says that the cup called the rhytum is given to heroes alone. Dorotheus the Sidonian, says that the rhyta resemble horns, but are perforated at both ends, and men drink of them at the bottom as they send forth a gentle stream; and that it derives its name from the liquor flowing from them (ἀπὸ τῆς ῥύσεως).

98. There is the sannacra too. Crates, in the fifth book of his treatise on the Attic Dialect, says that it is a drinking-cup which bears this name, but it is a Persian cup. But Philemon, in his Widow, mentioning the batiacia, and jesting on the ridiculousness of the name, says—

There is also the Seleuci; and we have already stated that this cup derives its name from king Seleucus; Apollodorus the Athenian having made the same statement. But Polemo, in the first chapter of his treatise addressed to Adæus, says these goblets are very like one another, the Seleucis, the Rhodias, and the Antigonis.

Then, there is the scallium. This is a small cup (κυλίκον), with which the Æolians pour libations, as Philetas tells us, in his Miscellanies.

99. There is also the scyphus. Now some people form the genitive of this word σκύθος with a ς invariably; but they are mistaken: for sometimes σκύθος is masculine, like λύχνος, and then we form its genitive case without ς but when σκύθος is neuter, then we must decline with the ς, σκύθος σκύθους, like τεῖχος τείχους. But the Attic writers use the nominative case in both the masculine and neuter genders. And Hesiod, in the second book of his Melampodia, writes the word with a π, σκύπθοσ—

And in another place he says—

And in the same manner Anaximander in his Heroology speaks, where he says, "But Amphitryon, when he had divided the booty among his allies, and having the cup (σκύπθος) which he had selected for himself, . . ." And in another place he says—"But Neptune gives his σκύπθος to Teleboas his own son, and Teleboas to Pteselaus; and he when he received it sailed away." And in the same manner Anacreon has said—

(And in this last line he uses the verb ἐξέπινον instead of προέεπινον For properly speaking προπίνω means to give to some one else to drink before yourself. And so Ulysses, in Homer,—

And in the Iliad he says—

for they used, when they had filled their cups, to pledge one another with a friendly address.) Panyasis, in the third book of his Heraclea, says—

Euripides, in his Eurystheus, uses the word in the masculine gender—

And so does Achæus, in his Omphale—

And Simonides too, speaking of a cup with handles, says, οὐατόεντα σκύφον. But Ion, in his Omphale, says—

forming σκύφει regularly from σκύφος, as a neuter noun. And in the same way Epicharmus, in his Cyclops, says—

And Alexis, in his Leucadia, says—

And Epigenes, in his Bacchea, says—

And Phædimus, in the first book of his Heraclea, says—

And also in Homer, Aristophanes the Byzantian writes—

But Aristarchus in this line writes σκύφον, not σκύφος.

But Asclepiades the Myrlean, in his treatise on the Nestoris, says that none of those who lived in the city, and none of the men of moderate property, used the scyphus (τῷ σκύφει) and the cissybium; but only the swineherds, and shepherds, and men in the fields, as Eumæus, for instance,

And Alcman says—

And Æschylus, in his Perrhæbians, says—

And Stesichorus calls the cup on the board of Pholus the Centaur σκύφειον δέπας, using σκύφειον as synonymous to σκυφοειδές. And he says, when speaking of Hercules—

And Archippus, in his Amphitryon, has used the word in the neuter gender.

100. But as for the word λάγυνον, they say that that is the name of a measure among the Greeks, as also are the words χοὸς and κοτύλη. And they say that the λάγυνον contains twelve Attic κότυλαι. And at Patræ they say that there is a regular measure called ἡ λάγυνος. But Nicostratus, in his Hecate, has used the word in the masculine gender, ὁ λάγυνος, where he says—

And again he says—

And, in the play entitled The Couch, he says—

Diphilus, in his People Saved, says—

And Lynceus the Samian, in his letter to Diagoras, says,—"At the time that you sojourned in Samos, O Diagoras, I know that you often came to banquets at my house, at which a flagon was placed by each man, and filled with wine, so as to allow every one to drink at his pleasure." And Aristotle, in his Constitution of the Thessalians, says that the word is used by the Thessalians in the feminine gender, as ἡ λάγυνος. And Rhianus the epic poet, in his Epigrams, says—

But Diphilus, in his Brothers, has used the word in the neuter gender—

And the line in the Geryonis of Stesichorus—

leaves it quite uncertain under what gender the word is to be classed as far as respects that line. But Eratosthenes says that the words πέτασος and στάμνος are also used as feminine nouns by some authors.

101. But the name σκύφος is derived from σκαφὶς, a little boat. And this likewise is a round vessel made of wood, intended to receive milk, or whey; as it is said in Homer—

Unless, indeed, σκύφος is quasi σκύθος, because the Scythians were in the habit of drinking more than was decent. But Hieronymus the Rhodian, in his treatise on Drunkenness, says to get drunk is called σκυθίζω; for that θ is a cognate letter to φ. But at subsequent times scyphi were made of earthenware and of silver, in imitation of the wooden ones. And the first makers of cups of this kind were the Bœotians, who obtained a high reputation for their manufacture; because Hercules originally used these cups in his expeditions. On which account they are called Heracleotici by some people. And they are different from other cups; for they have on their handles what is called the chain of Hercules. And Bacchylides mentions the Bœotian scyphi in these words, (addressing his discourse to Castor and Pollux, and invoking their attendance at a banquet)—

And next to the Bœotian scyphi, those which had the highest reputation were the Rhodian ones, of the workmanship of Damocrates. And the next to them were the Syracusan cups. But the σκύφος is called by the Epirotes λυρτὸς, as Seleucus reports; and by the Methymnæans it is called σκύθος, as Parmeno says, in his book on Dialects. And Dercyllidas the Lacedæmonian was nicknamed Σκύθος, as Ephorus relates in his eighteenth book, where he speaks as follows:—"The Lacedæmonians sent Dercyllidas into Asia in the place of Thymbron, having heard that the barbarians were in the habit of doing everything by deceit and trick; on which account they sent Dercyllidas, thinking that he was the least likely of all men to be taken in; for he was not at all of a Lacedæmonian and simple disposition, but exceedingly cunning and fierce; on which account the Lacedæmonians themselves used to call him Σκύθον."

102. There is the tabaitas also. Amyntas, in the first book of his treatise on the Stations of Asia, speaking of what is called aerial honey, writes as follows:—"They gather it with the leaves, and store it up, making it up in the same manner as the Syrian cakes of fruit, but some make it into balls; and when they are about to use it for food, they break pieces off these cakes into wooden cups, which they call tabaitæ, and soak them, and then strain them off and drink the liquor; and the drink is very like diluted honey, but this is much the sweeter of the two."

There is also the tragelaphus. And this is the name given to some cups, as Alexis mentions, in his Coniates—

And Eubulus, in his Man Glued on, says—

And Menander, in his Fisherman, says—

And Antiphanes, in his Chrysis, says—

There is also the trireme. And that trireme is the name of a species of drinking-cup Epicurus has shown, in his Supposititious Damsels; and the passage which is a proof of this has been already quoted.

There is also the hystiacum, which is some sort of drinking-cup. Rhinthon, in his Hercules, says—

103. There is the phiale too. Homer, when he says—

and again, when he says—

is not speaking of a drinking-cup, but of a brazen vessel of a flat shape like a caldron, having perhaps two handles, one on each side. But Parthenius the pupil of Dionysius understands by ἀμφίθετον a phiale without any bottom. But Apollodorus the Athenian, in his short essay on the Crater, says that it means a cup which cannot be firmly placed and steadied on its bottom, but only on its mouth. But some say, that just as the word ἀμφιφορεὺς is used for a cup which can be lifted by its handles on both sides, the same is meant by the expression ἀμφίθετος φιάλη. But Aristarchus says that it means a cup which can be placed on either end, on its mouth or on its bottom. But Dionysius the Thracian says that the word ἀμφίθετος means round, running round (ἀμφιθέων) in a circular form. And Asclepiades the Myrlean says,—"The word φιάλη, by a change of letters, becomes πιάλη, a cup which contains enough to drink (πιεῖν ἅλις); for it is larger than the ποτήριον. But when Homer calls it also ἀπύρωτος, he means either that it was wrought without fire, or never put on the fire. On which account he calls a kettle which may be put on the fire ἐμπυριβήτης, and one which is not so used ἄπυρος. And when he says—

he perhaps means one intended to receive cold water. So that the phiale would in that case resemble a flat brazen vessel, holding cold water. But when he calls it ἀμφίθετος, can we understand that it has two bases, one on each side; or is ἀμφὶ here to be taken as equivalent to περὶ, and then again is περὶ to be taken as equivalent to περιττὸν, so that in fact all that is meant by the epithet is beautifully made; since θεῖναι was often used by the ancients for 'to make?' It may also mean, ' being capable of being placed either on its bottom or upon its mouth;' and such a placing of cups is an Ionian [p. 802] and an ancient fashion. And even now the Massilians often adopt it, and set their goblets down on their mouths."

104. But as Cratinus has said, in his Female Runaways—

Eratosthenes, in the eleventh book of his treatise on Comedy, says that Lycophron did not understand the meaning of the word (βαλανειόμφαλος), for that the word ὀμφαλὸς, as applied to a phiale, and the word θόλος, as applied to a bath, were nearly similar in meaning; and that, in the word, allusion is neatly enough made to the umbilical form. But Apion and Diodorus say, "There are some kinds of phialæ of which the boss is similar to a strainer." But Asclepiades the Myrlean, in his Essays on Cratinus, says— "βαλανειόμφαλοι are the phialæ called, because their bosses and the vaulted roofs of the baths are much alike." And Didymus, saying the same thing, cites the words of Lycophron, which run thus:—"From the bosses in the women's baths, out of which they ladle the water in small cups." But Timarchus, in the fourth book of his Essay on the Mercury of Eratosthenes, says,—"Any one may suppose that this word contains a secret allusion in it, because most of the baths at Athens, being circular in their shape, and in all their furniture, have slight projections in the middle, on which a brazen boss is placed. Ion, in his Omphale, says—

and by μεσόμφαλοι here, he means the same things as those which Cratinus calls βαλανειόμφαλοι, where he says—

And Theopompus, in his Althæa, said—

as Telestes had called the phiale an acatos, or boat. But Pherecrates, or whoever the poet was who composed the Persæ, which are attributed to him, says, in that play—

105. But the Athenians call silver phialæ ἀργυρίδες, and golden ones they call χρυσίδες. And Pherecrates mentions the silver phiale in the following words in his Persæ—

And Cratinus mentions the golden one in his Laws—

And Hermippus, in his Cercopes, says—

There was also a kind of cup called the βαλανωτὴ phiale, under the bottom of which were placed golden feet. And Teneus says, that among the offerings at Delos there was a brazen palm-tree, the offering of the Naxians, and some golden phialæ, to which he gives the epithet καρυωταί. But Anaxandrides calls cups of this fashion the phialæ of Mars. But the Æolians call the phiale an aracis.

106. There is also the phthoïs; these are wide-shaped phialæ with bosses. Eupolis says—