Galen on fear, depression and the health of the body: the story of Maiandros

Taken from a part of Galen’s commentary on Epidemics 6 that is extant in Arabic but not in Greek. I’m following Pfaff’s German translation of the Arabic. Galen is commenting on an aphorism which states that our mental and physical habits—things like daily routine, our home, our sex life and our mental habits—have an effect on our body’s health:

“The kinds of habits that influence our health: diet, shelter, work, sleep, sex, thought.”

ἔθος δὲ, ἐξ οἵων ὑγιαίνομεν, διαίτῃσι, σκέπῃσι, πόνοισιν, ὕπνοισιν, ἀφροδισίοισι, γνώμῃ.

Epidemics 6.8.23

Galen defends and elaborates on the claim using an example from his own experience, where being overcome by emotion led to illness and death.

“I know a great number of people who were overcome by fear of death and whom this fear first made ill and then brought to death. Some were plunged into such fear by a dream; for others, such fear was caused by a premonition, or an omen, or a strange apparition they had, or the fall of a bolt of lightning. Some were brought to it by the sign they found in the entrails of the sacrificial animal, or by an augury of some kind of bird, as happened to the augur, Maiandros. This man was overcome by such a fear of death that he died of it, not to mention the illness he suffered. The story of Maiandros goes like this: he was a man from that part of Mysia which lies near the Hellespont and is a part of our province of Asia. His place of residence in this country was primarily Pergamon. The practice of augury was his occupation. It was his livelihood and his profession. Everyone who consulted him attested to his skill in his occupation. Now it was the custom of this Maiandros every year on his birthday to ask the gods to send him a sign by which he could see how he would fare in the following year. So one year he went out to observe the flight of birds and saw an eagle flying in a way that signified death. It then became certain in his soul that this was a sign from which there was no escape. He went back to the city from the place of the bird’s flight, slumped over, miserable and yellow in colour, so that those who met him asked him whether he was in any physical pain. To those he trusted, he told the truth. Then it came about that he lay sleepless for whole nights and was oppressed by sorrow all day long, so that he completely fell apart. Eventually mild, gentle fevers arose. When the fevers set in, his mind became so confused that he was outside himself and had to stay in bed. Two months after his birthday he died because his body gradually wasted away until it completely dissolved.”

So kenne ich eine große Zahl von Leuten, welche Furcht vor dem Tode überkam und welche diese Furcht zuerst krank machte und dann zu Tode brachte. Manche stürzte ein Traum in solche Furcht. Bei manchen erzeugte solche Furcht eine Ahnung oder ein Vorzeichen oder eine seltsame Erscheinung, die sie hatten, oder das Niedergehen eines Blitzstrahles. Manche brachte dazu das Anzeichen, welches sie in so den Eingeweiden des Opfertieres fanden, oder ein Augurium von irgendwelchen Vögeln, wie es dem Augur Maiandros erging. Diesen Mann überkam eine solche Angst vor dem Tode, daß er schon an ihr starb, ganz abgesehen von der Krankheit. Die Geschichte des Maiandros ist folgende: er war ein Mann aus dem Teile Mysiens, der dem Hellespont nahe liegt, und es ist ein Teil von unserem Lande Asien. Sein Aufenthalt in diesem Lande war meistens Pergamon. Die Ausführung des Auguriums war seine Tätigkeit. Sie war sein Broterwerb und sein Beruf. Jeder, der ihn zu Rate zog, bezeugte ihm seine Fertigkeit in seiner Tätigkeit. Nun war es die Gewohnheit dieses Maiandros, alljährlich an seinem Geburtstag Gott den Allmächtigen und Erhabenen zu bitten, ihm ein Zeichen zu schicken, an dem er erkennen könne, wie es ihm im folgenden Jahre ergehen werde. Und so ging er eines Jahres zur Beobachtung des Vogelfluges hinaus und sah einen Adler, der ih einer Form flog, die den Tod bedeutet. Da ward es ihm in seiner Seele gewiß, daß dies ein Zeichen sei, vor dem es kein Entrinnen gebe. Da ging er von dem Ort des Vogelfluges zusammengesunken, elend und gelb von Farbe nach der Stadt zurück, so daß diejenigen, welche ihm begegneten, ihn fragten, ob er irgend einen körperlichen Schmerz habe. Zu wem er Vertrauen hatte, sagte er die Wahrheit. Dann stellte es sich ein, daß er ganze Nächte schlaflos lag und ihn auch den ganzen Tag der Kummer bedrückte, so daß er ganz zerfiel. Schließlich traten leichte, sanfte Fieber auf. Als die Fieber sich einstellten, wurde sein Geist so verwirrt, daß er überhaupt nicht mehr bei sich war und das Bett hüten mußte. Zwei Monate nach seinem Geburtstage starb er dadurch, daß sein Körper allmählich dahin schwand, bis er sich ganz auflöste.

Galen, Commentary on Hippocrates‘ Epidemics 6.8, 485,25-486,12 Wenkebach/Pfaff

Galen on the Death of Aristotle of Mytilene

Not much is known about Aristotle of Mytilene, a peripatetic from Lesbos. Galen talked to some of the people who were there when he died, which suggests he and Galen were rough contemporaries. This probably puts this Aristotle in the second half of the second century C.E. Moraux (1967) has suggested Aristotle of Mytilene was the teacher of Alexander of Aphrodisias. Galen’s testimony suggests it is at least temporally possible.

“Aristotle of Mytilene, a man who ranked first in Peripatetic speculation, when he was struck by a disease that could be cured by a cold drink, because he had never taken such a drink before, fended off those counseling him to drink it, saying he knew that he would surely suffer a seizure if he drank something cold. For he said he saw this happen to someone else who had a similar bodily condition and temperament to himself and who had become habituated to drinking hot drinks. If he were habituated to drinking [cold] drinks, as some people are, he would certainly not have been afraid of taking it. But since he was also affected by this illness, the attending doctors together compelled him to take it. That is, as I learned, how he died. Those who were there at his end asked me: since I have risked administering cold to some patients when other doctors were cautious—to some patients [I did it] during the entire course of their illness, to others at some appropriate moment—would I have risked doing it in his case, too, or was the man right to keep his sights on his own nature? To them I replied that he was right to keep it in his sights.”

Ἀριστοτέλης γοῦν ὁ Μιτυληναῖος, ἀνὴρ πρωτεύσας ἐν τῇ Περιπατητικῇ θεωρίᾳ, νοσήματι περιπεσὼν ὑπὸ ψυχροῦ πόσεως ὠφεληθῆναι δυνάμενῳ, διότι μηδέποτε τοιοῦτον προσενήνεγκτο πόμα, διεκώλυσε τοὺς συμβουλεύοντας αὐτῷ πιεῖν, ἐπίστασθαι σαφῶς εἰπών, ὅτι σπασθήσοιτο γευσάμενος ψυχροῦ· καὶ γὰρ ἐπ' ἄλλου τοῦτ' ἔφασκεν ἑωρακέναι τήν τε τοῦ σώματος ἕξιν καὶ κρᾶσιν ὁμοίαν ἑαυτῷ καὶ τὸ τῆς θερμοποσίας ἔθος ἐσχηκότος· ‖ εἰ δ' ἦν ἔθος ὥσπερ ἐνίοις πόματος τοιούτου, μάλιστα μὲν ἂν οὐδ' αὐτὸς ἔδεισεν αὐτοῦ τὴν προσφοράν· εἰ δὲ καὶ τοῦτ' ἔπαθεν, ἠνάγκασαν οἱ παρόντες ἰατροὶ πάντως αὐτόν. ἐκεῖνος μὲν οὖν οὕτως ἀπέθανεν, ὡς ἐπυθόμην· ἐρομένων δέ με τῶν παραγενομένων αὐτῷ τελευτῶντι, πότερον, ὡς ἐπ' ἄλλων ἐτόλμησα τοῖς μὲν δι' ὅλης τῆς νόσου, τοῖς δ' ἔν τινι καιρῷ δοῦναι ψυχρὸν εὐλαβουμένων τῶν ἰατρῶν, οὕτως <ἂν> ἐτόλμησα καὶ ἐπ' ἐκείνου ἢ καλῶς ἐστοχάσατο τῆς ἑαυτοῦ φύσεως ὁ ἀνήρ, ἀπεκρινάμην αὐτοῖς ἀκριβῶς αὐτὸν ἐστοχάσθαι.

Galen, De consuetudnibus 1, 4,16–6,6 Schmutte (CMG Suppl. III)

Dream Spells: Dream Spell of Three Reeds

Here is a dream spell from the collection of Magical Greek Papyri. This one is to summon dream sending demons to give you a dream.

Dream Spell of Three Reeds

The picking of the reeds is before sunrise. After sunset, while raising the first reed and facing East, say three times:

“Maskelli Maskello Phnoukentabao Oreobazagra, Rhexikhthon, Ippokhton, Puripeganyx, aeēiouō, Lepetan Azarakhtharo: I pick you so that you might bring me a dream.”

Then, while raising the second reed to the South, say the “Maskelli” spell again, then the vowels, then “Throbeia”,* and while raising the reed whirl yourself around. Facing North and West, say the same words three times, those of the second reed. And raising the third reed, say the same words and the following: “Ie Ie, I pick you for such a deed.”

Here is what is to be written on the reeds: on the first, “Azarakhtharo”; on the second, “Throbeia”; on the third, “Ie Ie”.

Then taking a lamp, one that has not been painted with red ochre, fill it with pure olive oil; and taking a clean strip of cloth, write down all the words. Utter the same things to the lamp seven times. Let the lamp be facing East, let it be placed next to a censer in which you make an incense offering of uncut frankincense. Then once you have prepared the reeds, bound them together with fibres from a date palm and made them into a kind of tripod, set the lamp on it. Let the head of the one performing the spell be crowned with olive branches.

Preparation of the ink with which one must write on the reeds and the lamp wick: Single-stemmed wormwood (?), yellow birdsfoot, 3 pits from Nikolaos dates,** 3 Carian dried figs, goldsmith soot, three young branches of a male date palm, sea foam.

What is written and recited is the following: “I conjure you dream-sender, because I want you to enter into me and show forth to me about the relevant matter: Ieroiethedien Throu, Khaora, Arpebo, Endalela.

*i.e., after saying the vowels aeēiouō, instead of “Lepetan Azarakhtharo,” say “Lepetan Throbeia” (or maybe just “Throbeia”).

**a kind of large date from Syria, cf. Athenaeus Deipnosophistae VII 4, Moralia 723A-724F.

Ὀνειροθαυπτάνη τρικαλαμαία. ἔστιν ἡ ἄρσις τῶν καλάμων πρὸ ἡλίου ἀνατολῆς· μετὰ δυσμὰς ἀνασπῶν τὸν πρῶτον βλέπων πρὸς ἀπηλιώτην λέγε τρίς· ‘μασκελλι μασκελλω φνουκενταβαω ὀρεοβαζάγρα, ῥηξίχθων, ϊπποχθων, πυριπηγανύξ· αεηϊουω λεπεταν αζαραχθαρω, αἴρω σε, ἵνα μοι ὀνειροθαυπτήσῃς.’

καὶ τὸν δεύτερον ἀνασπῶν τῷ νότῳ πάλιν λέγε τὸν ‘μασκελλι’ λόγον καὶ τὰ φωνάεντα καὶ ‘θρωβεια’, καὶ κρατῶν τὸν κάλαμον περιστρέφου· πρὸς τὸν βορρᾶ καὶ τὸν λίβα βλέπων τρὶς τὰ αὐτὰ ὀνόματα λέγε, τὰ τοῦ δευτέρου καλάμου. καὶ τὸν τρίτον ἀνασπῶν λέγε τὰ αὐτὰ ὀνόματα καὶ ταῦτα· ‘ιη ιη, αἴρω σε ἐπὶ ποιὰν πρᾶξιν.’

ἔστιν δὲ καὶ τὰ γραφόμενα ἐπὶ τοῖς καλάμοις. ἐπὶ μὲν τοῦ πρώτου· ‘αζαραχθαρω,’ ἐπὶ δὲ τοῦ δευτέρου· ‘θρωβεια,’ ἐπὶ δὲ τοῦ τρίτου· ‘ιη ιη.’

εἶτα λαβὼν λύχνον ἀμίλτωτον γέμισον ἐλαίῳ καθαρῷ, καὶ λαβὼν ῥάκος καθαρὸν κατάγραφε τὰ ὀνόματα ὅλα. τὰ αὐτὰ ἐπίλεγε πρὸς τὸν λύχνον ἑπτάκις. ἤτω δὲ ὁ λύχνος τῇ ἀνατολῇ βλέπων, παρακείσθω δὲ θυμιατήριον, ἐν ᾧ ἐπιθύσεις λίβανον ἄτμητον, καὶ ποιήσας τοὺς καλάμους, δήσας αὐτοὺς ἐφ' ἓν νεύροις φοίνικος, ποιήσας αὐτοὺς εἰς τύπον τρίποδος, ἐπίθες τὸν λύχνον. ἐστέφθω δὲ ἡ κεφαλὴ τοῦ πράττοντος ἐλαΐνοις.

σκευὴ μέλανος, ἐν ᾧ δεῖ γράφειν τοὺς καλάμους καὶ τὸ ἐλλύχνιον· ἀρτεμισία μονόκλωνος, κατανάγκη, ὀστᾶ φοινίκων Νικολάων γʹ, Καρικαὶ ἰσχάδες γʹ, αἰθάλη χρυσοχοϊκή, θαλλοὶ φοίνικος ἀρσενικοῦ γʹ, ἀφρὸς θαλάσσης.

ἔστιν δὲ καὶ τὰ γραφόμενα καὶ διωκόμενα ταῦτα· ‘ὁρκίζω σὲ τὸν ὑπ<ν>αφέτην, ὅτι ἐγώ σε θέλω εἰσπορευθῆναι εἰς ἐμὲ καὶ δεῖξαί μοι περὶ τοῦ δεῖνος πράγματος, ιερωρϊεθεδιεν θρου· χαωρα· αρπεβω· ενδαληλα.’

PGM IV 3172–3208, 1.176 Preisendanz

Recreating Democritus’ Party Tricks II: Egg Yolks

Revisiting Democritus’ Party Tricks

Here’s an update on my attempt to replicate one of the party tricks or paignia (παίγνια) attributed to Democritus in the London Papyrus 121, col. 5, ll. 1–19.

Since last year, I’ve noticed that several translators have interpreted the word κρόκος to mean egg yolk instead of saffron.

“To make an egg like an apple: after boiling an egg, coat it with a mixture of egg yolk and wine.”

Ὠὸν ὅμοιον μῆλον* γενέσθαι· ζέσας τὸ ὠὸν χρεῖε κρόκῳ μείξας μετ’ οἴνου.

*μήλῳ Wessely

Papyri Graecae Magicae VII 171–172 = VII (Atomists) R127A.2 Laks-Most

I figured it was worth testing the egg-yolk hypothesis experimentally.

In Greek natural philosophical and medical literature, κρόκος normally refers to the saffron crocus, Crocus sativus L., in particular to the dried stigmata from the flowers used as a spice. Since the spice dyes and stains with a strong orange-yellow colour, the name also came to refer to the colour itself, just as κόκκος, the ‘berry’ of the kermes oak, came to be used for the dark red color of plums. At some point, it also came to refer to the yellow part of the egg, much like the English word ‘yolk,’ which comes from old English word geolca, ultimately from OE geolu, ‘yellow.’ (Both yolk and yellow are cognate with the ancient Greek word χλωρός, ‘fresh,’ ‘green,’ ‘yellow,’ which also came to mean egg yolk).

All this means that interpreters have two options when translating κρόκος in our passage: saffron or egg yolk. Maybe because of the egg connection, some interpreters wagered here it means yolk.

It seemed unlikely to me that mixing egg-yolk with wine could produce a dye of any effect, but I decided to try it out using roughly the same procedure I used last year, boiling the eggs and then dying both the shells and the boiled egg whites. I should have used controls, but this is mostly for fun.

The Experiment

I tried to stay as close to the original experiment as possible. I would use red and white wine, brown and white boiled eggs, and paint both the shells and the egg whites with the mixture. I also tested saffron again for comparison.

Testing the egg yolk interpretation: egg yolks, red and white wine, brown and white eggs.

Egg yolks mixed with red and white wine.

Here are the shells painted with egg yolk and saffron. As you can see, none of these looks like apples.

Brown and white egg shells painted and smeared with wine and yolk mixtures.

Then I peeled the eggs and painted the whites — and the yolks too for good measure. The egg painted with saffron and white wine is the most yellow, almost the colour of the yolk. The egg painted with egg yolk and wine also is a bit yellow, but the mixture flowed off pretty quickly without staining the egg at all (see large photo below). Red wine in all cases made the whites blue. If I’d run a control of plain red wine, I imagine the same would have happened. The egg yolks look pretty gross.

Testing yolk vs saffron on cooked egg whites.

Painted and smeared on.

Here the saffron and wine mixture worked much like last time. It produced egg slices that look like peach or apricot. The egg yolk and wine mixture didn’t produce much of anything.

Red wine (top row) makes egg whites go blue, regardless of what is added. White wine with yolk (bottom right) does almost nothing. White wine with saffron (bottom left) turns egg white saffron or peach coloured.

Conclusions

I talked about the results with Glenn Most and André Laks, who went with egg yolks in their translation for the Loeb series. They offered a response that I admit had not occurred to me and is worth keeping in mind: what if the recipe was not meant to work? What if it was designed to fail?

After all, one might suppose that the title, ‘παίγνια’, even if the term is used in an nonstandard way, still has something to do with childish things: games, jokes, ticks, trifles. What if, in this case, the tick is the one played on the person gullible enough to perform it? It’s a least plausible, given some of the tricks:

“To get hard whenever you want. Grind up pepper with honey and rub it on your thing.”

Στ[ύ]ειν ὅτε θέλεις· πέπερι μετὰ μέλιτος τρίψας χρῖέ σου τὸ πρᾶ̣γ̣μ̣α.

Papyri Graecae Magicae VII 186

Could be. Then again, here’s a 2015 patent for a topical preparation to enhance genital sensation using piperine, a primary component of Piper nigrum L., black pepper.

Replication of PGM VII 171-172

A dinner party plate. Can you tell which of these is an egg?

Aromatherapy for Headaches and Heartache

Some late antique aromatherapies for after a New Year’s celebration.

The text below on perfume ingredients comes from a treatise found in an 18th century manuscript at Athens: ms. no. 1494 , fol. 46–52. The treatise is called “On the Capacities of Foods” (Περὶ τροφῶν δυνάμεως), a title it shares with a work by Galen, Symeon Seth, and with sections from the compilers Oribasius, Aetius of Amida and Paul of Aegina. The contents, however, as Delatte points out (Anecdota atheniensia, 466–467), have little in common with the work of Galen or anyone else from the Greek or Latin tradition. It must be fairly late, since many of the ingredients listed below—musk, ambergris, camphor and clove—do not show up in Greek medical texts until very late in antiquity or the early middle ages (Donkin 1999, 2).

On Perfumes

Musk is hot and dry in nature. It is suitable for those who have a moist and cold mixture. It disperses every headache produced from phlegm. It is also beneficial for weakness of the heart, heartache and frailty. It is not suitable for those who have a hot mixture.

Amber [i.e., ambergris*] is hot by nature and strengthens the head. It pleases the heart and the stomach.

Camphor is moist and cold. It is beneficial for hot ailments of the head and the rest of the body. If someone drinks of it more than one should it produces sleeplessness. And it cools the kidneys, diminishes semen and generates incurable ailments in the parts of the body.

Sandalwood is cold and dry. It is beneficial for hot ailments of the liver and strengthens it, and it cools its hot bad-mixture.

Aloewood is hot and dry. It is also beneficial for weakness of the head and the stomach, especially when it is quite cool, and for the blockage of the stomach, also when it is quite cool, and for blockage of the liver and the rest of the parts of the body when they occur because of coolness and moisture.

Saffron is cold and dry. It is not good for the stomach and causes pain and heaviness in the head and causes sleep; but, it pleases the heart.

Clove leaf is hot and dry. They strengthen the stomach and the heart.

Walnuts** are hot and dry. The have the capacity and activity of clove leaf.

Rose perfume is also moist. It stops headache from heat or from drinking too much wine, and both strengthens the heart and is good for frailty.

*ἄμπαρ (amber) is the name for the waxy substance found washed up on beaches, which we recognize to be a secretion from the bile duct of sperm whales. ἤλεκτρον (electron) is the name of the fossilized resin we call amber (also often found on beaches).

**The name “κάρυα βασιλικά” normally refers to walnuts, but this is probably not the correct identification in this case given: (1) the description of them as ‘hot and dry’ (neither walnuts, κάρυα βασιλικά, nor hazelnuts, κάρυα ποντικὰ ἢ λεπτοκάρυα, are normally listed as hot); and (2) the previous entry is καρυόφυλλον, which everyone I’ve consulted believes is “clove leaf.” My guess is it’s a confusion for κάρυα ἀρωματικά or κάρυα μυριστικά, which are likely some other aromatic nut or nut-like spice (e.g. nutmeg or clove).

Περὶ μύρων.

Μόσχος θερμὸς καὶ ξηρός ἐστι τὴν φύσιν· ἁρμόζει δὲ τοῖς ἔχουσι κρᾶσιν ὑγρὰν καὶ ψυχράν. διαλύει δὲ πᾶσαν ὀδύνην κεφαλῆς γινομένην ἀπὸ φλέγματος. ὠφελεῖ δὲ καὶ εἰς τὴν ἀδυναμίαν τῆς καρδίας καὶ τὸν καρδιωγμὸν καὶ ὀλιγωρίαν. οὐχ ἁρμόζει δὲ τοῖς ἔχουσι τὴν κρᾶσιν θερμήν.

ἄμπαρ ἐστὶ θερμὸν φύσει καὶ ἐνδυναμοῖ τὸν ἐγκέφαλον· τὴν καρδίαν καὶ τὸν στόμαχον εὐφραίνει.

καμφορὰ ὑγρὰ καὶ ψυχρά ἐστιν· ὠφελεῖ εἰς τὰ θερμὰ νοσήματα τῆς κεφαλῆς καὶ τοῦ λοιποῦ σώματος· εἰ δέ τις πίῃ ἐξ αὐτῆς πλέον τοῦ δέοντος ποιεῖ ἀγρυπνίαν. καὶ ψύχει τοὺς νεφροὺς ἐλαττοῖ τε τὴν γονὴν καὶ τίκτει εἰς τὰ μόρια νοσήματα ἀθεράπευτα.

σάνταλόν ἐστι ψυχρὸν καὶ ξηρόν· ὠφελεῖ εἰς τὰ θερμὰ νοσήματα τοῦ ἥπατος καὶ ἐνδυναμοῖ αὐτὸ καὶ ψύχει τὴν θερμὴν δυσκρασίαν αὐτοῦ.

ξυλαλόη ὑπάρχει θερμὴ καὶ ξηρά· καὶ ὠφελεῖ εἰς τὴν ἀδυναμίαν τῆς κεφαλῆς καὶ τοῦ στομάχου καὶ τὴν πολλὴν αὐτοῦ ψῦξιν εἴς τε τὴν ἔμφραξιν στομάχου καὶ τὴν πολλὴν αὐτοῦ ψῦξιν εἴς τε τὴν ἔμφραξιν τοῦ ἥπατος καὶ τῶν λοιπῶν μορίων τὴν ἐκ ψυχρότητος καὶ ὑγρότητος γινομένην.

κρόκος ὑπάρχει ψυχρὸς καὶ ξηρός· ἀδικεῖ τὸν στόμαχον καὶ ποιεῖ ὀδύνην καὶ βάρος εἰς τὴν κεφαλὴν καὶ ὕπνον· εὐφραίνει δὲ τὴν καρδίαν.

καρυόφυλλον ὑπάρχει θερμὸν καὶ ξηρόν· ἐνδυναμοῖ τὸν στόμαχον καὶ τὴν καρδίαν.

κάρυα βασιλικά εἰσι θερμὰ καὶ ξηρά· ἔχουσι δὲ δύναμιν καὶ ἐνέργειαν τὴν τοῦ καρυοφύλλου.

ῥοδόσταγμα ψυχρὸν ὑπάρχει καὶ ὑγρόν· παύει τὸν ἐκ θέρμης πόνον κεφαλῆς ἢ ἀπὸ πολυποσίας οἴνου ἐνδυναμοῖ τε τὴν καρδίαν καὶ ὠφελεῖ εἰς τὴν ὀλιγωρίαν.

Anonymous, On the Capacities of Foods printed in Delatte, Anecdota atheniensia, p. 475–476

Dinner Advice for New Year’s Eve

Cabbage with Vinegar

“If you are at a dinner party and want to drink a lot and enjoy your meal, before dinner eat as much raw cabbage with vinegar as you like, and likewise, after dining eat around five [cabbage] leaves. It will restore you as if you had eaten nothing, and you can drink as much as you like.”

Si voles in convivio multum bibere cenareque libenter, ante cenam esto crudam quantum voles ex aceto, et item, ubi cenaveris, comesto aliqua V folia; reddet te quasi nihil ederis, bibesque quantum voles.

Cato the Elder, De re rustica 156.1

Appetizer suggestion: Rotkohl.

Baked Pork Lung

“To make those who drink a lot also not get drunk: eat baked pork lung.”

Πολλὰ πίνοντα καὶ μὴ μεθύειν· χοιραῖον πνεύμονα ὀπτήσας φάγε.

Attributed to Democritus, from the collection of Magical Greek Papyri (source here)

First course suggestion: Bopis.

Dream Spells: a spell from Pachrates given to Emperor Hadrian

“Pachrates, the prophet of Heliopolis, who exhibited the power of his divine magic to the Emperor Hadrian. For it caused attraction in one hour; it caused illness in two hours; it caused destruction in seven hours; and it sent dreams to the Emperor himself while he was testing the complete truth of his magic. And because he was amazed at the prophet, he ordered that twice the pay be given to him.

“Take a field-mouse that’s been made divine with spring water; and take two moon beetles made divine with river water; also: a river crab, the fat of a spotted virgin goat, feces of a dog-faced baboon, two ibis eggs, two drachms of storax, two drachms of myrrh, two drachms of saffron, four drachms of Italian sedge, four drachms of unbroken frankincense, a single onion.

“Throw all these into a mortar with the field-moue and the rest, and having ground them up well keep them ready for use by storing them in a lead box. And whenever you want to perform [sc. the magic rite], take a little bit, light a coal, climb up on the roof, and burn the offering while saying this spell as [the moon] is rising, and immediately she will come.

“Spell: [i’ve omitted it]

“Therefore, let this not be done heedlessly, unless it is necessary that you perform it. It also has a protective charm against you falling, for the goddess is accustomed to make those who perform this spell without a protective charm airborne and throw them from the roof to the ground. For this reason, then, I figured it necessary that a precaution be made in the form of a protective charm, so that you can perform it without hesitation. Keep it secret.”

Παχράτης, ὁ προφήτης Ἡλιουπόλεως, Ἁδριανῷ βασιλεῖ ἐπιδεικνύμενος τὴν δύναμιν τῆς θείας αὑτοῦ μαγείας. ἦξεν γὰρ μονόωρον, κατέκλινεν ἐν ὥραις βʹ, ἀνεῖλεν ἐν ὥραις ζʹ, ὀνειροπόμπησεν δὲ αὐτὸν βασιλέα ἐκδο<κ>ιμ<ά>ζοντος αὐτοῦ τὴν ὅλην ἀλήθειαν τῆς περὶ αὐτὸν μαγείας· καὶ θαυμάσας τὸν προφήτην διπλᾶ ὀψώνια αὐτῷ ἐκέλευσεν δίδοσθαι.

λαβὼν μυγαλὸν ἐκθέωσον πηγαίῳ ὕδατι καὶ λαβὼν κανθάρους σεληνιακοὺς δύο ἐκθέωσον ὕδατι ποταμίῳ καὶ καρκίνον ποτάμιον καὶ στῆρ ποικίλης αἰγὸς παρθένου καὶ κυνοκεφάλου κόπρον, ἴβεως ὠὰ δύο, στύρακος δραχμὰς βʹ, ζμύρνης δραχμὰς βʹ, κρόκου δραχμὰς βʹ, κυπέρεως Ἰταλικῆς δραχμὰς δʹ, λιβάνου ἀτμήτου δραχμὰς δʹ, μονογενὲς κρόμμυον·

ταῦτα πάντα βάλε εἰς ὅλμον σὺν τῷ μυγαλῷ καὶ τοῖς λοιποῖς καὶ κόψας καλλίστως ἔχε ἐπὶ τῶν χρειῶν ἀποθέμενος εἰς πυξίδα μολιβῆν. καὶ ὅταν βούλῃ πράττειν, ἀνελόμενος ὀλίγον καὶ ποιήσας ἀνθρακιὰν ἀναβὰς ἐπὶ δώματος ὑψηλοῦ ἐπίθυε λέγων τὸν λόγον τοῦτον ἀνατολῆς οὔσης, καὶ παραχρῆμα ἥξει. λόγος· […]

μὴ οὖν εὐχερῶς πράσσῃς, εἰ μὴ ἀνάγκη σοι γένηται. ἔχει δὲ φυλακτήριον πρὸς τὸ μή σε καταπεσεῖν· εἴωθεν γὰρ ἡ θεὸς τοὺς ἀφυλακτηριαστοὺς τοῦτο πράσσοντας ἀεροφ<ερ>εῖς ποιεῖν καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ ὕψους ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν ῥῖψαι. διὸ οὖν ἀναγκαῖον ἡγησάμην καὶ τοῦ φυλακτηρίου τὴν πρόνοιαν ποιήσασθαι, ὅπως ἀδιστάκτως πράσσῃς. κρύβε.

PGM IV 2443–2508

Aristophanes and Plato on Socrates’ Meteorology

Socrates inquiring about the heavens in the Clouds and the Phaedo.

Higher Thinking

Strepsiades: Hey, Socrates! Hey, little Socrates!

Socrates: Why are you calling on me, ephemeral creature?

Strepsiades: First, could I ask you to tell me what it is you’re doing?

Socrates: I am air-climbing and thinking about the sun.

Strepsiades: Well, in that case, why are you thinking over the gods from a basket instead of from the ground?

Socrates: Because I’d never properly discover the celestial bodies (τὰ μετέωρα πράγματα = things above the ground) if I did not suspend my mind and mix my subtle thought into the kindred air. If I were grounded and I examined the higher things from below, I would never make any discoveries. Obviously, the earth draws by force my thinking-juices towards itself. The watercress experiences this same thing…

Strepsiades: What are you saying? Thinking draws juice into the watercress? Come on now, come down to me from there, little Socrates, so that you can teach me I’ve come to learn.

{Στ.} ὦ Σώκρατες.
ὦ Σωκρατίδιον.
{Σω} τί με καλεῖς, ὦ 'φήμερε;
{Στ.} πρῶτον μὲν ὅτι δρᾷς, ἀντιβολῶ, κάτειπέ μοι.
{Σω.} ἀεροβατῶ καὶ περιφρονῶ τὸν ἥλιον.
{Στ.} ἔπειτ' ἀπὸ ταρροῦ τοὺς θεοὺς ὑπερφρονεῖς,
ἀλλ' οὐκ ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς, εἴπερ;
{Σω.} οὐ γὰρ ἄν ποτε
ἐξηῦρον ὀρθῶς τὰ μετέωρα πράγματα
εἰ μὴ κρεμάσας τὸ νόημα καὶ τὴν φροντίδα,
λεπτὴν καταμείξας εἰς τὸν ὅμοιον ἀέρα.
εἰ δ' ὢν χαμαὶ τἄνω κάτωθεν ἐσκόπουν,
οὐκ ἄν ποθ' ηὗρον· οὐ γὰρ ἀλλ' ἡ γῆ βίᾳ
ἕλκει πρὸς αὑτὴν τὴν ἰκμάδα τῆς φροντίδος.
πάσχει δὲ ταὐτὸ τοῦτο καὶ τὰ κάρδαμα.
{Στ.} πῶς φῄς;
ἡ φροντὶς ἕλκει τὴν ἰκμάδ' εἰς τὰ κάρδαμα;
ἴθι νυν κατάβηθ', ὦ Σωκρατίδιον, ὡς ἐμέ,
ἵνα με διδάξῃς ὧνπερ ἕνεκ' ἐλήλυθα.

Aristophanes, Clouds 221–238

Fish out of Water

“Furthermore,” he said, “[the earth] is something immense and we who inhabit the lands between the pillars of Herakles and the Phasis river are living in some small part around the sea like ants or frogs around a pound, and many others in foreign lands live in many other such places.

“For around the earth in all directions there are many hollows of all sorts of shapes and sizes into which water, mist and air flow together into a stream; but the pure earth itself is situated in the pure heaven where the stars exist, which many of those accustomed to discussing such things call, ‘aether’; of which these (sc. water, mist, air) are sediment and forever flow into the hollows of the earth.

“Now we are unaware that we live in the hollows, and we think we live above upon the surface of the earth—as if someone living in the middle of the ocean’s depths thought they lived on the surface of the sea, and seeing the sun and the other stars through the water they thought the sea to be heaven, but because of slowness and weakness, they never reached the sea’s upper limit, nor raising their head out of the sea and emerging into this region here have they seen how much purer and more beautiful it happens to be than the place in which they live, nor have they heard about it from anyone else.

“We experience this same thing. For living in a certain hollow of the earth we think we inhabit its upper part; and we call the air ‘heaven,’ as if it were the heaven through which the stars travel; and it is the same, that because of weakness and slowness we are unable to travel to the farthest air: if anyone went to its extremes, or having grown wings flew up to it and raised their head out, then they would see—just as fish raising their heads out of the water see things here, they too would see the things there—and if their nature were strong enough to contemplate them, they would recognize that there is the true heaven and the true light and the true earth.

“For the earth, the stones and the whole region here are corrupted and corroded, just as things in the sea are by the salt water—and nothing worth mentioning grows in the sea, nor is anything there, in a word, perfect, but there are caverns and sand, and endless mud and slime wherever there is also earth, and there is nothing worth comparing to the beauty of things around us. The things up there, in turn, seem to be yet even more superior than the things around us.”

ἔτι τοίνυν, ἔφη, πάμμεγά τι εἶναι αὐτό, καὶ ἡμᾶς οἰκεῖν τοὺς μέχρι Ἡρακλείων στηλῶν ἀπὸ Φάσιδος ἐν σμικρῷ τινι μορίῳ, ὥσπερ περὶ τέλμα μύρμηκας ἢ βατράχους περὶ τὴν θάλατταν οἰκοῦντας, καὶ ἄλλους ἄλλοθι πολλοὺς ἐν πολλοῖσι τοιούτοις τόποις οἰκεῖν.

εἶναι γὰρ πανταχῇ περὶ τὴν γῆν πολλὰ κοῖλα καὶ παντοδαπὰ καὶ τὰς ἰδέας καὶ τὰ μεγέθη, εἰς ἃ συνερρυηκέναι τό τε ὕδωρ καὶ τὴν ὁμίχλην καὶ τὸν ἀέρα: αὐτὴν δὲ τὴν γῆν καθαρὰν ἐν καθαρῷ κεῖσθαι τῷ οὐρανῷ ἐν ᾧπέρ ἐστι τὰ ἄστρα, ὃν δὴ αἰθέρα ὀνομάζειν τοὺς πολλοὺς τῶν περὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα εἰωθότων λέγειν: οὗ δὴ ὑποστάθμην ταῦτα εἶναι καὶ συρρεῖν ἀεὶ εἰς τὰ κοῖλα τῆς γῆς.

ἡμᾶς οὖν οἰκοῦντας ἐν τοῖς κοίλοις αὐτῆς λεληθέναι καὶ οἴεσθαι ἄνω ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς οἰκεῖν, ὥσπερ ἂν εἴ τις ἐν μέσῳ τῷ πυθμένι τοῦ πελάγους οἰκῶν οἴοιτό τε ἐπὶ τῆς θαλάττης οἰκεῖν καὶ διὰ τοῦ ὕδατος ὁρῶν τὸν ἥλιον καὶ τὰ ἄλλα ἄστρα τὴν θάλατταν ἡγοῖτο οὐρανὸν εἶναι, διὰ δὲ βραδυτῆτά τε καὶ ἀσθένειαν μηδεπώποτε ἐπὶ τὰ ἄκρα τῆς θαλάττης ἀφιγμένος μηδὲ ἑωρακὼς εἴη, ἐκδὺς καὶ ἀνακύψας ἐκ τῆς θαλάττης εἰς τὸν ἐνθάδε τόπον, ὅσῳ καθαρώτερος καὶ καλλίων τυγχάνει ὢν τοῦ παρὰ σφίσι, μηδὲ ἄλλου ἀκηκοὼς εἴη τοῦ ἑωρακότος.

ταὐτὸν δὴ τοῦτο καὶ ἡμᾶς πεπονθέναι: οἰκοῦντας γὰρ ἔν τινι κοίλῳ τῆς γῆς οἴεσθαι ἐπάνω αὐτῆς οἰκεῖν, καὶ τὸν ἀέρα οὐρανὸν καλεῖν, ὡς διὰ τούτου οὐρανοῦ ὄντος τὰ ἄστρα χωροῦντα: τὸ δὲ εἶναι ταὐτόν, ὑπ’ ἀσθενείας καὶ βραδυτῆτος οὐχ οἵους τε εἶναι ἡμᾶς διεξελθεῖν ἐπ ἔσχατον τὸν ἀέρα: ἐπεί, εἴ τις αὐτοῦ ἐπ’ ἄκρα ἔλθοι ἢ πτηνὸς γενόμενος ἀνάπτοιτο, κατιδεῖν ἂν ἀνακύψαντα, ὥσπερ ἐνθάδε οἱ ἐκ τῆς θαλάττης ἰχθύες ἀνακύπτοντες ὁρῶσι τὰ ἐνθάδε, οὕτως ἄν τινα καὶ τὰ ἐκεῖ κατιδεῖν, καὶ εἰ ἡ φύσις ἱκανὴ εἴη ἀνασχέσθαι θεωροῦσα, γνῶναι ἂν ὅτι ἐκεῖνός ἐστιν ὁ ἀληθῶς οὐρανὸς καὶ τὸ ἀληθινὸν φῶς καὶ ἡ ὡς ἀληθῶς γῆ.

ἥδε μὲν γὰρ ἡ γῆ καὶ οἱ λίθοι καὶ ἅπας ὁ τόπος ὁ ἐνθάδε διεφθαρμένα ἐστὶν καὶ καταβεβρωμένα, ὥσπερ τὰ ἐν τῇ θαλάττῃ ὑπὸ τῆς ἅλμης, καὶ οὔτε φύεται ἄξιον λόγου οὐδὲν ἐν τῇ θαλάττῃ, οὔτε τέλειον ὡς ἔπος εἰπεῖν οὐδέν ἐστι, σήραγγες δὲ καὶ ἄμμος καὶ πηλὸς ἀμήχανος καὶ βόρβοροί εἰσιν, ὅπου ἂν καὶ ἡ γῆ ᾖ, καὶ πρὸς τὰ παρ’ ἡμῖν κάλλη κρίνεσθαι οὐδ’ ὁπωστιοῦν ἄξια. ἐκεῖνα δὲ αὖ τῶν παρ’ ἡμῖν πολὺ ἂν ἔτι πλέον φανείη διαφέρειν.

Plato, Phaedo 109A–110A

Body and Soul

“The fact that our thoughts depend on our bodies and that they are not in themselves unaffected since they derive from our body’s changes—this becomes altogether clear in the case of those who are drunk and those who are sick. For it is extremely obvious that their thoughts are distorted by the affections of their body. And in fact the opposite becomes clear too when the body is affected along with the affections of the soul in cases of love and fear, pain and pleasure.”

Ὅτι αἱ διάνοιαι ἕπονται τοῖς σώμασι, καὶ οὐκ εἰσὶν αὐταὶ καθ' ἑαυτὰς ἀπαθεῖς οὖσαι τῶν τοῦ σώματος κινήσεων. τοῦτο δὲ δῆλον πάνυ γίνεται ἔν τε ταῖς μέθαις καὶ ἐν ταῖς ἀρρωστίαις· πολὺ γὰρ ἐξαλλάττουσαι φαίνονται αἱ διάνοιαι ὑπὸ τῶν τοῦ σώματος παθημάτων. καὶ τοὐναντίον δὴ τοῖς τῆς ψυχῆς παθήμασι τὸ σῶμα συμπάσχον φανερὸν γίνεται περί τε τοὺς ἔρωτας καὶ τοὺς φόβους τε καὶ τὰς λύπας καὶ τὰς ἡδονάς.

Pseudo-Aristotle, Physiognomics 1, 805a1-8

River Tales

“The Indos is a river in India, flowing with a great torrent to the land of the fish-eaters. In earlier times it was called Mausolos, from Mausolos, the son of the Sun, but changed its name for the following reason: When the mysteries of Dionysos were being performed and the inhabitants were spending their time in divine devotion, Indos, a youth of the nobility, forcibly raped Damasalkida, the daughter of King Oxyalkos, as she was carrying the sacred basket in the procession. While he was being sought by the tyrant for retribution, he threw himself in fear into the river Mausolos, which from then on came to be called Indos.

“A stone is produced in this river called [the text is corrupt], which, when it is carried by virgins, they do not fear being raped at all.

“In the same river also grows a plant called karpyle, similar to bugloss. It is excellent for jaundice when given to patients in warm water, just as Kleitophon of Rhodes reports in Book I of the Indica.

“Near to this is a mountain, called Lilaios after Lilaios the shepherd. For he, being an extremely devoted worshipper of the Moon alone, performed the prescribed mysteries in the middle of the night. The other gods, considering it a grave dishonour, sent two massive lions after him, and he died after being torn to pieces by them. The Moon, however, turned her adorer into a mountain with the same name.

“A stone is produced on this mountain called ‘clitoris.’ It is small and black, which the inhabitants wear as jewelry on their earlobes, as Aristotle reports in Book 4 of his On Rivers.”

Ἰνδὸς ποταμός ἐστι τῆς Ἰνδίας, ῥοίζῳ μεγάλῳ καταφερόμενος εἰς τὴν τῶν Ἰχθυοφάγων γῆν· ἐκαλεῖτο δὲ πρότερον Μαυσωλὸς ἀπὸ Μαυσωλοῦ τοῦ Ἡλίου μετωνομάσθη δὲ δι’ αἰτίαν τοιαύτην. Τῶν τοῦ Διονόσου μυστηρίων τελουμένων καὶ τῶν ἐγχωρίων τῇ δεισιδαιμονία προσευκαιρούντων, Ἰνδὸς, τῶν ἐπισήμων νέος, τὴν Ὀξυάλκου τοῦ βασιλέως θυγατέρα Δαμασαλκίδαν κανηφοροῦσαν βιασάμενος ἔφθειρεν· ζητούμενος δὲ ὑπὸ τοῦ τυράννου πρὸς κόλασιν, διὰ φόβον ἑαυτὸν ἔβαλεν εἰς ποταμὸν Μαυσωλὸν, ὃς ἀπʼ αὐτοῦ Ἰνδὸς μετωνομάσθη.

Γεννᾶται δʼ ἐν αὐτῷ λίθος ⋯ προσαγορευόμενος, ὃν ὅταν φορῶσιν αἱ παρθένοι, κατʼ οὐδένα τρόπον τοὺς φθορέας φοβοῦνται.

Φύεται δὲ ἐν αὐτῷ καὶ βοτάνη καρπύλη καλουμένη, βουγλώσσῳ παρόμοιος· ποιεῖ δʼ ἄριστα πρὸς ἰκτέρους διὰ ὕδατος χλιαροῦ διδομένη τοῖς πάσχουσιν, καθὼς ἱστορεῖ Κλειτοφῶν ὁ Ῥόδιος ἐν α Ἰνδικῶν

Παράκειται δʼ αὐτῷ ὄρος, Λίλαιον προσαγορευομενον ἀπὸ Λιλαίου ποιμένος. Οὗτος γὰρ δεισιδαίμων ὑπάρχων καὶ μόνην σεβόμενος τὴν Σελήνην, νυκτὸς βαθείας ἐξετέλει τὰ μυστήρια τῆς προειρημένης. Βαρέως δὲ οἱ λοιποὶ θεοὶ τὴν ἀτιμίαν φέροντες, ἔπεμψαν αὐτῷ δύο λέοντας ὑπερμεγέθεις· ὑφʼ ὧν διασπαραχθεὶς τὸν βίον ἐξέλιπε. Σελήνη δὲ τὸν εὐεργέτην μετέβαλεν εἰς ὁμώνυμον ὄρος.

Γεννᾶται δὲ ἐν αὐτῷ λίθος κλειτορὶς ὀνομαζόμενος· ἔστι δὲ λίαν μελάγχρους· ὃν κόσμου χάριν οἱ ἐγχώριοι φοροῦσιν ἐν τοῖς ὠταρίοις, καθὼς ἱστορεῖ Ἀριστοτέλης ἐν δ περὶ Ποταμῶν.

Pseudo-Plutarch, On Rivers 25