Going Skythian

When they want to drink wine that’s more undiluted, the Lakonians themselves say they “go Skythian.” Khamaileon of Herakleia in On Drunkenness at any rate writes about them as follows:

“the Lakonians say that Kleomenes the Spartan went mad because he learned to drink undiluted wine, having spent time with the Skythians. That’s why, when they wish to drink more undiluted wine, they say, ‘make it Skythian.’”

καὶ αὐτοὶ δ’ οἱ Λάκωνες ὅταν βούλωνται ἀκρατέστερον πίνειν, ἐπισκυθίσαι λέγουσι. Χαμαιλέων γοῦν ὁ Ἡρακλεώτης ἐν τῷ περὶ μέθης περὶ τούτων οὕτως γράφει·

«ἐπεὶ καὶ Κλεομένη τὸν Σπαρτιάτην φασὶν οἱ Λάκωνες μανῆναι διὰ τὸ Σκύθαις ὁμιλήσαντα μαθεῖν ἀκρατοποτεῖν. ὅθεν ὅταν βούλωνται πιεῖν ἀκρατέστερον, ‘ἐπισκύθισον’ λέγουσιν».

Athenaeus of Naucratis, Deipnosophistae, 10.29

Aristotle on wine-drunk vs. beer-drunk

“Hellanikos says the grape vine was first discovered in Plinthine, a city in Egypt, which is why Dio from the Academy says the Egyptians became lovers of wine and drinking. They also discovered a remedy for those who, because of poverty, couldn’t afford wine, by giving them a drink made from barley. And the people who took this were given such pleasure that they sang and danced and acted in every way like those who drank lots of wine. Aristotle, however, says that those who get drunk on wine fall forward onto their faces, while those who have been drinking beer fall back onto their heads, for wine makes one’s head heavy, while beer causes stupor.”

Ἑλλάνικος δέ φησιν ἐν τῇ Πλινθίνῃ πόλει Αἰγύπτου πρώτῃ εὑρεθῆναι τὴν ἄμπελον. διὸ καὶ Δίων ὁ ἐξ Ἀκαδημίας φιλοίνους καὶ φιλοπότας τοὺς Αἰγυπτίους γενέσθαι: εὑρεθῆναί τε βοήθημα παρ᾽ αὐτοῖς ὥστε τοὺς διὰ πενίαν ἀποροῦντας οἴνου τὸν ἐκ τῶν κριθῶν γενόμενον πίνειν: καὶ οὕτως ἥδεσθαι τοὺς τοῦτον προσφερομένους ὡς καὶ ᾁδειν καὶ ὀρχεῖσθαι καὶ πάντα ποιεῖν ὅσα τοὺς ἐξοίνους γινομένους. Ἀριστοτέλης δέ φησιν ὅτι οἱ μὲν ὑπ᾽ οἴνου μεθυσθέντες ἐπὶ πρόσωπον φέρονται, οἱ δὲ τὸν κρίθινον πεπωκότες ἐξυπτιάζονται τὴν κεφαλήν: ὁ μὲν γὰρ οἶνος καρηβαρικός, ὁ δὲ κρίθινος καρωτικός.

Athenaeus, The Sophists at Dinner, 1.61

Partying: a neglected branch of moral philosophy

I’m drinking whisky. A bit from Philo of Alexandria’s work, On Being Drunk, since I’ve been thinking these days about the morality of partying.

“They say that Pheidias, that great sculptor, made statues from bronze, ivory, gold and all sorts of other materials, and that in all of them he expressed one and the same art, so that not only the critics, but even totally normal people might recognize the artist from his works. For, like in the case of twins, where nature will often use the same form and cast things similar that differ very little, in the same way, too, the perfect art, since it is an imitation and representation of nature, will take different materials and shape and stamp the same form on all of them, so that its works are related like siblings and twins.

“The same thing is exhibited in the power of the wise person. For when it is turned to questions about being, it is called piety and holiness. When it is concerned with questions about the heavens and the things in them, it is called physics. It is called meteorology when it is concerned with the atmosphere and its natural turnings and its changes throughout the seasons of the whole year and partially in each monthly and daily cycle. And it is called ethics when it is concerned with questions about correcting human character: one of its branches, the one concerned with the city, is called politics; another, the one concerned with household management, is called economics; and another, the one concerned with drinking parties and festivals, is called the science of partying.”

τὸν ἀνδριαντοποιὸν Φειδίαν ἐκεῖνον καὶ χαλκὸν λαβόντα φασὶ καὶ ἐλέφαντα καὶ χρυσὸν καὶ ἄλλας διαφόρους ὕλας ἀνδριάντας ἀπεργάσασθαι καὶ ἐν ἅπασι τούτοις μίαν καὶ τὴν αὐτὴν ἐνσημήνασθαι τέχνην, ὡς μὴ μόνον ἐπιστήμονας, ἀλλὰ καὶ λίαν ἰδιώτας τὸν δημιουργὸν ἀπὸ τῶν δημιουργηθέντων γνωρίσαι· καθάπερ γὰρ ἐπὶ τῶν διδύμων ἡ φύσις χρησαμένη τῷ αὐτῷ πολλάκις χαρακτῆρι παρὰ μικρὸν ἀπαραλλάκτους ὁμοιότητας ἐτύπωσε, τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον καὶ ἡ τελεία τέχνη, μίμημα καὶ ἀπεικόνισμα φύσεως οὖσα, ὅταν διαφόρους ὕλας παραλάβῃ, σχηματίζει καὶ ἐνσφραγίζεται τὴν αὐτὴν ἁπάσαις ἰδέαν, ὡς ταύτῃ μάλιστα συγγενῆ καὶ ἀδελφὰ καὶ δίδυμα τὰ δημιουργηθέντα γενέσθαι.

ταὐτὸν οὖν καὶ ἡ ἐν τῷ σοφῷ δύναμις ἐπιδείξεται· πραγματευομένη γὰρ τὰ περὶ τοῦ ὄντος εὐσέβεια καὶ ὁσιότης ὀνομάζεται, τὰ δὲ περὶ οὐρανοῦ καὶ τῶν κατ' αὐτὸν φυσιολογία, μετεωρολογικὴ δὲ τὰ περὶ τὸν ἀέρα καὶ ὅσα κατὰ τὰς τροπὰς αὐτοῦ καὶ μεταβολὰς ἔν τε ταῖς ὁλοσχερέσιν ἐτησίοις ὥραις καὶ ταῖς ἐν μέρει κατά τε μηνῶν καὶ ἡμερῶν περιόδους πέφυκε συνίστασθαι, ἠθικὴ δὲ τὰ πρὸς ἀνθρωπίνων ἐπανόρθωσιν ἠθῶν, ἧς ἰδέαι πολιτική τε ἡ περὶ πόλιν καὶ ἡ περὶ οἰκίας ἐπιμέλειαν οἰκονομική, συμποτική τε ἡ περὶ τὰ συμπόσια καὶ τὰς εὐωχίας.

Philo of Alexandria, De ebrietate, 88–91