FEASTS OF THE ANCIENTS. 



155 



descendonts, as well as all of the name of Ross, stil 

 bury there. The parish -is about two miles square 

 Bud bounded on the east by the Moray Firth, when 

 arc the villages of Balintore and Hilltown, chiefly 

 occupied by those engaged in the herring-fishery 

 Loch Eye, an extensive lake within the parish, is 

 noted for its large eels, and as the resorts of various 

 kinds of aquatic fowls. At Cadboll on the coast, are 

 quarries of excellent freestone. Population in 1831 

 1695. 



FEASTS OF THE ANCIENTS. Homer, ii; 

 his Odyssey (I. 225 et seq.), speaks of two kinds o 

 feasts: one (Eilapine) given by a person at his own 

 expense ; the other (Eranos) made at the common 

 cost of those who partook of it. At the former 

 there were 1. the proper guests invited by slaves; 



2. the shadows, as they were called (<rxia.7 t umbrce), 

 i. e., persons brought in by the invited guests; and, 



3. the parasites, a kind of sponging buffoons, who 

 came in without invitation from the host or guests. 

 Among the Greeks, men only were invited ; but 

 among the Romans, women also. The number of 

 the guests was not limited. Before they went to 

 table, their feet were washed and anointed. At 

 table, it was the custom, in the earlier ages, to sit ; 

 but aftersvards they reclined in the following man- 

 ner: Round the table were arranged couches or 

 sofas, made often of cedar, or inlaid with ivory, 

 adorned with gold arid silver, and covered with costly 

 cloths. The person reclining had the upper part of 

 his body resting on his left elbow, the rest of his 

 body stretched out straight, or a little curved, and 

 sometimes, for greater comfort, cushions under his 

 back. The first, at the upper end of the couch, 

 extended his feet behind the back of the one reclin- 

 ing next him ; the second lay with his head near the 

 bosom of the first, and stretched out his feet behind 

 the back of the third, and so on. There was, 

 unquestionably, a certain rank for the different 

 places ; but it is not certain what was the order 

 observed. As the table was not, as with us, covered 

 with a table-cloth, and the viands (which, as knives 

 and forks were not then in use, were carved before- 

 hand, and cut into small pieces) were laid on the 

 bare table, this was wiped, after each course, with 

 sponges, and water was handed round to the guests 

 to wash their hands. Each guest brought his napkin 

 with him. There were three courses : The first, in 

 which only stimulating viands were offered to excite 

 the appetite ; the second, or chief course, which con- 

 sisted of a greater variety of dishes, more curiously 

 prepared ; and the dessert, in which the delicacies 

 were brought on. During the entertainment, the 

 guests wore white garments, decorated themselves 

 with garlands, and often anointed the head, beard, 

 and breast with fragrant oils. The banqueting room 

 was also adorned with garlands and roses, which 

 were hung over the table, as the emblem of silence ; 

 hence the common phrase, to communicate a thing 

 tub rosa (under the rose). The symposiarc/i (master 

 of the feast), either the host himself or some person 

 appointed by him, provided every thing necessary for 

 the banquet. The king of the feast, or the eye, for 

 he was called by both names, superintended the 

 drinking. The distributer gave to each his portion, 

 and the cupbearers (generally beautiful boys) pre- 

 sented the full goblets, which were commonly of 

 splendid workmanship, and decorated with garlands. 

 The wine was drunk mixed with water. The mix- 

 ing vessel used for this purpose was called the 

 crater, from which the liquor was drawn by a small 

 cup (cyathus), and poured into the goblets (pocula). 

 The luxurious Romans drank out ot crystal, amber, 

 and the costly murra (a kind of porcelain introduced 

 by Pompey), out of onyx, beryl, and elegantly 



wrought gold, set with precious stones. They coin, 

 monly offered a cup in libation to the Good Genius, 

 one to Jupiter the Deliverer, one to Hygeia, and 

 one to Mercury ; or, as others think, the first to 

 Olympian Jupiter, the second to the heroes, and the 

 third to Jupiter the Deliverer or Preserver. Only 

 the moderate ones, however, contented themselves 

 with this number, which was that of the graces ; 

 others exceeded the number of the muses, for they 

 drank not only all round (encycloposie), but to the 

 health of absent friends and mistresses, and then as 

 many cups as the name contained letters; nay, they had 

 regular drinking matches, with prizes for the victor. 

 The following cuts represent two drinking cups 

 found at Pompeii : 



They were usually made of clay. The primitive 

 drinking vessel was the horn, pierced at the smaller 

 end, from which the liquor flowed. This will be 

 seen in the following cut, which is taken from a 

 picture found in Pompeii, and represents a domestic 

 supper party. 



The wine was generally brought in to the guests 

 11 earthen vases, called Amphoras 



