Wine and Beer in the Daily Lite and Religion of the Ancient Orientals, Hg 



ku-ru-un-nu 7im-gu-tu su-kun nu- -id ilii-ti (Assurbanipal, Annals 

 Cyl. B Col. V, 65, 6^ and K 2652, Rev. 5). A marble slap from 

 Nineveh, now in the British Museum pictures Assurbanipal with 

 his consort in a bower, enjoying- the precious juice of the 

 grape (see IlUustration No. 27). The Assyrian banquet scenes 

 depict the guests as sitting together in the company of always 

 four on one table, two on each side. Each table had its special 

 waiter. In one case tliere are depicted some forty or fifty 

 guests present at the banquet. The artist has brought little 



No. 28. An Assyrian banquet scene (after Meissner). 



animation into his picture. Each guest is shown in the same 

 pose, holding in his right hand a wine cup, raised to the level 

 with the head (see Illustration No. 28). The wine cups are very 

 beautifully worked. They show the form of a lion's head, from 

 which the cup itself rises forth. The Assyrians, as well 

 as the Egyptians reveal a great deal of good taste in the 

 form of their drinking-cups. These cups had difterent shapes 

 and were made from different material. Herodotus' state- 

 ment ^ that the Egyptians drank wine onh' out of brass 



i) Herod. 11, 37: ek xa^Keiuv TTOT)"ipiaiv TTivouai, bia(y|Lia)VTe<; dvd TTctaav 

 k\yipx\v, oOk 5 u^v 5 b'ou, dWd TrdvTei;. HelLinicus, fr. 149 makes a similar 

 statement. 



