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“65. οἱ δ᾽ ἀρχαῖοι καὶ τοὺς θεοὺς ἀνθρωποειδεῖς ὑποστησάμενοι καὶ τὰ περὶ τὰς ἑορτὰς διέταξαν, ὁρῶντες γὰρ ὡς τῆς μὲν ἐπὶ τὰς ἀπολαύσεις ὁρμῆς οὐχ οἷόν τε τοὺς ἀνθρώπους ἀποστῆσαι, χρήσιμον δὲ καὶ συμφέρον τοῖς τοιούτοις εὐτάκτως καὶ κοσμίως ἐθίζειν χρῆσθαι, χρόνον ἀφορίσαντες [p. 146] καὶ τοῖς θεοῖς προθύσαντες οὕτω μεθῆκαν αὑτοὺς εἰς ἄνεσιν, ἵν᾽ ἕκαστος ἡγούμενος ἥκειν τοὺς θεοὺς ἐπὶ τὰς ἀπαρχὰς καὶ τὰς σπονδὰς μετὰ αἰδοῦς τὴν συνουσίαν ποιῆται. Ὅμηρος γοῦν φησιν

ἦλθε δ᾽ Ἀθήνη
ἱρῶν ἀντήσουσα.
καὶ ὁ Ποσειδῶν

Αἰθίοπας μετεκίαθε τηλόθ᾽ ἐόντας,
ἀντιόων ταύρων τε καὶ ἀρνειῶν ἑκατόμβης.
καὶ ὁ Ζεὺς

χθιζὸς ἒβη μετὰ δαῖτα, θεοὶ δ᾽ ἅμα πάντες ἕποντο.
κἂν ἄνθρωπος δέ που παρῇ πρεσβύτερος καὶ τῇ προαιρέσει σπουδαῖος, αἰδοῦνται λέγειν τι τῶν ἀσχημόνων ἢ καὶ πράττειν, ὡς καὶ Ἐπίχαρμός που φησιν

ἀλλὰ καὶ σιγῆν ἀγαθὸν ὅκκα παρέωντι κάρρονες.
ὑπολαμβάνοντες οὖν τοὺς θεοὺς πλησίον αὑτῶν εἶναι τὰς ἑορτὰς κοσμίως καὶ .. σωφρόνως διῆγον. ὅθεν οὔτε κατακλίνεσθαι παρὰ τοῖς ἀρχαίοις ἔθος, ἀλλὰ : δαίνυνθ᾽ ἑζόμενοι οὔτ᾽ εἰς μέθην πίνειν, ἀλλ᾽ ` ἐπεὶ ἔσπεισὰν τ᾽ ἔπιὸν θ᾽ ὅσον ἤθελε θυμός, ἔβαν οἶκόνδε ἕκαστος.'

”

Athenaeus. The Deipnosophists. with an English Translation by. Charles Burton Gulick. Cambridge, MA. Harvard University Press. London. William Heinemann Ltd. 1927. 1.

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