Themis, a study of the social origins of Greek ... - Warburg Institute

fll] The Sevrepcu TpaTT^ac 251
When Masurius had finished speaking, the 'second tables,' as they are
:alled, were handed round. These are often served, not only on the days of
he festival of Kronos, on which it is the Roman custom 1 to feast the slaves,
he masters themselves undertaking for the nonce the office of servants. The
mstom is also Greek. Thus a similar practice prevails in Crete at the
lermaia : the slaves are feasted and make merry, while their masters
terform the menial offices.
He goes on to mention similar festivals at which this
5aturnalian custom was observed—the Babylonian Sakaea, at
phich a slave was dressed as king; the Thessalian Peloria
inhere the sacrifice to Zeus Pelorios was attended by the dressing
f tables with a splendid feast to which slaves were admitted and
erved by their masters, including the king himself 2 .
The vegetables, fruits, and cakes served at the ' second tables
rere especially associated with the supposed simplicity of the
Jolden Age of Kronos, and so were characteristic of Kronian or
5aturnalian feasts 3 . So
this phrase rpaTre^acal r dfj,l Sevrepa
onfirms our suggestion that the Feast of Tantalus was Kronian
ti character 4 .
1 Lydus de mens. in. 22 (March 1) oti Se -Ka.Tpi.ov dpxhv eviavrov tov Mdpriov oi
'toyucuo: ivapfKafiov , 5t}\ov ko.1 &Trb tov rds . .Marpwvas , rovriari rds evyevLSas, Toiis
Ik4to.s eartdv, naddirep ev tois Kpoviois tovtI irpdrreiv 'idos r\v tois 8ov\ovs Kenr-qixivoLS
it. iv. 42).
2 Another of Athenaeus' instances is the following from Euripides, Cretan
Vomen, frag. 467 N. :
t'l yap irodel Tpairefa ; ry 5' ov /3pideTai ;
jrXrjprjs fitv b\puiv ttovtLwv, wdpeicri de
lLba%uv rtpeivai capites dpveia re Sals
Kal TreTTTa Kal KpoTrjTa ttjs ^ovdoiTTipov
Tre\dvq> fieXlaaris acpdSvws dedevfiiva.
This must describe some important banquet; if it was that of Thyestes, who
ras a character in the play (Schol. ad Ar. Ach. 433), we should again have the
eijTepai Tpaire'^ai connected with a Tewocpayla. Athenaeus also quotes the
'pocpuviov KaT