Critias, fr. 6 [=Ath. 10.432d–33b]
“Drinking toasts that stretch beyond reason bring
Pleasure for the moment but pain for all time.
The Spartan style is one of moderation:
To eat and drink with limits so people can still
Work and think. They don’t set apart a day
To soak the body with excessive drinking.”
αἱ γὰρ ὑπὲρ τὸ μέτρον κυλίκων προπόσεις παραχρῆμα
τέρψασαι λυποῦσ᾿ εἰς τὸν ἅπαντα χρόνον·
ἡ Λακεδαιμονίων δὲ δίαιθ᾿ ὁμαλῶς διάκειται,
ἔσθειν καὶ πίνειν σύμμετρα πρὸς τὸ φρονεῖν
καὶ τὸ πονεῖν εἶναι δυνάτους· οὐκ ἔστ᾿ ἀπότακτος
ἡμέρα οἰνῶσαι σῶμ᾿ ἀμέτροισι πότοις.
![Red figure vase with two figures. Black background. A servant girl unhappily carries a full wineskin and jug, while an older woman drinks from a large vessel; the reverse of the cup establishes a (rare) interior scene of a storeroom.](https://i0.wp.com/sententiaeantiquae.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/1200px-Skyphos_with_a_Woman_Drinking_in_a_Storeroom_-_Greek_Getty_Villa_Collection.jpg?resize=656%2C492&ssl=1)
Also, image of me sneaking drinks if I lived in Sparta
One thought on “No Time For the Weekend: On the Spartan Way of Drinking”