“Homer is said to have been a drunkard because of his praise of wine”
laudibus arguitur vini vinosus Homerus
I don’t know that Horace didn’t have the following passage in mind:
“Wicked wine–which makes even a prudent man sing aloud, giggle, dance and speak some word better left unsaid–compels me.”
…οἶνος γὰρ ἀνώγει
ἠλεός, ὅς τ᾽ ἐφέηκε πολύφρονά περ μάλ᾽ ἀεῖσαι
καί θ᾽ ἁπαλὸν γελάσαι, καί τ᾽ ὀρχήσασθαι ἀνῆκε,
καί τι ἔπος προέηκεν ὅ περ τ᾽ ἄρρητον ἄμεινον.
So Odysseus in disguise speaks to Eumaios and his fellow swine-herds as they drink during an evening rainstorm. Here’s the full text.
But some ancient authors saw important connections between drinking and inspiration:
Cratinus, fr. 199
“Wine is like a swift horse for a charming poet; you won’t produce anything clever if you’re drinking water.”
“The conflict between Aeschines and Demosthenes began in part because of the fact that the one acted on behalf of the King and the other acted for another—as it seems to me. But there was also a difference of character: and hatred always seems to develop from characters that are strongly opposed to one another without any other cause. And the two were opposed for these reasons. Aeschines was a man who liked to drink, but he was sweet and had kind manners and he had the general charm of Dionysus; indeed, when he was in his youth he played parts for the tragic actors. But Demosthenes had a downcast face, a heavy brow, and he drank water: and for this reason he was assumed a ill-tempered and bad-mannered man….”
διαφορᾶς δ’ ἦρξεν Αἰσχίνῃ καὶ Δημοσθένει καὶ αὐτὸ μὲν τὸ ἄλλον ἄλλῳ βασιλεῖ πολιτεύειν, ὡς δ’ ἐμοὶ φαίνεται, τὸ ἐναντίως ἔχειν καὶ τῶν ἠθῶν, ἐξ ἠθῶν γὰρ ἀλλήλοις ἀντιξόων φύεται μῖσος αἰτίαν οὐκ ἔχον. ἀντιξόω δ’ ἤστην καὶ διὰ τάδε• ὁ μὲν Αἰσχίνης φιλοπότης τε ἐδόκει καὶ ἡδὺς καὶ ἀνειμένος καὶ πᾶν τὸ ἐπίχαρι ἐκ Διονύσου ᾑρηκώς, καὶ γὰρ δὴ καὶ τοῖς βαρυστόνοις ὑποκριταῖς τὸν ἐν μειρακίῳ χρόνον ὑπετραγῴδησεν, ὁ δ’ αὖ συννενοφώς τε ἐφαίνετο καὶ βαρὺς τὴν ὀφρὺν καὶ ὕδωρ πίνων, ὅθεν [ἐν] δυσκόλοις τε καὶ δυστρόποις ἐνεγράφετο…
Theognis of Megara had some things to say about drinking:
“Drink whenever they drink but let no man discover you’re burdened
whenever you’re sick in the heart.”
Πῖν’ ὁπόταν πίνωσιν· ὅταν δέ τι θυμὸν ἀσηθῆις,
μηδεὶς ἀνθρώπων γνῶι σε βαρυνόμενον.
Perhaps Theognis was concerned about a talkative friend:
“I hate the drinking buddy who doesn’t forget.”
μισέω μνάμονα συμπόταν
One might be better served going out with a dedicated drinker like Anacreon:
“Bring me a bowl so I can drink straight without breathing”
ἄγε δὴ φέρ᾿ ἡμῖν ὦ παῖ
κελέβην, ὅκως ἄμυστιν
προπίω…
But he might force others to practice what he thinks is right for himself. A tragedian we know would object:
“Drinking under compulsion is an evil equal to thirst”
τὸ πρὸς βίαν / πίνειν ἴσον πέφυκε τῷ διψῆν κακόν
But perhaps we should listen to Theognis and take some good advice:
“It is shameful when a man is drunk among the sober
and it is shameful if man remains sober among drunks.”
Αἰσχρόν τοι μεθύοντα παρ’ ἀνδράσι νήφοσιν εἶναι,
αἰσχρὸν δ’ εἰ νήφων πὰρ μεθύουσι μένει
I guess we should always heed the old adage that “like attracts like”.
Just in case you’re still trying to work things out, lots of Greeks had things to say about wine and drinking:
Panyassis fr. 12 (19 W; Stobaeus 3.18.21)
“A mortal who does not draw wine to his heart’s delight does not seem to me to be alive or to live the life of an enduring man—he’s a moron.”
οὐ γάρ μοι ζώειν γε δοκεῖ βροτὸς οὐδὲ βιῶναι
ἀνθρώποιο βίον ταλασίφρονος, ὅστις ἀπ’ οἴνου
θυμὸν ἐρητύσας πίνει ποτόν, ἄλλ’ ἐνεόφρων.
Panyassis fr. 12 (19 W)
“Mortals have a fine gift equal to fire: wine, a defense against evil and companion of any song.”
οἶνος γὰρ πυρὶ ἶσον ἐπιχθονίοισιν ὄνειαρ
ἐσθλόν, ἀλεξίκακον, πάσης συνοπηδὸν ἀοιδῆς.
Cypria, Fragment 17 (18W) (Athenaeus, Deipnosophists)
“Menelaus, the best thing the gods made to scatter the cares of mortal men is wine”
οἶνόν τοι, Μενέλαε, θεοὶ ποίησαν ἄριστον
θνητοῖς ἀνθρώποισιν ἀποσκεδάσαι μελεδῶνας.
Alcaeus 347. 3-4 (Athenaeus, Deipnosophists x 430c-d)
“Wine, the thing Semele and Zeus’ son gave to men
an amnesia from their troubles.”
οἶνον γὰρ Σεμέλας καὶ Δίος υἶος λαθικάδεον
ἀνθρώποισιν ἔδωκ’.
Alcaeus, fragment 335
“Bucchus, the best of all medicine for those who have wine is getting drunk”
ὦ Βύκχι, φαρμάκων δ’ ἄριστον
οἶνον ἐνεικαμένοις μεθύσθην
And when you want to impress with a toast, this one works well:
“The best thing for a mortal man is to be healthy
And second, to be pretty.
Third, is to be wealthy without deceit.
And fourth is to be young with friends.”
ὑγιαίνειν μὲν ἄριστον ἀνδρὶ θνητῶ̣
δεύτερον δὲ καλὸμ φυὰν γενέσθαι
τὸ τρίτον δὲ πλουτεῖν ἀδόλως
καὶ τέταρτον ἡβᾶν μετὰ τῶν φίλων
And, finally, some more instructive drinking songs:
Carm. Conv. 17
“I wish I could turn into an ivory lyre
And that beautiful children would carry me to the Dionysian dance.”
εἴθε λύρα καλὴ γενοίμην ἐλεφαντίνη
καί με καλοὶ παῖδες φέροιεν Διονύσιον ἐς χορόν.
Carm. Conv. 6
“What kind of man each person is
I wish I could know by opening his chest and then
Looking at his mind and after closing it again
To recognize a dear friend by his guileless thought”
εἴθ’ ἐξῆν ὁποῖός τις ἦν ἕκαστος
τὸ στῆθος διελόντ’, ἔπειτα τὸν νοῦν
ἐσιδόντα, κλείσαντα πάλιν,
ἄνδρα φίλον νομίζειν ἀδόλωι φρενί.
