SOAP. And [Greek: chernips] means the water into which they used to dip a firebrand which they took from the altar on which they were offering the sacrifice, and then sprinkling the bystanders with it, they purified them. But the accusative [Greek: cherniba] ought to be written with an acute accent on the antepenultima; for all compound words like that, ending in [Greek: ps], derived from the perfect passive, preserve the vowel of the penultima of that perfect tense. And if the perfect ends its penultimate syllable with a double [Greek: mm], then the derivative has a grave on the ultima, as [Greek: leleimmai aigilips], [Greek: tetrimmai oikotrips], [Greek: keklemmai bookleps] (a word found in Sophocles and applied to Mercury), [Greek: beblemmai katôbleps] (a word found in Archelaus of the Chersonese, in his poem on Things of a Peculiar Nature: and in the oblique cases such words keep the accent on the same syllable. And Aristophanes, in his Heroes, has used the word [Greek: chernibion].
77. And for washing the hands they also used something which they called [Greek: smêma], or soap, for the sake of getting off the dirt; as Antiphanes mentions in his Corycus—
A. But while I'm listening to your discourse,
Bid some one bring me water for my hands.
B. Let some one here bring water and some [Greek: smêma].
And besides this they used to anoint their hands with perfumes, despising the crumbs of bread on which men at banquets used to wipe their hands, and which the Lacedæmonians called [Greek: kynades],[1] as Polemo mentions in his Letter on Mean Appellations. But concerning the custom of anointing the hands with perfumes, Epigenes or Antiphanes (whichever was the author of the play called the Disappearance of Money) speaks as follows:—
And then you'll walk about, and, in the fashion,
Will take some scented earth, and wash your hands.
And Philoxenus, in his play entitled the Banquet, says—
And then the slaves brought water for the hands ([Greek: niptra kata cheirôn]),
And soap ([Greek: smêma]) well mix'd with oily juice of lilies,
And poured o'er the hands as much warm water
As the guests wish'd. And then they gave them towels
Of finest linen, beautifully wrought,
And fragrant ointments of ambrosial smell,
And garlands of the flow'ring violet.
, a dog.]
- ↑ As being thrown to the dogs; from [Greek: kyôn
