Greece – Diyalogues

The theme for the first day of Photo101 is ‘Home’. As always the theme is open to interpretation and here is mine.

I want to share with you a piece from my home – a souvenir from our last trip to Greece. While it still fits in the Home category (Ummm… because it now resides in splendor on my bookshelf), it also reflects my personal philosophy that home is where your heart is. And I confess, a part of my heart was left behind in Greece.

One of the many things we brought back with us from the Land of Gods is the famed Pythagoras cup. Now since I can never pass up the opportunity to share a good story, here is the fable behind this unassuming cup.

A Pythagorean cup is a drinking cup that has been artfully designed to ensure fair and moderate drinking (Think group drinking session where there’s always that one friend who is over-generous when it is comes to filling his own glass). Credit for this devious invention goes to Pythagoras of Samos (who would have guessed Pythagoras invented the Pythagoras cup!). It allows the user to fill the cup with wine or any other liquid up to a certain level which is indicated by a raised line on the inner side of the cup. If the cup is filled only up to or below that level, the user can enjoy his drink uninterrupted. Beware though if you tend to get a little tip-sy (see what I just did there?) when pouring out your drink. If the liquid runs above the marked line, the cup spills its entire contents out of the bottom onto the lap of the overzealous tip-ster (Moral of the story : Always stand while drinking).

The story of the Pythagoras cup was first related to us by a lovely woman we met in a charming Greek souvenir shop. DH and I had a hearty chuckle picturing covetous ancient Greeks in soggy togas and I hope you will too.

Below is a picture for those of you who are interested in the science behind the cup. After a VERY effective demonstration of its working, I know I simply had to know how it worked!