We recently talked about some insults that were used in ancient Rome, also the oldest joke of humanity, because today we are going to see what they laughed at in Greece and Rome. And where are we going to get this compilation of jokes from Antiquity, well, from Philogelos ("Addicted to laughter"), a work written in Greek during the fourth century and consisting of a collection of 256 jokes grouped by theme. Although it is difficult to pinpoint the exact authorship, some sources indicate the Greeks Hierocles as authors. and Philagrios . Logically, we must bear in mind that humor is very relative and that these jokes were to tell more than to read -an important nuance in relation to humor-.
Here I leave some (with some small adaptation):
Fortune tellers and fortune tellers
A fortune teller told a man, "You are incapable of having children." When the man replied that he was 7, the seer replied:“Oh, yes? Take a good look at them»
A man went to see a fortune teller to ask about the health of her family. The fortune-teller replied:"everyone is fine, especially your father." The man told her that her father had been dead for ten years, and the fortune teller said, "You have no idea who your real father is."
A mother took her sick son to a seer. She read his future and told him not to worry that she had many years ahead of her, and asked him to pay her fee. When the mother said, “I will pay you tomorrow”, the seer, annoyed, replied:“But what if the child dies during the night and I lose my fee?”
Sexists and misogynists
A misogynist attends the funeral of his wife. Someone asks him:"Who rests here?" The widower replies:"Me, now that I've gotten rid of her!"
When a misogynist fell ill, his wife told him:"If you die, I'll kill myself"; the sick man looked up and said:"Do me a favor and kill yourself while I'm still alive"
Fools and idiots
[at this time the abderites (inhabitants of Abdera, Thrace) were reputed to be fools]
An Abderite dreamed that he stepped on a nail. Upon awakening, he bandaged his foot. A colleague saw him and asked what he was doing. Hearing the explanation, he said, “No wonder they call you a fool! How can you think of sleeping barefoot?”
An Abderite sleeps with his grandmother, is surprised by his father and receives a beating. The abderita, between sobs, complains:“You have slept with my mother many times and I don't say anything! Why do you hit me for sleeping only once with yours?”
An Abderite has his uvula removed and is ordered by the doctor not to speak. Thus, when someone greets him, it is his slave who responds. Then he tells them:“Don't be offended; is that the doctor has forbidden me to speak”
An Abderite saw a eunuch talking to a woman and asked if she was his wife. The eunuch replied that he was a eunuch, and therefore he had no wife. The abderite asked, "Oh, so is she your daughter?"
An Abderite followed the custom and cremated his dead father. He ran to his house and told his sick mother, “There are still some logs left to burn. If you want to stop suffering, we take advantage of them and I'll incinerate you with them»
Philosophers and scholars
A philosopher was standing in front of a well in a country house and asked if the water was drinkable. The peasant told him that yes, his parents had already drunk from the well. The philosopher, surprised, said:How long their necks must have been if they could drink from such a deep place!
A scholar went to visit a friend who was very ill. His wife told him that her husband had "already left." The scholar replied:"When he comes back, can you tell him that I've stopped by to see him?"
A friend said to a philosopher:“Congratulations! I heard that your wife just had a child.' The philosopher, with a face of few friends, replied:"Yes, thanks to friends like you."
A scholar bought some pants, but he could not wear them because they were too tight. So he shaved his legs.
Bad breath
A man with bad breath asked his wife, "Why do you hate me?" And she replied:"Because you love me"
An actor who was a prankster was loved by two women, one with bad breath and the other with smelly armpits. One said, "Give me a kiss." And the other:"Give me a hug." The actor declaimed:“What should I do? I am between two evils»
Various
A man at the doctor:"Doctor, when I get up I'm dizzy, but half an hour later I'm fine." The doctor recommends:"Well, get up half an hour later."
A man asks his lecherous wife:“What do we do, honey? Eat or fornicate? To which his wife replied:"Whatever you want, but we don't have a single crumb of bread."
A young man was serving a woman and said to her two slaves:"Let one bring the lady a drink and the other make love to her." The woman replied:"I'm not thirsty"
When a prankster saw a pimp renting the services of a black prostitute, he asked, "What's her rate for the night?"
A man brings the body of his dead father to the Egyptian embalmers in Alexandria. When he goes to recover it, the embalmer, who has several bodies, asks if his father had any particular signs that identify him. "A bad cough," replies the son.
Sources:Stoa
Illustration:Alberto Montt