And Numenius, in his Art of Fishing, says—

The char, the mighty tench of size enormous,

The channus, and the eel; and he who roves

By night, the wary pitynus; the mussel,

The horse-fish, or the sea-green corydulis.

And Antimachus the Colophonian mentions it in his Thebais, where he

says—

The hyca, or the horse-fish, or the one

Which they do call the thrush.

70. There is a fish, too, called the ioulis, concerning which Dorion

says, in his treatise on Fishes, "Recollect that if you boil the

ioulis, you must do it in brine; and if you roast them, you must roast

them with marjoram." And Numenius says—

And ne'er neglect the medicine which keeps off

To a great degree the greedy fish ioulis,

And scolopendrus that doth poison dart.

But the same writer calls them ioulus, and the entrails of the earth, in

the following lines:—

Moreover do not then the bait forget,

Which on the highest hills that fringe the shore

Shall soon be found. And they are called iouli,

Black, eating earth—the entrails of the earth;

Or the long-footed grasshopper, what time

The sandy rocks are sprinkled with the foam

Of the high-rising tide. Then dig them up,

And stow them carefully within your bag.

71. There are also fish called κίχλη, the sea-thrush, and κόσσυφος,

the sea-blackbird. The Attic writers call the first κίχλη, with an η;

and the reason is as follows:—All the feminine nouns which end in λα

have another λ before the λα; as Σκύλλα, σκίλλα, κόλλα, βδέλλα, ἅμιλλα,

ἅμαλλα: but those which end in λη do not require a λ to precede the λη;

as ὁμίχλη, φύτλη, γενέθλη, αἴγλη, τρώγλη, and, in like manner, τρίγλη.

Cratinus says—

Suppose a man had eaten a red mullet (τρίγλην),

Would that alone prove him an epicure?

And Diocles, in the first book of his treatise on Wholesomes, says,

"Those fish which are called rocky fish have tender flesh; such as the

sea-blackbird, the sea-thrush, the perch, the tench, the phyca, the

alphesticus." But Numenius says, in his treatise on Fishing—

[Sidenote: FISH.]

The sea-born race of grayling or of orphus,

The black-flesh'd blackbird, or the dainty sea-thrush

Sporting beneath the waves.

And Epicharmus, in his Hebe's Wedding, says—

Bambradones, sea-thrushes, and sea-hares;

And the bold dragon-fish.

And Aristotle, in his treatise on What concerns Animals, says, "And the

fishes with black spots, like the sea-blackbird; and the fishes with

variegated spots, like the sea-thrush." But Pancrates the Arcadian, in

his Works of the Sea, says that the sea-thrush is called by many names:—

Add now to these the sea-thrush red, which they

Who seek to snare the wary fish with bait

Do call the saurus, and th' æolias,

Add too th' orphiscus with his large fat head.

And Nicander, in the fourth book of his Transformed People, says—

The scarus or the thrush with many names.

72. There is also the sea-boar and the cremys. Aristotle, in his

treatise on Animals, says, "But some fish have no teeth and smooth

skins, like the needle-fish; and some have stony heads, like the

cremys; and some are harsher, with rough skins, like the sea-boar; and

some are marked down the back with two lines, like the seserinus; and

some are marked with many lines and with red spots, like the salpe."

And both Dorion and Epænatus mention the sea-boar; and Archestratus

says—

But when you go to Acta's favour'd land,

If you by chance should see a rich sea-boar,

Buy it at once, and let it not escape you,

Not if you buy it at its weight in gold;

Else will the indignation of the gods

O'erpower you; for 'tis the flower of nectar.

But 'tis not all men who can be allow'd

To eat this dainty, no, nor e'en to see it;

Unless they take a strongly-woven mesh

Of marsh-bred rush, and hold it in their hands,

Well used to ply the floats with rapid mind.

And with these dainties you must offer up,

Thrown on the ground, some gifts of lamb and mutton.

73. There is also the harp-fish. Aristotle, in his treatise on Animals,

or on Fish, says, "The harp-fish has serrated teeth, is a fish of

solitary habits, he lives on seaweed; he has a very loose tongue, and a

white and broad heart." Pherecrates, in his Slave-Tutor, says—

The harp-fish is a good fish; be you sure

To buy him when you can. He really is good;

But, I by Phœbus swear, this does perplex me

Exceedingly which men do say, my friend,

That there is secret harm within this harp-fish.

Epicharmus says, in his Marriage of Hebe—

There were hyænides,

And fine buglossi, and the harp-fish too.

And Apollodorus has said that, on account of his name, he was

considered to be sacred to Apollo. And Callias, or Diocles, whichever

was the author of the play, says in the Cyclops—

A roasted harp-fish, and a ray,

And the head of a well-fed tunny.

And Archestratus, in his Luxurious Way of Living, says—

I counsel you always to boil a harp-fish

If he is white and full of firmish meat;

But if he's red and also no great size,

Then it were best, when you have prick'd him o'er

With a new-sharpen'd knife, to roast him gently.

Sprinkle him then with oil and plenteous cheese,

For he does like to see men liberal,

And is himself intemperate.

74. There is also the cordylus. Aristotle calls this fish an amphibious

animal, and says that it dies if it is dried by the sun. But Numenius,

in his book on the Art of Fishing, calls it the courylus:—

All things are ready. First I strip the thighs

Of courylus, or pirene, and treat too

In the same way the marine grasshopper.

He also speaks of the fish called the cordylis, in these lines—

Mussels, sea-horses, or the sea-green cordylis.

75. There is also a fish called cammorus. Epicharmus, in his Marriage

of Hebe, says—

Then after this there are boaces and

Smarides, anchovies, also cammori.

And Sophron, in his Female Farces, mentions them. But they are a

species of squill, and this name was given them by the Romans.

76. There is also a fish called the carcharias. Numenius of Heraclea,

in his Art of Fishing, says—

[Sidenote: FISH.]

At times you may too a carcharias catch,

At times a psamathis who loves the surf.

And Sophron, in his Tunny-hunter, says, "But if your stomach happens

to have swallowed a carcharias." But Nicander the Colophonian, in his

essay on Dialects, says that the carcharias is also called the lamias

and the squill.

77. There is also the cestreus. Icesius says, "Of the fish which are

called by one general name of leucisci there are many sorts; for some

are called cephali, and some cestres, and some chellones, and some

myxini. But the cephali are the best both in flavour and juiciness;

the next to them are those called the cestres; the myxini are inferior

to either. But the worst of all are the chellones, which are called

bacchi; and they are all full of wholesome juice, not very nutritious,

but very digestible." And Dorion, in his essay on Fish, mentions the

sea cestreus, but does not approve of the river one. And the sea

cestreus he subdivides into two species—the cephalus and the nestis.

But the cestreus, which is like the sea-urchin about the head, he calls

sphondylus. And he says "that the cephalinus differs from the cephalus,

and that this last is also called the blepsias." But Aristotle says,

in the fifth book of his treatise on the Parts of Animals, "But of the

different kinds of cestreus, the chellones begin to be pregnant in the

month Poseideon; so does the sargus and the fish called the myxus; and

so does the cephalus: and they go thirty days with young. But some of

the cestres are not generated by copulation, but are produced by the

slime and the sand."

And in other places Aristotle says, "The cestreus is a fish with

serrated teeth, but he does not eat other fishes; and, indeed, he is in

no respect carnivorous. But of these fish there are several kinds—the

cephalus, the chellon, and the pheræus. And the chellon feeds close to

land, but the pheræus does not; and they use the following food—the

pheræus uses the mucus which proceeds from itself, and the chellon eats

slime and sand. It is said, also, that the spawn of the cestreus is not

eaten by any other fish, just as the cestreus also eats no other fish."

But Euthydemus the Athenian, in his treatise on Cured Fish, says that

the spheneus and the dactyleus are both different species of cestres;

and also that there is a species which are called cephali, because they

have very large heads. And those which are called spheneus,[4] are

called so because they are thin and four-cornered; and the dactyleis

are not so thick as two fingers. But the most excellent of the cestres

are those which are caught near Abdera, as Archestratus has told us;

and the second-best are those which come from Sinope.

78. But the cestres are called by some writers plotes, as Polemo says,

in his treatise on the Rivers in Sicily. And Epicharmus, in his Muses,

gives them this name—

Æolians, and plotes, and cynoglossi.

There also were sciathides.

And Aristotle, in his treatise on the Dispositions and Way of Living of

Animals, says that "the cestres live even if they are deprived of their

tails. But the cestreus is eaten by the pike, and the conger is eaten

by the turbot." And there is an often-quoted proverb, "The cestreus

is fasting," which is applied to men who live with strict regard to

justice, because the cestreus is never carnivorous. Anaxilas, in his

Morose Man, attacking Maton the Sophist for his gluttony, says—

Maton seized hold of a large cestreus' head,

And ate it all. But I am quite undone.

And that beautiful writer, Archestratus, says—

Buy if you can a cestreus which has come

From the sea-girt Ægina; then you shall

For well-bred men be fitting company.

Diocles, in his Sea, says—

The cestreus leaps for joy.

79. But that the nestes are a kind of cestreus, Archippus tells us, in

his Hercules Marrying:—

Nestes cestres, cephali.

And Antiphanes, in his Lampon, says—

But all the other soldiers which you have

Are hungry (νήστεις) cestres.

And Alexis, in his Phrygian, says—

So I a nestis cestreus now run home.

Ameipsias says, in his Men playing at the Cottabus—

_A._ And I will seek the forum, there to find

Some one to take my work.

_B._ I wish you would,

You would all have less time to follow me,

Like any hungry (νῆστις) cestreus.

And Euphron says, in his Ugly Woman—

Midas then is a cestreus—see, he walks

Along the city fasting (νῆστις).

[Sidenote: FISH.]

And Philemon says, in his Men dying together—

I bought me now a nestis cestreus roasted

Of no great size.

Aristophanes, in his Gerytades, says—

Is there within a colony of man cestres?

For that they all are νήστιδες you know.

Anaxandrides says, in his Ulysses—

He usually goes supperless about,

Like a cestrinus nestis.

And Eubulus, in his Nausicaa, says—

Who has been drown'd 'tis now four days ago,

Leading the life of a sad nestis cestreus.

80. When all this had been said about this nice dish of fish, one of

the cynics coming late in the evening said, "My friends, are we, too,

keeping a fast, as if this were the middle day of the Thesmophoria,

since we are now fasting like cestres? For, as Diphilus says, in his

Lemnian Women—

These men have supp'd, but I, wretch that I am,

Shall be a cestreus through th' extreme of fasting.

And Myrtilus answering, said—

But stand in order—

as the Hedychares of Theopompus says—

hungry band of cestres,

You who are fed, like geese, on vegetables.

For you shall not take a share of any of these things before either

you, or your fellow-pupil Ulpian, tell me why the cestreus is the

only fish which is called the faster. And Ulpian said,—It is because

he never takes any living bait; and when he is caught, it is neither

effected by any meat nor by any living animal; as Aristotle tells

us, when he says "perhaps his being hungry makes him lazy;" and also

that "when he is frightened he hides his head, as if by so doing he

concealed his whole body." But Plato, in his Holidays, says—

As I was going out I met a fisherman,

And he was bringing me some cestres, and

He brought me all those worthless starving fish.

But do you tell me, O you Thessalian wrestler, Myrtilus! why it is that

fish are called by the poets ἔλλοπες? And he said,—It is because they

are voiceless; but some insist upon it that, by strict analogy, the

word ought to be ἴλλοπες, because they are deprived of voice: for the

verb ἴλλεσθαι means to be deprived, and ὄψ means voice.[5] And are you

ignorant of this, when you are an ἔλλοψ yourself? But I, as the wise

Epicharmus says, when this dog makes me no answer,—

Am by myself enough well to reply

To what two men have lately said before me.

And I say that they are called ἔλλοπες from being covered with

scales, [the word coming from the same root, and being equivalent

to λεπιδωτός]. But I will tell you (though that is not a question

which has been asked) why the Pythagoreans, who do touch other living

creatures, though sparingly, and who allow themselves even to sacrifice

some, absolutely abstain altogether from fish alone. Is it because of

their silence? for they think silence a very divine quality. Since,

then, you, O you Molossian dogs, are always silent, but are still not

Pythagoreans, we will now go on to the rest of the discussion about

fish.

81. There is a fish called the coracinus. The coracini, which are

caught at sea, says Icesius, contain but little nourishment; but they

are easily secreted, and have a moderate supply of good juice. But

Aristotle, in the fifth book of his Parts of Animals, says that "it

happens to nearly all fish to have a rapid growth, and this is the

case, in no small degree, with the coracinus; and he lays his eggs

close to the land, in places full of weeds and moss." But Speusippus,

in the second book of his treatise on Similitudes, says that the

blacktail and the coracinus are much alike. But Numenius, in his

Treatise on the Art of Fishing, says—

It easily would attract the spotted coracinus.

And perhaps the æoliæ mentioned by Epicharmus, in his Muses, may be the

same as coracini. For Epicharmus says—

Æoliæ, plotes, cynoglossi too.

But, in his Hebe's Marriage, he speaks of the æoliæ as a different fish;

for he says—

There there were mussels, and the alphastic fish,

And coracini like to coriander seed,

Æoliæ, plotes too, and the cynoglossi.

[Sidenote: FISH.]

But Euthydemus, in his essay on Cured Fish, says that the coracinus

is by many people called the saperda. And Heracleon the Ephesian has

said much the same thing; and so has Philotimus, in his Cookery Book.

But that the saperdas and the coracinus are both called the platistacus

is affirmed by Parmeno the Rhodian, in the first book of his Culinary

Doctrine. But Aristophanes, in his Telmessians, uses the expression

"black-finned coracini."

Pherecrates also uses the word in its diminutive form, in his Forgetful

Man, where he says—

Being with your κορακινίδια and μαινίδια.

And Amphis says, in his Ialemus—

Whoever eats a sea-born coracinus

When he may have a grayling, is a fool.

But the coracini of the Nile are very sweet and delicious in their

flesh, as those who have tried them know; and they have got their name

from continually moving their eyes (διὰ τὸ τὰς κόρας κινεῖν), and

never ceasing. But the Alexandrians call them plataces, which is, more

correctly speaking, the name of the whole genus.

82. There is also a fish called the cyprinus, or carp. He also, as

Aristotle tells us, is a carnivorous and gregarious fish; and he has

his tongue, not in the lower part of the mouth, but in the upper part.

But Dorion, mentioning him in his list among the lake and river fish,

writes thus: "A scaly fish, whom some people call the cyprinus."

83. There is also the tench. "The tench is very juicy," as Icesius

says, "exceedingly attractive to the palate, very easily secreted,

not very nutritious, nor is the juice which they give very wholesome.

But, in delicacy of flavour, the white kind is superior to the black.

But the flesh of the green tench is more dry, and devoid of fat; and

they give a much smaller quantity of juice, and what they do give is

thinner. Still they are more nutritious, on account of their size."

Diocles says that those which are found in rocky situations are very

tender. But Numenius, in his treatise on Fishing, calls them, not

κωβιοι, but κωθοι.

A char or tench (κωθος) of mighty size and bold.

And Sophron, in his Countryman, speaks of "The cothons, who bathe in

mud;" and perhaps it was from the name of this fish that he called

the son of his Tunny-catcher, in the play, Cothonias. But it is the

Sicilians who call the tench κώθων, as Nicander the Colophonian tells

us, in his book on Dialects; and Apollodorus confirms the statement,

in his treatise on the Modest and Temperate Man. But Epicharmus, in his

Hebe's Marriage, names the tench, calling it κώβιος:—

The turtle with their sting behind, and then the tender tench.

And Antiphanes, in his Timon, praising the tench, tells us in what

places they are to be found in the greatest perfection, in these lines:—

I come, but I have been to great expense

In buying viands for this marriage feast.

I've bought a pennyworth of frankincense

To offer to the gods and all the goddesses;

And to the heroes I will offer cakes.

But when I bid that rascally house-breaking

Seller of fish to add a dainty dish,

"I'll throw you in," says he, "the borough itself,

For they are all Phalericans." The rest

I do believe were selling our Otrynicans.[6]

Menander, in his Ephesians, says—

_A._ There was a fishmonger not long ago,

Who asked four whole drachmas for his tench.

_B._ A mighty price indeed.

And Dorion mentions river tench also, in his book on Fishes.

84. There is also a fish called the cuckoo-fish. Epicharmus says—

And the beauteous cuckoos

Which we split in twain,

Then we roast and season them,

And then with pleasure eat them.

And Dorion says that one ought to roast them, first having split them

down the back; and, having seasoned them with herbs, and cheese, and

spice, and assafœtida, and oil, then one ought to turn them round, and

oil them on the other side, and then to sprinkle them with a little

salt; and, when one has taken them from the fire, to moisten them with

vinegar. But Numenius gives it the epithet of red, from the facts of

the case, saying—

Eating sometimes the cuckoo red, sometimes

A few pempherides, or else a lizard.

[Sidenote: FISH.]

85. There is also a fish called the carcharias (or sharp-toothed dog).

And Archestratus, whom we may call the Hesiod or Theognis of Epicures,

speaks of this fish; for Theognis himself was not indifferent to

luxury, as he admits, speaking of himself in these words:—

But when the sun, driving his coursers fleet

With solid hoofs along the heavenly road,

Guides them at mid-day in the centre path,

Then let us eat whate'er our heart may prompt,

And gratify our appetite with dainties.

Then let a Spartan maid with rosy hands,

Bring water, and fresh garlands for our brows.

Nor indeed was that wise man indifferent to the charms of boys; at all

events, he speaks thus on the subject:—

O Academus, would you now but sing

A tuneful hymn, while in the midst should stand

A beauteous boy, in flower of his youth,

A prize for you and me to combat for,

Then you should know how far the mule excels the ass.

And Archestratus, in these beautiful suggestions of his, exhorts his

friends in this way—

In fair Torone's town 'tis best to cook

The hollow entrails of the sharp-tooth'd dog.

Then strew the fish with cummin, sparing be

Of salt, then roast him, and add nothing else

Saving some sea-green oil. Then when 'tis done,

Serve him up with some little seasoning.

And if you boil a part of it within

The hollow of some flat dish, then add

No water, add no wine-made vinegar,

But pour on oil alone, and cummin dry,

And add what fragrant herbs the garden gives.

Then put the saucepan on the ashes hot,

And boil it; let no flame too quickly burn,

And stir it often lest the meat should catch,

And spoil your dinner so, before you know it.

'Tis but few mortals know this wondrous food;

And those who have thick stupid heavy souls,

Refuse to taste it, but are all alarm'd,

Because they say this dog's a cannibal,

And feeds on human flesh. But there is not

A fish that swims which does not like man's flesh

If he can only chance to come across it.

There is a part of this fish which the Romans call thursio, and which

is very delicious, and much sought for as an article of luxury.

86. There is also the pike. These, as Aristotle reports, are a

solitary and carnivorous fish; and they have a bony tongue, adhering

to the mouth, and a triangular heart. But, in the fifth book of his

Parts of Animals, he says that they bring forth their young, like the

cestres and chrysophryes do, chiefly in those places where rivers fall

into the sea; and they bring forth in winter, and they also bring forth

twice in the season. But Icesius says that the pike is very juicy, and

not very nutritious; and that it is also not very easily secreted;

but for delicacy of flavour it is accounted the very first of fish.

And this fish has his name, λάβραξ, from his voracity λαβρότης. It is

said, also, that in shrewdness he is superior to other fish, being

very ingenious at devising means to save himself; on which account,

Aristophanes the comic poet says—

The pike, the wisest of all fish that swim.

And Alcæus the lyric poet says that he swims very high in the water.

But the wise Archestratus says—

Take the large cestris cephalus from Gæson,

When you do come to fair Miletus' city.

Take too the pike, the offspring of the gods.

For in those waters both these fish are best.

Such is the natural character of the place.

But there are many places where they grow

More fat and large; in famous Calydon,

And in the opulent Ambracia,

And at the Bolbe lake; but there they want

The fragrant fat which here surrounds their belly;

Nor have they such a pungent taste, my friend.

Those which I speak of are most admirable.

Take them and roast them without scaling them,

Soften with salt, and serve them up with brine.

And let no Syracusan, no Italian

Break in upon you while you dress this dish:

For they have no idea of dressing fish,

But spoil them all by seasoning them with cheese,

By sprinkling them with too much vinegar,

And strongly scented assafœtida.

They are good cooks enough to dress the vile

Fish which they take while clinging to the rocks;

And there are many kinds of season'd dishes

Which they can dress quite well enough; but they

Have no idea of dressing good fish plain.

87. And Aristophanes, in his Knights, speaks of the pike taken in the

neighbourhood of Miletus as surpassingly good, when he speaks thus:—

But you shall not disturb me thus

Feasting on Milesian pike.

[Sidenote: PIKE.]

And in his Lemnian Women he says—

He would not buy a pike's head, nor a locust:

speaking because the brain of the pike is a great delicacy, as is also

that of the sea-grayling. And Eubulus, in his Muses, says—

Do not be too expensive, still not mean,

Whate'er you do; not for decency's sake.

Get some small cuttle-fish, or squids, some nestis,

Some small fry of the polypus, some tripe,

And beestings and black-puddings; get besides

A noble head of the Milesian pike.

But the Gæson, which is mentioned by Archestratus, means the lake

Gæsonis, which is between Priene and Miletus, connected with the sea,

as Neanthes of Cyzicus tells us, in the sixth book of his Hellenics.

But Ephorus, in his fifth book, says that the Gæson is a river near

Priene, which flows into the lake Gæsonis. And Archippus, in his

Fishes, mentioning the pike, says—

Hermes th' Egyptian is the greatest rogue

Of all the fishmongers; he skins by force

The sharks and rhinès, and takes out the entrails

Of the Milesian pikes, before he sells them.

88. There is also a fish called the latus; and Archestratus says that

the best fish of this kind is that which is taken off the coast of

Italy, and he speaks thus concerning them:—

Near the well-treed Italia's verdant shores,

Fierce Scylla's strait the famous latus breeds,

Most marvellous of dainties.

But the lati which are found in the river Nile grow to such a size that

they weigh more than two hundred pounds; and this fish is exceedingly

white, and very delicious, dress it in whatever way you choose. And

it is like the fish called the glanis, which is found in the Danube.

The Nile produces also many other kinds of fish, and they are all very

delicious; but especially does it produce all the different coracini

(for there are many different kinds of this fish). It also produces

the fish called the mæotes, which are mentioned by Archippus, in his

Fishes, in these words:—

Mæotæ, and saperdæ, likewise glanides.

And this fish is found in great numbers in Pontus; and they derive their

name from the Palus Mæotis. But the following, as far as I can

recollect, from having been a long time absent from the country, are

the names of the chief fish found in the Nile. The sweetest of all is

the ray; then there is the sea-pig, the snub-nose, the phagrus, the

oxyrhynchus, the allabes, the silurus, the synodontis, the elecoris, the

eel, the thrissa, the abramis, the blind-fish, the scaly-fish, the

bellows-fish, and the cestreus. And there are also a great number of

others.

89. There is also a kind of shark, called the leiobatus, whose other

name is the rhinè; and he is a white-fleshed fish, as Epænetus tells us

in his Cookery Book. Plato says, in his Sophists—

The galeus, the leiobatus, the eel.

90. There is also the lamprey. Theophrastus, in the fifth book of

his treatise on those Animals which can live on dry Land, says that

the eel and the lamprey can exist for a long time out of the water,

because they have very small gills, and so receive but very little

moisture into their system. But Icesius affirms that they are not

less nutritious than the eel, nor even, perhaps, than the conger. And

Aristotle, in his treatise on the Parts of Animals, says that from the

time that they are little they grow very rapidly, and that they have

sharp serrated teeth; and that they keep on laying small-sized eggs

every season of the year. But Epicharmus, in his Muses, calls them not

σμύραινα, but μύραινα, without the σ; speaking in this way of them:—

No congers fat were wanting, and no lampreys (μύραιναι).

And Sophron, too, spells the word in the same manner. But Plato or

Cantharus, in his Alliance, spells the word with the σ, saying—

The ray, the lamprey (σμύραινα) too, is here.

Dorion, in his treatise on Fishes, says that the river lampreys have

only one spine, like the kind of cod which is called gallarias. But

Andreas, in his treatise on Poisonous Animals, says that those lampreys

which are produced by a cross with the viper have a poisonous bite, and

that that kind is less round than the other, and is variegated. But

Nicander, in his Theriacus, says—

[Sidenote: FISH.]

That is a terrible deed the lamprey does,

When oft its teeth it gnashes and pursues

Th' unhappy fishermen, and drives them headlong

Out of their boats in haste, when issuing forth

From the deep hole in which it long has lain:

If that the tale is true that it admits

The poisonous viper's love, when it deserts

Its pastures 'neath the sea, for food on land.

But Andreas, in his treatise on Things which are believed erroneously,

says that it is quite a mistake to suppose that the lamprey ever breeds

with the viper when it comes on marshy ground; for that vipers do not

themselves feed in marshes, as they are fond rather of sandy and desert

places. But Sostratus, in his books on Animals (and there are two books

of his on this subject, and with this title), agrees with those who

assert that the lamprey and the viper do breed together.

91. There is another kind of eel also, called the myrus. But the

myrus, as Aristotle says, in the fifth book of his treatise on the

Parts of Animals, differs from the lamprey; this latter being a

variegated fish, and less powerful than the other; while the myrus

is a fish of one uniform colour, and strong, and its whole colour is

like that of the wryneck, and it has teeth both within and without.

And Dorion says, that the myrus has no small bones running through its

flesh, but that it is in every part eatable, and exceedingly soft;

and that there are two kinds of it, for some are black, and some are

of rather a fiery colour, but those which are dark are best. And

Archestratus, the voluptuary philosopher, says—

Between th' Italian and Sicilian shore,

Where the strait parts them with its narrow waves,

Whenever that most dainty fish is caught

Which men the lamprey call, be sure to buy it;

For in those waters 'tis the best of food.

92. There is a fish, too, called the mænis, or sprat; and Icesius says

that they are more juicy than the tench, but that they are inferior in

delicacy of flavour, and also in the extent to which they facilitate

the secretions of the stomach. But Speusippus, in the second book of

his treatise on Things similar to one another, says that both the boax

and the smaris resemble the sprat; and these two fishes are mentioned

by Epicharmus, in his Earth and Sea, in the following manner:—

When you see many boaces and smarides.

And Epænetus, in his Cookery Book, says, "The smaris, which some people

call cynoseuna." But Antiphanes, in his Countryman, or Butalion, calls

the sprats the food of Hecate, on account of their diminutive size; and

the following is the passage:—

_A._ Why, I did think that all these monstrous fish

Were cannibals.

_B._ What can you mean, my friend?

_A._ Why, cannibals: so how would any man eat them?

_B._ That's true. But these are food of Hecate,

Which he is speaking of, just sprats and mullets.

There is also one kind which is called the leucomænis, or white sprat,

which some people call the boax. Poliochus, in his Corinthiastes, says—

Let no man, in God's name I beg, persuade you,

Come when he will or whence, so to mistake

As to call leucomænides boaces.

93. There is also the melanurus, or blacktail; and concerning this

fish Numenius says, in his Art of Fishing:—

The scorpion or melanurus black,

The guide and leader of the perch.

But Icesius says that he is very like the sargus, but that he is

inferior to the latter in the quantity and quality of his juice, and

also in delicacy of flavour; but that he is rather exciting food, and

very nutritious. And Epicharmus mentions him in his Hebe's Marriage:—

There were sargini, there were melanuri.

Aristotle too, in his treatise on Animals, writes thus: "There are some

fish which have barred or spotted tails, among which are the melanuri,

and the sargi or sardine; and they have many lines on their skin, dark

lines. But Speusippus affirms, in the second book of his treatise on

Things similar to one another, that the fish called psyrus resembles

the melanurus; but Numenius calls the psyrus, psorus, with an ο, saying—

The psorus, or the salpe, or the dragon-fish

Which haunts the shore.

94. There is also a fish called the mormyrus, a most nutritious fish,

as Icesius says. But Epicharmus, in his Hebe's Marriage, calls it the

myrmes, unless, at least, he means a different fish by this name. But

his expression is—

The sea-swallow, the myrmes too,

And they are larger than the colias tunny.

[Sidenote: FISH.]

But Dorion, in his book upon Fishes, calls them mormylus, with a λ.

But Lynceus of Samos, in his treatise on the Art of buying Fish, which

he addressed to some friend of his, who was very difficult to please

when making his purchases, says, "But it is not a useless plan, with

reference to men who are obstinate, and who will not abate their price,

when you are standing by to disparage their fish, quoting Archestratus

(who wrote the book called The voluptuous Life), or some other poet,

and repeating this verse:—

The mormyrus that haunts the pebbly shore,

Is a bad, good-for-nothing, worthless fish.

And again you may quote—

Buy an amia in the autumn . . . .

'But now 'tis spring.' And again you may proceed, if it should be the

proper season—

How good the cestreus is when winter comes.

'But now,' you will say, 'it is summer.' And you will go on in this way

for some time; and in this way you will drive away a good many of those

who are standing about, and who might become purchasers. So when you

have done this, you will by this means compel the man to take whatever

price you choose to give."

95. There is also the torpedo. Plato, or Cantharus, says, in the

Alliance—

A boil'd torpedo is delicious food.

But Plato the Philosopher says, in the Meno, "You seem very much to

resemble the sea-torpedo; for that fish causes any one who comes near it

to become torpid." And an allusion to the name occurs also in Homer,

where he says—

His hand was torpid (νάρκησε) at the wrist.

But Menander, in his Phanus, uses the termination α, and says—

A certain torpor (νάρκα) creeps o'er all my skin;

though no one of the ancient writers ever used this form of the word.

But Icesius says that it is a fish without much nutriment or much juice

in it, but that it has some cartilaginous sort of substance diffused

all over it, very good for the stomach. And Theophrastus, in his book

on Animals which live in Holes, says that the torpedo works its way

underground because of the cold. But in his treatise on Poisonous

Animals, and on Animals which sting, he says that the torpedo can send

the power which proceeds from it through wood, and through harpoons,

so as to produce torpor in those who have them in their hands. But

Clearchus the Solensian has explained the cause of this in his treatise

on Torpor; but, since his explanation is rather a long one, I do not

recollect his exact words, but will refer you to the treatise itself.

But the torpedo, says Aristotle, is one of the cartilaginous and

viviparous fish; and, to provide itself with food, it hunts after

little fish, touching them, and causing them all to become torpid and

motionless. And Diphilus of Laodicea, in his essay on the Theriaca of

Nicander, says that it is not every part of the animal which produces

this torpor, but only some particular parts of it; and he says that

he has arrived at this fact by a long series of experiments. But

Archestratus speaks of—

A boil'd torpedo done in oil and wine,

And fragrant herbs, and some thin grated cheese.

Alexis, in his Galatea, says—

I counsel you to season well and stuff

Torpedos whole, and then to roast them thoroughly.

And in his Demetrius he says—

Then I took a torpedo, calculating

If my wife touch'd it with her tender fingers

That they would get no hurt from its backbone.

96. There is also the sword-fish. Aristotle says that this fish has its

lower jaw short, but its upper one bony, long, and in fact as large as

all the rest of the body of the fish; and this upper jaw is what is

called the sword; but that this fish has no teeth. And Archestratus

says—

But take a slice of sword-fish when you go

To fair Byzantium, and take the vertebræ

Which bend his tail. He's a delicious fish,

Both there and where the sharp Pelorian cape

Juts out towards the sea.

Now, who is then so great a general, or so great a critic in dishes

and banquets, as this poet from Gela[7] (or, I should rather say, from

Catagela), who, for the sake of his epicurism, sailed through those

straits; and who also, for the sake of the same epicurism, investigated

the different qualities and juices of each separate part of every fish,

as if he had been laying the foundation of some science which was

useful to human life?

[Sidenote: FISH.]

97. There is also a fish called the orphos (ὄρφως); but the word is

also spelt with an ο (ὄρφος), as Pamphilus tells us. But Aristotle, in

the fifth book of his Parts of Animals, where he says that the growth

of most fish is very rapid, says, "The orphos also grows to a large

fish from a little one with great rapidity; but he is a carnivorous

fish, with serrated teeth, and of a solitary disposition. And there is

this peculiarity in him, that it cannot be ascertained what means he

has of propagating his species, and that he can live a long time after

he has been cut in pieces. He is also one of those fish which bury

themselves in holes during the winter season, and he is fond of keeping

close to the land, rather than of going into the deep sea; but he does

not live more than two years. And Numenius, speaking of this fish, says—

Now with such baits as these it is not hard

To draw the lengthy scorpion from his bed,

Or the rough orphus: for they're easily caught.

And in another place he says—

The grayling, or the sea-born race of orphi,

Or the dark flesh'd sea-blackbird.

But Dorion says that the young orphus is called by some the orphacines.

And Archippus says, in his Fishes,—

The orphus came to them, the priest o' the god.

And Cratinus says, in his Ulysses,—

A hot slice of the newly taken orphus.

And Plato, in his Cleophon, says—

For he has brought you here, old dame, to dwell,

A rotten food for orphi and for phagri,

And other gristly boneless fish around.

And Aristophanes, in his Wasps, says—

If a man be inclined to purchase orphi,

And likes to leave alone the membrades.

Now this word ὀρφὼς, in the nominative case singular, is accented with

an acute on the ultima by the Attic writers; so Archippus writes the

word, in his Fishes, in the lines which I have already quoted; and

Cratinus also, in his Ulysses, as I have above quoted it, writes—

τέμαχος ὀρφὼ χλιαρόν.

98. There is also a fish called orcynus. Dorion, in his treatise on

Fishes, says that the orcyni come from the sea near the Pillars of

Hercules to the waters on our coasts; on which account, a great number

are taken in the Iberian and Tyrrhenian seas; and that from thence

they are dispersed over the rest of the sea. But Icesius says that

those which are caught near Cadiz are the fattest, and next to them

those which are taken near Sicily. But that those which are taken at

any great distance from the Pillars of Hercules have very little fat

on them, because they have swum a very great distance. Accordingly,

at Cadiz, it is only the shoulders by themselves which are dried and

cured; as also it is only the jaws and palate of the sturgeon, and that

part which is called the melandryas, which is cured. But Icesius says

that the entrails are very rich, and very different in flavour from the

other parts; and that the parts about the shoulders are superior even

to these.

99. There is also the cod and the hake. The cod, says Aristotle, in his

work on Living Animals, has a large wide mouth like the shark, and he

is not a gregarious fish; and he is the only fish which has his heart

in his stomach, and in his brain he has stones like millstones. And he

is the only fish who buries himself in a hole in the hot weather, when

the Dog-star rages; for all others take to their holes in the winter

season. And these fish are mentioned by Epicharmus, in his Hebe's

Wedding:—

And there are channæ with their large wide mouths,

And cod with their huge bellies.

But the cod is different from the hake, as Dorion tells us, in his

work upon Fish, where he writes thus: "The ὄνος (cod), which some call

γάδος." There is also the gallerides, which some call a hake, and some

a maxinus. But Euthydemus, in his work on Cured Fish, says, "Some call

this fish the bacchus, and some call it the gelaria, and some call it

the hake." But Archestratus says—

Anthedon's famous for its cod, which some

Do call gallerias; there its size is great,

But the flesh spongy, and in many respects

I do not think it good, though others praise it.

But this man likes one thing, and that another.

100. There is the polypus, declined πολύπους, πολύποδος; at least this

is the way the Attic writers use the word, and so does Homer:—

As when a polypus (πουλύποδος in the genitive) is dragged from

out his lair:

[Sidenote: FISH.]

keeping the analogy to the noun ποὺς, from which it is derived. But in

the accusative case we find the form πολύπουν, just as we find Ἀλκίνουν

and Οἰδίπουν. Æschylus, too, has the form τρίπουν, as an epithet of

a caldron, in his Athamas, from ποὺς, as if it were a simple noun

like νοῦς. But the form πώλυπος is Æolic. For the Attics always say

πολύπους. Aristophanes, in his Dædalus, says—

When then I had this polypus (πουλύπους) and cuttle-fish.

And in another place he says—

He put before me a polypus (πουλύπουν).

And in another place he has—

They are the blows of a polypus press'd tight.

And Alcæus says, in his Adulterous Sisters,—

The man's a fool and has the mind of a polypus (πουλύποδος).

But Ameipsias, in his Glutton, says—

I want, it seems, a heap of polypi (πουλύπων).

And Plato, in his Boy, writes—

First of all you like the polypodes (τοὺς πουλύποδας).

Alcæus in another passage says—

I myself eat like any polypus (πουλύπους).

But others use the accusative case πολύποδα, in strict analogy with

ποὺς, ποδὸς, ποδὶ, πόδα. Eupolis, in his Demi, has—

The man's a fellow-citizen of mine,

A very polypus in disposition.

101. Diocles, in the first book of his treatise on Wholesome Things,

says—"The molluscous fish are calculated to give pleasure, and to

excite the amorous propensities; especially the polypi (ὁι πολυποδες)."

And Aristotle relates that the polypus has eight feet, of which the two

highest and the two lowest are the smallest, and those in the middle

are the largest; and they have also two feelers, with which they bring

their food to their mouth. And they have their eyes placed above their

two upper feet; and their mouth and teeth are between their feet. And

when the polypus is dissected, he has a brain divided into two parts;

and what is called his ink is not black, like the cuttle-fish, but

of a reddish colour, in that part of him which is called the poppy;

but the poppy lies above the stomach, like a bladder: and it has no

intestines, like other fish. But for food it uses at times the flesh

of small shell-fish, and casts the shells outside its body; by which

the hunters know where to find it. And it propagates its species by

becoming intertwined with the female, and is a long time about it,

because it is destitute of blood: and it ejects its young through the

orifice which is called the spiracle, which is the only passage for its

body; and it lays eggs in clusters, like bunches of grapes.

102. They say, also, that the polypus, when it is in want of food, will

eat even itself. And among those who relate this fact is Pherecrates

the comic poet; for he, in the play entitled The Countryman, says—

They live on green anthrysca, and on bracana,

And snails and slugs. And when they're very hungry,

Then, like the polypus, they e'en at night

Nibble their fingers.

And Diphilus, in his Merchant, says—

A polypus with all his feelers

And limbs unhurt; whose wicked tooth

Has not devour'd himself, my friend,

Is ready for our supper.

But all this is a mistake; for the fact is, that he is pursued by the

congers, and has his feet hurt in that manner. And it is said that if

any one strews salt over his hole, he immediately comes out. It is

also affirmed, that when he flies in alarm, he changes his colour, and

becomes like the places in which he conceals himself. As also Theognis

of Megara says, in his Elegies—

Remark the tricks of that most wary polypus,

Who always seems of the same colour and hue

As is the rock near which he lies.

And Clearchus makes a similar statement in the second book of his

treatise on Proverbs, where he quotes the following lines, without

saying from whose writings they come—

My son, my excellent Amphilochus,

Copy the shrewd device o' the polypus,

And make yourself as like as possible

To those whose land you chance to visit.

[Sidenote: THE POLYPUS.]

103. And the same Clearchus says that, in olden time, about Trœzen,

it was considered impious to try to catch either the polypus, which

was called sacred, or that one which was called the rower. And it was

contrary to law to eat either that or the sea-tortoise. But the polypus

is a fish very apt to decay, and also very stupid; for it goes towards

the hand of the people who are pursuing it: and sometimes even when

it is pursued, it does not attempt to get out of the way. Their females

waste away after laying their eggs, and get powerless; by reason of

which they are easily taken. And sometimes they have been seen leaving

the sea, and going on dry land, especially towards any rough or rugged

ground; for they shun smooth places: and of all plants they especially

delight in the olive, and they are often found embracing the trunk of

an olive with their feelers. They have also been discovered clinging

to such fig-trees as grow near the sea-shore, and eating the figs, as

Clearchus tells us, in his treatise on those Animals which live in the

Water. And this also is a proof that they are fond of the olive,—that

if any one drops a branch of this tree down into the sea, in a place

where there are polypi, and holds it there a little time, he without

any trouble draws up as many polypi as he pleases, clinging to the

branch. And all their other parts are exceedingly strong, but their

neck is weak.

104. It is also said that the male has something corresponding to

the parts of generation in one of his arms, in which there are his

two large feelers; and that it is a limb full of nerves, sticking to

the arm all along as far as the middle. But, in the fifth book of

his treatise on the Parts of Animals, Aristotle says—"The polypus

propagates his species in the winter, and brings forth in the spring;

and it lies in its hole for about two months: and it is a very

prolific animal. But the male differs from the female, both in having

a longer head, and also in having what the fishermen call its parts of

generation in one of its feelers. And when it brings forth, it sits on

its eggs, on which account it is worse to eat at that season; and the

polypus lays its eggs either in its bed, or in any potsherd, or hollow

place or vessel of that sort. And after fifty days, the little polypi

come forth out of the egg in immense numbers, like young spiders.

But the female polypus sometimes sits upon the eggs, and sometimes

clings to the mouth of the bed, holding on with one of its feelers."

Theophrastus, in his treatise on those Animals which change their

Colour, says that the polypus generally becomes like only to those

places which are rocky, doing this both out of fear and for the sake

of protecting itself. But, in his book on those Animals which live

on dry Land, he says that the polypi are not fond of sea-water. But,

in his treatise on those Things which are different according to the

Differences of their Situation, Theophrastus says that there are no

polypi about the Hellespont; for that sea is cold, and not very salt,

and that both these circumstances are unfavourable to the polypus.

105. "But the fish called the nautilus," says Aristotle, "is not a

polypus, though it resembles a polypus in its feelers. And the back

of the nautilus is covered with a shell; and it rises up out of the

bottom of the sea, having its shell upon its back, in order that it

may not catch the water. But when it has turned round, then it sails

on, putting up two of its feelers, which have a thin membrane growing

between them, just as the feet of some birds are which have a membrane

of skin between their toes. And their other two feelers they let down

into the sea, instead of rudders; but when they see anything coming

towards them, then out of fear they draw in those feet, and fill

themselves with salt water, and so descend to the bottom as rapidly as

possible." But, in his treatise on Animals and Fishes, he says—"Of the

polypi there are two sorts; one, that which changes its colour, the

other the nautilus."

106. Now, on this nautilus there is an epigram quoted of Callimachus of

Cyrene, which runs thus:—

I was a shell, O Venus Zephyritis,[8]

Now I'm the pious offering of Selena,

The gentle nautilus. When balmy winds

Breathe soft along the sea, I hold my course,

Stretching my sails on their congenial yards.

Should calm, the placid goddess, still the waves,

I row myself along with nimble feet,

So that my name suits rightly with my acts.

Now have I fallen on the Iulian shore,

To be a pleasant sport to Arsinoe.

No more shall Halcyons' dew-besprinkled eggs,

My dainty meal, lie thick within my bed

As formerly they did, since here I lie.

But give to Cleinias's daughter worthy thanks;

For she does shape her conduct honestly,

And from Æolian Smyrna doth she come.

Posidippus also wrote this epigram on the same Venus which is

worshipped in Zephyrium:—

Oh, all ye men who traffic on the streams,

Or on the land who hold a safer way,

[Sidenote: THE POLYPUS.]

Worship this shrine of Philadelphus' wife,

Venus Arsinoe, whom Callicrates,

The naval leader, first did firmly place

On this most beautiful Zephyrian shore.

And she will on your pious voyage smile,

And amid storms will for her votaries

Smooth the vex'd surface of the wide-spread sea.

Ion the tragedian also mentions the polypus, in his Phœnix, saying—

I hate the colour-changing polypus,

Clinging with bloodless feelers to the rocks.

107. Now the different species of polypus are these: the eledone,

the polypodine, the bolbotine, the osmylus; as both Aristotle and

Speusippus teach us. But, in his book on Animals and their Properties,

Aristotle says that the polypus, the osmylus, the eledone, the

cuttle-fish, and the squid, are all molluscous. Epicharmus, in his

Hebe's Wedding, says—

A polypus, a cuttle-fish, and quickly-moving squid,

A foul-smelling bolbitine, and chattering old woman.

And Archestratus says—

The Carian and the Thasian polypi

Are far the best; Corcyra too can breed

Fish of large size and very numerous.

But the Dorians spell the word with an ω, πωλύπους; as, for instance,

Epicharmus. Simonides too has the expression, πώλυπον διζήμενος.

But the Attics spell the word πολύπους, with an ο: and it is a

cartilaginous fish; for χονδρώδης and σελαχώδης have the same meaning;—

The polypodes and the dog-shark.

Moreover, all the fish belonging to the species of the cuttle-fish are

called molluscous. But the whole tribe of . . . . . is cartilaginous.

108. There is also a fish called the pagurus; and it is mentioned by

Timocles or Xenarchus, in his Purple, thus—

But I, as being a skilful fisherman,

Have carefully devised all sorts of arts

To catch those vile paguri, enemies

To all the gods and all the little fishes.

And shall I not without delay beguile

An old buglossus? That would be well done.

109. There is also the pelamys. Phrynichus mentions it in his Muses;

and Aristotle, in the fifth book of his treatise on the Parts of

Animals, says the pelamydes and the tunnies breed in the Black Sea, but

not anywhere else. Sophocles also mentions them, in his Shepherds:—

There, too, the foreign pelamys does winter,

The stranger from the Hellespont. For she

Doth come with many of her kind in summer

To these cool waters of the Bosphorus.

110. Then there is the perch. He also is mentioned by Diocles; and

Speusippus, in the second book of his treatise on Things Resembling one

another, says that the perch, the canna, and the phycis are all nearly

alike. And Epicharmus says—

The comaris, the sea-dog, and the cestra

And variegated perch.

And Numenius, in his treatise on the Art of Fishing, says—

At one time perch, and at another strophades,

Which keep around the rocks. The phycis too,

Th' alphestes, and the red-flesh'd scorpion.

There is also the phycis. This also is mentioned by Epicharmus, in

his Hebe's Wedding; and by Speusippus, in the second book of his

treatise on Things Resembling one another; and by Numenius: all whose

testimonies are at hand. Aristotle, in his book upon Animals and their

Properties, says that the phycis is surrounded with prickles and

spotted. But the perch is marked with lines, and with bars running in

an oblique direction. And there is a proverb also, "The perch follows

the blacktail."

111. We have also the needle-fish. This also is mentioned by Epicharmus,

who says—

The oxyrhynchi, and the needle-fish,

And the hippuri.

But Dorion, in his work on Fish, says—"The belone, which they also

call the needle-fish." Aristotle too, in the fifth book of his Parts

of Animals, calls this fish the belone. But, in his book on Animals

and their Properties, or else in his work on Fishes, he calls it the

needle-fish; and says that it has no teeth. And Speusippus calls it the

belone.

112. There is also the rhinè. Dorion, in his book on Fishes, says that

the rhinès are best at Smyrna; and that all the cartilaginous fish are

especially good in the gulf of Smyrna. And Archestratus says—

And the far-famed Miletus does produce

All cartilaginous fish in high perfection,

[Sidenote: FISH.]

But first of all one ought to take account

Both of the rhina and leiobatus,

Known for his spacious back. Still before all

Give me a roasted crocodile to eat,

Fresh from the oven, a most dainty dish

For all the children of Ionia.

113. There is next the scarus, or char. Aristotle says that this fish

has serrated teeth, and is a solitary fish, and carnivorous; and that

it has a small mouth, and a tongue which does not adhere closely to the

mouth, and a triangular heart of a whitish colour and with three lobes;

and that its gall and spleen are black, and that of its gills one is

double and one single; and that it alone of all fish chews the cud. And

that it delights in seaweed for food, on which account the fishermen

use seaweed as a bait to catch it with. And it is in season in the

summer. And Epicharmus, in his Hebe's Wedding, says—

We fish for spari, and for scari too,

Whose very dung may not be thrown away.

But Seleucus of Tarsus, in his treatise on Fishing, says that the

scarus is the only fish which never sleeps; by reason of which it is

not easily caught, even by night. But this may be the case on account

of its timid nature. And Archestratus says, in his Gastronomy,—

Seek now a scarus, fresh from Ephesus,

And in the winter season eat a mullet

Caught in the waves of sandy Teichioussa,

A village of Miletus, near the Carians,

The crooked-footed Carians.

And in another part he says—

Wash and then roast the mighty scarus which

Comes from the sea that laves Chalcedon's walls:

That too is good which near Byzantium swims,

With back as broad as a large oval shield.

Take him and cook him whole as I shall tell you.

Sprinkle him o'er with oil and grated cheese,

Then place him in the oven hanging up,

So as to escape the bottom, and then roast him,

And sprinkle him with salt and cummin seed

Well mix'd together; and again with oil,

Pouring out of your hand the holy stream.

Nicander of Thyatira says that there are two kinds of scari; and that

one is called the onias, and the other the æolus.

114. Then there is the sparus. Icesius says that this is a more juicy

fish than the sprat, and more nutritious than most other fish. And

Epicharmus says, in his Hebe's Wedding,—

Neptune then arrives himself

Laden with most beauteous nets

In the boats of fair Phœnicia,

Then we all do spari catch,

And scari too, that sacred fish,

Whose very dung may not be thrown away.

And Numenius says, in his treatise on Fishing,—

The sparus or the hycas fond of company.

And Dorion mentions this fish, in his treatise on Fishes.

115. There is also the scorpion. Diocles, in the first book of his

treatise on Wholesome Things, addressed to Plistarchus, says—"Of fresh

fish, the following have drier meat: the scorpions, the sea-cuckoo, the

sea-sparrow, the sargi, and the rough-tail. But the mullet is not so

dry as these are; for all fish which keep near the rocks have softer

flesh." And Icesius says—"There are two kinds of scorpion; one of which

lives in the sea, and the other in marshes. And the one which lives

in the sea is red, but the other is rather black. But the sea-mullet

is superior to the other, both in taste and in nutritious qualities.

But the scorpions have purging qualities, are easy of secretion, very

juicy, and very nutritious; for they are a cartilaginous fish." The

scorpion brings forth its young twice a-year, as Aristotle tells us,

in the fifth book of his Parts of Animals. But Numenius says, in his

treatise on Fishing,—

The phycides, the alphestes, and besides

The red-flesh'd scorpion, and the blacktail quick,

Which guides the perch all through the stormy sea.

But that he is a fish which has the power of stinging, Aristotle tells

us, in his book about Fishes or Animals. And Epicharmus, in his Muses,

says that the scorpion is a variegated fish:—

The variegated scorpion, the grayling,

The fat and well-fed lizards.

[Sidenote: FISH.]

The scorpion is a solitary fish, and feeds on seaweed. But, in the

fifth book of his Parts of Animals, Aristotle speaks of scorpions and

scorpides in different places; but it is uncertain whether he means the

same fish; because we ourselves have often eaten the scorpæna and the

scorpion, and there is no one who does not know that both their juice

and their meat are quite different. But Archestratus, that skilful

cook, in his Golden Words, tells us—

When you're at Thasos buy a scorpion,

But let him not be longer than one cubit;

Avoid the larger sizes.

116. Then there is the scombrus, or tunny, which is mentioned by this

name by Aristophanes, in his Gerytades. Icesius says that that species

of tunny called scombrus is smaller in size, but more nutritious, than

the species called colias; and also more juicy, though not more easily

digested. Epicharmus, in his Hebe's Wedding, mentions them thus:—

Sea-swallows, and mormyri, both of which

Are larger than the coliæ and the scombri,

But less than those whose name is thynnides.

117. The sargus is another fish. He (as Icesius tells us) is a fish of

very exciting and astringent properties, and more nutritious than the

melanurus, or blacktail. But Numenius, in his treatise on Fishing, says

that the sargus is a very cunning fish as respects the catching him:—

The rich sea-blackbird, or the thrush who sports

Beneath the waves; the sargus too who rushes

Now here with sudden movement, and now there,

The greatest enemy to the fisher's nets.

And Aristotle, in the fifth book of his treatise on the Parts of

Animals, says that the sargus brings forth its young twice in the year;

once in the spring, and once in the autumn. And Epicharmus, in his

Hebe's Wedding, says—

The sargus, and the chalcis, and the . . .

But he speaks of the sarginus, or sargus, as an excellent fish, in the

following lines—

There the sarginus was, the melanurus,

And the dear tænia, thin but delicious.

And in a similar manner Dorion, in his treatise on Fishes, speaks,

calling them sargini and chalcides, on this very account. But the wise

Archestratus says—

Now when the bright Orion's star doth set,

And the fair mother of the vinous grape

Doth shed her hair, then take a roasted sargus,

Well sprinkled o'er with cheese, of mighty size,

Smoking, and soften'd with sharp vinegar.

For he is hard by nature. And remember

This is the way all hard fish should be cook'd.

But those whose meat is good and soft by nature,

It is enough to sprinkle well with salt,

And lightly to anoint with oil. For they

Have virtue and delights within themselves.

118. There is the salpe, too. Epicharmus, in his Hebe's Wedding, says—

The aon, and the phagrus, and the pike,

And the dung-eating, bloated, dirty salpe,

Which still have a sweet flavour in the summer.

And Aristotle, in the fifth book of his Parts of Animals, says that the

salpe has young once a-year only, in the autumn; and that his skin is

covered with numerous red lines. Moreover, he has serrated teeth, and

is a solitary fish. And he says that it is stated by the fishermen that

he may be caught with a cucumber, being very fond of that kind of food.

And Archestratus says—

I always do account the fish call'd salpe

A worthless fish. But it is least tasteless

When the wheat ripens. And the choicest kinds

Are caught at Mitylene.

And Pancrates, in his Works of the Sea, says—

There is the salpe too, of the same size,

Which the seafaring fishermen do call

The ox, because he grinds within his teeth

The stout seaweed with which he fills his belly.

He also is a spotted or variegated fish; on which account his friends

used to nickname Mnaseas the Locrian (or, as some call him, the

Colophonian),—the man who wrote the poem called The Sports,—Salpe, on

account of the variety of things in his collection. But Nymphodorus the

Syracusan, in his Voyage round Asia, says that it was a Lesbian woman,

named Salpe, who wrote the book called The Sports. But Alcimus, in his

Affairs of Sicily, says that in Messene, in Sicily, there was a man

named Botrys, who was the author of some "Sports" very like those which

are attributed to Salpe. But Archippus uses the word in the masculine

form, _Salpes_, saying—

The ceryx shouted out,

The salpes trumpeted and fetch'd seven obols.

And there is a similar fish produced in the Red Sea, which is called

the stromateus; and it has gold-coloured lines running along the whole

of his body, as Philo tells us, in his book on Mines.

[Sidenote: FISH.]

119. There is also the synodon and the synagris. They also are

mentioned by Epicharmus, when he says—

Synagrides, and mazi, and the synodons,

With red spots variegated.

And Numenius, in his treatise on Fishing, writes the word with an υ,

συνόδους; and says—

Then the white synodon, and boax, and triccus.

And in another place he says—

Fish with these baits then, if you wish to eat

The mighty synodon, or diving horsetail.

But Dorion writes the word σινόδους, with an ι; and so does

Archestratus, in the following lines:—

But try to catch a well-fed sinodon,

And you will find the best in narrow straits.

All this advice to Cyrus I have given,

And now to you, Cleænus, I impart it.

And Antiphanes says, in his Archistrata,—

But who would eat an eel, or sinodon's head.

120. There is also the saurus, or lizard. Alexis mentions this fish, in

his Leuce. It is a cook who is speaking:—

_A._ Do you know how you ought to dress a lizard?

_B._ I shall, when you have taught me.

_A._ First of all

Take off the gills, then wash him, then cut off

The spines all round, and split him open neatly;

Then when you've laid him flat, anoint him well

And thoroughly with assafœtida;

Sprinkle him then with cheese, and salt, and marjoram.

And Ephippus, in his Cydon, gives a list of many other fishes, and

among them he mentions the lizard, in the following lines:—

Slices of tunny, and of glanis,

Of shark, and rhinè, and of conger,

Cephalus, perch, and lizard too,

And phycis, brinchus, also mullet,

Sea-cuckoo, phagrus, myllus, sparus,

Lebias, æolias, and sea-swallow,

Thritta, and squid, and cuttle-fish,

Sea-sparrow, and dracænides.

The polypus, the squid, and orphus,

The tench, th' anchovy, and the cestres,

And last of all the needle-fish.

And Innesimachus, in his Horse-breeder, says—

Of fish with teeth serrated, you may eat

The grim torpedo, the sea-frog, the perch,

The lizard, and the trichias, and the phycis,

The brinchus, and the mullet, and sea-cuckoo.

There is also the scepinus; and this fish is mentioned by Dorion,

in his treatise on Fish; and he says that it is also called the

attageinus, or sea-woodcock.

121. There is also the sciæna. Epicharmus, in his Hebe's Wedding, says—

Æoliæ were there, and plotes too,

And cynoglossi and sciathides.

But Numenius calls this fish the Sciadeus, saying—

Use then this bait, and you perhaps may catch,

If such your wish, a mighty synodon,

Or the quick leaping hippurus, or the phagrus

Proud with his high-raised crest, or in a shoal

Of trusty comrades, the fresh sciadeus.

There is also the syagris; and this fish is mentioned by Epicharmus, in

his Hebe's Wedding, and also in his Earth and Sea.

122. Then there is the sphuræna, or hammer-fish; and these fish,

Icesius says, are more nutritious than the congers, but very unpleasant

and unpalatable to the taste; and, as to their juicy qualities, they

are tolerable. But Dorion says—"The sphuræna, which they call the

cestra." And Epicharmus, in his Muses, having named the cestra, does

not after that mention the sphuræna, thinking them the same fish—

The chalcides, the sea-dog, and the cestra,

And perch with variegated back.

And Sophron, in his Male Farces, says—"The cestræ, which eat the

botis." But Speusippus, in the second book of his treatise on Things

which resemble one another, puts down the cestra, the needle-fish, and

the sea-lizard as very nearly like one another. And the Attic writers

in general call the sphuræna the cestra, and do not so often use the

name of sphuræna. Accordingly, Strattis, in his Macedonians, when some

Athenian asks the question, as being ignorant of the name, and saying,

But what is the sphuræna?

The other replies,

You, O Athenians, do call it the cestra.

And Antiphanes, in his Euthydicus, says—

_A._ The sphuræna is a common fish.

_B._ You should say cestra, in strict Attic Greek.

And Nicophon, in his Pandora, says—

The cestra and the pike.

[Sidenote: FISH.]

And Epicharmus, in his Hebe's Wedding, says—

The cestra and the variegated perch.

123. The cuttle-fish is often mentioned. Aristophanes says, in his

Danaides,—

And when I have the cuttle-fish and polypus.

And the penultima of this word has the acute accent, like that in the

word αἰτία, as Philemon tells us; like these words, παιδία, ταινία,

οἰκία. But Aristotle says that the cuttle-fish has eight feet, of which

the two lowest are the largest; and that it has two proboscises, and

between them it has its eyes and mouth placed. And it has two teeth,

one above and one below; and what is called a shell on its back. And

the ink is contained in what is called the mutis, which answers to the

liver; and it lies near its mouth, being something like a bladder. Its

belly is wide and smooth, like the paunch of an ox. And the little

cuttle-fish feed on small fish, extending their proboscises like

fishermen's lines, and catching their prey with them. It is said,

too, that when a storm comes, they seize hold of the rocks with their

proboscises, as if they were anchors, and so fix themselves firm. And

when the cuttle-fish is pursued, it discharges its ink, and is hidden

in it, making it appear as if it were flying forwards. And it is also

said, that when the female is struck by a harpoon, the male fish come

to its assistance, dragging it on; but if the male fish be taken, the

female fish flees away. But the cuttle-fish does not live more than

a year, as neither does the polypus. But, in the fifth book of his

Parts of Animals, Aristotle says—"The cuttle-fish and the squids swim

together, being united together at the mouths, and also touching one

another with their feelers, so as to join in that manner; and they

also join proboscis to proboscis. But of all the molluscous fish, the

cuttle-fish is the earliest in the spring to bring forth its young; and

they do not bring forth at every season. But they go with young fifteen

days; and when they lay their eggs, the male follows the female, and

breathes upon the eggs and makes them firm. And they move in pairs; and

the male is more variegated than the female, and blacker on the back."

124. And Epicharmus, in his Hebe's Wedding, says—

The polypus, likewise the cuttle-fish,

And the swift-moving squid.

And we must also take notice of this, with reference to Speusippus,

who says that the cuttle-fish and the squid are the same fish. But

when Hipponax, in his Iambics, uses the words σηπίης ὑπόσφαγμα, the

interpreters have explained the expression as meaning "the ink of the

cuttle-fish." But the word ὑπόσφαγμα is, properly speaking, equivalent

to ὑπότριμμα, a dish compounded of various ingredients, as Erasistratus

tells us, in his Cookery Book. And he writes as follows—"But ὑπόσφαγμα

is made with roast meat and blood stirred up and compounded with

cheese, and salt, and cummin, and assafœtida; but the meat may also

be boiled." And Glaucus the Locrian, in his Cookery Book, writes

as follows—"Ὑπόσφαγμα is blood boiled, and assafœtida, and boiled

lees of wine; or sometimes honey and vinegar, and milk and cheese,

and sweet-smelling herbs are shred and mixed together in it." And

Archestratus, that man of the most varied learning, says—

The cuttle-fish of Abdera and the middle of Maronea.

And Aristophanes, in his Thesmophoriazusæ, says—

Has any fish or cuttle-fish been bought?

And in the Danaides he says—

Osmulia, mœnidea, and cuttle-fish.

Theopompus, in his Aphrodite, says—

. . . But eat, my friend,

This cuttle-fish, and this small polypus.

But concerning the boiling of the small polypus, Alexis, in his Wicked

Woman, introduces a cook speaking as follows—

Now these three cuttle-fish I have just bought

For one small drachma. And when I've cut off

Their feelers and their fins, I then shall boil them.

And cutting up the main part of their meat

Into small dice, and rubbing in some salt,

After the guests already are sat down,

I then shall put them in the frying-pan,

And serve up hot towards the end of supper.

[Sidenote: FISH.]

125. The next fish is the mullet; and τρίγλη is like κίχλη, ending in

η. For the feminine nouns which end in λα require another λ before the

λα; as σκύλλα, Τελέσιλλα. But all the words which have γ united to λ

end in η; as τρώγλη, αἴγλη, ζεύγλη. But Aristotle, in the fifth book

of his Parts of Animals, says that the mullet brings forth three times

in the year; and states that the fishermen have adopted this opinion

from the spawn being seen three times a-year in certain localities. And

perhaps it is from the word τρὶς (three times) that it has its name;

just as the fish called ἀμία has its name from its being a fish which

does not go about by itself, but in shoals (ἄμα). And the σκάροϛ is so

called from σκαίρω (to leap); as also is the καρίς. And the ἀφύη is so

named as being ἀφυὴϛ, which is equivalent to δυσφυὴς, that is to say,

slowly propagated. Then θύννος has its name from θύω (to rush), because

it is an impetuous fish, from being driven about by its fly in the

head at the time of the rising of the Dog-star. But it is a fish with

serrated teeth, gregarious, and spotted all over, and also carnivorous:

and when it has had young three times it becomes barren; for some

little worms are engendered in its womb, which devour the young as soon

as they are conceived. And from the actual facts, Epicharmus calls them

hump-backed, in his Hebe's Wedding, where he says—

He brought the hump-back'd mullet too,

And the ungrateful bæones.

But Sophron, in his Male Farces, speaks of a fish which he calls

τρίγολη, saying,

The trigola which cuts the navel string.

And in another place he says—

The trigola which loves calm weather.

And in his play called Pædica he says—

. . . . . trigola . . . .

But, in his Affairs of Women, he says—

The bearded mullet (τρίγλη).

But Diocles, in his books addressed to Plistarchus, says that

the mullet is a fish of hard flesh; and Speusippus says that the

sea-cuckoo, the sea-swallow, and the mullet are all alike; on which

account Tryphon says, in his treatise on Animals, that some people

think that the trigola is the sea-cuckoo, from its likeness to it, and

from the dryness of its hind-quarters; which Sophron indicates, when he

says—

The fat mullets and the hinder parts of the trigola.

126. But Plato, in his Phaon, says—

The mullet is not wholesome for the nerves,

For it is sacred to the chaste Diana,

And all excitement hates.

But the mullet is attributed to Hecate as her fish, on account of the

common derivation of their names; for Hecate is called τριοδῖτις, as

presiding over places where three roads meet, and τρίγληνος, as having

three eyes; and also they provide her a banquet on the thirtieth day

of each month (ταῖς τριακάσι). And, on similar principles, they assign

to Apollo the fish κίθαρος, from κιθάρα (the harp); and the βόαξ to

Mercury, from βοάω (to speak); and the κιττὸς to Bacchus, from κισσὸς

(ivy); and the φάλαρις to Venus, as Aristophanes in his Birds says,

from the similarity of its name to the word φαλλός. And so the bird

called the νῆσσα (or duck), they call Neptune's bird; and the sea

production which we call ἀφυὰ, and others ἀφρύα, and which is more

generally called ἀφρὸς (foam), they also give to him; though they say

that this also is very dear to Venus, because she herself was born of

foam. But Apollodorus, in his books concerning the Gods, says that

the mullet is sacrificed to Hecate on account of the resemblance of

their names; for that the goddess is τρίμορφος, of a triple form. But

Melanthus, in his treatise on the Eleusinian Mysteries, says that both

the τρίγλη and the μαινὶς (or sprat), are sacred to Hecate, because

Hecate is also a goddess of the sea. But Hegesander the Delphian says

that the mullet is accustomed to be carried about in the Artemisia,

because it is accustomed diligently to hunt out and destroy the

sea-hares, which are poisonous animals; on which account, as it does

this to the great benefit of mankind, the mullet as a huntress is

considered sacred to the goddess who is also a huntress. And Sophron

has called the mullet "bearded," because those which have beards are

better flavoured than those which have not. And there is a place at

Athens called Τρίγλα, and there there is a shrine to Ἑκάτη Τριγλανθίνη;

on which account Chariclides, in his Chain, says—

O mistress Hecate, Trioditis,

With three forms (τρίμορφε) and three faces (τριπρόσωπε),

Propitiated with mullets (τρίγλαις).

127. And if the mullet, while alive, be choked with wine, and

then a man drinks the wine, he will no longer be able to indulge

in the pleasures of Venus, as Terpsicles tells us in his book on

Amatory Pleasures. And if a woman drinks this same wine, she never

becomes pregnant. Birds, too, are affected in the same manner. But

Archestratus, that very learned man, after he has praised the Milesian

mullet which are found at Teichius, proceeds to say—

If you at Thasos are, then buy a mullet;

You ne'er will get a worse, unless indeed

You go to Tius; but even those are fair:

But at Erythræ they are caught in shore

And are most excellent.

[Sidenote: FISH.]

And Cratinus, in his Trophonius, says—

And do not eat a red-flesh'd mullet hard,

Brought from Æxona; nor of any turtle,

Or mighty melanurus from those seas.

But Nausicrates, the comic poet, praises the mullets from Æxona, in his

Captains of Ships, saying—

_A._ Those yellow-fleshed fish, which the high wave

That beats Æxona brings towards the shore,

The best of fish; with which we venerate

The light-bestowing daughter of great Jove;

When sailors offer gifts of feasts to heaven.

_B._ You mean the mullet.

128. There is, too, the tænia; and this is mentioned by Epicharmus:—

The most belovèd tænia, which are thin,

But highly flavour'd, and need little fire.

And Mithæcus, in his Cookery Book, says—"Having taken out the entrails

of the tænia, and cut off its head, and washed it, and having cut it

into slices, sprinkle over it cheese and oil." But this fish is found

in the greatest number and in the finest condition off Canopus, which

is near Alexandria; and also off Seleucia, which is close to Antioch.

But when Eupolis, in his Prospaltii, says—

His mother was a Thracian woman,

A seller of tæniæ;

he then means by the word ταινία, not the fish, but those pieces of

woven work and girdles with which women bind their waists.

129. Another fish is the trachurus, or rough-tail. Diocles mentions

this as a dry fish. And Numenius, in his Art of Fishing, says—

The aconia and the wagtail too,

And the . . . . trachurus.

There is also the taulopias. Concerning this fish, Archestratus says—

When it is summer buy a good-sized head

Of fresh taulopias, just when Phaethon

Is driving his last course. Dress it with speed,

Serve it up hot, and some good seasoning with it,

Then take its entrails, spit and roast them too.

130. There is also the τευθὶς, [which is a kind of cuttle-fish,

different from the σηπίς.] Aristotle says that this also is a gregarious

fish, and that it has a great many things in common with the sepia;

such as the same number of feet, and the two proboscises: but of this

kind the lower feet are the smaller, and the upper feet the larger; and

of the proboscises, that on the right side is the thickest: and the

whole body is delicate, and of a more oblong shape than the sepia. And

the teuthis also has ink in its mutis, which, however, is not black,

but of a pale colour. And its shell is very small, and cartilaginous.

There is also the teuthus; and the only difference between the teuthus

and the teuthis is in size: and the teuthus is of the size of three

spans; and it is of a reddish colour. And of its two teeth, the lower

one is the smallest, and the upper one is the largest; and both of them

are black, and like a hawk's beak. And when it is slit open, it has a

paunch like a pig's paunch. Aristotle, in the fifth book of his Parts

of Animals, says that both the teuthus and the sepia are short-lived

fish. And Archestratus, who travelled and sailed over the whole earth,

for the sake of gratifying his greedy appetite, says,—

The best of all the teuthides are those

Caught near Pierian Dium, near the stream

Of Baphyras. And in Ambracia's port

You will see mighty shoals of this same fish.

And Alexis, in his Eretrian, introduces a cook speaking in this way—

Teuthides, thornbacks, rays, and fat

Anchovies, lumps of meat, and paunches too.

I took the teuthides, cut off their fins,

Adding a little fat; I then did sprinkle

Some thin shred herbs o'er all for seasoning.

There is also a sort of cake or confectionary called τευθὶς, which is

mentioned by Iatrocles, in his book on the Art of making Bread, as

Pamphilus quotes.

131. Then there is the sea-pig. Epicharmus, in his Hebe's Wedding,

says—

There were hyænides, buglossi,

There was the harp-fish too in numbers.

And he also calls them not only ὑαινίδες, but also ὔες in the following

lines—

There were too chalcides and sea-pigs (ὔες),

And sea-hawks, and the fat sea-dog.

[Sidenote: FISH.]

Unless, indeed, when he uses the word ὗς here, he means the same animal

which is also called κάπρος, the sea-boar. But Numenius, in his Art of

Fishing, enumerates plainly enough some sort of ὕαινα or plaice, when

he says—

The cantharis, hyæna, and the mullet.

And Dionysius, in his Cookery Book, also speaks of the hyæna or plaice.

And Archestratus, that prince of cooks and epicures says,—

At Ænus or at Potus buy the sea-pig,

Which some men call the digger of the sand,

Then boil his head, adding no seasoning,

But only water, stirring it full often,

And add some pounded hyssop; if you want

Anything more, pour on some pungent vinegar;

Steep it in that, then eat it with such haste

As if your object were to choke yourself.

But roast its neck, and all its other parts.

And perhaps it is the sea-pig which Numenius, in his Art of Fishing,

calls the psamathis, or sand-fish, when he says—

Sometimes the fierce carcharias, and sometimes

The psamathis, delighting in the surf.

132. Then there is the hyces. Callimachus, in his epigrams, calls the

hyces the sacred fish, in these lines—

And he does deem the sacred hyces god.

And Numenius, in his Art of Fishing, says—

The spar, or the gregarious hyces;

Or phagrus, ever wand'ring near the rocks.

And Timæus, in the thirteenth book of his Histories, speaking of the

town in Sicily, (I mean the town of Hyccara,) says that this town

derived its name from the circumstance of the first man who arrived at

the place finding abundance of the fish called hyces, and those too in

a breeding condition; and they, taking this for an omen, called the

place Hyccarus. But Zenodotus says that the Cyrenæans call the hyces

the erythrinus. But Hermippus of Smyrna, in his essay on Hipponax, when

he speaks of the hyces, means the iulis; and says that it is very hard

to catch; on which account Philetas says—

Nor was the hyces the last fish who fled.

133. There is also the phagrus. Speusippus, in the second book of his

Things resembling one another, says that the phagrus, the erythrinus,

and the hepatus, are very much alike. And Numenius also has mentioned

it in the lines which have been quoted not long ago. But Aristotle says

that he is a carnivorous and solitary fish; and that he has a heart

of a triangular shape, and that he is in season in the spring. And

Epicharmus, in his Hebe's Wedding, speaks of the

Aones, and the phagri, and the pikes.

And Metagenes also mentions them in his Thurio-Persæ. And Ameipsias says

in his Connus—

A food for orphi and selachia,

And for the greedy phagri.

And Icesius says—"The phagrus, and the chromis, and the anthias, and

the acharnanes, and the orphi, and the synodons, and the synagrides,

are all very nearly akin to one another; for they are sweet and

astringent, and nutritious, but in the same proportion they are hard of

digestion. And those of them, which are fleshy, and which are caught

nearer land, are the most nutritious, and those also which have the

least fat." But Archestratus says—

'Tis when the dogstar rises in the sky

That you should eat the phagrus; specially

If you in Delos or Eretria are,

Or other favouring harbours of the sea;

But, if you can, purchase his head alone,

And tail; and bring no more within your doors.

Strattis also mentions the phagrus in his Lemnomeda—

Eating a number of large phagri.

And in his Philoctetes he says—

Then, going to the market, they will buy

A great abundance of large phagri, and

Slices of tender round Copaic eel.

There is also a kind of stone called the phagrus. For the whetstone is

called so among the Cretans, as Simmias testifies.

134. There is also the channa. Epicharmus, in his Hebe's Wedding, says—

The channa, with large mouth, and then the cod,

With deep and spacious belly.

Numenius, in his Art of Fishing, says—

The channas and the eel, and pitinus,

Who only roams by night.

[Sidenote: FISH.]

Dorion also mentions him in his treatise on Fishes. But Aristotle, in

his book on Animals, calls the channa a fish variegated with red and

black; and he calls it also ποικιλόγραμμος, because it is marked with

black lines.

135. There is the chromis; this also is spoken of by Epicharmus, who

says—

There is the sword-fish and the chromias,

Who, in the spring, as Ananius says,

Is of all fish the daintiest.

And Numenius, in his Art of Fishing, says—

The hyces, or the beautiful callicthys,

Or else the chromis, and sometimes the orphus.

And Archestratus says—

You may catch noble chromises in Pella,

And they are fat when it is midsummer;

And in Ambracia likewise they abound.

136. There is also the chrysophrys. Archippus says in his Fishes—

The chrysophrys, sacred to Cytherean Venus.

And Icesius says that these fish are the best of all fish in sweetness,

and also in delicacy of flavour in other respects. They are also most

nutritious. They produce their young, as Aristotle says, in a manner

similar to the cestres, wherever there are flowing rivers. Epicharmus

mentions them in his Muses; and Dorion also, in his book on Fishes. And

Eupolis, in his Flatterers, says—

I spent a hundred drachmas upon fish,

And only got eight pike, and twelve chrysophryes.

But the wise Archestratus, in his Suggestions, says—

Pass not the chrysophrys from Ephesus

Unheeded by; which the Ephesians call

The ioniscus. Take him eagerly,

The produce of the venerable Selinus;

Wash him, and roast him whole, and serve him up,

Though he be ten full cubits long.

137. There is a fish, too, called the chalcis; and others which

resemble it, namely, the thrissa, the trichis, and the eritimus.

Icesius says, the fish called the chalcis, and the sea-goat, and the

needle-fish, and the thrissa, are like chaff, destitute alike of fat

and of juice. And Epicharmus, in his Hebe's Wedding, says—

The chalcides, the sea-pig too,

The sea-hawk, and the fat sea-dog.

But Dorion calls it the chalcidice. And Numenius says,—

But you would thus harpoon, in the same way,

That chalcis and the little tiny sprat.

But the χαλκεὺς is different from the χαλκὶς; and the χαλκεὺς is

mentioned by Heraclides, in his Cookery Book; and by Euthydemus, in his

book on Cured Fish, who says that they are bred in the country of the

Cyzicenes, being a round and circular fish.

But the thrissa is mentioned by Aristotle in his book on Animals and

Fishes, in these words—"The following are stationary fish: the thrissa,

the encrasicholus, the membras anchovy, the coracinus, the erythrinus,

and the trichis." And Eupolis mentions the trichis in his Flatterers;—

He was a stingy man, who once in his life

Before the war did buy some trichides;

But in the Samian war, a ha'p'orth of meat.

And Aristophanes, in his Knights, says—

If trichides were to be a penny a hundred.

But Dorion, in his treatise on Fishes, speaks also of the river

Thrissa; and calls the trichis trichias. Nicochares, in his Lemnian

Women, says—

The trichias, and the premas tunny too,

Placed in enormous quantities for supper.

(But there was a kind of tunny which they used to call premnas. Plato,

in his Europa, has these lines—

He once, when fishing, saw one of such size

A man could scarcely carry it, in a shoal

Of premnades, and then he let it go,

Because it was a boax.)

And Aristotle, in the fifth book of his Parts of Animals, calls it a

trichias also, but in the book which is entitled Ζωϊκὸν, he calls it

trichis. And it is said that this fish is delighted with dancing and

singing, and that when it hears music it leaps up out of the sea.

Dorion also mentions the eritimi, saying, that they are much the

same as the chalcides, and that they are very nice in forced meat.

And Epænetus, in his book upon Fishes, says—"The sea-weasel; the

smaris, which some call the dog's-bed; the chalcides, which they

also call sardini; the eritimi, the sea-hawk, and the sea-swallow."

And Aristotle, in the fifth book of his Parts of Animals, calls them

sardines. And Callimachus, in his Names used by different Nations,

writes thus—"The encrasicholus, the eritimus, are names used by the

Chalcedonians; the trichidia, the chalcis, the ictar, the atherina."

And in another part, giving a list of the names of fishes, he says—"The

ozæna, the osmylnion, are names used by the Thurians; the iopes, the

eritimi, are names used by the Athenians." And Nicander mentions the

iopes in his Bœotian,—

[Sidenote: FISH.]

But as when round a shoal of newly born

Iopes, phagri, or fierce scopes roam,

Or the large orphus.

And Aristophanes, in his Ships of Burden, says—

O wretched fish, the first of trichides

To be immersed in pickle.

For they used to steep in pickle all the fish which were proper to be

dressed on the coals. And they called pickle, Thasian brine; as also

the same poet says in his Wasps,—

For before that it twice drank in the brine.

138. There is also a fish called the thratta. And since we have brought

the discussion to this point, and have also discussed the thrissa; let

us now examine what the thrattæ are, which are mentioned by Archippus,

in his play called the Fishes. For in that play, in the treaty between

the Fishes and the Athenians, he introduces the following sentences—

And it is agreed on further

That both the high contracting parties

Shall restore all they now do hold

Of each other's property.

We shall give up thus the Thrattæ,

And the flute-playing Atherina,

And Thyrsus's daughter Sepia,

And the mullet, and Euclides,

Who was archon t'other day,

And the coraciontes too,

Who from Anagyrus come;

And the offspring of the tench,

Who swims round sacred Salamis;

And the frog who's seated near,

From the marshes of Oreum.

Now in these lines, perhaps a man may ask what sort of thrattæ among

the fishes are meant here, which the fish agree to give up to the men.

And since I have got some private things written out on this subject,

I will now recite to you that portion of them which bears most on the

subject.

The thratta, then, is really a genuine sea-fish; and Mnesimachus, in

his Horse-breeder, mentions it; and Mnesimachus is a poet of the middle

comedy. And he speaks thus—

The mullet, and the lebias, and the sparus,

The bright æolias, and the thratta too,

The sea-swallow, the caris, and the cuttle-fish.

But Dorotheus of Ascalon, in the hundred and eighth book of his

Collection of Words, writes this name θέττα, either because he fell

in with a copy of the drama with an incorrect text, or because, as he

himself was unused to the word, he altered it so before he published

it. But the name thetta does absolutely never occur in any Attic writer

whatever. But that they were used to call a sea-fish by the name of

thratta, that Anaxandrides establishes, speaking in this manner in his

play called Lycurgus,—

And sporting with the little coracini,

With little perches, and the little thrattæ.

And Antiphanes says in his Etrurian—

_A._ He is of the Halæa borough. This is all

That now is left me, to be abused unjustly.

_B._ Why so?

_A._ He will (you'll see) bestow on me

Some thratta, or sea-sparrow, or some lamprey,

Or some enormous other marine evil.

139. We come now to the sea-sparrow. Diocles enumerates this fish among

the drier kinds. But Speusippus, in the second book of his Things

resembling one another, says that the sea-sparrow and the buglossus

and the tænia are very much alike. But Aristotle, in the fifth book

of his Parts of Animals, writes—"And in the same manner the greater

number of the small fish have young once a-year; such as those which

are called chyti, which are surrounded by a net, namely, the chromis,

the sea-sparrow, the tunny, the pelamys, the cestreus, the chalcis, and

others of the same sort." And in his treatise on Animals he says—"These

fish are cartilaginous, the sea-cow, the turtle, the torpedo, the ray,

the sea-frog, the buglossa, the sea-sparrow, the mussel." But Dorion,

in his book on Fishes, says—"But of flat fish there is the buglossus,

the sea-sparrow, the escharus, which they also call the coris." The

buglossi are mentioned also by Epicharmus in his Hebe's Wedding—

Hyænides, buglossi, and a citharus.

And Lynceus the Samian, in his Letters, says that the finest

sea-sparrows are procured near Eleusis, in Attica. And Archestratus

says—

[Sidenote: FISH.]

Remember then to get a fine sea-sparrow,

And a rough-skinn'd buglossus, near the port

Of sacred Chalcis

But the Romans call the sea-sparrow rhombus; which, however, is a Greek

name. And Nausicrates, in his Sea Captains, having first mentioned the

sea-grayling, proceeds in this manner—

_A._ Those yellow-fleshed fish, which the high wave

That beats Æxona brings towards the shore,

The best of fish; with which we venerate

The light-bestowing daughter of great Jove;

When sailors offer gifts of feasts to heaven.

_B._ You mean the mullet, with its milky colour,

Which the Sicilian multitude calls rhombus.

140. So now, having given you, O Timocrates, the whole of the

conversation which took place among the Deipnosophists on the subject

of fish, we may conclude our book here; and unless you want some other

kind of food, we will end by setting before you what Eubulus has said

in his Lacedæmonians, or Leda;—

Besides all this you now shall have

A slice of tunny, a slice of pork,

Some paunch of kid, some liver of goat,

Some ram, the entrails of an ox,

A lamb's head, and a kid's intestines;

The belly of a hare, a pudding,

Some tripe, black-puddings, and a sausage.

Being sated, therefore, with all this, let us now take due care of

our bodies, in order to be able to feed comfortably on what is coming

next.

FOOTNOTES

[Footnote 1: From ἀφρὸς, foam.]

[Footnote 2: An Attic drachma was as near as may be 9‒3/4_d._ So that a

thousand will amount to something over 40_l._]

[Footnote 3:The Greek is Ἐπικούρειος εἰκαδιστὴς, which last word was an

epithet of the Epicureans, because they celebrated the death of their

founder on the twentieth day of the month Gamelion. _Vide_ L. & S. in

voc.]

[Footnote 4: From σφὴν, a wedge.]

[Footnote 5: Schweighaeuser thinks that something has dropped out of

the text here; and proposes to insert, "And Ulpian said."]

[Footnote 6: The burgh of Otryna was one of the most obscure ones,

while the Phaleric burgh was one of those of the highest reputation.]

[Footnote 7: This is a pun on the similarity of the name Gela to γέλως,

laughter, the compound κατάγελως meaning derision. And it is probably

borrowed from Aristophanes, who says, Acharn. 606:—

τοὺς δ᾽ ἐν καμαρίνῃ κᾀν γέλᾳ κᾀν καταγέλᾳ.]

[Footnote 8: Venus Zephyritis was the name under which Arsinoe was

worshipped; and the next line refers to the custom of the maidens on

the occasion of their marriage making a sportive offering of their toys

to Venus. Arsinoe was the wife and sister of Ptolemy Philadelphus.]