The Deipnosophists, or Banquet of the Learned of Athenaeus Part 92

he then means by the word ta???a, 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 Fis.h.i.+ng, 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 te????, [which is a kind of cuttle-fish, different from the s?p??.] 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 sh.e.l.l 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 appet.i.te, 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 te????, 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 hyaenides, buglossi, There was the harp-fish too in numbers.

And he also calls them not only ?a???de?, but also ?e? in the following lines--

There were too chalcides and sea-pigs (?e?), And sea-hawks, and the fat sea-dog.

Unless, indeed, when he uses the word ?? here, he means the same animal which is also called ??p???, the sea-boar. But Numenius, in his Art of Fis.h.i.+ng, enumerates plainly enough some sort of ?a??a or plaice, when he says--

The cantharis, hyaena, and the mullet.

And Dionysius, in his Cookery Book, also speaks of the hyaena or plaice.

And Archestratus, that prince of cooks and epicures says,--

At aenus 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 Fis.h.i.+ng, 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 G.o.d.

And Numenius, in his Art of Fis.h.i.+ng, says--

The spar, or the gregarious hyces; Or phagrus, ever wand'ring near the rocks.

And Timaeus, 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 circ.u.mstance 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 Cyrenaeans 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-Persae. 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 s.p.a.cious belly.

Numenius, in his Art of Fis.h.i.+ng, says--

The channas and the eel, and pitinus, Who only roams by night.

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 p????????a??, 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 Fis.h.i.+ng, says--

The hyces, or the beautiful callicthys, Or else the chromis, and sometimes the orphus.

And Archestratus says--