The Deipnosophists, or Banquet of the Learned of Athenaeus Part 77

And Aristotle in the fifth book of his treatise on the Parts of Animals, says that the following are cartilaginous fish; the ray, the turtle, the sea cow, the lamprey, the sea eagle, the sea frog, and the whole of the shark tribe. But Sophron in his Farces, gives one fish the name of botis, saying, "The cestres eat the botis," though it is possible that he may be speaking of some herb. But with respect to the sea frog, the wise Archestratus gives us the following advice in his Apophthegms--

Whenever you behold a frog, why roast him

And . . . . prepare his stomach.

And concerning the ray, he says--

A boiled ray is good about midwinter.

Eat it with cheese and a.s.saftida; But all the sons o' the sea whose flesh is lean Should, as a rule, be dress'd in such a fas.h.i.+on; And thus I recommend you now again.

And Ephippus the comic poet, in his play called Philyra, (now Philyra is the name of a courtesan), says--

_A._ Shall I first cut a ray in slender slices And boil it? aye? or like the cooks in Sicily Shall I prefer to roast it?

_B._ Copy Sicily.

27. There are also fish called boaxes. Aristotle, in his treatise ent.i.tled Concerning Animals or Fish, says, "The following animals are marked on the back; the boax and others--the following are marked transversely, the kind of tunny fish called colias." And Epicharmus in his Marriage of Hebe, speaks thus--

And in addition to all these the boax, The smarides, anchovies, crabs and lobsters.

And Numenius, in his Art of Fis.h.i.+ng, calls them boeces, saying--

The white synodons, the boeces, and trinchi.

But Speusippus and the rest of the Attic writers call them boaces.

Aristophanes in his play called The Women who occupy Tents, says--

But having had a bellyful of boaces, I turn'd my steps towards home.

And they derived their name from the noise (??) which they make, on which account it used to be said that the fish was sacred to Mercury, as the harp fish was to Apollo. But Pherecrates in his Ant-Men, saying--"They say that there is no other fish whatever, which has any voice at all;" adds afterwards,--"By Castor and Pollux, there is at least no other fish except the boax." And Aristophanes the Byzantian says--"That we are wrong to call the fish boax, when we ought to call it boops, since though it is but a little fish, it has very large eyes, so that it might be called boops, having bulls' eyes." But we may reply to him, If we are wrong in naming him as we do, why do we say coracinus, not corocinus? For he derives his name from moving the pupils of his eyes (?p? t?? t?? ???a? ???e??). And so too, why do we not call the fish se?????? instead of s???????? for he has his name from continually shaking his tail (?p? t?? se?e?? t?? ?????)?

28. With respect to the small kind of anchovy called membras, Phrynicus, in his Tragedians, says--

O golden-headed membrades, sons of the sea.

But Epicharmus in his Hebe's Wedding, calls them bambradones, and says--

Bambradones and sea-thrushes, and hares, And furious dragons.

And Sophron in his Manly Qualities, says--"The bambradon, and the needle fish." And Numenius says, in his Treatise on Fis.h.i.+ng,

Or a small sprat, or it may be a bembras, Kept in a well; you recollect these baits.

And Dorion in his book on Fishes, says--"Having taken off the head of a bembras, if it be one of a tolerable size, and having washed it with water, and a small quant.i.ty of salt, then boil it in the same manner as you do a mullet; and the bembras is the only kind of anchovy from which is derived the condiment called bembraphya; which is mentioned by Aristonymus in the Sun s.h.i.+vering--

The carcin.o.bates of Sicily Resembles the bembraphya.

Still the Attic writers often call them bembrades. Aristomenes says in his Jugglers--

Bringing some bembrades purchased for an obol.

And Aristonymus in his Sun s.h.i.+vering, says--

The large anchovy plainly is not now, Nor e'en the bembras, quite unfortunate.

And Aristophanes says in his Old Age--

Fed on the h.o.a.ry bembrades.

And Plato in his Old Men, says--

O Hercules, do just survey these bembrades.

But in the Goats of Eupolis we may find the word written also with a (not e??? but e???). And Antiphanes says, in his Cnsthis;--

They do proclaim within the fishmarket The most absurd of proclamations, For just now one did shout with all his voice That he had got some bembrades sweet as honey; But if this be the case, then what should hinder The honey-sellers crying out and saying, That they have honey stinking like a bembras?

And Alexis in his Woman leading the Chorus, writes the word with a --

Who to the young folks making merry, then Put forth but lately pulse and membrades, And well-press'd grapes to eat.

And in his Protochorus he says--

No poorer meal, by Bacchus now I swear, Have I e'er tasted since I first became A parasite; I'd rather sup on membrades With any one who could speak Attic Greek; It would be better for me.

29. There is also a fish called the blennus, and it is mentioned by Sophron, in his play ent.i.tled The Fisherman and the Countryman, and he calls it the fat blennus. It is something like the tench in shape. But Epicharmus in his Hebe's Wedding speaks of a fish which he calls baiones, where he says--

Come now and bring me high-backed mullets, And the ungrateful baiones.

And among the Attic writers there is a proverb, "No baion for me; he is a poor fish."

30. There is also a sh.e.l.l-fish called buglossus. And Archestratus, the Pythagorean, says, because of his temperate habits,

Then we may take a turbot plump, or e'en A rough buglossus in the summer time, If one is near the famous Chalcis.

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

There were buglossi and the harp-fish there.

But the fish called cynoglossus differs from the buglossus. And of them too Epicharmus speaks--

There were the variegated plotides, And cynoglossi, and sciathides.

But the Attic writers call the buglossus the psetta.

31. There are also fish called congers. Icesius says that these are coa.r.s.er than the common eels; and that their flesh is less firm and less nutritious, and that they are very deficient in palatable juice; but still, that they are good for the stomach. But Nicander, the epic poet, in the third book of his Treatise on Dialects, says that they are also called grylli. But Eudoxus, in the sixth book of his Circuit of the Earth, says that there are numbers of congers caught off Sicyon, each large enough to be a load for a man; and some of them even big enough to be a load for a cart. And Philemon, the comic poet, himself mentioning the extraordinary congers at Sicyon, represents a cook as priding himself on his skill, and saying in the play ent.i.tled the Soldier,--