The Deipnosophists, or Banquet of the Learned of Athenaeus Part 90

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 taenia, 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 cuc.u.mber, 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.

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 Fis.h.i.+ng, writes the word with an ?, s???d???; 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 s???d???, with an ?; 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, Cleaenus, 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 a.s.saftida; 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 rhine, and of conger, Cephalus, perch, and lizard too, And phycis, brinchus, also mullet, Sea-cuckoo, phagrus, myllus, sparus, Lebias, aeolias, and sea-swallow, Thritta, and squid, and cuttle-fish, Sea-sparrow, and dracaenides.

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-woodc.o.c.k.

121. There is also the sciaena. Epicharmus, in his Hebe's Wedding, says--

aeoliae 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 sphuraena, 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 sphuraena, which they call the cestra."

And Epicharmus, in his Muses, having named the cestra, does not after that mention the sphuraena, 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 cestrae, 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 sphuraena the cestra, and do not so often use the name of sphuraena. Accordingly, Strattis, in his Macedonians, when some Athenian asks the question, as being ignorant of the name, and saying,

But what is the sphuraena?

The other replies,

You, O Athenians, do call it the cestra.

And Antiphanes, in his Euthydicus, says--

_A._ The sphuraena is a common fish.