The Deipnosophists; or, Banquet of the Learned of Athenæus, Vol. 2 (of 3)Athenaeus, of Naucratis
Philosophy
The Deipnosophists; or, Banquet of the Learned of Athenæus, Vol. 2 (of 3)
Athenaeus, of Naucratis
Civilization, Greco-Roman; Dinners and dining -- Greece; Greece -- Social life and customs; Homosexuality -- Greece
52. "But the sparus is harsh-tasted, tender, with no unpleasant smell,
good for the stomach, diuretic, and not indigestible; but when he is
fried he is indigestible. The mullet is good for the stomach, very
astringent, of very firm flesh, not very digestible, apt to bind the
bowels, especially when it is broiled; but when it is fried in a
frying-pan, then it is heavy and indigestible; and, as a general rule,
the whole tribe of mullets has the property of causing secretions of
blood. The synodon and the charax are of the same kind, but the charax
is the better of the two. The phagrus is found both in the river
and in the sea; but that which is found in the sea is the best. The
capriscus is called also the mussel; but it has a strong smell, and
very hard meat, and it is more indigestible than the citharus; but its
skin is very pleasant to the taste. The needle-fish, or belone, and
it is also called the ablennes, is indigestible and moist, but good
for the bowels. The thrissa, and those of the same kind, such as the
chalcis and the eretimis, are very digestible. The cestreus is found
in the sea, and in rivers, and in lakes. And this fish, says he, is
also called the oxyrhynchus; but the one which is taken in the Nile is
called the coracinus. And the black kind is smaller than the white, and
when boiled it is not so good as when it is roasted; for when roasted
it is good for the stomach and good for the bowels. The salpe is
hard-fleshed, and unpleasant to the taste, but the best are those which
are caught at Alexandria, and those which are taken in the autumn. For
it is white, full of moisture, and free from any unpleasant smell. The
gryllus is like the eel in appearance, but it is not nice to the taste.
The sea-hawk is harder than the sea-cuckoo, but in other respects they
are much alike. The uranoscopus, and also the fish called agnus, which
is also called the callionymus, are heavy fish. The boax, when boiled,
is very digestible, giving out a very wholesome juice, and is good for
the stomach; and that which is broiled on the coals is sweeter and more
tender. The bacchus is full of abundant and agreeable and wholesome
juice, and is very nutritious. The sea-goat is not very agreeable as
to its juice, not very digestible, and has a disagreeable smell. The
sea-sparrow and the buglossus are both nutritious and palatable, and
the turbot is like them. The sea-grayling, the cephalus, the cestreus,
the myxinus, and the colon are all much alike as to their eatable
properties; but the cestreus is inferior to the cephalus, the myxinus
is worse, and the colon is the least good of all.
[Sidenote: FISH.]
53. "The thynnis and the thynnus are both heavy and nutritious; but
the fish which is called the Acarnanian is sweet, very exciting, very
nutritious, and easily secreted. The anchovy is heavy and indigestible,
and the white kind is called the cobitis; and the hepsetus, a little
fish, is of the same genus.
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