Archestratus - Excepts from The Deipnosophists referencing Archestratus

These excerpts are from The Deipnosophists, or Banquet of the Learned written by Athenæus who mentions Archestratus' own writings quite frequently. Archestratus was a gourmand in the world of classical Greece, lived around 350 BC, and wrote a poem called ‘Hedypatheia‘ (meaning “Pleasant Living” or “Life of Luxury”), in a verse style that parodied the style of older, esteemed Greek poets. Sixty-two fragments, about 300 lines in total, from Archestratus's poem (including two doubtful items) survive, all via quotation by Athenaeus in the Deipnosophistae.

Archestratus the Syracusan or Geloan, in his work to which Chrysippus gives the title of Gastronomy, but Lynceus and Callimachus of Hedypathy, that is Pleasure, and which Clearchus calls Deipnology, and others Cookery, (but it is an epic poem, beginning,
Here to all Greece I open wisdom's store;)
says,
A numerous party may sit round a table,
But not more than three, four, or five on one sofa;
For else it would be a disorderly Babel,
Like the hireling piratical band of a rover.

Archestratus, the author of "The Art of giving a Banquet," says,—
When a libation to the gods you make,
Let your wine worthy be, and ripe and old;
Whose hoary locks droop o'er his purple lake,
Such as in Lesbos' sea-girt isle is sold.
Phœnicia doth a generous liquor bear,
But still the Lesbian I would rather quaff;
For though through age the former rich appear,
You'll find its fragrance will with use go off.
But Lesbian is the true ambrosial juice,
And so the gods, whose home's Olympus, think it;
And if some rather the Phœnician choose,
Let them, as long as they don't make you drink it.
The Thasian isle, too, noble wine doth grow,
When passing years have made its flavour mellow,
And other places too; still all I know
Is that the Lesbian liquor has no fellow.
I need not stop to tell you all the names
Of towns which in the generous contest vie,
Each for itself the vict'ry hotly claims;
But still the Lesbian wine beats all, say I.

And Archestratus says, in his Gastronomy—
Let wrinkled olives, fallen from the tree,
Be placed before you.

And Archestratus says—
I love not onions, nor yet cabbages,
Nor the sweet barberry-tree, nor all the other
Dainties and sweetmeats of the second course.

And Archestratus says, in his Gastronomy—
Ænus has mussels fine, Abydus too
Is famous for its oysters; Parium produces
Crabs, the bears of the sea, and Mitylene periwinkles;
Ambracia in all kinds of fish abounds,
And the boar-fish sends forth: and in its narrow strait
Messene cherishes the largest cockles.
In Ephesus you shall catch chemæ, which are not bad,
And Chalcedon will give you oysters. But may Jupiter
Destroy the race of criers, both the fish born in the sea,
And those wretches which infest the city forum;
All except one man, for he is a friend of mine,
Dwelling in Lesbos, abounding in grapes; and his name is Agatho.

59. But the ancients were not acquainted with the fashion of bringing on paunches, or lettuces, or anything of the sort, before dinner, as is done now. At all events Archestratus, the inventor of made dishes, as he calls himself, says that [169] pledges in drinking, and the use of ointments, are introduced after supper—
And always at the banquet crown your head
With flowing wreaths of varied scent and hue,
Culling the treasures of the happy earth;
And steep your hair in rich and reeking odours,
And all day long pour holy frankincense
And myrrh, the fragrant fruit of Syria,
On the slow slumb'ring ashes of the fire:
Then, when you drink, let slaves these luxuries bring—
Tripe, and the boiled paunch of well-fed swine,
Well soak'd in cummin juice and vinegar,
And sharp, strong-smelling assafœtida;
Taste, too, the tender well-roast birds, and game,
Whate'er may be in season. But despise
The rude uncivilized Sicilian mode,
Where men do nought but drink like troops of frogs,
And eat no solid seasoning. Avoid them.
And seek the meats which I enjoin thee here.
All other foods are only signs and proofs
Of wretched poverty: the green boil'd vetch,
And beans, and apples, and dried drums of figs.
But praise the cheesecakes which from Athens come;
And if there are none, still of any country
Cheesecakes are to be eaten; also ask
For Attic Honey, the feast's crowning dish—
For that it is which makes a banquet noble.
Thus should a free man live, or else descend
Beneath the earth, and court the deadly realms
Of Tartarus, buried deep beneath the earth
Innumerable fathoms.

60. But one may well wonder at Archestratus, who has given us such admirable suggestions and injunctions, and who was a guide in the matter of pleasure to the philosopher Epicurus, when he counsels us wisely, in a manner equal to that of the bard[169:1] of Ascra, that we ought not to mind some people, but only attend to him; and he bids us eat such [170]and such things, differing in no respect from the cook in Damoxenus the comic writer, who says in his Syntrophi—
A. You see me here a most attentive pupil
Of Epicurus, wisest of the Greeks,
From whom in two years and ten months or less,
I scraped together four good Attic talents.
B. What do you mean by this? I pray thee, tell me,
Was he a cook, my master? That is news.
A. Ye gods! and what a cook! Believe me, nature
Is the beginning and the only source
Of all true wisdom. And there is no art
At which men labour, which contains more wisdom.
So this our art is easy to the man
Who has drunk deep of nature's principles;
They are his guides: and therefore, when you see
A cook who is no scholar, nor has read
The subtle lessons of Democritus,
(Aye and he must remember them besides,)
Laugh at him as an ass; and if you hire one
Who knows not Epicurus and his rules,
Discharge him straightway. For a cook must know,
(I speak the words of sober truth, my friend,)
How great the difference is in summer time
Between the glaucisk of the winter-season;
He must know all the fish the Pleiades
Bring to us at their setting; what the solstice,
Winter and summer, gives us eatable—
For all the changes and the revolutions
Are fraught with countless evil to mankind,
Such changes do they cause in all their food.
Dost thou not understand me? And remember,
Whatever is in season must be good.
B. How few observe these rules.
A. From this neglect
Come spasms, and the flatulence which ill
Beseems a politic guest;—but all the food
I give my parties, wholesome is, and good,
Digestible and free from flatulence.
Therefore its juice is easily dissolved,
And penetrates the entire body's pores.
B. Juice, say you? This is not known to Democritus.
A. But all meats out of season make the eater
Diseased in his joints.
B. You seem to me,
To have studied too the art of medicine.
A. No doubt, and so does every one who seeks
Acquaintance with his nature's mysteries.
But see now, I do beg you by the gods,
How ignorant the present race of cooks are.
When thus you find them ignorant of the smell
[171]Of all the varied dishes which they dress,
And pounding sesame in all their sauce.
What can be bad enough for such sad blunderers?
B. You seem to speak as any oracle.
A. What good can e'er arise, where every quality
Is jumbled with its opposite in kind,
How different soever both may be?
Now to discern these things is art and skill,
Not to wash dishes nor to smell of smoke.
For I do never enter a strange cook-shop,
But sit within such a distance as enables
My eyes to comprehend what is within.
My friends, too, do the same; I tell them all
The causes and results. This bit is sour,
Away with it; the man is not a cook,
Though he perhaps may be a music master:
Put in some fire; keep an equal heat.
The first dish scarcely suits the rest. Do you
Not see the form of th' art?
B. O, great Apollo!
A. What does this seem to you?
B. Pure skill; high art.
A. Then I no dishes place before my guests
At random; but while all things correspond
I regulate the whole, and will divide
The whole as best may suit, in fours, or fives;
And will consult each separate division—
And satisfy each party. Then again,
I stand afar off and directions give;
Whence bring you that? what shall you mix with this?
See how discordant those two dishes are!
Take care and shun such blunders. That will do.
Thus Epicurus did arrange his pleasures.
Thus wisely did he eat. He, only wise,
Saw what was good and what its nature was.
The Stoics seek in vain for such discoveries,
And know not good nor what the nature may be
Of good; and so they have it not; nor know
How to impart it to their friends and guests.
Enough of this. Do'st not agree with me?
B. Indeed I do, all things are plain to me.

63. Now if any one, my friends, were to consider this, he would naturally and reasonably praise the honest Chrysippus, who examined accurately into the nature of Epicurus's philosophy, and said, "That the Gastrology of Archestratus was the metropolis of his philosophy;" which all the epicures of philosophers call the Theogony, as it were, that beautiful [173]epic poem; to whom Theognetus, in his Phasma or in his Miser, says—
My man, you will destroy me in this way;
For you are ill and surfeited with all
The divers arguments of all the Stoics.
"Gold is no part of man, mere passing rime.
Wisdom's his real wealth, solid like ice;
No one who has it ever loses it."
Oh! wretched that I am; what cruel fate
Has lodged me here with this philosopher?
Wretch, you have learnt a most perverted learning;
Your books have turn'd your whole life upside down;
Buried in deep philosophy you talk
Of earth and heaven, both of which care little
For you and all your arguments.

But by broad squills he must have meant what we call astaci, a kind of crab which Philyllius mentions in his Cities. [174] And Archestratus, in that famous poem of his where he never once mentions the crab by the name of κάραβος, does speak of the ἄστακος. As he does also in the following passage—
But passing over trifles, buy an astacus,
Which has long hands and heavy too, but feet
Of delicate smallness, and which slowly walks
Over the earth's face. A goodly troop there are
Of such, and those of finest flavour, where
The isles of Lipara do gem the ocean:
And many lie in the broad Hellespont.

And Epicharmus, in his Hebe's Marriage, shows plainly that the ἄστακος spoken of by Archestratus is the same as the κάραβος, speaking as follows—
There are astaci and colybdænæ, both equipp'd
With little feet and long hands, both coming under
The name of κάραβος.

66. But concerning carides, Ephorus mentions in his first book that there is a city called Carides near the island of Chios; and he says that it was founded by Macar and those of his companions who were saved out of the deluge which happened in the time of Deucalion; and that to this very day the place is called Carides. But Archestratus, the inventor of made dishes, gives these recommendations—
But if you ever come to Iasus,
A city of the Carians, you shall have
A caris of huge size, but rare to buy.
Many there are where Macedon is wash'd
By the deep sea, and in Ambracia's gulf.

[182] There is another loaf called the encryphias, or secret loaf. And this is mentioned by Nicostratus, in his Hierophant, and Archestratus the inventor of made dishes, whose testimony I will introduce at the proper season.

77. And Archestratus, in his Gastronomy, thus speaks of flour and of rolls—
First, my dear Moschus, will I celebrate
The bounteous gifts of Ceres the fair-hair'd.
And cherish these my sayings in thy heart.
Take these most excellent things,—the well-made cake
Of fruitful barley, in fair Lesbos grown,
On the circumfluous hill of Eresus;
Whiter than driven snow, if it be true
That these are loaves such as the gods do eat,
Which Mercury their steward buys for them.
Good is the bread in seven-gated Thebes,
In Thasos, and in many other cities,
But all compared with these would seem but husks,
And worthless refuse. Be you sure of this.
Seek too the round Thessalian roll, the which
A maid's fair hand has kneaded, which the natives
Crimmatias call; though others chondrinus.
Nor let the Tegean son of finest flour,
The fine encryphias be all unpraised.
Athens, Minerva's famous city, sends
The best of loaves to market, food for men;
There is, besides, Erythra, known for grapes,
Nor less for a white loaf in shapely pan,
Carefully moulded, white and beautiful,
A tempting dish for hungry guests at supper.
The epicure Archestratus says this; and he counsels us to have a Phœnician or Lydian slave for a baker; for he was not ignorant that the best makers of loaves come from Cappadocia. And he speaks thus—
Take care, and keep a Lydian in thy house,
Or an all-wise Phœnician; who shall know
Your inmost thoughts, and each day shall devise
New forms to please your mind, and do your bidding.

To this Daphnus the Ephesian added,—Archestratus, who sailed round the whole world for the sake of finding out what was good to eat, and what pleasures he could derive from the use of his inferior members, says—
And a large slice of fat Sicilian tunny,
Carefully carved, should be immersed in brine.
But the saperdes is a worthless brute,
A delicacy fit for Ponticans
And those who like it. For few men can tell
How bad and void of strengthening qualities
Those viands are. The scombrus should be kept
Three days before you sprinkle it with salt,
Then let it lie half-pickled in the cask.
But when you come unto the sacred coast,
Where proud Byzantium commands the strait,
Then take a slice of delicate horæum,
For it is good and tender in those seas.
But that epicure Archestratus has omitted to enumerate the pickle-juice called elephantine, which is spoken of by Crates the comic poet, in his Samians

And Plutarch replied,—The heminerus, as far as I know, does not differ from the half-pickled fish which have been already mentioned, and which your elegant Archestratus speaks of;

54. But Archestratus of Gela, in his treatise on Gastronomy, (which is the only poetical composition which you wise men admire; following Pythagoras in this doctrine alone, namely silence, and doing this only because of your want of words; and besides that, you profess to think well of the Art of Love of Sphodrias the Cynic, and the Amatory Conversation of Protagorides, and the Convivial Dialogues of that beautiful [261]philosopher Persæus, compiled out of the Commentaries of Stilpon and Zeno, in which he inquires, How one may guard against guests at a banquet going to sleep; and, How one ought to use drinking of healths; and, When one ought to introduce beautiful boys and girls into a banquet; and when one ought to treat them well as if they were admired, and when one ought to send them away as disregarding them; and also, concerning various kinds of cookery, and concerning loaves, and other things; and all the over-subtle discussions in which the son of Sophroniscus has indulged concerning kissing.

56. However, Archestratus, as I was saying before this long digression, whom you praise as equal to Homer, because of his praises of the stomach—though your friend Timon says of the stomach,
Than which no part more shameless can be found—
when speaking of the Sea-dog, writes as follows:—
There are but few so happy as to know
This godlike food, nor do men covet it
Who have the silly souls of common mortals.
They fear because it is an animal
Which living preys on man. But every fish
Loves human flesh, if it can meet with it.
So that 'tis fit that all who talk such nonsense
Should be confined to herbs, and should be sent
To Diodorus the philosopher
And starve, and so pythagorize with him.

And his Political Dialogue runs down the whole of the Athenian demagogues: and his Archelaus attacks Gorgias, the rhetorician; and his Aspasia attacks Xanthippus and Paralus, the sons of Pericles. For, as for one of them, he says that he is a companion of Archestratus, who is no better than a frequenter of houses of the worst possible fame; and the other he calls an acquaintance and intimate friend of Euphemus, who abused every one he met with vulgar and ill-mannered abuse.

And Aristotle, inquiring into the etymology of the name, says that they were called amiæ, παρὰ τὸ ἅμα ἰέναι ταῖς [437] παραπλησίαις (from their going in shoals with their companions of the same kind). But Icesius, in his treatise on the Materials of Food, says that they are full of a wholesome juice, and tender, but only of moderate excellency as far as their digestible properties go, and not very nutritious.
7. But Archestratus,—that writer so curious in all that relates to cookery,—in his Gastrology (for that is the title of the book as it is given by Lycophron, in his treatise on Comedy, just as the work of Cleostratus of Tenedos is called Astrology), speaks thus of the amia:—
But towards the end of autumn, when the Pleiad
Has hidden its light, then dress the amiæ
Whatever way you please. Why need I teach you?
For then you cannot spoil it, if you wish.
But if you should desire, Moschus my friend,
To know by what recipe you best may dress it;
Take the green leaves of fig-trees, and some marjoram,
But not too much; no cheese or other nonsense,
But merely wrap it up in the fig leaves,
And tie it round with a small piece of string,
Then bury it beneath the glowing ashes,
Judging by instinct of the time it takes
To be completely done without being burnt.
And if you wish to have the best o' their kind,
Take care to get them from Byzantium;
Or if they come from any sea near that
They'll not be bad: but if you go down lower,
And pass the straits into the Ægæan sea,
They're quite a different thing, in flavour worse
As well as size, and merit far less praise.

8. But this Archestratus was so devoted to luxury, that he travelled over every country and every sea, with great diligence, wishing, as it seems to me, to seek out very carefully whatever related to his stomach; and, as men do who write Itineraries and Books of Voyages, so he wishes to relate everything with the greatest accuracy, and to tell where every kind of eatable is to be got in the greatest perfection; for this is what he professes himself, in the preface to his admirable Book of Precepts, which he addresses to his companions, Moschus and Cleander; enjoining them, as the Pythian priestess says, to seek
A horse from Thessaly, a wife from Sparta,
And men who drink at Arethusa's fount.

Now after all this discussion of ours about fish, the excellent Ulpian may ask why Archestratus, speaking in those excellent suggestions of his of the cured fish on the Bosphorus, says—
Those which do come from the Bosphoric seas
Are whitest; only let there be no sample
Of the hard meat o' the fish which grow around
The Lake Mæotis; not in verse can I
That fish correctly name.

clean as that, and which is larger; but the [448] clean and thin one is the better of the two." And Archestratus the contriver of delicate dishes, says,—
Use all anchovies for manure, except
The Attic fish; I mean that useful seed
Which the Ionians do call the foam;
And take it fresh; just caught within the bays,
The sacred bays of beautiful Phalerum.
Good is it too, when by the sea-girt isle
Of Rhodes you eat it, if it's not imported.
And if you wish to taste it in perfection,
Boil nettles with it—nettles whose green leaves
On both sides crown the stem; put these in the dish
Around the fish, then fry them in one pan,
And mix in fragrant herbs well steep'd in oil.

23. But Clearchus the Peripatetic, in his treatise on Proverbs, speaks of the anchovy, and says—"Because they want very little fire for the frying-pan, Archestratus recommends people to put them into a pan which is already hot, and to take them off as soon as they hiss. And they are done, and begin to hiss in a moment, like oil; on which account it is said, 'Anchovy, look at the fire.'"

But Lynceus calls Archestratus an epicure, who in that much celebrated poem of his speaks thus of the shark:—
Are you at Rhodes? e'en if about to die,
Still, if a man would sell you a fox shark,
The fish the Syracusans call the dog,
Seize on it eagerly; at least, if fat:
And then compose yourself to meet your fate
With brow serene and mind well satisfied.

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 assafœtida;
But all the sons o' the sea whose flesh is lean
Should, as a rule, be dress'd in such a fashion;
And thus I recommend you now again.

30. There is also a shell-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.

42. However, this is enough about cooks. But we must say something about the conger. For Archestratus, in his Gastronomy, tells us how every part of it should be treated, saying—
In Sicyon my friend you best can get
A mighty head of conger, fat, and strong,
And large; and also take his entrails whole,
Then boil him a long time, well-soak'd in brine.
And after this he goes through the whole country of Italy, saying where the congers are best, describing them like a regular writer of an Itinerary, and he says—
There too fine congers may be caught, and they
Are to all other fish as far superior
As a fat tunny is to coracini.

44. But Archestratus, the man who lived the life of Sardanapalus, speaking of the galeus as he is found at Rhodes, says that it is the same fish as that which, among the Romans, is brought on the table to the music of flutes, and accompanied with crowns, the slaves also who carry it being [462]crowned, and that it is called by the Romans accipesius. But the accipesius, the same as the acipenser, or sturgeon, is but a small fish in comparison, and has a longer nose, and is more triangular than the galeus in his shape. And the very smallest and cheapest galeus is not sold at a lower price than a thousand Attic drachmæ.[462:1] But Appian, the grammarian, in his essay on the Luxury of Apicius, says that the accipesius is the fish called the ellops by the Greeks. But Archestratus, speaking of the Rhodian galeus, counselling his companions in a fatherly sort of way, says—
Are you at Rhodes? e'en if about to die,
Still, if a man would sell you a fox shark,
The fish the Syracusans call the dog,
Seize on it eagerly; at least, if fat:
And then compose yourself to meet your fate
With brow serene and mind well satisfied.

And Archestratus, praising the head of the glaucus, says—
If you're at Megara or at Olynthus,
Dress me a grayling's head. For in the shallows
Around those towns he's taken in perfection.

And Antiphanes, in his Cyclops, out-heroding even the epicure Archestratus, says—
Give me an Hymettian mullet,
And a ray just caught, a perch
Split open, and a cuttle-fish,
And a well-roasted synodon;
[464]A slice of grayling, and a head
Of mighty conger, luscious food;
A frog's inside, a tunny's flank,
A ray's sharp back, a cestra's loin,
Sea-sparrows, and sea-thrushes too,
Sprats, and anchovies, let me not
Complain of any want.

Moreover, Archestratus thus speaks of the eel:—
I praise all kinds of eels; but far the best
Is that which fishermen do take in the sea
Opposite to the strait of Rhegium.
Where you, Messenius, who daily put
This food within your mouth, surpass all mortals
In real pleasure. Though none can deny
That great the virtue and the glory is
Of the Strymonian and Copaic eels.
For they are large, and wonderfully fat;
And I do think in short that of all fish
The best in flavour is the noble eel,
Although he cannot propagate his species.

57. With respect to the ellops, some mention has already been made of him. But Archestratus also speaks in this way of him—
The best of ellopes which you can eat
Come from the bay of famous Syracuse.
Those eat whene'er you can. For that's the place
Whence this great fish originally came.
But those which are around the islands caught,
Or any other land, or nigh to Crete,
Too long have battled with the eddying currents,
And so are thin and harder to the taste.

But Archestratus, the marshal of banquets, says—
Remember that the lebias is best,
As also is the hepatus, in the waves
Which wash the Delian and the Tenian shores.

And Archestratus says—
Around the sacred and the spacious isle
Of Samos you may see large tunnies caught.
The Samians call them horcyes, and others
Do name them cetus. These 'tis well to buy,
Fit offering for the Gods; and do it quickly,
Nor stop to haggle or bargain for the price.
Good too are those which fair Byzantium,
Or the Carystian marble rocks do breed.
And in the famous isle of Sicily,
The Cephalœdian and Tyndarian shores
Send forth fish richer still. And if you come
To sacred Italy, where Hipponium's cape
Frowns on the waves which lave the Bruttian coast,
Those are the best of all. The tunnies there
Have gain'd the height of fame and palm of victory.
Still those which there you find have wander'd far,
Cross'd many seas, and many a roaring strait,
So that we often catch them out of season.

And Aristotle, in his treatise on Fishes, says that the thunnis is a gregarious fish, and also a migratory one. But Archestratus, who is so fond of petty details, says—
And then the thunna's tail, which I call thunnis,
That mighty fish, whose home's Byzantium.
Cut it in slices, and then roast it all
With accurate care, strewing on nought but salt,
Most thinly spread; then sprinkle a little oil;
Then eat it hot, first dipping it in brine.
Or if you like to eat them dry they're good;
Like the immortal gods in character,
And figure too; but if you once forget,
And vinegar add to them, then you spoil them.

And Archestratus says—
Th' hippurus of Carystus is the best,
And indeed all Carystian fish are good.

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.

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.

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.

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.

85. There is also a fish called the carcharias (or [487]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.

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.

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 hook of his Hellenics.

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.

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.

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 [493]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."

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.

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[494:1] (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?

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.

And Archestratus says—
The Carian and the Thasian polypi
Are far the best; Corcyra too can breed
Fish of large size and very numerous.

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,
[503]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.

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.

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 [505]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.

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.
[506]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.

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.

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.

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—"Ὑπόσφαγμαis 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.

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.

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.

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 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 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.

And Archestratus says—
You may catch noble chromises in Pella,
And they are fat when it is midsummer;
And in Ambracia likewise they abound.

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.

And Lynceus the Samian, in his Letters, says that the finest sea-sparrows are procured near Eleusis, in Attica. And Archestratus says—
[521]Remember then to get a fine sea-sparrow,
And a rough-skinn'd buglossus, near the port
Of sacred Chalcis.