© {Copyright (C) 2011 Panagiotis Plaklary, published in Sunday “BHMA” on 18-7-1999 and is republished here with author's permission. The
images belong to the author and the ROM Multimedia magazine of D.Olampakis, and what is mentioned.}
and fishing in ancient Greece
by P.V .Faklaris *
Mr. Panagiotis V. Faklaris* is a professor of Classical Archeology at the Aristotle
University of Thessaloniki, a member of the university excavation
According to P. Faklaris, fish has been a key element in the diet of the Greeks since antiquity. Historical sources cite hundreds of names of fish and seafood, which testifies to the fact that our ancestors were excellent connoisseurs of marine life and diligent fishermen. The liquid element has always supplied the inhabitants of mainland and island Greece with its variety and abundance. The immediate proximity of a large part of our country to the sea, the clear and not very deep waters and the numerous species of fish, mollusks and shellfish, which - at least in ancient times - existed in rich quantities, make understand the love of the Greeks for seafood. Ancient written sources preserve a wealth of information about the types of seafood consumed, as well as the ways in which they were caught and cooked. There were even special books on the subject, e.g. Aristotle On Pisces, Archippus Pisces, Dorion On Pisces, Noumeniou Fisherman, Euthydimus On Salt, Antiphanes Fished. According to information from written sources, depictions, mainly in angiography, and archaeological finds, ancient fishing methods and tools have remained virtually unchanged from early antiquity to the present day. They used hooks, mainly copper, which they tied with strings, made of animal hair or fiber. To sink the hook, a lead weight was tied to it. It was common to fish with nets of different species depending on the type of fish, equipped with cork and weights, but also fishing with harpoon (kamax or trident). They also used curved braided rods. The most suitable times for fishing were considered to be dusk and dawn. They also fished at night with torchlight. Fishing was an important economic factor for coastal cities. Particularly certain, such as e.g. the Cyzicus, it seems, owed their wealth mainly to their abundant catches. The depiction in the coins of Cyzicus of the tuna (tuna), a famous catch of its waters, but also of the octopus in the coins of Eretria, refers to this element.
© {Copyright (C) 2011 Panagiotis Plaklary, published in Sunday “BHMA”
on 18-7-1999 and is republished here with author's permission. The
images belong to the author and the ROM Multimedia magazine of
D.Olampakis, and what is mentioned.}
and fishing in ancient Greece
by P.V .Faklaris *
Mr. Panagiotis V. Faklaris* is a professor of
Classical Archeology at the Aristotle
University of Thessaloniki, a member of the
university excavation
According to P. Faklaris, fish has been a key element in the diet of the Greeks since antiquity. Historical sources cite hundreds of names of fish and seafood, which testifies to the fact that our ancestors were excellent connoisseurs of marine life and diligent fishermen. The liquid element has always supplied the inhabitants of mainland and island Greece with its variety and abundance. The immediate proximity of a large part of our country to the sea, the clear and not very deep waters and the numerous species of fish, mollusks and shellfish, which - at least in ancient times - existed in rich quantities, make understand the love of the Greeks for seafood. Ancient written sources preserve a wealth of information about the types of seafood consumed, as well as the ways in which they were caught and cooked. There were even special books on the subject, e.g. Aristotle On Pisces, Archippus Pisces, Dorion On Pisces, Noumeniou Fisherman, Euthydimus On Salt, Antiphanes Fished. According to information from written sources, depictions, mainly in angiography, and archaeological finds, ancient fishing methods and tools have remained virtually unchanged from early antiquity to the present day. They used hooks, mainly copper, which they tied with strings, made of animal hair or fiber. To sink the hook, a lead weight was tied to it. It was common to fish with nets of different species depending on the type of fish, equipped with cork and weights, but also fishing with harpoon (kamax or trident). They also used curved braided rods. The most suitable times for fishing were considered to be dusk and dawn. They also fished at night with torchlight. Fishing was an important economic factor for coastal cities. Particularly certain, such as e.g. the Cyzicus, it seems, owed their wealth mainly to their abundant catches. The depiction in the coins of Cyzicus of the tuna (tuna), a famous catch of its waters, but also of the octopus in the coins of Eretria, refers to this element.
