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previous: Part 2 This webpage reproduces part of the Introduction to the Cynegetica and Halieutica by Oppian published in the Loeb Classical Library, 1928 The text is in the public domain. This page has been carefully proofread and I believe it to be free of errors. If you find a mistake though, please let me know! next: Part 4

Introduction
to Oppian

 p. xxxii  Hunting, Fishing, Fowling

Corresponding to the popular division of wild life according to habitat — creatures of the land, the water, the air — we find the art of capturing or  p. xxxiii killing wild creatures divided into Hunting, Fishing, Fowling. Xen. Hell. IV.1.15 ἔνθα καὶ τὰ βασίλεια ἦν Φαρναωάζῳ . . . καὶ θῆραι αἱ μὲν καὶ ἐν περιειργμένοις παραδείσοις, αἱ δὲ καὶ ἐν ἀναπεπταμένοις τόποις, πάγκαλαι. περιέρρει δὲ καὶ ποταμὸς παντοδαπῶν ἰχθύων πλήρης. ἦν δὲ καὶ τὰ πτηνὰ ἄφθονα τοῖς ὀρνιθεῦσθαι δυναμένοις; Cic. De fin. II.8.23º piscatu, aucupio, venatione; Plin. VIII.44 Alexandro Magno rege inflammato cupidine animalium naturas noscendi delegataque hac commentatione Aristoteli, summo in omni doctrina viro, aliquot millia hominum in totius Asiae Graeciaeque tractu parere iussa omnium quos venatus, aucupia, piscatusque alebant quibusque vivaria, armenta, alvearia, piscinae, aviaria in cura erant, ne quid usquam genitum ignoraretur ab eo. Pliny's alebant reminds us that the capture of wild creatures was at first a practical affair, the provision of food; cf. Pind. I. I.47 μισθὸς γὰρ ἄλλοις ἄλλος ἐφ’ ἕρμασιν ἀνθρώποις γλυκύς, | μηλοβότᾳ τ’ ἀρότᾳ τ’ ὀρνιχολόχῳ τε καὶ ὃν πόντος τρέφει· | γαστρὶ δὲ πᾶς τις ἀμύνων λιμὸν αἰανῆ τέταται. And it may be noted that Izaak Walton, The Compleat Angler, c. I makes each of his three disputants, Auceps, Venator, and Piscator, in commending the rival claims of their different arts, refer to this practical aspect: Auceps: "the very birds of the air . . . are both so many and so useful and pleasant to mankind. . . . They both feed and refresh him; feed him with their choice bodies, and refresh him with their heavenly voices." Venator: "the Earth feeds man and all those several beasts that both feed him and afford him recreation." Piscator: "And it may be fit to remember that Moses appointed fish to be the chief diet for the best commonwealth that  p. xxxiv ever was." Later the three arts are regarded more as forms of healthy recreation or, in the case of Hunting, as useful preparation for the art of war: Xenoph. Cyn. 1.18 ἐγὼ μὲν οὖν παραινῶ τοῖς νέοις μὴ καταφρονεῖν κυνηγεσίων μηδὲ τῆς ἄλλης παιδείας· ἐκ τούτων γὰρ γίγνονται τὰ εἰς τὸν πόλεμον ἀγαθοί.

In the Greek Anthology we have a series of epigrams (A. P. VI.11‑16 and 179‑187) in which three brothers, Damis, a Hunter, Pigres, a Fowler, Cleitor, a Fisher, make dedicatory offerings of the instruments of their several crafts.

1. Fowling (ὀρνιθευτική, ἰξευτική, aucupium). The methods of the Fowler are alluded to C. I.64 ff., H. I.31 ff.; IV.120 ff. (where see notes). The practice of Hawking is mentioned in Aristot. H. A. 620 A32 ἐν δὲ Θρᾴκῃ τῇ καλουμένῃ ποτὲ Κεδρειπόλει ἐν τῷ ἕλει θηρεύουσιν οἱ ἄνθρωποι τὰ ὀρνίθια κοινῇ μετὰ τῶν ἱεράκων· οἱ μὲν γὰρ ἔχοντες ξύλα σοβοῦσι τὸν κάλαμον καὶ τὴν ὕλην ἵνα πέτωνται τὰ ὀρνίθια, οἱ δ’ ἱέρακες ἄνωθεν ὑπερφαινόμενοι καταδιώκουσιν· ταῦτα δὲ φοβούμενα κάτω πέτονται πάλιν πρὸς τὴν γῆν· οἱ δ’ ἄνθρωποι τύπτοντες τοῖς ξύλοις λαμβάνουσι, καὶ τῆς θήρας μεταδιδόασιν αὐτοῖς· ῥίπτουσι γὰρ τῶν ὀρνίθων, οἱ δὲ ὑπολαμβάνουσιν. The same story is told A. Mirab. 841 B15 ff., Antig. 28, Ael. II.42, Plin. X.23. For a different method of employing the Hawk see Dionys. De av. III.5 and for the employment of the Owl (γλαῦξ, noctua) see Dionys. De av. III.17, Arist. H. A. 609 A13 τῆς δὲ ἡμέρας καὶ τὰ ἄλλα ὀρνίθια τὴν γλαῦκα περιπέταται, ὃ καλεῖται θαυμάζειν, καὶ προσπετόμεθα τίλλουσιν· διὸ οἱ ὀρνιθοθῆραι θηρεύουσιν αὐτῇ παντοδαπὰ ὀρνίθια; cf. 917 B4. For Doves (περιστεραί) as Decoy birds cf. Aristoph. Av. 1082  p. xxxv τὰς περιστεράς θ’ ὁμοίως συλλαβὼν εἵρξας ἔχει, | κἀπαναγκάζει παλεύειν δεδεμένας ἐν δικτύῳ; Arist. H. A. 613 A23, Ael. IV.16 XIII.17; for Partridges used in the same way, Arist. H. A. 614 A10, Ael. IV.16. Cf. in general Xen. Cyrop. I.6.39 σὺ γὰρ ἐπὶ μὲν τὰς ὄρνιθας ἐν τῷ ἰσχυροτάτῳ χειμῶνι ἀνιστάμενος ἐπορεύου νυκτός, καὶ πρὶν κινεῖσθαι τὰς ὄρνιθας ἐπεποίηντό σοι αἱ πάγαι αὐταῖς καὶ τὸ κεκινημένον χωρίον ἐξείκαστο τῷ ἀκινήτῳ· ὄρνιθες δ’ ἐξεπεπαίδευντό σοι ὡς σοι μὲν τὰ συμφέροντα ὑπηρετεῖν, τὰς δὲ ὁμοφύλους ὄρνιθας ἐξαπατᾶν. Fowling furnishes Homer with a simile O. XXII.468 ὡς δ’ ὅταν ἢ κίχλαι τανυσίπτεροι ἠὲ πέλειαι | ἕρκε’ ἐνιπλήξωσι, τά θ’ ἑστήκῃ ἐνὶ θάμνῳ, | αὖλιν ἐσιέμεναι, στυγερὸς δ’ ὑπεδέξατο κοῖτος, | ὣς αἵ γ’ ἑξείης κεφαλὰς ἔχον, ἀμφὶ δὲ πάσαις | δειρῇσι βρόχοι ἦσαν. The Fowler's dedications in the A. P. VI include νεφέλαι, ἰχνοπέδη, παγίς, κλωβιοί, στάλικες (stakes to support the nets), limed reeds, ἐπισπαστήρ (= ἐπίδρομος of the Hunter's net), and a net or noose for catching cranes by the neck (ἄρκυν τε κλαγερῶν λαιμοπέδαν γεράνων, cf. δεράγχη A. P. VI.109).

Of ancient writings on Fowling we possess, in addition to some fragments of the De aucupio of Nemesianus (A.D. 3rd cent.), a prose paraphrase by Eutecnius of a lost poem — sometimes supposed to be the Ἰξευτικά ascribed to Oppian (Suid. s. Ὀππιανός), but now generally attributed to Dionysus the Periegete (in time of Hadrian). We quote it as Dionys. De av. i.e., Διονυσίου περὶ Ὀρνίθων (Cramer Anec. Par. I.22 f.) The treatise (3 Bks.) reminds one of the Oppianic manner. Thus Bk. III begins, like our Cynegetica and Halieutica, with a comparison of Hunting, Fishing, and Fowling. While  p. xxxvi the business of the first two is hazardous, "it suffices the Fowlers to wander with delight in plain and grove and meadow and to hearken to the sweet singing of the birds, using neither sword nor club nor spear, nor employing nets and dogs, but carrying only birdlime and reeds, and fine lines and lightest creels (κύρτους, traps, cages) under the arm. Sometimes too they dress a tree with branches not its own and bring tame birds to share the hunt." Fowling methods are summarized thus: ἰξῷ χρωμένοις ἢ θριξὶν ἱππείαις ἢ λίνοις ἢ πάγαις ἢ καὶ πηκτίσιν ἢ τροφῇ δελεάζουσιν ἢ τὸν σύμφυλον ὄρνιν ἐπιδεικνῦσιν. Pliny X deals with Birds. There are nine lines on Fowling (Paulini Nolani carmen de aucupio) in Poet. Lat. Minores, ed. N. E. Lemaire, Paris, 1824, vol. I.

2. Hunting (κυνηγέσιον, κυνηγετική, venatio). On Hunting we possess the Cynegeticus of Xenophon (c. 430‑c. 354 B.C.) and the supplementary Cynegeticus of Arrian (c. A.D. 150), and in Latin the Cynegetica of Grattius (contemporary of Ovid, cf. Ep. ex Pont. IV.16.34 aptaque venanti Grattius arma daret) in 541 hexameters, and the Cynegetica of Nemesianus (A.D. 3rd cent.). Much useful information is to be found in the Onomasticon of Pollux (circ. A.D. 166 dedicated to Commodus), especially V.1‑94, which is practically a systematic treatise on the subject; in the περὶ Ζῴων of Aelian (in time of Septimius Severus); and in the Natural History of Pliny (A.D. 23‑79), especially Bk. VIII, as well as in the Res rusticae of Varro (116‑27 B.C.), the De re rustica of Columella (A.D. 1st cent.), and Palladius (A.D. IV. cent.). Merely incidental references are often instructive, e.g. Xen. Cyr. I.5.40 "Against the Hare, again, because he  p. xxxvii feeds in the night and hides by day, you reared dogs which should find him by scent. And because, when found, he fled swiftly, you had other dogs fitted to take him by speed of foot. If again, he escaped these also, you would learn his roads and the sort of places that he is caught fleeing to, and in these you would spread nets difficult to see and the Hare in his impetuous flight would fall into them and entangle himself. And, to prevent him from escaping even from these, you set watchers of what happened (i.e. ἀρκυωροί Xen. Cyn. 6.5), who from close at hand might quickly be on the spot; and you behind shouting close upon the Hare frightened him so that he was foolishly taken, while, by instructing those in front to be silent, you caused their ambush not to be perceived." See also "Joannis Caii Britanni De canibus Britannicis" and "Hier. Fracastorii Alcon sive De cura canum Venaticorum" in Lemaire, op. cit. vol. I pp147 ff. The work of Dr. Caius — founder of Caius College, Cambridge — is addressed to Gesner.

3. Fishing (ἁλιευτική, piscatus). We possess a fragment — some 132 hexameters — of the Halieutica of Ovid (cf. Plin. XXXII.152 his adiciemus ab Ovidio posita nomina quae apud neminem alium reperiuntur, sed fortassis in Ponto nascentium, ubi id volumen supremis suis temporibus inchoavit: bovem, cercurum in scopulis viventem, orphum rubentemque erythinum, iulum, pictas mormyras aureique coloris chrysophryn, praeterea sparum, tragum, et placentem cauda melanurum, epodas lati generis. Praeterea haec insignia piscium tradit: channen ex se ipsa concipere, glaucum aestate nunquam apparere, pompilum qui semper comitetur navium cursus, chromim qui nidificet in  p. xxxviii aquis. Helopem dicit nostris incognitum undis, ex quo apparet falli eos qui eundem acipenserem existimaverint. Helopi palmam saporis inter pisces multi dedere, the genuineness of which has been wrongly suspected. But for the most part we must depend on general works, such as Aristot. H. A., Ael. N. A., Pliny (especially IX and XIII) and other works mentioned in the previous section (Hunting).

In Plato's Sophist 219 sq., Socrates, wishing to define a sophist and considering that the sophist is a γένος χαλεπὸν καὶ δυσθήρευτον, proposes to practise definition on an easier subject, and he selects the Angler (ἀσπαλιευτής) as "known to everyone and not a person to be taken very seriously." He proceeds as follows:

Angling is an Art and of the two kinds of Art — Creative and Acquisitive — it belongs to the latter. Again the Acquisitive is of two kinds — that which proceeds by voluntary Exchange and that which proceeds by Force — and Angling belongs to the latter. Force may be open, i.e. Fighting, or secret, i.e. Hunting. Hunting again is of the Lifeless — this sort of Hunting has "no special name except some sorts of diving" (Plato no doubt means σπογγοθηρική [sponge-cutting, Poll. VII.139 or the like]) — or of the Living, i.e. Animal Hunting. This again is divided into Hunting of Land Animals and Hunting of Water Animals (Animals which swim). Water animals may be Winged, i.e. Birds, and the hunting of these is called Fowling, or they may live in the water, and the hunting of these is called Fishing. Of Fishing there are two kinds, that which proceeds by Enclosures (ἕρκη) — i.e. κύρτοι, δίκτυα, βρόχοι, πόρκοι, and the like — and that which proceeds by striking  p. xxxix (πληγή), i.e. by Hooks (ἄγκιστρα) and Tridents (τριόδοντες). This again is divided into (1) Night-fishing, done by the light of a fire and called by fishermen πυρευτική; (2) Day-fishing, which may be called as a whole ἀγκιστρευτική, ὡς ἐχόντων ἐν ἄκροις ἄγκιστρα καὶ τῶν τριοδόντων, but is further divided into (1) τριοδοντία or Spearing, in which the blow is downward and the fish is struck in any part of the body; (2) ἀσπαλιευτική or Angling, where the fish is hooked about the head or mouth and drawn upwards from below by rods or reeds (ῥάβδοις καὶ καλάμοις ἀνασπώμενον); cf. Plato, Laws, 823.

Oppian, H. III.72 ff., distinguishes four methods of Fishing — by Hook and Line, Nets, Weels, Trident.

With regard to the Hook and Line he distinguishes Rod-fishing from fishing without a Rod, i.e. with hand-lines, and in the case of the latter method he distinguishes two sorts of line — the κάθετος, or leaded line (see H. VIII.77 n.) and the πολυάγκιστρον, or line with many hooks, for which cf. 621 A15 ἁλίσκονται (sc. αἱ ἀλώπεκες, Fox Sharks) περὶ ἐνίους τόπους πολυαγκίστροις; 532 B25 a certain monstrous sea creature is said λαβέσθαι ποτὲ τοῦ πολυαγκίστρου τῷ ἄκρῳ αὐτοῦ, i.e. to have seized a night-line with its extremity. Apost. p47 is disposed to identify the πολυάγκιστρον with a species of lines used in Greece to‑day especially for catching Ἐρυθρίνια (Sea-breams) but also for other fishes. These lines are called παραγάδια, presumably from being mainly used near the land (παρὰ γῆν, παραγάδι). It is a species of line, he says, well known in the N. of France and on all the coasts of England, where it is used for catching Congers and Rays. It consists of a very long and strong line, which, to protect it from the action of the salt p. xlwater, is dyed red by dipping in an infusion of oak-bark and which carries a large number of hooks attached at intervals by short lines of finer quality (παράμωλα). This sort of line is employed at night. One end is anchored, while to the other end a piece of cork or the like is attached to indicate its position. On dark nights, in place of a cork, a triangle is attached, made of wood of the elder-tree, surmounted by a bell, which rings as it is swayed by the water and so guides the fisherman to the spot. When this engine is withdrawn from the sea, the lines are arranged in a basket, the sides of which are furnished with pieces of cork into which the hooks are stuck. At Paxo, near Corfu, these lines are arranged in such a way that they float and small sails are attached which, driven by the wind, set the whole apparatus in motion.

With regard to Nets the different sorts mentioned by Oppian are not easy to identify with certainty.

1. δίκτυον is generic for every sort of Net.

2. ἀμφίβληστρον is usually taken to be a "casting-net," which is supported by Hesiod, Sc. 213 f. αὐτὰρ ἐπ’ ἀκταῖς | ἧστο ἀνὴρ ἁλιεὺς δεδοκημένος· εἶχε δὲ χερσὶν | ἰχθύσιν ἀμφίβληστρον ἀπορρίψοντι ἐοικώς, although Theocritus I.44 in a parallel passage has μέγα δίκτυων ἐς βόλον ἕλκει. This sense suits Aesch. Ag. 1382, where Clytemnestra, describing how she enveloped Agamemnon in a bath-robe, says: ἀμφίβληστρον | ὥσπερ ἰχθύων περιστιχίζω, πλοῦτον εἵματος κακόν. Cf. Aesch. Ch. 492; Herod. I.141; II.95. Pollux I.97 mentions together δίκτυα, ἀμφίβληστρα, γρῖφοι, πάναγρον λίνον, and so X.132 where he adds γάγγαμον. Plut. Mor. 977Eº οἱ δ’ ἁλιεῖς συνορῶντες . . . τὰ πλεῖστα διακρουόμενα τὰς ἀπ’ ἀγκίστρου βολὰς p. xliἐπὶ βίας ἐτράπησαν, καθάπερ οἱ Πέρσαι σαγηνεύοντες (Herod. III.149, VI.31) ὡς τοῖς ἐνσχεθεῖσιν ἐκ λογισμοῦ καὶ σοφίας διάφευξιν οὖσαν. ἀμφιβλήστροις μὲν γὰρ καὶ ὑποχαῖς κεστρεῖς καὶ ἰουλίδες ἁλίσκονται, μόρμυροί τε καὶ σαργοὶ καὶ κωβιοὶ καὶ λάβρακες· τὰ δὲ βολιστικὰ καλούμενα, τρίγλα καὶ χρυσωπὸν καὶ σκορπίον, γρίποις [i.q. γρίφοις] τε καὶ σαγήναις σύρουσι περιλαμβάνοντες· τῶν δικτύων οὖν τὸ γένος ὀρθῶς Ὅμηρος πάναγρον προσεῖπεν (Il. V.487). The primary meaning of "casting-net" seems pretty well established, but it could easily be extended to any sort of Net (Aesch. P. V. 81 of the chains of Prometheus, Soph. Ant. 343 φῦλον ὀρνίθων ἀμφιβαλὼν ἄγει σπείραιοι δικτυοκλώστοις). In the N. T. Matth. iv.18 and John xxi some difficulties are raised which cannot be discussed here. Usually a "casting-net" is understood to be a Net cast by a single person and immediately withdrawn. It is thus the πεζόβολος of modern Greece; Apost. p38 "Le πεζόβολος, épervier, est un filet qu'on jette de terre en entrant parfois dans l'eau jusqu'aux genoux. On le retire à la hâte et aussitôt après l'avoir lancé pour ne pas laisser aux poissons avant qu'il ne se renferme le temps de s'échapper entre les mailles et le fond de la mer. Cet engin est, croyons-nous, celui qu'Oppianº décrit dans ses Ἁλιευτικά sous le nom de σφαιρών [see below]. Il faut une grande adresse pour se servir de ce filet. Le pêcheur doit le lancer de manière à ce qu'il tombe tout ouvert sur le banc des poissons qu'il a aperçu du rivage."

Those nets which are withdrawn a few moments after being cast are called in M. G. Nets ἀπὸ βολῆς (at Paros ἡμεροβόλια), or ἀφρόδυκτα i.e. foam-nets, p. xliibeing designed to catch surface fishes, ἀφρόψαρα, fishes which swim between two waters, such as Mackerel, Horse-Mackerel, etc. Nets, on the other hand, which are shot in the morning and drawn next morning are called ἀπὸ στατοῦ, and are generally "compound," μανώμενα, consisting of a Net with fine meshes between two with larger meshes, as opposed to the simple Nets, ἁπλάδια, Apost. pp32 f.

3. γρῖφος (γρῖπος) is the generic name for draw-net or seine. Plutarch, as we have seen, couples γρῖφος and σαγήνη. Cf. A. P. VI.23.3 δέξο σαγηναίοιο λίνου τετριμμένον ἅλμῃ | λείψανον, αὐχμηρόν, ξανθὲν ἐπ’ ἠιόνων, | γρίπους τε; cf. Poll. I.97, X.132. So the Nets employed in analogous manner for the capture of land animals and bearing the same names are coupled by Plut. Mor. 471D οὐδ’ ὁ γρίφοις καὶ σαγήναις ἐλάφους μὴ λαμβάνων. Apostolides p35 (who errs in thinking that Oppian identifies γρῖφος and ἀμφίβληστρον) describes the γρῖφος as consisting of two parallel nets, to which is attached another having the form of a sack. These two nets are called at Poros [off coast of Argolis] πτερά, "wings." The parallel Nets are suspended on two cords; the lower having hung on it at equal intervals pieces of lead (μολυβίθρες), the upper, called in some places σαρδούνας (cf. Xen. Cyn. 6.9 σαρδονίων, Poll. V.31 σαρδόνες), being hung with corks (φελλοί). The two pieces of wood, at the front ends of the two parallel Nets, to which is attached the cord by which the seine is drawn to land, are called at Paros σταλίκια, the triangular cord being called χαλινός.

Three species of seine are used in modern Greece according to Apostolides, 1. the γρῖπος proper, called in many places trata,º consisting of two parallel nets p. xliiiwith very large meshes and the bag-net with very fine meshes. It is cast by a special boat and drawn to land. It is used especially for Sardines and other surface fish. One of these Nets employs fifteen or more men. 2. The γριπαρόλι or κωλοβρέχτης, a smaller sort, managed by four men, used for catching Grey Mullets and other shore fishes. 3. The ἀνεμότρατα, a very large seine. In the use of this two boats are always associated. They set out early in the morning, taking advantage of the off-shore wind (ἀπόγι) — which in summer blows during the night from the land — and when you reach the open sea they cast the seine, moor their boats, and remain till mid-day. Then when the landward breeze begins to blow, the two boats proceed, parallel to one another, harbourwards, drawing the seine behind them.

4. γάγγαμον. The name γάγγαμον (γαγγάμιον) is still used round the Black Sea, although in most parts of Greece a slightly altered form — γαγγάβα — is in use. The Net is a dredge-net and is employed in fishing for Sponges, Oysters, and Sea-urchins. It is constructed thus: "Autour d'un arc en fer est cousu un filet de forme conique ; la corde, très large, de l'arc est aussi en fer ; de la corde et de l'arc partent en rayonnant différentes cordes, au point de rencontre desquelles est attachée une grosse corde au moyen de laquelle on tire l'appareil." Cf. schol. γάγγαμον· γαγγάμη, λίνος παχὺς δικτυωτός, σιδήρῳ κύκλῳ περιεχόμενος; Aesch. Ag. 361 μέγα δουλείας γάγγαμον ἄτης παναλώτου. Strabo 307, speaking of the cold in the region of the Sea of Azov, says: ὀρυκτοί τε εἰσιν ἰχθύες οἱ ἀποληφθέντες ἐν τῷ κρυστάλλῳ τῇ προσαγορευομένῃ γαγγάμη. Poll. II.169 τὸ δικτυῶδες ὅ p. xlivκαλεῖται νῦν γάγγαμον ἤ, ὡς οἱ πολλοί, σαγήνη; X.132 γρῖφοι καὶ γάγγαμον; Hesych. s. γαγγάμη· σαγήνη ἢ δίκτυον ἁλιευτικόν; E. M. s. γαγγαμών· . . . σημαίνει δὲ τὸ λαμβάνον δίκτυον. ἔστι κυρίως γαγγάμη σαγήνη ἢ δίκτυον.

5. ὑποχή. The schol. says "κυρίως δίκτυα περιφράττοντα καὶ ἐπέχοντα τόπους ἐν οἷς καὶ τὸ θυννοσκοπεῖον λεγόμενον." It looks as if this note which describes the σαγήνη had got misplaced. All the evidence points to the ὑποχή being a bag-net, much like the modern shrimp-net. In modern Greek the word used is ἀποχή, cf. Apost. p39 "Les haveneaux, ἀποχαί, sont des filets en forme de poche à mailles très serrées, d'un mètre ou 50 centimètres d'ouverture. Le bord est tendu sur un arc en bois ou en fer dont une corde forme le rayon. Un bâton ou manche, terminé par une fourche en bois, est attaché au milieu de la corde. La partie moyenne de l'arc est solidement fixée un peu plus haut. En se servant de cet engin, pour la pêche des crevettes, le pêcheur entre dans l'eau jusqu'au genou, ratisse le fond en marchant devant lui, d'un mouvement continu, rasant le sable au moyen de la corde tendue. L'autre extrémité du manche est tenue sous le bras ou appuyée contre la poitrine," cf. Plut. Mor. 977E ἀμφιβλήστροις μὲν γὰρ καὶ ὑποχαῖς κεστρεῖς καὶ ἰουλίδες ἁλίσκονται, μόρμυροί τε καὶ σαργοὶ καὶ κωβιοὶ καὶ λάβρακες; Ael. XIII.17 κορακίνους ταῖς ὑποχαῖς πολλοὺς συλλαβόντες.

6. σαγήνη, from which our Seine is ultimately derived (Lat. sagena, Fr. seine), is a large Seine or Draw-net. It seems to be undistinguishable from the γρῖφος and, like the γρῖφος, is sometimes a Fishing-net (Alciphr. I.13; 20; 21; Plut. Mor. p. xlv977F; Luc. Pisc. 51; Tim. 22, etc.), sometimes a Hunting-net (Plut. Mor. 471D; Babr. 43.8).

7. κάλυμμα. What sort of Net this is, is very uncertain. The metaphorical use in Aesch. Ch. 494 βουλευτοῖσιν ἐν καλύμμασιν, referring to the bath-robe which entangled Agamemnon, suggests an ἀμφίβληστρον, which is used immediately before (v. 492). Otherwise it may be the form of ὑποχή used in the Sporades and elsewhere for taking the Sea Crayfish or Spiny Lobster, Apost. p41 "C'est un haveneau dont le cercle de fer est disposé de manière à tourner autour d'un demi-cercle également en fer qui se fixe perpendiculairement aux extrémités de son diamètre. Sur ce second demi-cercle est attaché le bâton ; il y a plus, le sommet de la poche du haveneau est pourvu d'un morceau de liège. Voilà comment on opère : Aussitôt qu'on a aperçu, au fond de la mer, une Langouste (ἀστακός vulg.), on la couvre avec le cercle sur lequel est tendue la poche, qui, grâce au liège flottant, reste ouverte dans toute sa hauteur. Une fois qu'on est certain que l'animal est dedans, qu'on le voit se cramponner contre les parois du filet, on enlève brusquement l'engin, le poisº de l'animal alors, faisant bascule, entraîne la poche de haut en bas et fait tourner les cercles de fer autour de ces points d'appui ; ainsi l'animal se prend comme dans un sac et on le sort intact de la mer."

8. πέζαι acc. to the schol. are a species of small Net (εἶδος καὶ τοῦτο δικτύου μικροῦ), while 9. σφαιρῶνες acc. to the schol. are round Nets (δίκτυα στρογγύλα). The σφαιρών is identified by Apost. p38, with the πεζόβολος or Casting-net.

10. πάναγρον is found already in Hom. Il. V.487 p. xlviμή πως, ὡς ἁψῖσι λίνου ἁλόντε πανάγρου, | ἀνδράσι δυσμενέεσσιν ἕλωρ καὶ κύρμα γένησθε, where the reference seems to be to a Seine, which also is apparently intended in the only other Homeric reference to Net-fishing (also in a simile), Od. XXII.383 τοὺς δὲ ἴδεν μάλα πάντας ἐν αἵματι καὶ κονίῃσι | πεπτεῶτας πολλούς, ὥς τ’ ἰχθύας, οὕς θ’ ἁλιῆες | κοιλὸν ἐς αἰγιαλὸν πολιῆς ἔκτοσθε θαλάσσης | δικτύῳ ἐξέρυσαν πολυωπῷ· οἱ δέ τε πάντες | κύμαθ’ ἁλὸς ποθέοντες ἐπὶ ψαμάθοισι κέχυνται· | τῶν μέν τ’ ἠέλιος φαέθων ἐξείλετο θυμόν.

Next we have fishing by means of Weels (κύρτοι), of which Apost. p51, says: "La pêche au moyen de nasses est bien simple, mais toutes n'ont pas la même forme: elle change suivant les poissons qu'on cherche à capturer. Ce sont des paniers, avec un orifice précédé d'une entrée conique, par laquelle, une fois entrés, les poissons ne peuvent plus sortir. Pour attirer les poissons, on les amorce en mettant à l'intérieur des sardines salées, ou d'autres aliments souvent en putréfaction."

Next we have the use of the Trident, or Fish-spearing, which, according to Tristram, p292, is much used in the smaller streams and the northern rivers of the Lebanon; cf. Job xli.7 "Canst thou fill his skin with barbed irons? or his head with fish spears?" This method was practised either by day or at night by the light of a fire. For the former cf. Apost. p49 "La pêche au harpon est fort simple, elle dépend surtout de l'agilité du pêcheur à viser le poisson. Les habitants de l'île de Spetzia [off S. coast of Argolis] attachent à la hampe du trident une longue corde, lancent ainsi quelquefois le harpon à de grandes profondeurs. Mais les pêcheurs de Missolonghi sont plus adroits que tous les autres p. xlviipêcheurs grecs. C'est à une véritable chasse aux poissons, surtout contre les daurades, les loups et les anguilles, qu'ils se livrent dans les lagunes qui entourent leur ville. Trente ou quarante bateaux armés de harpons (énormes fourchettes à trois dents) ou tridents se mettent en marche. Un seul pêcheur se tient sur le devant du bateau qu'il gouverne et fait marcher avec le trident en guise d'aviron et avec lequel il transperce les poissons qui se trouvent à sa portée."

Night-fishing by firelight (πυρευτική Plato, Sophist, 220D, πυρίαι A. 537 A18, Poll. VII.138) might be either with Trident or Net. The former is referred to in Oppian, H. IV.640‑646, Q. Smyrn. VII.569‑576, cf. Scott, Guy Mannering, c. xxvi; the latter in Oppian, C. IV.140 ff., cf. Apost. p40, where he describes the method of fishing for Belone (Gar-fish) in the Sporades: "Pendant les nuits les plus obscures du mois d'Octobre, aussitôt après l'arrivée des poissons, les bateaux quittent leur mouillage le soir et se rendent au large. Arrivés à l'endroit désigné, les pêcheurs amènent les voiles et marchent lentement à la rame en examinant la mer de tous côtés. Il est facile de se rendre compte de la présence du poisson en écoutant le bruit que font les dauphins qui le poursuivent à la surface de l'eau. Alors, les pêcheurs allument un grand feu avec du bois résineux sur une espèce de gril en fer, qu'ils fixent à la proue du navire (πυροφάνι et πυριά vulg.). Les poissons attirés par la lueur accourent vers le bateau comme pour y chercher un abri contre l'ennemi qui ne cesse de les décimer." After rowing about and making the boat turn upon itself some score of times, so as to reflect the light in all directions, they row slowly p. xlviiishorewards, followed by the fish. "On arrive ainsi à la côte. Là on prend des précautions pour que le bateau ne touche terre, le moindre choc faisant déguerpir aussitôt les poissons. On l'arrête à une distance d'un ou de deux mètres, et, laissant les rames, on prend les haveneaux en main, et l'on commence à envelopper le poisson des deux côtés du bateau."

Fishing by poisoning the water, referred to by Oppian, H. IV.647 ff., is said by Tristram, p292, to be very commonly practised on the Lake of Galilee by the poorest classes. "Men sit on a rock overhanging the water, on which they scatter crumbs poisoned with vitriol, which are seized by the fish. As soon as they are seen to float on their backs, then men rush into the sea and collect them."

Apost. p52 ff. gives an interesting account of fishing by Weirs and Stake-nets as practised in modern Greece; in a great number of river-mouths, the shallower waters of several gulfs, in lakes, pools, and lagoons, "les poissons sont pris exclusivement au moyen des écrilles et des claies de roseau. Tous les endroits sont appelés vulg. βιβάρια," i.e. Lat. vivaria. Similar methods are practised in Palestine, Tristram, p292, who says "Among the laws of Joshua, the Rabbis relate, was one forbidding the use of stake-nets in the Sea of Chinnereth (Galilee), for fear of damage to the boats." The reader will remember that the use of stake-nets got a fictitious Joshua (Geddes) into trouble (Scott, Redgauntlet).

Finally, for the earliest references to Fly-fishing, natural or artificial — Mart. V.18.7 ff., Ael. XIV.22 XV.1, the reader may be referred to the discussion in Radcliffe c. ix.

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