The trade in salt-pickle d hsmsi and other fish from the Black Sea to Athens during the Archaic and Classical periods
Muzaffer Dernir (Jniversil' o.l' M ull a, Ttrrkey
Abstract This paper discusses the ancieni evidence for the catching and processing of hcunsi: which can be illuminatecl by' many modern accounts. The trade in small-fry, which could be salt-pickled as salsamerrta or turnecl into a salty, aromatic fish sauce (ganun), was as important as the more conspicuous trade in salted pelantl,s (palamut). which was one of the staples of the economy of Byzantium. Erzidence from Classical Athens implies that both locall1, producecl ancl imported small-frv (in the latter case predominantly hamsil wete a regular part of working people's diets, and an important item of trade between the Black Sea and the Aegean in the Archaic and Classical periods.
Özet Bu Eahgmada, modern verilerin de rqrk tuttugu hamsinin vakalanmasr ve iqlenmesiyle ilgili antik kal,naklag tartl$- maktayrz. Antik Qa$'da küEük bahklar saisamenta adr aitrnda tuzlanmakta veya tuzlu-kokulu bahk sosuna (gcu-unl dönüqtürülebiimektevdi. Bu küEük bairklann ticareti, Byzantium ekonomisinin temel mahsüllerinden birini oluqturan ve ondan daha cazip görünen tuzlanmlq palamut (pelamr')'un ki kadar önemliirdi. Klasik Dönem Atina gehir devletinden sünümüze ulagan de1i1ler. hem verel üretilmig, hem de ithal edilmiq kügük balgrn (ithal edilenlerde hamsi a$rr basmakta), qahqanlann beslenmesinde sürek1i ver aldr$rnr, avnca Arkaik ve Klasik Dönem'lercle Karadeniz i1e Ege Denizi arastndaki ticaretin önemii bir kalemini meydana eetiriiisini ima etmektedir.
(Engraulis fJantsi ertcrasichohLs) is a small, but very their name (Slastenenko 1956:92-93). ln general, pliny I Iprolific species of fish (fig. 1; Aelian, De Nattu-ct (31.95) states that the Romans call tinv fish aptLa, the Attintalitmt 8.18; Oppian, Halieutica 4.46S-500). In Greeks aphye (äqüfi, as this tiny fish is bred out of rain humourous magazines, jokes are even made that all (see aiso Pliny 9.160, Athenaeus 1.284r. However, fishes descend from hamsi, and it is humorously asserted Athenaeus (7.284f\ states that there are several kinds of that, if the hamsi had not been touched or harmed at all, aph-ue and 'a second kind is that ca1led gudgeon; this they could have fil1ed all the seas in the world (Hantsi comes fiom the small and paltry gobies which live in the 1951: 9). It is from the family Engraulidae. There are sand. and from precisely this small-fry others are two species. One is Engraulis Encrasicholus Pontictts. generated which are called ettcrasicholi' They are found all around the Black Sea. However, if we (öyrpoolloÄor; also see Aristotle, Historiq Animalitutt draw a line in the,middle of the Blacli Sea verticallv from 569b 16). Athenaeus (7.3001 328e) adds tltat ettctttsi- north to the south, the bulk of this type of lnntsi stock cltoli arc mentioned by Aristotie as being very small live in the western Black Sea. An insignificant fishes and non-migratory in his treatise On Aninnls and proportion of them migrates to live in the east. The other Fish.es. They are called öpiripog by the Chalcedonians. is Engraulis Encrasicholus Maeoticus (hantsi of the On the other hand, Aelian and Oppian (De Natw"a Maeotian Sea or eastern Black Sea hamsfi. They live in Artinmliwn 8.181- Halieutica 4.468-70) prefer to call southeastern parts of the Black Sea and in the Maeotian them eyypcruli5, although Aelian also points out that Sea at certain times of the year, from which they take some call Ihem encrasicltoli and he had even heard a
51 Tlte BIack Sea: Past, Present cutd Futtn'e
aliegediy tluew themselves on the shores. Since they are very small, hantsi cannot oppose strong waves and the1, 1et themseives go. Because of this, they travel in large groups ciose to the sea surface. Most ofien. when they are quite exirausted and weak, they are thrown onto the iand. On 19 April 1928 (Friday) the shores were fuil of hamsi from the coastal town of Qömlekci in Trapezus to the torvn of Of (ihsan 1933: E). This mai. also be confirmed by ancient sources. Dio Chrvsostoni 1-;:.2+-S, 35.25) also claims that flsh simply threw themselves on the shore Fig. ,/. Hamsi at Byzantium. Although Braund (1995: 166) is cautious in accepting this. as it could derive tiom the political and moral judgments of the author, actual examples of this are thild name, 'woll--mouths' (Äv<öo'roUoS). So. this lecorded, as mentioned above. As shoais of lmmsi particuiar type of aplwe. Engroulis Enrasichoftrs. seems ti'equented shaliow waters and river mouths, and migrated to correspond to our hamsi. cl.assified by Slastenenko through the narrow waters of Cimmerian and Thracian (1956: 92). Russians call Engraulis EncrasicholtLs Bosphorus. it cannot have been difficult to catch large fuIueotictts'xamsa' or 'Azovka' (Slastenenko 1956: 96). quantities in antiquity by the simple methods which were In Engiish, they are called anchovies (Tliornpson 1941:. used even in the last century. For example, the flshermen 58: Davidson 1981: .18). Yet, I think it is still difficult to used torches rvhen they found the main source of lnmsi, applv this term definitely to a specific modern flsh. as in as they are attracted to the light. The casting-nets they the ancient sources some other sna11 tlshes. Iike used are like a barred cage with a long stick fol a handle, F.uppüs, are aiso referred to as anchovies (Thompson on wlrich the fire to attract the hunsi was set. Gas in a 1947:32). tin with a wick was used to create the light. After the Hontsi has come third in terms of the rveight of fish lrurnsihad moved to the light and filled up this iron cage. caught in the Sea of Azov, and first in the Black Sea knots were drawn tight to coilect it. Then it was taken to (Slastenenko f 956: 99). Hamsi especiallv contributes to the boat. The same process r.vas continued until the boat the economl' o1' the Black Sea region of Turkey as the lvas lullv loaded. These simple metirocls were employed most cauglrt fisir (Bi1ge 1912: 37-32l- Kutavgil 1978: 33: for catching lwnsitn the territorial waters of Trapezus in Ztunsrt [10 Januarv 1999], a daily newspaper in Turkev" the 1930s (ihsan 1932: 2l-24). also reported that hamsi and palanwt were the trvo larqest In the travel book which Evliva Qelebi wrote in the fish stocks caught in the Black Sea in the previous first half of the 17th century AD. lnntsi is especially season). Eighty-tive per cent of the tota,l lttunsi associated with the citv of Trapezus. To sum up the -l991 production of Turkev in came fi'om the eastern account of llvliva Qelebi. of all flsh. the people of Black Sea region (Mutlu 199.1: 1). Its procluction has Trapezus are especialiv fond of ltuttsi and lhev even continued to pla1, a substantial role in the Turkish fishing quarrel with each other in order to buv it flrst from the industrv, especiallv in the eastern Black Sea region of market. Part of the r'vinter season. callcd Rüz-r hamsi, Turkev (Anonvm. 1t175: 26; MLrtlu I994: 1: Bektas 1972: hstins j{) drys fronr 1 February to 20 Malch, clerives its 54--5-5). In the 1930s. its excess was being used extcn- name fi'orn it. The reason whv it appears during these sively as lertiliser (Anonvm- 1975: 1{J). lt was sprerci da1's is that in the time of Alexander the Great, in order over vegetable fielcls and garclens as it is useful tbr all to obtain lbocl 1bl the religioLrs ciuss" a spiritual person sorts of agriculturai prorlucts (ihsan ,t()-ll: 3()-31). The mastereLl a religious cercmony to in1'luence the coming of proclucts of llshine. especially llclt,r'i. have sLrbstantiltllv Itutn.yi,ltv throwing ir lrcrrr,rr:slrapecl lrronze object into the helpecl, in particular. thc cconomv of thc province of sea. Due to this^ il7 the lwtnsi of the Black Sca came to
Trapezus (Biige 1 972: i2). tirc llor'l of Trapezus. ancl sotne even thter,v themselves Wc clo not have anv specific Iitelalv er,'idence onto thc shores. Tlre alrival ot ltunt.si at tlre rnarl 58 Dctrrir (iiEo lliisevin, is sricl 1o have talien larri.sr 1r.om his putrirn bulli oi Ihe Jrant.si wcrc causht clurilg thc anlumn. u'intcr b1' 1i,t.. cluring i1s sale in thc rnlrli.cl. Whcn lhev ireul the ancl spring. bclween 1hc tronths o1'Novcnrbel ancl April. sound ol pipes. even the people in the bath rush to the esllcciallv bv the end ol .lanuar\' (Soe Ernrin 19-t(r: 7; ()7f,: markct. su,cating. r.r,itlr onh, l'rath towels on themselvcs. liutaygil I 32-33: \'lutlLr I t)9-1: -tr). I1 sonrconc and rvhcn thcy use lhcse trlu'c1-s to plll /ttl,/,si in, their' \\'alrts tc) eal ltutnsi ll'csh. he lrlrvs leqq- but il irc- \\,anls to genitals are seen. Whcn thc purciraser does not irave srll or pichle the iirlri.r'r tbr sunlnrer consunrlltion, he mone)' to buv hrlnl.i'i, he oflers his fuith ol u'orcls to the purchases it in large alrounts ii'or.n tl.rr abundant u'inter seller instcacl of cash. Despite this, he is relused. as the catclres (Uarnsi 19-r1: 1-r). /rarrsr-scller says thut he is tirecl of rvords tliat will be It is possible to piclile suflicient ltuntsi to ensulc si,r paid later, ancl that 1äith cloes not rnake money. Then lnonths' suppl1,. The sintlle rlethod o1'saltlicl 59 Tlrc Black Sea: Past. Prcserü Luld Futtu'e transportation over a great distance (Aristotle. Historia hantsiis not mentioned among these fishes. However, Animaliunt 570a). This would have been the only fiom the archaeological evidence mentioned above, it available hamsi product during the summer months, appears that most of the fish salted in those establish- when sailing and sea trading occurred. In Turkey in the ments were hamsi. When they were caught in 1930s, only salted hamsi was so1d, as this was the abundance in antiquity, the ltomsi, which were not simplest and the cheapest method of storing the fish. It consumed fresh and exceeded immediate require- was mostly consumed in the coastal cities and a small ments, appear to have been salted and pickled in large amount of it was erported to Bulgaria, Greece and amounts. Although these salting establishments seem Romania. Greece was the second largest importer iihsan to date fiom the first to the third öenturies AD, the 1932: 76). Nowadays, also, a sma1l amount of hamsi is simple process of salt-pickling ltamsi. making use of salted in fäctories to make conserves" to meet the demand anv kind of container, must have continued throughout of a smal1 export market. antiquity as hamsi and salt were avaiiable in Archaeological evidence also indicrte s that hamsi abundance in the Cimmerian Bosphorus (for the salt- was saltecl in large amounts in the Cimmerian Bosphorus works at the mouth of the Rhombites river, south of and Crimea in antiquity. Curtis states that, Tanais in lake Nlaeotis and in the Tauric Chersonese, see Strabo 1L2.4, 1.4.6). Therefbre. in view of although many different kincis of llsh were caught and archaeologicai evidence and modern data, one would processed in salting establishments of the Black Sea expect salsamenta and garLLm derived from hamsi to area. the tunny, particularly the pelamys. was the most have been transported commercially to the Aegean important commercially. Archaeologists have in world during the Archaic and Classsical periods. in the recent years uncovered the bones of many of these same way as pelamys, another important fish source of fish as well as those of anchovies, herring, sturgeon, the Black Sea (fig. 2). sea roach, flounder" and mackerel. Some of these fish bones have been found in saiting vats discovered bv Soviet archaeoiogists in the strait of Kerch at Tvritake and Myrmekeion and in the Crimea (Tauric Oribasius 2.58.133-52) praises the value of small, salted Chersonese) at Chersonesos (1991: 121) at pelotttys from lake Maeotis. Er.rthvdemus (quoted in Athenaeus 116b) calls Bvzantium 'the Tvritake rhe fislt rvcre primrrilv hcrrins rnd muller. mother of salted tunnv'. Parion. on the soutliern coast of the Hellespont. was renowned for its while at Myrmekeion the remains were mainlv of salted mackerei (Euthydemus. quoted in Athenaeus IiI.116c; xatnsa (hamsi in Turkish), a smal1 fish similar to see also Hermippus. fr. 63 Edmonds 19571 Xenocrates quoted anchovv (199I:723). . . the vats of Chersonesus are in Oribasius 2.58.113). In general roprXo5 tiom the Black Sea generally quite lar-ee . . . Small vats, but of consid- is favoured by Diphilus. Eutydemus, Hiceus. Dorion and Galen (Athenaeus erable depth. were probablv used for flsh sauces. The 3.121a. Diphilus; 3.116c. Euthydemus; 3.116f. Hicesius; 3.11Sb-c. Dorion: Galen 3..10.5). Other cities in the annual production of preserved anchovies alone mav Roman period rvhich are praised fbr their fish producrs include: have approached 3,000-3.500 metric tons fisl-r, of Trapezus and Chalcedon tbr their pelttnn,s; Tium. Heraciea enough to make the Crimea one of the largest centers Pontica and. especially, Bvzantium for their tunny; Pantica- of salted tlsh . . . There \,vas apparentlv a salt-rvork paeum for its sturgeon: lake Maeotis for its voung tunnv and the nearbv, and the tish remains fbund in most abundance pelant-,-s and Sinope tbr its mullets. For Black Sca llsh in general. are those of anchovy (199i: 125). sce Strabo 7.6.2: Oppian. Halieurica 4.505-590: Pliny 9.17-54. 32.1.19. Trapezus: Strabo 7.6.2. Chalccdon: Varro qrrotcd inAulus Ccllius. NoctesAtticue fi.16.5. Tium. I{eraclea Some ancient literari,- eviclence also sho'uvs that the Pontica and Anirstris: Aeiian. Dc Nontru Arirnulium 15.5. Cimmelian Bospl.rorus and Iake Nlaeotis, as well as the Bvzantium: Strabo 7.6.2" Panticapaeum: Strabo 7.3.18. Lake other regions aronncl the Black Sea. rvere rich in saltecl Maeotis: Pliny 32.1.{6. Sinope: Dorion quoted in Athenacus ['ish (Strabo 2.2.1" 7.1.6: see also Curtis 1991: l]9 i.113c. In generai. Galcn (3..1t).6) mentions mullct I'rorn thc Pontus. There rvcre llso tunnl' rvatches (nrlÄcUuöe io ) quoting Euthydemus quotecl in Athenaeus 3.116b" ()perating at Sinope. Trapezus ancl Pharnacia. encl the Clazome- quoted Athenaer.rs Dernos- Dorion in III.1i8b ancl nians maintained oxorrrs on the Cimmcrian Bosphorus thenes 3,5.31-34), ancl the names some these (Tralre of of zus: Strairo 7.6.2: Sinope: Strabo 7.6.2, 12.3. il ; saltecl f'ishes are mentioned.r Thc. prohlern is that Pharnacia: Strabo 12.3.1!-): o 6(l Dettit' Some l'ishes caught. in particular places, were praisccl in antiqLritl lrncl regarded as luxurions. Although it is not specificaill' callccl tnackerel o1' thc l-lellespont. gut.rLnt that r'vas n-raclc ticrrn ntacl general, Numann I9-5-5). Accorcling to 1 96E statistics, lJorvevcr. the problem u'ith thr ancie nr lilerarv paluntul came after lnntsi tn terms o1'the amount of each sources concerning tlie export o1' saitccl f ish to the lish caught off the Black Sea coasrs of Turkev (Bilge Aegean world is thal the-r, are ferv, inciclental ancl clo not 1972:37-32). Ascherson (1995: 6) srates that. 'out in the givc specific narnes fbr saltecl fish, but mostiv rcfer to open waters, among tire schoois of dolphin and porpoise, saltecl fish (räprXog) from 1he Black Sea in a generai two fisir species performed a slow" gyrator_v migration way. Neverthelc'ss. some inl-erences may be n.racle in around the Biack Sea, their progress almost as punctual viell' of other literarv evidence regarding the nantes and as a shipping schedule'. One was the bonito (pelamysl the value of certain frsh fiom the Black Sea. and the other was tlte ltantsi. It is likely that ancient Tire main text, ri'hich is verv important in terms of f ishermen knew about the migrating seasons of these two consideration of Black Sea trade in general. belongs to fish, and this helped them ro catch them in larse Poivbius in the second centur\, BC. In his list of soods quantities. Oppian had a knowledge of rhe mierating (actuallv the food items). il'hich rvere exported from the seasons and various methods of catching the Black Sea Biack Sea region to tl.re Aegean rvorjd. salted tish pelann,s in abundance (HalietLrica 4.505-590). ('roprXo5) is said ro have been abundant. and it is Similarl;'. Strabo states that the pelantys are first hatched specifiecl as one of the food irems of which there was roo in the marshes of lake Maeotis. much (.1.38..1; see also above note 2). This evidence is confirmed b1,the cc-rmic playr,r'right Hermippus. an older and when thev have gained a littie strength the1, rush contemporarv of Aristophanes. His utopic list of luxurv out through the mouth of tiie lake in schools and goods. imported to Athens. contains 'mackerel and everv move along the Asian shore as far as Trapezus and salted fish from the Hellespont (ör< äÄ),rlon-övrou Pharnacia. It is here that the catching ofthe fish first o<öpppou5 rsi rrsuro ropill)' (Hermippus fr. 63 takes place, though the catch is not considerable, for Edmonds 19-57; see also Braund 1994: 44:). When it the fish have nor yet grown to their normal size. But comes to salted fish, generally it does not seem ro have when they reach Sinope, they are mature enough for been felt necessary to make specific references to the catching and salting (Strabo 7.6.2) names of fish. This category must have included ftarrsi. Some of this salted fish fiom tlre Hellespont cer.tainly Especially when they were naturally dri'u,en into the came fiom the Pontus. narrow gulf of the Goiden Horn, thel' r,vere caught in What is interesting here is that Hermippus prrticu- abundance and afforded the Bvzantine and the Roman iariy mentions the name of mackerel separately from all people a considerable revenue. So Strabo's account the other salted flsh from the Hellespont. He seems to confirms the modern data. that palantut is mainiy caught have identified n.rackerel, as it was especialiy caught in in Turkish waters, from the city of Sinope as far as the the IIellcspont.'and irideh cousuntecl in the rcgiun in islands of Lemnos and Inbros at the mouth of the Helle- parion, saited lbrn. As mentioned above (note 2), on spont. The pelanqts, a species of tunny, used to be so the southern coast of Hellespont, was very well known economically important that its image appears on some for its salted mackerel in antiquity. It is also possible Byzantine coins (Ascherson 1995: 6; in general, that the salted fish (oi roprXor), which Herodorus Byzantium was well known for its fish, see Braund 1995; describes as being broiled upon a fire in Sestos, the main Herodotus [4.88.2] states that the Bosptorus was 'fish- stronghold of the Hellespont, could hat'e been mackerel fraught'), as well as on those of Sinope and Cyzicus, (Herodotus 9.120.3). which is on the southwest coast of the Propontis (Curtis 61 The Black Sea: Past. Present artd Future 1991: 119). Other literary evidence also confirms that already being exported from the Bosporan Kingdom by pelamys was one of the main fish sources caught and the first half of the fourth century BC to Athens. This is salted in the Black Sea (see note 2). confirmed by a specific piece of evidence. In the speech As the modern data sirows, hamsi (Engraulis Encra- Against Lacritus Demosthenes, sometime before 338 sichohrs fulaeotius) hatches in lake Maeotis during the BC, said that the ship, in which the defendant, Lacritus, summer. The young fish are caught in the narrow straits was carrying goods fiom the Cimmerian Bosphorus, was of the Cimmerian Bosphorus during their migration to wrecked on its way back somewhere between Pantica- the south. and tire old ones in the course of their return. paeum and Theodosia. One of the items on board this According to statistical data of 1937-1938, most of this ship wrs salted [ish iroprXo5,t (35.3i). There is no type of lnmsi in the Black Sea are caught in lake reason to doubt these sections of the text, as the plaintiff Maeotis. and especially in the narrow Kerch Straits. himself only objects to the claim by Lacritus that there during their migration (Slastenenko 1956: 99). Most of was also Coan wine on board. Thus the exportation of the fish caught in the Kerch strait in antiquitv rvere salted fish caught in the territorial waters of the Bosporan possibly ftarnsl. In the south. hcunsi migrate from the Kingdom to Athens was common in the fourth century northwestern Anatoiian Black Sea coasts of Turkey as BC. Salted lnrnsi may have constituted a considerable far as the city of Trapezus. where tirey are mature enough amount of the exported fish. fbr catching and salting. On the other hand, like Nevertheless. despite the abundance of the lnmsi pelamlls. one group oI EngrauLis encrasichohts Porttictts, catch in the Black Sea as given bv the modern statistics, which mainly hatch on the western coasts of the Black and its use for making salsarnenta and gartrm rn Sea and in the territorial rvaters ofBalaklava, Sevastopol antiquity, as indicated by the archaeological evidence, and Odessa, migrates as l-ar as the waters of the and the f-act that it is praised both economicallv and Propontis. In antiquity one would expect these to have sociaily by the people of the Black Sea in mociern times, been crught in the Goiden Horn as well, although in contrast with pelanrys, not a single Greek or Roman possibiy in smalier quantities compared to the ones author specifically praises the significance of salsamenta caught in the Black Sea. A comparatively small group of made from hamsi.3 hamsi migrates to the Sea of Nlarmara. Herc. hantsi This ma-.1 contradict the account of Polybius spend the winter in deep rvater near the Nlarmaran mentioned above. that all the salted tish exported fiom islands. Gemlik ba,v and in the territorial rvaters of the the Pontus was a luxury. However. the actual word gulf's of izmit and Bandrrma. ancl they are abundantlv used to ciassif .v the export of salted fish fiom the Black caught. although not as much as the amount ol Engrauiis Sea is periousia. This word might be translated as Encrasicholus Maeoticus 1Üner 1900: Kutavgil 1978: 'superfluities' rather than 'luxuries'; it does not appear 32). The other group of this tvpe of /zrzns4 migrrting to have l completelv satisfactory counterpart in along the north Anatolian Black Sea coasts of Turkev to English. It could mean 'something whicir is over and the east. supplements the stocks of hunsi caught mlinlv above necessarv expenses, surplus. irbundance. plentv'. in the territoriai waters of Trapezus. The main objective of Polybius in the text was Tirus, like pelanws. ftcrn.il must liave been cru-ght obviousl-v to make a contrasl between the necessities abundantly in the Black Sea. especially at lake Maeotis" and non-necessities. The salted flsh included in these the Cimn-rerian Bosphorus and the territorial rvaters of non-necessities was not necessariiy a luxury tbod item Trapezus in the eastern Anatolian Black Sea. and (Braund 199.-i: 169. n. 2). contributed to the economies of the cities of these regions as a resuil of its export. Although Pol1"bius does not set ()irf ro lrive snecitltr nlaces around the Black Sea tiom '' There migitt possibly be r sinele l{oman source rnentioning its (3 where salted fish. possibly inciLrding saltecl /rrrinsl ancl gurunt Plinv 1.9,i) statcs that an ailex had nlso lregun to be rracie sepalltelv l'rorn a tiny lis]r (tl'tc upuu in Latin tr upltvcitt poLatntLt at large. was exp{)rtecl to Atliens. other rncrent Greek). othcrrvise ol'no use. ancl tlint the peopie of the Forum sources help us this fcspect. familiaL passage. in In a JLrlii catl lrr2rrs (rvoll) the tish ti'om which thcv make gclrll Strabo states that Gleeks not only imported their supplies (sce also Alciplrron 1.31). Isidtuc (.Et.r'rrroLogiuc 1].6.-t0. 'thcir of grain fiom Crimca in carliel times. but aiso. 20.i.10) also meutions srrail fisli itt ,guntnr production. Allex supplies of sait-fish fl'orn tlie lake' (Strabo 7.-1.6). The ltccame a luxlrlv. lnd its varir.lus tyltt:s clrnre to bc innunrcrabie: sources citccl nbovc shorv that thc Cimmerian Bosphorus ,gururn Ior instancc rvas bicnclcrl to ths colouf o1' olcl honev i.vine. and to l lilstc so plersant that it coulr-l bc tlrunk. As statccl ancl ]ake Maeotis r'vere rich in saltecl fish. Since Strabo rrbovc. Acliart I De Nutttrtt ,,\rrintulirun 3. lil) statcs that some call also particularlv rretrlions thlt thc Bospolan King, irarr.ll 'r,voll-rnoutlrs'. This might cxplain the nalne luprrs Leucon [. sent a lalqe nrt.tount ol'grain to r\thcns tl'om the rnentionetl hv PIinv. llthough l)linv secnrs to bc rvrong to rctcr city of Theoclosia. it is probablc that saltccl flsh was to thc ultutt us u purticularly tinr' fish. 62 Detrit Naturally. therc were different varicties o1 slrlied i'ish relerrecl to as well. I-lowe'u'er. in thc casc of imporlecl from the Black Sea, solne 01 which were flvoured. as srnall-1rt'. the titste o1' the Athenians mar' nttt htve been sccn above in the casc: r:f palan*'s. Possiblv these wcre cliflcrent. The main point is LhaI lnmsi r'vas a usual. more e xpsnsive cumparecl to the ones fiom other rbunclanl arrcl cheap fbocl item. possiblt' e.tplaining wh,r, regions. especiallv when tl.re cost and risks clf trans- il was clespised b,r' thc u,ealth\, ,r\tircnians. Chyrysippus' portation arc taken into account. FIowever. Curtis claim rrighl simplr lrc an ideological clainr on behall'the points out that the maioriti, oi presen,ecl or saltecl tish wealthr,. Sinall-fif is also usecl as a means o1'riclicule in products of all qualiti0s \vere no1 expensive and wele cornecly (Aristophanes. Acltornetr.sc.s 640; Athenaeus pricecl so as to be aflbrclable to most o1 the peoplc" 8.339b) and as nicknames lbr someone udro lr,as oi light inch"rding the poor, soldiers. or ther disreputable who colour, thin lncl hircl large eves (Athenaeus 13.586b: see consumecl large quantities o1' lish sauce in their dail1, also 9.367a). We alsci see in otiier ancienl sources that diet (Cultis 1L)91: 170" 1751. crpln,e . 't generai name fbr all sclrts o1 small-fr1'. was nol ln tire comic plays of Aristopiranes, it appears that a luxur1' or wanted flsh. lt was ealen f}equentll' by both salted fish was commonly consumed as a cheap and Greeks and Romans (Athenaeus 4.131d. 4.135a, 4.148e. little-esteemed fbod. In Krriglrr.s (1247), the Sausage 6.128e. 6.244c, 6.269f , 6.293d, 7.271f , 7.3\)(tc, 7.326d, Seller savs that at the gates of tiie city of Athens. a much 8.3-57e, 9.4i)3b; see also Bithynians, Athenaeus l.7e-f; more disreputable iocation for tr;rders than the agora, and iIs gtu'tun r,vas made by tl.re Romans (Curtis 1991: 14. since it was dirty and occupied by prostitutes and sellers n. 30: see above note 3). Salted small-fry, u4rich must of dogs' and asses' meat. traders sell salted-fish. He also have included salted ltmnsi. was cheap, abundant and sel1s his sausages in the same place. What ma,r' actually largell' consumed by the common folk. Salsanrcnta from be inferred from this passage is that. even during the war. Itantsi appears to have been boiled and eaten in iarge salted flsh was commonly sold in tl.re streets, just as quantities by the Greeks as a common food in antiquitl', sausages were. lt was also as cheap as sausages, as Athenaeus indicates (7.285a, 7.300f). Nowadays, appealing to tl.re taste and pocket of the ordinar)' folk. In bolled Jnntsi (lnntsi lnslamasr in Turkish) ranks fourth Wasps (490-95), Bdelycieon savs, 'i had not even heard among the 12 main dishes made from ltamsi. The the word "dictatorship" for -50 years back, but nor.r- it is a important point is that boiied lmmsi is made from saited good deal cheaper than salted fish (roü topilou5 . . . lrumsi, as fresh hamsi fa11s to pieces when boiled. The ä[rc,:rdpo), so much so that its name is actually bandied salted-pickle of hantsi is first put inro water overnight. If about in the market place'. Tirus Bdelvcieon thinks that it is too saltl'. the water of the vessel shouid be changed the cheapest and the most commonly sold food in the severai times. In the morning, it is transferred to an market piace, which he could compare with use of the earthenware stewpan. To make it tastier, several fig word 'dictatorship', is salted fish. in other works of leaves are placed on it. After the necessarl' amount of Aristo-phanes, we also see that slices of salted-fish water is added, it is heated. When it is boiled enough to were commonly eaten in Athens during the Peloponnesian eat, the water is sizzled until oniy a smal1 amount of it is War (Acharnenses 91"J . f091-102' Ranae 558). left, so that the lwmsi is not entirell' dried out (Ihsan We do not have definite and specific information 7932: 48). Pickled hamsi, as it is readily available, is about the cost of salled hatnsi in Athens. However, we quickly prepared after boiling and usually eaten in the can infer some things about the vaiue of the freshly fields, where the villagers work during the summer consumed small-fry, which must have included hamsi. gathering tobacco leaves (Hamsi 1966: 6-7). So, in Archestratus (quoted in Athenaeus 285b), the inventive antiquiil', when Ettcrasicholus u'as boiled, it mal' have genius of cookery, says, 'count all small-fry as abomi- been made from salted-pickle. These data also imply that nation, except the Athenian'. This Athenian aplryeu'as salted hamsi was abundant and consumed commonly the foam-fish. but Athenaeus (7.285b and L1'nceus of during antiquity. Apart from salted-pickle and sauce, 14, Samos, quoted in Athenaeus 285e) states that the fresh 19, 40 or even 49 kinds of meals are said to be made from ones caught in the Phaleric bay and in the waters off /rainsl (ihsan 1932: 45-53). The contradictory and Rhodes were the best (see also Athenaeus 4.135a). The exaggerated views of severai authors possibly result from philosopher Chrysippus (quoted in Atirenaeus 7.185d), in the fact that it became one of the main staples in and the tract On things to be cltosen for their own sake, says, around the province ofTrapezus, and was added to every 'In Athens they despise small-fry on account of their sort of meal because it was so prolofic. abundance, and declare that they are beggars' food; but in Nevertheless, the vaiue of salted hantsi may have other cities people like smail-fry extravagantly, though differed from that of fresh sma1l-fry caught in Athens. they are much inferior to the Athenian'. It is not certain What is commonly produced or found in one region is in this account whether the value of imported sma11-fr;' is likely to be more valuable in another region, where it is 63 The Black Sea: Past. Present and Future not available all the time. For Athenians hamsi wls Bal* ve Baltkgiltk (JourncLl of Fish artd Fishing) imported from a distant source and consumed in summer, 5,8:27-32 out of season . Like palamut, hamsi. as mentioned above, Bilge, I. 7972 'Karadeniz Bahklan: Türkiye'nin Bö1ge is caught in winter and pickled to be consumed in Bölge Bairk Yataklan: III (Black Sea fish: regional summer. Pickled or salted hamsi cotld easiiy have been fishes of Turkey)' Baltkve Baltkgil*51:31-35 preserved for two years. Since they were imported from Braund, D.1994:'The Luxuries of Athenian democracy' a particuiarly distant piace, and pickled in jars during a Greece & Rome 47:41-19 p{lrticulrr season. its price m11 have been higher 'Fish the Sea: - t995: from Black Classical Byzantium compared to the other cheap salted tish sold in the streets and the Greekless of trade'in J. Wilkins et al. (eds), of Athens, which was possibly locally caught and salted Food ittAntiquity. Exeter: 762-70 on a large scale, but sti1l affordable. Curtis, R.I. 1991: Ganun and Salsamenta: Production In sum. as Braund has pointed out (1995: 167), the lack and Commerce irt Materia Medica. Leiden of literary evidence should not lead us into thinking that Ciravo$lu, O.F. 1992: Titrek Homsi Örgürii (Shivering fish, including hamsi, was not caught, salted and traded Hamsi Organisatiort). Istanbul fiom particular regions to Athens. The archaeological and Davidson, A. 1981: illetliterranean Sealood. London modern data allor'v us to argue that. in antiquitv, as the Demir, N. 1959: 'Notes on the variations of the eggs of main tish supply of the Black Sea. lmmsi was caught. anchovy (Engraulis encrasichoius Cuv.) from the salted and exported in abundance especially from lake Black, Marmarian, Aegean and Mediteuenean Maeotis. the Kerch strait and the province of Trapezus. Seas' Hydrobiol ogy 41 4: 180-88 This probably brought considerable profit to the Edmonds, J.M. (ed.) 1951: Tlrc Fragments of Attic economies of these regions. This phenomenon can be Cornedl, 1. Leiden compared with the case of Byzantium. We shouid take Ege, F. 1959: Karadeniz Qagast Hantsi (.Blaclc Sea Hamsi into consideration that pelamys. a kind of tunny which Danciltg).lslanbu, comes second after hamsi in terms of the amount of the Ermin^ R. 1956: 'Karadeniz ve bahidan (Black Sea and tvpe of fish caught in the Black Sea, was saited in its fislr)' Baltk ve Bahkgiltk fuIecmuasl 4ll 3-8 Bvzantium in large quantities and this made a large contri- Evliva Qelebi 1999: Ser-ahatname (Tlrc Tt'avel Book). bution to its econom.v. Besides. the sulsatnenta and gtutun Edited by Z. Kurqun et al. Istanbul of pelant.vs from this citv were praised in antiquity. Hantsi (Humorous Nlagazine) 1948-1976" lstanbul Although hamsi does not appeer to have been valued as Httmsi (Humorous Magazine) 1967-. Trabzon much, since it was a species of small-fiy, this should not Hamsi (Humorous Nlagazine) 1967. Ankara mean that it was not imported to the citl,ofAthens. In thct. Httntsi (Humorous Nlagazine) 1991-. Istanbul as an abundant, cheap but tasty and healthv fish favoured ilrsan. H. 1932: Hamsi-Ncune (Writittg abour Hams). particuiariy by the common peopie of Athens, it may have Istanbul been imported tiom the Black Sea out of pref-erence and Kutay_qil, N. 1978: 'Denizlerimizde baqhca bahklann consumed in large amounts. I think r,ve should not assume biyoiojileri hakkrnda: 1-hamsi bahgr (Biological that the Athenians ahvays imported exotic or luxury lbod f'eatures of the main fishes in Turkish seas)' Bal* t,e items from distant places. The individual Greek merchants Balkgilk 1112 27-33 had good reasons to import plentifiri, cheap. but at the Mutlu. C. 199.1: Dolu Kcu'atletiz'deki Harnsi (EngratLlis sane time high-qualitv tbod items. especiail,v in times of ertcrasicltoltLs. LINiVAEUS, 1758) Bttltklartrun need, r.vhich thev could sell easily, as they apperled to the Buz Popüla.st,ott Ö:elliklo i Ü:crine Bir.4rasttnna taste and pocket of a consicierable portion of Athenian (A Study oJ',sonte PopuLutiotr Porutneters of societv. Hrunsi sulely constitutecl an important tbod Attchovy ür tlrc Eustet'rt Blaclc Sctt1. MA disser- export t'rom the Blacli Sea in ar.rticluitv. tation. Trabzon Numann. W. l9-55. 'Türki1,c Sulannda Palamut ve Torik Biltliography (Borrito ancl pclanr,-s in Turkish seasl' Buhk ve Anotrym. l()75: Hotnsi Buh!tttm ilrruc Pr.tltutsit,ali BtrlLkqlLlc )l): 26-30 Hukkrtdn Ritpot' (Rcport ri' tlrc Potuttiql Erpor'- Slastenenko. E.P 1956^ Kurudertiz Hoyza.st BaLklcu't !utiotr of lTatn irl. D.P.T. Yuyul (a publication of the (Tlrc Fi.slrcs ol'tlrc Black Seu Busitt). Translated bv Department o1' State Planning). Ankara I-1. i\ltan. Istanbul i\schcrson^ N. l9!l-5: Bluck Sau: Tlrc Birtltplctce of'Civil- 'fltompson. D.W. 1917 A Glossurt' oJ' Grcek Fisltes. i.str/iott turi Burburi snr. L,ondon London Ilcl