La consommation du poisson en Grèce ancienne : excès, faste et tabou

Abstract

In Ancient Greece, fish consumption is frequently associated with gluttony and excess. At the same time, eating fish is also a mark of social and economic status ; hence some species of fish are great delicacies, the object of excessive pricing speculation and great prestige. It is in this context that we must read the legend of the evil queen Gatis and her immoderate passion for fish as mentioned by Athenaeus of Naucratis. The stories about Queen Gatis’ legend are an appropriation of the myth of the goddess Atargatis and the well known fish taboo in Syria by Greek authors who interpret this myth according to their own cultural conceptions surrounding fish consumption. Nevertheless, although a certain taboo relative to fish is also well attested in Ancient Greece, the prohibition of seafood was generally quite rare. Because fish is normally presented in Greek literature as an exceptionally choice food, fish consumption stood for luxury, excess and decadence. In the same manner, in the second century A.D., Atheneaus portrays the excessive consumption of fish as indecent with respect to this traditional perception of fish consumption.