The Social Role Of Fishing In Ancient Greek Culture
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The ancient river Nile was full of fish, fresh and dried fish were a basic food for much of the population. The Egyptians invented many tools and methods for fishing and some of these are clearly illustrated in tomb scenes, drawings, and important documents. Simple reed boats served for fishing. Woven nets, weir baskets made from willow branches, harpoons and hook and line were all being used. By the 12th dynasty, metal hooks with barbs were being used. As is fairly common today, the fish were killed and cut open after they were caught. Nile perch, eels and catfish were some of the most important fish. Some representations hint at fishing being pursued as an activity. There are numerous references to fishing in ancient literature; in most…show more content… There is a wine cup, dating all the way back from 500 BC, that shows a boy ducked down on a rock with a fishing rod in his right hand and a basket in his left. In the water below there is a rounded thing that was like the same material with an opening on the top. This has been known as a fish-cage used for keeping live fish, or as a fish-trap, or it was used to catch many fish because it was wider. This object is currently in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. As I was reading I came across this and I thought it was very interesting. Oppian of Corycus, a Greek author wrote a major piece on sea fishing, the Halieulica or Halieutika, composed between 177 and 180. This is the earliest kind of work to have survived intact to the modern day. Oppian describes lots of means of fishing including the use of nets casting from boats, scoop nets held open by a hoop, spears and tridents, and various traps. Oppian's description of fishing with a "motionless" net is also very interesting: The fishers set up very light nets of buoyant flax and wheel in a circle round about while they violently strike the surface of the sea with their oars and make a din with sweeping blow of poles. At the flashing of the swift oars and the noise the fish bound in terror and rush into the bosom of the net which stands at rest, thinking it to be a shelter: foolish fishes which, frightened by a…show more content… I have never really thought about the history of fishing before, like how someone could just be like I wonder how I could catch a fish without using my hands. Then they got a poll and some string and a hook and stared fishing. Now days people just go to the store and buy a name brand fishing poll, of someone they know or someone they know that fishes with it and that it is a good poll. I have been fishing quite a few times because I live in the country back home, but I’ve never tried to think about how it all started. I think it’s so amazing that when I was researching things about the history I found a website that quoted a bible verse in it. Most websites don’t want to offend people so they don’t, but I’m glad that it can be traced back and used in the bible to show that God is real and