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The Monmouth College
Department of Classics presents
the Twenty-Seventh
Annual
Bernice L. Fox Classics Lecture
This lecture series was established in 1985 to
honor Dr.
Bernice L. Fox, who taught Classics at Monmouth College from
1947 until 1981. The goal of this series is to illustrate
the continuing importance of Classical studies in the modern world
and the intersection of the Classics with other disciplines in the
liberal arts. |
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Tuna in Ancient Greece
and
Modern Tuna Population Decline
by
Daniel B. Levine
Professor
of Classics
at
the University
of Arkansas
dlevine@uark.edu
Detailed
Description
Biography of Daneil Levine
This lecture considers the nature of tuna, and
the names ancient Greeks used for them. We shall discuss
"opsophagy," the passionate ancient Greek love of fish consumption
in general, and look at some of the ways the Greeks ate tuna,
including ancient recipes and cooking tips. We will consider the
tuna's migration through the Black Sea and the Mediterranean, and
ancient methods of their capture, including tuna towers staffed with
"thunnoskopoi," the tuna spotters. We shall consider questions of
the relation of tuna to the gods, and whether they were offered as
sacrificial animals, and look at what the Greeks called the "gadfly"
(oistros) the most common tuna parasite, which so impressed
Aristotle. Tuna were prominent iconographic features on the ancient
coins of Cyzicus by the Black Sea, and on those of Gades (on the
Atlantic), where their migrations took them, and where they were
harvested for great profit. Their popularity and pursuit continue
today, resulting in greatly reduced populations in the
Mediterranean, and an uncertain chance of survival, especially for
the North Atlantic Bluefin.
7:30 P.M.
Monday, March 5, 2012
Wells Theatre
Monmouth College
Monmouth, Illinois
About Bernice L. Fox /
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