Within the 4th century BC, Aristotle made the primary detailed medical observations about Mediterranean shellfish in his Historia Animalium (Historical past of Animals).
The Greek thinker referred to as them μυες (mies) and described with unexpected precision the construction that science would establish as a protein millennia later: the bysus, a suite of protein filaments secreted by means of positive bivalves to connect to the substrate and traditionally got from nacre (Pinna nobilis) for the manufacturing of marine materials. In passage IV, 5, 528b, he wrote: “οι δε μυες προσπεφυκασι ταις πετραις και εκ των μορκ των μορκ των μορκ εχουσιν, εκ ων αφιενται τον ισχυν οσον προσκεισθαι ταις πετραι”. It’ll say: “Mussels are attached to rocks and have a protruding part of the body, from which they produce a thread by which they hold fast to them.”
Histori Animium of Aristotle, 1619 version. Wikimedia Commons., CC bi
Aristotle’s precision in describing the byssus, showed two thousand years later by means of fashionable analysis on adhesive proteins, presentations that rigorous commentary may triumph over the technological obstacles of his time.
In the similar paper, he additionally as it should be recognized that mussels are water clear out feeders, an commentary that anticipates the trendy idea of marine clear out feeders.
Shells in classical literature
Most of the classes established by means of Aristotle are remarkably very similar to present classifications. μυες (mies) had been mussels, which within the Mediterranean belong to the species Mytilus galloprovincialis and shape dense faculties in rocky intertidal spaces.
A rock coated with Mediterranean shells at the coast of Portugal. Wikimedia Commons., CC BI
οστρεα (ostreae) had been oysters, together with Ostrea edulis, an indigenous Ecu species fed on by means of each the Greeks and Romans. Despite the fact that Aristotle positioned them most commonly “on the bottom”, this species regularly clings to laborious substrates, forming reefs.
πινναι (pinnai) corresponded to the implementing Pinna nobilis or nacra, the biggest shell within the Mediterranean, in a position to attaining as much as 120 cm. Extremely valued in earlier period, this species is now at risk of extinction because of the protozoan parasite Haplosporidium pinnae, which has been ravaging its populations since 2016.
Fan Mussel Pinna noble_ within the posidia prairie. CC BI
τελλιναι (tellinai) incorporated clams and bivalves reminiscent of Ruditapes decussatus, an infaunal bivalve that lives buried in sandy sediments. κτεις (kteis) had been scallops, together with Pecten jacobaeus. In particular, Aristophanes (c. 446-386 BC) mentions this sort of seafood in his comedy Knights, the place they seem as cuisine offered within the Athenian agora.
Bust of Aristophanes within the Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Italy. Aleksandar Matajacki / Wikimedia Commons., CC BI
Pliny the Elder in his Naturalis Historia (1st century) described the power of scallops to swim, a conduct that has been showed by means of fashionable research appearing that scallops swim by means of expelling water by means of hastily ultimate valves.
καρδια (kardia) had been chickens of the genus Acanthocardia, named after their center form, and seem not directly in fragments of Greek comedies. solen (solen) corresponded to shearwaters reminiscent of Solen marginatus, whose burrowing conduct Aristotle as it should be described in his Historia Animalium.
In any case, the φωλαδες (pholades) had been sea dates (Lithophaga lithophaga), calcareous molluscs. Their exploitation was once such that lately within the Mediterranean they’re safe by means of the Habitats Directive.
First web page of Herbal Folks, press LIVE. Wikimedia Commons., CC by means of Ecology Marina in Greek
Historical texts comprise unexpected observations about marine ecology, from references to the will for blank waters to the significance of water oxygenation.
Those intuitions coincide with fashionable wisdom: mussels of the genus Mytilus scale back their metabolic charge when dissolved oxygen concentrations fall beneath 5-6 mg/L of dissolved oxygen to deal with commonplace metabolism, and water turbulence promises each this oxygenation and the provision of phytoplankton, their primary meals. Mussels are actually identified bioindicators of air pollution and are utilized in global biomonitoring methods such because the Mussel Watch Program.
Molluscs at the desk
Gastronomy additionally performed a central function. The Athenaeum of Naucratis (2d century) amassed in his Deipnosophistae the culinary traditions of all Greece, together with references to seasonal seafood.
Historical texts point out that mussels had been of higher high quality earlier than summer season, which coincides with the reproductive cycle of Mytilus galloprovincialis, which has two primary spawning classes: spring (March-Would possibly) and autumn (September-October). Sooner than spring spawning, mussels collect glycogen reserves that offer sweetness and firmness, whilst after spawning, the beef turns into extra watery and not more tasty.
Mussels had been already a extremely prized dish in historical Greece. Wikimedia Commons., CC BI
For his phase, Archestrato de Gella (4th century BC), the primary Western gourmand, established in his paintings Hedipatheia geographical hierarchies of high quality for various seafood, recommending mussels from Abdera and Mytilene and oysters from the Hellespont – lately’s Dardanelles. Those culinary variations mirror precise salinity, temperature, and productiveness gradients.
Shellfish had been a part of the day-to-day vitamin in classical Greece. Oysters and clams had been eaten uncooked with vinegar, oil and herbs, whilst mussels had been regularly cooked and may well be accompanied by means of garou, a well-liked Greek fermented fish sauce.
Scallops and oysters also are grilled without delay at the coals. Those shells had been attributed aphrodisiac homes, related to Aphrodite and the fertility of the ocean.
In the marketplace in amphorae
The business in shells is archaeologically documented. Amphorae with business marks and stays from fish markets in Athens and different coastal towns display popular intake. Home deposits of shells, even in non-aristocratic properties, verify their popular presence. In Roman occasions, oysters may well be saved in brine for simple delivery, as documented by means of Pliny and Columella.
The Romans expanded the relationship with shellfish additional growing oyster farming ways within the 1st century BC. Pliny credit Sergius Oratos (1st century BC) with innovating the primary oyster farms on Lake Lucrino, in Campania, round 95 BC. Those ways are the predecessors of contemporary suspended tradition strategies. There is not any direct proof of aquaculture in Greece.
Bolinus brandaris shells, from which Tyrian crimson dye was once got. Luis Fernandez Garcia / Wikimedia Commons., CC BI
Despite the fact that they don’t belong to bivalves, barnacles deserve a point out on account of their function within the historical financial system. Those gastropods had been the supply of Tyrian crimson, essentially the most treasured dye within the Mediterranean. Between 10,000 and 12,000 folks had been had to download only one gram of the pigment, which grew to become crimson into an emblem of imperial energy. Trade has been documented in Crete because the 2d millennium BC. C., which implies a conceivable Minoan foundation.
Symbolic and medicinal use
Non secular symbolism additionally gave a outstanding function to shells. Homeric hymns describe the start of Aphrodite from the froth of the ocean, and later custom related it with shells, as proven by means of votive deposits with the stays of specimens of Pectena, Ostrea, and Glycymerida.
The shell represented start and renewal, hidden attractiveness and fertility, a symbolism that lasted for hundreds of years.
The Start of Venus (1482-1485), oil on canvas. Sandro Botticelli.
As well as, shells additionally had medicinal makes use of. Galen (129-216) prescribed therapies that incorporated powdered oyster shells, and Dioscorides (40-90) mentions an identical arrangements in his De Materia Medica. Those practices had an empirical foundation: shells are principally composed of calcium carbonate, an effective supply of calcium.
…to these days
Nowadays, shellfish are nonetheless the topic of analysis and constitute a very powerful financial useful resource. Global mussel manufacturing exceeds 2.2 million lots consistent with 12 months, with China as the principle manufacturer and Spain because the Ecu chief, because of the Galician estuaries.
This organic heritage is threatened by means of many human actions. Pinna nobilis is on the point of extinction and Ostrea edulis has suffered a decline of greater than 85% because the nineteenth century because of overexploitation, illness and habitat degradation. Local weather alternate and ocean acidification have an effect on the calcification in their shells by means of lowering the provision of carbonate ions.
Historical observations concerning the significance of fresh waters are gaining new significance lately in a Mediterranean threatened by means of air pollution, eutrophication and overfishing. The highbrow legacy of the Greek naturalists nonetheless holds true: a rigorous figuring out of the ocean, a humble inquiry, and a reputation that even the humblest of the sea’s population deserve find out about, appreciate, and coverage.
