There are also fish called boaxes. Aristotle, in his treatise entitled Concerning Animals or Fish, says, “The following animals are marked on the back; the boax and others—the following are marked transversely, the kind of tunny fish called colias.” And Epicharmus in his Marriage of Hebe, speaks thus—
And in addition to all these the boax,And Numenius, in his Art of Fishing, calls them boeces, saying—
The smarides, anchovies, crabs and lobsters.
The white synodons, the boeces, and trinchi.But Speusippus and the rest of the Attic writers call them boaces. Aristophanes in his play called The Women who occupy Tents, says—
But having had a bellyful of boaces,And they derived their name from the noise (βοὴ) which they make, on which account it used to be said that the fish was sacred to Mercury, as the harp fish was to Apollo. But [p. 451] Pherecrates in his Ant-Men, saying—“They say that there is no other fish whatever, which has any voice at all;” ads afterwards,—“By Castor and Pollux, there is at least no other fish except the boax.” And Aristophanes the Byzantian says— “That we are wrong to call the fish boax, when we ought to call it boops, since, though it is but a little fish, it as very large eyes, so that it might be called boops, having bulls' eyes.” But we may reply to him, If we are wrong in naming him as we do, why do we say coracinus, not corocinus? For he derives his name from moving the pupils of his eyes (ἀπὸ τοῦ τὰς κόρας κινεῖν). And so too, why do we not call the fish σείουρος instead of σίλουρος̣ for he has his name from continually shaking his tail (ἀπὸ τοῦ σείειν τὴν οὐράν)?
I turn'd my steps towards home.
