Like their modern #Italian descendants, the ancient #Romans ate a lot of fish. Italy is a peninsula, after all, and except for the northernmost part, nowhere in the country is far from salt water. Even as the #Empire extended to places deeper inland, they kept up their #pescavorian habits.

Indeed, fish may have been their most esteemed source of protein. They appreciated red meat and poultry as much as anyone, but fish brought out their true culinary artistry. From tiny herring to giant halibut, from the icy North Sea to the body-temperature waters of the southern Mediterranean, from cooking fresh on the beach to smoking and salting and drying and fermenting—there was no way in which they did not savor the bounty of the sea.

One particular type of fish, however, took on greater meaning than mere sustenance. Their writings speak of their devotion to this optima maxima of the finned and scaled kind. Religious inscriptions in particular show their gratitude, not only for meat on the table but for all kinds of good luck, be it victory in battle or a bountiful harvest or a successful business venture. They might even ask for its aid *before* setting out on some difficult quest.

Yes, as strange as it may seem to the modern mind, the record is clear: Romans would do anything for tuna.