À propos de la pratique présumée de la pêche aux cétacés dans l’Antiquité. Nouvelles interprétations du chant V des Halieutiques d’Oppien de Cilicie grâce au croisement des sources

Until now, the existence of active whaling in Antiquity has been widely accepted. However, this assertion is based on a misinterpretation of a single passage in Book V of the Halieutica of Oppian of Cilicia, which has been wrongly attributed to whaling. By examining the precise translation of this text and cross-referencing it with the other available textual, iconographic, and archaeozoological data, we propose to reconsider this interpretation using a historiographical, critical, and decidedly multidisciplinary approach. In particular, we show from the physical description of the animal and the technical details of fishing provided by Oppian that the poet more likely meant a large shark. We also address the contribution and limitations of the iconographic sources in this dossier, showing that the images handed down by the Ancients were much more imaginary and mythical representations of sea monsters than the reality. Finally, an overview of the archaeozoological data scattered along the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts shows that the excavated cetacean remains can hardly be linked to active fishing practices, but are rather the result of accidental strandings.