James N. Davidson detailed a morbid craving for eating fish prevalent in ancient Greek comedy in his Fish, Sex and Revolution essay for Classical Quarterly. He said "the compulsive nature of desire for fine foods, which almost always means fish," was "number one on the list of most shameful pleasures" along with women and gambling. His Courtesans and Fishcakes described fish-eating in Athens as "an indication of modernity...and urbanity." Fish was "the quintessential modern commodity fully fetishized." "Fond of fish as the Romans were, however," according to History of Food by Maguelonne Toussaint-Samat, "they may well have been simply imitating the Greeks."

"The opulent blended edible," gave status-conscious Romans "a chance to draw attention," according to Charles Feldman's article Blended Cuisine in Ancient Rome for Repast quarterly newsletter. Feldman wrote that "a large portion of meat or fish," once tantalizing as an indicator of societal standing, became tame, "unexpressive...in cosmopolitan Rome."

Martial, Juvenal and Horace all, noted Emily Gowers in The Loaded Table, used the dinner plate "as an internal image of the poetic sphere." Each offered up the motif of a large fish on a small plate which could, she said, represent, alternately, "a dislocation of values" and "overstraining a limited form."

The Greek historian Strabo, in his first century Geographies, described towers along the coastline of Pyrgi, northwest of Rome. The vantages allowed fishermen to locate shoals of tuna in the Tyrrhenian Sea. Pyrgi means "tower" in Greek. More recently, Andrew Dalby recounted much the same in his Empire of Pleasures.

"The memento mori motifs that figured in the city's mosaics...took on a new intensity of meaning" for Pompeians in the AD 70's, according to Pompeii: The Living City by Alex Butterworth and Ray Laurence. Earth tremors followed a devastating 62 AD quake and Vesuvius loomed over the landscape. With a heightened awareness of their own mortality, Pompeians often used skulls and skeletons for decorative effect.

The ancient historian Livy traced the beginning of dissolute Rome to the year 187 BC. Then, Vulso's army in Asia created an influx of "foreign luxuries" to Rome. Additionally, according to Livy's History of Rome 39.6, lavish banquets allowed a cook to enjoy a sudden elevation of status, well above his customary position of "lowest menial."

"It was the Hellenism embodied by the Greek city Naples, Neopolis-that they craved," according to Pompeii: The Living City by Alex Butterworth and Ray Laurence. In Neopolis, even the Roman dictator Sulla donned Greek garb. Eastern pleasures were predominate. To suggest a Pompeian chirashizushi, scattered sushi, would be a distortion of the region's Eastern influence. But distortions can be eloquent.