couldn’t help resorting to elaboration and invention? If this is the case, no confidence should be placed in their accounts. In reality, at least in the first century, fishing was a very important, major industry in the Roman Empire (see Murphy-O’Connor, “Fishers of Men”). Fish was the major staple of the Near Eastern diet for both the rich and the poor. Far too frequently, the supply of fresh and smoked fish simply did not meet the demand. As a result, prices went up, and fishermen became quite