This is something I was not aware of until today -- that during the period of 100 BC- 100 AD (a prime Epicurean period), there was an interest among the rich elite in "fishponds." Cicero in particular seems to have been critical of them as an extravagance, according to this article:
I'm not aware of anything linking these to Epicureans, but as this is new to me I thought I would note it and perhaps references to fishponds will pop up to us in the future if we become aware to look for them.
Presumably what's going on here is that they were raising fish to eat, rather than just as an amusement(?) If that's the case I doubt that aquariums in our own living spaces would quite accomplish the same thing. But that's another data point -- anyone here find aquariums or fish particularly enjoyable to observe? What function do those Japanese fishponds that we hear about serve?
