92 THE WEALTH OF THE SEA 



is said to have been lavish in their use, a notable 

 instance being the banquet which she gave to Mark 

 Antony, at which she dissolved and swallowed a large 

 pearl. The ancient Persians, Babylonians, and 

 Assyrians valued pearls and used them as ornaments. 



When Alexander conquered Persia, pearls were 

 introduced into Greece. Soon thereafter the Mace- 

 donians established fisheries in the Red Sea, from 

 which it is said the Egyptians obtained their chief 

 supply. 



The pearl was an important jewel in imperial 

 Rome. As the riches of the countries which she con- 

 quered came into the hands of the Roman merchants, 

 an extravagant civilization was developed in which 

 large numbers of persons lived in great luxury. 

 Under these conditions the extreme excesses of the 

 rich became ludicrous almost to the verge of insan- 

 ity. Pearls were lavishly flaunted in many unusual 

 ways. The Emperor Caligula had a necklace of pearls 

 placed around his favorite horse. Clodius, best known 

 from his gluttonous habits, dissolved them in wine, 

 contending that they improved the flavor. Clodius's 

 contention may be true, but a little lime would do 

 equally well for the purpose. Clodius is said to have 

 dissolved a pearl worth forty thousand dollars in 

 a cup of wine and then drunk it in order to have 

 the pleasure of having consumed so much value 

 at once. 



During the past two thousand years pearls have 

 been so highly prized as jewels that they have had 

 much influence in political history. It is said that 



