John Dory
is technically called Zeus faber, common in the Mediterranean Sea and round the south-western coasts of England. A corruption of jaune adorée=the adorable or sacred yellow fish.
The only interest of this creature in a work like the Dictionary of Phrase and Fable is the tradition that it was the fish from which St. Peter took the stater. Hence it is called in French le poisson de St. Pierre, and in Gascon, the golden or sacred cock, meaning St. Peter’s cock. Like the haddock, it has a remarkable oval black spot on each side, said to be the finger-marks of St. Peter, when he held the fish to extract the coin. As neither the haddock nor dory can live in fresh water, of course this tradition is only an idle tale.
