Avodah Zara 40: On Gentile Fish, Images, and Statues of Kings

The rabbis debate about the kashrut of fish sold to us by Gentiles.  They want to ensure that the fish are ritually pure and permitted based on numerous halachot:

• how many fish are in the barrel?  
• do the fish have both fins and scales?  
• are the heads and tails of the fish both visible?  
• in which manner have the fish been dissected? 
• which rabbis have claimed that the fish are ritually pure or ritually impure?  
• are those decisions based on similar patterns of logic?
• how do we evaluate fish eggs?
• are they spherical on one end and pointy on the other?
• are they hatched outside of the mother's body?
• is the yolk is on the inside and the white on the outside?
• is there a mumcheh, an expert on supervising kashrut practices, present?
• do we rely on a seller who claims to have salted the fish himself?
• we assume that Gentiles will not cut something permitted with their ritually unclean knives, or pour their ritually unclean wine on any item sold to Jews

A new Mishna teaches that all images produced by Gentiles are not to be acquired by Jews.  These images are said to be served or worshipped once each year.  The rabbis argue over whether all images are prohibited or only those with a person carrying a staff, a bird, or a ball.  

The Gemara considers why any image would be permitted if it is worshipped even only once each year.  The rabbis note that images could portray kings.  They begin what becomes a longer discussion about statues of kings and where those might be placed.  Clearly Jews would be expected to worship the statue of a king just like any other citizen, and we are told that these statues often were placed at the entrances of cities.