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[German version] [1] Goat or nymph, who nourished Zeus as a child (αἴξ aíx). According to the post-Hesiodic myth, Zeus was fed and nourished as a child in the Cretan cave by a goat ( Amalthea) or a nymph by the name of ‘Goat’. Zeus kills her, uses her coat as a shield ( Aegis) in the battle of the Titans and in gratitude sets her among the stars (Eratosth. Catast. 13 Capella; Ant. Lib. 36). The nymph is the mother of Aegipan and Aegocerus (Capricorn, Eratosth. Catast. 27). The representation of the constellation of Ἡνίοχος ( Hēníochos; Auriga) bearing the goat on the shoulder and her two …

[German version] I. Ancient Near East and Egypt The plough (Sumerian APIN, Akkadian epinnu, Egyptian hb.w) probably originated in the ancient Near East and Egypt (but also in India and China). In Egypt, the transition from hoe to plough in agriculture may have taken place as early as during the Naqada II period (3700/3600-3200 BC), although the first conclusive evidence originates from the Early Dynastic Period (late 4th millennium BC). Likewise, while the plough may well be older in the Near East, simple ard-…

[German version] The Archive of Nicanor consists of a group of ostraca found in Coptus (O.Petr. 220-304; O.Bodl. II 1968-1971; O.Brux.Berl. 7; Ostrakon), which are dated between AD 6 and AD 62. These are receipts for transport services provided by the καμηλίτης/ kamēlítēs (O.Petr. 225) Nicanor and his family or partner by camel between Coptus and Myos Hormos and Berenice [9] on the instruction of various people. This was also the route by which trade was carried on between the Roman Empire and Arabia, Africa and India (Plin. HN 6,102-103…

[German version] The two Sasernae, who were probably members of the  gens Hostilia and are described in Columella as pater et filius (Columella 1,1,12), were the authors of a Latin work on agriculture published between 146 and 57 BC; they were considered the earliest Latin agrarian writers after Cato [1] (Columella 1,1,12; Plin. HN 17,199). Columella and Plinius [1] rated their work highly (Columella 1 praef. 32; 1,1,4: “ non spernendus auctor rei rusticae Saserna”; 1,1,12; Plin. HN 17,199: ' peritissimi'). From mentions in Varro, Columella and Pliny it is possible to re…

[German version] The scythe ( falx faenaria; Greek: χορτοδρέπανον/ chortodrépanon) was regarded in Antiquity as a kind of sickle and distinguished from it terminologically only by means of an adjective. Its use remained limited to Italy and the northern and western parts of the ancient world; in Greece, by contrast, it was unknown in Antiquity. Scythes were used for mowing grass and hay (Varro Rust. 1,49,1). Plinius distinguishes a shorter Italian type and a longer Gaulish one (Plin. HN 18,261: “falcium …

[German version] The importance of the stabling of livestock (SOL) in Graeco-Roman Antiquity is currently supposed by scholars to have been rather low, and it is assumed that it was mostly restricted to working animals. As the Homeric epics show, cattle were mostly kept on grazing land in early Greece. There were stables for the saddle horses of the Athenian elite in the Classical period (Xen. Eq. 4,1; Horsemanship). The Roman agrarian writers provide important information on the SOL: Cato recommends anyone building a villa to include cattle stalls ( bubilia), a stable ( equile) and pig …

[German version] I. The Near East and Egypt (Sumerian udu, sheep, u8, ewe, udu.nita, fat-tailed sheep; Akkadian immeru (culture word) [4]; Egyptian zr ( wp.t). The Near East lies in the natural range of the Asiatic mouflon ( Ovis orientalis), which was apparently used in various locations for the breeding of wool sheep; the earliest examples for this important step [8] come from the area of south-eastern Asia Minor/northern Levant/northern Mesopotamia in the 7th millennium BC [7. 73]. From the 7th/6th millennia BC on, the sheep play…

(* Mgn = ‘(god's) gift’; Greek Μάγων; Mágōn). [German version] [1] Carthaginian king (?), 2nd half 6th cent. BC Carthaginian, leading figure (king?) in the 2nd half of the 6th cent. BC; successor of Malchus [1], efficient promoter of Carthaginian power (Iust. 18,7,19; 19,1,1; [1. 173f.; 2. 475f.]), to whom a great army reform with the goal of the deployment of mercenaries is erroneously attributed [3. 184-187]. As father (?) of Hamilcar [1] and Hasdrubal (Iust. 19,1,2), M. is considered the ancestor of the Magonid…

[German version] The extent and type of animal husbandry in ancient  agriculture was essentially determined by the availability of fodder, which in turn was dependent on the respective geomorphologic and climatic conditions. Thus, Boeotia was famous in the Homeric period for its meadows rich in green fodder (ποίη/ poíē; Hom. Il. 2,503; H. Hom. 3,243; 4,190); fodder was also available from fallow fields and woodlands; in addition there were pastures (λειμών/ leimṓn; Hom. Il. 2,461-469). Specifically, Homer mentions a type of clover (λωτός/ lṓtós ( lotus) and wild  parsley (σέλινον/ s…

[German version] VG was as significant as the cultivation of grain, wine and olives (Olive oil), the so-called Mediterranean triad, to which in recent times legumes have been added. Its great significance is also evident from the large amount of space dedicated to it by ancient agrarian writers and physicians (Plin. HN. 19,52-189; Columella 11,3). Evidence of widespread VG extends from the Late Helladic period until the Byzantine period. Pulses (beans, peas, etc.), mainly covered by the Latin term  legumina (Greek ὄσπρια/ óspria), and leaf vegetables, tubers and salad plants (Latin (h…

[German version] I. Ancient Orient and Egypt The sickle is a classic harvesting tool with a largely unaltered basic form: a curved blade with its edge on the inside, made of wood, ceramic, copper/bronze or iron. The earliest evidence of sickles in Egypt and the Near East is from the 8th/7th millennia BC: flint or obsidian blades with traces of use on one side (bright 'polish') and remains of bitumen on the end with which the blades were fixed to the inner side of a curved piece of wood, less often to a…

[German version] I. Ancient Near East See horticulture Ruffing, Kai (Münster) [German version] II. Classical Antiquity The cultivation of fruit trees (ἀκρόδρυα/ akródrya; Lat. pomi, poma) in antiquity was regarded as an integral part of horticulture; however, fruit trees were also often planted as intercrops in viticulture (Wine); there were also some separate orchard plantations (παράδεισος/ parádeisos; Lat. pometum, pomarium). Evidence for the cultivation of fruit trees, esp. the  fig, dates back into the Mycenaean period. Pomiculture is always referr…

[German version] I Greek (Παλλάδιος; Palládios). [German version] [I 1] Greek rhetor, 4th cent. Greek rhetor of the first half of the 4th cent. AD (Suda s.v. P. gives his prime as under Constantinus [1] I) from Methone (probably the Messenian one). According to the Suda, in addition to declamations he wrote in all three rhetorical genres ( genera dicendi ) and also an antiquarian work on the festivals of the Romans (FGrH F 837). Whether P. is identical with one of the numerous Palladii mentioned in the letters of Libanius and if …

(οἶνος/ oînos; Lat. vinum). [German version] I.Egypt and Ancient Near East Archeological finds (excavations, pictorial representations in tombs) as well as Egyptian and Roman texts contain a plethora of information about the growing, production and use of wine in Egypt from the Early Period to the Ptolemaic-Roman Period. Wine (Egyptian jrp; Coptic ērp; Old-Nubian orpj/ē; cf. in Sappho 51 ἔρπις/ érpis [9. 46], probably an old foreign cult word [7. 1169]) was grown primarily in Lower Egypt or the Nile Delta and in the oases, clearly because of the favourab…

[German version] RM ( vallus, carpentum) are known from the descriptions of Pliny (Plin. HN 18,296) and Palladius (Pall. Agric. 7,2,2-4); there are some pictorial depictions on reliefs from the Gallic and Germanic provinces, while the literary sources indicate only Gaul as the area of distribution. The RM consisted of a box fitted with wheels on both shorter sides; the front was open and fitted with a row of gripping teeth. The rear side had two bars, between which a harnessed ass or ox would push th…

[English version] Das N.-A. besteht aus einer Gruppe von in Koptos gefundenen Ostraka (O.Petr. 220-304; O.Bodl. II 1968-1971; O.Brüss.Berl. 7; Ostrakon), die auf die Jahre zw. 6 und 62 n.Chr. zu datieren sind. Es handelt sich um Quittungen über Transportleistungen, die der καμηλίτης ( kamēlítēs; O.Petr. 225) Nikanor und seine Familie bzw. Partner mit Kamelen zw. Koptos und Myos Hormos sowie Berenike [9] im Auftrag verschiedener Personen durchführten. Über diese Route lief auch der Handel zw. dem Imperium Romanum und Arabien, Afrika und In…

[English version] I. Alter Orient s. Hortikultur Ruffing, Kai (Münster) [English version] II. Klassische Antike Die Kultivation von Obstbäumen (ἀκρόδρυα, akródrya; lat. pomi, poma) wurde in der Ant. als Bestandteil der Hortikultur angesehen; jedoch wurden Obstbäume auch oft als Zwischenkulturen im Weinbau gepflanzt; daneben gab es eigene abgeschlossene Obstbaumpflanzungen (παράδεισος, parádeisos; lat. pometum, pomarium). Die Belege für die Kultur von Obstbäumen, insbesondere der Feige, reichen bis in die myk. Zeit zurück. Der O. ist bei Homer stet…

(* Mgn = “(Gottes)gabe”; griech. Μάγων). [English version] [1] Karthag. König (?) in der 2. H. des 6. Jh. v.Chr. Karthager, führende Persönlichkeit (König?) in der 2. H. des 6. Jh.v.Chr.; Nachfolger des Malchos [1], effizienter Förderer der karthag. Macht (Iust. 18,7,19; 19,1,1; [1. 173f.; 2. 475f.]), dem irrigerweise eine große Heeresreform mit dem Ziel des Einsatzes von Söldnern zugeschrieben wird [3. 184-187]. Als Vater (?) des Hamilkar [1] und Hasdrubal (Iust. 19,1,2) gilt M. als Ahnherr der sog. Magoniden (s. …

[English version] Das M. ( vallus, carpentum) ist aus den Beschreibungen von Plinius (Plin. nat. 18,296) und Palladius (Pall. agric. 7,2,2-4) bekannt; es finden sich bildliche Darstellungen auf einigen Reliefs aus den gallischen und german. Prov., während die lit. Zeugnisse nur Gallien als Verbreitungsgebiet angeben. Das M. bestand aus einem Kasten, der an beiden Schmalseiten mit einem Rad versehen war; die Vorderseite war offen und mit einer Reihe Greifzähnen ausgestattet. An der Rückseite befanden s…

[English version] [1] P. Rutilius Taurus Aemilianus Agrarschriftsteller Über das Leben des Agrarschriftstellers P. ist wenig bekannt. Da er in den Hss. als vir illustris bezeichnet wird, war P. wahrscheinlich höherer Beamter gewesen; nach eigener Aussage besaß er in Italien und auf Sardinien Ländereien (Pall. agric. 3,10,24; 3,25,20; 4,10,16). Seine Lebens- und Schaffenszeit wird allgemein in das E. des 4. oder in das 5. Jh.n.Chr. gesetzt. Sein Werk besteht aus dem Opus agriculturae, das 13 B. umfaßt, einem B. über Veterinärmedizin, das jetzt als das 14. B. des ers…