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[German version] Member of the crowfoot plant family (Ranunculaceae) delphínion in Dioscorides 3,73 (only RV; [1. 84] = 3,77 [2. 310]). Because of the dolphin-like or pony-like nectaries on the larkspur, it is probably identical with D. ajacis L. (Modern Greek καπουτσῖνος) and consists of about 200 varieties, of which eight are to be found in Greece and Italy. That includes the common field weed D. staphisagria L. (στάφις ἀγρία in Dioscorides 4,152 [1. 84] = 4,153 [2. 451f.], Modern Greek ψειρόχορτο, ψειροβότανο, Lat. astaphis agria in Plin. HN 23,17, herba pedicularis, passula m…

[German version] (Greek ἰσάτις/ isátis, Lat. vitrum and glastum, e.g. Plin. HN 22,2) the dye-plant 'Dyer's Woad', L. Isatis tinctoria. This genus of Brassicaceae thrives in Europe in a number of species. Until the discovery of the dye indigo in the 19th cent., it was used for colouring textiles blue (Dyeing). It is a perennial plant, growing up to 1.4 m in height, with yellow flowers [1. 157, colour photograph 326] developing into single-seed pods which are violet when ripe. A mash of ground dried leaves (flowers acco…

[German version] [1] Plant (κοτυληδών/ kotylēdṓn, κυμβάλιον/ kymbálion, σκυτάλιον/ skytálion, γῆς ὀμφαλός/ gȇs omphalós; Latin umbilicus Veneris, cotyledon), genus of the Crassulaceae family: navelwort with two species ( Umbilicus erectus and Umbilicus horizontalis) still growing on rocks and walls in the Mediterranean area, mentioned in Dioscorides (4,91-92 Wellmann = 4,90-91 Berendes) and Pliny (HN. 25,159). Its small fleshy leaves, sap pressed from them and it roots were prescribed for rashes, inflammations (primarily of th…

[German version] ( Procavia capensis) is the only family representative from the mammal order Hyracoidea which is still found today in Palestine and the Middle East. These hare-sized herbivores are probably identical to the rabbits ( Hare) of the Luther Bible, χοιρόγρυλλος/ choirógryllos, Latin choerogryllus, chyrogryllius or middle-Latin cirogrillus, which are unclean according to the Mosaic food laws (Lv 11:5; Dt 14:7). At Thomas of Cantimpré 4,24 [1. 124] it is maintained by implied use of Hesychius (commentary in Lv 3:11, PG 93,906) that …

[German version] ( Caprimulgus europaeus L.). The curious earth-coloured bird has its name αἰγοθήλας/ aigothḗlas (Lat. caprimulgus, i.e. 'goat-milker') from the statement in Aristot. Hist. an. 8(9),30,618b 2-9 (= Plin. HN 10,115; Ael. NA 3,39) that it sucks the udder of goats at night [1. 72], causes their milk to dry up and makes the animals blind. In reality the bird flies about at night catching insects with its rather wide beak. Hünemörder, Christian (Hamburg) Bibliography 1 Leitner. Keller 2, 68 f.  D'Arcy W. Thompson, A Glossary of Greek Birds, 1936 (repr. 1966), 24 f.

[German version] (Greek σίλφιον/ sílphion, word of non-Greek origin, from σίλφι/ sílphi or σίρφι/ sírphi; Latin sirpe, laserpicium from lac sirpicium). An as yet unidentified plant, imported from the 6th cent. BC from Cyrenaeca in northern Africa, and the resinous milky juice obtained from its stem and root (Latin laser, main citation in Plin. HN 19,38-46 and 22,100 f. according to Theophr. Hist. pl. 3,1,6; 6,3,1; 6,3,3; 6,4). It seems to have been related to asafoetida ( Ferula asa-foetida L.). The plant is supposed to have had a strong but pleasant smell. Theophr. (Hi…

[German version] (κίσσα/ kíssa or κίττα/ kítta, Garrulus glandarius). It was often confused in Greek with the  Magpie [1. 146] and, as garrulus, in the Middle Ages (among others in Isid. Orig. 12,7,45) with either the graculus, the Alpine chough ( Jackdaw), or the rook (e.g. in Thomas of Cantimpré 5,62; [2. 209]). The colourful crow shows characteristic coloration and behaviour. Plin. HN 10,119 already admires the talkativeness of the related magpies and of the acorn eaters ( earum quae glande vescantur). Aristot. Hist. an. 9(8),13,615b 19-23 describes the changeability o…

[German version] (στυπτηρία; styptēría, alumen). Name for a group of earth salts already known to the Babylonians [1.76 f.] ( salsugo terrae, Plin. HN 35,183), namely the salts of sulphuric acid that, in so-called alum works (μέταλλα τῆς στυπτηρίας; métalla tês styptērías) were, according to Dioscorides 5,106 [2.3.75] = 5,122 [3.532], mined in Egypt, Macedonia and, i.a., on Greek islands and proved lucrative because of their rarity and the strong demand for alum (cf. Diod. Sic. 5,10; Str. 6,2,10). Use of alum e.g. as an impregnating a…

[German version] The word ἀκρίς/ akrís (from κρίζειν, ‘to scream’) attested since Hom. Il. 21,12 describes all species of Saltatoria same as locusta (since Naevius in Varro, Ling. 7,39 basic meaning ‘equipped with joints’ or ‘jumping’). This also applies to the synonyms βροῦχος/ broûchos = bruc(h)us, βρύκος/ brýkos, μάσταξ/ mástax, πάρνοψ/ párnops (Aristoph. Ach. 150 and Av. 588; Ael. NA 6,19; Paus. 1,24,8) or κόρνοψ ( kórnops; Str. 13,1,64 [613]) and ἀττέλαβος ( attélabos; Hdt. 4,172) = attelebus (Plin. HN 29,92). Regarding their biology, Aristot. Hist. an. 5,28,555b 18…

[German version] Knowledge of Hyoscyamus L., a member of the Solanacaea family (ὑοσκύαμος; hyoskýamos, named after cramps which pigs apparently get from eating the poisonous herb), can be demonstrated in Dioscorides 4,68 [1. 224ff.; 2. 402f.]. According to Plin. HN 25,35, Hercules discovered the plant. According to Dioscorides, of the varieties found in Greece, the first two Hyoscyamus niger (ὑοσκύαμος μέλας) and aureus (ὑοσκύαμος λευκός), are not usable due to their poisonous nature. A juice pressed from the plant or seeds of the third, Hyoscyamus albus, a ruderal plant, was …

[German version] (ἀμύγδαλος, -η, -ον; amýgdalos, - ē, - on) is the almond tree, ἀμυγδαλέα ( amygdaléa) etc. the fruit (almond, it. mandorla) of Amygdalus communis L. of the stone fruit genus Amygdalus L. comprising c. 40 Asian species, previously only regarded as a subgenus of Prunus. In addition to the A. communis of the Near East that has been cultivated in southern Europe since antiquity and the fruits of which Cato (Agr. 8,2 according to Plin. HN 15,90) calls nuces graecas, the wild variety ( Prunus webbii) was also used [1.135 and fig. 279]. Pall. Agric. 2,15,6-13 in particul…

[German version] In the Mediterranean, beeches propes such as Fagus silvatica and orientalis (φηγός; phēgós) only grow on relatively high mountains, but are often confused with hornbeams ( Carpinus) or even oaks (δρῦς; drŷs), although mainly with Quercus aegilops and the edible oak Quercus ilex var. ballota ( aesculus), supposedly the main food plant of prehistoric times.  Trees Hünemörder, Christian (Hamburg) Bibliography K. Koch, Die Bäume und Sträucher des Alten Griechenlands, 21884, 55ff.

[German version] Pulses ( legumina) such as peas (πίσον; píson, pisum), chickpeas (ἐρέβινθος; erébinthos, cicer) and lentils (φακός; phakós, lens) have been cultivated in the Mediterranean region, as crops of Middle Eastern origin, for at least as long as cereal crops, i.e. for about 6,000 years. Nicknames of reputable Roman families (Fabius, Lentulus, Cicero) are derived from them. The original small-seed varieties (κύαμος; kýamos, πύανος; pýanos, faba, Slav. bob), that were being cultivated over 4,000 years ago, originated from Vicia faba L., from which the large-seed hors…

[German version] (αἰγίθαλ(λ)ος/ aigíthal(l)os, αἰγιθάλος/ aigithálos; Latin vitiparra). The Paridae family of songbirds in which Aristot. Hist. an. 7(8),3,592b 17-21 distinguishes three worm-eating (σκωληκοφάγα/ skōlēkophága) species, with many eggs (8(9),15,616b 2f.), enemies of bees (8(9),40,626a 8;  Ael. NA 1,58): 1. the Great Tit ( Parus maior), the size of a finch (σπιζίτης/ spizítēs), 2. a medium-sized titmouse with a long tail (ὀρεινός/ oreinós), perhaps the Long-Tailed Tit ( Aegithalos caudatus), and 3. an unspecified small titmouse with no particular nam…

[German version] ( obsianus lapis, 'stone of Obsius'; obsidianus is the incorrect reading) is a dark, vitreous (Plin. HN 36,196: in genere vitri = Isid. Orig. 16,16,5) volcanic rock that a certain Obsius of Ethiopia is said to have imported to Rome. In the Near East, obsidian was highly regarded from the 8th millennium and in Egypt from the 4th millennium, principally because of the sharp cutting edges of tools that were made of obsidian blades but also because its semi-transparent property made it attractive as a gemstone (Akkadian ṣurru; Egyptian mnw). From the 2nd millennium, obsid…

[German version] (ὀποβάλσαμον/ opobálsamon, Latin balsamum, properly balsam sap, or βάλσαμον/ bálsamon) was the name of the balsam tree Commiphora opobalsamum, famous for its valuable resin, which was known by the Greeks only from plantations in Syria (at Jericho and En Gedi). In fact, however, the origin was southwestern Arabia and Somalia. Theophrastus describes the plants in Syria (Theophr. H. plant. 9,6,1-4) and the careful extraction of the fragrant resin, which he never knew in a pure state (ibid. 9,1,7). Pli…

(Ἕννα/ Henna, Ἔννα/ Énna). [German version] [1] City of the Siculi This item can be found on the following maps: Sicily | | Punic Wars Well-fortified city of the Siculi (Cic. Verr. 2,4,107; Diod. Sic. 5,3,2; though possibly founded by Syracuse, Steph. Byz. s.v. H., cf. [1. 7424; 2. 395]) on a steep, almost 1,000 m high mountain in the centre of Sicily, Hellenized from the 5th cent., besieged for a short time in 403, then on a long-term basis from 396 by Dionysius I (Diod. Sic. 14,14,6-8; 78,7), defected from Agathocles in 309 (Diod. Sic. 20…

[German version] (ἀδράφαξυς/ adráphaxys: Theophrastus, ἀνδράφαξυς/ andráphaxys: Dioscorides, ἀνδράφαξις/ andráphaxis: Hippocr.; Latin atriplex), a spinach-like vegetable of the goose-foot family ( Chenopodiaceae), of which only one species (Theophr. H. plant. 7,4,1 = Plin. HN 19,123), i.e. Atriplex rosea L., is cultivated in Greece. According to Theophr. H. plant. 1,14,2 and 7,3,4 it formed its broad leaf-like seeds, which were viable for only two to three years, (Theophr. H. plant. 7,5,5 = Plin. HN 19,181) inside a pericarp (Theop…

[German version] There were several names for the pleasantly smelling members of the genus Mentha of the family Labiatae not precisely described by the Greeks: μίνθη/ mínthē (Theophr. H. plant. 2,4,1), καλαμίνθη/ kalamínthē, σισύμβριον/ sisýmbrion, ἡδύσμον/ hēdýsmon (e.g. in Theophr. ibid. 7,7,1), βλήχων/ blḗchōn or γλήχων/ glḗchōn and among the Romans as menta, mentastrum, pule(g)ium and nepeta. Watermint, horsemint, pennyroyal and catmint were cultivated in antiquity, but peppermint ( Mentha Piperita), which apparently arose spontaneously from watermint ( Mentha Aquatic…

[German version] As we do not know of any ancient name, we cannot clarify whether the carnation was found in ancient times. Possibly it is meant by the name Διὸς ἄνθος/ Diòs ánthos, ‘flower of Zeus’ Latin Iovis flos, from which the modern name of the genus, Dianthus, is also derived. At any rate, of the 65 representatives that grow in Greece from among the 120 wild European species of carnation, 20 are regarded as endemic [1. 81]. In the shrub-like Cretan carnation, Dianthus arboreus, archaeologists see the model for wall paintings in the palace of Knossos. As Zeus is said to …

[German version] This biennial vegetable, Daucus carota L., that grew wild in Europe and belonged to the family of the umbelliferous plants σταφυλῖνος ( staphylînos), was called καρωτόν ( karōtón), δαῦκον ( daûkon: Theophr. Hist. pl. 9,15,5), Latin pastinaca, daucus. Through cultivation the originally dry and woody root became pleasant-tasting, nutritious and sweet. Dioscorides (3,52,1 Wellmann and Berendes) describes the one purple-coloured ornamental flower of the staphylínos ágrios in the middle of the otherwise white umbel and recommends (cf. Plin. HN 20,30…

[German version] The name that is derived via Spanish alcarchofa and Italian articiocco, carciofo from Arabic al-haršūf describes the Cynara scolymus L. that is widely grown in the Mediterranean because of its edible bract scales; it is a subspecies of the Cynara cardunculus L. (Italian cardoncello) that was cultivated even earlier as a leafy vegetable. It is probably identical to the σκόλυμος in Hes. Op. 582ff. and Alc. fr.94 D. (quoted in Plin. HN 22,86f.), Theophr. Hist. pl. 6,4,7 (edible root; cf. Plin. HN 21,96), Dioscorides 3,14 [1. …

[German version] I. Egypt and the Near East The cat was particularly significant in Egypt where there is evidence of it being kept as a pet from the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC at the latest; the period of its domestication, however, stretched far into the 1st millennium. The Egyptian cat used to be regarded as the precursor of the European domestic cat, but today it is assumed that the origin of the latter was the Near East: it was first mentioned in Mesopotamia [1] in the 17th cent. BC as a wil…

[German version] ( Francolinus francolinus, ἀτταγήν/ attagḗn, Attic ἀτταγᾶς/ attagâs). This wild hen, which resembles a rock partridge, still widespread in Asia Minor and Africa, often (as in Plin. HN. 10,133) bears the Latin  epithet Ionius. According to Pliny, it multiplied particularly in Gaul and Spain. Aristoph. Ach. 875 mentiones francolins in Boeotia. By the attagḗn caught in the Alps the hazel grouse was probably meant. Hor. Epod. 2,53 and Mart. 13,61 prize its excellent flavour. Alexander of Myndus in Ath. 9,387f gives a good description: i…

[German version] (νίτρον/ nítron, λίτρον/ lítron, Latin nitrum). Collective name for the sodium and potassium salts obtained from brine. Pliny (HN 31,106-122) deals with them in detail on the basis of a lost work of Theophrastus. Some nitrum-releasing waters (e.g. at Clitae in Macedonia) and mines, e.g. in Egypt at Naucratis and Memphis (e.g. Nitria), were known. Nitrum could also, however, refer to potash (Plin HN 31,107) obtained from burnt oak wood. Its property of destroying leather shoes was known (ibid. 31,115). Owing to its heating, thinning, c…

[German version] As late as the 18th cent., Carl von Linné combined the different phyla of Plathelminthes (flatworms), Nemertini (ribbon worms) and Nemathelminthes (roundworms) into the single phylum of Vermes. Only a very few representatives were known in Antiquity, almost all parasites, with confusion between true worms and worm-like maggots and larval forms being common. By σκώληξ/ skṓlēx, τερηδών/ terēdṓn, εὐλή/ eulḗ, ἴψ/ íps and ἡ ἕλμι(ν)ς/ hē hélmi(n)s both insect larvae or maggots as well as worms can therefore be meant. 1. Common Earthworms ( Lumbricus terrestris), ἔντερα …

[German version] Plant from the cucumber family ( Cucurbitaceae) with two species, the elongated golden-yellow honeydew melon (Cucumis melo L.) and the rounded water-melon ( Citrullus vulgaris Schrad.) with reddish flesh. It is known that they were cultivated early in Egypt and Greece. Greek testimonies, however, offer - aside from more or less incidental descriptions - various names (πέπων/ pépōn, σίκυος πέπων/ síkyos pépōn, σικύα/ sikýa). According to Pliny (NH. 19,67), the golden-yellow (aureus) honeydew melon, melopepo, which he described as a cucumber, first appear…

[German version] or eel-pout ( Lota lota L.), a freshwater fish of the cod family living at the bottom of the lake, called mustela (weasel) by Plin. HN 9,63 (probably because of its voracity), and highly regarded as a delicacy from Lake Constance (lacus Brigantinus) because of its liver. Columella recommends the avidae mustelae 8,17,8, here probably rocklings [cf. 1. 177 f.], as profitable stock for fish ponds ( piscinae) on rocky coasts. Their liver ( mustelae marinae) was considered medicine for epilepsy (Plin. HN 32,112). Auson. Mos. 107 ff. describes the burbot ver…

[German version] Urus (οὖρος; oûros in Hadrianus in Anth. Pal. 6.332.3). The extinct wild ox bos primigenius, was first described by Caes. Gall. 6.28 (interpolated) for the Hercynia silva (fig. in [1. 1.342]). By Plin. HN 8.38 [2. 55ff.] expressly distinguished in strength and speed from the bison or  wisent and the  buffalo. Hdt. 7.126 is the first to mention it for Macedonia. It was found in Germania, the mountain regions of Gallia and on the lower Danube. The large horns as, according to Caesar [3. 137f.], s…

[German version] (ἀσπάλαξ/ aspálax or ἀσφάλαξ/ asphálax and σπάλαξ/ spálax, σφ-/ sph- or σκάλωψ/ skálōps, Hesych. s.v., according to Schol. Lykophr. 121 also σιφνεύς/ siphneús, according to Alexander Trallianus 2,575 Puschmann παλαμίς/ palamís; Latin m. and f. talpa). This is in fact the insectivore mole, not the blind mole-rat ( Microspalax leucodon) of northern Greece, a rodent. The externally invisible mole's eye, described by Aristot. Hist. an. 4,8,533a 3-12 (cf. Hist. an. 1,9,491b 28 and Plin. HN 11,139) and interpreted as a developmental d…

[German version] (εὔζωμον / eúzōmon, Latin eruca), of the Cruciferae family with few species, the most important being the common rocket ( Eruca sativa), cultivated in the Mediterranean region, with a lignified stem (Theophr. Hist. pl. 7,2,8). According to Plin. HN 19,117 the seeds open after only three days (cf. Theophr. Hist. pl. 7,1,3). Its popularity as a spice gave rocket its Greek name according to Plin. HN 20,126 (literally ‘good for soups’). It was enjoyed raw and with onions and was considered an aphrodisiac for which the only antidote was to simultaneously eat lettuce (  lactuca…

[German version] ( Humulus lupulus L., Family Cannabinaceae). Hops often appear wild as creepers in central European alluvial forests. The cone-like fruit of the female plants are added to beer because of their aromatic and preservative bitter constituents. This is supposed to have been discovered by Finno-Ugric tribes, from whom this seasoning was adopted in western Europe in the 5th-7th cents. The first hop-garden ( humularium) is proven in the abbey of St. Denis near Paris for 768 [1. 216]. The only ancient reference is in Pliny, who mentions lupus salictarius growing on willows…

[German version] ( reubarbarum sive reuponticum in Isid. Etym. 17,9,40, usually ῥᾶ/ rhâ, ῥῆον/ rhêon in Dioscorides 3,2 Wellmann and Berendes, rhecoma in Plin. HN 27,128, in the Middle Ages rhabarber), plant of the knot-grass family (Polygonaceae) Rheum rhabarbarum L., R. officinale L., R. rhaponticum L., named rha ponticum after the river Rha (= Volga) on the Black Sea (Amm. Marc. 22,8) and hence probably introduced from Asia. Plin.  HN 27,128-130 (similarly Dioscorides 3,2) recommends the ground-up root externally for its warming and astringent…

[German version] Of the approximately 100 species of the Liliaceae genus Asparagus growing in the warmer countries of the Old World, several Mediterranean wild species like A. tenuifolius, acutifolius [1. 85-88 and fig. 158: sacred, thorny garland plant dedicated to Aphrodite, described by Theophr. Hist. pl. 6,4,2 as ἀσφάραγος; aspháragos) and aphyllus have been collected and eaten as young plants from prehistoric times up until the present. Dioscorides 2,125 [2. 1. 197 f.] = 2,151 [3. 220f.] = Plin. HN 20,108-111 recommends the rock asparagus …

[German version] The identification of the 'Cydonian apples' (μῆλα κυδώνια/ mêla kydṓnia) or the Lat. mala cotonea - Italian cotogna denotes quince - with the quince ( Cydonia oblonga) is at the very least dubious. The features of the fruits mentioned in the descriptions since Alcman (fr. 90 Bergk) and Stesichorus (fr. 27 Bergk) (pleasant odour, suitability for making jam and the comparison between their round shape and female breasts) can also refer to other species of apple. Even Solon's prescription (Plut. Mor. 138d 1; …

[German version] The magnificent male of the Oriolus oriolus L. with its yellow and black markings and melodious song is probably what is meant by  χλωρίων/ chlōríōn in Aristot. Hist. an. 8(9),22,617a 28 and chlorion in Plin. HN 10,87. Besides the colouring ( chlōrós = greenish yellow) this is confirmed by the late appearance of this migratory bird at the summer solstice and its disappearance in winter. Icterus and galgulus in Plin. HN 30,94, a bird used to cure jaundice, and virio (Plin. HN 18,292) seem to be synonymous terms [1. 85f.]. Its bowl-shaped nest intricately susp…

[German version] The ibex ( Capra ibex L.), which belongs to the genus of goats, lives in the high mountains of Europe (Alps, Pyrenees) and in Palestine. It was not known to the Greeks; the Romans mention it as ibex only since Pliny (HN 8,214). Where Isidore (Orig. 12,1,17) got the nonsensical claim that the ibex would throw themselves from the peaks when enemies approached and catch themselves unharmed by their horns is unknown. Mass capture and use in arena fights is recorded for the emperors Gordianus (SHA Gord. 3,7) and Probus (S…

[German version] (ἀλώπηξ/ alṓpēx; Lat. volpes, vulpes). Through outstanding adaptation to the human environment everywhere in Europe and North Africa, with the exception of the Mediterranean islands (Xen. Cyn. 5,24; Plin. HN 8,228), an ever-present predatory mammal. Pictorial representations [1. 88] on coins [2. pl. 2,1] and cameos [5. pl. 16,1-3 and 17,17] are relatively rare. In literature before Archilochus, i.e. in Homer and Hesiod, the fox is absent but it appears in the 5th cent., esp. in comedy…

[German version] (ὕαινα; hýaina, from ὕς/ hýs, ‘pig’). First mention in Hdt. 4,192; γλάνος/ glános (Aristot. Hist. an. 7(8),594a 31); κ(ο)ροκόττας/ k(o)rokóttas, first in Ctesias fragment 87 M. and Agatharchides, Periplus maris rubri 39. Latin hyaena and c(o)rocotta(s) in Plin. HN 8,72 and 107; post-Classical belua (belva) (S HA Gord. 33,1). It was probably not just the more common striped hyena ( Hyaena striata in the Middle East and Africa) that was known but according to Opp. Kyn. 3,288 (Περὶ στικτῇσιν ὑαίναις) also the spotted hyena ( Hyaena Crocuta crocuta in Africa). It was er…

[German version] (τιθύμαλ(λ)ος/ tithýmal(l)os, Latin herba lactaria). The genus Euphorbia (Spurge), with a characteristic milky sap, of many species which were well described in Antiquity (e.g. three species in Theophr. H. plant. 9,11,7-9; seven species in Dioscorides 4,164 Wellmann = 4,162 Berendes and Plin.  HN 26,62-71). Despite being slightly poisonous it was used in a variety of ways as a purge and  an emetic [1. 122, figs. 228 and 233]. Hünemörder, Christian (Hamburg) Bibliography 1 H. Baumann, Die griechische Pflanzenwelt, 1982. A. Steier, s. v. T., RE 6 A, 1524-1531.

[German version] This widespread primary rock from the interior of the earth only received its name in the modern age, derived from the Italian ‘granito’ (from Lat. granum, ‘grain’). The Greeks took their name lithotomíai Thēbaikṓn from its source in quarries in Egyptian Thebes (Theophr. De lapidibus 6 [1. 58]; according to Plin. HN 36,63 suited to the manufacture of small hand mortars, coticulae). According to Hdt. 2,127 the lowest level of Chefren's pyramid consists of granite. Because of its colourful nature, competing terms were πυρροποίκιλος ( pyrrhopoíkilos; pyrrhopoecilos, …

[German version] (φώκη/ phṓkē, Latin vitulus marinus, 'sea-calf', or phoca, Manil. 5,661) was the term in Antiquity for the monk seal, Monachus monachus, up to 4 m long with a whitish underside  and rare in the Mediterranean. Only Tac. Germ. 17 seems to allude to the pelt of the common seal ( Phoca vitulina). The monk seal is known as early as Homer (Hom. Od. 4,404-06, cf. H. Hom. 3,77 φῶκαί τε μέλαιναι/ phôkaí te mélainai, 'the black seals'), but also in Aristophanes (Vesp. 1035; Pax 758) and Theocritus 8,52. Despite their innocuousness  (Diod. 3,41) they were hunted…

[German version] Because of their mode of growth, since antiquity four different leafless or small-leaved species of plant bear the name equisetum, equisaeta, cauda equina or caballina, ἱπποχαίτη ( hippochaítē) or ἵππουρις ( híppouris), horsetail or mare's-tail. This is true of: Equisetum L. and Hippochaete Milde, equisetum, shave grass or scouring rush; of Ephedra L., ἔφεδρον ( éphedron) or ἵππουρις, the jointfir members of the Gymnospermae, some of them climbers; also of water-plants in the case of the candelabra alga Chara, still called E. foetidum in the 16th cent. by C. Ba…

(Ἀλθαία; Althaía). [German version] [1] Mythical figure: daughter of Thestius Daughter of  Thestius and Eurythemis, wife of  Oeneus of Calydon; among her children are  Ancaeus,  Deianira and  Meleager, who was also regarded as a son of Ares (Hyg. Fab. 14,16; Apollod. 1,63). Shortly after his birth, an oracle told her that Meleager would live as long as the log burned in the oven; she took it out and kept it for safe keeping, but burned it when Meleager killed her brothers in the dispute about the Calydoni…

(Φοῖνιξ/ Phoînix, Latin Phoenix). Persons P. [1-4], the mythical P. bird [5], the date palm P. [6], geographical locations P. [7-9]. [German version] [1] Mythical king of Sidon or Tyrus Mythical king of Sidon or Tyrus, son of Agenor [1] and Telephassa (Apollod. 3,2-4), brother of Europe [2],  Cadmus [1] and Cilix, according to others also their father (Hom. Il. 14, 321); other children: Phineus (Apoll. Rhod. 2, 178), Carne (Antoninus Liberalis 40). Eponym of the Phoenicians and the Poeni ( Poeni; cf. Phoenicians, Poeni). Käppel, Lutz (Kiel) [German version] [2] Son of Amyntor Son of Amyn…

[German version] The dried, peppercorn-like flower buds of Syzygium aromaticum (earlier known as Caryophyllus aromaticus L.) reached Rome from the Moluccas by way of India and Greece as garyophyllon (Plin. HN 12,7). With doctors of late antiquity such as Aetius Amidenus, i.a., the term karyóphyllon (Arab. karanful, It. garofalo or garofano), probably derived from the Old Indo-Aryan katuphalam (‘acrid fruit’), was quickly extended to carnations, especially Dianthus caryophyllus L. In the Middle Ages the gariophili were prescribed in the pharmaceutical book of Salerno Circa inst…

[German version] (derived from Lat. prunus for the tree and prunum for the fruit, from Greek προύμνη/ proúmnē instead of the earlier name κοκκύμηλον/ kokkýmēlon, 'cuckoo-apple'). While the tree was evidently indigenous to central Europe, the Greeks and Romans probably learned of its cultivation in the Near East. Growing only poorly in Greece, it was cultivated in many varieties in Italy (according to Plin. HN 15,44 only after Cato [1]). Grafting on to apple, nut and almond stock yielded varieties no longer ascertainable with any certainty such as apple-plums ( malina pruna, Plin. HN 1…

[German version] While ἱέρακες generally denotes goshawks and ἰκτῖνοι harriers, only the kestrel ( Falco tinnunculus) is identifiable among falcons. Aristophanes calls it Κερχνῇς (Av. 1181 in Ael. NA 12,4), Aristotle κεγχρίς (Hist. an. 6,2,559a 26; cenchris, Plin. HN 10,143f.). According to Aristot. Hist. an. 6,1,558b 28-30, it lays four or more red eggs (as well Plin. HN 10,143f.), has a crop (Hist. an. 2,17,509a 6) and drinks a fair bit (8,3,594a 1f.). Pliny claims that the tinnunculus is a friend of domestic pigeons whom it defends against goshawks (HN 10,109). Like P…

[German version] (ἄρον; áron), in Hippocrates, Aristotle, Theophr. Hist. pl.7.12.2 and Dioscorides 2.167 [1. 1. 233ff.] = 2.197 [2. 245], also ὄρον ( óron), ὀρόντιον ( oróntion), aron in Plin. HN 19.96; 24.142 and passim, represents several species of the Araceae genus Arum (esp. Arum italicum), Arisarum (ἀρισάρον; arisáron, Dioscorides 2.168 [1. 1. 234] = 2.198 [2. 245]), Dracunculus (δρακόντιον; drakóntion, Dioscorides 2.166 [1. 1. 231ff.] = 2,195-196 [2. 243ff.]: rotting carcass smell of the inflorescence kills the embryo [3rd fig. 365ff., 371])…

[German version] (μαλάχη/ maláchē, μολόχη/ molóchē in Dioscorides, Lat. malva). In antiquity there were various species (cf. Plin. HN 20,222) from the family of the Malvaceae with rose-like flowers as well as the marshmallow ( althaea [2], Althaea officinalis, ἀλθαία/ althaía, ἐβίσκος/ ebískos, Lat. hibiscus, althaea malva agrestis, Isid. Orig. 17,9,75) with white or pink flowers. Being harsh on the stomach (Dioscorides 2,118 Wellmann = 2,144 Berendes), the garden mallow was not much in use, but it was (since Hes. Op. 41) used as a remedy un…