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[German version] (βατράχιον/ batráchion = σέλινον ἄγριον/ sélinon ágrion in Dioscorides), buttercup, crowfoot. The widespread family of the Ranunculaceae has more than 100 species in Greece and Italy. The Greek and Latin names for the plant seem to be derived from' frog' (βάτραχος/ bátrachos, Lat. rana), owing to its preference for damp locations. Dioscorides (2,175 Wellmann = 2,206 Berendes) and Pliny (HN 25,172 f.) describe the appearance of four species; it is impossible today to determine exactly which. The leaves and stems in poultice…

[German version] Pliny (HN 10,97 = Sol. 33,15) reports -- taking up the work of Ps.-Aristotle (Hist. an. 9,13 p. 616a 6-13 = 8,5 of the Arabic-Latin translation of Michael Scotus) -- about the cinnamon bird cinnamolgus (κιννάμωμον ὄρνεον; kinnámōmon órneon) in Arabia that builds its nest in high trees of twigs from the  cinnamon and which the inhabitants shot down with lead arrows for profit. Through Isid. Orig. 12,7,23 this fairytale went into the extended Latin  Physiologus of Ps.-Hugo of St. Victor (3,30 [1. 95], cf. [2. 103f.]) an…

[German version] (χάννη, χάννα; chánnē, chánna). A fish of the perch family, perhaps the comber ( Serranus cabrilla), according to Aristot. Hist. an. 8,13,598a 13 a saltwater fish that, according to 8,2,591a 10, was carnivorous. Ath. 7,327f emphasizes its large mouth, the black and red stripes as well as, in 8,355c, its tender flesh. As no males were known -- the channe indeed is a hermaphrodite -- it was thought that the female fertilized itself (Aristot. Hist. an. 4,11,538a 19; Plin. HN 9,56 and 32,153, according to Ov. Halieutica 108). Hünemörder, Christian (Hamburg) Bibliography L…

[German version] (ἀψίνθιον/ apsínthion or ἡ ἄψινθος/ ápsinthos or ἀψινθία/ apsinthía, Latin absinthium since Plaut. Trin. 935) describes popular spices and medicinal plants in several of the roughly 200 species of the Artemisia [3] genus in the Compositae family. Predominant was Artemisia absinthum L., which appears on the Greek mainland as Artemisia arborescens L. The yellow-flowered herbaceous plant reaches a height of about 1.20 m and has lancet-shaped leaves with silvery hair, which contain aromatic and bitter substances. Cappadocia and Pontus…

[German version] This songbird family is represented in the Mediterranean by only two varieties: (a) the grey ( Muscicapa striata Pall.) and (b) the collared flycatcher ( M. albicollis Temminck). The two were not distinguished in antiquity, thus it is impossible to identify them either in zoological records or in ancient illustrations (for instance on mosaics [1. vol. 2, 119]). The ancient name συκαλλίς/ sykallís, ficedula is based on the assumption, already indirectly refuted by Aristotle (Hist. an. 8(9),3,592b 21f. and 28f.) that it eats figs. Aristotle's c…

[German version] (Μαγνῆτις/ magnêtis or Ἡρακλεία λίθος/ Hērakleía líthos; Lat. magnes). The name magnes supposedly comes from the homonymous discoverer, a shepherd on the mountain of Ida in the Troad (according to Nicander in Plin. HN 36,127) whom Isid. Orig. 16,4,1 holds to be a person from the Indus. The magnet is the well-known stone of iron oxide (Fe3O4) that attracts normal iron and, as ferrum vivum, ‘magnetizes’ the iron in its turn (Plin. HN 34,147; Isid. ibid.; Lucr. 6,910-914). Plin. HN 36,128 differentiates, with the Greek stone expert Sotacus, five …

[German version] Egyptian mongoose ( Herpestes ichneumon, first mentioned under the name ἰχνεύμων by Aristot. Hist. an. 6,35,580a 25, but also ἰχνευτής/-ήρ; ichneutḗs/-ḗr), viverrid with dog-like feeding habits, in Egypt and, according to Vitr. De arch. 8,2,7, also in Morocco. The ichneumon stays mostly in the reeds and likes to raid poultry farms. In Egypt, it was known as the ferocious enemy of the crocodile, into whose open jaws it was said to creep and kill by consumption of its entrails (Str. 17,812; Diod. Sic. …

[German version] A. General The class Crustacea of the arthropod family, to be found, in many varieties, mainly in the sea but also in freshwater. The Greeks called them 'soft-shelled' (μαλακόστρακα/ malakóstraka, Aristot. Hist. an. 1,6,490b 10-12 and passim; Speusippus in Ath. 3,105b; erroneously as ὀστρακόδερμα/ ostrakóderma, Ael. NA 9,6 following Aristot. Hist. an. 7(8),17,601a 17f., where these names are meant, however to distinguish different types of crab). The Romans used contecta crustis tenuibus (Plin. HN 9,83) or crustis intecta (Plin. HN 9,43) or crustata (Plin. HN 1…

[German version] This flying fish, mentioned by Pliny in HN 9,82 together with the flying gurnard ( hirundo, Dactylopterus volitans, Aristot. Hist. an. 4,9,535b 27-29; cf. Opp. Hal. 2,459 and Ael. NA 2,50) and often confused with it, is identical, it seems, with the hiérax (two-winged flying fish, Exocoetus volitans Cuv., Opp. Hal. 1,427f.; Ael. NA 9,52) [1. 140 and 145f.]. Further information is lacking, apart from the fish's wariness of hidden hooks (Hor. Epist. 1,16,50f.: cautus ... metuit ... opertum milvus hamum). Hünemörder, Christian (Hamburg) Bibliography 1 Leitner.

[German version] (ἀσπάλαθος, aspálathos) was the name given in particular to the common gorse Calycotome villosa (modern Greek σπάλαθος, σπαλαθιά) and to C. spinosa (Italian sparzio spinoso) that were widespread in the Mediterranean macchia, as well as thorny species of broom (e.g. Genetha acanthoclados, modern Greek ἀφάνα) and aspalathoides and even  acacia or the rosewoods belonging to other families ( Lignum rosae, L. thuris). In Pl. Resp. 10,616a the Erinyes whip tyrants with it in the Tartarus, in Theoc. 24,89 snakes killed by Hercules are burned with …

[German version] Type of houseleek Sempervivum tectorum (ἀείζωον; aeízōon) with yellow blooms and fleshy, evergreen and moist leaves (Theophr. Hist. pl. 1,10,4 and 7,15,2); derives its name from its heavy covering of hairs. According to Dioscorides 4,87-88 [1. 247ff.] = 4,88-89 [2. 418f.], the leaves of both types (Lat. sedum in Plin. HN 25,160-163) i.a. served externally as cooling and astringent medicines for sores and wounds. Democritus is supposed to have recommended the juice to treat seeds (Plin. HN 18,159). In HN 16,76 Plin. means, however, the bushy silverbush Anthyllis Ba…

(from Latin urere, 'burn'; equivalent of cnide in Plin.  HN 32,146, [1. 91],  Greek ἀκαλήφη/ akalḗphē, κνίδη/ knídē). [German version] [1] Stinging nettle The stinging nettle, with its two differently sized species Urtica dioica and Urtica urens in the Urticaceae family, can be identified with the names urtica silvestris and urtica canina (Plin. HN. 21,92), but not with the herculanea. The species silvestris in particular was used as a drug, its leaves, seeds and roots e.g. for women's illnesses (Hippocr. De morbis mulierum 1,31; 1,51; 1,74 and 2,175), fo…

[German version] (εὐφόρβιον; euphórbion, euphorbea). Name given to the gum resin (Plin. HN 25,77f.) of the cactus-like species of spurge ( Euphorbia resinifera, beaumeriana and antiquorum) which King Juba II of Mauretania found in the Atlas Mountains and is said to have named after his personal physician Euphorbius. Dioscorides 3,82 [1. 98f.] and 3,86 [2. 320f.] however mentions a king of the Libyans of the same name as the person who coined the name. According to Isidorus (Orig. 17,9,26), the name euphorbium is derived from the sharpening of the eye-sight through its sap…

[German version] From Celtic tree names alausa, aliza or alisa the Roman and Germanic names for two genuses of rosaceae are probably derived, namely the whitebeam and the serviceberry ( Sorbus aria and torminalis) and the bird cherry or racemosa ( Prunus padus = Padus racemosa). It is uncertain whether ἄλιζα ( áliza; Hesychius) that is said to also mean alnus (alder) and populus (poplar) also belongs to this. Hünemörder, Christian (Hamburg) Bibliography Bertoldi, in: Zschr. für Celtische Philol. 17, 1927.

[German version] (Greek δρυ(ο)κολάπτης/ dry(o)koláptēs, 'wood-pecker' at Aristoph. Av. 480 and 979, πιπώ/ pipṓ at Aristot. Hist. an. 7(8),3,593a 4, πελεκᾶς/ pelekâs at Aristoph. Av. 884 and 1155; Latin picus at Plaut. Asin. 260, cf. Ov. Met. 14,314). Aristotle (Hist. an. 7(8),3,593a 3-12) is familiar with two spotted woodpeckers of different sizes (probably Dendrocopos major and minor) and the green woodpecker (κελεός/ keleós, Picus viridis), which is about the size of a turtle dove and is widespread, particularly in the Peloponnesus. Aristot. Hist. an. 8(9)…

[German version] The names ἀρνόγλωσσον/ arnóglōsson, κυνόγλωσσον/ kynóglōsson, ἑπτάπλευρον/ heptápleuron, πολύπλευρον/ polýpleuron, προβάτειον/ probáteion, ψύλλιον/ psýllion and Lat. plantago, all descriptive of appearance, indicate various species of the plantain ( plantago). Pliny, by virtue of its familiarity, compares it in habit with many other plants. Plin. HN 25,80, citing his contemporary  Themison, praises two species as excellent in desiccating and solidifying the body. Dioscorides (2,126 Wellmann = 2,152 Berendes)…

[German version] (gentian). Greece boasts seven, Italy more than 20 species of this family with about 200 species in total. According to Dioscorides (3,3 p.2,4 Wellmann = p.262f. Berendes), the medicinal properties of these species, generally identified as γεντιανή/ gentianḗ ( gentiana: Pliny), were allegedly discovered by an Illyrian king called Gentis (= Gentius: Plin. HN 25,71). In medicine, gentiana found a multitude of applications (Plin. HN 26,29 and passim): Even in antiquity, juice was extracted from the root of the yellow Gentiana lutea L. and related species ─ ascribe…

[German version] (οἶστρος; oîstros, tabanus bovinus, substituted in Verg. G. 3,147 by asilus, later considered antiquated by Seneca in Epist. 58,2). Earlier authors generally equated it with the horsefly μύωψ ( mýōps) (cf. Aesch. Suppl. 511 and 308; Prom. 567 and 675), but Aristotle distinguishes between the two (Hist. an. 1,5,490a20 and 8,11,596b14, without description). As the μύωψ in Aristot. Hist. an. 5,19,552a30, are described in the tabanus and the cossus (Pliny HN 11,113) as originating from wood. Apparently, the gadfly was only properly identified in Augus…

[German version] This dyeing, fine-textured earthy limestone was formed in the sea in the Cretaceous period from foraminifera and coccolites. Greek: γύψος, λευκὴ γή ( gýpsos, leukḗ gḗ. The Latin name creta is derived perhaps from cerno ‘sieved (earth)’[1]. In antiquity, chalk was needed to make paints and coloured pencils. Plin. HN 35,44 knew of both silver chalk ( creta argentaria) and chalk mixed with  purple paint ( purpurissimum) as a by-product of the dyeing of cloth. Seven colours, including white lead ( cerussa), bond, according to Plin. HN 35,49, with dry, but not with…

[German version] Both the black poplar (αἴγειρος/ aígeiros, Hom. Il. 4,482-87; Od. 7,106; 10,510 and 17,208, Lat. populus nigra) and the silver poplar (ἀχερωίς/ acherōḯs in Hom. Il. 13,389 and 16,482, then λευκή/ leukḗ, Lat. populus alba) are frequently encountered in ancient literature. Theophrastus (Hist. pl. 3,14,2) and Pliny (HN 16,85f.) provide good descriptions, the latter even including the woolly seeds. Medicinal use is to be found for the bark, the resin and the leaves. Dioscorides (1,83 Wellmann = 1,110 Berendes) mention…

[German version] (Νεπουάλιος/ Nepouálios). The work of this otherwise unknown author, Perì tôn katà antipátheian kaì sympátheian, perhaps from the 2nd cent. AD, belongs,  with its medical-magical conception of nature, to the field of ‘Physika ’literature around Ps.-Democritus (= Bolus of Mendes). Only an edition could clarify whether sympathy and antipathy are here to be understood magically or rationally. The MSS are listed in [1. 68]. Hünemörder, Christian (Hamburg) Bibliography 1 H. Diels, Die Handschriften der antiken Ärzte, vol. 2 (ADAW), 1906 (repr. 1970).

[German version] (ἡ or ὁ συκάμινος/ sykáminos with the fruit συκάμινον/ sykáminon; σ. Αἰγυπτία/ s. Aigyptía = sycamore (fig): Theophr. Hist. pl. 4,2,1-2 = Plin. HN 13,56, from Hebrew šiqmah, cf. Dioscorides 1,27 Wellmann = 1,181 Berendes; or μορέα/ moréa, μόρον/ móron; acc. to Ath. 2,51b, the Alexandrians called it μῶρον/ môron; Lat. morus, morum, the same name they used for the blackberry bush). The tree of the Moraceae family has white catkins and came to Greece from the Near East; according to the quotes at Ath. 2,51c-d, it was first mentioned …

[German version] Several evergreen bushes make up the genus Buxus (πύξος; pýxos), among them Buxus sempervirens (cf. Theophr. Hist. pl. 1,5,4 and passim), widespread in the macchia of southern Europe (on Mount Olympus up to heights 2,200 m). Like the  cypress ( Cupressus sempervirens) and the yew ( Taxus), it is a cemetery plant that has been popular since antiquity. The hard wood was used for carvings: from it were made, for example, the boxes (πυξίς; pyxís) named after it for medicines (used e.g. in Dioscorides praef. 9 [1. I.5; = 2. 21], also the Apollo image of Olympia, cheese moulds ( buxe…

[German version] ( rubicapra). Like the  mountain goat ( ibex) the chamois, which belongs to the bovine family, lives in the Alps (Plin. HN 8,214). Its horns are bent backwards ( cornua in dorsum adunca) in contrast to those of the dammae ( Gazelles) that are directed forwards; Plin. HN 11,124, perhaps from his own experience. For the supposed healing of consumption through chamois fat mixed in equal proportions with milk, Plin. HN 28,231 refers, however, to an author who possibly confused chamois with wild goats. This confusion is to …

[German version] As ébenos (ἔβενος) or ebénē (ἐβένη; since Hdt. 3,97: 200 logs of ebony as tribute of the Ethiopians to the Persian Great King) and hebenus (since Verg. G. 2,115f.), the precious and very long lasting (Plin. HN 16,213) heartwood imported from India (cf. Str. 15,1,37) and black Africa (cf. Str. 17,2,2) was famous in antiquity; it was derived from various deciduous trees of the genus Diospyros ( D. ebenum in India, hirsutum and haplostylis in Africa) belonging to the family of the Ebenaceae. In his report on Indian trees, Pliny (HN 12,20), like his source…

[German version] Haematite (αἱματίτης; haimatítēs, haematites) is seen today as a form of red iron ore. Theophrastus (De lapidibus 37, [1. 70]) derives its name from the appearance of dried blood ( haîma). In the ancient kingdoms of the Orient it was highly valued as a precious stone. Pliny recommends it among other things for treating blood-shot eyes (HN 36,144-148), and for staunching blood flow in consumptives and women. Following Sotacus, a Greek lithologist of the 4th cent. BC, he distinguishes five kinds, and referring …

[German version] (πελεκάν/ pelekán, gen. -ᾶνος/ -ânos, not to be confused with πελεκᾶς, -ᾶντος/ pelekâs, -ántos = 'woodpecker' in Aristoph. Av. 884 and 1155; also πελεκῖνος/ pelekînos). Many take the name to refer not to the pelican, but to the spoonbill ( Platalea leucorodia). The Latin loan-word pelicanus is used first in Vulg. Ps 101,7. Unlike the Romans, the Greeks knew the bird as a breeding bird in the Danube delta (as it still is today) (e.g. Aristot. Hist. an. 7(8),12,597a 9-13) and a predator of mussels (Aristot. Hist. an. 8(9),10,6…

[German version] The name sciurus of the rodent Sciurus vulgaris, an excellent climber, derives from its long bushy tail, which is allegedly supposed to provide shade in summer (σκίουρος/ skíouros, from σκιά/ skiá, 'shade' and οὐρά/ ourá, 'tail',  cf. Plin.  HN 8,138 and Opp.  Cyn. 2,586-588). According to Pliny, it is sensitive to the weather and blocks up the entrance to its hole against storms [1. 218]. In winter squirrels live on the provisions they have collected. Pliny (HN 11,245) is familiar with its sitting up and using it…

(Ἄρακος; Árakos). Spartan, eponymic ephor 409/408 BC; 406 elected to nauarch, he actually ceded this office 405 to  Lysander (Xen. Hell. 2,1,7; Plut. Lys. 7,3), who now functioned as epistoleus, as it was not permitted to repeat the nauarchy [1. 76,80]. Early in 398 he was sent with two Spartans by the ephors to join  Dercylidas at Lampsacus, in order to become acquainted with the situation and to admonish discipline amongst the troops there (Xen. Hell. 3,2,6-9). In the winter of 370/369 A., together with other Spartan envo…

[German version] (κύανος; kýanos) in Hom. Il. 11,24 (on the cuirass of Agamemnon) and in Hom. Od. 7,87 (on a wall frieze at Alcinous' palace), as well as in Hes. Sc. 143 (on the shield of Hercules) does not designate blueish steel, but the azure stone or Lapis lazuli (Theophr. De lapidibus 55), which was produced artificially especially in Egypt. In medicine, the kyanos that, according to Dioscorides 5,91 Wellmann = 5,106 Berendes, was mined on Cyprus was prescribed for ulcers. The blue colour also gave the name kyanos to the male of the blue rock thrush (Monticola solitarius) a so…

[German version] Prickly composite herbaceous plant of the Cynareae family with some 70 species in 15 genera. Various species are discussed by Theophr. Hist. pl. 6,4,3-11 (= Plin. HN 21,94-97) under names such as ἄκανθα ( ákantha) or κάκτος ( káktos) (Latin carduus or cactus), including the artichoke ( cynara). Dioscorides 3,12 ([1. 19f.] and [2. 270f.]) recommends the roots of a white thistle e.g. to be taken for haemoptysis and stomach ache. Somewhat similar plants of other families such as the Umbelliferae ( Eryngium, etc.), Acanthaceae (Acanthus) and Dipsaceae are also co…

[German version] Aristotle sufficiently clearly described this electric marine fish (Torpedo spec.), a representative of the flat cartilagenous fish known to him, as νάρκη/ nárkē with reference to eye witnesses (Aristot. Hist. an. 8(9),37,620b 19-23; cf. Plin. HN 9,143: torpedo; Ael. NA 9,14 and Plut. Mor. 878b-d; [1. 238 f.]). Pliny (loc.cit.) praises the tenderness of its liver. Hünemörder, Christian (Hamburg) Bibliography 1 Leitner.

[German version] (ἔποψ/ épops, named after its characteristic call upupa in Lat., Varro, Ling. 5,75; cf. Aristoph. Av. 57 ff., 227 and 260), common in the Mediterranean and the only European representative of the hoopoes ( Upupidae). Paus. 10,4,8 and Plin. HN 10,86 describe its appearance, especially the impressive folding crest (Ov. Met. 6,672-674) and its long beak. Ael. NA 3,26 exaggerates the bird's uncleanliness (alleged use of faeces for nest building; cf. Aristot. Hist. an. 8(9),15,616a 35 f.). Despite its beauty - which i…

[German version] The various ancient names do not admit reliable classification into particular species. Nevertheless, based on Aristot. Hist. an. 5,9,542b 17, Plin. HN 10,91 suggests gavia as the Latin equivalent of λάρος/ láros (λαρίς/ larís) and mergus of αἴθυα/ aíthya ( mergulus, mergunculus with the etymology in Varro, Ling. 5,78: "because it catches its food by diving into the water"). However, since the habit of diving is far more typical of the grebe family, which likewise has several species, these may be what both Pliny and Alb…

[German version] (ἄργυρος χυτός; árgyros chytós, ἀργύριον ὕδωρ; argýrion hýdōr, Latin argentum vivum). First mentioned in Aristot. An. 1,3,406b 19. Theophr. De lapidibus 60 [1. 80] reports on its usual synthesis at the time in a copper vessel by pounding cinnabar (κιννάβαρ/ kinnábar) with vinegar (ὄξος/ óxos). Because of its toxicity, which was already known in ancient times, it was not used in medicine but it was used quite commonly in alchemy to separate gold and silver for jewellery. Hünemörder, Christian (Hamburg) Bibliography 1 D. E. Eichholz (ed.), Theophrastus De lapidibus…

[German version] The composite flowers ( Compositae) of today's genus Anthemis L. (ἀνθεμίς; anthemís) comprising about 150 species were not clearly distinguished by authors like Dioscorides 3,137 [1.2.145 ff.] = 3,144 [2. 352 f.] from the related genuses Chrysanthemum and Chamomilla. A. nobilis L. (Roman camomile), with its anti-inflammatory effect, was highly regarded by Dioscorides and Asclepiades according to Plin. HN 22,53 f. A. tinctoria L. (golden marguerite) was an important provider of yellow dye. Hünemörder, Christian (Hamburg) Bibliography 1 M. Wellmann (ed.)…

[German version] As μυῖα (μῦα; myîa, mŷa; Lat. musca), which Aristotle attributed to the dipterans (δίπτερα; díptera), not only the housefly, but also the gadfly or blind fly (also κυνόμυια; kynómyia) and the bluebottle were conceived. In Aristotle, Pliny and Lucian ( Muscae Encomium = ‘Praise of the Fly’) usually the housefly is referred to, but the sting of the gadfly (Aristot. Hist. an. 1,5,490a 20; 4,7,532a 21; Plin. HN 11,100; Lucian. Muscae Encomium 6) and its buzzing during flight (Aristot. Hist. an. 4,9,535 b 9-11; Plin. HN 11,266) are also mentioned. Homer (…

[German version] The pheasant, the male of which is splendidly colourful, ( Phasianus colchicus, φασιανός/ phasianós sc. ὄρνις/ órnis, phasianus or phasiana sc. avis) comes originally from the region in Colchis around the river Phasis it is named after (modern Rioni, to the south of the Caucasus) (Agatharchides fr. 15 Jacoby FGrH 86 in Athen. 9,387c, cf. Mart. 13,72). From the 5th cent. BC it was introduced - with unique success for a galliform - into the wild in the Graeco-Roman cultural area. Aristophanes, who is th…

[German version] (ἄγνος; ágnos). Like Greek λύγος ( lýgos; Homeric), Latin vitex for the shrub or tree Vitex agnus-castus L. from the tropical genus of the verbenaceae that is the only species common around the Mediterranean Sea and Black Sea on coasts and river banks. Popular etymological interpretation as early as antiquity sometimes as ἅγιος ( hágios) = holy (Dioscorides), sometimes as ἄγονος ( ágonos; Galen) = castus = chaste and in the Middle Ages as agnus = lamb (Albertus Magnus) and castus ( Agnus castus in the 13th cent. [2. lib. 10,5 = 1. lib. IV. A. 1 among others]. Th…

[German version] The dioecious (with smaller male form) fibrous plant Cannabis sativa L. (κάνναβις/-ος/ kánnabis/-os, cannabis/-us) is from the Urticaceae family, 2-4 m tall with finger-shaped long-stemmed leaves. Around 500 BC hemp probably grew in the area from the Caspian Sea to China. The Scythians are said to have used the seeds, which both grew wild and were cultivated, for ritual sweat baths and ecstatic states of intoxication (Hdt. 4,74f.). This suggests hashish, which is won from the subspecies Cannabis Indica (cf. Hsch. s.v. κάνναβις). The Thracians are said to h…

[German version] ( Cichorium endivia L.) was one form of the cultivated σέρις ( séris) of Dioscorides (2,132 [2. 203f.] and 2,159 [3. 224f.]), which was considered as tolerable to the stomach, astringent and cooling in effect. A poultice of its leaves was prescribed as soothing medication for heart ailments, podagra, eye infections, scorpion stings, etc. Then as now it was popular as a salad. Pliny (HN 19,126) mentions it under the name intubus amongst the lactuca species (‘lettuce’). As sponsa solis it is found, i.a., in the Salernitan Circa instans and in Thomas of Cantimpré (12,…

[German version] (ἡ τέρμινθος/ términthos, later τερέβινθος/ terébinthos, Latin terebinthus), the evergreen (Theophr. H. plant. 1,9,3 and 3,3,3; Plin.  HN 16,80), pinnate-leafed, dioecious Terebinth ( Pistacia terebinthus L.) of the genus Pistacia (cf. Pistachio), of which nine species occur in the Mediterranean, in the Anacardiaceae family. Theophr.  Hist. pl. 3,15,3 f. (cf. Plin. HN 13,54) shows accurate knowledge: the resin ( rhētínē, Latin resina; 9,2,2,  cf. Plin.  HN 14,122; 24,32 and 34), which drips from the stem and branches when cut (cf. Theoph…

[German version] (ὤκιμον/ ṓkimon, Lat. ocimum) was identified as the labiate sweet basil, Ocimum basilicum L., that bloomed for a long time and was probably introduced to Greece and Italy from the Orient (first mentioned in Theophr. Hist. pl. 7,2,1 and passim; Theophr. Hist. pl. 7,3,1 = Plin. HN  19,100). Theophr. Hist. pl. 7,1,2-3 and passim and Caus. pl. 1,4,3 as well as Plin. HN 19,119-123 describe how it is sown. Pliny - as also Dioscorides (2,141 Wellmann = 2,170 Berendes) - review both negative assessments (Plin. HN 20,119-120; [1. 76-78]) by …

[German version] (καρυωτὸς φοῖνιξ; karyōtòs phoînix) is a not precisely identifiable species of date palm with tasty fruit (Latin caryotae, derived from the nut κάρυον/ káryon), therefore not Caryota urens L. Plin. HN 13,44f. praises the juice of the fruit, from which outstanding, but intoxicating, wines were made in the Orient. Best of all were the dates from Jericho with their fatty, milk-like juice and very sweet taste. Additional passages: Plin. HN 14,102 and 23,52; Varro, Rust. 2,1,27; Mart. 13,27; Dioscorides 1,10…

[German version] The small, cheap, edible fish found in large shoals in the Mediterranean, Engraulis encrasicholus L., ἡ ἀφύη/ aphýē (ἀφύα/ aphýa), the ‘foam fish’, Lat. apua (Apicius) and sardina (Colum. 8,17,12 as fish-food), but not sarda (since according to Plin. HN 23,46 and 151 the sarda is identical with pelamys,  tuna, [1. 193]; Isid. Orig. 12.6.38 on the other hand equates sarda with sardina). Aristot. Hist. an. 6,15,569a 30-b 28 (= Plin. HN 9,160 and 31,95) claims that the aphýe is generated asexually from sandy soil or from the foam of rain on the surface of the…

[German version] (Greek τὸ σήσαμον/ tò sḗsamon, from Semitic, Latin sesamum). The oleiferous seeds of Sesamum indicum L. of the Pedaliaceae family, which grows around the Mediterranean, in Mesopotamia and in Egypt, according to Plin. HN 18,96 originally introduced from  India (Greek σησάμη/ sēsámē or σησαμίς/ sēsamís). Solon 40 West and Aristoph. Vesp. 676 record its early use in Greece. Theophrastus (Hist. pl. 8,3,1-4) describes the leaves, the stem, the (white) foxglove-like flowers and the seeds in the elongated bilocular capsules (ibid.…

[German version] (ἀκανθίς/ akanthís, Latin acanthis and carduelis). A heat-loving bird, which, because of its colourful plumage and beautiful song, people still like to keep in cages in Mediterranean countries today. Its small size (Plin. HN 10,175) and enmity with the ass owing to competition for the thistles they eat are variously mentioned (Plin. HN 10,205 = Ps.-Aristot. 9,1,610 a 4). This interpretation of akanthís (Aristot. Hist. an. 8,3,592 b 30; Ps.-Aristot. 9,1,610a 4; 9,17,616b 31), however, is as disputed as the identification with acanthyllis ( agathillis Codd.) in Pli…

[German version] In Greece and southern Italy today the following species occur: 1. Barn Swallow ( Hirundo rustica), 2. Crag Martin ( Ptyonoprogne rupestris), 3. Red-Rumped Swallow ( Cecropis daurica), 4. Sand Martin ( Riparia riparia) and 5. House Martin ( Delichon urbica). Whether ancient accounts of the χελιδών/ chelidṓn, Latin hirundo, refer to species other than 1 or 5 or the swift ( Apus apus L.) is almost always uncertain. For the most part broods are raised in skilfully constructed mud nests (Aristot. Hist. an. 8(9),7,612b 23; Varro Rust. 3,5,6; Ov. Fa…

[German version] (κίχλη/ kíchlē, Doric κιχήλα/ kichḗla, Latin turdus). Collective name for several species: according to Ps.-Aristot. Hist. an. 9,20, 617a 8-22 (cited in Ath. 2,64f) the Mistle Thrush (ιξοβόρος; ixobóros), the smaller Song Thrush (τριχάς; trichás) and perhaps the Redwing [1. 243] (ἰλίας, ἰλλάς; ilías, illás: Ath. 2,65a). After the first occurence (Hom. Od. 22,468), mentions are quite frequent from the 6th cent. BC onwards. Of the way of life of thrushes, which do not breed in Greece and Italy, apart from the mistle-thrush (…

[German version] This conifer, Larix europaea or Larix decidua Mill., which loses its needles in autumn, does not occur in Greece but was imported by the Romans from the Alps and the Carpathians as larix and cultivated in upper Italy. The larch did not reach western central Europe until the 18th cent. Vitr. 2,9,14 mentions for the first time its wood for being resistant to rotting and fire (cf. Pall. Agric. 12,15,1), after that Plin. HN 16,43 and 45. Its solid, resin-rich, reddish wood was used for housebuilding and shipbuilding. Hünemörder, Christian (Hamburg) Bibliography R. Stadler, s.…

[German version] (ἀνδράχλη, -νη; andráchlē, - nē). By this Dioscorides 2,124 [1.196 f.] = 2,150 [2.219 f.] meant on the one hand the purslane ( Portulaca oleracea) and on the other hand 2,186-187 [1.1.254 f.] = 2,217 [2.259] the waxflower Cerinthe aspera L. (τηλεφώνιον; tēlephṓnion) and then 4,168 ([1.2.316 f.] = 4,166 [2.462] = Plin. HN 20,210) the sea spurge Euphorbia Peplis L.; Plin. HN 13,120 (following Theophr. Hist. pl. 3,16,5) describes the andrachle as an evergreen (cf. Theophr. Hist. pl. 1,9,3 = Plin. HN 16,80) species of the eastern strawberry tree with…

[German version] The dorcas gazelle ( Gazella dorcas, formerly Antilope dorcas or Gazella africana) represents the antilope subfamily, which also includes the wildebeest and the oryx), in North Africa and the Middle East (ζορκάς, δορκάς, δόρκων, δόρκος, δόρξ, or ζόρξ; zorkás, dorkás, dórkōn, dórkos, dórx or zórx, damma or dorcas). The gazelle is a typical desert dweller (Hdt. 4,192), e.g. in Libya (Theophr. Hist. pl. 4,3,5), and lives in harmony with partridges (πέρδικες; pérdikes) and in herds together with wild asses (ὄναγροι; ónagroi, Timothy of Gaza c. 17 [1. 27f.]). Gazelles…

[German version] Latin name for the wind Λίψ ( Líps) or νότος ( nótos) that blows from the south-west from Africa (Libya) to southern Europe. In Plin. HN 2,119 the Africus ventus, characterized by Sen. Q. Nat. 5,16,5 and Hor. Carm. 1,3,12; 3,29,57; Epod. 16,22 and Verg. Aen. 1,85 f. as wild and stormy, is considered to be west-south-west between the west wind Favonius and the south-south-west Austroafricus (Λιβόνοτος; Libónotos) on the astronomical point rose (cf. Vitr. De arch. 1,6,10 and 12) with a total of 15 winds. In Hor. Carm. 3,23,5 it is called pestilens. According to Isid. Nat. …

[German version] (χαμαίμηλον; chamaímēlon, chamomilla, camomile). Certainly the composite Matricaria chamomilla L. that was cultivated as a medicinal plant from Neolithic times onwards. Plin. HN 22,53 knew not just its name,  anthemis, but also the nomenclature allegedly based on its apple smell ( quod odorem mali habeat, but in reality probably the result of its hemispherical thalamus), and emphasized its anti-inflammatory healing power (Plin. HN 22,53; Dioscorides 3,137 [1. II.145ff.] = 3,144 [2. 352ff.]). Hünemörder, Christian (Hamburg) Bibliography 1 M. Wellmann (ed.…

[German version] (ὁ σφήξ/ sphḗx, Latin vespa). Wasps occur in the Mediterranean region in several families of Hymenoptera. In  ancient sources it is almost always the eusocial (Aristot. Hist. an. 1,1,488a 10; 5,23,554b 22-29; 8(9),41,627b 23-628b 31; Aristot. Gen. an. 3,9,758b 18-759a 3) paper wasp that is meant. Aristotle [6] (Hist. an. 8(9),41, 627b 23 ff.) distinguishes between wild and tame wasps; of these the former are rarer and larger, and live on rocks, perhaps of the genus Polistes. Since tra…

[German version] (ῥοδοδένδρον/ rhododéndron or ῥοδοδάφνη/ rhododáphnē, in Latin for the first time in Ps.-Verg. Culex 402, νήριον/ nḗrion e.g. in Dioscorides 4,81 Wellmann = 4,82 Berendes, Latin nerium, rododafne in Pall. Agric. 1,35,9), the rosebay, the oleander ( Nerium oleander) or the alpenrose ( R. ferrugineum and hirsutum L.), appears only in the 1st cent. AD in Plin. HN 16,79 (and Dioscorides, see below) with all three names ( rhododendron, rhododaphne and nerium) and hence is presumably of Greek origin. This evergreen plant with rose-like flowers,  which grow…

[German version] (ἱππομανές; hippomanés). Plant identified by Dioscorides 2,173 Wellmann = 2,204 Berendes as the caper (κάππαρις; kápparis), whose fruit was considered to be diuretic. According to Theoc. 2,48f. and Serv. Georg. 3,280 Thilo in Arcadia it drove mares and foals mad. Hünemörder, Christian (Hamburg)

[German version] (Family of the Cyprinidae). (1.) The carp that lives in rivers and ponds (Ath. 7,309a) ( Cyprinus carpio L.; κυπρῖνος/ kyprînos, Latin cyprinus or carpa) was a popular edible fish (Cassiod. Var. 12,4,1; cf. Nep. Themistocles 10,3). Aristotle describes its fleshy palate, οὐρανός/ uranós, that simulates a tongue (Hist. an. 4,8,533a 28-30), and mentions that thunderstorms drive it into a daze (Hist. an. 7(8),20,602b 23f.; Plin. HN 9,58). Supposedly it spawns five to six times a year (Aristot. Hist. an. 6,14,568a 16f.; Plin. H…

[German version] It is almost impossible to distinguish exactly whether ἱέραξ/ hiérax (ἴρηξ, in Homer) in each individual instance refers to the goshawk ( Accipiter gentilis), the sparrowhawk ( A. nisus) or a species of the Falconidae. A commonly used synonym was κίρκος/ kírkos (e.g. Hom. Il. 22,139). The pigeon-killer φασσοφόνος/ phassophónos in Hom. Il. 15,237 apparently refers to the goshawk, írēx, however, to the sparrowhawk. In popular etymology, the Latin name accipiter ( acceptor in Lucil. 1130) is derived from accipere (Isid. Orig. 12,7,55, cf. Plaut. Persa 406f.). Aristot. …

[German version] (ἡ νάρδος/ hē nárdos or τὸ νάρδον/ tò nárdon, Latin nardus, -i f. and nardum, from Hebrew nērd from Sanskrit nalada(m) [1. 657]). Nardos in antiquity designates not only the true Indian spikenard ( Nardostachys jatamansi), but also (according to Plin. HN 13,16 and 12,45-47) as many as nine other plants (cf. inventory [2. 209f.]), including the two aromatic kinds of grass from the Near East, namely Syrian or Assyrian nard, the Valeriana Gallic and Cretan or wild nard, hazelwort, cyprus, etc. From the true nard of the central Himalayas the valuable scented oi…

[German version] (λαγώπους/ lagṓpous, ‘hare foot’) was the name for the ptarmigan, Lagopus mutus ( Montin), due to its feathered legs. It was highly esteemed as game (Hor. Sat. 2,2,22: lagois; Plin. HN 10,133). In its brown summer plumage (Plin. HN 10,134) it was considered to be a different species. The plant of the same name (Plin. HN 26,53 = Ps.-Apul. de herbis 61,6: herba leporis pes) was said to cure diarrhoea when taken in wine or (in cases of fever) water. Hünemörder, Christian (Hamburg) Bibliography H. Steier, s.v. L., RE 12,461.

[German version] ( Capreolus capreolus). A small genus of deer, spread as far as southern Europe, whose way of life was hardly known in Antiquity. Capreolus in Columella describes not only the roe deer (9,1,1) but also a two-tined gardening tool (11,3,46) and the shoots of a vine (e.g. 4,14,1 and 5,6,26). Its short and slightly branching antlers, which are allegedly not shed, are mentioned in Plin. HN 11,124. In Roman authors the usual Latin name was probably caprea (e.g. in Varro Rust. 3,3,3; Ov. Met. 1,442; Columella 9 pr.; Hor. Carm. 3,15,12: lasciva caprea; Plin. HN 8,228: absent in …

[German version] (κέρασος; kérasos, Latin cerasus with unclarified etymology, as the name of the town  Cerasus, contrary to explanations in Isid. Orig. 17,7,16, is derived from the cherry tree; the cherries are called κεράσια; kerásia, Latin cerasia). The wild cherry existed in Europe at least from the Middle Stone Age onwards [1. 112]. The grafted sweet cherry was introduced to Italy from the Black Sea in 74 BC by  Licinius Lucullus (Plin. HN 15,102ff.). It quickly spread all the way to Britannia. Pliny already knew several varie…

[German version] (ἐχῖνος χερσαῖος/ echînos chersaîos, Lat. ericius, ire- or erinaceus, seldom echinus), Erinaceus europaeus L., a mammal from the order of insectivores. Its typical characteristics are described by Aristotle and other authors: the spines (Aristot. Hist. an. 1,6,490b 29 and 3,11,517b 24, cf. Emp. fr. 83 Diels/Kranz; Aristoph. Pax 1086), the position of the testicles within the body (Aristot. Hist. an. 3,1,509b 9) and its mating in an upright position, stomach to stomach (ibid. 5,2,540a 3f.; Pli…

[German version] ( Cicada plebeia). The cicada (Greek; τέττιξ/ téttix, Gen. -ιγος or -ικος; Lat. cicada) was and is one of the best-known and most characteristic insects of the Mediterranean. Its typical song or noise (ἠχεῖν/ ēcheîn, Hes. Op. 583; Sappho Fr. 89 D.; Anth. Pal. 7,196 and 201), produced by rubbing the wings against the opercula (cf. Aristot. Hist. an. 4,9,535b 7-9), is often the only sound on a hot summer day when all other animals are silent (e.g., Hes. Sc. 396; Aristoph. Av. 1095; Theoc. 5,110 and 7,139; Verg. Ecl.…

[German version] (χήν; chḗn, anser, derived from its voice according to Varro, Ling. 5,75). Family of waterfowl found throughout the world with numerous wild species. The Mediterranean cultures knew only the bean goose ( anser fabalis) and the larger greylag goose ( anser anser) ─ which Aristotle (Hist. an. 7(8),3,593b 22 and 7(8),12,597b 30) first distinguished by size ─ as birds of passage (proof in Troy II and Swiss pile-dwellings). They caused considerable damage to sown fields during the migration period (cf. among others Plaut. Truc. 252; Verg. G. 1,119: improbus anser; Priap. 6…

[German version] The black alder, Alnus glutinosa (L.) Gaertn. (κλήθρα, klḗthra), which grows in damp locations almost everywhere in Europe (Theophr. Hist. pl. 1,4,3; 3,14,3; Plin. HN 16,77, cf. 31,44) represents the genus Alnus (cf. Indo-Germanic and Celtic aliza,  Alausa) of the Betulaceae, that comprises 17 species in Greece. The tree is characterized as an early bloomer (Plin. HN 16,97), supposedly it bears no fruit (Plin. HN 16,108, cf. Theophr. Hist. pl. 3,3,6). Theophr. Hist. pl. 3,14,3 describes the alder very well. The κλήθ́ρη ( klḗthrē) or κλήθρα ( klḗthra) in Hom. Od. 5,6…

[German version] ( Alcedo hispida, ἀλκυών/ alkyṓn, ἀλκυονίς/ alkyonís; term for the full-grown male κηρύλος/ kērýlos, Antigonus, Mirabilia 27 and schol. Theoc. 7,57; alcedo since Varro, Ling. 7,88, halcyo). A magnificently coloured, fish-eating corcaciiform bird only rarely observed in Greece as a winter guest (Stesich. fr. 12 B in Aristot. Hist. an. 5,9,542b 24f.). Homer (Il. 9,563) first mentions it in conjunction with Alcyone [2]. In the report by Aristotle (Hist. an. 5,8,542b 4-17; 9(7),14,616a 14-34) there is not jus…

[German version] (θυμελαία or χαμελαία/ chamelaía) is the ancient name for the shrub Daphne gnidium L (Kneoron, Daphnoides) of the Thymelaeaceae family, which grows on dry mountain slopes in Greece and northern Italy. Its red fruit (κόκκοι Κνίδιοι/ kókkoi Knídioi, Latin grana Cnidia, Plin. HN 13,114), which burned in the throat and hence was taken e.g. in bread, made a highly effective laxative (Theophr. H. plant. 9,20,2; Dioscurides 4,172 Wellmann = 4,170 Berendes). Hünemörder, Christian (Hamburg) Bibliography A. Steier, s. v. T., RE 6 A, 699 f.

[German version] The only genus of the Resedaceae which grows in the Mediterranean area (in some 30 species, including Reseda lutea L.). From the root a yellow pigment was extracted, for which there is evidence from lake dwellings in Switzerland (as early as c. 3000-700 BC). The herb called lutum in Latin was cultivated in Italy and used to dye clothing, especially the russet-coloured bridal veil, the flammeum ( flammearii, 'makers of bridal veils', in Plaut. Aul. 510; Wedding customs and rituals III.), but also as a painter's pigment (Vitr. De arch. 7,14,2) (Dy…

[German version] The hamster ( Cricetus cricetus) occurs only in grain fields north of the Alps and was unknown to Greeks or Romans. The hibernating μυωξός/ myōxós in Opp. Kyn. 2,574 and 585 was formerly identified with the hamster [1], but actually refers to the  dormouse. The crichetus in Thomas of Cantimpré 4,26 (according to the as yet undiscovered Liber rerum) is well described, but the description of its size (similar to a squirrel) and its habitat ( Apulea) do not match those of a hamster. In Albertus Magnus' De animalibus 22,47 [3. 1375], the term cricetus is confirmed in the gloss hame…

[German version] (θέρμος/ thérmos, of unknown etymology, Latin lupinus or -um, from lupus, ‘wolf’, for an unknown reason) is the pulse (Leguminosae) lupin. In Greece and Italy in antiquity there were many wild varieties, of which several were cultivated as food for people of the poorer classes and for livestock. The bitter taste (eliminated only in the 20th cent. by breeding) was moderated by soaking it for a long time in warm water (Plin. HN 18,136 and 22,154), cooking and mashing. There were precise regul…

[German version] In the Greek world, archaeological excavations have yielded jewellery but not PS, detectable only from the 5th cent. on. Mineralogical knowledge was almost absent in Antiquity. Plato (Plt. 303e) considers diamonds, for example, as a constituent of gold. The names of PS, such as ἀδάμας ( adámas, 'the invincible'), ἀμέθυστος ( améthystos, 'that which does not make one drunk') and ὀφίτης ( ophítēs, 'that which wards off snakes') reveal the magical effect ascribed to them. Theophrastus is the author of the first scholarly treatment, Περὶ λίθων ( Perì líthōn, 'On Stones' …

[German version] (ἄνισον; ánison), Pimpinella anisum L. was, like other herbs of the family of the umbelliferous plants (e.g. ἄνηθον; ánēthon, Anethum, dill, and ἄμμι; ámmi, Ammi), introduced to Greece via Egypt. Dioscorides 3,56 (ἄνησσον; ánēsson) [1.2.69 f.] = 3,58 [2.301 f.] considered Cretan aniseed to be the best. According to Plin. HN 20,185-195, Pythagoras in particular and also several Greek doctors praised anesum as a herb and remedy, e.g. for epilepsy. Later it was also a component of theriaca. Hünemörder, Christian (Hamburg) Bibliography 1 M. Wellmann (ed.), Pedani…

[German version] (καικίας; kaikías, Latin caecias). This local wind name is supposedly derived from the river  Caecus [2] in Mysia (Ach. Tat. Introductio in Aratum 33, p. 68 Maas). As one of the ánemoi katholikoí (the common winds [1. 2305]), the C., also called Hellēspontías (Ἑλλησποντίας) by some, was a joint wind of  Boreas and  Eurus; it was said to blow from the north-east and to form large clouds because of its coldness and dampness (Aristot. Mete. 2,6,364b 18f. and 24-29). Originally, the name referred to the wind squall blowing t…

[German version] ἄμωμον ( ámōmon) and καρδάμωμον ( kardámōmon; in Theophr. H. plant. 9,7,2 = amomum and cardamomum in Plin. HN 12,48-50), ἄμωμον ( ámōmon; in Dioscorides 1,15 [1. 1,20 f.] = 1,14 [2. 39-41]) was the name for the aromatic capsules and seeds of several zingiberaceae from India ( Amomum cardamomum etc., Elettaria cardamomum) and tropical Africa ( Aframomum melagueta = semen Paradisi) which came to Europe through the campaigns of Alexander. Their wealth of essential and fatty oil made them much sought-after up till the 16th cent. as a remedy (…

[German version] (ὁ μύρτος/ mýrtos, ἡ μυρσίνη/ myrsínē, μυρρίνη/ myrrhínē and ὁ μύρρινος/ ho mýrrhinos, the berry τὸ μύρτον/ tò mýrton or ἡ μυρτίς/ hē myrtís, probably of Semitic origin, but unlikely to be related to μύρρα/ mýrrha (Myrrh); Latin murtus, myrtus, myrta, murta (all feminine), the berry murtum) is the thermophile evergreen tree with white blossoms that is common throughout the Mediterranean region, particularly in the maquis as well as in the Middle East. It was cultivated in gardens from the Hellenistic period. The plant itself …

[German version] κότυφος (κόψιχος; kótyphos, kópsichos, Aristophanes etc., cf. Ath. 2,65d), merula ( -us Anth. Lat. 762,13), today Turdus merula, relatively well known: Aristot. Hist. an. 5,13,544a 27-29, cf. Plin. HN 10,147 (two clutches of eggs); Aristot. Hist. an. 7(8),16,600a 20 (hibernation! but see Plin. HN 10,72); Aristot. Hist. an. 8(9),1,609b 9-11 (hostility with χλωρίων), 610a 13 (friendship with turtledove); 8(9),9,614b 8 f. (compared in its size with woodpeckers); 8(9),13,616a 3 (nest building); 8(9),1…

[German version] (ἔγχελυς; éngchelus, anguilla), hardly distinguished from the sea eel (γόγγρος; góngros, conger/congrus). In the Iliad (21,203; 353) contrasted with fish as an amphibian. Its way of life and behaviour were well known to Aristotle (Hist. an. 8,2,591 b 30-592 a 24; 1,5,489 b 26 f.; 2,13,504 b 30 f.; Part. an. 4,13,696 a 3 f.: only two fins). Theophr. fr. 171,4 explains the ability to live on land by its small gills and low requirement of water and believes (fr. 171.9), like Plin. HN 9.160, that i…

[German version] Classical antiquity distinguished (unlike [1]) by name only a few kinds of this order of arachnids: 1.) the tick (κρότων/ krótōn, κυνοραιστής/ kynoraistḗs, Latin ricinus) as a parasite of dogs (Hom. Od. 17,300; Aristot. Hist. an. 5,19,552a 15 and 5,31,557a 16; Zenob. 6,27; first good description by Thomas of Cantimpré 9,20 [2. 303] as engulas, pediculus silvestris or theca = caeca, from which English ‘tick’, German ‘Zecke ’etc.), hedgehogs and foxes (Aisop. 36; Aristot. rhet. 2,20,1393b 24-27: κυνοραιστής), cattle (κρότων βοῶν, Aristot. …

[German version] (κίτρος, cedar). This genus of Rutaceae consists of about 20, or rather a narrower spectrum of seven to eight species of evergreen trees and shrubs from subtropical and tropical Asia. The name citrus (κίτρος, κίτριον; kítros, kítrion) originally referred to conifers with aromatic wood, such as Callitris articulata. However, after Alexander's campaigns it was transferred to the species Citrus medica, which had been cultivated in Media and Persia for some time (μῆλον μηδικόν; mêlon mēdikón, κίτριον in Theophr. Hist. pl. 4,4,2; κεδρόμηλα ( kedrómēla) in Dioscurides…

( Struthio camelus L.). [German version] I. Names In Greek this giant flightless bird was originally called ὁ (ἡ) στρουθός/ strouthós, but to avoid confusion with the sparrow (other than in unambiguous contexts such as Aristoph. Ach. 1106) descriptive adjectives ( mégas, katágeios, chersaîos, chamaipetḗs, áptēnos or Libykós, Arábios or Mauroúsios) were added. It was not until Diod. 2,50,4 that the hybrid term ὁ (ἡ) στρουθοκάμηλος/ strouthokámēlos (derived from the size, form and even-toedness of the ostrich - Aristot. Part. an. 4,14,697b 21-24; cf. 4,12,695a 1…

[German version] Amongst the herbs ( herbae, ποιώδη; poiṓdē), Gramineae or Poaceae represent the grass family (Glumiflorae, πόαι; póai, in Theophr. Hist. pl. 7,8,3); in antiquity, however, the reeds (Cyperaceae) and rushes (Juncaceae) were not differentiated ( Bulrush;  Byblus). Besides the meadow grass (ἄγρωστις; ágrōstis, e.g. Theophr. Hist. pl. 1,6,7 et passim) and the grass proper ( grain; frumenta), other members of the Graminea family are, 1. the cat's tail Arundo (δόναξ, κάλαμος; dónax, kálamos, i.a. in Theophr. Hist. pl. 4,11,11 and elsewhere), esp. Arundo d…

[German version] (λωτός/ lōtós, τρίφυλλον/ tríphyllon, Lat. lotus, trifolium). Sometimes growing wild, sometimes cultivated, this important forage crop (in Columella 8,14,2 used also as food for tame geese) from the Leguminosae family is mentioned as early as Hom. Il. 2,776; 14,348; 21,351 and Hom. Od. 4,603. References to this lōtós in Theophr. Hist. pl. 7,8,3 and 7,13,5 (or lotus Verg. G. 2,84; Columella 2,2,20, as an indicator of good soil for growing cereals) as also Dioscorides 4,110 Wellmann = 4,109 Berendes are not sufficiently precise for a cla…

[German version] Of the genus of arthropods, only the two orders of web-spiders ( Araneae; spiders) and scorpions were commonly known in Antiquity. The third order, that of the very poisonous barrel spiders ( Solifugae/ Solpugida), a scourge in Arabia and tropical Africa (Agatharchides mare Eythraeum 59 = GGM 151), was apparently found only in Greece (φαλάγγια/ phalángia) and Spain ( salpugae, Plin. HN 29,92). Plin. HN 29,87 [1. 36 f.] makes a clear distinction between two types. Of the fourth order, mites ( Acari), only the castor-bean tick ( ricinus = tick, Ixodes ricinus L.) is signi…

[German version] (τὸ πέπερι/ tò péperi, Latin piper) in Hippoc. Gynaikia 1,81 (cf. Hippocr. Epidemiai 4,40; 5,67; 6,6,13; 7,64) is the name of the costly spice Piper with two species ( P. album and P. nigrum) which is imported from India. The inadequate descriptions in Theophr. H. plant. 9,20,1, (cited in Athen. 2,66e), Dioscorides (2,159 Wellmann = 2,188 Berendes) and Plin. HN 12,26f. divulge that the seed grains of what is called P. longum grow in small pods, and this has been connected with African pepper ( Xylopia aethiopica A. Rich.), which is common in Africa. Theophrastus deri…

[German version] (ἀνεμώνη; anemṓnē). In Theophr. Hist. pl. 6,8,1 and passim, Dioscorides 2,176 [1.1.244 f.] = 2,207 [2.252 f.] with medicinal significance e.g. for cleaning ulcers. Plin. HN 21,164-166 names the early blossoming ranunculaceae Anemone coronaria L. [3.76 and fig. 121] and hortensis L. cultivated in many types of garden forms as well as their wild varieties. According to Plin. HN 21,165, the name is derived, like the German Windröschen (wind rose), from the flowers opening in the spring wind. The genuses pasque flowers ( Pulsatilla) and liverworts ( Hepatica) are rela…

[German version] ( Prunus persica Batsch from Persica sc. malus, Greek Περσικὸν μῆλον/ Persikòn mȇlon or Latin Persicum malum, i.e. literally 'Persian apple-tree', for the fruit), introduced to Italy from Persia or Armenia only in the 1st cent. AD (Plin. HN 12,14 and 15,44f.). Plin. HN 15,39f. distinguishes several kinds according to origin, including the supernatia, i.e. the one from the Adriatic Sea. It is likely that early peaches ( praecocia) meant apricots, which were initially very expensive. Peaches, which were rated particularly innocuous (cf. Dioscorides …

[English version] Den zu den Ruderfüßern (Steganopodes) gehörenden gänsegroßen Fischfresser Phalacrocorax carbo (L.) mit dunklem Gefieder erwähnt Aristot. hist. an. 7(8),593b 18-22 als sog. “Raben” (κόραξ) und als Baumbrüter. Den damals auf den Balearen heimischen phalacrocorax (“kahlköpfiger Rabe”) bei Plin. nat. 10,133 deutete man früher als K. [1. 196f.], h. eher als den in Europa ausgestorbenen Waldrapp oder Schopfibis (Comatibis eremita). Als Synonym findet sich bei Plin. nat. 11,130 corvus aquaticus. Das mittelminoische Fresko von Hagia Triada auf Kreta zei…

[English version] Der als Hahn farbenprächtige F. (Phasianus colchicus, φασιανός sc. ὄρνις, phasianus bzw. phasiana sc. avis) stammt urspr. aus dem Gebiet um den namengebenden Fluß Phasis (h. Rioni, südl. des Kaukasus) in Kolchis (Agatharchides fr. 15 Jacoby FGrH 86 bei Athen. 9,387c, vgl. Mart. 13,72). Seit dem 5. Jh. v.Chr. wurde er - als einziger Hühnervogel erfolgreich - in die Wildbahn des griech.-röm. Kulturraums eingeführt. Aristophanes, der ihn als erster erwähnt (Nub. 108), verspottet den Fasanenzüchte…

[English version] (lat.) entspricht nach Cic. Tusc. 5,99 dem κάρδαμον/ kárdamon und bezeichnet eine Kresseart, wahrscheinlich die Gartenkresse (Lepidium sativum), welche Xen. Kyr. 1,1,8 als Zukost der einfachen Perser zum Brot erwähnt. Gemeint sind wohl die Samen und nicht die h. in Griechenland und It. als Salat verzehrten Blätter. Theophr. h. plant. 1,12,1 erwähnt wie Plin. nat. 19,186 den senfartigen scharfen Geschmack des kárdamon und das auch von Plin. nat. 19,117 und 154 betonte schnelle Keimen. Colum. 11,3,14 empfiehlt für It. die Aussaat im Frühling…

[English version] Die gelbblühende Hauswurzart Sempervivum tectorum (ἀείζωον) mit fleischigen, immergrünen und feuchten Blättern (Theophr. h. plant. 1,10,4 und 7,15,2) leitet ihren Namen von ihrer starken Behaarung ab. Nach Dioskurides 4,87-88 [1. 247ff.] = 4,88-89 [2. 418f.] dienten die Blätter ihrer beiden Arten (lat. sedum bei Plinius, nat. 25,160-163) u.a. äußerlich als kühlendes adstringierendes Mittel gegen Geschwüre und Wunden. Demokrit soll den Saft zur Behandlung von Saatgut empfohlen haben (Plin. nat. 18,159). Nat. 16,76 meint…

[English version] (ὁ μῦς/ mýs, in Dialekten σμῦς/ smýs, σμίς/ smís, σμίνθος/ smínthos, σμίνθα/ smíntha; lat. mus, Dimin. musculus; dazu [4. 2,132]), Vertreter der artenreichen Familie Muridae der Nagetiere (Rodentia) mit ständig nachwachsenden Nagezähnen. Mit den gen. Bezeichnungen sind meistens die Langschwanzmäuse Haus-M. (Mus musculus L.), Wald-M. (Apodemus sylvaticus L.), die oberirdische Grasnester bauende Zwerg-M. (Micromys minutus Pallas) sowie die zu der Familie der Wühl-Mäuse (Arvicolidae) gehörende Feld…

[English version] Ein den Griechen wahrscheinlich unbekanntes [1] nachtaktives Raubtier aus der Familie der Marder ( Mustelidae), das die Römer meles ( maeles, Varro rust. 3,12,3; melo, Isid. orig. 12,2,40) nannten. Plinius behauptet fälschlich (nat. 8,138), er verteidige sich durch Aufblasen gegen Mensch und Hund, und erwähnt ihn sonst nur im Vergleich mit anderen Tieren. Ohne die Hinweise des Mediziners Marcellus Empiricus (36,5) zu berücksichtigen, der unter der nach Isidoros (orig. 20,2,24 mit Zitat des Komikers Afranius) kelt. Bezeichnung adeps taxoninus das Fett des D…

[English version] (κάρπασος, καρπήσιον). Phönizischer bzw. ehemals indischer Name für Baumwolle, wie das aus Tarraco (heute Tarragona) in Spanien (Plin. nat. 19,10). Aber auch als Gegengift (Alexipharmaka) verwendete Pflanzen wie Helleborus- und Valeriana-Arten führten diese Bezeichnungen (vgl. Colum. 10,17). Hünemörder, Christian (Hamburg)

[English version] (πλάτανος/ plátanos, poet. πλατάνιστος/ platánistos, lat. platanus) bezeichnet den in Südeuropa schon mindestens seit Hom. (Il. 2,307-13) wachsenden Baum Platanus orientalis L. Nach Plin. nat. 12,6 wanderte die P. über das Ionische Meer nach Sizilien und von dort nach It. In Nordeuropa bürgerte man sie später ebenfalls ein. Durch die namengebenden breiten (πλατύς/ platýs, “breit”, “weit”) Blätter spendete sie viel Schatten, in dem man sich wie in Platons Phaidros (Plat. Phaidr. 229a-230b) lagern konnte. Im Alt. war der Baum als Pfropfunterlage z.…

[English version] Ein im Alt. unbekanntes Enziangewächs ( Menanthes trifoliata L.), das von den Kräuterbüchern des 16. und 17.Jh. irrtümlich als Bitter- oder Fieberklee ( Trifolium fibrinum) bezeichnet wird. Es ist auf Sumpfwiesen weitverbreitet und wird heute wegen seiner Bitterstoffe u.a. als Fiber- und Wurmmittel gebraucht. In der Ant. bezeichnete μινυανθές bei Dioskurides 3,109 [1. 119f.] = 3,113 [2. 336f.] und Plin. nat. 21,54 (zum Kranzbinden verwendet) ebenso wie ἀσφάλτιον aber die Leguminose Harz- oder Asphaltklee ( Psoralea bituminosa L.). Kleearten Hünemörder, Ch…

[English version] (ἀδράφαξυς/ adráphaxys: Theophrastos, ἀνδράφαξυς/ andráphaxys: Dioskurides, ἀνδράφαξις/ andráphaxis: Hippokr.; lat. atriplex), eine spinatähnliche Gemüsepflanze aus der Familie der Gänsefußgewächse (Chenopodiaceae), die nur in einer Art (Theophr. h. plant. 7,4,1 = Plin. nat. 19,123), nämlich Atriplex rosea L., in Griechenland kultiviert wurde. Nach Theophr. h. plant. 1,14,2 und 7,3,4 bildete sie ihre blattartigen, breiten und nur zwei bis drei Jahre keimfähigen (Theophr. h. plant. 7,5,5 = …

[English version] Die ant. Bezeichnungen (μελεαγρίς/ meleagrís, lat. meleagris, Syn.: gallinae Africanae oder Numidicae) meinten - trotz Colum. 8,2,2 (vgl. [1. 19]) - von den insgesamt 23 über Süd- und Vorderasien sowie Nord- und Westafrika verbreiteten Arten tatsächlich nur das gemeine P. (Numida meleagris L.). Das P. wurde wohl im 4. Jh.v.Chr. nach Griechenland und erst im 1. Jh. v.Chr. nach It. (Varro rust. 3,9,18, vgl. Plin. nat. 10,74: ‘die als letzte von den südländischen Vögeln auf die Tafel gebrachte…

[English version] Hülsenfrüchte ( legumina) wie Erbsen (πίσον, pisum), Kichererbse (ἐρέβινθος, cicer) und Linsen (φακός, lens) wurden im Mittelmeerraum mindestens genauso lange schon als Kulturpflanzen vorderasiatischer Herkunft angebaut wie Getreide, d.h. seit ungefähr 6000 Jahren. Von ihnen wurden Spottnamen angesehener röm. Familien abgeleitet (Fabius, Lentulus, Cicero). Die urspr. kleinsamigen B.-Sorten (κύαμος, πύανος, faba, slav. bob), die schon vor über 4000 J. angebaut wurden, stammten von Vicia faba L., aus denen die großsamigen Sau- oder Pferde-B. (Varietät eq…