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and other Alliaceae [German version] I. Mesopotamia, Egypt, Asia Minor The numerous Sumerian and Akkadian expressions for Alliaceae, not all of which can be definitely botanically identified, partly refer only to the subspecies leek, shallot, onion or garlic [1. 301]. Leek in its various forms - Sumerian *karaš, Akkadian kar( a) šu, Hebrew kārēš, Aramaic karrāttā, Arabic kurrāṯu - is a word of Oriental culture. Garlic is in Sumerian, sum, Akkadian šūmū, otherwise in Semitic languages ṯūm; the onion is in Akkadian šamaškillū, in Aramaic šmšgl (also as an ideogram in Pahlavi); the…

[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…

[German version] [1] The silurid The silurid ( silurus glanis), an (up to 3 metres long) freshwater fish. Aristot. Hist. an. 8(9),37,691 a20-b2 describes the care of the brood of the glánis, whose name was passed on to Thomas of Cantimpré ( glamanez monstrum [1] 6,26) and Albertus Magnus ( garcanez, animal. 24,35 [2]) via the Arabian-Latin translation of Michael Scotus as glanieuz without real knowledge of the animal. A connection to evil demons was ascribed to it, perhaps due to its supposed attacks on fishing nets [3. 1 § 458]. Hünemörder, Christian (Hamburg) Bibliography 1 H. Boese (…

(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] I. General The fossil resin of the conifers that gets its name in German ( Bernstein) from its combustibility or as a succinite. The magnetic power of attraction of amber was already known to Thales (A 1,24 and A 3 DK); from the Greek name ἤλεκτρον ( ḗlektron) the modern term ‘electricity’ is derived. Mentioned in Aristotle (e.g. Met. 4,10,388b19 ff.) and Theophrastus (H. plant. 9,18,2; Lapid. 3,16; 5,28 and 29 [2]), and as sucinum in Tacitus (Germ. 45). Pliny (Italian thium, German glaesum: HN 37,31-46) characterizes amber as defluens medulla pinei generis arboribus (‘t…

[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…

(Egyptian hbj > Greek ἶβις; îbis). [German version] I. Egypt The ibis was considered a sacred bird (Hdt. 2, 65; 67; 75 and other ancient writers) in Egypt, where three species were found. Above all, the ‘Sacred ibis’ ( Threskiornis aethiopicus) was worshipped as the holy animal of  Thot, god of the moon and writing, and often represented. Ibis burials are known starting in the New Kingdom; in the Late Period, there were breeding colonies and animal cemeteries with mummified ibises everywhere in Egypt, particularly extensive in the chief cult centres of Thot. Jansen-Winkeln, Karl (Berlin) B…

[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] I. Ancient Orient and Egypt The incidence of lions (Sumerian ur-maḫ, ur-gula, pirig; Akkadian nēšu, labbu; Egyptian rw, mj) is first attested for Mesopotamia in the Ur III period (2112-2004 BC). Sources subsequently only rarely mention their occurrence in Babylonia; on the other hand, there are many references from the middle Euphrates region and from Assyria (letters from Mari, hunting accounts of Neo-Assyrian kings). In Egypt lions were depicted from the prehistoric period and are attested well beyond the New Kingdom (1550-1070). In Egypt as well as in Mesop…

[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] (Εὖρος/ Eûros, Lat. Eurus). One of the four cardinal winds (Hom. Od. 5,295f.; Verg. Aen. 1,85f.) also used to refer to the different points of the compass. In Hesiod, however (Theog. 379f.), E. is missing. [1]. At first in the Greek world all easterly winds (cf. the Hom. four-winds model [2. 2353, fig. 15]) were called Eúroi (Ps.-Aristot. De mundo 4,394b 20); but especially the E. as neighbour to the  Notus, the south wind (Aristot. Mete. 2,6,363b 21-23), blows from the point of winter sunrise, and is accordingly often called the south-east wind ( Eurónotos, otherwise ES…

[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] [1] River in southern Italy River in southern Italy (approximately 185 km in length) with a catchment area of approximately 5,677 km2. It rises on the south-eastern slopes of Monte Metuccia (near Aesernia) from a large karst spring, absorbs tributaries from the Monti del Matese and ultimately the Calor (modern Calore) to the west of mons Taburnus, before breaking to the north of the Tifata mons through to the Mare Tyrrhenum, where its alluvial deposits have created the plain of Campania (Str. 5,4,4;…

[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…

(Ἄκανθος; Ákanthos). [German version] [1] Colony of  Andros This item can be found on the following maps: Colonization | Macedonia, Macedones | Peloponnesian War | Persian Wars | Delian League Colony of  Andros on the east coast of the  Chalcidice peninsula near the modern Ierissos; in the Persian War (480/79 BC) an important Persian base (Hdt. 7,22; 115 ff.); later a member of the  Delian League, seceded in 424 BC (Thuc. 4,84-88) and was also able to hold its own against the Chalcidian Confederacy (Syll.3 1,135). From 349/8 BC Macedonian In the Second Macedonian War, A. was p…

[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)