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[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 oil was extracted from the upper part of the root, but this was often adulterated. From it a wine was produc…

[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: …

[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 northern Africa). The interpretation of the rock-dwelling δορκάς/ dorkás as a roe deer (rather than as a gazelle) in Eur. Bacch. 699 and Xen. Cyr. 1,4,7 (cf. Latin dorcas in Mart. 13,99) is debatable. The timidity of the νεβρός/ nebrós (elsewhere for 'fawn') in Ael. NA 7,19 probably indicates a gazelle. Neither can the old name πρόξ/ prox (Hom. Od. 17,295; προκάς/ prokás, H. Hom. 5,71), which occurs alongside the red deer (ἔλαφος/ élaphos) (Aristot. Hist. an. 2…

[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…

[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.; Plin. HN 10,174). Its spiny skin was used to comb woven fabric (Plin. HN 8,135), and therefore it was hunted (Ne…

[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: …

[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 just a good description of the blueish-purple coloration of the plumage and the number of eggs (five, but actually six to seven) but there are also legendary motifs like nesting o…

[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…

(Ἀρτεμισία; Artemisía) [German version] [1] Female ruler of Halicarnassus (around 480 BC) Daughter of Lygdamis; prior to 480 BC, took over the rulership of her city of birth,  Halicarnassus, and of a few islands; in 480 joined her ships to the fleet of Xerxes (Hdt. 7.99). Herodotus was related to her. He praised her courage in the battle of Salamis and emphasized her influence on Xerxes (Hdt. 8,68-69). Högemann, Peter (Tübingen) [German version] [2] Queen of Greater Caria (353-351 BC) Sister and wife of  Maussollus and after his death, queen of the satrapal kingdom of Great…

[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 …

I. Mesopotamia [German version] A. Concept and sources The is no accurate or systematic, zoological or botanical classification of the animal and plant kingdoms from the Ancient Orient. The main source is one of the most voluminous Mesopotamian lexical texts with 24 chapters, known from its initial line as ḪAR-ra =  ḫubullu ('(rate of) interest'). It is a catalogue of objects and living creatures, ordered acrographically (i.e. by the first cuneiform sign) according to semantic aspects (Science). This principle represented a mnemotechnic aid; th…

[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…

(νότος; nótos) [German version] I. Meteorology Three winds blowing from the south were distinguished in antiquity: (1.) the nótos (νότος, Latin auster) proper blew from various directions in winter (from November) and is described as rain-bringing, stormy and bringing obscured visibility (evidence in [1]); (2.) the mild, changeable and sky-clearing λευκόνοτος/ leukónotos was encountered after the December solstice and on the dog-days (νότος λαμπρός: Theophr. Hist. plant. 6,3,4). Ps.-Aristot. Probl. 26,20 derives the difference between the visibi…

[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…

[English version] (ὁ μύρτος/ mýrtos, ἡ μυρσίνη/ myrsínē, μυρρίνη/ myrrínē und ὁ μύρρινος/ mýrrinos, die Beere τὸ μύρτον/ mýrton bzw. ἡ μυρτίς/ myrtís, wohl semitischen Ursprungs, aber kaum mit μύρρα/ mýrra (Myrrhe) verwandt; lat. murtus, myrtus, myrta, murta (jeweils fem.), die Beere murtum) ist der wärmeliebende, immergrüne und im ganzen Mittelmeergebiet v.a. in der Macchie sowie in Vorderasien verbreitete Baum mit weißen Blüten. Seit hell. Zeit wurde er in Gärten kultiviert. Bei Homer begegnet die Pflanze selbst zwar nicht, jedoch der Ortsname Mýrsinos (Hom. Il. 2,616) und …

[English version] (der in Indien heimische, gut zähmbare Hühnervogel Pavo cristatus). Er hieß mit ungeklärter Etym. [1. Bd. 2, 862; 2. Bd. 2, 267] ὁ ταώς, ταῶς/ taṓs und lat. pavo oder pava. Die Einführung erfolgte wohl im 7./6. Jh.v.Chr. über Babylon (Pfauenthron) nach Palästina und über den Iran (daher Μηδικὸς ὄρνις/ Mēdikós órnis, “medischer/persischer Vogel”; Diod. 2,53 u.ö.) und Vorderasien nach Samos. Dort war der P. hl. Tier im Heratempel (Antiphanes bei Athen. 14,655b; aber auf samischen Mz. erst im 2. Jh.v.Chr. [3. Taf. 5,51]). Nach …

[English version] Der urspr. in ganz Europa und in Äg. (Ail. nat. 2,48; in Äg. kleiner nach Aristot. hist. an. 9(8),28, 606a 23 f.) verbreitete, mindestens bussardgroße Kolk-R., Corvus corax (κόραξ/ kórax, offenbar abgeleitet von korós, “schwarz”; der Jungvogel κορακῖνος/ korakínos z. B. bei Aristoph. Equ. 1053; lat. corvus), ist der größte europäische Singvogel mit dem charakteristischen Ruf “korrk” bzw. “rrab”, sonst aber sehr variabler Stimme (64 Laute nach Fulg. 1,13, zit. bei Thomas von Cantimpré 5,31, [1. 191]). In Äg. kommen h. nur die…

[English version] (ἀετός, aquila). Vornehmster Vogel der Ant. (Il. 8,247; 24,315; Aischyl. Ag. 112; Pind. P. 1,6 al.; Plin. nat. 10,6). Beschreibung der 6 Arten bei Aristot. hist. an. 8(9),32,618 b 18-619 b 12 und mit Änderungen bei Plin. nat. 10,6-8. (1) πύγαργος, νεβροφόνος (“Hirschkalbtöter”) (bei Plin. Nr. 2), mit weißem Schwanz, in Ebenen, Wäldern, Bergen und bei Städten lebend, vielleicht Schlangen-A. [1. 208]. (2) πλάγγος, νηττοφόνος ( anataria) oder μορφνός, homer. (= περκνός, Il. 24,316), in feuchten Niederungen bzw. an Seen, ein großer und starker V…