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[German version] ( Polygonum aviculare) For Theophr. Hist. pl. 1,6,11 the numerous thick roots were typical of the so-called rock partridge plant (περδίκιον/ perdíkion). Its name has supposedly been derived from the fact that rock partridges allegedly roll around in them and dig them up. This is an allusion to Polygonum maritimum. In Theophr. Hist. pl. 9,18,5 (reference not in Hort!) Κραταιγόνος/ krataigónos is called the κραταιόγονον/ krataiógonon of Dioscorides (3,124 Wellmann = 3,129 Berendes). It has been defined as Polygonum Persicaria. Its name is derived from the fact…

[German version] The cool, strong winds blowing from the north to the north-east each year from the middle of July (rising of Sirius) for about 40 days (different duration [1. 714]) were called ἐτησίαι (or βορέαι, boréai). These winds blowing from the  Propontis were then a considerable obstacle to navigation on the Black Sea. Isidorus (Orig. 13,11,15) mentions them as north winds that return each year, though without giving any specific timeframe. They were characterized as lashing the waves of the sea, making the sea dark, heal…

[German version] Unlike barley (Grain), wild and cultivated oats ( Avena sativa L., / brómos, avena) were used only occasionally in human diet in antiquity, for example as flour for pearl barley and dietary porridge (Hippoc. De victu 2,7(= 43) and Plin. HN 22,137); oats were used most frequently as animal fodder (green or as hay: Columella 2,10,32). Dioscorides (with a good description in 2,94 p. 1, 172f. Wellmann = 2,116 p. 203 Berendes) recommends the porridge against diarrhoea and the gruel obtained from it…

[German version] (μύκης, -ητος or -ου/ mýkēs, Latin mucus, mucor, -oris or σφόγγος/ sphóngos, σπόγγος/ spóngos, Latin fungus) are rarer in Greece than in Italy, where they were used as food despite the possibility of poisoning (Plin. HN 22,97: cibus anceps, ‘doubtful food’, and 22,92: temere manduntur, ‘they were eaten rashly’). They were considered to be produced by fermentation of the earth after heavy rainfall (cf. Plin. HN 22,94 and 100) or generated by tree roots (from their sticky sap, ex pituita: Plin. HN 22,96). Some trees, such as oaks, allegedly produce edible mush…

[German version] Since the 11th cent. in Constantinus Africanus, de gradibus simplicium 4,4 [1. 381 f., cf. 2.138], the name given to this metallic element, said to be warm and dry at four degrees, that was the same as the ancient στίβι ( stíbi) or στίμμι ( stímmi; stibium, from orig. Eg. ṣtim [2.138]), supposedly a type of lead extracted from the silver mines.Use of black antimony trisulphate as eye make-up as well as for an astringent and cooling remedy, the extraction of which was described precisely (Dioscorides 5,85 [3.55 f.] = 5,99 [4.516…

[German version] (Lat. ros marinus or rosmarinum, derived from ῥὼψ μύριος/ rhṑps mýrios; ῥουσμαρῖνος/ rhousmarînos; also λιβανωτίς/ libanōtís, Dioscorides 3,75 Wellmann = 3,(89) Berendes, Lat. libanotis, eg. Plin. HN 19,187). An evergreen labiate with bluish flowers ( Rosmarinus officinalis), popular with the Greeks and Romans. It grows in the maquis and represented an important remedy with its roots, juice, leaves and seeds. Especially for funerary ceremonies, wreaths were made of its branches (cf. Dioscorides loc. cit.). The incen…

[German version] As a loan-word from Egyptian, κόμμι ( kómmi) first appears in Hdt. 2,86 as an adhesive for the linen bandages of embalmed corpses. It was extracted from the so-called Egyptian thorn Acacia arabica = nilotica ( Acacia) that is already described by Theophr. Hist. pl. 4,2,8 (cf. spina nigra, Plin. HN 13,63). Plin. HN 13,66 mentions further suppliers of gum. Dioscorides 1,133 p. 1, 205 Wellmann = 1,160 p. 225 Berendes knows gum from the skeletonweed, Chondrilla iuncea L. ( Compositae). The medical importance of various cummi, for eyes and wounds among other things, is…

[German version] (πάρδαλις/ párdalis or πόρδαλις/ pórdalis; Lat. panthera). This large cat is found not only in Africa, but also in Asia. Thirty leopards ( pardáleis) and cheetahs ( pánthēroi) were led in the procession of Ptolemy II (3rd cent. BC; Ath. 5,201c). Plin. HN 8,62f. describes the eye-like spots of the panthera and claims that they lure other quadrupeds as prey with their pleasant odour. He claimed the second name for the male animals was pardus (cf. Luc. 6,183). Out of zoological ignorance, Isid. Orig. 12,2,11 has the leopardus spring from the crossing of a lioness and a pardus. T…

[German version] (ἑλένιον; helénion, helenium). According to Plin. HN 21,59 and 159, the name is derived from the tears of Helena (rather differently Ael. NA. 9,21). Roman authors meant by the (h)enula or inula in general the elecampane ( Inula helenium L.), a large Composita growing in western Asia and eastern Europe. Since late antiquity it had been grown in gardens as a medicinal plant (cf. Columella 11,3,17 and 35). In particular the bitter root (description of how to preserve it with sweet additives: Columella 12,48,1-5; Plin. HN 19,…

[German version] This northern and central European tree genus, of which there are also dwarf varieties ( betulla or betulus, late Latin betula) is represented by only three species in Italy, among these the betula aetnensis that is native to Etna. Only the weeping birch ( betula pendula = verrucosa) colonized the mountains of Greece and the Crimea. In Gaul (Plin. HN 16,75) the flexible twigs were used as weaving materials (cf. Plin. HN 16,176). Hünemörder, Christian (Hamburg)

[German version] (ῥυτή/ rhytḗ in Nic. Alex. 306, πήγανον/ pḗganon e.g. in Aristoph. Vesp. 480; Latin ruta). A Mediterranean genus of the Rutaceae family comprising some 60 species of aromatic, evergreen (Theophr. Hist. pl. 1,9,4) subshrubs. The leaves, fruits and roots of Ruta graveolens were a favourite condiment, generally in combination with menta (mint) [1. 62] (and sometimes pickled in a solution of vinegar and salt, cf. Columella 12,7,1 f.), and were prescribed internally and externally (esp. in Plin. HN 20,134-143) against gynaecological c…

[German version] (εὐπατόριος; eupatórios, Dioscorides 4,41; [1. 198f.] and [2. 386]; eupatoria, Plin. HN 25,65). This plant of the Rosaceae species Agrimonia eupatoria L., the agrimony with yellow inflorescence (cf. [3. fig. 222]), was considered by Dioscorides to be a valuable medicine for dysentery, liver complaints and snake bites. Pliny does not support the name variant hepatoria being derived from liver complaints [4] (nor the synonymous description ἡπατῖτις ( hēpatîtis) in the recensio Vindobonensis of Dioscorides); allocating the regia auctoritas to the plant is …

[German version] The genus Corylus L. of the Betulaceae family is represented in Europe especially by the widespread, bush-forming (cf. Verg. Ecl. 1,14) common or shrub hazel Corylus avellana (already abellana in Cato Agr. 8,2; corylus: hazel wood for the wine press lid ibid. 18,9; corulus Columella 7,9,6). In the Mediterranean region the Turkish hazel C. colurna L., which grows up to 20 m tall and has a range from Asia Minor to the Balkans, C. pontica Koch and the giant filbert C. maxima Mill. (= tubulosa Willdenow; perhaps = nuces calvae, Cato Agr. 8,2 = galbae Plin. HN 15,90) are also f…

[German version] or iugulans. Etymology according to Varro, Ling. 5,102: a Iove et glande appellata (‘named after Jupiter and the acorn’; cf. Isid. Orig. 17,7,21 according to Serv. Ecl. 8,29f. and Plin. HN 15,91, translated from Διὸς βάλανος/ Diòs bálanos, which otherwise designates the edible chestnut), the walnut ( Iuglans regia L.). Introduced into Italy from Persia on the Black Sea via Greece (according to Pall. Agric. 2,15,14-19, sown from the end of January onwards, according to Columella 5,10,14 in March), it was already known to Theophra…

[German version] Pliny names three species of fern ─ felix, dryopteris, and polypodium ─, all of which are characterized by the absence of flowers and seeds. Plin. HN 27,78-80 describes two varieties of felix, one of which the Greeks on account of its pinnae referred to as πτέρις ( ptéris) or respectively βλάχνον ( bláchnon) and male (perhaps Aspidium filix mas L., the Male or Shield Fern, cf. Dioscorides 4,184 p. 2,332f. Wellmann = 4,183 p. 471f. Berendes), the other as female fern θηλυπτερίς ( thēlypterís) or respectively νυμφαία πτέρις ( nymphaía ptéris; Dioscorides 4,185 p. 2,333 W…

[German version] The ἀριστολόχεια ( aristolócheia) in Nicander and Dioscorides 3,4 [1.2.6 ff. = 2.263 ff.], ἀριστολοχία ( aristolochía) in Hippocrates, Theophr. Hist. pl. 9,20,4 (effect against snake bite) and Plin. HN 25,95 ff. etc. was identified as today's genus Aristolochia. Its three more common species in the Mediterranean area, Aristolochia clematitis, longa and rotunda, were already differentiated by Dioscorides and Pliny. Both derive their name, distorted in German to Osterluzei, from their relieving effect on births. According to Dioscorides and other…

[German version] (οὐέρτραγος/ o uértragos). Greyhound, which is particularly prized for hare coursing because of its speed; the Latin name vertragus is derived from a Celtic word. The accurate description in Arr. Cyn. 3-6 of a powerful but slim dog with pointed muzzle and long ears enabled [1] to identify ancient depictions of vertragi. When hunting, the dogs which were kept in large compounds were led on leashes by slaves and released only when the prey had been flushed out and was in view. Hunters used to accompany them on horseback. Usually two vertragi were set on each hare, which t…

[German version] (ῥαφανίς/ rhaphanís, ῥάφανος/ rháphanos, etymologically related to ῥάπυς/ rhápys, ῥάφυς/ rháphys, 'beet'; Lat. rhaphanus, radix), the species of crucifer probably bred in Asia Minor from the wild, jointed charlock ( Raphanus raphanistrum L., Rhaphanus sativus L., with the edible, thickened storage root; cultivated in Egypt from the 2nd millennium. The Greeks (from Aristoph. Plut. 544 and other comic writers, cited in Ath. 2,56d-57b) valued the salted root as an appetite-stimulating food and extracted oil from it. T…

[German version] (ὁ, ἡ πέρδιξ/ ho, hē pérdix, its young περδίκιον/ perdíkion, also περδικεύς/ perdikeús and κακκαβίς/ kakkabís after its mating call: κακκαβίζειν/ kakkabízein or τρίζειν/ trízein in Aristot. Hist. an. 4,9,536b 13 f.; Lat. perdix). The scientific name Alectoris graeca Meisner indicates that the bird is still common today, primarily in Greece (but also in Italy) [1. 195 f.], whereas it has been supplanted in other countries by the smaller, browner and synanthropic partridge. Aristotle describes their breeding behaviour, …

[German version] (ἐχῖνος ὁ θαλάσσιος/ echînos ho thalássios; Latin echinus). This echinoderm (member of the class of Echinodermata) is considered by Aristotle (Hist. an. 4,4,528a 7) to be crustaceous (ὀστρακόδερμα/ ostrakóderma) and described in several species, including the edible Echinus esculentus L., (ibid. 4,5,530a 32-b 20). Their eggs, which were eaten particularly by the Romans as a delicacy (Plaut. Rud. 297; Hor. Sat. 2,4,33 on the best being from Misenum; Sen. Epist. 95,26), are mentioned in Aristot. Hist. an. 5,12,544a 18-23…

[German version] ( mannulus) or buricus (according to Porph. Hor. comm. epod. 4,14; Veg. Mulomedicina 3,2,2; for the name [1. 2, 29]) was the name given to the small horse or pony imported from Gaul (for the origin [2. 289]) in the 1st cent. BC to Rome as a luxury animal (Lucr. 3,1063; Plin. Ep. 4,2,3: mannulus; Jer. Ep. 66,8), particularly for ostentatious ladies (Hor. Carm. 3,27,7; Prop. 4,8,15; Ov. Am. 2,16,49f.). People would harness the small, fast and temperamental animal to a two-wheeled coach (‘gig, parva esseda, carpentum, covinnus; [3. 416, 464]: Mart. 12,24,8) or ride it …

[German version] (ἀκόνιτον; akóniton). It is not known for certain which poisonous plants are meant by ἀκόνιτον λυκοκτόνον ( akóniton lykoktónon) and κυνοκτόνον ( kynoktónon) in Dioscorides 4,77 [1. 2,238 f.] = 4,78 [2. 412 f.], Nic. Alex. 13,41 and aconitum, scorpion and myoctonon, Plin. HN 27,4-7. The ‘Wolfesgelegena’ of Hildegard of Bingen [3. 1,156 = 4. 47], used as a hazardous aphrodisiac, is probably not the arnica but rather like the ‘alexandria’ of Konrad of Megenberg V. 36 (in ch. Eleborus = veratrum) [5. 399] a species of the poisonous ranunculaceae genus Aconitum (monk…

[German version] (ῥάφανος, κράμβη, καυλός; rháphanos, krámbē, kaulós; Latin brassica, crambe, caulis, from this Italian cavolo, French chou, German Kohl) is a European vegetable plant ( Brassica oleracea L.) from the Cruciferae family that today is grown in numerous culture strains. It is first mentioned as the heptaphyllous krámbē by Hipponax 40 Diehl (quoted in Ath. 9,370b). Within the rháphanos, Theophr. Hist. pl. 7,4,4 (related by Plin. HN 19,80 to the radish rhaphanís, Latin raphanus) distinguishes, like Cato Agr. 157,1-3 and Ath. 9,369e-f, three varieties of cab…

[German version] Phalacrocorax carbo (L.), a dark-feathered, fish-eating, goose-sized member of the web-footed group ( steganopodes), mentioned in Aristot. Hist. an. 7(8),593b 18-22 as the so-called ‘raven’ (κόραξ; kórax), and as breeding in trees. The phalacrocorax (‘bald-headed raven’) in Plin. HN 10,133, at that time native to the Balearics, used to be identified as the cormorant [1. 196f.], but is nowadays thought to be the hermit ibis or crested ibis ( Comatibis eremita), now extinct in Europe. A synonym found in Plin. HN 11,130 is corvus aquaticus. The Middle Minoan Hagia …

[German version] The striped mullet ( Mullus surmuletus) and red mullet ( M. barbatus), popular for eating, were called τρίγλη/ tríglē or Latin m. (for an ocean fish μύλλος/ mýllos: [1]). Mention is made of the red colouring (Sen. Q Nat. 3,18; Opp. Hal. 1,130; Athen. 4,135b and 7,325e), the beard strands on the lower lip (Plin. HN 9,64; Cic. Parad. 5,38: barbatulus; Cic. Att. 2,1,7; Varro Rust. 3,17,7: barbatus) as well as a gluttony that does not shrink even from floating corpses (Ael. Nat. 2,41; Opp. Hal. 3,432-442; Aristot. Hist. an. 7(8), 2,591a 12f.). Aristo…

[German version] German ‘Grille’, Pliny's gryllus (HN 29, 138) probably is the field cricket, Gryllus campestris, which runs backwards (thus Nigidius Figulus), digs into the ground and chirps at night with its wings ( stridere). As a paste, a cricket (dug out with its earth) helps against ear aches. It is drawn from its earthen hole using an ant tied to a hair as bait [1. 132]. Isid. Orig. 12,3,8 conveyed this information to the Middle Ages. It is uncertain if the wingless, locust-like insect trixalis in Plin. HN. 30,49 is a cricket because Ael. NA 6,19 only says that the trōchallís is ‘not si…

[German version] ( Lepus europaeus Pallas). The hare can be found from Central Europe to the Near East and South Africa in cultivated steppe lands and in forests. Its name: λαγωός ( lagōós; Homeric), λαγώς, λαγῶς ( lagṓs, lagôs; Attic), λαγός ( lagós; Ionian, Doric), λέπορις ( léporis; Aeolian, Sicilian: Varro, Rust. 3,12,6), Latin lepus or the derivatives thereof λαγίον; lagíon, λαγίδιον; lagídion, λαγιδεύς; lagideús, furthermore special appellations according to characteristic features such as ‘ducker’ (πτώξ; ptṓx; Hom. Il. 17,676; Aesch. Eum. 326; Theophr. Hist. pl. …

[German version] (χαραδριός; charadriós). A water bird, perhaps a shearwater, nesting in holes in the ground and in cliffs, and seldom seen by day (Aristoph. Av. 266). It was held to be gluttonous (Aristoph. Av. 1140f.), of ugly colour and cry (Ps.-Aristot. Hist. An. 9,11,615a1-3), and said to be white (9,3,593b 17; Pl. Grg. 494 b). Sight of it was supposed to heal jaundice, and accordingly it was sold covered (Ael. NA 17,13; Plut. Symp. 5,7,2; Heliodor 3,8 i.a.). In Plin. HN 30,94 it is called avis icterus or galgulus, owing to its yellow colour. In the Greek Physiologus (c. 3) an…

[German version] (OHG tilli, related to NHG Dolde [umbel], Lat. anetum). Probably identical with the umbellifera ( Anethum graveolens L., ἄ[ν[ν]ηθον; á[n[n]ēthon, Aeolic ἄνητον; ánēton, Alc. in Ath. 15,674d), which was introduced from Asia Minor in antiquity. This popular kitchen herb (sown according to Palladius, Opus agriculturae 3,24,5 and 4,9,5 or 10,13,3 and 11,11,4, in February/March and September/October) with bare seeds (Theophr. Hist. pl. 7,3,2 = Plin. HN 19,119) is mentioned in Theophr. Hist. pl. 1,11,2 and P…

[German version] (Lat. glis). The biggest central and southern European species of the nocturnal rodent family of dormice with a body length of 13-20 cm and a tail length of 10-18 cm. From the 2nd cent. BC onwards the dormouse was fattened for gourmet consumption by the Romans in special breeding enclosures ( gliraria, description in Varro, Rust. 3,15) with beech nuts, chestnuts and walnuts (example of the high return: Varro, Rust. 3,2,14; roasted and coated with honey and sprinkled with poppy: Petron. Sat. 31,10; Apicius 8,408). In 115 BC this …

[German version] (Greek ἡ [σ]μῖλος/ [s]mîlos, σμῖλαξ/ smîlax: Dioscorides, τὸ θύμαλλον/ thýmallon; Latin taxus, f.), a fir-like evergreen (Theophr. Hist. pl. 1,9,3; Plin.  HN 16,80) and long-lived (cf. Plin. ibid.  16,212) forest tree, the yew ( Taxus baccata L.). In Antiquity the cold-insensitive taxus (Verg. G 2,113) was widespread. Homer does not mention it, but Theophrastus knows the  mîlos well (Hist. Pl. 3,4,2 and 3,10,2; 4,1,3 and 5,7,6;   cf.  Plin.  HN 16,50 f.). Its needles and seeds (within the red berries) were already known to be poisonous…

[German version] (κέδρος, kédros, Cedar). This evergreen genus of conifer was common throughout the northern hemisphere during the Cretaceous and Tertiary, but largely died out during the second to last ice age. Only in the Himalayas ( C. deodara), in Lebanon (only approximately 400 trees left) and Asia Minor ( C. libani = libanotica, in the Taurus and the Antitaurus), on Cyprus ( C. brevifolia) and in the Atlas (below 2,700 m, C. atlantica) do related species still grow. As early as c. 2750 BC, the aromatic and durable wood of the cedar was being exported to Egypt from the T…

[German version] The common raven, Corvus corax (κόραξ/ kórax, apparently derived from korós, 'black'; the juvenile, κορακῖνος/ korakînos, e.g., in Aristoph. Equ. 1053; Lat. corvus), originally distributed throughout Europe and Egypt (Ael. NA 2,48; smaller in Egypt, according to Aristot. Hist. an. 9(8),28, 606a 23 f.) and at least as large as a buzzard, is the largest of the European songbirds. Its characteristic call is 'kronk' or 'prrruk', but its vocalizations are otherwise highly varied (64 sounds, according to Ful…

[German version] A domesticated form of the polecat ( Mustela putorius furo), specially bred to hunt for rabbits in their underground burrows, a member of the genus Mustela of the weasel family ( Mustelidae). Plin. HN 8,218 mentions the existence of ferrets (under the name of viverra) on the Balearic Islands. Isid. Orig. 12,2,39 is the first to transmit the description furo, derived from furvus (‘dark’). The earliest detailed description is provided by Thomas of Cantimpré 4,42 ([1. 135f.] c. AD 1240). He notes the similarity of the furunculus (popularly known as furetus) with the pole…

[German version] (Greek κώνειον/ kṓneion due to its conical ovary κῶνος; kônos, Lat. cicuta, other names were derived from its poisonous effect, e.g. in Dioscorides 4,78 Wellmann = 4,79 Berendes), the umbellifer which grows wild in Europe in two species (the spotted hemlock, Conium maculatum and water hemlock, Cicuta virosa). Theophrastus (Hist. pl. 1,5,3) mentions the fleshy and hollow (ibid. 6,2,9) stem of the plant which is similar to devil's dung ( Ferula asafoetida) ( Narthex [1]). The root, when brewed, leaves a residue stronger than that of the umbel (differin…

[German version] (σκόμβρος/ skómbros, σκομβρίς/ skombrís, Latin scomber, κολίας/ kolías with unexplained etymology according to [1], Latin colias), the predatory marine fish, Scomber scombrus L. of the sub-species of the Scombroidea, that is often confused with the tuna because of its kinship with it. The mackerel, which according to Plin. HN 9,49 has a sulphury yellow colour in the water ( sulpureus color), comes, according to Aristot. Hist. an. 7(8),13,599a 1-3, in large schools to spawn on the sea coasts. Its catch (details in Opp. Hal. 3,576-595) was p…

[German version] Through Plin. HN 12,28 we know that the Romans did not import the rhizome of the zingiber or zimpiber (Zingiber officinalis L.), a bitter-tasting spice, from Asia like today but from Arabia and Troglodytia (southern Egypt). Palladius used it to spice preserved quinces (Agric. 11,20,2). Dioscorides attributes to the zingíberi a warming, stomach-friendly effect (2,160 Wellmann = 2,189 Berendes). It helped with cataracts and in antidotes. Hünemörder, Christian (Hamburg) Bibliography R. Stadler, s.v. Ingwer, RE IX 2, 1554.

[German version] In the Mediterranean region there are about 12 species of the coniferous genus P inus (cf. p icea spruce): In the west, 1) p inus pinea L ., the stone pine (Italian: pino domestico cf. πεύκη ἥμερος; peúkē hḗmeros) with cones (στρόβιλοι / stróbiloi, θύρσοι / thýrsoi) containing edible seeds (κόκκιλοι / kókkiloi, κόκκωνες / kókkōnes); 2) the maritime pine, Pinus maritima (= p inaster Sol.); In the east, 3) the fine-needled aleppo pine, Pinus halepensis; 4) Pinus peuce Grisebach, which grows only on a few mountains of the northern Balkans along with various sp…

[German version] (κιννάμωμον/ kinnámōmon, κασσία/ kassía; Lat. cinnamomum, -a, cinnamum, cas(s)ia). In antiquity as now, the aromatic bark of various varieties of the cinnamon bush (esp. C. zeylanicum Br., C. cassis Br., C. Burmanni Bl.) was dried and sold in the form of rolled sticks. The  Phoenicians passed the knowledge (Hdt. 3,111) on to the Greeks, but the spice's real origin from south or south-eastern Asia ( India II.) remained unknown. Thus it was generally assumed that cinnamon grew in the south-west of the Arabian peninsula and the opposing shores of eastern Africa (  kinnamōm…

[German version] was evidently neither noticed nor unambiguously given a name by the Greeks. In Dioskurides (1,21 Wellmann) βρύον ( brýon), actually means, amongst other things, lichens on oak trees. The Latin muscus describes not only this lower plant but also often algae or lichens. In order to improve a poor meadow, Columella 2,17,2 and Pall. Agric. 10,10,3 recommend pulling out moss or eradicating it by scattering ashes. Moss should also be removed from the base of grape vines in order to promote their growth (Columella. 4…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[German version] (Αἰῶραι; aiôrai). According to Poll. 4,131, a theatre machine consisting of cables with which the gods or heroes were able to float forth in flight, obviously a Hellenistic invention [1.291]. Hünemörder, Christian (Hamburg) Bibliography 1 H. Bulle, in: ABAW 1928.

[German version] ( Felis tigris L., Greek ὁ/ἡ τίγρις/ tígris, Latin tigris), a large striped (cf. Plin. HN 8,62) cat, widespread in Asia originally from Hyrcania to India (incorrectly in Ptol. 4,8,4: Ethiopia). According to Varro Ling. 5,100 and Str. 11,14,8 (term τόξευμα/ tóxeuma; cf. Isid. Orig. 12,2,7: sagitta for the Medes and Persians) the name is derived from Iranian tigra = 'pointed', 'sharp'. The Greeks first learned of the animal through Alexander's campaign (Curt. 9,30,1; Ps.-Callisthenes 3,17,32; Arr. Ind. 15,1 f.). Based on Indian sources Cte…

[German version] This Central European predatory fish ( Esox lucius L.), wide-mouthed with many teeth, was unknown to the Greeks. Auson. Mos. 120-124 by contrast mentions the pike ( lucius) as an enemy of frogs that lurks in ponds in the algae and is not valued in the kitchen. The Greek physician Anthimus [1] (De Observatione Ciborum 40; [1. 18]), on the other hand, gives a Germanic recipe. Thomas of Cantimpré 7,48 [2. 264f.], following a contemporary 13th-cent. source ( Liber Rerum, cf. Alexander Neckam 2,32 [3. 147]), identifies the pike with lupus marinus and describes it as a pa…

[German version] A gentian plant ( Menanthes trifoliata L.), unknown in antiquity, wrongly described in 16th- and 17th-cent. books on herbs as bog bean or water trefoil ( Trifolium fibrinum). It is widespread in marsh flats and, because of its bitter qualities, is today used i.a. to combat fever and worms. What was called μινυανθές ( minyanthés) in Dioscorides 3,109 [1. 119f.] = 3,113 [2. 336f.] and Plin. HN 21,54 (used for tying wreaths) and ἀσφάλτιον ( aspháltion) was in fact the leguminous plant Psoralea bituminosa L.  Clover varieties Hünemörder, Christian (Hamburg) Bibliography 1…

[German version] (ὄνος/ ónos, πολύπους/ polýplous, ὀνίσκος/ onískos, κούβαρις/ koúbaris, κύαμος/ kýamos, τύλον/ týlon, centi-, mille- (or mili-) and multipedium). The common woodlouse, rough woodlouse or pill bug (mentioned as early as Soph. fr.363 N2) of the Crustacea subphylum, at Aristot. Hist. an. 5,31,557a 24f. (on similarities between fish lice and many-legged ὄνοι/ ónoi), Dioscorides 2,35 [1. 1. 133] (on many-legged ὄνοι which curl up under water containers when disturbed as helpful against e.g. jaundice and as a component of injections aga…

[German version] In antiquity seven varieties of the crow family (Corvidae) were identified: 1. the common raven (κόραξ/ kórax, Lat. corvus; Corvus corax L.); 2. the carrion crow and hooded crow (κορώνη/ korṓnē, Lat. cornix, cornicula; C. corone L. and C. cornix L.) and probably also the gregarious nester, the rook ( C. frugilegus L.); 3. the  jackdaw (κολοιός/ koloiós, βωμωλόχος/ bōmōlóchos, Lat. monedula or graculus; Coloeus monedula); 4. the  jay (κίσσα/ kíssa, κίττα/ kítta, Lat. pica; Garrulus glandarius); 5. the  magpie ( Pica pica), linguistically not distinguished from n…

[German version] Seven of the probably 15 identified representatives of the family of the Cottidae are of major significance: 1) The armed gurnard (Peristedion cataphractum C.) that growls after being caught is ─ according to Aelianos (NA 13,26), who calls it τέττιξ ἐνάλιος/ téttix enálios (‘Sea Cicada’) ─, darker than the κάραβος/ kárabos, the lobster. The inhabitants of Seriphus are said to have spared it because it was dedicated to Perseus. 2) The flying gurnard (Dactylopterus volitans L.) is said, as ἱέραξ ὁ θαλάττιος/ hiérax ho thaláttios, Latin accipiter (‘Marine goshawk’), t…

[German version] (μύρμηξ; mýrmēx; formica, for etymology see Walde/Hofmann). As social insects almost solely observed transporting their food on their tracks (Aristot. Hist. an. 8(9),38,622b 24-27; Plin. HN 11,108-110) and otherwise mentioned only rarely (Ael. NA 6,43 [cf. 1.2.417 f.] and passim), but highly regarded because of their supposed abilities and their behaviour, particularly Plut. de sollertia animal. 11 ( terrestriane an aquatilia animalia 967d-968b [cf. 1.2.417 f.]) and in Greek Physiol. cap. 12 ([2.44-50], cf. Byzantine redaktor cap. 27 [2.25…

[German version] Aristotle had a knowledge of fish (ἰχθύς; ichthýs, Pl. ἰχθύες; ichthýes), the modern class of vertebrates, as a sub-group of aquatic animals (ἔνυδρα; énydra) that was almost even better than his knowledge of birds, and he provides about 133 names in the Historia animalium. Of these however many sea fish must remain unidentified. He was informed by experienced fishermen whom he questioned, for example, at the rich fish market in Athens. He clearly distinguishes the cartilagenous fish that are phosphorescent in the dark as σελάχη ( seláchē; of σέλας, sélas, ‘light’) [1.…

[German version] Insect; φθείρ/ phtheír, Latin pediculus, late Latin also tinea (Isid. Orig. 12, 5,11: vestimentorum vermis). Of the supposedly 53 species [1], only three parasites of humans are important. 1. The crab louse, Phirus pubis (L.), (φθείρ ἄγριος/ phtheir ágrios: Aristot. Hist. an. 5,31,557a 4-10; cf. Hdt. 2,37 on the shaving of body hair among the Egyptian priests), which is said to be responsible for φθειρίασις βλεφάρων/ phtheiríasis blephárōn (louse-infestation of the eyelids) (Cels. 6,6,15). 2. The clothes louse, Pediculus humanus, which likes to sit in sheep'…

[German version] The ancient term σχοῖνος ( schoînos), Latin iuncus covers today's false grasses of the Juncaceae (especially Juncus) and Cyperaceae ( Schoenus and Scirpus among others) families -- the bulrushes and club-rushes, as well as sedges. In antiquity, bulrushes were commonly used for making mats and, in the case of papyrus Cyperus papyrus ( book,  papyrus), as writing materials. The bulbous root of the Mediterranean species C. esculentus provided edible oil [1. 18]. Sweet-tasting leaves were boiled in beer and eaten (μαλιναθάλλη in Theophr. Hist. pl. 4,8,12; cf. anthaliu…

[German version] The smallest species of crow. Pliny (HN 10,77) mentions this flocking bird of upper Italy, with its characteristic proverbial predilection for shiny objects like gold and coins, calling it monedula ( Coloeus monedula, probably identical to κολοιός/ koloiós, attested since Hom. Il. 16,583 and 17,755; atypical statements about the bird in Aristotle (Hist. an. 2,12,504a 19; 2,17,509a 1; 9(8),9,614b 5 and 9(8),24,b 16); common in Aristophanes ([1. 155; 2. 2. 109ff.]). In addition, Pliny knows the graculus, probably the Alpine chough ( Pyrrhocorax alpinus, κορακία…

[German version] The lily, which was already used as a decorative flower in Cretan-Mycenaean art, λείριον/ leírion - from this Latin lilium - or κρίνον/ krínon (Dioscorides; Theophr.) and κρινωνία/ krinōnía (Theophr. Hist. pl. 2,2,1). The adjective λειριόεις/ leirióeis (‘lily-like’ or ‘tender’) is used by Homer Il. 13,830 ironically for the skin of Ajax and 3,152 for the song of the cicadas, as well as Hes. Theog. 41 for that of the Muses. Persephone picks a lily (H. Hom. 2,427). Hdt. 2,92, however, calls the Egyptian Lotus krínon. In Plin. HN 21,22-26 (according to Theophr. 6,6,8…

[German version] On this order of cartilaginous fish (σελάχη/ selách ē, σελάχια/ seláchia, χονδράκοντα/ chondrákonta,  cf. Aristot. Hist.an. 1,2, 489b 6;  Ael. NA 11,37) the sources offer no potential for tidy distinctions, only different terms. Aristotle was indeed familiar with the most important species: 1) Barbelled Hound Shark (κύων/ kýōn, γαλεὸς νεβρίας/ galeòs nebrías), 2) Common Smooth-Hound (γαλεὸς λεῖος/ galeòs leîos, Mustelus laevis), 3) Thresher Shark (ἀλωπεκίας/ alōpekías), 4) Cat Shark (σκύλλιον, scyllium), 5) Dogfish Shark (ἀκανθίας), 6) Starry Smooth…

[German version] (κεῖρις; keîris, Latin ciris) was the name of a water bird [1; 2], nowadays indeterminable, to which the poem Ciris (Ps.-Verg., v. 205 and 501ff.) attributes a white body, blueish wings, a red head and skinny red legs. Scaliger identifies it with a heron who fights the white-tailed eagle ( haliáetos?), according to Aristot. Hist. an. 8(9),1,609b 26; but in Hyg. Fab. 198, in analogy thereto, ciris is a fish pursued by the eagle [3. 144]. In mythology, the legend tells the story of Nisus (transformed into a white-tailed eagle) and his daughter S…