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[German version] (derived from Latin lens, lentis or lenticula; Greek φακός/ phakós), Ervum lens L., a pulse cultivated for millennia, especially in Egypt (two species in Plin. HN 18,123). For their mush (φακῆ/ phakê) Esau sacrificed his right as the firstborn (Gn 25:34). Among the Greeks, Solon fr. 26,3 and Hdt. 4,17 (cultivation among the Scythes) are the first to mention lentils. In Aristoph. (e.g. Equ. 1002 and Vesp. 811) as well as in Ath. 4,158a-d the lentils dish is the meal of the poor. Theophrastus (Hist. pl. 2,4,2 and…

[German version] (Ἀργεστής; Argestḗs). The north-west wind, e.g. in Aristot. Mete. 2,6,364a 14, that is set on the astronomical wind rose as the middle wind between the north and west (ζέφυρος; zéphyros) winds at the sunset point of the summer solstice. It was considered to be strong, cool, clearing and dry. Other names: Skiron in Attica, among the Greeks sailing to Sicily Iapyx and on the Italian west coast Κερκίας ( Kerkías). In Plin. HN 2,119, Vitr. De arch. 1,6,1 and Sen. Q. Nat. 5,16,5 it is called Corus. Aristot. Ανέμων θέσεις ( Anémōn théseis), 973b 13-15 cites for the Ἰάπυξ ( Iápyx) the …

[German version] (σάπφειρος/ sáppheiros, Latin sapp(h)irus). A precious stone, identical not with our modern sapphire, but with the speckled lapis lazuli (Theophr. 8; 23 and 37 Eichholz; Plin. HN 33,68 and 161; 37,119 f.), which was introduced from Egypt by the Greeks. It was not until the 3rd cent. AD onwards that it was used by the Romans for jewellery or amulets. Hünemörder, Christian (Hamburg) Bibliography 1 D. E. Eichholz (ed.), Theophrastus De lapidibus, 1965.

[German version] (Greek ὀστρακόδερμα/ ostrakóderma) or crustaceans. They partly correspond with today's phylum of the Echinodermata, i.e. the marine feather stars, starfishes and brittle stars, the  sea urchins and sea cucumbers. Aristotle who gave them the name and lists in Hist. an. 1,6,490b10 the phylum as that of the  shells ( óstrea), does however also include the  sponges (modern phylum Porifera), sea anemones (modern class Anthozoa of the phylum jellyfish, Cnidaria), sea squirts ( ascidia, modern class of sea squirts, tunicates), and the marine and land snails …

[German version] For the most part, the names ἔλαφος/ élaphos (from Hom. Il. 11,475 and passim) or cervus (= horned animal, from Plaut. Poen. 530) and νεβρός/ nebrós (deer-calf, Hom. Il. 8,248; Od. 19,228: ἑλλός/ hellós) or inuleus (Hor. Carm. 1,23,1; Prop. 3,13,35) refer to the red deer, Cervus elaphus L. The smaller fallow deer (or the roe?), Dama dama (L.) (Hom. Od. 17,295: πρόξ/ próx), Lat. dama (confused with the  gazelle!), with its palmate antlers was introduced into Greece and to some extent Italy from Asia (reference: Arr. Anab. 7,20,4: herds on the es…

[German version] (πιστάκη/ pistákē from the Aramaic fustaqā, Arabic fustuq; Lat. pistacia). The fruit-tree Pistacia vera, of the family Anacardiaceae, originated in Mesopotamia and Syria, and produces flavoursome drupes (πιστάκια/ pistákia). The pistachio became known to the Greeks through the conquests of Alexander [4] the Great. Theophr. Hist. pl. 4,4,7 mentions it as being similar to the 'terebinth' (τέρμινθον/ términthon) - still unnamed - which grew in Bactria. According to Plin. HN 15,91, L. Vitellius introduced it to Italy from Syria in AD 35 under Tiberius, and the eques Po…

[German version] (Latin Septentrio). Later name for the north wind on the wind rose, in Vitr. De arch. 1,6 etc. formed according to the northern constellation, the Great Bear (ἀπὸ τῶν τῆς ἄρκτου τόπων; apò tôn tês árktou tópōn). It was characterized as cold, strong, driving away clouds and so brightening, dry, healthy but also as bringing thunderstorms and hail. In Aristot. Mete. 2,6,364a 13-15 it is regarded as one of the north winds (Βόρεια; Bóreia) along with the Thrascias and Meses. Hünemörder, Christian (Hamburg) Bibliography K. Nielsen, Les noms grecs et latins des vents, i…

[German version] (ἀμμωνιακόν; ammōniakón). According to Dioscorides 3,84 [1.2.100 ff.] = 3,88 [2.322 f.], name for a plant gum resin (cf. Plin. HN 12,107) of the umbellate plant Ferula tingitana L. from Libya that is said to have warming, antispasmodic and even abortive powers. In other authors it is also a rock salt from the same region with astringent and purifying effects. Hünemörder, Christian (Hamburg) Bibliography 1 M. Wellmann (ed.), Pedanii Dioscuridis de materia medica vol. 2, 1906 repr. 1958 2 J. Berendes (ed.), Des Pedanios Dioskurides Arzneimittellehre, tran…

[German version] (κόκκυξ/ kókkyx, since Hes. Op. 486; Suda s.v. κοῦκκος/ koûkkos, Lat. cucul(l)us first at Plaut. Trin. 245, then at Plin. HN 18,249; 28,156 and 30,85; coccyx: Plin. HN 10,25), the well-known brood parasite and migratory bird that appears early in Greece (Dionysius, Ixeutika 1,13, [1. 11]). The cry that gives rise to its name (verb: κοκκύζειν/ kokkýzein, Hes. loc. cit.) was just as striking as its practise of depositing an egg (rarely are there two) in the nests of various small birds (in Aristot. Hist. an. 6,7,564a 2 the ὑπολαΐς/ hypolaḯs, probably a warbler). Aristot…

[German version] Of the Salmonidae family, Antiquity was familiar with: 1. the salmon proper, Salmo salar L., as ἴσοξ/ ísox ( isox Isid. Orig. 20,2,30), mentioned in Plin. HN 9,44 for the Rhine and Sulp. Sev. Dialogi 2,10,4 for the Liger (Loire). Auson. Mos. 97-105 describes it accurately; 2. the sea trout, Salmo trutta trutta, as fario (Auson. Mos. 128-130 and Isid. Orig. 12,6,6: varii) or salmo marinus (Plin. HN 9,68, but according to [1. 119] no. 1); 3. the brown trout, Salmo trutta fario, may be meant by salmo fluviatilis (Plin. HN 9,68) in Aquitania. Auson. Mos. 88 characterizes the sala…

[German version] Not distinguished by the Greeks as a sub-order with their own collective name from other shelled molluscs (κογχύλια/ konchýlia, Latin conchylia or conchae). Aristotle (Hist. an. 4,4,528a 11-13), however, contrasts SAS with bivalve (δίθυρα/ díthyra) ὀστρακόδερμα/ ostrakóderma (Mussels) as μονόθυρα/ monóthyra. Many species did have their own names: 1. The sea-snail κῆρυξ/ kêryx, Latin bucinum, commonly Triton's trumpet or trumpet shell,  Tritonium nodiferum Lam. Aristotle describes its bodily parts (Hist. an. 4,4,528a 1-11; 528a 33-b 13; 528b …

[German version] ( unionum conchae). The pearl oyster ( concha, Plin. HN 9,106; cf. Shells D. 3.), imported from India (Plin. HN 9,106), provided the valuable pearl (μαργαρίτης/ margarítēs, margarita), but its shell covered with the same substance was scarcely used. We know only that Nero (Suet. Nero 31) had the walls in his palace in Rome, the domus aurea -- still partially traceable -- decorated with mother-of-pearl. Hünemörder, Christian (Hamburg) Bibliography A. Schramm, s.v. P., RE 19, 867  Blümner, Techn. 22, 380.

[German version] (Late Antiquity verbena; Greek ἱερὰ βοτάνη/ hierà botánē, 'sacred herb', or περιστερεών/ peristereṓn, 'dove herb'), the Common Vervain ( Verbena officinalis L.) in the Verbenaceae family. It grows as a herbaceous plant, chiefly on walls and paths, and has small purple flowers on branched panicles. The modern scientific name indicates its great medicinal significance, primarily as an astringent for haemorrhage, fever, headaches and hyperhidrosis (Dioscorides 4,59 f. Wellmann = 4,60 f. Berendes;  cf. Plin.  HN 25,105 f.). Among the Romans, verbenaca was used…

[German version] (ἄσβεστος; ásbestos), according to [1. 171] in Dioscorides 5,115 [2. 85f.] = 5,132 [3. 539] the name for burnt lime, also λίθος ἀμίαντος, or, according to the main site of discovery, Καρύστιος, is the well known fibrous variety of the hornblende that, being fire-resistant, was made into fabrics and lamp-wicks. According to Plin. HN 19,19f. this supposed species of flax from India was very precious; according to Dioscorides 5,138 [2. 99] = 5,155 [3. 550] the amiantus stone from Cypr…

[German version] Γέρανος ( géranos), Lat. grus or gruis refers to the common crane ( Grus grus), but grus Balearica in Plin. HN 11,122 refers to the demoiselle crane ( Grus virgo [1. 131f.]; also, cf. 10,135 grues minores or vipiones). The bird's main characteristic is its long legs (Lucil. 168). Spring and autumn migrations of the crane were closely watched in the Mediterranean area since it flew over the region, but did not brood there (Hom. Il. 2,460; Aristot. Hist. an. 8(9),10,614b 18-26; Plut. Lucullus 39,5; wedge formation in C…

[German version] Classical antiquity knew only one species each from two genera of the Alaudidae family: the crested lark ( Galerida cristata L.), ἡ κόρυδος/ kórydos, κορύδαλος/ korýdalos; Latin corydalus (Marcellus, De medicamentis 29,30), galerita (Plin. HN 10,137), cassita (Gell. NA 2,29,3), Celtic alauda (Plin. HN 11,121; Marcellus, ibid. 28,50), is distinguished from the skylark ( Alauda arvensis L.), which appears in Greece only as a winter visitor, by the feather crest according to Aristot. Hist. an. 8(9),25,617b 19-23. The crested lark is the s…

[German version] Whether γαλῆ/ galê or ἰκτίς/ iktís, Lat. mustela or viverra, respectively, describes the ermine ( Mustela erminea L.) or the polecat ( M. putorius L.) remains unclear. However, the polecat is not found in modern Greece [1. vol. 1, 163]. The Romans evidently feared this animal as a predator of poultry; already Varro (Rust. 3,12,3), using the term faelis (in Columella 8,14,9, the terms are 'viverra, faelesve ... mustela'), states that it must be kept away from poultry yards. Aristotle, in any case, knows the galê well (bony genitalia: Hist. an. 2,1,500b 24 = Plin…

[German version] (Latin ulmus, f.). Several species of this genus of trees in the Ulmaceae family grow in the Mediterranean region, notably the smooth-leaved elm ( Ulmus carpinifolia Gled., Greek πτελέα/ pteléa) and the wych elm ( U. scabra Mill.), which only grows as a shrub in Greece. It is already encountered in Homer (Il. 6,419 f.; 21,242-245 and 350). Theophrastus (Hist. pl. 3,14,1) differentiates in his excellent description a ὀρειπτελέα/ oreipteléa ( Ulmus scabra; atinia in Plin. HN 16,72; cf. Columella 5,6,2 and De arboribus 16,1) from the shrubby common elm, probably U. nemora…

[German version] (Ἱππόκαμπος/ Hippókampos, Latin equus marinus). The sea horse, which Paus. 2,1,9 defines as a ‘horse, which is like a sea monster (κῆτος; kêtos) from the chest downwards’ (cf. Serv. Georg. 4,387: in the first part a horse, changing into a fish in the last part). The hippokampos is not identical with the homonymous Mediterranean fish that is mentioned by Plin. HN 32,58 et passim as a remedy (e.g. the spotted seahorse, hippocampus guttulatus [1. 138]). Literary references are rare (e.g. Str. 8,7,2 [384]). According to Ael. NA 14,20 the stomach of a hippokampos, cooked and…

[German version] The name ἡ ἀηδών/ aēdṓn (‘singer’, other derivations ἀηδονίς/ aēdonís, ἀηδονιδεύς/ aēdonideús, among others) and Latin luscinia, luscinius or lusciniola in Varro, Rust. 3,5,14 (perhaps ‘twilight singer ’[1. 1,838]), or poetic aedon, aedonius and philomela in general describe the nightingale ( Luscinia megarhynchos Brehm), from the subfamily of the thrushes, which is very widespread around the Mediterranean. The grey-brown bird, which lives inconspicuously and hidden, is not more closely described. Only Aristot. Hist. an. …

[German version] A predator of the marten family ( Mustelidae), called meles ( maeles, Varro, Rust. 3,12,3; melo, Isid. Orig. 12,2,40) by the Romans; it was nocturnal and probably unknown to the Greeks [1]. Pliny maintains wrongly (HN 8,138) that it could defend itself against humans and dogs by puffing itself up, and otherwise only mentions it in comparison with other animals. Without taking into consideration the notes of the physician Marcellus Empiricus (36,5) who under the name of adeps taxoninus (which was Celtic) according to Isidore, Orig. 20,2,24, with a quotation …

[German version] (Κύκνος/ kýknos, Latin cygnus or olor) is the term not only for the mute swan., Cygnus olor, which breeds in Europe, but also for the Nordic whooper swan, C. cygnus (L.), which migrated as a winter visitor, probably occasionally as far …

[German version] ( aeruca in Vitr. De arch. 7,12, or aerugo [1.136], Greek ἰός; iós). The poisonous verdigris produced by the effect of damp air or acids, copper acetate, was scratched off (ξυστός; xystós) or as type σκώληξ ( skṓlēx…

…

[German version] (Greek βελόνη ( belónē), also ῥαφίς ( rhaphís) or ἀβλεννής ( ablennḗs), Ath. 7,305d; 319cd; 8,355 f.). A saltwater fish that lives in a school (Aristot. Hist. an. 8(9),2,610 b 6) (Plin. HN 32,145), the pipefish [1. 9] of the syngnathus family or the garfis…

[German version] It is doubtful whether representatives of the two orders of the grebes ( Podicipidae) or the northern European loons ( Colymbidae) were known to antiquity. In any case almost all grebes spent the winter at the Mediterranean. The οὐρία/ ouría (Ath. 9,395e), whi…

[German version] ( cassia, κασσία; kas〈s〉ía) was the name originally given to species of Cinnamomum, especially C. zeylanicum ( Cinnamon, κιννάμωμον in Hdt. 3,107) and C. cassia (from southern China, cf. Theophr. Hist. pl. 9,5,1 and 3; Dioscorides 1,13 [1. 1,17f.] = 2.1,12 [2. 35ff.]), but also, already in antiquity, to species of the genus of…

[German version] [1] An animal (κύων/ kýōn, κυνίδιον/ kynídion, κυνίσκος/ kynískos, σκύλαξ/ skýlax, σκυλάκιον/ skylákion, canis, canicula, catellus). Hünemörder, Christian (Hamburg) [German version] A. Breeds One of the oldest domestic animals, bred in various parts of the world, probably starting in the Mesolithic era, from varieties of wild dogs that have now died out. The theory of its descent from the golden jackal ( Canis aureus) [2] has now been abandoned. From bone remains and from graphic representations several early breeds can be identified as the a…

[German version] This colourful songbird (σίττη/ síttē, ὄρνις ποιός/ órnis poiós, οἱ δὲ δρυοκολάπτης/ dryokoláptēs: Hesych. s.v.) which is related to the tit-mouse and behaves in a similar manner to the woodpecker is found in Greece as the lighter coloured rock nuthatch, Sitta syriaca, which likes to break open almond kernels. In Aristot. Hist. an. 8(9),17,616b 21-25 the síttē  is quarrelsome but caring towards her many chicks. On the basis of her adroitness she is considered skilled in the art of healing. On account of the alleged destruction of the e…

[German version] (παιωνία/ paiōnía, Latin paeonia or glycyside, cf. Isid. Orig. 17,9,48, Paeonia officinalis Rtz.). The red- or white-flowered peony was cultivated not for its beautiful blooms but for its alleged therapeutic effect. According to Dioscorides (3,140 Wellmann = 3,147 Berendes) the plant was called e.g. γλυκυσίδη ( glykysídē), but the root was called paiōnía, perhaps after the god of healing Apollo Paionios (cf. [1. 100]). The root is eaten to promote menstruation and post-natal purification, drunk in wine it is allegedly helpful e.g. …

[German version] (ὤχρα/ ṓchra, Latin ochra, sil: Plin. HN 33,158), weathered clayey iron oxide compound, which was the most widely used brownish yellow paint in antiquity, sometimes resembling oxblood in appearance. There were four common types of ochre (Plin. HN 33,158-160), the best of which was no longer available after the Laurium silver mines in Attica were depleted (cf. Vitr. De arch. 7,7,1). The second-best type, a grainy ochre containing marble that could withstand etching with burnt lime, was…

[German version] (κιχόριον, κιχόρη, κίχορα; kichórion, kichórē, kíchora in Theophr. Hist. pl. 1,10,7; 7,7,3 and passim; cichorium, cichoreum, cichora in Plin. HN 21,88, and ἐντύβιον, ἔντυβον, intybus or intubus Columella 11,3,27; Plin. HN 19,129). The endive, the name for two related composite species native to the Mediterranean Sea: 1) the mainly perennial wild succory ( Cicorium intybus L.) with its hirsute shoot that are more than one metre high; it has many names in common with the plantain ( plantago) that grows in the same location and was likewise made into syrup an…

[German version] The Indian rhinoceros ( Rhinoceros unicornis L.) and the two African species, the Black rhinoceros ( Diceros bicornis L.) and White rhinoceros ( Ceratotherium simum Burch.), were referred to without distinction as ῥινόκερως/ rhinókerōs, more rarely μονόκερως/ monókerōs (literally 'unicorn' and translated as unicornis in Isid. Orig. 12,2,12), Latin rhinoceros, monoceros. 1. Indian rhinoceros: in literature, the Indian rhinoceros was known only from Ctesias (fr. 14; Phot. Bibl. 72,48b 19ff. Bekker), used by Aristot. Hist. an. 2,1,49…

[German version] (ἐφέδρα, ἐφέδρον; ephédra, ephédron). Type of shrub that has been identified with the almost leafless gymnospermous birch shrub Ephedra campylopoda C.A. Mey, which climbs up trees and cliffs in the Balkan countries. This is supported not only by the alternative name ( anábasis, ἀνάβασις) but also by Pliny's description of the plant (HN 26,36 scandens arborem et ex ramis propendens). There, rubbed into dark wine, it is recommended for coughing and shortness of breath, and is supposed to help against stomach-ache when boiled as a broth and …

[German version] (δάφνη/ dáphnē, Lat. laurus, from which ‘laurel’), Laurus nobilis L., from the mostly tropical family of the Lauraceae. Through cultivation, the bush (demonstrated by fossils since the Tertiary) developed into an evergreen forest tree in the Mediterranean region. In Homer (Od. 9,183), laurel formed a roof over the cave of the Cyclops. Theophrastus (Hist. pl. 1,9,3) distinguishes the cultivated laurel (ἥμερος/ hḗmeros) in many varieties (1,14,4; cf. the types distinguished by name in Plin. HN 15,127-130) from the wild (ἀγρία/ agría) species, erroneously assume…

[German version] A. Zoology According to our sources, it was the Greeks and Romans who first bred bees for honey in antiquity ( Apiculture). They called the honey or worker bee δάρδα, μέλισσα, apis, the male drone ἀνθρήνη, κηφήν, θρώναξ, fucus and the queen bee βασιλεύς, ἡγεμῶν, rex, dux or imperator. In Greece this applied to the uniformly coloured, dark brown Apis cecropia, in Italy mainly to the A. ligustica with two orange rings on its abdomen. The zoological information about them was often incorrect. According to Pliny (HN 11,1 and 5) they had no blood, a…

[German version] (λύγξ/ lýnx, λυγκίον/ lynkíon, according to Ael. NA 7,47, the young was called σκύμνιος/ skýmnios; Latin lynx or chama). The swamp lynx, a small species of cat [1. 1,81f.], and the desert lynx or caracal ( Lynx caracal; probably meant in Plin. HN 8,72) are attested on Egyptian representations (e.g. a swamp lynx? on a middle Minoan fresco from Hagia Triada on Crete together with a cormorant [1. 1,66, Fig. 17]). The northern lynx ( Lynx lynx) from the predatory family of the cats is mentioned by Aristotle (Hist. an. 2,1,499b 24f.: has only half of the cuboi…

[German version] Since there are no descriptions, we can not know whether the two species, beech marten ( Martes foina, with white throat patch) and pine marten ( Martes martes, with yellow throat patch), were known in antiquity. Hom. Il. 10,335 and 458 κτιδέην κυνέην/ ktidéēn kynéēn could be translated as ‘helmet of marten fur’ [1. 1,160].ἴκτις/ íktis (Aristot. Hist. an. 2,1,500b 24; cf. Plin. HN 29,60: mustelarum genus silvestre) may be a weasel. Aristoph. Ach. 880 mentions íktis pelts on the market in Athens; Nik. Ther. 196 speaks of them killing poultry, which suggest…

[German version] [1] Ship with two oars A ship with two oars (δίκωπος; díkōpos), Eur. Alc. 252; Pol. 34,3,2; Luc. 8,565; 10,56). Hünemörder, Christian (Hamburg) [German version] [2] A ship with two protruding banks of oars A ship with two protruding banks of oars, of different length, on the sides (διήρης/ diḗres) and accordingly two synchronous stroke patterns (δίκροτος/ díkrotos). Each oar was serviced by a galley convict (Caes. B Civ. 3,40,4). The Phoenicians were familiar with these ships of two banks of oars as early as around 700 BC.  Ships Hünemörder, Christian (Hamburg) Bibliogra…

[German version] The words βουνιάς/ bouniás, νᾶπυ/ nâpy, Latin napus probably refer to the swede ( Brassica napus L. var. napobrassica). According to Ath. 9,369b Theophrastus was not familiar with it, while Nicander fr. 70 Schn. was. In Greece, according to Plin. HN 19,75 (five local varieties distinguished by Greek physicians) and 20,21 (two kinds: boúnion and boúnias), it is supposed to have been used only as a medicine; Ath. 1,4d knows swedes from Thebes. Diod. Sic. 3,24,1 describes it as similar to the food plants of the Hylophagi people on the Re…

[German version] (ὄνυξ; ónyx) designates an alabaster-like stone, which was imported by the Romans from India, Syria and Asia Minor (Plin. HN 36,59-61), as well as a gemstone with alternating bands of colour (agate, cf. Theophr. De lapidibus 31 [1. 68]) found in several variations. Despite the contention of Plin. HN 37,90 (= Isid. Orig. 16,8,3), the name is not derived from ónyx ('fingernail'). The alabaster-like stone was used to make drinking cups, the feet of beds, containers for ointments and even pillars. The gemstone was used to decorate rings or for cameos [2]. Hünemörder, Christ…

[German version] Pliny (HN 15,98) erroneously believes that the fragum, i.e. the Rosacee Fragaria L. with its three types vesca, viridis collina and moschata, was related to the strawberry tree. According to Virgil (ecl. 3,92), the strawberry grows on the ground. In Ovid (Met. 1,104), its delicious fruit grows spontaneously to provide food in the Golden Age (cf. Plin. HN 21,86). The name fragaria is claimed to have appeared first in Matthaeus Silvaticus ( c. 1344; Lyon 1541) [1]. In Greek, it is called τρίφυλλον μοροφερές ( tríphyllon moropherés). Hünemörder, Christian (Hamburg) Biblio…

[German version] As neither Greeks nor Romans paid much attention to many small songbirds, there is no clear evidence of them either. Medieval miniatures show both colourful finch species quite frequently (chaffinch e.g. [2. fig. 37 b]; goldfinch e.g. [2. fig. 10, 11 a-b, 15, 42, 44]). 1) Chaffinch ( Fringilla coelebs L.), σπίζα/ spíza, σπιζίον/ spizíon, σπίνος/ spínos, φρυγίλος/ phrygílos (Aristoph. Av. 763), ποικιλίς/ poikilís (interpretation uncertain, Aristot. Hist. an. 8[9],1,609a 6f.), fring(u)illa ( -us Mart. 9,5,7). A songbird with a melancholic-sounding (Mart…

[German version] (βίσων/ bísōn, βόνασος/ bónasos; Latin biso, viso or bonasus). A wild ox which, together with the aurochs ( urus), was common in northern Europe (Plin. HN 8,38 and 40; Solin. 20,4), and particularly in Paeonia (Paeones); it had a horse-like mane (Aristot. Hist. an. 2,1,498b 31), inward-curving horns (Aristot. Part. an. 3,2,663a 13) and the ability to fend off enemies by flinging dung (Aristot. loc.cit; Hist. an. 8(9),45,630a 18-b 17). Paus. 10,13,1-4 describes a method for capturing them [1]. That …

[German version] (‘red lead’). Latin equivalent for the red mineral cinnabar (κιννάβαρι/ kinnábari, ‘dragon's blood’, cf. Plin. HN 33,115f. and his source Theophr. De lapidibus 58f. [1. 78, 80]), mercury sulphide (HgS). According to Plin. HN 33,4 and 33,111 it was found in the search for silver in ‘red earth’ ( rubens terra). By about 400 BC, it was being mined in Spain, in Colchis and above Ephesus by grinding and washing sand. According to Q. Verrius Flaccus (in Plin. HN. 33,111f.) minium even enjoed religious respect, because the face of the s…

[German version] Term for those ruminants that at second dentition had both middle incisors in the lower jaw replaced by larger teeth at the age of 1 1/4 to 2 years (Paul. Fest. 4,17). Servius describes just such sheep as preferred sacrificial animals (Serv. Aen. 6,39: mactare praestiterit ... lectas ex more bidentes, ‘it would be better to slaughter ... bidentes selected as prescribed by custom’; later Isid. Orig. 12,1,9; cf. Serv. Aen. 4,57).  Ruminants Hünemörder, Christian (Hamburg) Bibliography Nehring, Jb. für class. Philol., 1893, 64ff. E. Norden, Vergils Aeneis, 6. Buch, …

[German version] (δαφνοειδές or χαμαιδάφνη; daphnoeidés or chamaidáphnē). The name used for two types of daphne in the texts of Dioscorides (4,146 [1. 288 = 2. 444] and 4,147 [1. 289f.= 2. 444]), for Daphne laureola L. or alpina L. from the Thymelaecea genus with evergreen leaves similar to laurel. When drunk, an infusion of these leaves was said to have emetic, expectorant and diuretic properties and also to promote menstruation. They were also distinguished from the varieties with leaves similar to the olive tree such as camelaiva (Dioscorides 4,171 [1. 320] = 4,169 [2. 464]…

[German version] (and other birds of prey). In Antiquity many species of the Falconidae family of birds of prey were grouped under the name ἱέρακες/ hiérakes, Latin accipitres. In Aristot. Hist. an. 8(9),36,620a 17-29 there are 10 species, in Plin. HN 10,21 f. as many as 16, but the information is often too vague for a more precise determination. The most important of them are: 1) The universally common Buzzard ( Buteo buteo), Greek τριόρχης/ triórchēs (allegedly with three testicles), Latin buteo. This plump and allegedly strong (Aristot. ibid. 17) hiérax was an important bird of a…

[German version] Because in Greek the same name (κίσσα/ kíssa or κίττα/ kítta) is used for the magpie ( Pica candata) and the jay, and because these two corvids can be trained to talk, the respective context, as in Plin. HN 10,78 with the mention of the long tail, must ensure the designation. Plin. HN 10,98 reports on their removal of the eggs as a reaction to disruptive observation by humans. Actually, magpies build several nests to protect themselves. However, his description of how they hang two eggs stuck to a …

[German version] (Ion. ἀπηλιώτης; apēliṓtēs, e.g. Thuc. 3,23 and Aristotle, later ἀφηλιώτης; aphēliṓtēs) was the name given to the wind blowing from the east which the Romans translated as subsolanus (Sen. Q. Nat. 5,16,4; Plin. HN 2,119; Gell. NA 2,22,8) or solanus (Vitr. De arch. 1,6,4 f.). On Ephorus' map of the world it comes from the land of the ‘Indoi’, on the wind-rose of the author of the work on the number seven (end of the 5th cent.) it is positioned between the Βορέης ( Boréēs; north-east point) and the Εὖρος ( Eûros; south-east point) [1]. According to Aristot. Met. 2,6,363b…