“…we must endeavour to speak of timber [hulē], saying of what nature is that of each tree, what is the right season for cutting [temnein] it, which kinds are hard or easy to work, and anything else that belongs to such an enquiry.” Theophrastus Enquiry into Plants 5.1.1, adapted from translation by Holt (p417) Theophrastus, (c371–287 BCE) was a pupil of Plato and later a pupil and friend of Aristotle,… Read more
It occurred to me one day that Sparta, though among the most thinly populated of states, was evidently the most powerful and most celebrated city in Greece; and I fell to wondering how this could have happened. But when I considered the institutions of the Spartans, I wondered no longer. Lycurgus, who gave them the laws that they obey, and to which they owe their prosperity, I do regard with… Read more
Having come across across references to trees and to wooden construction in the Iliad and Odyssey, my curiosity was piqued, and I decided to gather a few examples where wood and trees were mentioned, to try and better understand what these meant in Homeric and Hesiodic poetry. Are there any special associations with trees or using wood? What kinds of trees are mentioned? There are a number of similes with… Read more
When one visits the famous ancient sites of Greece, one soon realizes that most of these were built at places sacred to one or more of the ancient Greek gods—Zeus, Hera, Apollo, Athena and Poseidon among them. It seems the gods were a real presence to the ancient Greeks, influencing how they lived their everyday lives, their political decisions, and their world view. They seem to have believed they could… Read more
Mycenaean gold When we see the golden artefacts found in the Grave Circles A and B at Mycenae and the so-called “treasure of Priam,” it shows an incredible abundance of gold, silver and bronze in the Mycenaean period. Even in Homeric poetry we have the mention of “Mycenae rich in gold” [polúkhrusos][1], and there are references various metals in Homeric and Hesiodic poetry: silver, gold, iron, along with copper and… Read more