The Roman calendar was filled with feast days associated with the divinity of nature and her gifts: the Fordicidia for the earth mother Tellus, the Cerialia for the corn goddess Ceres, and the Vinalia for Jupiter and Venus. Moreover, in springtime, the Ambarvalia was held for Dea Dia, the goddess of farming, and the Ludi Florales for Flora, the goddess of plants; in the autumn, the Vertumnalia for Vertumnus and Pomona celebrated the seasonal blessing of fruit. As a peasant people close to nature, the Romans saw the trees, woods and crops as gifts of the gods, but they also knew how to exploit nature and subjugate it. The cultivation of the countryside by clearing, parcelling and road-building was celebrated as a victory over wild nature. During the Augustan period, the poets Vergil and Propertius praised the superior strength of the Roman Empire precisely because of its better environment. Augustus himself propagated the concept of world domination, according to which the Romans were viewed as an element of divine providence. The world was pacified by the Pax Augusta, and in Rome between 13 and 9 bc the Peace Altar was built; there the nurturing Mother Earth (Tellus) was displayed alongside the god-fearing imperial family.

EARTHQUAKES

The area we are examining lies along the Mediterranean/Trans-Asian earthquake belt, and is thus exposed to a high degree of seismicity. Tectonic movements and fracture cleavages caused frequent earthquakes in antiquity. These included both subsidence earthquakes, caused by the collapse of underground caverns, and volcanic and tectonic earthquakes; mudslides and tsunamis were also classed as earthquakes. Both the actions of the gods and natural processes put forward by Ionic natural philosophy were called upon to provide explanations for these phenomena. In the mythological tradition, Poseidon, described as the ‘earth-shaker’ (Ennosigaios), was primarily held responsible for earthquakes. It was therefore necessary to avoid provoking such supernatural powers to fits of anger.

In the scientific view, three interpretations of the earthquake phenomenon arose, the ‘Neptunic’, the ‘pneumatic’ and the ‘volcanic’, along with various combinations of these. In the sixth century bc, Thales of Miletus saw the earth as a kind of ship on an ocean, the waves of which caused it to tremble (Sen. nat. 3.14.1). Anaximander and Anaximenes thought that earthquakes were triggered by air in the fissures of the earth, while Anaxagoras saw seismic shocks as the result of streams of air which had penetrated the earth (Sen. nat. 6.10.1; Amm. Marc. 17.7.12). In classical times Democritus broached the ‘Neptunic’ view that the cause of earthquakes was water currents in underground caverns which had penetrated under the flat earth's surface (Aristot. meteor. 365b), while Empedocles (D/K 31 A 68–9) and Antiphon (D/K 87 B 30–1) supported the ‘volcanic’ theory, which claimed that seismic shocks were caused by fires within the earth. Finally, a new version of the pneumatic approach, propagated by Aristotle in the fourth century bc, gained influence: it posited a porous earth filled with penetrated air (pneuma), the pressure of which increased as a result of water seeping in, so that it pressed outward (Aristot. meteor. 365a–369a). Like Antiphon (c. 480–411 bc), the scholar Posidonius (c. 135–51 bc) saw a connection between seismic and volcanic activities, and thought that fire and water were seeking a way to escape through underground passages. Posidonius also divided the earth into endangered and safe areas (cf. Strab. 12.8.17–18).

The forest cover in the Mediterranean had already been subject to significant change during the centuries before the Greek settlement. Between 5000 and 3000 bc a shift occurred in south-eastern Europe (the Balkans), with cold treeless and wooded steppes and summer-green deciduous and coniferous forests being replaced by evergreen oak-woods. An investigation of the Argolis area of the Peloponnese reveals that it was covered before the Bronze Age (i.e., prior to 3500 bc) with thick deciduous forests of downy oak; in the Bronze Age (the third and second millennia bc), by sparser woods or macchia with evergreen holm oaks and pines; and starting around 900/800 bc, by olive and walnut trees. In addition to the hardwood deciduous trees, such as oak and olive, there were also such evergreen bushes as myrtle and oleander, and, particularly in higher locations, pine and cypress (Fig. 4). Cypresses grew especially in Crete, and cedars in Syria and Phoenicia, where they were primarily felled for shipbuilding (Theophr. hist. plant. 4.1.3, 5.7.1).

In ancient Greece the forests were already a source of energy and of building materials. The available literary information refers particularly to Athens. Attica experienced a rise in population during the seventh and sixth centuries bc, which resulted in increased clearing of the wooded slopes of the nearby Aegaleus and Hymettus Mountains (Figs. 5 and 6). More remote mountains, too, such as the Parnes, Kithairon and Pentelikon ranges, were also used to obtain wood supplies. The comic dramatist Aristophanes (c. 445–386 bc) in his play The Acharnians has charcoal burners from Acharnae appear as a choir, an indication of charcoal trade from the area of the Parnes, based on oak, maple or beech. In the Kithairon Mountains, there is a pass called Dryoskephalai (‘oak heads’, Hdt. 9.39), which indicates an old stand of oak. Thucydides (2.75) reports that at the end of the fifth century bc wood was felled on Kithairon. The Pentelikon Mountains, however, were primarily noted for quarrying of marble. On the plains there were, moreover, numerous olive plantations, which were legally protected (Dem. 43.71), but probably also scattered smaller clusters of oak, fir and elm. During the Peloponnesian War the destruction carried out by the Spartans in the Attic countryside probably rather affected the olive and fruit trees more than the actual woodland with building timber.

BASIC FOODS

Food and diet provide an obvious direct reference to the environment and nature in antiquity. Food had long been associated with human well-being, and this was reflected in the medical literature. The Corpus Hippocraticum, a collection of medical texts from the fifth to the third centuries bc, contains a document about diet which particularly describes a right lifestyle and also addresses the question of food and knowing what is beneficial for humans:

With regard to food supply in ancient times, the ancient historian P. Garnsey distinguishes between ‘food crises’, which he considers to be endemic, and ‘famines’, which he sees as having appeared only occasionally. Moreover, he explains that in cases of food shortages and emergencies, chronic malnutrition or insufficient diet must be assumed. The assumption that the state of health of the population was generally good in Graeco-Roman times is thus called into question. Garnsey accordingly points to illnesses caused by an inadequate diet or vitamin deficiency, such as bladder stones, eye complaints and rickets. One should also note the ‘famine food’ mentioned by the Roman doctor Galen (ad 129–c. 216), which could replace or ‘stretch’ the food supply in bad times. Children and women were particularly affected by poor diet; overall, the urban population was disadvantaged compared with the rural population.

MYTHOLOGY

The ancient legends explained earthly and celestial phenomena and conditions, and thus provided help in orientation and existence. Accordingly, explanatory models also existed for fire and for ritualistic dealings with sacrificial fire. In Greek mythology, Prometheus was considered the bearer of fire. He came from the old family of gods, the Titans, who harked back to Uranus (the sky) and Gaia (the earth), which had then succumbed in the battle with the Olympian gods under Zeus. Prometheus was a symbol of uprising and rebellion, a champion of humankind against the hostility of the gods. The ‘forward-thinking one’, as his name can be translated, became the creator of the human race, and its saviour in the form of the bearing of fire. He was also seen as the god of craftsmen and inventor of all arts.

After Prometheus had created the human race from clay, Zeus wanted to destroy the fragile humans and create new ones. Zeus tried to starve the people by demanding the best parts of their food as sacrifice. Prometheus then cut an ox into pieces, separating the edible and the non-edible parts, the meat from the bones. He disguised the two parts and tried to fool Zeus into choosing the bones. Zeus saw through the trick and planned revenge. He left the meat to the people, while the gods settled for the smoke of the burned bones as a sacrifice. Thus, people need meat, they get hungry and are therefore dependent, transitory – ultimately, mortal, while the gods are independent, undemanding and immortal. The legend explains and justifies the sacrifice as the separation of the people from the gods, a separation which is, however, overcome by that very sacrifice.

The relationship of the Romans to the forest reflected their basic view of nature. On the one hand, the forest was a dark and dismal place, the haunt of wild animals and the questionable gods who held sway there (Plin. nat. 12.3; Sen. epist. 4.41.3). Silvanus, Pan/Faunus and the fauns reduced people to terror with their weird voices. The Romans often used adjectives such as ferus (wild), foedus (horrible), horridus, obscurus or occultus to describe the forests. The historian Tacitus (c. ad 55–120) described Germany as a country of terrible forests and dismal swamps (Germ. 5.1). The forests were seen as the primeval starting point of human life (Vitr. 2.1.1), and as the habitat of barbarians who were at a low stage of civilisation (Lucr. 5.948ff.). The forests were moreover a strategic challenge, particularly in Gaul, Germany and Britain, since the enemy there could withdraw into them and lay ambushes, as was done in the battle of Teutoburg Forest in ad 9. Hence, military advances into these areas necessarily involved the massive felling of trees (Caes. Gall. 3.28–9; Lucan. 3.394ff.).

On the other hand, the forest was a piece of nature's beauty (locus amoenus), a pleasant place to linger under shady trees. This could involve the public forest (silva), a protected grove (lucus) or, in particular, a private piece of woodland belonging to an estate (nemus). Here the forest might serve for relaxation and conversation during the hunt (Hor. epist. 1.4.4–5; Plin. epist. 1.6.2, 2.8.1, 5.6.7–8).

The Romans had terms for breakfast, lunch and supper – ientaculum ,prandium and cena – the first two of which were seen as only minor meals and were mainly eaten cold. In the morning, water with bread and cheese, and sometimes also eggs, olives, capers or milk and honey, would be taken. The midday meal too might be limited to a piece of bread with cheese or cold or smoked meat, vegetables and fruit, with water or wine as the main drink. The main meal was the evening cena, which was often celebrated in grand style by the upper classes, and to which its members invited one another. The wealthy had a room in their houses especially for this purpose, the triclinium, where men and women dined in recline, while the children sat. The order of the three slightly rising couch beds, each for three persons, was graded hierarchically; attendants served the meal.

A complete cena included three parts. The appetiser (gustatio) was usually served cold, and consisted of salads, raw vegetables, eggs and fish or seafood. The main course included dishes of cooked vegetables and meat. The dessert (secunda mensa) contained pastries and fruits. The process of the evening meal was ritualised, with an initial offering of wine opening the feast. After the gustatio came a drink of honey wine (mulsum); following each course, the drinking bowls were filled with various other wines. After the main course, an offering was made to the lares, the tutelary gods of the house. Following the cena, a banquet would continue with a comissatio, a round of drinking with fixed customs, in which the drinking bowl was passed round for a variety of toasts. Such a banquet (convivium) could therefore last eight to ten hours, or until dawn, accompanied by many presentations, such as music, dance and games.

Ancient society had a high demand not only for wood, but also for rock and clay for construction, and for metals, which were used for all sorts of purposes in the trades and in artistic work. Clay and rock were quarried at the surface; the quarries were as a rule in the near vicinity of the cities. The best known marble quarries were in the Pentelikon Mountains near Athens, on the Cycladic islands of Paros and Naxos, and in the Peloponnese. Moreover, gold, silver, tin, copper, lead and iron were mined in various places, often in subterranean mines. Owing to the scarcity of resources and the high procurement costs, quite a number of materials and products were repeatedly reused throughout antiquity (Hdt. 3.6).

Metals had been mined in Greece, Asia Minor, Dacia and Spain since the Neolithic era, with copper and tin, for which Britain was famous, the most important products (Strab. 4.5.2; Diod. 5.22.1ff., 38.4–5; Tac. Agr. 12.6). Since the third millennium bc, bronze had been produced as an alloy of copper and tin, and Cyprus early developed into a leading centre for copper mining. Silver was mined in large quantities on the Aegean island of Siphnos (Hdt. 3.57–8; Paus. 10.11.2), as was gold on the island of Thasos, where the entire Mount Scapte Hyle was supposedly deforested and dug up (Hdt. 6.46–7).

The environmental history of antiquity covers a wide range of fields of analysis of living conditions in ancient Greek and Roman times, and can thus claim relevance for the characterisation of an entire epoch. It shows both continuity of the landscape and changes in the Mediterranean area and the adjacent regions to the north, from the early part of the first millennium bc through late antiquity in the fourth and fifth centuries ad. It leads from the modest beginnings of the world of the polis in Greece, which spread across extensive areas around the Mediterranean and Black Seas, to the Roman Empire, with its vast territorial expansion that resulted not only in the conquest of the countries bordering the Mediterranean, but also embraced areas north of the Alps, so that large portions of European territory were opened up to settlement and economic activity. This intensified settlement laid important foundations for the shaping of medieval and hence also of modern Europe. The conceptualisation of nature developed by the Greeks and Romans, and their manner of dealing with their natural environment, would also have after-effects.

A study of the environmental history of antiquity is restricted primarily by the sources, since the literary reports are limited in scope and often provide only a one-sided view of the situation; they can only partially be completed or corrected by the results of natural-scientific investigations. There are no detailed descriptions of the environment, or of environmental problems. Environment in the modern sense was only described at a general level, primarily in terms of such climatic factors as wind and water. Despite the religious respect for nature, it was always seen as a challenge to be mastered and defeated by technical means. Such threatening elements as fires, floods, earthquakes and volcanoes, and also drought and wind storms were to be brought under control. Human destruction of nature, exhaustion of resources and the harmful effects of pollution were noted and criticised, but largely as a critique of opulence, and with no clear analysis of the issues.

FIRES IN ROME

Fire had religious significance in Rome, and was used in ritualistic veneration. The Volcanalia festivities were held every August in honour of the god of fire, Volcanus. In Rome the qualities of Hestia, the Greek goddess of the hearth, were embodied in the Latin goddess Vesta, goddess of the state hearth. A round temple at the forum Romanum was consecrated to her, as the central place of the community. Here there was a hearth with the eternal fire, tended by the Vestal Virgins, who were in priestly service. The shrine was at the same time the state's storage house, and was under the protection of the Penates, whose religious image (palladium) was kept here. The six Vestal Virgins enjoyed great honours and privileges, since they embodied purity and thus enabled expiation. Since their virgin inviolability symbolised stored fertility, they were important for growth and fertility rites. Their supreme duty besides their virginity was the guardianship of the eternal fire, as an expression of community. If the fire was extinguished, they risked being flogged (Dion. Hal. 2.67).

For Rome there was also a rational, political aspect of fire, since it could be used as an instrument of power. As in the case of water, the sources primarily refer to the capital itself. In the course of the growth of the city, the danger of fire was addressed organisationally. This at the same time lent political authority to those involved in such activities, since fires had been frequent during the Roman republic. Numerous major conflagrations are reported, particularly toward the end of the republic: in 50 bc an enormous blaze destroyed numerous districts (fourteen vici), and the next year there was an earthquake accompanied by fires which destroyed many residential areas. It was the time that the old republican system was breaking apart; senatorial rule had proven incapable of addressing the problems facing Rome and its empire, and the ruling elite was engaged in constant internal strife. In this situation Caesar seized power with his army and began to reorganise the state, but was then murdered in 44 bc.

Preface

This book is based on my Umweltgeschichte der Antike (Munich: C.H. Beck, 2009), somewhat expanded and with the new Chapter 22, ‘The environment in Roman Britain’, added. It goes back to my many years of teaching environmental history at the University of Basel (1995–2005), and attempts to convey the foundations for historical research on the environment in the ancient world. I hope that it can thus serve as a point of departure for further study of the topic.

I would like to thank Paul Cartledge and Peter Garnsey for their useful comments, as well as Michael Sharp for editing the manuscript with the kind assistance of Josephine Lane and Merle Read. I am also indebted to the Freiwillige Akademische Gesellschaft (Voluntary Academic Society) of Basel for providing a significant contribution toward the cost of the translation, and to Philip Hill (Berlin), for carrying out that work.

The Romans had gardens in various forms, both in the cities and in the countryside. They are known to us primarily from Pompeii and Herculaneum near Naples, the cities destroyed in ad 79 by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, where the volcanic material covered and preserved extensive finds. In Rome itself they are attested for the middle of the fifth century bc, inasmuch as the Law of the Twelve Tables made provision for the boundaries of neighbouring properties (Tab. 7.2): an olive or fig tree might be planted no nearer than 9 feet from the property line, and other trees no nearer than 5 feet (cf. Tab. 7.9a/b and 10; Plin. nat. 16.15). The garden formed a central economic base so that, at that time, a farmstead near Rome was not yet called a villa, but rather a hortus (garden) (Plin. nat. 19.50).

The kitchen and vegetable garden was the oldest form of Roman garden. It is attested since the fourth and third centuries bc, and was widespread in Pompeii up to the second century bc. In private homes one passed through the tablinum (picture room) of the atrium into a small vegetable garden (hortus). The garden was thus in the back part of the lot, and grew not only vegetables, but also fruit trees and some vines, as in the House of the Surgeon or the House of Sallust. Even smaller houses had at least a corner for herbs and flowers, which shows the general desire for green space. The peristyle garden had its origins in the peristyles (arcades) of Greek houses, which the Romans adopted in the late second century bc, and greened by means of artificial irrigation (House of Sallust, House of the Vettii, House of Polybius). These gardens were now no longer only kitchen gardens, but also decorative and pleasure gardens, for which the plural word horti was common, even if the Romans did not make the distinction until the height of the imperial era. If one or several porticos (columned halls or arcades) enclosed the garden, it was called a xystus, which often extended as a terrace in front of the longitudinal facade of a country house. The walled garden was called a viridarium (pleasure garden or park).

The issue of environmental behaviour necessarily raises questions about the opinions and images that ancient people had of nature generally. It appears that the Greeks' relationship with nature was fundamentally conflicting. On the one hand, there was the view of a gentle side of nature, including such images as helpful wood nymphs, springs and meadows, and a happy, carefree country life. On the other hand, there was that of the fearsome powers of nature – dark forests, raging streams, stormy seas and wild animals evoked fear and terror. The divine powers and demons who ruled here needed to be calmed by ritual. Agriculture meant an injury to nature, which required rites of expiation; these were also performed when cities were built. The religious respect for the environment was also expressed in the admiration for the fertility gods such as Demeter/Ceres, and the calendar of feast days, with their offerings of thanks and petition, such as the Thargelia in April/May at which the first-fruits were celebrated. Ritual offerings were also made to such climatic elements as the wind, rain and drought, to ensure good harvests.

In addition to these more emotional, irrational views, however, there was also an investigation of the laws of nature. Ionian natural philosophy in the sixth century bc went beyond purely mythical thinking, and tried to explain the world rationally. Instead of holding the gods responsible for natural events, geophysical principles were explored. The doctrines of the four elements fire, air, earth and water by Empedocles of Agrigentum (c. 495–435 bc) and of the smallest indivisible elements, the theory of atomism proposed by Leucippus and his pupil Democritus of Abdera (460–370 bc), were important initial approaches. At the same time, a distinct environmental determinism emerged, promoted particularly by the Hippocratic school of the fifth and fourth centuries bc, and especially reflected in Hippocrates' On Airs, Waters, and Places (Peri aeron, hydaton, topon).