Ancient Medit Plants
- To: m*@ucdavis.edu
- Subject: Ancient Medit Plants
- From: C* D*
- Date: Mon, 09 Oct 2000 11:10:51 -0700
I know that there is a fanatstic wealth of knowledge out there amongst
all medit planters and hope that someone will be able to help clarify a
few things for me. I am writing an essay about flowers and plants used
in various periods of history to decorate homes .... and people too.
At the moment I am looking at Greeks and Romans I have only been able
to get a couple of books about the subject and the one which gives the
most detail is the History of Flower arranging by Julia Berral
published 1953. She was/is? an American lady She gives a list of
plants used for making garlands. In this list she included heleniums and
acacia.
Am I right in thinking that the helenium is a North American native
and would not have ben in Ancinet greece. I know that "Heleniums"
sound as if they should be Greek I wonder if she is confusing them with
the corn marigolds that grew so prolifically in the fields in the
spring. Chrysanthemeum segutum ???? No metion of them in the list Is
acacia a mediterranean native......not too sure on that one either?
A mosaic in the Villa Quintilli apparently shows a woven basket holding
various flowers ( unusual because the Ancients did not use containers
for diplaying cut flowers.) It is said to contain roses carnations
hyacinths anemones narcissi and a tulip.
There is some conjecture that the the tulip should not be featured in
the basket and that many ancient works of art were altered to show
tulips when tulips were introduced to the west from Turkey inthe middle
ages. Surely there are wild tulips that are native to Greece its not
unlikely that the ancients would have used them.?
Another question if I can impose on your time and grey matter. How
different would those flowers be compared to modern cultivars. Was any
selction going on at that time to improve on the wild species. I wonder
if roses would be single or double. Colours ? How big would those
carnations be.? I think a lot of the pictures are very stylised so its
hard to know.
Is anyone familar with the picture "The Prince of the Lilies" the wall
painting from the palace of Knossos in Crete?
What are those fantastic red and orange blooms? Martagon lilies???
Reading various books I have often come across references to the
Pineapple being the symbol of hosptality and have seen carvings in
furniture and on table ware and up till now I thought that it referred
to the fruit instead of it being a pine cone.A pine cone was the
original pineapple. This was put on the end of a staff and the staff
was decorated with some plant material and long ivy trails descended
from it. (Ivy wards of drunkenness) A thrysus or thrysus pole. This was
part of festivals associated with Dinonysus/ Bacchus
The pine was used to flavour the wine. I suppose that this was retsina
and it was pine resin.
Can any one tell me why resin was used to flavour wine? Was any sort of
Pine resin used or was it just from one tree?
If anyone could help me or tell me were I could get any information I
would be most grateful.
With best wishes to all
Colette
on rainy merseyside were we have had many days of constant rain
recently. Not gardening weather.
