An environmental history of ancient Greece and Rome

Author(s)

Bibliographic Information

An environmental history of ancient Greece and Rome

Lukas Thommen ; translated by Philip Hill

Cambridge University Press, 2012

Rev. English ed

  • : pbk
  • : hbk

Other Title

Umweltgeschichte der Antike

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Note

"Originally published in German by Verlag C.H. Beck oHG, München, 2009"--T.p. verso

"This book is based on my Umweltgeschichte der Antike ... somewhat expanded and with the new chapter 22, 'The environment in Roman Britain', added"--Preface

Includes bibliographical references (p. 152-179) and index

Description and Table of Contents

Description

In ancient Greece and Rome an ambiguous relationship developed between man and nature, and this decisively determined the manner in which they treated the environment. On the one hand, nature was conceived as a space characterized and inhabited by divine powers, which deserved appropriate respect. On the other, a rationalist view emerged, according to which humans were to subdue nature using their technologies and to dispose of its resources. This book systematically describes the ways in which the Greeks and Romans intervened in the environment and thus traces the history of the tension between the exploitation of resources and the protection of nature, from early Greece to the period of late antiquity. At the same time it analyses the comprehensive opening up of the Mediterranean and the northern frontier regions, both for settlement and for economic activity. The book's level and approach make it highly accessible to students and non-specialists.

Table of Contents

  • Introduction
  • Part I. Greece: 1. The geographic space
  • 2. People and nature
  • 3. Agriculture
  • 4. Forests and timber
  • 5. Gardens
  • 6. Animals
  • 7. Food
  • 8. Fire and water
  • 9. Earthquakes and volcanoes
  • 10. Mining
  • Part II. Rome: 11. The geographic space
  • 12. People and nature
  • 13. Agriculture
  • 14. Forests and timber
  • 15. Gardens
  • 16. Animals
  • 17. Food
  • 18. Fire and water
  • 19. Earthquakes and volcanoes
  • 20. Mining
  • 21. Urban problems and rural villa construction
  • 22. The environment in Roman Britain
  • Conclusion.

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