Botany

Totelin, Laurence ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9576-1643 2026. Botany. Grig, Lucy, ed. Oxford Classical Dictionary, Online edition. London: Oxford University Peess, pp. 213-224. (10.1093/acrefore/9780199381135.013.1151v1)

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Abstract

People of all social ranks possessed knowledge of plants in antiquity. Many of these people were illiterate, and consequently, much ancient botanical knowledge was transmitted orally and never written down. The extensive ancient literature on plants that we possess, therefore, represents only a small proportion of ancient botanical knowledge. That knowledge is displayed in both nontechnical and technical writings, such as philosophical works on living beings, pharmacological treatises, and agronomical texts. Much ancient botanical literature stressed the utility of plants for higher forms of living beings, especially for human animals. Plants provided food, drink, medicine, and shelter. They were therefore a key component of ancient economies, and of interest to ancient rulers. There were several different ways of organising plants in antiquity, none of which depended on, or led to, a nomenclature system.

Item Type:	Book Section
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Schools > Global Humanities Schools > History, Archaeology and Religion
Subjects:	D History General and Old World > DE The Mediterranean Region. The Greco-Roman World
Publisher:	Oxford University Peess
ISBN:	9780197851371
Last Modified:	06 Nov 2026 15:00
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/190714

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