European University Institute Library

An environmental history of ancient Greece and Rome, Lukas Thommen ; translated by Philip Hill

eng

index present

non fiction

An environmental history of ancient Greece and Rome

electronic resource

dictionaries

976482362

Lukas Thommen ; translated by Philip Hill

Cambridge Social Sciences eBooks

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.--, Provided by publisher

pt. I. Greece. 1. The geographic space : The polis and the chora: the city and its countryside ; The era of colonisation ; The Hellenistic kingdoms ; Climate, coastlines and estuaries -- 2. People and nature -- 3. Agriculture -- 4. Forests and timber -- 5. Gardens -- 6. Animals -- 7. Food : Basic foods ; The symbolism of food: beans and fish -- 8. Fire and water : Mythology ; Science: the four elements ; Hydraulic engineering and water poisoning -- 9. Earthquakes and volcanoes -- 10. Mining -- pt. II. Rome. 11. The geographic space : Rome and Italy ; The Roman Empire ; The Roman roads -- 12. People and nature -- 13. Agriculture -- 14. Forests and timber -- 15. Gardens -- 16. Animals -- 17. Food -- 18. Fire and water : Fires in Rome ; The water supply and sewage system of Rome ; Hydraulic engineering, water poisoning and lead problems -- 19. Earthquakes and volcanoes : Earthquakes ; The eruption of Vesuvius -- 20. Mining -- 21. Urban problems and rural villa construction : Housing and urban sanitation in Rome ; Rural villa construction in Italy -- 22. The environment in Roman Britain : The geographic space ; Agriculture, forestry and industry ; Military camps, cities and villas -- Chronology

An Environmental History of Ancient Greece & Rome