Silphium z Cyrene. Skarb antycznej medycyny
Słowa kluczowe:
medycyna starożytna, rośliny lecznicze, sylfion (łac. silphium), rośliny -- ikonografiaAbstrakt
SILPHIUM FROM CYRENE. A TREASURE OF ANCIENT MEDICINE
The town of Cyrene was founded by Greek colonists c. 631 BC. Immigrants led by Battus came from the island of Thera (now Santorini), following the instruction of the oracle at Delphi; details of their trip were recorded by Herodotus. The colony was an important trade centre, as due to its natural conditions and fertile soil it produced much more than it consumed. Surpluses of grain were exported to many Greek states. Another important commodity was the colony’s greatest treasure, the widely-used plant called silphium, whose export was controlled by the ruler. It greatly contributed to the economic development of Cyrene, which became one of the wealthiest urban centres of south Africa. Silphium was sought for in the ancient world because of its unusual qualities and it was recommended as helpful in many sicknesses. The value of the plant was measured in silver. Surviving descriptions and pictures on coins allow us to identify it as one of the celery family. It can be supposed that silphium was endemic to the coast of today’s Libya and became extinct in the 1st century AD. Even though there are many ancient descriptions and images of this plant, the species has not been precisely determined up till now. An archaically stylized picture of silphium was put on coins under the rule of the Battiad dynasty (631–440 BC). The plant was also pictured on black-figure bowls produced in Laconia; one of the best known examples is “The bowl of Arkesilaos the painter” (560 BC). The most valuable information on silphium can be found in written sources from between the 6th and the 2nd century BC, when the plant was still in existence. Theophrastus of Eresos (c. 370–288 BC) described it as scentless, and having a thick root, a single stalk, yellow fl owers and characteristic heart-shaped fruit. Hippocrates (460–377 BC) and Aristotle (384–322 BC) recorded that it was used as a purgative, a febrifuge and a remedy for stomach-aches. It was also applied as a pessary in ailments of the reproductive organs. It was also widely described by Pliny the Elder (23–79 AD), who called it one of the most valuable natural resources. According to Pliny, the last specimen found in the natural habitat was presented to Nero.
Pobrania
Bibliografia
Applebaum S. 1979. Jews and Greeks in Ancient Cyrene, Leiden.
Arias P.A. 1962. A History of Greek Vase Painting, London.
Bacchielli L., Polidori R., Di Vita A., Di Vita-Evrard G. 1999. Libya: The lost cities of the Roman Empire, Cologne.
Barker G.W.W. 1989. From Classifi cation to Interpretation: Libyan Prehistory, 1969–1989, „Libyan Studies”, t. 20.
Boardman J. 1968. Bronze Age Greece and Libya, „Annual of the British School of Athens”, t. 63.
Chamoux F. 1953. Cyrene sous la monarchie des Battiades, Paris.
Chamoux F. 1989. La Cyrénaïque, des origins à 321 a.C., d’après les fouilles et les travaux récents, „Libyan Studies”, t. 20.
Drife J.O. 2010. Historical perspective on induced abortion through the ages and its links with maternal mortality, „Best Practice & Research Clinical Obstetrics and Gynaecology”, t. 24.
Drozd-Lipińska A., Łuczak K. 2013. Silphium — cudowny lek od Apollona dla starożytnego miasta Cyrene, [w:] Czystość i brud. Higiena w starożytności, red. W. Korpalska, W. Ślusarczyk, Bydgoszcz.
Evans A. 1964. The Palace of Minos at Knossos, t. 1, London.
Fabbricotti E. 1993. Silphium in ancient art, „Libyan Studies”, t. 24.
Fulford M.G. 1989. To East and West: the Mediterranean Trade of Cyrenaica and Tripolitania in Antiquity, „Libyan Studies”, t. 20.
Gemmill Ch.L. 1966. Silphium, „Bulletin of the History of Medicine”, t. 40.
Goodchild R. 1981. Cyrene and Apollonia. An Historical Guide, Tripoli.
Graham A.J. 1960. The Authenticity of the Horkion on oikisteron of Cyrene, „Journal of Hellenic Studies”, t. 80.
Graham A.J. 1964. Colony and Mother City in Ancient Greece, Manchester.
Kenrick P. 2013. Cyrenaica, London.
Koerper H., Kolls A.L. 1999. The Silphium Motif Adorning Ancient Libyan Coinage: Marketing a Medicinal Plant, „Economic Botany”, t. 53, nr 2.
Kotłowska A. 2003. Silfion — dawne bogactwo Cyrenajki, „Meander”, nr 58.
Łuczak K. 2014. Królewskie pochówki w greckiej kolonii Cyrene, [w:] Królowie i biskupi, rycerze i chłopi — identyfikacja zmarłych, red. W. Dzieduszycki, J. Wrzesiński, Poznań.
Panagiotakopulu E., Buckland P.C., Day P.M. 1995. Natural Insecticides and Insect Repellents in Antiquity: A Review of the Evidence, „Journal of Archaeological Science”, t. 22.
Parejko K. 2003. Plini the Elder’s Silphium First Recorded Spiecies Extinction, „Conservation Biology”, t. 17, nr 3.
Riddle J.M., Worth Estes J., Russell J.C. 1994. Birth Control in the Ancient World, „Archaeology”, t. 47, nr 2.
Schaus G. 1985. The East Greek, Island and Laconian Pottery, [w:] The Extramural Sanctuary of Demeter and Persephone at Cyrene, Libya: Final Reports II (University Museum Monographs), red. D. White, Philadelphia.
Schaus G. 1985. The Evidence for Laconians in Cyrenaica in the Archaic Period, [w:] G. Barker, J. Lloyd, J. Reynolds, Cyrenaica in Antiquity, British Archaeological Reports International Series, nr 136, Oxford.
Stucchi S. 1967. Cirene 1957–1966. Un decennio di attività della Missione Archeologica Italiana a Cirene, Tripoli.
Stucchi S. 1967. Prime trace tardo-Minoiche a Cirene, „Quaderni di Archeologia della Libia”, t. 5.
Tameanko M. 1992. The Silphium Plant: Wonder Drug of the Ancient World Depicted on Coins, „Celator Journal of Ancient and Medieval Coinage”, t. 6, nr 4.
Tatman J.L. 2000. Silphium, Silver and Strife: A History of Kyrenaika and its Coinage, „Celator Journal of Ancient and Medieval Coinage”, t. 14, nr 10.
Thorn J.C. 2005. The necropolis of Cyrene, Roma.
Vickers M. 1972. Cyrenaica 1962–72, „Archaeological Reports”, t. 18.
White D. 1992. Gifts to the Goddesses: Cyrene’s Sanctuary of Demeter and Persephone, „Expedition”, t. 34, nr 1–2.
Pobrania
Opublikowane
Jak cytować
Numer
Dział
Licencja
Utwór dostępny jest na licencji Creative Commons Uznanie autorstwa – Użycie niekomercyjne – Bez utworów zależnych 4.0 Międzynarodowe.
