NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO recently reported that the Vatican has opened a public exhibition called "Life and Death in the Rome of the Caesars" that features a Vatican Necropolis, a Roman burial ground located a few feet beneath St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. The necropolis heretofore was opened only to academics and other specialists. It contains marble sarcophagi, tombs dating back to the first century, Roman frescoes and beautiful mosaics.
Enslaved people, artisans and middle-class Roman citizens-many who were employed by the infamous emporer Nero-are buried there, according to epigraphs at the site. Nero became Caesar at the age of 16 in 54 CE and reigned until 68 CE, when he committed suicide. (The Senate had turned against him.) Remembered as a cruel and eccentric tyrant, Nero was nonetheless reported to have been the recipient of a very special gift during his life-the last existing stalk of the herb silphium.
Silphium's ancient home turf was a narrow strip of North Africa, 125 miles long and just 35 miles wide, bordering the Mediterranean Sea along the coast of modern Libya and Tunisia, in Nero's day known as Cyrene.
Silphium, or silphion in Greek, was so valuable and the pressure to harvest it so strong that after that last gift to Nero, it was by all accounts extinct. First of all, goats and sheep loved it; what humans didn't harvest, the animals did. For inhabitants of the Roman Empire, it was worth its weight in silver. So much so that Julius Caesar, the first Roman emperor from 49 to 44 BCE, kept a thousand pounds of silphium along with gold in the imperial treasury.
Theophrastus (371 to 287 BCE), the Greek Father of Botany, described the plant as having thick roots covered in black bark with a hollow stalk, similar to fennel, and golden leaves like celery. Its flowers were balls of florets with a rich golden hue.
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Denne historien er fra March - April 2024-utgaven av Horticulture.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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GAGA FOR GALANTHUS
As easy as they are irresistible, snowdrops boast a devoted and growing following
NEW PLANTS
Multiseason Marvels
BLUEBERRIES & CO.
Members of the genus Vaccinium provide sweet flavor, health benefits and beauty in the garden
AN ECOLOGICAL AGREEMENT
How three great minds think alike
Take It Indoors
Cs the growing season dwindles, _ potted cittus became a summer souuenir
ROOTED IN PLACE
LAYERING IS A PROPAGATION TECHNIQUE THAT TAKES A WHILE TO COMPLETE, BUT IT DEMANDS LITTLE EFFORT FROM THE GARDENER
AT HOME WITH PLANTS
Business travel and pleasure trips helped inspire this Cincinnati garden
THE GARDEN GOES DARK
Yes, gardens have their dark side. But-surprise! A garden's darkness can be good, not sinister.
LOW-WATER WONDERS
EXPLORE ONE PLANTSMAN'S DROUGHT-TOLERANT FAVORITES FOR EACH LEVEL OF THE GARDEN
Succeed With Succession- The best crops to plant throughout summer, plus how to time them right
The best crops to plant throughout summer, plus how to time them right. Once a crop like spring turnips or snap peas has finished, I tidy up the bed, amend the soil with a thin layer of compost and replant. Depending on the new crop, I may be sowing seeds or transplanting seedlings.
