| Ancient Natural History: Histories of Nature Contributor(s): French, Roger (Author) |
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ISBN: 0415115450 ISBN-13: 9780415115452 Publisher: Routledge OUR PRICE: $50.30 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: October 1994 Annotation: b /b b i Ancient Natural History /i /b surveys the ways in which people in the ancient world thought about nature, particularly animals and plants. It looks at those people whose wider views are known, so that we can see their natural history in context. As a large number of readers are aware of the importance of Greek "science" in later periods of European history, this book is designed to show how such doctrines arose in ancient society. br br Ancient natural history was the gathering and presentation of i historiae, /i items worthy of note by the philosopher, popularizer or marvel-monger. These "histories" were natural because they were part of the physical world. The book examines the relationship between the physical world, the gods, Greek philosophy and the purposes of those who expressed such different notions about "nature." Attention is given to Aristotle's animals and Theophrastus's plants. br br "Histories" worthy of note most often came from distant places, and Strabo's geography is taken as illustrative of the principles of the book. Pliny's i Natural History /i is examined in some detail. A major theme of the book is how natural history was treated differently by different societies: the Greeks, the Romans, Jews and Christians. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - History | Ancient - Greece - Nature |
| Dewey: 508.090 |
| LCCN: 94005131 |
| Series: Sciences of Antiquity |
| Physical Information: 0.91" H x 5.62" W x 8.48" (1.03 lbs) 380 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Ancient Natural History surveys the ways in which people in the ancient world thought about nature. The writings of Aristotle, Theophrastus, Strabo, Pliny are examined, as well as the popular beliefs of their contemporaries. Roger French finds that the same natural-historical material was used to serve the purposes of both the Greek philosopher and the Christian allegorist, or of a taxonomist like Theophrastus and a collector of curiosa like Pliny. He argues convincingly that the motives of ancient writers on nature were rarely scientific' and, indeed, that there was not really any science at all in the ancient world. This book will make fascinating reading for students, academics and anyone who is interested in the history of science, or in the ancient history of ideas. |