Big messages in small details: nature in Roman Archaeology.

摘要

“What is Nature if not God himself and the divine reason immanent to the world?” (Seneca, De beneficiis, IV, 7). Understanding human–nature relationships of the past is an important step in reconstructing how those relationships have evolved. Roman archaeological remains, especially those of the Hellenistic–Alexandrine style (influenced by the Greek and Egyptian cultures), contain several realistic details of plants and plant parts that can provide insights about human–nature relationships. Ancient scriptures suggest that plants were used beyond decorative aims to provide symbolic messages. The Ara Pacis Augustae in Rome (Italy) represents an outstanding example of such messages displayed in a substantially figurative, unwritten language. Plants and plant structures were selected for the monument based on their metaphorical relationships with specific ideas (e.g., life, rebirth, fertility) (Caneva 2010).