Gardens and Gardeners of the Ancient World Linda Farrar WIND gather PRESS Contents List ofIllustrations vi Picture Credits X Acknowledgements xi Time-Chart xii Preface xiii 1. Egyptian Gardens 1 2. Gardens of Ancient Mesopotamia and the Near East 36 3. Gardens of the Greek Bronze Age: Minoan and Mycenaean Cultures 71 4. Greek Gardens and Groves of the Archaic, Classical and Hellenistic Periods 88 5. Etruscan Gardens 128 6. Roman Gardens 138 7. Byzantine Gardens t-H OO \s\ 8. Islamic and Persian Gardens 211 9. Medieval Gardens 244 10. Conclusions 280 Select Bibliography 289 List of Illustrations Umm Al-Rasas, xv I. Pomegranate tree, mosaic detail, Jordan xvl1 2. Sacro-Idyllic scene Min seen in his 3 3- The Egyptian fertility god temple 3 4- Detail of Osiris in white mummy wrappings in wooden or ceramic Osiris Beds 5- Barley seeds were sown 3 of Pharaoh 6. Circular tree/plant pits for a sacred grove beside the pyramid Sneferu, Dahshur 6 at Deir el-Bahari 7- Reconstruction of three funerary temples 7 8. Relief depicting the transport of incense trees from Punt 7 9- "The Botanical Garden, Karnak Temple 9 10 Hathor emerging from the side of a mountain through papyrus 9 11 Middle Kingdom relief depicting water-carriers and gardeners 12 12 Gardeners pick cucumber-like melons; the lettuce symbol of the fertility god Min 12 13 Detail of a vintage scene, a process undertaken in many gardens 13 14 Figurative hieroglyphs 13 15 Wooden model of a part of a house and garden 17 16 A flower filled garden around a well stocked fish pool at Amarna 18 17 Plan of the house and garden of Meryre, High Priest of Amarna 19 18 Sycomore fig tree with tree goddess dispensing nourishment for eternity 20 19 Plan of Sennefer's garden. Tomb of Sennefer, Thebes 21 20 Doum palm tree (Hephaene thebaica). Silsila, Upper Egypt 22 21 Argun palm tree (Medemia argun). Tomb of Pasedu, Deir el-Medinet 22 22 Visitors arrive through the garden. Tomb of Neferhotep, Thebes 23 *3 Flame coloured flowers of Pomegranate (Pumca granatum), Cyprus 23 24 Ipuy's house and garden. Tomb of Ipuy, Thebes 24 Carob tree represented in the Tomb of Menena, Thebes 2 5 26 Nebamuns fruitful garden, Tomb of Nebamun, Thebes 26 27 Irrigation channels provide water for a row of trees and flowers next to a crop of wheat 27 28 Details of flowers painted in the Tomb of Ramesses III, Thebes 28 29 Nakht, the court florist, with one of his finest bouquets 28 The River 30 Euphrates and the Mesopotamian Plain, seen from Syria 36 of 3i Map Mesopotamia and the Levant 37 List ofIllustrations vii 32 Seal stone depicting divinities and a snake on either side of a sacred tree 38 33 Seal stone from Mari 39 34 Ninhursag (Ki) the Sumerian goddess of vegetation and fecundity 40 35 Detail of the goddess Inanna and her symbolic standard of reeds 4i 36 Detail from a large fresco from Mari 43 37 Akkadian gardeners tending trees and irrigating the plants in the garden 45 38 Impression from a seal stone depicting women in a garden picking dates 46 39 An Assyrian minor deity is seen fertilising a sacred date palm tree 49 40 Sargon's garden at Khorsabad, with a bitanu pavilion and boating lake 5i 4i Sennacherib's garden at Nineveh 52 42 Assurbanipal and his queen quaffing wine and feasting in their garden 53 43 Reconstruction of the famous Hanging Gardens of Babylon 57 44 A reconstruction of the large formal gardens at Cyrus's palace 61 45 Relief at Persepolis representing cypress trees 62 46 A Persian style paradeisos game park depicted in a fresco at Pompeii 65 47 The great Mother goddess sitting under a tree, holding poppies 72 48 Impressions from seal rings with scenes of a tree cult 73 49 A selection of flower motifs on Minoan pottery 74 5° Drawing of lilies in a slender banded vase from Akrotiri/Thera, Santorini 75 5i Mycenaen goblet with a motif depicting a plant growing in a container 75 52 Reconstruction showing the lily frescoes in Room 7 at Amnisos, Crete 76 53 Sand lilies on the Island of Santorini 77 54 Fresco fragment showing dianthus-like flowers 77 55 Reconstruction of flower garlands from a Minoan fresco 78 56 Minoan fresco depicting a garden landscape with tame monkeys 79 57 Circular enclosure with two trees, Room 5 of the West House, Thera 80 58 Reconstruction suggesting a rock garden for crocus and other plants 81 59 Details of men from Keftiu from an Ancient Egyptian fresco 84 6o Hercules in the Gardens of the Hesperides 90 6i An olive tree sacred to the goddess Athena on the Acropolis, Athens 9i 62 Detail showing Dionysus from a Greek red-figure vase 92 63 Narcissus hopelessly gazing at his own image 94 64 Apollo pursuing Daphne 95 65 Flowers depicted on 5 th~4th century bc Greek coinage 96 66 Rose flower depicted on the reverse of a coin from Rhodes 97 67 Landscaped gardens such as at Stourhead were inspired by the Classical world 101 68 Roman marble relief depicting a lady making a sacrifice in front of a cave sacred to Pan 102 69 The Temple of Hephaestus in Athens: two rows of tree pits with plant pots in each 103 viii List ofIllustrations have been in the pits 104 jo. Myrtles and pomegranates replanted Plato in his Akademy grove 106 71. Roman mosaic illustrating discussing with fruit 107 72. Red-figure vase girls picking 108 bowl of to his mother 73. Eros offering a seedlings Aphrodite in northern 109 74. Adonis flowers {J\Aonis annua) Cyprus northern Greece 111 75. Plan of the Palace at Aigai, 76. Plan of the Hellenistic palace at AT Khanoum 113 el 114 77. Palace of Hyrcanus at Araq Amir, Jordan el 78. Leopard fountain at the Palace of Hyrcanus at Aracj Amir, Jordan 115 121 79. Bust of Theophrastus, Greek philosopher 122 80. Dioscorides examining a mandrake plant Etruscan bronze mirrors 81. Garden scenes and stylised plants engraved on 132 82. Detail of a stylised plant, possibly an arum 133 83. Detail from an Etruscan mirror depicting crown grafting on a tree 135 84. Venus accompanied by cupids and her sacred flowers roses 140 85. Detail of a sacrifice before an altar and statue of a goddess 144 86. Plan showing three different forms of a Roman house with garden 147 87. Reconstruction of the peristyle garden at the House of the Vettii 148 88. Map of central Rome showing several public portico gardens 150 89. Two miniature frescoes depicting trellis fences forming 'garden rooms* 15 2—1 5 3 90. Simple reed fences line a garden path at the House of the Chaste Lovers 156 91. Outdoor dining couches 157 92. The remnants of a biclinium al fresco dining area and shrine 157 93. Terminal busts of a janiform herm 159 94- An oscillum wfrich mimics the form of a pelta shield 159 95. A Roman sundial 159 96. Terracotta amphorae were used to provide fish refuges at the House of the Triconch Hall 160 97. Typology of Roman pools 160 98. Restored garden with a gutter water-basin running around three sides 161 99. A water garden, House of the Water Jets 161 100. Three intercommunicating pools with central fountain in the garden of the Villa at Piazza Armerina 161 101. A freestanding water-stair fountain 163 102. Mosaic and shell covered shrine to a water nymph, Pompeii 163 A sea cave that 103. was convened into a dining area for the Emperor Tiberius 164 An arborilor trees in 104. grafting a mosaic of the calendar year 169 Sinuous lines of the 105. topiary hedge bordering a path at Fishbourne Roman Palace 169 106. The verdant frescos from Livia's Garden Room at Primaporta 172 List ofIllustrations ix 107. Reconstruction of a gardeners bench with facsimile Roman flowerpots 173 108. The sweet rocket or dame's violet (Hesperis matronalis) 173 109. Hadrians luxurious dining area beside a vast pool 175 no. Miniature fresco of climbing plants 176 hi. Garden Plans 177 112. St Phocas, the market gardener from Sinope, northern Turkey 186 113. Early Christian Church with atrium garden 188 114. Fresco of Jonah reclining under a gourd tree 191 115. Detail from a mosaic depicting a Paradise filled with trees and animals 192 116. Mosaic showing white marble walls in a garden setting with a tree, and arching foliage 193 117. Pinecone fountain in a marble cantharus bowl 193 118. Mosaic showing Isaac blessing his son Jacob in his garden 194 119. Rebecca at the well 195 120. A deputation of elders meet Caiaphas in his ornamental garden 196 121. House and garden of Egdon, king of Moab 197 122. Gregorys garden 197 123. Christ and Apostles reclining on a stibadium dining couch 200 124. Gladiolus byzantinus, Crete 200 125. The Garden of St Anne, mother of Mary 202 126. A two-tiered shallow, rectangular, box-like fountain 203 127. Aspects of agriculture and horticultural husbandry in the Homilies of Gregory Nazianzos 206 128. Horticultural workers using bident forks and pruning hooks 207 129. Paradise as a garden 212 130. Abbasid Palace beside the River Tigris, Samarra 214 131. Detail of a Persian gardener using a long handled spade with foot rest 216 132. Plan of an Islamic house with courtyard gardens at Valencia 217 133. Umayyad palace at Madinat al-Zahra, near Cordoba 218 134. A woman looks out over her garden 219 135.