Silphium
Silphium was a plant that was used in classical antiquity as a seasoning and as a medicine.[1] It is also known as silphion, laserwort, or laser. It was the essential item of trade from the ancient North African city of Cyrene. Most of the coins from Cyrene show a picture of the plant. The valuable product was the plant's resin (called laser, laserpicium, or lasarpicium).
Silphium was an important species. The Egyptians and the Minoan civilization of Knossos used a special glyph in their writing for the silphium plant.[2] It was used by most ancient Mediterranean cultures. The Romans considered it "worth its weight in denarii" (silver coins). Legend said that it was a gift from the god Apollo.
Which plant species silphium was is unclear. It is commonly believed to be a now-extinct plant of the genus Ferula.[1] The still-living plant species Ferula tingitana has been suggested as another possibility.[3] Another resin from different Ferula species, asafoetida, was used as a cheaper substitute for silphium.[4] Asafoetida is still available.
References
[change | change source]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 J.L. Tatman, "Silphium, Silver and Strife: A History of Kyrenaika and Its Coinage" Celator 14.10 (October 2000:6–24).
- ↑ Hogan, C. Michael (2007). "Knossos fieldnotes". Modern Antiquarian. Retrieved 13 Feb 2009.
- ↑ Did the ancient Romans use a natural herb for birth control?, Straight Dope, 13 October 2006
- ↑ Dalby, Andrew (2002). Dangerous Tastes: The Story of Spices. University of California Press. p. 18. ISBN 0-520-23674-2.
Further reading
[change | change source]- Herodotus. The Histories. II:161, 181, III:131, IV:150–65, 200–05.
- Pausanias. Description of Greece 3.16.1–3
- Pliny the Elder. Natural History. XIX:15 and XXII:100–06.
- Tatman, John. "Silphium: Ancient wonder drug?". Jencek's Ancient Coins & Antiquities. Archived from the original on 2007-03-30. Retrieved 2007-02-05.
- Theophrastus. Enquiry into plants and minor works on odours and weather signs, with an English translation by Sir Arthur Hort, bart (1916). Volume 1 (Books I–V) and Volume 2 (Books VI–IX) Volume 2 includes the index, which lists silphium (Greek σιλϕιον) on page 476, column 2, 2nd entry.