Search Results: Silphium

Silphium (also known as laser) was an uncultivated plant that grew in Cyrene, North Africa (modern Shahhat, Libya) and became the cash crop of the region of Cyrenaica between c. 631 BCE and the 1st century CE when, according to Pliny the...

The silphium plant of Cyrene, valued as a seasoning, aromatic, and for its medicinal properties, is referenced by several notable ancient writers, but two of the best-known descriptions come from Theophrastus (l. c. 371 to c. 287 BCE) and...

A silver drachma, bearing the image of the silphium seed, from Cyrene, Libya, dated 500-480 BCE. Münzkabinett der Staatlichen Museen, Berlin.

A coin minted during the reign of Magas of Cyrene, showing the silphium plant, c. 300-282 or 275 BCE. Classical Numismatic Group, Inc. http://www.cngcoins.com

Many Greek coins showed images of local products. Cyrene was famous for the export of the now-extinct silphium plant. Silver tetradrachm coin. From Cyrene, modern-day Libya. 435-375 BCE. (The British Museum, London).

Workman weighing and loading silphium at Cyrene, Laconian cup, c. 565 BCE. An illustration from Food, The History of Taste, Paul Freedman (ed), California Studies in Food and Culture, 2007. Photographed by Daderot.

Miracle contraceptive, wonder drug, aphrodisiac, the origin of the heart symbol, and hemorrhoid cure??? Tiktok, National Geographic, even FACEBOOK are all obsessed with this plant, Silphium, which grew over 2000 years ago here near Cyrene...

Cyrene (modern-day Shahhat, Libya) was a vital cultural center and port of trade in North Africa founded in 631 BCE by Greek colonists from the island of Thera. The city is best known as the birthplace of the philosopher Aristippus of Cyrene...

The Foundation Decree of Cyrene (c. 322 BCE) is a covenant between the citizens of Cyrene in North Africa in the 4th century BCE and those of their mother-state of Thera granting any who wish to become Cyrenean citizens the same rights and...

The ancient Romans left behind a wealth of remains which help archaeologists and historians to understand what daily life was like in the Roman Empire. From ancient frescos of rich table spreads, to broken wine vessels, carbonized loaves...