My Roman Garden- presented at ACL 2014-William and Mary

My Roman Garden 2014

Biclinium in vineyard near amphitheater, Pompeii

The Romans had various gardens.    There was the vegetable garden much like those of today- in fact modern gardens are very roman for many vegetables grown today are plants developed and improved by the Romans.  The famous family of Caepio may have been well known at one time for their onions, that of Cicero for the chickpea and Fabius for the bean.  There are other gardens, formal and informal- both of these gardens were attractive but also very practical. It was the place where the family often spent a great deal of time- here they dined, walked, talked, sat in silence and enjoyed peace and argued.  This is the garden primarily which we will look at today.  

Why bother to develop a Roman garden?  Can there possibly be any advantages?  To someone devoted to Roman antiquity? To someone trying to interpret texts?

Olive, a symbol for Mercury

Think of the number of times something has been missed simply because of preoccupation with something else.  That scene in the Aeneid where Mercury swoops down from Mt. Atlas to put a fire under Aeneas.  It is easy  to focus on some deep meaning. But if a person is not careful it is easy to miss the realization how much Virgil loved nature and how keenly he observed it.

So when the garden began to take shape and as plants were added and more and more time was spent in the garden, passages in Cicero, Virgil, Ovid or pick your favorite author, became moments to connect with nature instead of passages to be studied in a windowless room.  In fact much of Latin literature is meant to be read outside. 

Entrance from the road

Entrance from barn area

Walkway- house of Tiburtinus, Pompeii

There are three ways to enter this garden.  One from the road, one from the barn ( Romans reveled in design which moved from dark to light or light to dark) and one from the house. From left to right we see herb beds, a pergula with a wisteria clawing its way up, then moving on to a circular graveled area entered via a winding path and last fruit trees, apples, followed by the vegetable garden now with raised beds.

Wisteria

Wisteria

Years ago before this garden was conceived, there was a cherry tree beside which a wisteria seed was placed.  It grew and grew, strangled the cherry and the pergula came along to support the wisteria. This wisteria has long since killed the cherry and now is putting pressure on the pergula.  Now it can be understood why the Romans let such things go- they are beautiful, attractive and delightful.  If the wisteria ever destroys the pergula, another will be built. Better that than cutting down the wisteria.  Just think of those murals with scenes of vining plants climbing a pergula and embracing it.    Beauty trumps practical.  

Yet the wisteria provides shade, even protection in a light rain, and comfort on a hot day.  

The open circle is for cooler times.  Here the sun can be enjoyed and provide warmth and a view of the sky.  Romans found the sky fascinating night and day. 

Warm reading area

Chimney swifts arrive in north eastern Ohio sometime in late Spring. They build their nests with mud and sticks inside the chimney and provide much pleasure because they can be heard descending into the chimney from inside the house. When the young hatch, their eager voices can be heard the moment mom and dad enter the chimney with a mouthful of insects.  No way could anyone ever forget the sight of these agile flyers as they enter and exit a chimney.  Every time they change direction in flight it means that they have seen an insect and grabbed it.  

While watching these acrobats twist turn at will, the sheer beauty of Mercury on his way to tell Aeneas to shove off becomes striking. Mercury sets out and flies down from Mt Atlas and - well, let Virgil tell:

Chimney Swifts

from Mt. Atlas Mercury headlong with his whole body hurtled himself toward the waves, like a bird which around the shores, around rocks full of fish low flies near the water's surface.  In the same way between land and sky he cut the air coming from Mt Atlas. ( IV. 253-258 ) 

Of course the poetry is wonderful, the style is so very artful but it takes on value because it is based on the real world, the world any Roman could see, imagine and enjoy.  The chimney swifts make Virgil's passage beautiful and very real.  This would not have been noticed without this garden. These lines would be worthwhile to translate just for the beauty of the scene.  Virgil was outside in his garden when he wrote these words. 

Romans placed baskets in ivy beds and let the ivy engulf the basket.  Here logs were used. 

Ivy mounds buried in snow

The mound of ivy takes on a pleasant shape in winter.  Virgil's description of Mercury's flight past Mt Atlas could easily be appreciated here:

Ivy mounds

Then flying along he sees the head and lofty sides of Mt Atlas, who balances the sky at his peak.  Atlas whose pine covered head continuously with dark clouds is pounded by wind and rain. Snow covers his shoulders, then rivers of snow trail from his chin and his beard bristling with pine is stiff with ice.  (IV.  246-251)

No birds, no mountains but the chill of ice and snow is there. Was Virgil swiftly composing these lines while outside in the c

old? Imagine Virgil's delight when he witnessed falling leaves and then composed the scene near the River Styx.

In Cicero's work, De Oratore, he lays out what an orator needs for excellence.  Here, just as in the Aeneid, it is easy to miss how much these people enjoyed nature. In De Oratore I.28 we see Cicero's beloved teacher, Crassus, and friends talking and walking through a garden.  In II.20 they are walking along a portico, looking out on to a palaestra, part of a garden, around which were several benches. The scene in III.17 is interesting as Cotta, one of the gathering, relates how after their rest he found Crassus in the garden in serious thought, so much so that Cotta backs away.  In III.18 they decide to locate in the woods because it is shady and cool.

The literary images makes the scenes come alive.  The scene is presented as one familiar to Romans. It was chosen as a place suitable for discussion.  A garden breathes life into old books.

Leaf skeleton in early Spring

Looking at Virgil, Pliny, Cicero, Ovid and others through the lens of a garden it becomes clear that Romans liked nature.  They enjoyed flowers, insects, trees and the fragrance these bring and animals.The very nature of their gardens attracted countless birds, insects and reptiles.

In De Natura Deorum Cicero sets out the different views on religion.  One view, that of Epicurus,  suggests that the universe is the product of chance.  Beyond the material world there is nothing.   Matter is all that matters.  It seems that the epicureans are winning the argument that chance and not any plan has brought life and the universe to this point. They met at someone's home, seated around a curved bench in a garden.  

Maybe they are correct but it seems that it is more than valuable to have someone like Cicero who holds out for another view. I have learned few things in life but of this I am sure- no advancement has ever been made in understanding when everyone is in agreement.  Partly because each person must learn what others have learned.  Knowledge is not something which one person learns and then everyone else accepts it as truth- that is the road to dogma.  The acquisition of knowledge is constant and ever reaches back.  

Even though our culture has so many differences with antiquity it is well to remember that the nature and needs of humans have not changed.  

The stoic replies to the ideas of Epicurus:

Examine the earth, placed in the middle, a solid sphere and everywhere rolled up into itself by its own gravity, clothed with flowers, plants, trees, fruits, all of whose incredible magnitude with its own endless variety is distinguished /marked.  Add to this the cool ever flowing fountains, the crystal clear rivers, their banks clothed with radiant green, the vaulted loftiness of caves, rugged rocks and cliffs…..but how much beauty there is of the sea, the appearance of its vast expanse, countless variety of islands, charming shores and bays… (II. 98)

In another work, De Finibus (III.73), he wonders how anyone can make judgements about good and evil unless the whole system of nature has been learned.   

The garden was the place where these people thought, wrote and talked and argued.  The garden influenced thought and supported argument.

It is difficult to miss the fascination, the respect and awe the group has for the world around them.  The garden questions a common modern view that all of life, the complexity of humans is no more than statistical data.  

De Natura Deorum takes place around an exhedra at someone's house.  There is one similar at Pompeii- part of a tomb with a garden at one time behind it.  It makes sense that this discussion took place in a garden in an exhedra.  Its shape is very conducive for a discussion as no one is left out.  Those present must surely have looked around at the plants, sky, birds over head as points were made.  In a garden one can hear their voices.

So often chance seems to explain it all.  But then again how can chance come from reason and order? How can chance be predictable?

A curiosity

To return to the garden in winter setting, there was this leaf whose stem somehow imbedded in the snow.  Look closely and then imagine how the circles were made in the snow.  The bulbous end of the stem kept the leaf in place but the wind blew from enough different directions to cause the leaf to spin.  That is chance, an accident. A wondrous accident.  But the complexity of the leaf, its structure, development and final form is merely a result of accident?  The fellow who espoused Epicureanism would say yes but the stoic would point to plants about them and express doubt.  Perhaps life is too complex for numbers alone to explain it all.

In Pliny the Elder's Natural History we learn that peppermint (menta) was used to stuff pillows and brushed on tables to provide a pleasant scent for dining(XIX.160.).  This was also used to increase energy, promote eagerness for food, prevents milk from souring(XX.147) .

In Ovid's Baucis and Philemon we see Baucis leveling the table with a broken piece of pottery; and then wipe clean the table with mint. (VII. 662-663)

The mint just outside the door no doubt was used to bring pleasant odor to the scene and make their guests eager to eat.  The scene must have been one familiar to anyone reading this.  One of the most fun areas to weed in this garden are these patches of mint.  Afterwards the hands are very redolent and the fragrance lasts.

Herbs, a pot and a frog- all of which were welcome in a Roman Garden

One of the pleasantries of a garden is that nature is everlasting and that the worries with which the news media bombards us pales beside the pervasive power of nature.  

So what good would  a garden be during trying times?  During the Civil War of the Republic, Roman armies had marched all over Spain, Africa, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Egypt by the time Cicero wrote to Varro in June/May of 46.  In 46 BC all was not going well.  The Civil War was still raging. Munda was yet to come.  The courts were a mess. Tens of thousands died on fields of battle at the siege of Brundisium, early battles in Spain, Pharsalus, Zela and Thapsus.  Elections, real elections were non-existent. 

Gardens are havens for fascination- note spider deep in nest

In a letter Cicero mentions to Varro (177) the difficulty of enduring the arrogance of Caesar's crowd, the pain of watching what was taking place in Rome and the need to dive into literature and philosophy.  Cicero does suggest that if no one seeks their advice, perhaps they should write on political theory in hopes of the future. As Varro and Cicero make their plans for a visit, Cicero writes:

if you are less able to come to me, I will rush to you.  If you have a garden as part of your library, nothing will be lacking (180).

When Cicero went to visit Varro he looked forward to their talks, Varro's library and garden. Gardens empowered these people. Was there mint nearby? Peppermint?  The times could gnaw at the heart but books and a garden could make it better.  

A doll made from an althea flower

Sometimes a garden can give us a glimpse into the lively imagination of children. A sweet young lady picked an althea, placed it on a spindle and imagined a dancer with skirt billowing as she spun about. 

These gardens meant more than the house itself.  After the earthquake at Pompeii in 62 AD, Jasemski's digs at Pompeii showed over and over that the first repairs done were to the gardens. ( D. Octavius Quartio/Loreius Tiburtinus) 

So it makes sense when Cicero went to check on his brother's place that he gives an update on progress for his house at Laterium.  While there were many comments about room plans and column alignment, Cicero commented on the utter beauty of the gardener's efforts (21):

although your house which is a place for contemplation seems to scold the insanity of certain luxurious houses. I praised the gardener. Ivy has so thoroughly entwined everything ; the foundation of the house and the spaces between the columns of the walkway that those draped statues seem themselves to be busy in the garden and offering the ivy for sale.

Thyme was used to treat snake bites and huge fields were grown to allow bees to make honey of it, honey which was highly prized(XX.245).

Few herbs have the potent fragrance and flavor of rosemary.

Rose from my parent's farm

Rose was used in perfume, chaplets, garnish on tables and amorous crowns in bedrooms. (XXI.  14-15)

Penny royal (puleium) was used for its sweet scent and to relieve headache(XIX.159-160).

In Pliny the Elder it is fun to see that Varro, a very serious scholar, had a sense of humor.  Pliny says: 

As far as Varro was concerned a crown of pennyroyal was more properly in the bedroom than one of the rose for it possessed the ability to relieve headache.(XX.152)

Sculptures of rabbits , deer, ducks, dogs, cows, birds, and so on have been  found on site in Pompeii.  Here we have Rana custos who is on guard duty and La Tartaruga plods. Romans did invite tortoises into their homes as they devoured insects.

Ara Pacis- there are numerous insects and birds

If ever in Rome, spend a day sitting around the Ara Pacis.  It is a place of peace.  Here numerous plants favored, used, grown, admired by ordinary Romans are everywhere.  There are grasshoppers.  This fellow feasts on the flower of the acanthus.  But he needs color- a garden can provide that.  Interestingly many plants are common weeds. Lizards dart about.  Snails softly glide. Frogs are there too.  But frogs are green.  What is more beautiful than a butterfly?  He begs for color.  How about a striking yellow? And look at that morning glory; blue would suit it just fine. Here one can learn that there is no need for statues in a garden, for the rose speaks of Venus, the frog of Apollo, the scorpion of Dionysus and grain of Ceres. A garden makes the Ara Pacis explode with color. 

Ovid's  Baucis and Philemon kindly receive a disguised Jupiter and Mercury.  Lelex, the story teller, describes the area.  An oak tree beside a linden stands among grassy hills surrounded by a low wall.  On the lower branches hang garlands placed there by those who have gone to visit the spot.  This is a garden tomb such as those at Pompeii.  Such a story would conjure up the reality of the presence of divinity.  A garden empowers the mind to color a tomb.  The sight takes on its own intrinsic beauty. What greater gift can divinity give than for two so devoted to pass together while doing what they loved?  These tombs are places of celebration and joy far more than a spot for grief.

Gardens are a vehicle for time travel.  Pliny the Elder gives detailed information on the grafting of trees.  He says that it was discovered by accident- after a farmer  had cut down a row of trees he jammed young branches into and among the stumps. The fence above began to grow using the base of the other tree below as a host. (XVII. 101).  From there the Romans became masters at grafting. 

Apple trees are an odd group.  Take a seed from a yellow delicious, plant it and what do we get?  Who knows but maybe not a yellow delicious.  The Romans somehow figured out that grafting preserved genetic purity.  If one takes a twig, called a scion, from a yellow delicious,  and grafts a bud to a suitable trunk, we get a yellow delicious.  There are some apples very very old which have been preserved through the centuries in this manner.  The pendu plat apple is the oldest known apple, brought to England by the Romans, perhaps during the time of Claudius. When near this tree it is easy to argue that this tree, the pendu plat, the one here in this garden, is a continuation of one grafted by Columella, Cato or Pliny.  When we touch this tree, we can touch Cato or Cicero.  A garden allows us to walk with Cicero as he discusses natural law along the Liris River in De Legibus.

Technology is not needed for time travel.  All we need is a love of nature. That has been here with us since the beginning of time.

Why have a garden? In a day and age when Hollywood mentality sets the tone for society's view of the past, it is nice to meet reality and wallow with Romans in the music of Nature's lessons. After watching Romans tend, fit, weed and fill their gardens, I have a suspicion that this is their source of power and this is at least part of the reason why they toiled and fought so hard.  

In every garden lies a pot of gold.