Marcus Terentius Varro was a Roman polymath and a prolific author. He is regarded as ancient Rome's greatest scholar, and was described by Petrarch as "the third great light of Rome". He is sometimes called Varro Reatinus to distinguish him from his younger contemporary Varro Atacinus.
The Dorking is a British breed of domestic chicken. It is named after the town of Dorking, in Surrey in southern England.
Rutilius Taurus Aemilianus Palladius, also known as Palladius Rutilius Taurus Aemilianus or most often just as Palladius, was an ancient writer who wrote in Latin, and is dated variously to the later 4th century or first half of the 5th century AD. He is principally known for his book on agriculture, Opus agriculturae, sometimes known as De re rustica.
Roman agriculture describes the farming practices of ancient Rome, during a period of over 1000 years. From humble beginnings, the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire expanded to rule much of Europe, northern Africa, and the Middle East and thus comprised many agricultural environments of which the Mediterranean climate of dry, hot summers and cool, rainy winter was the most common. Within the Mediterranean area, a triad of crops were most important: grains, olives, and grapes.
Ardea is an ancient town and comune in the Metropolitan City of Rome, 35 kilometres south of Rome and about 4 kilometres from today's Mediterranean coast.
An ergastulum was a Roman building used to hold in chains dangerous slaves or to punish other slaves. The ergastulum was usually built as a deep, roofed pit below ground level, large enough to allow the slaves to work within it, and containing narrow spaces in which they slept. Ergastula were common structures on all slave-using farms (latifundia). The etymology is disputed between two possible Greek roots: ergasterios "workshop" and ergastylos "pillar to which slaves are tethered."
The ancient Roman units of measurement were primarily founded on the Hellenic system, which in turn was influenced by the Egyptian system and the Mesopotamian system. The Roman units were comparatively consistent and well documented.
Geoponici, or Scriptores rei rusticae, is a collective term for the Greek and Latin writers on husbandry and agriculture. In classical times it was regarded as a branch of economics.
Carsoli is a town and comune in the province of L'Aquila, Abruzzo. The ancient Roman city lies 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) southwest of the modern town.
The Chianina is an Italian breed of large white cattle. It was formerly principally a draught breed; it is now raised mainly for beef. It is the largest and one of the oldest cattle breeds in the world. The bistecca alla fiorentina is produced from its meat.
Mago was a Carthaginian writer, author of an agricultural manual in Punic which was a record of the farming knowledge of Carthage, The Punic text has been lost, but some fragments of Greek and Latin translations survive.
The jugerum or juger was a Roman unit of area, equivalent to a rectangle 240 Roman feet in length and 120 feet in width, i.e. 28,800 square Roman feet or about 1⁄4 hectare (0.623 acre).
Decimus Junius Silanus was an ancient Roman of the 2nd century BC. He was of noble family and was an expert in Punic language and literature.
Cassius Dionysius of Utica was an ancient Greek agricultural writer of the 2nd century BC. The Roman nomen, Cassius, combined with the Greek cognomen, Dionysius, make it likely that he was a slave, originally Greek-speaking, who was owned and afterwards freed by a Roman of the gens Cassia. Cassius Dionysius compiled a farming manual in Greek, now lost. Its title was Georgika ("Agriculture"); it was divided into twenty books, and was dedicated by its author to the Roman praetor Sextilius.
Ancient Rome played a pivotal role in the history of wine. The earliest influences on the viticulture of the Italian peninsula can be traced to ancient Greeks and the Etruscans. The rise of the Roman Empire saw both technological advances in and burgeoning awareness of winemaking, which spread to all parts of the empire. Rome's influence has had a profound effect on the histories of today's major winemaking regions in France, Germany, Italy, Portugal and Spain.
The gens Hostilia was an ancient family at Rome, which traced its origin to the time of Romulus. The most famous member of the gens was Tullus Hostilius, the third King of Rome; however, all of the Hostilii known from the time of the Republic were plebeians. Several of the Hostilii were distinguished during the Punic Wars. The first of the family to obtain the consulship was Aulus Hostilius Mancinus in 170 BC.
The gens Sergia was a patrician family at ancient Rome, which held the highest offices of the Roman state from the first century of the Republic until imperial times. The first of the Sergii to obtain the consulship was Lucius Sergius Fidenas in 437 BC. Despite long and distinguished service, toward the end of the Republic the reputation of this gens suffered as a result of the conspiracy of Catiline.
The gens Naevia, occasionally written Navia, was a plebeian or patrician family at ancient Rome. Members of this gens are first mentioned at the time of the Second Punic War, but the first of the Naevii to obtain the consulship was Lucius Naevius Surdinus, in AD 30.
Galliot du Pré was a Parisian bookseller and publisher.
Robert Howard Rodgers is an American philologist who is emeritus professor of classics at the University of Vermont. His edition of Frontinus's De Aquaeductu Urbis Romae on Roman aqueducts was the first detailed commentary on the work for almost 300 years. He has also produced notable editions of works on ancient agriculture by Palladius and Columella.
