An Environmental History of Ancient Greece and Rome

In ancient Greece and Rome an ambiguous relationship developed between man and nature, and this decisively determined the manner in which they treated the environment. On the one hand, nature was conceived as a space characterized and inhabited by divine powers, which deserved appropriate respect. On the other, a rationalist view emerged, according to which humans were to subdue nature using their technologies and to dispose of its resources. This book systematically describes the ways in which the Greeks and Romans intervened in the environment and thus traces the history of the tension between the exploitation of resources and the protection of nature, from early Greece to the period of late antiquity. At the same time it analyses the comprehensive opening up of the Mediterranean and the northern frontier regions, both for settlement and for economic activity. The book's level and approach make it highly accessible to students and non-specialists.

Author: Lukas Thommen
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 03/08/2012
Pages: 198
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.70lbs
Size: 8.80h x 5.90w x 0.40d
ISBN: 9780521174657

Review Citation(s):
Choice 10/01/2012

About the Author
Thommen, Lukas: - Lukas Thommen is a Professor in the Historical Institute at the University of Zurich and is also a member of the Sosipolis International Institute of Ancient Hellenic History in Greece.