[Isabel Jennings]

Hi all,

I was hoping to find some help, please. I've got an assignment and one of the questions is on the ancient Greek garden styles and what we may have in common with them now. I'm finding very little information as there is little evidence left. I only know that they were mainly great parks for philosophical thinking and gatherings. They also, in so many ways, were one of the first in starting container gardens and apparently Alexander the Great brought back many ideas from the East after conquering it. That, however, is as far as I've got.

Would anybody know any information about them? Or famous gardens at the time? Maybe a book on its history? Old stories?

Anything would be greatly appreciated! And thank you in advance!

[Joanna Savage]

Hello Isabel, a fascinating topic but difficult if it is to be about gardens and not just plants. I am now very rusty on the subject but might look at the following  works. Presumably you have the gardens of Alcinous from the Odyssey. Hesiod's Works and Days probably has observations on cultivation. Then there is Aristotle on classification of Plants and Animals, also the Idylls of Theocritus for background scenery and Theophrastus for plant classification. Illustrations might be found in black and red figure Attic vase painting, both the main scenes and the subsidiary decoration.
For the garden itself I have a hazy memory that the Agora in Athens has been planted to an ancient plan.
I would also look at Darcy Wentworth Thompson on Greek Birds. There may be indirect info about plants and gardens there.
I will look at my books to see if I can find more precise references. Joanna

[Isabel Jennings]

This is brilliant! thank you very much!! I'll definitely have a look at everything and see what I can find, sometimes its looking a bit beyond and seeing what can be found. 

[Joanna Savage]

Hello Isabel,
From The Athenian Agora, A Guide to the Excavation and Museum, American School of Classical Studies at Athens, 1976, p.50
The Temple of Hephaistos.......The excavations produced evidence of a formal garden around the temple in Hellenistic and early Roman times. Rows of rectangular pits bordering the north, south and west sides of the building contained flower pots for the setting out of shrubs or small trees. The garden has been replanted with pomegranate next the temple and myrtle in the outer rows. The flower pots are in the Museum.

If you ever happen to visit, please post pics.

Ther are a couple of old Thames and Hudson paperbacks on Attic vase painting by John Boardman. Copiously illustrated. You might find info about grapes and ivy. The olive harvesting by the Antimenes Painter is illustrated, also there is a scene of selling oil under a tree. Joanna

[Trevor Australis]

Too late to help Isobel but my readings on this subject seem to agree that ancient Greeks were pretty much exclusively utilitarian when it came to gardens, with most of the work being done by slaves or women. The examples offered by excavations at temples and religious sites are viewed as attempts to make sacred groves, or to replicate famous sacred groves in places where trees and groves were almost impossible to grow - hence the tree planting holes cut out of the rocky ground. The mortuary Temple of Hapshetsut in Egypt is probably the best known and best researched example but others are known in China, and Greece.

[Umbrian]

Welcome back Trevor, how lovely to see so many new posts the last few days....keep it up - the Forum needs you!