Logo: to the web site of Uppsala University

While the sea monsters in ancient Greek and Roman art and literature firmly belong to the supernatural sphere, these sources were probably inspired in part by the natural world. There are convincing arguments to suggest multiple sources of inspiration, which with few exceptions derive from the animal kingdom. Different scholars have touched upon the question of which species might have inspired the ancient imagination, from whales and sharks to snakes and dogs to fossils of long-extinct megafauna. This article is an attempt to add one more possible species: the Mediterranean moray (Muraena helena). Moray eels have double jaws—pharyngeal jaws constitute a “second set” of sharp teeth—and descriptions of sea monsters in the ancient literature emphasize not just a double but a triple set of teeth. Moreover, the moray eel has a serpentine shape, a common feature of sea monsters. Also, it is a fiercely territorial species, commonly lurking in holes, not unlike the sea monsters of myth abiding in caves 

A substantial assemblage of Roman window glass—consisting primarily of “cast”, matt/glossy examples, but also including cylinder-blown, double-glossy window glass—was discovered during the 1926 excavations of a Late Roman bath in Asine, Argolis, the Peloponnese, Greece. It is clear that this material emanates from damage done to the building, and the question of whether this had human or natural causes is discussed in this paper: was it the “barbarian” invasion of the Visigoth king Alaric in the late 4th century AD that led to the windows being broken? Or, was the damage caused by the earthquakes known to have hit the Eastern Mediterranean area in Late Antiquity? Traces of destruction typical of earthquakes were found in the bath building, and the destruction occurred in a period known for its high seismic activity: the so-called Early Byzantine Tectonic Paroxysm, which led to the conclusion that the bath was hit by at least one, possibly several, earthquakes, causing the windows to shatter and fall out of their frames. Some of the glass sherds were in all probability hidden under dust and debris and were never recovered despite the fact that glass was extensively recycled at the time.

Views of the sea in antiquity were ambivalent. There can be little doubt that the societies were dependent on seafaring; moreover, it offered many opportunities. Equally, however, the sea was associated with death and hence evoked a sense of dread. What was feared was not only the violent nature of the sea itself, but also the dreadful creatures that were thought to dwell in its depths. Indeed, the notion of the sea teeming with monsters is frequently found in ancient literature, for instance Homer wrote about the 'monster-harbouring sea'. This chapter focuses on that aspect: on the one hand, sea monsters and sea-serpents found in mythical accounts, such as those threatening Andromeda, Hesione, and Laocoön; on the other, the monstrous beasts featuring in various legends, such as giant octopuses and killer whales. A common theme is how the aforementioned ambivalent views of the sea came to influence these narratives.

Seasonal cycles in plants and animals drive key timings of human practices in an agrosystem like the best time for harvest, planting, or pruning. Within the framework of historical phenological studies, we attempt a reconstruction of the olive (Olea europaea L.) phenology along millennia. Thanks to its extraordinary longevity, the olive tree is a living proxy from the past and embodies a still uncollected long-term memory of ecological behaviors. A cultural keystone species, olive cultivation has more and more played a crucial role for biodiversity conservation, livelihood of rural communities and their enrooted cultural identity in the whole Mediterranean. By compiling traditional phenological knowledge from historical written sources and oral traditions, and using it as historical bio-indicator of the linkage between human ecological practices and seasonal changes of plant behavior, we compiled a monthly ecological calendar of the olive tree covering the last ∼2800 years. As a case study, we chose a special place: Sicily, unique for its position in the Mediterranean, geomorphology and legacies in the form of cross-temporal accumulated eco-cultures. Such a sui generis ecological calendar provides an additional case study to explore the intertwining of plant behavior and human adaptation strategies and the interplay between cultural diversity, ecological disturbance and phenological stability. All of this, in turn, can inform action for the present and future sustainable management of these millennial trees.