Glanes naturalistes dans la collection des Universités de France

Abstract

In usual volumes of the "Universités de France" Collection, mainly in Aristophanes's comedies, animal- and plant-names are sometimes erroneously or approximately translated. The following notes are intended to explain how the Greek words have been misunderstood and what is their right sense.

Ecology, Cultivation, and Utilization of the Dittany of Crete (Origanum dictamnus L.) from Ancient Times to the Present: A Short Review

“…The earliest secure source for Dittany is Hippocrates, who mentions Dittany in three of his works, dated to the end of the fifth/beginning of the fourth century BCE. Dittany as a Cretan endemic plant is undisputed; Hippocrates characterized it as Cretan [33], and it is repeated multiple times throughout the Antique [29,[34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47].…”

“…Aristotle is cautious in his account, noting that this is just what people say (even one of the two mentions is in a book themed by marvelous things heard, i.e., fables). Despite his disclaimer, this mention of Dittany became significantly influential in antiquity and was frequently reiterated [21,[35][36][37][38]42,43,45,50,51].…”

“…In addition to its established applications in gynecological matters, he specifies that the leaves of the plant are utilized, noting that it is ingested directly into the mouth. Theophrastus is also the first to introduce the concept of pseudodictamon, a plant similar to Dittany but lacking comparable efficacy, and that grows in various locations [35] (p. 43).…”