Download or read book The Garden of the Gods: Plants in Ancient Greece - A History written by Magdalena Czajkowska and published by Magdalena Czajkowska. This book was released on 2021-11-03 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The Garden of the Gods" examines the intimate relationship between the ancient Greek gods and the plant world. The Greek myths envisaged the beginning as Chaos. As it divided into the sky, the sea, the underworld and the earth from the struggle over their dominance emerged a victor. He kept the sky for himself, gave the patronage over the sea and the underworld to his two brothers leaving the earth to all. It became their garden. While they oversaw it from above, the mortals set about using the plant life for their own purposes - for food, medicine, pleasure, worship, and, indeed, for making sense of the verdant world surrounding them. Among them emerged historical men who provided us with the basis of scientific and medical knowledge. The patronage of the gods and their active involvement in the vegetable kingdom, guarding, selecting and creating a new species, adds a new perspective explored in this book, contributing to the wonder of the Greek myths, the greatest ever told.