Reeds and Riches in Classical Literature and the Nile Mosaic of

Ratio et Res
New England Classical Journal 38.4 (2011) 267-284
Teaching the Text and Images: Reeds and Riches in
Classical Literature and the Nile Mosaic of Palestrina
T
David K. Ulrich
Noble and Greenough School
his investigation highlights the rich appreciation that students may
gain from combining the visual elements of classical art with textual
descriptions by classical authors. The Nile Mosaic of Palestrina is
the most complex and intriguing representation of Egypt’s mighty river.
Hippopotami, crocodiles, and ichneumons run rampant on terrain dry
and wet. Persea trees, doum palms, and lotus blossoms dot the landscape.
Hunters chase their prey, commoners fish and farm outside of their
huts, celebrants parade through temples and sanctuaries, merchants and
soldiers attend to their martial and commercial affairs, while others lounge
extravagantly in the glory of the river’s abundance. Nilometers measure the
critical level of the waterway, which is, for its part, plied by canoes, ships,
and galleys. In short, the tesserae teem with vital and vibrant abundance.
Nile Mosaic from the Temple of Fortuna. Palestrina, Italy.
Nimatallah /Art Resource, NY
For the most detailed discussion of the Nile mosaic with images, see
Meyboom, and also Ferrari, Steinmeyer-Schareika, Schmidt, Versluys and
Whitehouse. National Geographic, July 2011, includes online images.
267
In contrast, the vast majority of the coins that portray the Nile River
offer a markedly simpler presentation. Constraints of space dictate a narrow
selection of items that can be incorporated into numismatic fluvial imagery.
While there exist some Nile coins with nilometers, crocodiles, lotus plants
and hippopotami, the most common visual catalog features—in addition to
the allegorical River God—only two recurring items: the cornucopia and the
reed. Why is the reed, which is so pronounced in numismatic renderings
of the Nile, seemingly absent in the most complex representation of that
river? Moreover, inasmuch as the most common coin imagery portrays the
Nile offering a cornucopia and wielding a reed scepter, can one logically
infer that the reed is the source of power from which the riches of the
cornucopia proffer?
Tetradrachm of Alexandria under Hadrian, AD 132-33 Struck, Billon;
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum
© President and Fellows of Harvard College
Preliminary to the substance of our inquiry, the following basic
activities provide a general framework for methodology in a classroom
setting: (1) discuss the necessity of using a variety of sources to assess
themes in the classical world, especially combining visual and textual
evidence; (2) show a sampling of Nile coins, and discuss both the common
and disparate elements of the collection; (3) let students investigate the
various uses of reeds, giving a list of passages especially from Pliny, and
also from Oppian, Ovid, Vergil, Herodotus, Theophrastus, and Diodorus
Siculus; (4) let them come up with other sources as well and determine
whether they are valid or not; (5) discuss overall impressions of the Nile
As an example, the tetradrachm of Alexandria under Hadrian, AD 132-133. See
also Imhoof-Blumer, 173-421 and accompanying plates.
The word “reeds” in this paper encompasses the following terms. Latin:
(h)arundo, calamus. Greek: κάλαμος, δόναξ. Botanical taxonomy: arundo donax (Giant
Cane), phragmites australis (Common Reed).
268
Mosaic: what the class sees and how they interpret the mosaic in its
entirety; (6) invite students to engage in the rhetorical exercise of describing
in vivid detail the visual evidence of a scene herein presented (ekphrasis),
and ask students to draw the scenes as they imagine them; (7) let each
group determine whether reeds are present in the scene and provide
evidenced arguments for or against; (8) share conclusions and revisit the
larger discussion of how visual and textual evidence corroborate thematic
discussions of the classical world.
Students may wonder, why reeds? Amid so many spectacular items
represented in the Nile Mosaic (exotic creatures, elegant architectural
elements, elaborate river travel, and intriguing human interactions),
the focus on reeds may seem bland. We note however that the reed is
ubiquitous along the shores of rivers, as demonstrated by its inclusion on
the reverse of so many river coins. We also find engaging the sharp contrast
between the simplicity of the reed in its botanical form and the complexity
of its use in ancient society, as attested by the visual evidence at Palestrina
and in the textual references of classical authors—the two media for our
classroom investigation of this remarkable paradox in the ancient sources
and world.
As teachers of both the methodology and the content, we will conduct
our own research with the following scheme: (1) identify scenes in the Nile
Mosaic where the reed is present; (2) mine classical literature for poetic
and scientific references to the reed as they pertain to the visual evidence
of the Nile Mosaic, especially Pliny’s Naturalis Historia for the uses of the
plant, Oppian’s treatises on hunting and fishing (Cynegetica and Halieutica),
Vitruvius’ De Architectura, as well as secondary allusions in works such as
Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Vergil’s Aeneid and Eclogues, and Petronius’ Satyricon;
and (3) assess the reed’s influence on the fluvial abundance suggested by
the coins and the Nile Mosaic. Armed with our texts, ultimately we pose
larger questions about the investigation for and with our students, moving
from specific visual details to broader cultural themes. How does the reed
relate to the myriad beasts that roam the upper register of the mosaic?
How does it mediate human interaction, dictate dwelling and architectural
structures, and condition fluvial commerce and comfort in the lower
register?
The Nile Mosaic is commonly divided into nineteen sections, based
primarily on the Dal Pozzo copies. Placed together in the current
reconstruction in Palestrina, the mosaic is striking in the division between
the scenes of the upper and lower registers. In the upper portion of
the mosaic, fantastic animals (labeled in somewhat cryptic Greek) and
exotically depicted men engage in hunt-and-chase scenes amid a rocky
backdrop, mostly barren of vegetation. The lower scenes present activities
of a more refined nature: religious processions, military assemblies, and
leisurely gatherings. Here, lush vegetation surrounds and adorns advanced
See Helen Whitehouse (Oxford, 1976).
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architectural structures, and transport is provided by numerous maritime
crafts.
In his detailed inventory, P.G.P. Meyboom catalogs fourteen different
species of flora throughout the mosaic, but Section 18 is notably the only
section in which the reed (here, arundo donax) appears clearly in its natural
state. Many of the areas where one would expect to find the reed, i.e.
growing along the banks of the river, have been lost in the reconstruction.
Much of the marshy foliage that does appear, therefore, is a posterior
addition to the mosaic, and cannot enter into the present discussion.
Meyboom also highlights the difficulty of identifying all plants with
absolute certainty: “other (water) plants are frequently depicted as well . . .
specific kinds of flowers and plants can rarely be distinguished.” We shall
investigate whether we can make more certain identifications of the reed in
its natural state, and more importantly, in its manipulated forms in the Nile
Mosaic. Of the nineteen sections, there are six vignettes that most clearly
illustrate the sway of reeds in the day-to-day activities represented: 3, 15,
16, 17, 18 and 19. Our discussion will follow the progression of the sections
from wild to civilized content.
Section 18 (Wild and Natural) is located in the bottom left corner of
the mosaic. A wild scene, there is little to suggest the presence of man. One
hippopotamus attempts to hide in the reeds, though it looks like it has
already received spear wounds from some prior incident. A companion
hippopotamus raises its head from the water to the left of the foliage.
Additionally, two crocodiles rest along the edge of the brush, one lying
low, another descending into the water graced by lotus blooms. To bring
students into the discussion, ask them to reflect on where they have seen
reeds growing locally. What does the presence of reeds indicate about the
environs? What sort of wildlife might one find in the immediate vicinity of
the reeds? How might creatures use the reed for survival?
The appearance of the reed in this section illustrates its use as an
indication of wet conditions. Vitruvius, in De Architectura, advises looking
for the reed, among other plants, in order to establish secure sources for
wells and fountains:
Signa autem, quibus terrarum generibus supra scriptum est, ea
invenientur nascentia: tenuis iuncus, salix erratica, alnus, vitex,
harundo, hedera aliaque, quae eiusmodi sunt, quae non possunt
nasci per se sine umore. Solent autem eadem in lacunis nata esse,
For a literary parallel, see how Strabo contrasts the “nomadic and resourceless
life” of the Aethiopians against the “civic and cultivated life” of the Aegyptians
along the Nile. Geography, 17.1.3.
Meyboom, pp. 263-264.
Ibid., p. 32.
Ibid., p. 264.
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quae sidentes praeter reliquum agrum excipiunt ex imbribus et
agris per hiemem propterque capacitatem diutius conservant
umorem.
The following growths will be found to show where the kinds of
soil already described are found; the slender bulrush, the wild
willow, the alder, the agnus cactus, reeds, ivy and the like which
cannot grow without moisture. These plants usually grow in
marshy places; for these, settling below the level of the rest of the
ground, receive water from the rains and from the rest of the land
in winter, and because of their capacity to retain the moisture.
Since the presence of these plants promises a continued supply of water,
essential for fertility and crop production, this appearance of the reed
indeed suggests abundance. Hence the traditional association of the reed
with the river gods. The depiction of the river gods Nilus and Tiberis
is remarkably similar. Both lounge majestically in the watery domain,
wielding reeds and surrounded by objects that signify the abundance of
their respective rivers. In book eight of the Aeneid, a majestic River Tiber
greets a war-wearied Aeneas, stretched in fatigue along his banks. The
young hero hears the prophecy concerning the founding of Alba Longa
from the river god, who appears peering above the poplars, mantled in
marsh plants, and crowned with reeds:
huic deus ipse loci fluvio Tiberinus amoeno
populeas inter senior se attollere frondes
visus (eum tenuis glauco velabat amictu
carbasus, et crinis umbrosa tegebat harundo)
tum sic adfari et curas his demere dictis: (Aen. 8.31-35)
He dreamed that before him the very god of the place, Tiberinus of
the pleasant stream, raised his aged head among the poplar leaves;
fine linen draped him in a mantle of grey, and shady reeds crowned
his hair. Then thus he spoke to him, and with these words took
away his cares.
The river god’s promises of new beginnings and prosperity are perhaps all
the more effective because his attributive crown of reeds also promises life
and abundance.10
Vitruvius, De Architectura, 8.1.3. All quotations and translations of classical
authors are from the Loeb Classical Library.
10
For the imagery of reeds as it pertains to abundance on the Ara Pacis, see
Zanker, 172ff.
271
A humorous anecdote by Pliny relates that a hippopotamus, after eating
too much, will attempt to lessen the contents of its bowels by impaling his
leg upon the sharply cut reeds:
Hippopotamus in quadam medendi parte etiam magister existit;
adsidua namque satietate obesus exit in litus recentis harundinum
caesuras speculatum atque ubi acutissimam vidit stirpem
inprimens corpus venam quandam in crure vulnerat atque ita
profluvio sanguinis morbidum alias corpus exonerat et plagam
limo rursus obducit. (Pliny, Naturalis Historia, 8.60.96)
The hippopotamus stands out as an actual master of medicine; for
when its unceasing voracity has caused it to overeat itself it comes
ashore to reconnoitre places where reeds have recently been cut,
and where it sees an extremely sharp stalk it squeezes its body
down on to it and makes a wound in a certain vein in its leg, and by
thus letting blood unburdens its body, which would otherwise be
liable to disease, and plasters up the wound again with mud.
Students may decide whether the reed here is characterized as a provider
of abundance, or not. In any event, what do Pliny’s words imply about how
reeds might have conditioned life for local fauna? We see, at the very least,
that the reed signals the presence of water, which is useful per se. Beyond
that, we may begin to imagine other applications of the reed for humans
and beasts alike.
Section 3 (Savage and Primitive) is the most sparse and barren scene
of the Nile Mosaic. Located top and center, it crowns the mosaic with two
dark-skinned hunters with loin-cloths shooting at their terrestrial and avian
prey with bows and arrows. The animals that inhabit the rocky tiers—the
ΝΑΒΟΥC,11 the hyena, and various birds, as indicated by their Greek
labels—indicate that this scene is the furthest removed, both structurally
and ideologically, from the civilized world at the bottom of the mosaic.
This is a scene of exoticism and primitivism. Invite students to imagine
themselves confronted with the challenge of procuring alimentation and
defending against potentially hostile neighbors. How could a reed prove
useful in such a situation?
Pliny remarks on the difficulty of living in an environment devoid
of trees,12 and we can imagine life here to be equally challenging. And
yet as destitute and foreboding as this scene appears, the hunters in the
11
The nabus is an Aethiopian term for a giraffe, although it appears here more
similar to a dromedary. See Meyboom, Appendix 3, pp. 119-121.
12
Pliny, NH, 16.1.2-4. He questions: quaenam qualisque esset vita sine arbore ulla,
sine frutice viventium. “What is the nature and what are the characteristics of the life
of people living without any trees or any shrubs?” He characterizes the Chauci as
one such group, describing them as misera gens, “a miserable race.”
272
rocky recesses of the Nile Mosaic have somehow been able to fashion a
successful hunting weapon to gather their sustenance. The reed may be
manipulated to engage in what Oppian terms the τριχθαδίην θήρην θεὸς
ὤπασεν ἀνθρώποισιν, ἠερίην χθονίην τε καὶ εἰναλίην ἐρατεινήν, “triple sort
of hunting god hath bestowed on men—in air and on earth and on the sea
delightful.”13 This one plant allows man to create limed-reeds for aucupium
(fowling),14 angling rods for piscatus (fishing),15 and arrow shafts for venatio
(hunting), as we witness here.
Pliny puts a high premium on the military might of the reed; its power
of destruction and death is a major factor in his admiration. In a striking
assessment of arrow warfare, he relates the scope of the reed’s presence and
power:
calamis orientis populi bella conficiunt, calamis mortem adcelerant
pinna addita, calamis spicula addunt inrevocabili hamo noxia,
fitque et ex ipso telum aliud fracto in vulneribus. his armis solem
ipsum obumbrant; propter hoc maxime serenos dies optant, odere
ventos et imbres, qui inter illos pacem esse cogunt. ac si quis
Aethiopas, Aegyptios, Arabas, Indos, Scythas, Bactros, Sarmatarum
tot gentes et orientis omniaque Parthorum regna diligentius
conputet, aequa ferme pars hominum in toto mundo calamis
superata degit. (Pliny, NH, 16.65.159-160)
the peoples of the East employ reeds in making war; by means of
reeds with a feather added to them they hasten the approach of
death, and to reeds they add points which deal wounds with their
barb that cannot be extracted, and if the weapon itself breaks in the
wound, another weapon is made out of it. With these weapons they
obscure the sun, and this is what chiefly makes them want calm
weather and hate wind and rain, which compel the combatants to
keep peace between them. And if anybody should make a rather
careful reckoning of the Ethiopians, Egyptians, Arabs, Indians,
Scythians and Bactrians, and the numerous races of the Sarmatians
Oppian, Cynegetica, 1.47-48.
At Trimalchio’s feast in Petronius’ Satyricon, birds fly around the room,
where parati aucupes cum harundinibus fuerunt et eos circa triclinium volitantes momento
exceperunt, “as they fluttered around the dining-room there were fowlers ready with
limed-reeds who caught them in a moment” (ch. 60.9). During a religious procession
in Apuleius’ The Golden Ass, a birder is identified: nec qui diversis harundinibus alter
aucupam cum visco, alter piscatorem cum hamis inducent, “after him went one with
reeds and lime, betokening him a fowler, and another with hooks, declaring a
fisher” (Apuleius, The Golden Ass, 11.8). For a description of the fowler’s equipment,
see Oppian, Halieutica, 1.32 and Cynegetica, 1, 62-66; 3.487-488. In addition, reed-nets
were used by the Egyptians to hunt quail. (Diodorus Siculus, 1.60.10)
15
See discussion of Section 17 below.
13
14
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and of the East, and all the realms of the Parthians, almost onehalf of mankind in the whole world lives subject to the sway of the
reed.16
The same bows and arrows used for hunting the hyena in the Nile Mosaic
might be turned periodically against neighboring tribes.
References to the reed as a weapon abound in this context, harundo—as
a reed shaft—serving metonymically as a term for the arrow itself. A
common appearance in scenes of hunting and warfare in the Aeneid,17 the
arrow-tipped reed can also touch affairs of the heart. After Aeneas’ arrival
to Carthage, Vergil likens Dido wandering the city in her burning passion to
a deer having been pierced by an errant hunter’s shaft:
uritur infelix Dido totaque vagatur
urbe furens, qualis coniecta cerva sagitta,
quam procul incautam nemora inter Cresia fixit
pastor agens telis liquitque volatile ferrum
nescius; illa fuga silvas saltusque peragrat
Dictaeos; haeret lateri letalis harundo. (Vergil, Aen. 4.68-73)
Unhappy Dido burns, and through the city wanders in frenzy—
even as a hind, smitten by an arrow, which, all unwary, amid the
Cretan woods, a shepherd hunting with darts has pierced from afar,
leaving in her the winged steel, unknowing: she in flight ranges the
Dictaean woods and glades, but fast to her side clings the deadly
shaft.18
16
For additional evidence, as Herodotus leads into a discussion of the battle of
Thermopylae (Book 7), he catalogs the weapons carried and the armor worn by the
approaching armies of the Persian Empire. Notable among the various instruments
of death are the reed arrows (ὀιστοὺς δε καλαμίνους) slung in quivers by the
Persians (ch. 61), and, as we may infer, the Medes, who were “equipped like the
Persians.” Ethiopians also appear in Herodotus’ line-up with short arrows, pointed
not with iron but with a sharpened stone (καλαμίνους ὀιστοὺς μικρούς), as do the
native bows of reed (τόξα δὲ καλάμινα ἐπιχώρια) strung by the Bactrians (ch. 64),
the bows of reeds and iron-tipped arrows of the same (τόξα δὲ καλάμινα . . . ὀιστοὺς
καλαμίνους) by the Indians (ch. 65), and the reed bows of their country (τόξα
ἐπιχώρια καλάμινα) by the Caspians (ch. 67). For Ethiopians, see ch. 69.
17
See, in particular, Vergil, Aeneid, 5.525, 10.140, and 12.386 for the use of the
reed as a shaft for hunting with the bow and arrow.
18
The Cretan arrow, as Pliny notes, is of particular value in hunting: suum genus
sagittario calamo, ut diximus, sed Cretico, longissimis internodiis, obsequiosum quo libeat
flecti calefacto. “The reed used as an arrow is a special kind, as we have said, but the
Cretan variety has the longest intervals between the knots, and when heated allows
itself to be bent in any direction you please.” (Pliny, NH, 16.66.166)
274
The reed-shaft of Cupid’s desire sticks in her side and spurs her into an
aimless frenzy. It appears few can escape the trajectory of love, or the reed.
In all, the reed may be manipulated into practical tools of survival, weapons
in order to hunt for food, or to defend oneself against enemies.19
Amid vignettes of sophisticated architecture in the lower register of
the Nile Mosaic, Section 15 (Simple and Agrarian) is an island of rustic
domesticity, almost bucolic in nature. There is a large reed hut, outside of
which two white-clad figures lounge. A companion herdsman drives his ox
or cow toward the water to drink. A papyrus canoe carries a fisherman who
angles the riches of the floodwaters. Students may debate the advantages
and disadvantages of using the reed for construction purposes.
Nile Mosaic, Section 15. Nimatallah/Art Resource, NY
The reed was a common material for the construction of simple dwellings in
many parts of the world, as Pliny relates:
19
For students particularly interested in warfare, the following excerpt from
Ammianus Marcellinus may be interesting: Malleoli autem, teli genus, figurantur
hac specie: sagitta est cannea, inter spiculum et harundinem multifido ferro coagmentata,
quae in muliebris coli formam (quo nentur lintea stamina), concavatur ventre subtiliter, et
plurifariam patens, atque in alveo ipso ignem cum aliquo suscepit alimento. Et si emissa
lentius arcu invalido,–ictu enim rapidiore exstinguitur,–haeserit usquam, tenaciter cremat,
aquisque conspersa acriores excitat aestus incendiorum, nec remedio ullo quam superiacto
pulvere consopitur. (AM, 23.4.14-15) “But the fire-darts (a kind of missile) are made
in this form: the shaft is of reed, and between this and the point is a covering of
bands of iron; it looks like a woman’s distaff for making linen threads. It is skillfully
hollowed out on the lower side with many openings, and in the cavity fire and
some inflammable matter are placed. And if it is shot slowly from a somewhat loose
bow (for it is extinguished by too swift a flight) and has stuck anywhere, it burns
persistently, and water poured upon it rouses the fire to still greater heat; and there
is no way of extinguishing it except by sprinkling it with dust.”
275
tegulo earum domus suas septentrionales populi operiunt,
durantque aevis tecta talia; et in reliquo vero orbe et camaras
levissime suspendunt. (Pliny, NH, 16.64.156)
The northern peoples thatch their homes with reeds, and roofs of
this kind last for ages, while in other parts of the world as well
reeds provide very light ceilings for rooms.
In his discussion of the battle at Pleiae between Philopoemen and Nabis
of Sparta, Livy mentions temporary reed dwellings hastily constructed to
provide shelter for the Spartan soldiers:
cum ibi stativa essent et pauci tabernacula haberent, multitudo alia
casas ex harundine textas fronde, quae imbram modo praeberet,
texissent. (Livy, Ab urbe condita, 35.27.3)
When he [Nabis] had placed his base there and only a few had
tents, the rest of the throng had huts woven out of reeds and
thatched with leaves, which offered nothing but shade.
Diodorus Siculus describes the reed dwellings of the Egyptians as an
ancient custom still in practice:
ἴχνη δὲ τούτων διαμένειν παρὰ τοῖς νομεῦσι τοῖς κατ’ Αἴγυπτον,
οὓς ἅπαντάς φασι μέχρι τοῦ νῦν μηδεμίαν ἄλλην οἴκησιν ἢ τὴν ἐκ
τῶν καλάμων ἔχειν, δοκιμάζοντας ἀρκεῖσθαι ταύτῃ. (Diodorus
Siculus, 1.43.4)
Traces of these customs still remain among the herdsmen of Egypt,
all of whom, they say, have no other dwelling up to this time
than one of reeds, considering that with this they are well enough
provided for.
Even in more complex architecture, the reed was used to create light roofs
for rooms, and can thus be imagined in some of the more elegant structures
in adjacent vignettes of the Nile Mosaic.
Section 15, therefore, provides evidence that the reed serves as a means
of creating shelter, thus securing for man one of his most basic necessities.
Although the reed seems to be an ideal plant, we must keep in mind the
conclusion of the battle between Philopoemen and Nabis. The troops of the
former began to launch fire at the huts of the latter, thus foreshadowing the
defeat of the Spartan commander, as well as highlighting one of the major
disadvantages of reed dwellings.
The central feature of Section 16 (Sacred)—located on the right-hand
border of the lower register of the mosaic—is a religious procession
276
parading through a four-columned structure with a rounded pediment. To
the right of the idyllic shrine or temple, a stone sphinx keeps watch upon a
sturdy stone pedestal. To the left, a clump of trees enhances the sacro-idyllic
aura of the place. Four celebrants carry a small litter or tray (bearing an
idol perhaps in the reconstruction). A host of gaily-dressed revelers follow
along, piping sweet sounds to accompany the procession. In what ways
could something as simple and mundane as the reed figure prominently
in complex religious rites? In order to amass additional visual evidence,
challenge students to find and explain pottery images featuring Marsyas,
Pan, or Bacchic / Dionysic rituals that incorporate the reed.
Pliny provides a rather lengthy tangent on the use of reeds in
fashioning musical instruments, describing such varieties used (“pipereeds,” “yoke-reeds,” “silky reeds,” “female reeds,” “eunuchs”), discussing
the length of time needed to cultivate the mouthpieces for the pipes, and
finally explaining the evolution of the instruments themselves. (Pliny, NH,
16.66.164-172) We may recall now the auditory aspect of reeds as attested
in Ovid’s mythic relation of Pan and the metamorphosis of Syrinx (Ovid,
Metamorphoses, Book 1, 689-712) or Martial’s epigram on the fistula:
quid me compactam ceris et harundine rides?
quae primum structa est fistula talis erat. (Epigrams 14. 63-64)
Why do you laugh at me, compact as I am of wax and reed?
The first pipe ever made was like me.20
Theophrastus, in a more scientific turn, evaluates the relative merits of
reeds from various geographic climes and their suitability for music-making
(Enquiry Into Plants, 4.11). Pliny distinguishes among different reeds in this
capacity:
calamus vero alius totus concavus, quem vocant syringian,
utilissimus fistulis, quoniam nihil est ei cartilaginis atque carnis.
Orchomenio et nodi continuo foramina pervii, quem auleticon
vocant; hic tibiis utilior, fistulis ille. (Pliny, NH, 16.66.164)
but another kind of cane is hollow for its whole length; its Greek
name means the flute-reed, and it is very useful for making
flutes because it contains no pith and no fleshy substance. The
Orchomenus cane has a passage right through even the knots, and
is called in Greek the pipe-reed; this is more suitable for flageolets,
as the preceding kind is for flutes.
Students may also see Vergil, Eclogues 2.32, and Ovid, Metamorphoses, 6.383–
400 (for the myth of Marsyas).
20
277
General opinion, as voiced by Strabo among others, states that the best
reeds can be found where:
γενέσθαι δέ φασι καὶ κατὰ Ὀρχομενὸν χάσμα, καὶ δέξασθαι τὸν
Μέλανα ποταμὸν τὸν ῥέοντα διὰ τῆς Ἁλιαρτίας καὶ ποιοῦντα
ἐνταῦθα τὸ ἕλος τὸ φύον τὸν αὐλητικὸν κάλαμον. (Strabo,
Geography, 9.2.18)
it is said a fissure in the earth opened up near Orchomenus, also,
and that it admitted the Melas River, which flowed through the
territory of Haliartus and formed there the marsh which produces
the reed that is used for flutes.
While the preceding sections highlight the use of the reed in essential
human activities, Section 16 shows that the reed may be used for less vital
and more spiritual ends. The pan-flute and the αὐλός, as evidenced by the
literary selections and the pottery images, provide much more than mere
music.
In Section 17 (Commercial Transport), we see a host of nautical vessels.
Pliny’s praise of trees in the beginning of Book Twelve of the Naturalis
Historia makes the following claim: mille praeterea sunt usus earum sine quis
vita degi non possit . . . arbore sulcamus maria terrasque admovemus, “moreover,
there are a thousand other uses for trees which are indispensable for
carrying on life. We use a tree to furrow the seas and to bring the lands
nearer together.” (Pliny, NH, 12.2.5) Located in the bottom-right corner of
the Nile Mosaic, one could easily overlook the commercial vignette, though
it is bustling with movement and activity.
Nile Mosaic, Section 17. Nimatallah /Art Resource, NY
278
A long ship with a papyrus sail speeds through the waters and threatens
the serenity of an angler in a papyrus canoe. Further down, an oared galley
seems dangerously close to a two-towered structure with a dovecote,
outside of which a woman tends to her fishing creel. To the bottom right,
a man takes a break from paddling his “coracle-like boat” (as Meyboom
says) in a spot of water dotted with lotus blossoms, perhaps in awe of
the scene unfolding in front of him. While we have already discussed the
employment of reeds in the construction of (semi-) permanent structures,
the class now has the opportunity to consider how reeds may be used to
facilitate transport and commerce. How are reeds fashioned into simple
canoes? What use might they have in the construction of larger craft? What
sort of items might be transported in these various vessels?
Reeds were not only used to build static structures, but mobile objects
as well. Construction of canoes and similar simple watercraft often
incorporated reeds and other marsh plants, such as papyrus and rushes. On
a passage on the history of ship-making, Pliny begins his narrative with this
type of vessel, a tradition which continues into the present day:
Nave primus in Graeciam ex Aegypto Danaus advenit; antea
ratibus navigabatur inventis in Mari Rubro inter insulas a rege
Erythra. reperiuntur qui Mysos et Troianos priores excogitasse in
Hellesponto putent cum transirent adversus Thracas. etiamnunc in
Britannico oceano vitilis corio circumsutae fiunt, in Nilo ex papyro
ac scirpo et harundine. (Pliny, NH, 7.56.206)
Danaus first came from Egypt to Greece by ship; before that time
rafts were used for navigation, having been invented by King
Erythras for use between the islands in the Red Sea. Persons
are found who think that vessels were devised earlier on the
Hellespont by the Mysians and Trojans when they crossed to war
against the Thracians. Even now in the British ocean coracles are
made of wicker with hide sown round it, and on the Nile canoes are
made of papyrus, rushes and reeds.
On one such papyrus or reed canoe on the left, we see clearly an angler
in action. Regarding the capture of fish, the reed plays an integral role for
piscatus. Oppian deepens our understanding of the fisherman plying the
waters, describing the reed-pole as one of four ways of catching fish (in
addition to nets, weels and tridents):
τέτραχα δ’ εἰναλίης θήρης νόμον ἐφράσσαντο
ἰχθυβόλοι· καὶ τοὶ μὲν ἐπ’ ἀγκίστροισι γάνυνται,
τῶν δ’ οἱ μὲν δονάκεσσιν ἀναψάμενοι δολιχοῖσιν
ὁρμιὴν ἵππειον ἐΰπλοκον ἀγρώσσουσιν.
(Oppian, Halieutica 3.72-75)
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Fourfold modes of hunting their prey in the sea have fishermen
devised. Some delight in hooks; and of these some fish with a welltwisted line of horse-hair fastened to long reeds.
In Ovid’s Metamorphoses, the amazing ascent and fatal descent of Icarus
into the sea is witnessed by a fisherman wielding his reed in the water:
hos aliquis tremula dum captat harundine pisces, “now some fisherman spies
them, angling for fish with his flexible rod.”21 (Ovid, Metamorphoses, 7. 217)
Likewise, Glaucus recounts to Scylla his relationship with the sea: nam
modo ducebam ducentia retia pisces, nunc in mole sedens moderabor harundine
linum, “Now I would draw in the nets full of fish, and now, sitting on some
projecting rock, I would ply rod and line.” (Met. 13.922-923.) As for where to
find the best fishing rods, Pliny advises that aucupatoria harundo e Panhormo
laudatissima, piscitoria Abaritana ex Africa, “the reeds most approved for
fowling come from Palermo, and those to make fishing-rods are from
Abarsa in Africa.” (Pliny, NH, 16.66.172)
While ships of larger proportions used various types of lumber in their
construction, the reed was still an important component of the vessels,
as it was used as a waterproof caulking between the seams: ubi lignosiore
induruit callo . . . contusa et interiecta navium commissuris feruminat textus
glutino tenacior rimisque explendis fidelior pice, “in places where it grows very
hard and woody in structure, it is pounded up and inserted between the
joints of ships to caulk the seams, holding better than glue and being more
reliable for filling cracks than pitch.” (NH, 16.64.158) Greek historians offer
numerous examples of watercraft that were fashioned in part or in whole
by reeds.22 Whether in Babylon, India, or Egypt, navigation in the ancient
world relied on reeds.
The vessels here allow alternately the capture of fish, the deployment
of troops, and the transport of goods, perhaps the fish or lotus blossoms
culled from the reed canoes. Some of the commerce may also have dealt the
fish being caught in a creel outside the hut. Diodorus explains the use of a
creel, a wicker basket for carrying newly caught fish, in his description of
Babylon:
παρὰ γὰρ τοὺς αἰγιαλοὺς ἱστᾶσι καλάμους πυκνοὺς καὶ πρὸς
ἀλλήλους διαπεπλεγμένους, ὥστε τὴν πρόσοψιν εἶναι δικτύῳ
παρὰ θάλατταν ἑστηκότι. κατὰ δὲ πᾶν τὸ ἔργον ὑπάρχουσι
πυκναὶ θύραι, τῇ μὲν πλοκῇ ταρσώδεις, τὰς στροφὰς δ’ ἔχουσαι
πρὸς τὰς εἰς ἑκάτερα τὰ μέρη κινήσεις εὐλύτους.
(Diodorus Siculus, 3.22)
Students may also see the depiction of the scene by Bruegel, Landscape with the
Fall of Icarus (ca. 1558).
22
Herodotus, 1.194; Strabo, Geography, 16.1.9 and 16.1.15; Diodorus Siculus, 2.14.
21
280
Along the beaches they set reeds close to one another and
interwoven, so that their appearance is like that of a net which has
been set up along the edge of the sea. And throughout the entire
construction there are doors which are fixed close together and
resemble basket-work in the way they are woven, but are furnished
with hinges that easily yield to movements of the water in either
direction.
As is now clear, fish, fowl and other fauna are frequently ensnared and
then traded by man’s clever manipulation of the reed. With the use of the
reed and the procurement of dwelling and nutrients, man has been able to
establish himself along the shores of the river. Now we see that he is able to
navigate the riverscape, and ply his wares as well, all because of this pliable
plant.
In contrast to the busy commerce of the last section, the most
sumptuous action of the mosaic takes placed under an intricately crafted
reed structure, the pleasure pergola, in Section 19 (Leisure and Pleasure).
Nile Mosaic, Section 19. Johannes Laurentius / Art Resource, NY
281
Vines creep along the airy trellis covering, and lotus blossoms color the
water. Beneath the trellis, two couches—one with a red mattress—provide
comfort for small groups engaged in amorous and musical celebration.
Figures with bare torsos figures partake of wine on the far side of the
waterway. Those on the near side are slightly more clothed, and salute the
lovers across the way. On both couches, musicians play instruments (a harp
and a flute, respectively) to accompany the merriment. A man punting his
reed or papyrus canoe passes seemingly unnoticed. Beyond fulfilling the
bare necessities of existence, how might reeds allow for some of life’s more
pleasurable pursuits as seen in this vignette and beyond? The discussion
at this point may branch out into areas not expressly exhibited in the Nile
Mosaic (such as reeds used for writing, weaving, pipes, etc.), and may
inspire related research projects.
Based on Pliny’s notes, the mattress may indeed be stuffed with the
plumes of a reed:
Cetero . . . tenuatur in cacumina crassiore paniculae coma, neque
hac supervacua–aut enim pro pluma strata cauponarum replet (Pliny, NH, 16.64.158)
For the rest [of the varieties of reed] . . . taper gradually off to the
top with a rather thick tuft of hair, which also is not without value,
as it either serves instead of feathers to stuff the beds of innkeepers
It is possible that these self-same revelers in the pleasure pergola are
partaking of fruits of the vine. The process of viticulture was aided by reeds
as well, as Strabo discusses:
ἡ δ’ ἄμπελος ἐν ἕλεσι φύεται, καλαμίναις ῥιψὶν ἐπιβαλλομένης γῆς,
ὅση δέξαιτ’ ἂν τὸ φυτόν, ὥστε φορητὴν γίνεσθαι πολλάκις, εἶτα
κοντοῖς ἀπωθεῖσθαι πάλιν εἰς τὴν οἰκείαν ἕδραν.
(Strabo, Geography, 16.4.1)
The vine grows in the marshes, as much earth being thrown on
hurdles of reeds as the plant may require; so that the vine is often
carried away, and then is pushed back again to its proper place by
means of poles.
While reeds are instrumental in the realm of negotium, they also serve to
soften the harshness of daily life and provide otium. Additional suggestions
from the class as to possible uses of reeds may fuel debate. Underscore the
importance of credible textual and visual sources, and encourage students
to question the evidence produced in support of each claim.
With the objective then of bridging text and art, here are reminders
of how Pliny’s description of reeds parallels the Nile Mosaic. The scope
282
of the subject matter of both works is broad and segmented. At times the
presentation flows smoothly; at times we encounter isolated information
dropped into a discordant context. Pliny begins (NH,12.1-3) with an
overview of the role that plants—trees, plants, and especially reeds—have
played in the development of civilization. He lauds the value of each plant
in turn, presenting a detailed explanation of the various uses, both in Italy
and abroad. With respect to the reed, he mentions that among all plants,
reeds hold the esteemed position of effecting war, peace, and amusement,
and describes­ tangentially the characteristics of distinct varieties (165-170).
Most importantly, Pliny illustrates the utility of the plant by highlighting
its manipulation into useful applications for day-to-day life: roofs (156);
pens (157); bedding (158); ship-caulking (158); arrows (159); lances (161);
flutes and pipes (164-165); fencing (168); plaiting (168); pipes again, with a
digression into music (170-172); fowling (172); fishing (172); and vine props
(173).
Stylistically, Pliny’s text mirrors the Nile mosaic, in that it meanders
through vivid vignettes that are loosely connected, but each one fascinating
in itself. Pliny’s passages and the Nile imagery treat similar themes. Nilotic
scenes, as defined by Versluys, are “illustrations of the (flooded) Nile and
the banks of the river with the flora, fauna, structures and activities of
the population, and scenes which intend to show this or which contain a
combination of specific, associative elements referring to this.”23 Pliny’s
account of the reed, in similar fashion, contains concentrated passages
that highlight how the plant has influenced the fauna, flora, architectural
structures, and activities of man. Reeds appear, for example, not only in the
purposeful discussion of plants, but also in a discussion of hippopotami
in the animal kingdom, in details of dwellings, in descriptions of battle, in
digressions on music, and in a treatment of maritime history.
Taken separately, Pliny’s words intrigue the reader, and images from the
Nile Mosaic entice the spectator. By pairing the visual and textual evidence,
however, we are able to appreciate the ubiquitous nature of reeds in the
fluvial setting. We come to understand how and why Pliny declared that
the reed is esteemed among plants: Principatum in his tenebunt harundines
belli pacisque experimentis necessariae atque etiam deliciis gratae, “The primacy
among these will be held by the reeds, which are indispensable for the
practices of war and of peace and are also acceptable for our amusement.”
(Pliny, NH, 16.63.156) The varied manifestations of the reed show how man
has manipulated his natural surroundings in order to procure dwelling,
bedding, and alimentation; to partake in commerce, transport and warfare;
to obtain pleasure with writing, decoration and entertainment. It remains
ultimately up to students to decide, via investigative skills honed in two
media, whether the reed on Hadrian’s tetradrachm is the most apt element
to depict the abundance of the Nile, but there can be no doubt that the
23
Versluys, p. 40.
283
combination of information culled from a detailed study of the reed in
classical authors and an attentive analysis of the Nile Mosaic is enriching
indeed.24
Bibliography
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Schmidt, Eva. Studien zum Barberinischen Mosaik in Palestrina. Strassburg:
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Steinmeyer-Schareika, Angela. Das Nilmosaik von Palestrina une eine
Ptolemäische Expedition nach Äthiopien. Bonn: Rudolf Habelt Verlag
GmbH, 1978.
Versluys, M. J. Aegyptiaca Romana. Nilotic Scenes and the Roman Views of
Egypt. Leiden: Brill, 2002.
Whitehouse, Helen. The Dal Pozzo Copies of the Palestrina Mosaic. Oxford:
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Shapiro) Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2010.
24
I would like to offer sincere gratitude to Leona Cottrell and Brian Hores for
inspiring evening chats, to Peter White for preliminary proofing, to Margaret and
Anders for their patience, to my colleagues for their support, and to the editor of
NECJ for helpful suggestions throughout the crafting of this piece.
284