Mago (agricultural writer)
Encyclopedia
Mago was a Carthaginian
writer, author of an agricultural manual in Punic
which was a record of the farming knowledge of Carthage. The Punic text has been lost, but some fragments of Greek
and Latin translations survive.
Mago's long work (it was divided into 28 books) was partly based on earlier Greek agricultural writings but no doubt incorporated local north African and Phoenicia
n traditional practices, Carthage being a Phoenician colony. It began with general advice which is thus summarized by Columella
:
After Rome's destruction of Carthage in 146 BC
, the Carthaginian libraries were given to the kings of Numidia
. Uniquely, Mago's book was retrieved and brought to Rome. It was adapted into Greek by Cassius Dionysius
and translated in full into Latin by Decimus Junius Silanus, the latter at the expense of the Roman Senate
. The Greek translation was later abridged by Diophanes of Nicaea
, whose version was divided into six books.
Extracts from these translations survive in quotations by Roman writers on agriculture, including Varro
, Columella
, Pliny the Elder
and Gargilius Martialis. This is a partial list of surviving fragments:
Carthage
Carthage , implying it was a 'new Tyre') is a major urban centre that has existed for nearly 3,000 years on the Gulf of Tunis, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC...
writer, author of an agricultural manual in Punic
Punic language
The Punic language or Carthagian language is an extinct Semitic language formerly spoken in the Mediterranean region of North Africa and several Mediterranean islands, by people of the Punic culture.- Description :...
which was a record of the farming knowledge of Carthage. The Punic text has been lost, but some fragments of Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
and Latin translations survive.
Mago's long work (it was divided into 28 books) was partly based on earlier Greek agricultural writings but no doubt incorporated local north African and Phoenicia
Phoenicia
Phoenicia , was an ancient civilization in Canaan which covered most of the western, coastal part of the Fertile Crescent. Several major Phoenician cities were built on the coastline of the Mediterranean. It was an enterprising maritime trading culture that spread across the Mediterranean from 1550...
n traditional practices, Carthage being a Phoenician colony. It began with general advice which is thus summarized by Columella
Columella
Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella is the most important writer on agriculture of the Roman empire. Little is known of his life. He was probably born in Gades , possibly of Roman parents. After a career in the army , he took up farming...
:
After Rome's destruction of Carthage in 146 BC
146 BC
Year 146 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Lentulus and Achaicus...
, the Carthaginian libraries were given to the kings of Numidia
Numidia
Numidia was an ancient Berber kingdom in part of present-day Eastern Algeria and Western Tunisia in North Africa. It is known today as the Chawi-land, the land of the Chawi people , the direct descendants of the historical Numidians or the Massyles The kingdom began as a sovereign state and later...
. Uniquely, Mago's book was retrieved and brought to Rome. It was adapted into Greek by Cassius Dionysius
Cassius Dionysius
Cassius Dionysius of Utica was an ancient Greek agricultural writer of the 2nd century BC. The Roman nomen, Cassius, combined with the Greek cognomen, Dionysius, make it likely that he was a slave , originally Greek-speaking, who was owned and afterwards freed by a Roman of the gens Cassia...
and translated in full into Latin by Decimus Junius Silanus, the latter at the expense of the Roman Senate
Roman Senate
The Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic, however, it was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors. After a magistrate served his term in office, it usually was followed with automatic...
. The Greek translation was later abridged by Diophanes of Nicaea
Diophanes of Nicaea
Diophanes of Nicaea or Diophanes the Bithynian was an ancient Greek agricultural writer of the 1st century BC. He was a native of or associated with the city of Nicaea in Bithynia ....
, whose version was divided into six books.
Extracts from these translations survive in quotations by Roman writers on agriculture, including Varro
Varro
Varro was a Roman cognomen carried by:*Marcus Terentius Varro, sometimes known as Varro Reatinus, the scholar*Publius Terentius Varro or Varro Atacinus, the poet*Gaius Terentius Varro, the consul defeated at the battle of Cannae...
, Columella
Columella
Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella is the most important writer on agriculture of the Roman empire. Little is known of his life. He was probably born in Gades , possibly of Roman parents. After a career in the army , he took up farming...
, Pliny the Elder
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was a Roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian...
and Gargilius Martialis. This is a partial list of surviving fragments:
- If buying a farm, sell your town house (see quotation above).
- The most productive vineyards face north.
- How to plant vines.
- How to prune vines.
- How to plant olives.
- How to plant fruit trees.
- How to harvest marsh plants.
- Preparing various grains and pulses for grinding.
- How to select bullocks.
- Notes on the health of cattle.
- Mules sometimes foal in Africa. Mules and mares foal in the twelfth month after conception.
- Notes on farmyard animals.
- Getting bees from the carcass of a bullock or ox.
- The beekeeper should not kill drones.
- How to preserve pomegranates.
- How to make the best passumPassumPassum was a raisin wine apparently developed in ancient Carthage and transmitted from there to Italy, where it was popular in the Roman Empire. The earliest surviving instruction constitutes the only known Carthaginian recipe...
(raisin wine).