Human-nature relationships in the collections of the National Archaeological Museum of Naples: a botanical perspective

Abstract

The portrayal of plants depicted in works of art in antiquity can provide insights into human–nature relationships. We have identified the botanical species sculpted on marble and stone and depicted on wall paintings, vases, mosaics, and furnishings in the National Archaeological Museum of Naples, which houses the greatest collection of Greco-Roman antiquities in the world. In detail, the main objectives of the present study were to analyse and discuss the symbolic role of some plants more strongly linked to a deity or involved in other aspects of Greco-Roman life and customs. The attention was particularly devoted to their symbolic role in mythology, their use in medical and ritual practices, their artistic meaning in domestic representations and their representation in Nilotic scenes.