Mago ( xpu, 𐤌𐤂𐤍, ) was a
Carthaginian writer, author of an
agricultural manual in
Punic
The Punic people, or western Phoenicians, were a Semitic people in the Western Mediterranean who migrated from Tyre, Phoenicia to North Africa during the Early Iron Age. In modern scholarship, the term ''Punic'' – the Latin equivalent of t ...
which was a record of the farming knowledge of Carthage, The Punic text has been lost, but some fragments of
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
and
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
translations survive.
Work
Mago's long work was divided into 28 books. It incorporated local
Berber and
Punic
The Punic people, or western Phoenicians, were a Semitic people in the Western Mediterranean who migrated from Tyre, Phoenicia to North Africa during the Early Iron Age. In modern scholarship, the term ''Punic'' – the Latin equivalent of t ...
traditional practices. Carthage being a Phoenician colony and North Africa the granary of the central Mediterranean, knowledge of agricultural and veterinary practices was extensive. It began with general advice which is thus summarized by
Columella
Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella (; Arabic: , 4 – ) was a prominent writer on agriculture in the Roman Empire.
His ' in twelve volumes has been completely preserved and forms an important source on Roman agriculture, together with the wo ...
:
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
D. Junius Silanus, the latter at the expense of the
Roman Senate
The Roman Senate ( la, Senātus Rōmānus) was a governing and advisory assembly in ancient Rome. It was one of the most enduring institutions in Roman history, being established in the first days of the city of Rome (traditionally founded in ...
. 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
Marcus Terentius Varro (; 116–27 BC) was a Roman polymath and a prolific author. He is regarded as ancient Rome's greatest scholar, and was described by Petrarch as "the third great light of Rome" (after Vergil and Cicero). He is sometimes calle ...
,
Columella
Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella (; Arabic: , 4 – ) was a prominent writer on agriculture in the Roman Empire.
His ' in twelve volumes has been completely preserved and forms an important source on Roman agriculture, together with the wo ...
,
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic ' ...
, and
Gargilius Martialis. This is a partial list of surviving fragments:
*If buying a farm, sell your town house.
*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 ''
passum
Passum was a raisin wine (wine from semi-dried grapes) apparently developed in ancient Carthage (in now modern Tunisia) and transmitted from there to Italy, where it was popular in the Roman Empire. The earliest surviving instruction constitutes t ...
'' (raisin wine).
[Columella, ''De Agricultura'' 12.39.1.]
See also
*
Phoenicians and wine
The culture of the ancient Phoenicians was one of the first to have had a significant effect on the history of wine. Phoenicia was a civilization centered in current day Lebanon. Between 1550 BC and 300 BC, the Phoenicians developed a maritime tr ...
References
Citations
Bibliography
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External links
Information on Mago with translation of selected fragments
{{Famous Carthaginians
Geoponici
Punic-language writers
Carthaginians