Dictionary of Greek and Roman antiquities. Ed. by William Smith. Illustrated by numerous engravings on wood.

138 H IHORTUS.'ITORTUS.
ItORREA'RII. [HorutEUM.] norm. iv. 26, 27; Plut. Alcib. 24); for the former
IIORREUM (Wperov, OLroqvXatcEov, a7roO4Kc7) gardens are only imaginary, and the manner in
was, according to its etymological signification, a which the paradises are spoken of by Greek writers
place in which ripe fruits, and especially corn, were shows that they were not familiar with anything
kept, and thus answered to our granary. (Virg. of the kind in their own country. In fact the
Geoyg. i. 49; Tibull. ii. 5. 84; Horat. Carie. i. 1. Greeks seem to have had no great taste for land7; Cic. de Leg. Ayr. ii. 83.) During the empire scape beauties, and the small number of flowers
the name horreum was given to any place destined with which they were acquainted afforded but
for the safe preservation of things of any kind. little inducement to ornamental horticulture.
Thus we find it applied to a place in which beauti- The sacred groves were cultivated with special
ful works of art were kept (Plin. Epist. viii. 18); care. They contained ornamental and odoriferous
to cellars (/Iorrea subterrczece, horrea svinearia, Dig. plants and fruit trees, particularly olives and vines.
18. tit. 1. s. 76); to depots for merchandise, and all (Soph. Oed. Col. 16; Xen. Anab. v. 3. ~ 12.) Some.
sorts of provisions (h/orseum penceriume, Dig. 30. tit. times they were without fruit trees. (Paus. i. 21.
9. s. 3). Seneca (Epist. 45) evencalls his library ~ 9.)
a horreum. But the more general application of The only passage in the earlier Greek writers,
the word horreurm was to places for keeping fruit in which flower-gardens appear to be mentioned,
and corn; and as some kinds of fruit required to be is one in Aristophanes, who speaks of ie/'rovs
kept more dry than others, the ancients had be- Evc3SeLs (Ares, v. 1066). At Athens the flowers
sides the horrea subterranea, or cellars, two other most cultivated were probably those used for
kinds, one of which was built like every other making garlands, such as violets and roses. In
house upon the ground; but others (iorreas pensi- the time of the Ptolemies the art of gardening
lis or sublimia) were erected above the ground, and seens:to have advanced in the favourable climate
rested upon posts or stone pillars, that the fruits of Egypt so far, that a succession of flowers was
kept in them might remain dry. (Colum. xii. 50, obtained all the yearround. (Callixenus, eup. Athli.
i. 6; Vitruv. vi. 6. 4.) v. p. 196.) Longus (Pabst. ii. p. 36) describes a
From about the year 140 after Christ, Rome pos- garden containing every production of each seasessed two kinds of public horrea. The one class son,'" in spring, ros-s, lilies, hyacinths, and vioconsisted of buildings in which the Romans might lets; in sumlmer, poppies, wild-pears (&aXpad es),
deposit their goods, and even their money, securities, and all fruit; in autumn, vines and figs, and pomeand other valuables (Cod. 4. tit. 24. s. 9), for which granates and myrtles." That the Greek idea of
they had no safe place in their own houses. This horticultural beauty was not quite the same as
kind of public horrea is mentioned as early as the ours, may be inferred from a passage in Plutarch,
time of Antoninus Pins (Dig. 1. tit. 15. s. 3), where he speaks of the practice of setting off the
though Lampridius (Alex. Sev. c. 39) assigns their beauties of roses and violets, by planting them side
institution to Alexander Severus. (Compare Dig. by side with leeks and onions (De ccapienda ex
1)0. tit. 4. s. 5.) The officers who had the super- ini1icis utilitate, c. 10). Becker considers this
intendence of these establishments were called hor- passage a proof that flowers were cultivated more
rearii. The second and more important class of to be used for garlands than to beautify the garden.
horrea, which may be termed public granaries, were (Becker, Charik'es, vol. ii. p. 403-405.)
buildings in which a plentiful supply of corn was 2. RoNiAs. The Romans, like the Greeks,
constantly kept at the expense of the state, and from laboured under the disadvantage of a very limited
which, in seasons of scarcity, the corn was distri- flora. This disadvantage they endeavoured to overbuted among the poor, or sold at a moderate price. come, by arranging the materials they did possess
The first idea of building such a public granary in such a way as to produce a striking effect.
arose with C. Sempronius Gracchus (lex Semnpronia We have a very full description of a Roman garden
fitsn'entaria); and the ruins of the great granary in a letter of the younger Pliny, in which lie de(horrea populi Romlani) which he built were seen scribes his Tuscan villa. (Plin. Epist. v. 6.) In
down to the sixteenth century between the Aven- front of the porticos there was generally a /ystus,
tine and the Monte Testaceo. (Appian, de Bell. or flat piece of ground, divided into flower-beds of
Civ. i. 21; Plut. C. GracclZ. 5; Iiv. Epit. 60; different shapes by border. of box. There were
Vell. Pat. ii. 6; Cic. pro Sext. 24.) also such flower-beds in other parts of the garden.
The plan of C. Gracchus was followed out and Sometimes they were raised so as to form terraces,
carried further by Clodius, Pompey, and several of and their sloping sides planted with evergreens or
the emperors; and during the empire we thus find creepers. The most striking features of a Roman
a great number of public horrea which were called garden were lines of large trees, among which the
after the names of their founders, e..., horrea Ani- plane appears to have been a great favourite, planted
ceti, Vargunteii, Seiani, Augusti, Domitiani, &c. in regular order; alleys or walks (ambulationes)
The manner in which corn from these granaries formed by closely clipt hedges of box, yew, cypress,
was given to the people differed at different times. and other evergreens; beds of acanthus, rows of
[Comp. FRUMENTARIAE IEGES.] [L. S.] fruit-trees, especially of vines, with statues, pyraHIORTUS (Kreros), garden. 1. GRFEIK. Our mids, fountains, and summer-houses (diaetae). The
knowledge of the horticulture of the Greeks is very trunks of the trees and the parts of the house or
limited. We must not look for information re- any other buildings which were visible from thespecting their gardens to the accounts which we garden, were often covered with ivy. (Plin. I..;
find in Greek writers of the gardens of AlcinoUis, Cic. ad Q. ],. iii. 1, 2.) In one respect the Roman
filled with all manner of trees and fruit and flowers, taste differed most materially from that of the
and adorned with fountains (Odl/ss. vii. 11 2- 130), present day, namely, in their fondness for the ars
or of those of the Hesperides (Hesiod. Tlieog. 25), topis-ia, which consisted in tying, twisting, or
or of the paradises of the Persian satraps, which cutting trees and shrubs (especially the box) into
resembled our parks (Xcn. Antb. i. 2. ~ 7, Occo- the figures of animnals, ships, letters, &c. The im