Bananas

[Jona Lendering]

I always thoght the ancient Greeks and Romans knew nothing about bananas, but here is a picture from a Libyan site that makes me pause:

This is not a date palm, because dates look like this:

and the artist would have rendered dates with dots, not lines.

I think bananas in Libya are not impossible, but does someone have confirmation? Or am I just simply wrong, and were bananas well-known in ancient Greece and Rome? If so, how did they call them?

[TITVS SABATINVS AQVILIVS]

Already mentioned by Alexander, the Romans called it "musa". Pliny the Elder noted how the sages in India ate only this fruit, "the plant of the wise". Hence the other Linnean name "Musa sapientum".

Vale,

[Jona Lendering]

Already mentioned by Alexander,

Which Alexander? Thanks for other references. Is there a reference that puts it in a Mediterranean context?

[Martin Moser]

Interesting picture, thanks for sharing, Jona!

[Caballo]

I'm not sure you can discount the date theory.

Firstly the trunk criss-crossing is very clear in the carving and a distinctive feature of the date palm- but not the banana tree.
Date palm


Continued below

[Caballo]

Banana tree- sorry- can't get the pics small enough!
http://www.defdesigns.com/P9300067%20Banana%20Tree.jpg

Secondly, the chap climbing is doing it exactly as they harvest dates today- which I personally saw when I lived in the Gulf.
http://iraqthemodel.blogspot.com/date%20palm.JPG

I googled harvesting bananas- on which I know the square root of zero!- and the method seems to be one guy standing on the ground with a machete with another person carefully catching the bananas.
http://www.fao.org/inpho/content/compen ... 00196b.jpg

As regards the "dates"/ "bananas", I'm not convinced that they would be represented by dots, as they do grow off long stems.

So, on balance, I believe that this is a picture of a date palm.....

Regards, and happy Christmas,

Caballo

[Jona Lendering]

Sounds plausible that's dates after all. Anyone else?

[TITVS SABATINVS AQVILIVS]

Which Alexander?

The Great...

Vale,

[Jona Lendering]

Which Alexander?

The Great...

Vale,

OK, I understand that it's mentioned in one of the sources. Sorry, I mistook it for an author.

[hoplite14gr]

I am of the opinion that ancient knew most of the "outlandish" fruits in their dried form. They atre easier to be stored and travel over long distances in this way.
We can question the "fresh" but not the "preserved" I guess.
Seasons greetings

[Jona Lendering]

Interesting picture, thanks for sharing

Here's more, and -yes- it is interesting.

[Caballo]

Jona,

Many thanks for posting these- fascinating pics. A place I very much would like to visit.

Cheers

Caballo

[Idomeneas]

Today Bananas are found in Crete although they are of very small size and have a bit diffrent taste (dont imagine any huge diffrence) from the usual ones from america. I dont really know who started cultivating them on the island.
I also im not sure but is it in Palto that the ''fruit that rottens quickly'' is reffered?

[Robert Vermaat]

Bananas are not growing from trees, the encyclpedia says..

But this would be a good example from a 'banana plant'.