SILPHIUM - WikiVidi Documentary

Silphium was a plant that was used in classical antiquity as a seasoning and as a medicine. It was the essential item of trade from the ancient North African city of Cyrene, and was so critical to the Cyrenian economy that most of their coins bore a picture of the plant. The valuable product was the plant's resin . Silphium was an important species in prehistory, as evidenced by the Egyptians and Knossos Minoans developing a specific glyph to represent the silphium plant. It was used widely by most ancient Mediterranean cultures; the Romans considered it "worth its weight in denarii" . Legend said that it was a gift from the god Apollo. The exact identity of silphium is unclear. It is commonly believed to be a now-extinct plant of the genus Ferula, perhaps a variety of "giant fennel". The still-extant plants and Ferula tingitana have been suggested as other possibilities. Another plant, asafoetida, was used as a cheaper substitute for silphium, and had similar enough qualities...

____________________________________
Shortcuts to chapters:
00:01:17 Identity and extinction
00:02:51 Medicinal uses
00:03:42 Culinary uses
00:04:15 Connection with the heart symbol
____________________________________

Copyright WikiVidi.
Licensed under Creative Commons.

[DaisyOh]

This is a very interesting plant! I enjoyed the video.

[gstylempdesign]

Why show pictures of a modern coin that has ZERO to do with the plant being discussed? There are thousands of pictures of ACTUAL Ancient Greek coins with the plant featured on it…….