/ 
18 THE FIG: ITS HISTORY, CULTURE, AND CURING. ‘ 
rich. The Athenians were especially chided for their fondness for 
figs, and nicknamed ‘‘sykophants” (fig-eaters), a name afterwards 
applied with a different meaning to those spies who informed the 
authorities about the unlawful exportation of figs from Attika. So 
famous became the figs of that province that Xerxes, the King of 
the Persians, daily procured Attic figs for his table in order that they 
might constantly remind him of the desirability of adding to his 
domain a country which could produce such fine fruit. From this 
time the fig is constantly referred to in the Greek literature, and Theo- 
phrastus, Aristotle, and other writers describe the caprification proe- 
ess, then extensively practiced. 
From Greece the fig tree and its culture spread along the northern 
shores of the Mediterranean and the Adriatic until it gradually reached 
the southern parts of Italy. There it must have been established at 
an early date, as it figures in the earliest Roman mythology, the 
she-wolf having nursed the infants, Romulus and Remus, under the 
spreading crown of a certain fig tree, which was thought to be in 
existence and pointed out as a sacred object in the time of Pliny. 
Certain it is that from remotest times fig culture was a cherished pur- 
suit among the Romans, who, through seedlings and culture, origi- 
nated numerous varieties. So different and characteristic had these 
become in the time of Pliny (23-79 A. D.) that they excited the special 
attention of that great naturalist. He wrote: ‘‘ We see from this how 
the universal law which preserves the types of the species may 
vary ”’—a most remarkable expression, which clearly foreshadows the 
modern theory of evolution.’? 
The many varieties described by the ancient writers, such as Theo- 
phrastus, Cato, and Pliny, can not now be identified with any certainty. 
Many of these varieties originated from seed, some accidentally, others 
as the result of efforts made for that purpose.* Their identification 
has been attempted by several modern investigators, such as Porta, 
Gasparrini, and Gallesio, and while their efforts have been highly 
interesting, they have brought no conclusive results. When we con- 
sider how quickly varieties are discarded for others of greater value, 
it becomes probable that most of these ancient figs became extinet 
centuries ago. From the many varieties mentioned by the Greek and 
Latin authors ‘* we may, however, conclude that fig culture was exten- 
sively distributed and considered of great importance. But notwith- 
standing the many varieties, the best and choicest figs were those 
imported from Syria, as we are told that during the reign of the 
Emperor Tiberius (B. C. 42-A. D. 37)° considerable trade existed in 
*Willkomm, pp. 6, 9. 
UT biG; Ds i 
§ Varro, lib. 12, cap. X1, 5. 
4Theophrast, cap. II, 6; v., 2, 8; Cato, vol. 1, cap. 8,1; Pliny, lib. xv, cap. 19. 
5 Willkomm. p. 7. 
