Secord, Jared2019-10-302019-10-302015-01Secord, J. (2016). Overcoming environmental determinism: Introduced species, hybrid plants and animals, and transformed lands in the hellenistic and roman worlds. The routledge handbook of identity and the environment in the classical and medieval worlds (pp. 210-229) doi:10.4324/9781315686622978-041573805-7978-131741569-5http://hdl.handle.net/1880/111187The botanical and zoological literature of the Hellenistic and Roman worlds displayed a triumphalist attitude about the possibilities of introducing animals and plants to new lands. Animals and plants could be reshaped to suit human desires by training and cultivation, and by experiments in interbreeding and grafting. Entire lands could even be transformed to make them more hospitable. Little concern was displayed about maintaining a land in its original state, or about preserving the purity and autochthony of its indigenous creatures. The celebration in botanical and zoological literature of the world’s plasticity calls into question the seeming rigidity and pessimism of environmentally deterministic theories in the ancient world.engUnless otherwise indicated, this material is protected by copyright and has been made available with authorization from the copyright owner. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.introduced speciesPtolemaic EgyptTheophrastusHistory of BotanyRoman Empireunknown10.4324/978131568662210.11575/PRISM/37225