The Ancient Lives of Bees: Reconstructing the Bee in Greco-Roman Antiquity

Bees were a favorite topic in Greek and Roman literature and feature prominently in similes, metaphors, and allegories across genres. However, how does a reader identify effective and innovative imagery and how does a reader know when an image is descriptive or allegorical? These questions become even more complicated when there is a several thousand year time difference. In order to decode these ancient references, one must not only have an understanding of what bees are like, but must also reconstruct what an ancient reader thought bees were like. Through a case study of three works, this talk touches on the breadth of topics that employ bee imagery in Greek and Roman literature and looks at the challenges of reconstructing an ancient conception of the bee and its symbolism.