Envoi: human and environment in imperial Greek literature

This chapter offers an overview of representations of human-environment relations in imperial Greek literature. In the process it aims to draw out some recurring themes from the preceding chapters, especially the tension between local and global perspectives in imperial literature. It gives attention to a number of authors and genres not covered extensively elsewhere in the volume, with reference among others to Aelius Aristides, Dio Chrysostom, Josephus, Philo of Alexandria, Plutarch, Quintus of Smyrna, Strabo. Many Greek texts from the Roman empire construct highly anthropocentric visions of human relations with the natural world, in ways that replicate projections of imperial control. This chapter draws attention by contrast to some alternative strands, for example in texts that emphasize the immersion of human bodies in their environments, or the vulnerability of elite communities to environmental damage.