Pliny Natural Histories Analysis

Natural Histories by Pliny talks about how the environmental theory combined with astrological signs can describe groups of people in order to classify them. Environmental theory describes how the environment plays a major role in the appearances of groups of people. The environmental theory claims that people are shaped due to the environment. According to Pliny “for those who live in the cold, their humors are drawn into the higher regions of their bodies; for those who live in the heat, it is driven away into the lower parts.” (KRG, 48). Pliny uses physical observations of both the environment and groups of people to create hypotheses on these groups of people. Pliny claims that people who live in colder regions require more oxygen because it’s harder to breath in colder regions. As a …show more content…
Pliny describes how different groups of people view time differently. For example, “the Athenians measure it between two sunsets. The Umbrians measure it from midday to midday; the general population measures it from daylight to darkness; the Roman priests and those who keep track of the official day, the Egyptians, and Hipparchus likewise, measure it from midnight to midnight.” (KRG, 48) the importance of keeping chronological order is important when dictating history, and Pliny acknowledges the many different ways to keep track, but ultimately the one of most importance is how the Roman priests keep track of the day. He says that the priests keep track of the official day, as though he is invalidating all other methods of keeping time. Pliny also speaks of the a “heavenly cause,” that dictates people’s lives. For example, “Ethiopians are burned by the heat of the sun, which is nearer to them, on the opposite and icy side of the world there are peoples with white skin and light-colored hair.” (KRG, 48). Although being out in the sun does make a person darker, it is not to the extent at which Pliny is