Resumen de Flavius Josephus’ saccharon: Aramaic šakronā, Akkadian šakirû and Greek huoscúamos.
[One of the most detailed descriptions of the Aramaic plant šakronā transcribed saccharon (σακχαρόν) is included in the account about the vestments of the Jewish high priest the 1st century CE historian Flavius Josephus gives in his Judean Antiquities. The plant is called in Greek huoskúamos (ὑόσ δὲ κυάμον), identified with henbane (Hyoscyamus sp.), and Josephus uses its shape to describe the elaborate headgear of the high priest. This contribution compares the description of Josephus with the information about the plant according to Dioscorides’ De materia medica and Akkadian sources according to which it is called šakirû and addresses the importance of the context for identifying ancient plant terms.]
