The locust belongs with in the grasshopper species. They travel in large swarms when migrating and there have been several documentations of the insect across different cultures. Locusts are mentioned in Egyptian culture in the Book of the Dead along with the Plagues of Egypt. Pliny the Elder dedicated a whole chapter to locusts, describing its appearance and the life cycle from birth to death. When they migrated over in large groups, it was interpreted as anger from the gods as they would destroy the land and harvest. The Romans would look to books on acquiring knowledge on remedies for the famine. In Cyrenaica, a region of Libya occupied by the Greeks, there was a law of three wars against the locust to maintain and eliminate the threat. However, the Parthians looked to locusts as a means of food. (Pliny the Elder. Natural History. 11.35)
To discover more about oil lamps in Antiquity, please visit our relevant blog post: Lighting The Way.
