If You Plant More, You Can Cut Down One Cypress Tree (C. Th. 10. 1. 12) – What May This Have Meant in Those Times?

Abstract

One can find in the Theodosian Code a constitution (C. Th. 10. 1. 12) edited in AD 379 by Gratianus, Valentinianus, and Theodosius, which sounds as a contemporary environmental protection rule: “In the place of a tree cut down three others should be planted.” This duty fell on the alytarch, one of the organizers of the Olympic Games in Antioch. Because the constitution was shortened during its insertion into the Theodosian Code, to find out the reason for and a meaning of the rule, the author discusses the sources of Roman law on the protection of trees in general and especially on the protection of cypress trees. The author comes to the conclusion that even though the environmental protection in Roman times was not formulated as a principle, the trees enjoyed legal protection from the beginnings of Roman history. Even more, among the trees, the cypress trees of the forest of Daphne were protected as a special value of the Imperial Treasury. The reason for it in those times was not only the material value of these trees but also the pleasant and adorable natural environment provided by the cypress forest.