Herbs in antiquity touch on so many aspects of human activity that the advice of classicists, botanists, horticulturalists, linguists, medical historians, physicians, and sociologists has been essential. The first Getty Museum publication on the subject was The Herb in Antiquity written in 1976 by Deborah Ashin in response to the interest of visitors. My great appreciation and gratitude go to John MacGregor iv of the Huntington Library Botanical Gardens for his numerous suggestions based on a deep understanding of both plants and antiquity. Iender and fragrant, acrid and indestructible, the parsley and onions we use every day were also used daily by the Greeks and the Romans. Our senses can respond to the past directly, not only through art but also through herbs. The same basil, garlic, rosemary,
and thyme that grew two thousand years ago at the Villa dei Papiri in Herculaneum can be seen and smelled, touched and tasted in the evocative herb garden of the J. Paul Getty Museum.