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# From Farming to Ethics, How the Ancient World Lived Sustainably
- URL: https://hyperallergic.com/what-can-the-ancient-world-teach-us-about-living-sustainably-getty-villa/
- Published: 2018-04-30T20:38:19.000Z
- Updated: 2025-11-24T15:55:36.000Z
- Description: Historians explore older methods of sustainable living, from Ancient Greece to the Mayan Civilization.
- Author: Matt Stromberg
- Tags: Art, Events, Getty Villa, Los Angeles, #wp, #wp-post, #image-position-hidden, #Import 2025-11-18 14:37 (2018)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2018/04/8534614956_c0ce672b71_k.jpg)

The Garden Painting of the Villa of Livia at Prima Porta in Rome (30-20 BC) (photo by Carole Raddato, via Creative Commons)

Ecological concerns are often thought of as a specifically modern phenomenon; however, humans have been considering ways to work in harmony with nature, and struggling with natural — and man-made — disasters, for millennia. A panel discussion this Wednesday at the Getty Villa titled “[What Can the Ancient World Teach Us About Living Sustainably?”](http://www.getty.edu/visit/cal/events/ev%5F2173.html?ref=hyperallergic.com) will explore ecological perspectives from Ancient Greece to the Mayan Civilization, to see what ideas we can apply towards contemporary problems.

Panelists include political scientist Melissa Lane, whose book [*What the Ancients Can Teach Us about Ethics, Virtue, and Sustainable Living*](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0691162204/?tag=hyperallergic-20&ref=hyperallergic.com)draws a connection between a sustainable civic society and the ability to confront ecological challenges; [Anabel Ford](http://www.marc.ucsb.edu/about/director?ref=hyperallergic.com), director of the UC Santa Barbara MesoAmerican Research Center, who has studied sustainable farming techniques of the ancient Maya; and historian of Ptolemaic Egypt [Joseph Manning](https://www.jgmanning.net/?ref=hyperallergic.com), whose research focuses on “Paleoclimatology and the economic history of the premodern world.” Co-presented with [Zócalo Public Square](http://www.zocalopublicsquare.org/?ref=hyperallergic.com), the event is free but [tickets are required](http://tickets.getty.edu/events/what%20can%20the%20ancient%20world%20teach%20us%20about%20sustainability%5F/2018-5-2%5F19.30/barbara%20and%20lawrence%20fleischman%20theater?back=2&area=919be708-8fb6-4fe1-9324-8160687902d3&type=ga&ref=hyperallergic.com).

**When:** Wednesday, May 2, 7:30pm  
**Where:** Getty Villa (Barbara and Lawrence Fleischman Theater, 17985 Pacific Coast Highway, Pacific Palisades, California)

*More info at* [*the Getty*](http://www.getty.edu/visit/cal/events/ev%5F2173.html?ref=hyperallergic.com)*.*