"The first edition was published as Pan's travail : environmental problems of the ancient Greeks and Romans"--Title page verso.

Introduction: Ecology in the Greek and Roman world -- The environment: life, land, and sea in the Mediterranean -- Ecological crises in earlier socities -- Concepts of the natural world -- Deforestation, overgrazing, and erosion -- Wildlife depletion and loss of habitat -- Agricultural decline -- Industrial technology and environmental damage -- War and the environment -- Urban problems -- Paradises and parks, gardens and groves -- Natural disasters -- Changing climates -- Environmental problems as factors in the decline of Greek and Roman civilization.