Fruits of Antiquity Figs

The fig has strong claim to be one of the first, if not the first of fruits cultivated by man. We are told of the important role fig‐leaves played in the Garden of Eden, and the fig is prominent in the social history of many lands. Although nowadays this strange fruit does not enjoy the widest popularity in the most highly‐developed countries of the West — not on the scale of bananas and oranges, for instance — in the Mediterranean countries, in Asia Minor and western Asia, its importance has never been in doubt through all the changing centuries.