Serena Bianchetti, Michele R. Cataudella, Hans-Joachim Gehrke (eds.), Brill’s Companion to Ancient Geography. The Inhabited World in Greek and Roman Tradition, Leiden-Boston [Reseña]

ExClass 21, 2017, 439-445 ISSN 1699-3225 SERENA BIANCHETTI, MICHELE R. CATAUDELLA, HANS-JOACHIM GEHRKE (eds.), Brill’s Companion to Ancient Geography. The Inhabited World in Greek and Roman Tradition, Leiden-Boston: Brill, 2016, xviii+490 pp., ISSN 1872-3357; ISBN 978-90-04-28511-8 (hardback); ISBN 978-90-04- 28471-5 (e-book). Scholarship devoted to the study of Greek and Roman geography has gone through periods of rise and decline. In the last decades of the 19th century and the beginnings of the 20th, a period characterised by the overall expansion of Classical studies, ancient geography was the subject of interest of scholars such as Karl Müller or Hugo Berger, among others, who HIHMGEXIHWMKRMðGERXIǬSVXWXSFSXLXLIWXYH]SJMHIEWSJKISKVETLMGWTEGIMR Antiquity and their evolution, and the publication of critical editions of the [SVOWSJERGMIRXKISKVETLIVW4VSHYGXWSJWYGLIǬSVXWEVIJSVMRWXERGIXLI two volumes of Geographi graeci minores (Müller, Paris 1855, 1861), the ðVWXIHMXMSRSJXLIKISKVETLMGJVEKQIRXWSJ)VEXSWXLIRIW&IVKIV0IMT^MK 1880), the work of Karl Trüdinger, Studien zur Geschichte der griechischrömischen Ethnographie (Basel 1918), or the monumental Geschichte der ZLVVHQVFKD¾LFKHQ (UGNXQGH &IVKIV 0IMT^MK  XLI IEVPMIWX WXYH] dealing with ancient geography as a science, describing and analysing its TVSKVIWW2IZIVXLIPIWWMRXLI[EOISJWYGLKVS[XLXLIðJX]]IEVWJSPPS[MRK up to the last decades of the 20th GIRXYV] WE[ TVEGXMGEPP] RS WMKRMðGERX development in subsequent studies on Greek and Roman geography. 1984 ERHLS[IZIVQEVOIHEXYVRMRKTSMRXMRXLIðIPH[LIRXLI[SVOWSJ Oswald Dilke (Greek and Roman Maps, 1985) and, in particular, Pietro Janni (/D PDSSD H LO SHULSOR FDUWRJUD½D DQWLFD H VSD]LR RGRORJLFR, Rome 1984), opened a new era of studies in the geographic thought of the ancient Greeks and Romans. Shortly afterwards, interest in the publication and commentary of the texts of the ancient geographers also returned with renewed energy, giving way, among other things, to the wide-ranging projects aimed at the (re)edition of the Greek fragmentary geographers headed by Didier Marcotte (in the context of the Budé Collection) and Hans- Joachim Gehrke (FGrHist V). This Companion to Greek and Roman Geography should be regarded both as a result and as a testimony of the interest ancient geography has been eliciting in the last 30 years. The three editors are, to a great extent, VIWTSRWMFPIJSVXLIMRGVIEWIERHTVSKVIWWSJWXYHMIWMRXLIðIPHHIWGVMFIH apart from the already-mentioned Hans-Joachim Gehrke, Serena Bianchetti and Michele Cataudella have authored countless contributions to the research 440 I. PAJÓN LEYRA: S. BIANCHETTI, M. R. CATAUDELLA, H. GEHRKE (EDS.), BRILL’S ... ExClass 21, 2017, 439-445 area, ranging from topics as diverse as the voyage and work of Pytheas of Massalia, the sitting and nature of the Pillars of Heracles, the geographic XLSYKLXERH[SVOWSJ)YHS\YWSJ'RMHYWERH(MGEIEVGLYWSJ1IWWMREXLI reception of Greek geography among Christian authors, or the relationship between astronomy and cartography, inter alia. Moreover, under their guidance, the book brings together many of the most relevant authorities in recent scholarship on ancient geographic literature and thought. The work is organised in accordance with a structure that combines chronological order with the conceptual evaluation of the periods and authors it deals with. It consists of three main sections, respectively dedicated to the archaic and classical periods (up to the voyage of Alexander the Great), the ,IPPIRMWXMGERH6SQERTIVMSHWERH0EXI%RXMUYMX]TVIWIRXMRKXLIðVWXSJ these as preliminary in relation to the “real” development of geography as a mature science (“Geography before Geography”), and the last period as an era of legacy reception (“Geographical rebounds”). This entails a view of Hellenistic and Roman times – between the generation after Aristotle and Alexander and the work of Ptolemy – as the age in which ancient geography made its greatest strides forward and produced its most relevant and original results. However, the editors entitle this section “Geography between Science and Politics”, in view of that relevant aspect of geography as a science that is frequently fostered to serve the needs and interests of the ruling power, a discipline that depends on the information provided by expeditions and I\TPSVEXMSRWWIRXF]XLIIPMXIERHEREVIESJORS[PIHKIXLEXFIRIðXWJVSQ the protection and support of institutions – like the Alexandrian Museum – promoted by political authorities. The chapter by Reinhold Bichler on “Persian Geography and the Ionians: ,IVSHSXYWuSTIRWXLIZSPYQIEW[IPPEWXLIðVWXWIGXMSR8LIEYXLSVLMKLPMKLXW XLIMQTSVXERGISJ,IVSHSXYWEWXLIðVWX+VIIOEYXLSV[LSWIWTIGMðGGSRGITX SJXLI[SVPHMWORS[RXSYW-REHHMXMSRXLITETIVWSQILS[TVIðKYVIWXLI main topics that will structure the second section of the book: the dialogue between geographic knowledge and political power. The gist of the study is TVMRGMTEPP]XLIMRñYIRGISJXLILMWXSVMGEPGSRXI\XzMIXLI4IVWMER[EVWzSR Herodotus’ geography, such that the depth and density of geographic details that the HistoriesSǬIVHITIRHWSRXLI[E]XLIHMǬIVIRXGSYRXVMIW[IVI EǬIGXIHF][EVXMQIIZIRXW The second chapter (“The Sea of Greeks and Romans”), by Pietro Janni, focuses on the importance of the sea as a key element in early Greek geography. Ancient geography, indeed, was born from the practical experience of sailors, a fact that makes the author consider it not only a “geography” in the strict sense, but also a “thalassography”. The great expeditions of exploration that brought Greece most of its geographic information were mainly maritime explorations: of the Mediterranean, the Ocean beyond the Pillars of Heracles zWEMPMRKIMXLIVRSVXL[EVHWSVWSYXL[EVHWzXLI-RHMER3GIERIXG)ZIRXLI 441 ExClass 21, 2017, 439-445 REVIEWS / RESEÑAS campaign of Alexander the Great entailed an investigation of the Hyrcanian Sea. Gianfranco Maddoli’s paper (“The Concept of Magna Graecia and the Pythagoreans”) calls attention to the fact that the ancient authors frequently EWWSGMEXIXLIHIRSQMREXMSRSJt1EKRE+VEIGMEuSVMR+VIIO҂ҀҞ҈҄ę҈҈Ҟҍ to the Pythagorean school. This fact leads him to trace the origin of such denomination and to connect it to the blossoming of the cities of southern Italy between the 6th and 5thGIRXYVMIW&')[LMGLEPWSGSMRGMHIW[MXLXLI main period of Pythagorean success in that region. Giovanna Daverio Rocchi researches the “Systems of Borders in Ancient Greece”, both among the Greeks themselves and with respect to the barbarian tSXLIVWu8LIEYXLSVTSMRXWSYXXLEXERGMIRX+VIIOFSYRHEVMIWEVIñI\MFPI QEVKMRW VIWYPXMRK JVSQ XLI GSRñYIRGI SJ E WIPJTIVGIMZIH LSQSKIRISYW ethnic group, shared linguistic, religious and cultural peculiarities, natural geographic limits and political units. This is true particularly in the archaic and classical periods, when the Greek poleis established their limits according to criteria that involved “geography, history, law, economy and religion” (p. 64). Hans-Joachim Gehrke’s chapter analyses “The «Revolution» of Alexander the Great: Old and New in the World’s View”. The expedition of Alexander to the east inverted the proportion between theory and experience in the knowledge of Asia among the Greeks. Thus, the author aims to evaluate the impact of this new knowledge through the reconstruction of Alexander’s tQIRXEPQETu7SLISǬIVWERMRHITXLEGGSYRXSJXLIKISKVETLMGtWXEXISJ the art” in the time of Alexander. In this context, apart from the clear idea of the Indus’ course as independent from the Nile and the awareness of the Persian Gulf as distinct from the Red Sea, the Alexandrian campaign did not substantially change the Greek image of Asia. However, the main contribution of the expedition is the abundance of new details that made progress possible EQSRKPEXIVWGMIRXMWXWSYXWXERHMRKEQSRKXLIQ)VEXSWXLIRIW Finally, Veronica Bucciantini’s “Geographical Description and Historical 2EVVEXMZIMRXLI8VEHMXMSRSR%PI\ERHIVqW)\TIHMXMSRuGPSWIWXLIðVWXWIGXMSR of the book. The author compares the accounts of Indian hydrography in the remnants of the works of Nearchus of Crete, Onesicritus of Astypalaea, Ptolemy son of Lagus and Aristobulus of Casandreia, seeking out their TIGYPMEVMXMIWERHHMǬIVIRGIW3RIWMGVMXYWqJSRHRIWWJSVXLIJEFYPSYWHMZIVKIW JVSQ 2IEVGLYWq MRXIVIWX MR GSVVIGXMRK XLI I\EKKIVEXMSRW ERH ðGXMSREP inventions of earlier authors (mainly Ctesias). Aristobulus’ interest in engineering works, as well as the practical exploitation of natural resources, fully concords with his role as architect within the Macedonian expedition. In the fragments of Ptolemy, however, hydrographic information is conspicuous by its absence, probably due to the prevailing interest of this author in pragmatic aspects of military and political practice. 442 I. PAJÓN LEYRA: S. BIANCHETTI, M. R. CATAUDELLA, H. GEHRKE (EDS.), BRILL’S ... ExClass 21, 2017, 439-445 The second section of the volume starts with a short trip back in time: 1MGLIPI'EXEYHIPPEqWGLETXIVSRt7SQI7GMIRXMðG%TTVSEGLIW)YHS\YWSJ Cnidus and Dicaearchus of Messene” dedicates detailed study to the works ERHWGMIRXMðGEXXMXYHIWERHXLISVMIWSJ)YHS\YW%VMWXSXPIqWGSRXIQTSVEV] one generation ahead of Alexander’s historians. However, his thought is presented as ancestral to one of the most relevant concerns of subsequent KIRIVEXMSRWSJKISKVETLIVWLIETTIEVWEWXLIðVWXXSTVIðKYVIEKISKVETLMG vision based on a main parallel and a main meridian, the cornerstone of the network of latitudinal and longitudinal lines that Dicaearchus with his tHMETLVEKQEuERHEFSZIEPP)VEXSWXLIRIW[SYPHPEXIVHIZIPSTHYVMRKXLI Hellenistic period. )VEXSWXLIRIW MW TVIGMWIP] XLI XSTMG SJ 7IVIRE &MERGLIXXMqW TETIV t8LI -RZIRXMSRSJ+ISKVETL])VEXSWXLIRIWSJ']VIRIu-X[EWLIMRHIIH[LS coined the terms “geographer” and “geography” to refer to an activity and a discipline presenting itself as distinct from that of the philosopher and, for XLIðVWXXMQIVIP]MRKSREHIðRIHQIXLSHXLEXSJI\XVEGXMRKGSRGPYWMSRW about the earth from observations of the sky. The observation of celestial phenomena led him to draw a network of nine parallels or klimata, even if these abstract lines were based on empirically observed salient elements of landscape (rivers and mountain ranges) in constant interplay with the so- GEPPIHtWTLVEKMHIWuzMI[MHIKISKVETLMGEVIEWHIRSQMREXIHEWXLI)K]TXMER cadastral divisions – building a new example of the dialogue between science and politics. The contact between astronomy and geography is also the main focus of Klaus Geus’ study on “Progress in the Sciences: Astronomy and Hipparchus”. The principal aim of Hipparchus’ geographic work is to outdo XLEX SJ )VEXSWXLIRIW F] GVMXMGMWMRK ERH MQTVSZMRK WSQI EWTIGXW SJ MX -R GSRXVEWXXSXLIPMQMXIHWIXSJPEXMXYHMREPPMRIWSJ)VEXSWXLIRIW,MTTEVGLYWq main contribution to geography was the development of an abstract grid SJTEVEPPIPWVERKMRKJVSQzXLI)UYEXSVzXS2zXLI2SVXL4SPIz Moreover, Hipparchus disagrees with his predecessor with respect to some particular details of his geographic view, as, for instance, regarding the existence of an all-encompassing ocean surrounding the inhabited world (the oikoumene) and the uniqueness of this alleged island we live on; rather to the contrary, he conceived other oikoumenai, the extreme ends of which were even visible to us. In his “The Indian Ocean from Agatharchides of Cnidus to the Periplus Maris Erythraei”, Didier Marcotte explores the role these authors play in creating the view of the area extending from the Horn of Africa to the Bay of Bengal as a unity, far exceeding our modern idea of the “Red Sea”. The French scholar studies Agatharchides and his work as a continuation of the early “climatological” approach the companions of Alexander applied to the study of the Nile and the Indus valleys, comparing the similar physical 443 ExClass 21, 2017, 439-445 REVIEWS / RESEÑAS features they found and the similarities between the peoples who inhabited them. Natural history and human history then turn into one and the same thing. The second half of the chapter, however – dedicated to the Periplus SJXLI)V]XLVEIER7IEzWIVZIW1EVGSXXIXSMPPYWXVEXIXLIHIGMWMZIVSPISJ merchants in the progress of geographic knowledge of the Indian Ocean. That same territory, between Africa and India, as well as early climatological theory, is behind Pierre Schneider’s contribution, dealing [MXLt8LI7SGEPPIH'SRJYWMSRFIX[IIR-RHMEERH)XLMSTME8LI)EWXIVRERH 7SYXLIVR)HKIWSJXLI-RLEFMXIH;SVPHJVSQXLI+VIGS6SQER4IVWTIGXMZIu As its title announces, this paper mainly aims to analyse the alleged confusion in order to re-interpret it, revealing its testimonial value in relation to a way of understanding the southern side of the oikoumene, and not as the result of a mistake. The next chapter, by Pascal Arnaud, entitled “Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa and his Geographical Work”, calls attention to the cultural context of the 6SQER)QTMVIERHMXWMQTEGXSRERGMIRXKISKVETLMGORS[PIHKI%VREYH deals with the problems entailed by the transmission of the fragments of %KVMTTEqW[SVOXLIMVVIñIGXMSRMR4PMR]ERHXLIMRLMWSTMRMSRYRPMOIP] relationship between Agrippa and the “anonymous chorographer” quoted F]7XVEFSXLIREXYVISJXLI[SVOEWEXI\XTIVLETWYRðRMWLIHVEXLIVXLER a monumental map in its origins), and its purpose. He studies the extant testimonies on Agrippa’s vision of the world, which place him as the last I\EQTPISJ,IPPIRMWXMGKISKVETLMGXVEHMXMSRVEXLIVXLEREWXLIðVWXI\TVIWWMSR of the Roman vision. 8LI WYFSVHMREXMSR SJ WGMIRXMðG VIWIEVGL MR XLI ðIPH SJ KISKVETL] XS practical (mainly political, military and administrative) uses is the core of Anne Kolb’s chapter, “The Romans and the World’s Measure”. Through two parallel processes consisting of surveying the space and appropriating it by creating pervasive infrastructures, such as the road networks, the milestones along them and the monumental inscriptions on public buildings, the Roman )QTMVIQEREKIWMXWGSRUYIVIHXIVVMXSVMIWERHMRXIKVEXIWXLIQMRXSEGYPXYVEP structure. However, the most outstanding instance of geographic literature in Roman times is the work of Strabo, which is precisely the topic of Francesco Prontera’s contribution (“Strabo’s Geography”). The work illustrates the tension, permanent throughout the Hellenistic period, between awareness of the need to draw up the map of the inhabited world on the basis of astronomical observations and the scarcity of such data, compared to the abundance of empirical information regarding the diverse regions and the history and ways of life of the peoples inhabiting them. The Geography, XLIRVIñIGXWXLI[MHIVERKISJHMǬIVMRKORS[PIHKIXLEXXLIKISKVETLIVRIIHW to possess (physics, astronomy and mathematics, as well as the philosopher’s all-encompassing knowledge of the human and the divine), and responds to 444 I. PAJÓN LEYRA: S. BIANCHETTI, M. R. CATAUDELLA, H. GEHRKE (EDS.), BRILL’S ... ExClass 21, 2017, 439-445 XLIMRXIVIWXWSJXLIGYPXMZEXIH+VIIOEVMWXSGVEG]MRXLIGMXMIWSJXLI)QTMVI as well as of the Roman upper class, educated according to the parameters of the Greek school tradition. )GOEVX 3PWLEYWIRqW GLETXIV t2I[W JVSQ XLI )EWX# 6SQER%KI +ISKVETLIVWERHXLI4SRXYW)Y\MRYWuTVSTSWIWEVIZMWMSRMRXLIORS[PIHKI of the Black Sea area in the works of Roman authors (Menippus of Pergamon, Strabo, Pomponius Mela and Pliny) with an eye to the sources they used. His analysis allows for appreciation of the fact that the region had been wellknown since Hellenistic times, so that the Roman period had no need for new explorations to deepen or improve data about it. %JXIVHIEPMRK [MXL XLIIEWXIVR TEVXSJ XLI)QTMVIXLIFSSOTVIWIRXW E GLETXIV VIKEVHMRK XLI [IWX [LMGL HITMGXW E ZIV] HMǬIVIRX WGIREVMS MR +SR^EPS'VY^%RHVISXXMqWGSRXVMFYXMSRSRt6SQIERH-FIVME8LI1EOMRKSJ a Cultural Geography”. In contrast to the early exploration of the Black Sea, the Iberian Peninsula had scarcely been explored until the arrival of Roman conquest, a period that was able to contrast inherited theoretical models [MXLIQTMVMGEPMRJSVQEXMSR8LI6SQERI\TERWMSRQEHIEVIEPHMǬIVIRGI [MXLVIKEVHXSWGMIRXMðGORS[PIHKIEFSYXXLI[IWXQEOMRKMXTSWWMFPIXS include the area in the world maps, providing scientists with more accurate QIEWYVIQIRXWSJHMWXERGIWERHXVERWJSVQMRKERHñIWLMRKSYXXLIXVEHMXMSREP image of the history and ways of life of the diverse human communities inhabiting Iberian territory. Kai Brodersen’s chapter on “The Geographies of Pliny and his ‘Ape’ Solinus” applies a critical eye in analysing the alleged lack of originality in the Collectanea rerum memorabilium with regard to the Historia naturalis. Solinus’ innovative character in terms of geographic vision consists of his way of presenting the spatial data: as against the periplus-structure of his source, he frequently adds references to the cardinal points; that is, he substitutes the linear description of Pliny using the concept of area, allowing his readers to envisage a map. The progress of cartographical science in Roman times is the main topic of the contribution by Germain Aujac, “The «Revolution» of Ptolemy” – a revolution that mainly consists of the full development of the network of abstract latitudes and longitudes for situating the cities and the use of conic projection to prepare his map, based on lists of coordinates for the places to be represented. The author, besides, depicts Ptolemy as an outstanding scholar who, apart from his interest in high-level science, was also conscious of the need to provide lay audiences with instruments, such as his handy tables, which adapted science to their level of comprehension and interest. The last section of the Companion, dedicated, as has been said, to the reception of ancient geography in late Antiquity and in the Middle Ages, begins with Michael Rathman’s contribution on “The Tabula Peutingeriana and Antique Cartography”. He traces the earliest archetype of the extant 445 ExClass 21, 2017, 439-445 REVIEWS / RESEÑAS Tabula – one of the most famous examples of medieval cartography – to the ,IPPIRMWXMGEKIFIMRKMXPEXIVVIHVE[RERHQSHMðIHYTXSXLIthGIRXYV]') (the date of ca. 425 is suggested in p. 359 as the end of the editing process). In his chapter on “Geography and Religion: The Lists of the Thearodokoi”, )QMPMS+EPZEKRSHIEPW[MXLHSGYQIRXWXLEXI\GIIHPEXI%RXMUYMX]F]E[MHI margin, ranging from the Hellenistic age to the 5thG'),IWXYHMIWXLI itinerary-like structure of many of the extant records for the travels of the “Thearoi”, messengers sent by poleis holding religious festivals to invite other communities to participate in the games they organised. *MREPP] XLI GLETXIV [VMXXIR F] .ER 6 7XIRKIV SR t)YWIFMYW ERHXLI Representation of the Holy Land” closes the volume, providing the reader with an example of the meaning of geographic knowledge to a Church *EXLIV)YWIFMYWðVWXGSMRIHXLIGSRGITXSJtLSP]TPEGIuERHIPEFSVEXIHE WSVXSJKISKVETLMGHMVIGXSV]SVKE^IXXIIVMRLMWOnomasticon, which aimed to give an account of the places where events of the Bible took place. Many SJ XLIWI TPEGIW WXMPP I\MWXIH SǬIVMRK QEXIVMEP IZMHIRGI MR WYTTSVX SJ XLI Christian faith. 8LI'SQTERMSRXLYWSǬIVWXLIVIEHIVEREGGSYRXSJXLIQSWXSYXWXERHMRK authors who dealt with geography in Antiquity, a complete survey of the main problems they faced, and a profound analysis of the works they wrote and their transmission. The diverse chapters deal with aspects concerning ERGMIRXETTVSEGLIWXSXLIðIPHSJKISKVETL]XLIVIGITXMSRERHWYVZMZEPSJ ancient works, and modern methodologies to apply to the study of their extant testimonies. The contributors consistently attain the highest level of WGMIRXMðGVMKSYV[LMPIEXXLIWEQIXMQIEZSMHMRKNEVKSRERHYRRIGIWWEV] complication. All this makes the book an interesting piece of research for WTIGMEPMWXW[MXLEFEGOKVSYRHMRXLIðIPHSJERGMIRXKISKVETL][LMPIEPWS being an excellent and useful instrument for scholars from other areas of knowledge, interested in the geographic ideas of the Greeks and Romans. IRENE PAJÓN LEYRA Universidad de Sevilla irene.pajon.le[email protected]