This is the first modern edition and first English translation of one of the earliest and most important works in the history of geography, the third-century "Geographika of Eratosthenes". In this work, which for the first time described the geography of the entire inhabited world as it was then known, "Eratosthenes of Kyrene" (ca. 285-205 BC) invented the discipline of geography as we understand it. A polymath who served as librarian at Alexandria and tutor to the future King Ptolemy IV, Eratosthenes created the terminology of geography, probably including the word geographia itself. Building on his previous work, in which he determined the size and shape of the earth, Eratosthenes in the "Geographika" created a grid of parallels and meridians that linked together every place in the world: for the first time one could figure out the relationship and distance between remote localities, such as northwest Africa and the Caspian Sea. "The Geographika" also identified some four hundred places, more than ever before, from Thoule (probably Iceland) to Taprobane (Sri Lanka), and from well down the coast of Africa to Central Asia. This is the first collation of the more than 150 fragments of the Geographika in more than a century. Eachfragment is accompanied by an English translation, a summary, and commentary.Duane W. Roller provides a rich background, including a history of the text and its reception, a biography of Eratosthenes, and a comprehensive account of ancient Greek geographical thought and of Eratosthenes' pioneering contribution to it. This edition also includes maps that show all of the known places named in the Geographika, appendixes, a bibliography, and indexes. INDICE: List of Illustrations vii Introduction ix Abbreviations xiii ERATOSTHENES AND THE HISTORY OF GEOGRAPHY The Background 1 The Life of Eratosthenes7 The Geographika of Eratosthenes 15 The Reception and Later History of the Geographika 30 ERATOSTHENES, GEOGRAPHIKA Book 1 41 Book 2 58 Book 3 69 SUMMARIES AND COMMENTARIES Commentary to Book 1 111 Commentary to Book 2 141 Commentary to Book 3 161 Gazetteer 223 Maps 249 APPENDICES Appendix 1: On the Measurement of the Earth 263 Appendix 2: Testimonia for the Life of Eratosthenes 268 Appendix 3: Lengths of Measurement 271 Bibliography 275 Index of Passages Cited 281 General Index 289
- ISBN: 978-0-691-14267-8
- Editorial: Princeton University
- Encuadernacion: Cartoné
- Páginas: 304
- Fecha Publicación: 01/06/2010
- Nº Volúmenes: 1
- Idioma: Inglés