Strabo

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Greek geographer and historian (c. 63 bc–ad 23)

Strabo, who was born at Amaseia (now Amasya in Turkey), traveled to Rome in 44 BC and remained there until about 31 BC. He visited Corinth in 29 BC and in about 24 BC sailed up the Nile.

Although the historical writings of Strabo, including his Historical Sketches, in 47 books, have been almost entirely lost, his Geography, in 17 books, has survived virtually intact. This major geographical work is an important source of information on the ancient world. In it Strabo accepted the traditional description of the Earth as divided into five zones with the oikoumene, or inhabited part, represented as a parallelogram spread over eight lines of latitude and seven meridians of longitude. Where he excelled, however, was in the field of historical and cultural geography and he gave a detailed account of the history and culture of the lands and people of the Roman Empire and of such areas as India, which lay beyond the dominion of Augustus. In this he quoted much from the earlier Greeks, including Eratosthenes, and Artemidorus.

Strabo, not content merely to describe the lands of the civilized world, also wished to understand its enormous diversity. He rejected the simple climatic determinism that he attributed to the Stoic Poseidonius, arguing in its place for the role of institutions and education. Despite the value of this work Strabo seemed to exercise little influence until Byzantine times.

Strabo (ca. 64 B.C.-ca. A.D. 23) was a Greek geographer and historian who saw the final collapse of the Roman Republic and the creation by Augustus of the Roman Empire. He wrote large-scale works in his fields.

Strabo was born in the Greek city of Amisea in the district of Pontus, probably in the winter of 64/63 B.C. He came from a wealthy and distinguished family and had an excellent education, first in Asia Minor and later in Rome, which he first visited sometime before the death of Julius Caesar in 44. He returned to Asia Minor but in 29 went back to Rome. There he met several prominent men, including Aelius Gallus, who obtained for him a grant of Roman citizenship. When Gallus went to Egypt as governor in 28 or 27, Strabo accompanied him, toured the province with him, and probably took part in Gallus's unsuccessful expedition into Arabia. Strabo stayed in Egypt for a time after Gallus's recall, but eventually he returned to Rome, where he lived for many years, devoting himself to studying and writing. He may have spent his last years in his native city and died probably in A.D. 23 or 24.

Historical and Geographical Works

Strabo's history, now lost, had the modest title of Historical Notes but was in fact a large-scale history in 43 books. It was essentially a continuation of the great work of the Greek historian Polybios and covered the history of the Greco-Roman world from 144 to 30 B.C.

Strabo's Geography, also a substantial work, was in 17 books. It has survived complete, except for the end of book 7, and was finished sometime between A.D. 17 and 23, though some sections were clearly written much earlier. In the first two books, Strabo examines the theoretical basis of his subject and discusses the views of his predecessors, especially Eratosthenes. The rest of the work contains a detailed descriptive geography of the world as known in his time, starting with Spain and continuing through the other European lands to Greece, Asia Minor, and further Asia (that is, India, Persia, and Syria) and concluding with Egypt and North Africa. In each country he discusses not only the main physical features but also its products and the character and history of its inhabitants. To some extent he depended on his own observations, but for the most part he drew his material from the works of earlier writers. He usually showed good sense in choosing his sources, though sometimes the information he derived was outdated. In general the Geography is a very valuable compilation of facts and gives an interesting picture of the world as it was known to educated men in the Augustan Age. But it was not merely a collection of data; Strabo wrote fine Greek prose and used considerable artistry in the organization of his material, making his opus the best of its kind to be handed down from antiquity.

Further Reading

The only complete modern translation of Strabo, with an introduction on his life and works, is The Geography of Strabo by Horace L. Jones (8 vols., 1917-1933). Numerous extracts in translation are in Eric H. Warmington, Greek Geography (1934). Henry F. Tozer, History of Ancient Geography (1897; 2d ed. 1964), still the standard work on the science of geography in Greco-Roman times, contains a good brief account of Strabo and his geographical work.

For a good account of the growth of geographical knowledge see Max Cary and Eric H. Warmington, The Ancient Explorers (1929). Max Cary, Geographic Background of Greek and Roman History (1949), a survey of Mediterranean geography with special reference to classical times, contains excellent sections on Greece, Asia Minor, and Italy. An interesting discussion of Strabo and other Greek writers in the context of Roman society in the Augustan Age is in Glen W. Bowersock, Augustus and the Greek World (1964). The best account of the Roman world during Strabo's lifetime is in Howard H. Scullard, From the Gracchi to Nero (1959; 2d ed. 1963).

Strābo (Strabōn, 64 BC–after AD 24), Greek geographer from Amasia in Pontus, a member of a distinguished local family. He came to Rome in 44 BC to complete his education and subsequently visited the city several times. He travelled ‘from Armenia to Etruria, from the Black Sea to the borders of Ethiopia’, returning to his home in about 7 BC where he remained until his death. At some time he became a Stoic; he also developed a profound admiration for the Romans: like Posidonius, he regarded them as the creators of an earthly world-state comparable with the heavenly one.

He was the author of Historical Sketches in forty-seven books, now lost, which comprised an outline of historical events up to the opening of Polybius' history, followed by a complete history from 146 BC (where Polybius ended) up to at least the death of Julius Caesar. His surviving great work, the Geography in seventeen books, seems to have been completed by 7 BC. It has been suggested that it was originally published at Amasia, where it was perhaps revised and republished in about AD 18, in order to account for the surprising fact that it was not known to the Romans, not even to the Elder Pliny, although it seems to have been known in the East. Strabo insists that his geography is intended for political leaders and its aim is to impart practical wisdom; but it remains unclear whether it was intended for Romans or for the Greeks of his native Pontus. He describes the physical geography of the chief countries in the Roman world, giving the broad features of their historical and economic development and an account of anything remarkable in the customs of their inhabitants or in their animal and plant life. The first two books serve as a general introduction; after a remarkable preface in which he discusses geography as a branch of scientific inquiry, Strabo deals with the dimensions of the inhabited world and the position of various places with reference to a simple grid. Books 3–17 embrace Spain, the Isles of Scilly, Gaul, Britain (of which he knows little), Italy, Sicily, north and east Europe (he knows nothing of northernmost Europe and Asia), central Europe, north Balkans, Greece, Asia around the Black and Caspian Seas, Asia Minor, India, Persia, Mesopotamia, Palestine, Arabia, Egypt, Ethiopia, and North Africa (Strabo takes Africa to be a triangle north of the equator).

Strabo based his geography on Eratosthenēs, whom he brought up to date. He regarded the world as a sphere, having one land mass, in the northern hemisphere, entirely surrounded by ocean. His whole work is invaluable in informing us about the state of geographical knowledge in his day, as well as containing incidentally many entertaining descriptions: how the Indians capture elephants and long-tailed apes, how the Arabians get fresh water out of the sea, how the Egyptians feed their sacred crocodiles; the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the whales of the Persian Gulf, the aromatics of the Sabaeans. The work, in an epitomized form, was used as a school-book in the Middle Ages.

Greek geographer who flourished in Augustan Rome (c.58 BC-c. AD 24) whose seventeen-book Geographia provides much widely cited, descriptive information about early Celtic society. The standard modern translation is by H. L. Jones (8 vols.) in the Loeb Classical Library (New York, 1917–33). See also CLASSICAL COMMENTATORS.

The Greek geographer Strabo in a 16th century engraving.

A page from Isaac Casaubon's 1620 edition of Geographica.

This article is about the Greek geographer. For other people called "Strabo", see Strabo (disambiguation).

Strabo^[1] (Greek: Στράβων; 63/64 BC – ca. AD 24) was a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher.

Contents 1 Life 2 Education 3 The Geography 4 Notes 5 References 6 Secondary Readings 7 External links

Life

Strabo was born to an affluent family from Amaseia in Pontus (modern Amasya, Turkey),^[2] a city which he said to be situated the approximate equivalent of 75 km from the Black sea. Pontus had recently fallen to the Roman Empire, and although politically he was a proponent of Roman imperialism, Strabo belonged on his mother's side to a prominent family whose members had held important positions under the resisting regime of Mithridates the Great.^[3]

Strabo's life was characterized by extensive travels to Egypt and Kush; as far west as coastal Tuscany and as far south as Ethiopia; in addition to his traverse of Asia Minor and time spent in Rome. Travel throughout the mediterranean and near east, especially of scholarly purposes, was popular during this era , as facilitated by the relative peace enjoyed throughout the reign of Augustus (27 BC - AD 14). He moved to Rome in 44 BC, and stayed there, studying and writing, until at least 31 BC. In 29 BC, on his way to Corinth (where Augustus was at the time), he visited the Island of Gyaros in the Aegean Sea for several years. Around 25 BC, he sailed up the Nile until reaching Philae,^[4] after which point there is little record of his proceedings until 17 AD, when he returned to Rome to finish compiling a final draft of his Geography during his final years.

It is not known precisely when Strabo's Geography was written, though comments within the work itself place the finished version within the reign of Emperor Tiberius. Some place its first drafts around 7 AD, others around 18 AD. Last dateable mention is given to the death in 23 AD of Juba II, king of Maurousia (Mauretania), who is said to have died "just recently".^[5] On the presumption that "recently" means within a year, Strabo stopped writing that year or the next (24 AD), when he died.

The first of Strabo's major works, Historical Sketches, written while he was in Rome (ca. 20 BC), is nearly completely lost. Meant to cover the history of the known world from the conquest of Greece by the Romans, Strabo quotes it himself and other classical authors mention that it existed, although the only surviving document is a fragment of papyrus now in possession of the University of Milan (renumbered [Papyrus] 46).

Several different dates have been proposed for Strabo's death, but most of them conclude that he died shortly after 23 AD.

Education

Strabo studied under several prominent teachers of various specialties throughout his early life^[6], at different stops along his mediterranean travels. His first chapter of education took place in Nysa (modern Sultanhisar, Turkey), under the master of rhetoric Aristodemus, who had formerly taught the sons of the very same Roman general who had taken over Pontus.^[7][8] Aristodemus was the head of two schools of rhetoric and grammar, one in Nysa and one in Rhodes, the former of the two cities possessing a distinct intellectual curiosity of Homeric literature and the interpretation of epics. To this effect it should be noted that Strabo was indeed an admirer of Homer's poetry, perhaps a consequence of his time spent in Nysa with Aristodemus.^[9]

Around the age of 20 Strabo then first moved to Rome, where he studied philosophy with the Peripatetic Xenarchus, a highly respected tutor in Augustus' court. Despite Xenarchus' Aristotelian leanings, Strabo later gives evidence to have formed his own Stoic inclinations.^[10] In Rome he also learned grammar under the rich and famous scholar Tyrannion of Amisus.^[11][12] Although Tyrannion was also a Peripatetic, he was more relevantly a respected authority on geography, a fact obviously significant considering Strabo's future contributions to the field. The final noteworthy mentor to Strabo is Athenodorus Cananites, a philosopher who had spent his life since 44 BC in Rome forging relationships with the Roman elite. Athenodorus endowed to Strabo three important items: his philosophy, his knowledge, and his contacts. Unlike the Aristotelian Xenarchus and Tyrannion that preceded him in teaching Strabo, Athenodorus was Stoic in mindset, almost certainly the source of Strabo's diversion from the philosophy of his former mentors. Secondly, from his own experiences he provided Strabo with information of regions of the empire that would eventually be incorporated in his Geography, specifically the cities of Tarsus, further south on Asia Minor than Strabo's Pontus, and Petra, just north of the Red Sea. Finally, Athenodorus' noteworthy relationship with individuals of influence, including Cicero and the Roman Emperor, undoubtedly aided Strabo's integration into Roman high society.

In general Strabo was very reverent of the academic process and valued his own education as integral for his various works. He is even quoted in expressing a responsibility that he felt to refer 'legends that have been taught us from boyhood' in his writings. Strabo supported the notion of a broad and multifarious education, consistent with the Greek and Roman approach to education characteristic of the Hellenistic era, that recommended an encyclopedic acquisition of knowledge as a means of attaining learned status in any of the primary realms of study. Given the multitude of respected intellectual mentors with which he was provided study, Strabo accumulated a substantial knowledge of terrestrial and celestial sciences, in addition to a worldly knowledge as developed from frequent interaction with eclectic but like-minded scholars. From this foundation he was thus prepared to contribute to the environment of popular knowledge, especially geographical knowledge, such as he did.

The Geography

Main article: Geographica

Strabo is mostly famous for his 17-volume work Geographica, which presented a descriptive history of people and places from different regions of the world known to his era.^[5]

Map of Europe according to Strabo

Although the Geographica was rarely utilized in its contemporary antiquity, a multitude of copies are found throughout the Byzantine Empire. It first appeared in Western Europe in Rome as a Latin translation issued around 1469. Isaac Casaubon, classical scholar and editor of Greek texts, provided the first critical edition in 1587.

Although Strabo referenced the antique Greek astronomers Eratosthenes and Hipparchus and acknowledged their astronomical and mathematical efforts towards geography, he claimed that a descriptive approach was more practical, such that his works were designed for statesmen who were more anthropologically than numerically concerned with the character of countries and regions.

As such, Geographica provides a valuable source of information on the ancient world, especially when this information is corroborated by other sources.

Within the books of Geographica is a map of Europe (see image at right).

Notes

1. ^ Strabo ("squinty") was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Pompeius Strabo." A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see things at great distance as if they were nearby was also called "Strabo."
2. ^ Geography Book XII Chapter 3 Section 15, "Amaseia, my fatherland."
3. ^ Pontus fell to the Roman general Pompey in 63 BC and, after the murder or suicide of Mithridates VI of Pontus (otherwise known as Mithridates the Great), was broken up into smaller provinces in 64 BC. Strabo in Book 12 Chapter 3 Section 41 states that the Romans took possession of Bithynia "a little before my time", setting the date of his birth to after 63 BC.
4. ^ with prefect of Egypt Aelius Gallus, who had been sent on a military mission to Arabia
5. ^ ^{a b} Strabonis Geographica, Book 17, Chapter 7.
6. ^ he mentions all or most of his teachers as prominent citizens of their own respective cities
7. ^ (see note 3.)
8. ^ this also highlights the international trend of the era that Greek intellectuals would often instruct the Roman elite
9. ^ It may be noted that Aristodemus was also the grandson of the famous Posidonius, whose influence is manifest in Strabo's Geography
10. ^ largely due to his future teacher Athenodorus, tutor of Augustus,
11. ^ thus completing his traditional education of Greek aristocracy; namely rhetoric, grammar, & philosophy
12. ^ Tyrannion was known to have befriended Cicero and taught his nephew, Quintus

References

• "Strabo." Encyclopaedia Britannica. 15th ed. 1998. 296-97. Print.
• Meineke, Augustus (Editor) (MDCCCLXXVII (1877)). Strabonis Geographica. Lipsiae: B.G. Teubneri. 
• Strabonis Geographica. Recens. G. Kramer. Ed. minor, with Latin annotations at Google Books
• "Biography of Strabo", Tufts, webpage: Bio-Strabo.

Secondary Readings

• Dueck, Daniela. Strabo of Amasia Greek Man of Letters in Augustan Rome. New York: Routledge, 2000. Print.
• Lindberg, David C. The Beginnings of Western Science The European Scientific Tradition in Philosophical, Religious, and Institutional Context, Prehistory A.D. 1450, Second Edition. New York: University Of Chicago, 2008. Print.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Strabo

• Biography of Strabo

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