Listed 5 sub titles with search on: Biographies for wider area of: "AMASSIA Ancient city TURKEY" .
Strabo, (Strabon). A celebrated geographer, a native of Amasia
in Pontus. The date of his birth is unknown, but may perhaps be placed about B.C.
63. He lived during the whole of the reign of Augustus, and during the early part,
at least, of the reign of Tiberius. He is supposed to have died after A.D. 21.
He received a careful education. He studied grammar under Aristodemus at Nysa
in Caria, and philosophy under Xenarchus of Seleucia in Cilicia and Boethus of
Sidon. He lived some years at Rome, and also travelled much in various countries.
We learn from his own work that he was with his friend ?lius Gallus in Egypt in
B.C. 24. He wrote an historical work (Historika Hupomnemata) in forty-three books,
which is lost. It began where the history of Polybius ended, and was probably
continued to the battle of Actium. He also wrote the work on Geography (Geographika),
in seventeen books, which has come down to us entire, with the exception of the
seventh, of which we have only a meagre epitome.
Strabo's work, according to his own expression, was not intended
for the use of all persons. It was designed for all who had had a good education,
and particularly for those who were engaged in the higher departments of administration.
Consistently with this view, his plan does not comprehend minute description,
except when the place or the object is of great interest or importance; nor is
his description limited to the physical characteristics of each country; it comprehends
the important political events of which each country has been the theatre, a notice
of the chief cities and the great men who made them illustrious; in short, whatever
was most characteristic and interesting in every country. His work forms a striking
contrast with the geography of Ptolemy, and the dry list of names, occasionally
relieved by something added to them, in the geographical portion of the Historia
Naturalis of Pliny. It is, in short, a book intended for reading, and it may be
read; a kind of historical geography. Strabo's language is generally clear, except
in very technical passages and in those where the text has been corrupted; it
is appropriate to the matter, simple, and without affectation. The first two books
of Strabo are an introduction to his Geography, and contain his views on the form
and magnitude of the earth, and other subjects connected with mathematical geography.
In the third book he begins his description: he devotes eight books to Europe,
six to Asia, and the seventeenth and last to Egypt and Libya.
This text is from: Harry Thurston Peck, Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities. Cited Nov 2002 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
Strabo studied in Rome
and Alexandria and became
a geographer and historian. A 17-volume work called “Geography” described
all the parts of the known world.
As a historian Strabo recorded the final collapse of the Roman republic
and the creation of the Roman empire.
This text is cited July 2003 from the Hyperhistory Online URL below.
Strabo was a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher. Nowadays, Strabo is
mostly famous for his Geographia, a 17-book work containing history and descriptions
of people and places all over the (known) world.
Strabo was born in Amaseia (current-day Amasya) in Pontus
from a rich family. He studied under various geographers and philosophers, first
in his own area, later in Rome.
He was philosophically a stoicist, politically a proponent of Roman imperialism.
Later he made extensive travels to among others Egypt
and Ethiopia. It is not known
when he wrote his Geographia; some place it around 7 AD, others around 18 AD.
We know nothing of his father's family, but several of his mother's relatives
held important posts under Mithridates V. and VI. He studied at Nysa
under the grammarian. Aristodemus, under Tyrannio the grammarian at Rome,
under the philosopher Xenarchus either at Rome
or at Alexandria, and he
had studied Aristotle along with Boethus. He also tells us that he was at Gyaros
(one of the Cyclades) when
Augustus was at Corinth on
his return to Rome from the
East in 29 B.C., and that he accompanied the prefect of Egypt,
Aelius Gallus, on his expedlition to Upper Egypt,
which seems to have taken place in 25 - 24 B.C. These are the only dates in his
life which can be accurately fixed.
Although he had seen a comparatively small portion of the regions
which he describes, he had travelled much. As he states himself: “Westward
I have journeyed to the parts of Etruria
opposite Sardinia; towards
the south from the Euxine
to the borders of Ethiopia;
and perhaps not one of those who have, written geographies has visited more places
than I have between those limits.” He tells us that he had seen Egypt
as far south as Syene and
Philae, Comana in Cappadocia,
Ephesus, Mylasa,
Nysa and Hierapolis
in Phrygia, Gyarus
and Populonia. Of Greece
proper he saw but little; it is by no means certain that he even visited Athens,
and though he describes Corinth
as an eyewitness, it is clear that he was never at Delphi
and was not aware that the ruins of Mycenae
still existed. He had seen Cyrene
from the sea, probably on his voyage from Puteoli to Alexandria,
where he remained a long time, probably amassing materials, and studying astronomy
and mathematics. For nowhere could he have had a better means of consulting the
works of historians, geographers and astronomers, such as Eratosthenes, Posidonius,
Hipparchus and Apollodorus.
Works
His earliest writing was an historical work now lost, which
he himself describes as his Historical Memoirs, The Geographia is the most important
work on that science which Antiquity has left us. It was, as far as we know, the
first attempt to collect all the geographical knowledge at the time attainable,
and to compose a general treatise on geography. It is not merely a new edition
of Eratosthenes. In general outline it follows necessarily the work of the last-named
geographer, who had first laid down a scientific basis for geography. Strabo made
considerable alterations, but not always for the better. The three books of the
older work formed a strictly technical geographical treatise. Its small size prevented
it from containing any such general description of separate countries as Strabo
rightly conceived to fall within the scope of the geographer. The incidental historical
notices, which are often of great value and interest, are all his own. These digressions
at times interrupt the symmetry of his plan; but Strabo had all the Greek love
of legendary lore.
He regarded Homer as the source of all wisdom and knowledge - indeed,
his description of Greece is largely drawn from Apollodorus's commentary on the
Homeric “Catalogue of Ships”. Strabo chiefly employed Greek authorities
(the Alexandrian geographers Polybius, Posidonius and Theophanes of Mytilene,
the companion of Pompey) and made comparatively little use of Roman authorities.
He designed his Geographia as a sequel to his historical writings, and it had
as it were grown out of his historical materials, which were chiefly Greek. He
designed the work for the statesman rather than for the student. He therefore
endeavours to give a general sketch of the character, physical peculiarities and
natural productions of each country, and consequently gives us much valuable information
respecting ethnology, trade and metallurgy. It was almost necessary that he should
select what he thought most important for description, and at times omit what
we deem of more importance. With respect to physical geography; his work is a
great advance on all preceding ones.
The work consists of seventeen books, of which the seventh is imperfect.
The first two are introductory, the next eight deal with Europe (two being devoted
to Spain and Gaul, two to
Italy and Sicily,
one to the north and east of Europe, and three to Greek lands). The eleventh book
treats of the main divisions of Asia and the more easterly districts, the next
three of Asia Minor. Book
xv. deals with India and
Persia, book xvi. with Assyria,
Babylonia, Syria and Arabia,
and the closing book (xvii) with Egypt
and Africa.
This extract is cited July 2003 from the Malaspina Great Books URL below.
Born in Pontus (today's Turkey),
Strabo was to join the Roman prefect of Egypt,
Aelius Gallus, and later also travelled from Armenia
to Sardinia, and from the
Black Sea to Ethiopia.
In the work Geography, which consisted of 17 books, he described
the world in a very dry, but clear way. He dismissed the seafarer Pytheas as a
hoax, and gives many details of the then known world.
This text is cited Sept 2003 from the In2Greece URL below.
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