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See also: Greek geographer and historian, was See also: born at See also: Amasia in See also: Pontus, a city which had been much Hellenized, and was the royal residence of the See also: kings of Pontus
.
We know nothing of his See also: father's See also: family, but several of his See also: mother's relatives held important posts under See also: Mithradates V. and VI
.
Some were of Hellenic, others of See also: Asiatic origin, but See also: Strabo himself was by language and See also: education thoroughly Greek
.
The date of his See also: birth cannot be exactly determined, but from various
indications in his See also: work it seems to have been about 63 E.C
.
He studied at Nysa under the grammarian See also: Aristodemus, under Tyrannio the grammarian at See also: Rome, under the philosopher Xenarchus either at Rome or at Alexandria, and he had studied See also: Aristotle along with See also: Boethus (possibly at Rome under Tyrannio, who had See also: access to the Aristotelian writings in Sulla's library)
.
He states that he saw P
.
Servilius Isauricus, who died at Rome in advanced years in 44 B.C., from which it has been inferred that he visited Rome early in See also: life
.
He also tells us that he was at Gyaros (one of the See also: Cyclades) when See also: Augustus was at See also: Corinth on his return to Rome from the See also: East in 29 E.c., and that he accompanied the See also: prefect of See also: Egypt, Aelius See also: Gallus, on his expedition"to Upper Egypt, which seems to have taken place in 25–24 B.C
.
These are the only See also: dates in his life which can be accurately fixed
.
The latest event mentioned in his work is the See also: death of See also: Juba, See also: king of
See also: Mauretania, which took place in A.D
.
21
.
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 See also: Etruria opposite See also: Sardinia; towards the See also: south from the Euxine to the See also: 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 See also: Philae, See also: Comana in See also: Cappadocia, See also: Ephesus, Mylasa, Nysa and See also: Hierapolis in See also: Phrygia, Gyarus and Populonia
.
Of See also: Greece proper he saw but little; it is by no means certain that he even visited Athens, and though he describes Corinth as an See also: eye-witness, it is clear that he was never at See also: Delphi, and was not aware that the ruins of See also: Mycenae still existed
.
He had seen See also: Cyrene from the See also: sea, probably on his voyage from See also: Puteoli to Alexandria, where he remained a long See also: time, probably amassing materials, and studying astronomy and See also: mathematics
.
For nowhere could he have had a better means of consulting the See also: works of historians, geographers and astronomers, such as Eratosthenes, See also: Posidonius, See also: Hipparchus and See also: Apollodorus
.
We cannot tell where his Geography was written, but it was at least finally revised between A.U
.
17 and 23, since we have See also: historical allusions which can be dated to that time
.
Probably Strabo was then in Rome; the fact that his work passed unnoticed by See also: Roman writers such as the elder See also: Pliny does not prove the contrary
.
Works.—His earliest writing was an historical work now lost, which he himself describes as his Historical See also: Memoirs: He tells us (xi
.
9, 3) that the See also: sixth See also: book of the Memoirs was identical with the second of the Continuation of See also: Polybius; probably, therefore, books i.-iv. formed an introduction to the See also: main work
.
This accounts for the fact that he speaks (ii
.
70) of having treated of the exploits of See also: Alexander in his Memoirs, a topic which could not have found a place in a work which began where that of Polybius ended (146 B.C.)
.
According to Suidas, the continuation of Polybius was in
See also: forty-three books
.
Plutarch, who calls him " the Philosopher," quotes Strabo's Memoirs (Luc . 28), and cites him as an historian (Sulla, 26). See also: josephus, who constantly calls him " the Cappadocian," often quotes from him, but does not mention the title of the work
.
The Geography is the most important work on that science which antiquity has See also: left us
.
It was, as far as we know, the first attempt to collect all the See also: geographical knowledge at the time attainable, and to compose a general See also: 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 See also: size prevented it from containing any such general description of See also: separate countries as Strabo rightly conceived to fall within the scope of the geographer
.
" Strabo indeed appears to bee the first who conceived a See also: complete geographical treatise as comprisin the four divisions of mathematical, See also: physical, See also: political and historical geography, and he endeavoured, however imperfectly, to keep all these See also: objects in view." The incidental historical notices, which are often of See also: great value and See also: interest, are all his own
.
These digressions at times interrupt the symmetry of his See also: plan; but Strabo had all the Greek love of legendary See also: lore, and he discusses the journeyings of' Heracles as earnestly as if they were events within See also: recent See also: history
.
He regarded See also: Homer as the source of all wisdom and knowledgeindeed, his description of Greece is largely See also: drawn from Apollodorus's commentary on the Homeric " See also: Catalogue of See also: Ships "—and treated See also: Herodotus with undeserved contempt. classing him with See also: Ctesias and other " marvel-mongers." Yet in some respects Herodotus had better information (e.g. in regard to the See also: Caspian) than Strabo him-self
.
Again, Strabo may be censured for discarding the statements of See also: Pytheas resPecting the west and See also: north of See also: Europe, accepted as they had been by Eratosthenes
.
But in this he relied on Polybius, whom he might justly consider as having from his position at Rome far better means of gaining accurate information
.
It must be admitted that the statements of Pytheas did not See also: accord with the theory of Strabo just in those very points where he was at variance with Eratosthenes
.
He showed likewise an unwarranted scepticism in reference to the See also: island of Cerne on the west See also: coast of See also: Africa, which without doubt the Carthaginians had long used as an emporium
.
Strabo chiefly employed Greek authorities (the Alexandrian geographers Polybius, Posidonius and See also: Theophanes of Mytilene, the companion of See also: Pompey) and made comparatively little use of Roman authorities
.
Although he refers to Caesar's Commentaries once by name, and evidently made use of them in other passages, he but imperfectly availed himself of that work
.
He designed his geography as a sequel to his historical writings, and it had as it were grown out of his historical materials, which were chiefly Greek
.
Moreover Strabo probably amassed his material in the library of Alexandria, so that Greek authorities would naturally furnish the great bulk of his collections
.
Doubtless, however, he returned to Rome after a long sojourn in Alexandria, a fact which explains the defectiveness of his information about the countries, to the east of his native See also: land, and renders it possible for him to have made use of the " choregraphy " of Agrippa, a map of the Roman See also: Empire and adjacent countries set up by See also: order of Augustus in'the Porticus Vipsaniae
.
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 See also: ethnology, See also: 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 . Judged by See also: modern See also: standards, his description of the direction of See also: rivers and See also: mountain-chains seems defective, but allowance must be made for difficulties in procuring information, and for want of accurate See also: instruments
.
In respect of mathematical geography, his lack of scientific training was no great hindrance
.
He had before him the results of Eratosthenes, Hipparchus and Posidonius
.
The chief conclusions of astronomers concerning the spherical figure and dimensions of the See also: earth, its relation to the heavenly bodies, and the great circles of the globe—the equator, the See also: ecliptic and the tropics—were considered as well established
.
He accepted also the division into five zones; he quotes approvingly the assertion of Hipparchus that it was impossible to make real advances in geography without astronomical observations for determining latitudes and longitudes
.
The work consists of seventeen books, of which the seventh is imperfect
.
The first two are See also: introductory, the next eight See also: deal with Europe (two being devoted to See also: Spain and See also: Gaul, two to See also: Italy and See also: Sicily, one to the north and east of Europe, and three to Greek lands): The See also: eleventh book treats of the main divisions of See also: Asia and the more easterly districts, the next three of Asia Minor
.
Book xv. deals with See also: India and See also: Persia, book xv with See also: Assyria, Babylonia, See also: Syria and See also: Arabia, and the closing book with Egypt and Africa
.
See also: Editions.—The Aldine (Venice, 1516) was unfortunately based on a very corrupt MS
.
The first substantial, improvements in the text were due to Casaubon (See also: Geneva, 1587; See also: Paris, 162o), whose text remained the basis of subsequent editions till that of Comes (Paris, 1815-1819), who removed many corruptions
.
The See also: MSS. were first scientifically collated by Kramer (Berlin, 1844-1852), who demonstrated that See also: Par
.
1397 was the best authority for the first nine books (it contains no more) and Vat . 1329 for the See also: remainder
.
Of later editions the most important are those of C
.
See also: Muller (Paris, 1853) and Meineke (
See also: Leipzig, 1866–1877)
.
H
.
F
.
Tozer's See also: volume of selections (See also: Oxford, 1893) is useful
.
See also: Napoleon I., an admirer of Strabo, caused a French See also: translation of the Geography to be made by Coraes, Letronne and others(Paris 1805–1819) ; Grosskurd's See also: German translation(Berlin, 1831–1834), with notes, is a monumental work.- The fragments of the Historical
.
Memoirs have been edited by P
.
See also: Otto (Leipsiger Studien XI, 1891); see also Muller's
.
Fragmenta historicorum graecorum, iii
.
490 sqq
.
Bunbury's History of See also: Ancient Geography, vol. ii. chs
.
21, 22 ; and F
.
See also: Dubois's Examen de la geographie de Strabon (Paris, 1891) should also be consulted
.
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