Chapter 2 - Descriptive geography
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2012
Summary
Epic, myth and poetry
The prehistoric clay tablets inscribed in Linear B script and archaeological evidence expose the nature of geographical perception in Mycenaean culture. The ‘Pylian geography’ from the south-western Peloponnese included lists of toponyms arranged from north to south, showing that the Mycenaeans utilized a number of basic spatial concepts and could conceive of a systematic, consistent conceptualization of their surroundings. A more solid starting-point for the history of ancient geography, however, as the ancients themselves realized, is the earliest literary evidence from the Greek world: the Homeric epics (c. 700 bce).
Geographical issues were by no means reserved for prose compositions: numerous geographical details, concepts and descriptions appear in the Greek and Roman poetic corpora. As the section that follows is designed to demonstrate, early myths, which were at first orally transmitted, were moulded into new poetic patterns while preserving reminiscences of geographical situations from previous generations. These myths are thus important evidence for any discussion of geography in antiquity. Another area of study connected to the ties between poetry and geography is the inspection of the sporadic geographical titbits preserved in poetic genres such as epic and drama. But most important and most curious are poetic compositions – both Greek and Roman – devoted entirely to geographical themes. As will be argued below, even scientific geography used poetic expressions. A general survey of evidence drawn from poetic myths, passing poetic references and surviving complete texts shows that poems in various ages revealed a consistent worldview.
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- Geography in Classical Antiquity , pp. 20 - 67Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2012