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Strabo of Amasia, a Greek geographer of the Augusto-Tiberian period, collected his observations of the Roman world of his time in his magnum opus, the Geography, which he described as a 'Kolossourgia', a colossal statue of a work. This term reflects not only the work's size in seventeen books, but also its multi-faceted nature. An international team of Strabo scholars explores its details, and the cultural, political, historical and geographical questions addressed in the Geography. They present different approaches to the study of Strabo, from traditional literary and historical perspectives to newer material and feminist readings.
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This page intentionally left blank STRABO’S CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY Strabo of Amasia, a Greek geographer of the Augusto-Tiberian period, observed the Roman world of his time. He collected his observations in his magnum opus, the Geography, which he described as a ‘Kolossourgia’, a colossal statue of a work. This term reflects not only the work’s size in seventeen books, but also its multi-faceted nature, composed of many different elements like the detailing on a statue. In this volume an international team of Strabo scholars explores those details, discussing the cultural, political, historical and geographical questions addressed in the Geography. The collection offers a number of different approaches to the study of Strabo, from traditional literary and historical perspectives to newer material and feminist readings. These diverse themes and approaches inform each other to provide a wide-ranging exploration of Strabo’s work, making the book essential reading for students of ancient history and ancient geography. D A N I E L A D U E C K is Lecturer in Classics and History at Bar Ilan University. She is the author of Strabo of Amasia: A Greek Man of Letters in Augustan Rome (2000). H U G H L I N D S A Y is Lecturer in Classics at the University of Newcastle, New South Wales. He is the author of Suetonius, Caligula (1993), Suetonius, Tiberius (1995) and a wide range of articles on the ancient world. is an independent scholar. She has published a range of articles on Strabo and related topics which have appeared in journals such as Phoenix, Mnemosyne and Classical Philology. SARAH POTHECARY The Kolossos of Zeus at Olympia. Engraving made by Philips Galle in 1572, from an original made by Maarten van Heemskerck between 1498 and 1574 STRABO’S CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY The Making of a Kolossourgia EDITED BY DANIELA DUECK, HUGH LINDSAY AND SARAH POTHECARY cambridge university press Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo Cambridge University Press The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge cb2 2ru, UK Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521853064 © Cambridge University Press 2005 This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provision of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published in print format 2005 isbn-13 isbn-10 978-0-511-14636-7 eBook (EBL) 0-511-14636-1 eBook (EBL) isbn-13 isbn-10 978-0-521-85306-4 hardback 0-521-85306-0 hardback Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of urls for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate. Table of contents List of maps List of illustrations List of tables List of figures List of contributors Acknowledgements List of abbreviations page Introduction vii v