Greek and Roman Geographies from "summary" of Evolution of Geographical Thought by
The study of Greek and Roman geography is an interesting exploration of the development of understanding of the world in classical antiquity. It reveals how ancient civilizations conceived of the world around them and how they interacted with it.- During the Roman Victorian period, geography expanded by leaps and bounds under the leadership of Claudius Ptolemy, who wrote about 196 AD on mathematical-based texts related to geography. His creation known as ‘Geographike Syntaxis’ displayed scientific conceptions of the ancient world on an updated map.
- Ancient Greek geographers are known to have mapped out the known world, which according to them included Europe, Africa and parts of Asia.
- In contrast to this, Herodotus dedicated himself to interpreting the physical geography of the Mediterraneanworld. His groundbreaking theories and insights focused heavily on a higher degree of detail within his geographical observations.
- Prominent among these early geographers were Eratosthenes who was credited for creating earth’s first circular map, Anaximander who conceived the notion of a flat earth with an encircling ocean and Hecataeus who is famous for publishing his precise maps in a work titled ‘Periegesis of Hellados’ (Travels around Greece..
- Julius Caesar was well ahead of his times when it came to pursuing knowledge about cultures outside Rome, and extensively researched cartographic skills during his campaigns for Rome’s expansion.
- Strabo’s” Geography” published nearly 50 years after Ptolemy’s books documented many regions never before documents including what we now call Central and Eastern Europe.
- Romans also explored various sea routes using angles and compass measurements for navigation into far off lands that formed empires eventually under their governance.
- Pliny the Elder contributed significantly to the science of geography, having travelled several countries collecting information about flora and fauna and compiling it in a masterful text.
- Roman trade networks shaped by their knowledge of geographies enabled them to exchange goods across extended boundaries.
- The genius of Hipparchus allowed him to make significant advances in specific aspects of sciences such as diorismos (the calculation of distances between places. which laid the foundation for later developments in cartography.
