Illiterate Geography in Classical Athens and Rome 9780367439705, 9781003014737

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Illiterate Geography in Classical Athens and Rome

This study is devoted to the channels through which geographic knowledge circulated in classical societies outside of textual transmission. It explores understanding of geography among the non-elites, as opposed to scholarly and scientific geography solely in written form which was the province of a very small number of learned people. It deals with non-literary knowledge of geography, geography not derived from texts, as it was available to people, educated or not, who did not read geographic works. This main issue is composed of two central questions: how, if at all, was geographic data available outside of textual transmission and in contexts in which there was no need to write or read? And what could the public know of geography? In general, three groups of sources are relevant to this quest: oral communications preserved in writing; public non-textual performances; and visual artefacts and monuments. All of these are examined as potential sources for the aural and visual geographic knowledge of GrecoRoman publics. This volume will be of interest to anyone working on geography in the ancient world and to those studying non-elite culture. Daniela Dueck is an Associate Professor of Classical Studies at Bar Ilan University, Israel. Her research interest is in ancient Greek and Roman geogra­ phy. Her published books include, among other books and articles, Geography in Classical Antiquity (2012) and The Routledge Companion to Strabo (2017).

Routledge Monographs in Classical Studies

Titles include: Animals in Ancient Greek Religion Edited by Julia Kindt Classicising Crisis The Modern Age of Revolutions and the Greco-Roman Repertoire Edited by Barbara Goff and Michael Simpson Epigraphic Culture in the Eastern Mediterranean in Antiquity Edited by Krzysztof Nawotka Proclus and the Chaldean Oracles A Study on Proclean Exegesis, with a Translation and Commentary of Proclus’ Treatise On Chaldean Philosophy Nicola Spanu Greek and Roman Military Manuals Genre and History Edited by James T. Chlup and Conor Whately Illiterate Geography in Classical Athens and Rome Daniela Dueck Religious Discourse in Attic Oratory and Politics Andreas Serafim Roman Masculinity and Politics from Republic to Empire Charles Goldberg For more information on this series, visit: https://www.routledge.com/ Routledge-Monographs-in-Classical-Studies/book-series/RMCS

Illiterate Geography in Classical Athens and Rome

Daniela Dueck

First published 2021 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2021 Daniela Dueck The right of Daniela Dueck to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A catalog record has been requested for this book ISBN: 9780367439705 (hbk) ISBN: 9781003014737 (ebk) Typeset in Bembo by Deanta Global Publishing Services, Chennai, India

Contents

List of figures List of maps Acknowledgements Abbreviations 1 Evaluating the unwritten and the unread

vi

viii

ix

x

1

2 Speeches

26

3 Drama

65

4 Proverbs and idioms

111

5 Spectacles and public shows

126

6 Visualizing geography

151

7 The scope of an illiterate geography

191

Appendix A: Lists of place-names in speeches Appendix B: Lists of place-names in dramatic plays Appendix C: Selection of Greek geographic and ethnographic

proverbs and idioms Appendix D: Selection of Latin geographic and ethnographic

proverbs and idioms Appendix E: List of place-names in Olympic victor lists Appendix F: List of place-names in the Fasti Triumphales

264/3–19 bce Bibliography Index

199

209

225

241

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249

251

264

Figures

6.1 The Achelous Painter. Attic amphora, early 5th century bce. Detail – Heracles wrestles the river Achelous. Purchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey, Toledo Museum of Art, 1952.65 6.2 Plaster cast of a marble votive amphiglyphon, dedicated by Kephisodotos son of Demogenes, Athens, c. 410 bce. Detail – a bearded god, horned personification of the river Cephisus,

a nymph. CG.D.46. Cast of a relief dedicated to Hermes and

the nymphs, from Athens. Image © Ashmolean Museum,

University of Oxford 6.3 Attic lekythos, 410–400 bce. Man in oriental costume on camel (Dionysos ?), procession in oriental costume. © Trustees of the British Museum 6.4 Attic pelike, 500–450 bce. Negroid youth with whip, camel, tree. Image is taken from www.hermitagemusum.org, courtesy of The State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia 6.5 Decree relief, Athens, 406/5 bce. Personification of Athens and Kios. Courtesy of the Fairfield University Art Museum Plaster Cast Collection, lent by the Metropolitan Museum of Art 6.6 Attic kylix (drinking cup), 470–460 bce. Warrior in Thracian costume. Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of David M. Robinson. President and Fellows of Harvard College 6.7 Red figure hydria (detail), Athens, 500–450 bce. Herakles with sword, Busiris, draped Egyptian youths with hydria, tray and torch, altar. © Staatliche Antikensammlungen und Glyptothek München, Photograph by Renate Kühling 6.8 Attic kalyx krater, 475–425 bce. Persian archer running with sword and bow. © Antikenmuseum Basel und Sammlung Ludwig

155

156

157

157

158

160

161 162

Figures

6.9 Silver Coin, Gela, Sicily, c. 480–470 bce, River god, Caption: Celas, CNG 6.10 Triumphal Arch, Orange, France, 27 bce–14 ce, Reliefs depicting trophies of defeated Gauls. Photograph by Roberto Piperno 6.11 Trajan’s Column, relief, Rome, 107–113 ce, Detail: Dacians with long tunics, trousers, long hair, beards and sickles. By permission, Roger B. Ulrich 6.12 Relief and inscription, Sebasteion, Aphrodisias, 1st century ce, “People of Bessi”. Inscriptions of Aphrodisias http:// insaph.kcl.ac.uk/iaph2007/iAph090009.html by permission, Charlotte Roueche 6.13 Roman silver coin, Corduba mint, 46–45 bce. Hispania handing over a palm branch to Pompey, Caption: Cn(aeus) Magnus Imp(erator). CNG 6.14 Roman coins, 19 bce. Left coin: Kneeling Parthian holding a Roman military standard, Caption: Caesar Augustus Sign(ia) Rece(pta), CNG. Right coin: Kneeling Armenian with a Tiara, Caption: Caesar Divi F(ilius) Arme(nia) Capt(a), OCRE 6.15 Roman bronze coin, 71 ce. Standing figure of armed victor, palm tree, seated mourning woman, Caption: Iudaea Capta. SC. CNG 6.16 Coins, Hadrian’s travel issues, Rome, 130–138 ce. From left to right: personifications of Hispania, Britannia, Gaul, Africa. CNG 6.17 Roman coin, 125 bce. Jupiter on an elephant biga, Victoria flying with a victor’s wreath Caption: Metellu(s). CNG 6.18 Roman silver coin, 28–27 bce, Caption: Aegypto Capta. CNG 6.19 Roman silver coin, c. 19–18 bce. Armenian Tiara with Bow quivers, Caption: Armenia Capta. CNG 6.20 Roman coin, Utica, 47–46 bce. Head of Africa laureate and clad in elephant scalp, stalk of grain, plough, Caption: Q(uintus) Metell(us) Scipio Imp(erator). Private Collection 6.21 Mosaic, Praeneste, 120–110 bce. Detail: Nile scene. By permission, corvinus.nl 6.22 Fragments of marble slab, Forma Urbis Romae, Rome, 200 ce. Ant.Com. 1364bis; fr. n. 11fh, Viminal with a sector of the Vicus Patricius. Photographic Archive of the Capitoline Museums © Roma – Sovraintendenza Capitolina Ai Beni Culturali 6.23 Athenian stone inscription, Mid 5th century bce. Fragment of tribute list, © David Gill

vii

164

166

168

171

173

173

174

175 176 176 177

177 180

181 183

Maps

1.1 The geographical scope of the Delian League 1.2 The geographical scope of the Roman Empire in Trajan’s

Age, c. 117 ce 2.1 The geographical scope of Antiphon’s world 2.2 The geographical scope of Lysias’ world 2.3 The geographical scope of Andocides’ world 2.4 The geographical scope of Isocrates’ world 2.5 The geographical scope of Isaeus’ world 2.6 The geographical scope of Lycurgus’ world 2.7 The geographical scope of Hyperides’ world 2.8 The geographical scope of Aeschines’ world 2.9 The geographical scope of Demosthenes’ world 2.10 The geographical scope of Dinarchus’ world 2.11 The geographical scope of Cicero’s world 3.1 The geographical scope of Aeschylus’ world 3.2 The geographical scope of Sophocles’ world 3.3 The geographical scope of Euripides’ world 3.4 The geographical scope of Aristophanes’ world 3.5 The geographical scope of Menander’s world 3.6 The geographical scope of Plautus’ world 3.7 The geographical scope of Terence’s world 3.8 The geographical scope of Seneca’s world 5.1 The geographical scope of places of origin of Olympic Victors

508–340 bce 5.2 The geographical scope of places of origin of Olympic Victors

336–240 bce 5.3 The geographical scope of conquered people in the Fasti

Triumphales

20

22

30

32

35

37

38

40

42

44

46

48

59

69

75

78

86

96

100

102

105

129

130

138

Acknowledgements

This volume is the result of a research journey I began almost seven years ago. Throughout the journey, several individuals supported the production of this volume in various ways. Joseph Geiger discussed ideas and details with me from the beginning and always willingly read drafts of the work. Sarah Pothecary read an advanced draft of this study and kindly offered invaluable advice. Richard Talbert and Serena Bianchetti made very helpful suggestions which improved the text, and Douglas Olson improved its linguistic style. My assistant Roee Dror patiently produced all maps in this volume. Deanta Global through Jayanthi Chander and the editorial team did an excellent job on pre­ paring the copyedited manuscript. Finally, the production team at Routledge, particularly Amy Davis-Poynter, Ella Halstead and Lizzi Risch, were always quick to respond and help with any question or doubt I have raised. I cordially thank them all. During the course of this academic journey I had the chance of presenting my main thesis and methodologies on several international and local stages. I would thus like to extend my gratitude to the attention and helpful comments of the audiences in Stanford University and the Saxo Institute at the University of Copenhagen and further thank Reviel Netz and Tønnes Bekker-Nielsen who invited me to present my work in these two institutions respectively. At home, I benefited from the intelligent remarks of the audiences in Tel Aviv University, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Open University. Finally, I thank the individuals and the institutions who granted me per­ mission to use images. Details of these authorities are specified in each case. Translations of ancient works are those of the Loeb Classical Library, except for the one of Martial’s Liber Spectaculorum translated by Kathleen Coleman and quoted by permission in Chapter 5. All sections quoted from Strabo and the one from Pliny NH 5.36–37 in Chapter 5 appear in my own translation. Jerusalem, February 2020

Abbreviations

AC AClass AJA ASNP AncW BAPD BICS BNJ C&M CIL ClAnt CNG CPG CPh CQ CW G&R GRBS HSPh IG I3 JHS JRS LSJ MDAI(R)

l’Antiquité classique Acta Classica American Journal of Archaeology Annali della Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa The Ancient World Beazley Archive Pottery Database https://www.beazley.ox. ac.uk/pottery/default.htm Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies, London Brill’s New Jacoby, edited by I. Worthington, Leiden, 2007- https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/browse/ brill-s-new-jacoby Classica et Mediaevalia Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum https://arachne.uni-koeln. de/drupal/?q=en/node/291 Classical Antiquity Classical Numismatic Group, LLC https://www.cngcoins. com/ E.L. Leutsch and F.G. Scheidewin (eds.) (1965) Corpus Paroemiographorum Graecorum, Hildesheim, (1839 repr.) Classical Philology Classical Quarterly Classical World Greece and Rome Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies Harvard Studies in Classical Philology Inscriptiones Graecae I: Inscriptiones Atticae Euclidis anno anteriores, Fasc. 1, edited by David Lewis, Berlin 1981, 3rd edition. The Journal of Hellenic Studies The Journal of Roman Studies H.G. Liddell, R. Scott, H.S. Jones, A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford, 1996, 9th edition. Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts (Rom)

Abbreviations

MEFRA MK-B OCRE OLD OT PCG RhM SCI TAPhA WS ZPE

xi

Mélanges de l’École française de Rome. Antiquité Münzkabinett, Staatlische Museen zu Berlin https://ikmk.smb. museum/home?lang=en Online Coins of the Roman Empire http://numismatics.org/ ocre/ Oxford Latin Dictionary, edited by P.G.W. Glare, Oxford, 2012, 2nd edition. Orbis Terrarum R. Kassel, R. and C. Austin (1986) Poetae Comici Graeci, Berlin. Rheinisches Museum für Philologie Scripta Classica Israelica Transactions of the American Philological Association Wiener Studien Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik

1

Evaluating the unwritten and the unread

Scope of the question and goals Geography and popular culture are the two currents in recent classical scholar­ ship that parent this volume. Studies of Greek and Roman geography involve primarily the examination of ancient geographical reports and documentation, including the actual extent of knowledge and mental perceptions of the world, and base their conclusions mainly on textual evidence.1 This is rightly so; these are the main and sometimes the only sources for assessing matters of “practical” geography, such as the limits of travel and knowledge, and for evaluating the concepts and theories involved in the discovery and description of the world. Parallel to this branch of research is a growing modern interest in ancient popular culture and the life of the majority in Greco-Roman society, mean­ ing the crowds, the masses and the uneducated.2 Within this area of interest and specifically linked to questions of textual transmission, it seems clear that in societies in which only a minority were fully literate, texts were available to a narrow sector of the population composed of the educated and literate, who throughout antiquity were usually free elite adult males. What of the rest – the majority – of the population? Building on these two branches of study – classical geography and ancient popular culture – this book asks about the extent of geographic knowledge, if any, among illiterate men, women and even children. This question offers an occasion for a wider notion of audiences for unwritten geographies: scholarly and scientific geography solely in written form was the province of a very small number of learned people even among the so-called educated elite. The current study is thus devoted to the channels through which geographic knowledge circulated in classical societies outside of textual transmission and in situations where there was no need for literacy. It deals with non-literary knowledge of geography, i.e. geography not derived from texts, as it was available to people, educated or not, who did not read geographic works. The primary object of interest here is the uneducated segment of GrecoRoman society, but also anyone, including literate persons, who had the oppor­ tunity to absorb geographic knowledge from unwritten sources. In particular,

2

Evaluating the unwritten and the unread

my aim is to assess the potential extent of unwritten geographic knowledge and to raise the following questions: (1) How, if at all, was geographic data available outside of textual transmission and in contexts in which there was no need to write or read? (2) What could the public know of geography, including (a) local topography and landscape; (b) the existence and location of specific sites; (c) distances; (d) the shape of the world and its parts; and (e) foreign peoples? (3) What was the extent of the “world” thus known? What were its most remote places? “Common sense” geography has recently emerged as an area of academic interest.3 This new direction of research began with the aspect of historical geography concerned with implicit or tacit knowledge in ancient cultures, and focused on “lower” geography as opposed to “professional” or “higher” geography, on naïve perceptions and descriptions of space and on the use of intuitive arguments in geographic contexts. While emphasizing the experience of laymen in contrast to the scientific understanding of experts, studies related to common sense geography have tended to concentrate on perceptions and mental models rather than on specific items of knowledge. This is the focus of the present study: to concentrate attention on the uneducated lay members of society, but also on anyone who might potentially have absorbed unwritten information. I propose to accomplish this goal by examining the evidence for the specific details of geographic information available to the public in non­ literary sources.4 Before I turn to systematic analysis of the sources, several concerns should be addressed. First, in speaking specifically of ancient geographic knowledge, can we in fact assume a significant dichotomy between educated or literate sectors of society and non-educated or illiterate ones? Is it right to envision one group as in possession of all geographic information, both practical and conceptual, while the other is entirely deprived of such awareness? Was there actually a major gap in the extent of geographic knowledge between the two circles? The likelihood of such a clear-cut division requires consideration, since it was often members of the illiterate masses who went to remote places and thus both gained and brought back practical geographic knowledge. The constant movement and trade in the ancient Mediterranean required active practical geographic knowledge at many levels of society.5 In 5th-century bce Athens, for example, people of all economic levels travelled for war or on mis­ sions related to the needs of the Delian League.6 Roman soldiers who spent months or years in foreign countries and merchants who travelled annually to distant markets probably knew more about routes and landscapes than did intellectuals who memorized epics and scientific treatises. Moreover, if the composers of oral texts that addressed crowds, such as orators and playwrights, were themselves educated and incorporated their knowledge into their work, this elite knowledge became available to the public at large. If this was so, the

Evaluating the unwritten and the unread

3

dichotomy in literacy levels was not necessarily reflected in a parallel dichotomy in the extent of geographic knowledge. Nevertheless, and despite this ambigu­ ity, it seems likely that even if some details were accepted as part of common, cross-class knowledge, educated persons as such had access to a wider range of sources and to sources that concentrated on systematic geographic records intended for leading, learned circles. This is particularly true in reference to theoretical and scientific geography, as opposed to practical in-field geography. In addition, even if there was likely some similarity or overlap between the extent of geographic knowledge among different strata of society, the hypoth­ esis should be founded on solid evidence to transform theory into fact. Finally, regardless of possible different levels of education, it is worth examining how geographic knowledge circulated through non-literary channels. How and to what extent was unwritten geography a unique body of knowledge that dif­ fered from information transmitted solely in writing shared by a more limited group of individuals within the educated elite? The present discussion proposes to examine the questions outlined above for the period extending from the 5th century bce to the mid-2nd century ce. Within this broad frame of time, two periods are particularly important as the best known and best documented portions of classical antiquity: (1) Classical Athens from the beginning of the formation of the Athenian democracy up to the rise of Macedon (c. 508–338 bce). (2) The Roman Republic from the time of the Punic Wars to the end of the Augustan era (264 bce–14 ce). While emphasizing these two periods, this survey also includes the years between 338 and 264 bce and the Roman Empire up to the death of Hadrian in 138 ce. This choice depends on considerations particularly relevant to geo­ graphic issues. First, during the years in question, both Greek and Roman societies in turn experienced a collective process of geographic expansion:7 democratic Athens with its Aegean league; the Macedonian expansion and the effects of the campaigns of Alexander the Great; the Roman Republic with its extra-Italian conquests from the time of the Punic Wars to the beginning of the Augustan principate; and the extension of the Roman state to its maximum size from the early Empire to Hadrian, who consolidated the imperial borders.8 In such periods of geopolitical growth, it would seem important to discover if and how geographic information penetrated to wider sectors of the population than the political and military elite. Second, apart from the importance of each period in itself, these bursts of geographic expansion allow for comparative discussion and thus help clarify the dynamics of knowledge in each age. Third, the periods in question are the best known and best documented in classical antiquity and offer a relatively abundant selection of relevant sources. In terms of place, in order to draw conclusions regarding development, change and comparison, I focus on social communities within the polis of Athens and the city of Rome. The main goals of the study are accordingly:

4

Evaluating the unwritten and the unread

(1) To introduce a series of questions related to the extent of geographic knowledge available through unwritten channels, with specific emphasis on the potential reception of such knowledge among uneducated groups. (2) To propose a systematic methodology for answering these questions. (3) To offer detailed evidence from each period. (4) To compare evidence from these periods. (5) To arrive at conclusions concerning the availability of unwritten geo­ graphic information. This study intends to discuss and illuminate a number of aspects of life in Greco-Roman society. Primary among these are mass culture; the content, display and function of oral communication; visual representations of geog­ raphy and ethnography; and the place of geography within society. All four points have been discussed and studied before, but they have never been linked as part of a comprehensive discussion of unwritten geography. The main goal of this study is thus to bring attention to these questions and to emphasize aural and visual reception rather than traditional textual transmission. For this pur­ pose, large portions of relevant sources are examined according to a standard methodology combined with an awareness that other relevant evidence may also contribute to the overall unwritten situation.

The sources Any modern study of classical antiquity must negotiate between its research goals and the nature of the sources. Unfortunately, many important and intrigu­ ing questions cannot be considered due to a lack of evidence. In an attempt to access unwritten evidence about geographic knowledge within Greco-Roman society, we must focus on sources that were available at the time to wide audi­ ences and required no reading skills. This means that most literary texts, which were usually addressed exclusively to elite readers, must be excluded. The goal is thus to seek answers to the proposed questions by focusing on originally unwritten channels for communicating geographic knowledge. Fortunately, some of these were not left unrecorded. In general, three groups of sources are relevant to our quest: (1) oral communications preserved in writing; (2) public non-textual performances; (3) visual artefacts and monuments. Oral communications preserved in writing

Many texts now available in written form contain material that was origi­ nally available to non-readers in oral form. Tragic and comic drama belong to this category. In 5th- and 4th-century Athens, for example, plays were performed before members of the citizen body, perhaps along with metics, women, children and even slaves, i.e. assuredly uneducated sectors of soci­ ety.9 In Republican Rome, the audience continued to be dominated by male citizens, although women too could attend plays.10 Further to this, speeches

Evaluating the unwritten and the unread

5

both political and forensic, were addressed in both societies to citizens act­ ing as voters or judges, and were thus available to more than the educated elite. In both classical Athens and Republican Rome, city dwellers had a more realistic chance of attending these public performances and conventions than inhabitants of the distant countryside or provinces did. In terms of access to knowledge, therefore, there were various groups within the larger sector of the so-called “analphabetic” or “illiterates”, some of whom were rarely able to attend such gatherings. Regardless of the exact composition of specific assem­ blies, however, there must always have been many non-readers mixed in with the educated citizens. Common to both drama and public speeches is the fact that authors were aware of the diverse nature of their audiences, as opposed to the somewhat less easily determined targets of literary texts such as poetry, philosophical treatises and historiography, which were performed before a rel­ atively narrow crowd limited to mostly higher social circles.11 Several further, perhaps banal but nonetheless necessary, reservations or warnings must be offered regarding the use of oral communications transmit­ ted in writing. First, we are always dependant on the survival of texts. Missing plays by Sophocles or lost speeches by Cicero might perhaps have expanded the world of their authors for us. Second, the fact that a source does not men­ tion certain toponyms or ethnonyms is not conclusive proof that the author did not know them; again, we must deal with what we have. Third, thematic considerations and historical circumstances doubtless influenced the choice of place-names within specific types of sources. If an orator made political speeches dealing with issues pertinent to particular regions, for example, we would not expect references to other place-names, because they were irrel­ evant to the issue at hand, even if he knew them. Fourth, the length of texts may influence the amount and scope of geographic information within them; three speeches by Andocides, for example, may include fewer toponymic ref­ erences than 20 plays by Plautus. Comparative quantitative measures should thus be assessed with caution. Despite these reservations, it should be stressed again that our goal is not to assess the geographic knowledge of orators or playwrights, but to discover the information potentially offered to the public, including uneducated crowds. What is in the plays or speeches is what was available to the audience, even if the orator or poet had geographic knowledge broader than what survives in his surviving texts. We thus seek information that audiences might have heard and understood. Proverbs and idioms are another type of originally oral utterance. Ancient collections of proverbs constitute a potentially revealing source of information. Proverbs by definition represent popular experience and wit; they are born out of common daily events and thus reflect the ideas and experiences of ordinary people. One can easily imagine a soldier or a simple sailor on a merchant ship visiting foreign countries and returning home with amazing stories and practi­ cal experiences that would nourish such idioms. Here, one significant differ­ ence between plays or speeches and proverbs should be noted. In approaching

6

Evaluating the unwritten and the unread

the former, we consider what people might have been able to know or what authors may have assumed the wider audience would recognize in geographic terms. In other words, in these records the content is introduced to the public by an external, often socially more elevated agent (knowledge moving “from top to bottom”). Proverbs, by contrast, often originate and circulate within lower social strata and thus offer a rare opportunity to evaluate what common people knew and expressed in their own vulgar means of expression (knowl­ edge derived “from below”). The Homeric epics also seem to have emerged from oral recitation and were preserved in collective memory. Even if every individual verse was not accurately transmitted, at least the main lines of the plots and the identities of the main characters were likely known to the public.12 Similarly, mythological tales, folk tales and fables were more wide-spread than the surviving written versions allow us to assume.13 All these channels included numerous geograph­ ical details and contained implied spatial notions;14 the scope of Odysseus’ wan­ derings,15 the route of the Argonauts,16 the location of the bound Prometheus17 and the scope of Io’s wanderings18 all reflected and assumed geographic knowl­ edge available to those familiar with these stories. Although this book does not offer a systematic analysis of such originally oral but eventually literary mytho­ logical tales, a brief discussion of the reflection of mythical geography mainly within drama but also occasionally in speeches will prove useful. Public non-textual shows

The second group of sources, relevant to the question of the geographic com­ petence of the uneducated masses, includes public, non-textual shows. As is well-known, there were public displays, primarily in Rome, that both implic­ itly and explicitly involved geographic data. Triumphal processions, staged bat­ tle scenes, shows and public games were not only open to the public, but were often designed specifically to address the taste of the masses. In these shows, triumphant leaders celebrated their victories by including in processions objects and captives taken from often previously unknown conquered regions;19 strange and exotic animals were exhibited (venationes) and thus associated with remote places; naval battles (naumachiae) including foreign fleets were staged; and foreign prisoners appeared as gladiators.20 The geographic morsels included in these spectacles are extremely relevant to the present study. All in all, it is reasonable to assume that these spectacles contributed to the image of places and peoples in the eyes of the public. A unique characteristic of this category is that we possess almost no direct evidence for these shows, since they were essentially non-textual and included no fixed words, or at least none that were recorded and preserved. We there­ fore rely mostly on written testimony. Such events were also more common in Rome, and mostly in the late Republic and under the emperors, whose extrav­ agant public shows often featured hidden geographic and ethnographic mes­ sages. In Athens, there were also public festivals, such as the annual Panathenaic

Evaluating the unwritten and the unread

7

processions and the Great Dionysia, but these aimed at celebrating Athenian identity and the inner life of the polis. Even panhellenic celebrations such as various sporting events, focused on Greek culture and seem not to have refer­ enced foreign lands and peoples. As we shall see, however, the latter nonethe­ less offered geographic information regarding the Mediterranean world. Visual artefacts and monuments

A third channel through which public or popular geographic and ethnographic knowledge might be accessed is visual material.21 Vase paintings, triumphal monuments, mosaics, sculptures, reliefs and coins belong by their very nature within the public sphere. Most important for the present discussion is the fact that visual material was by definition even less discriminating than plays and speeches, since it did not involve language and thus posed no linguistic bar­ rier. Artefacts and monuments were usually present in the public domain, and anyone could see them, just as anyone could hold a coin or a vase, regardless of his or her cultural background, origin, age, gender or social status. Visual means of transmission might also be taken to include inscriptions, even if not in their textual dimension. Although inscriptions primarily deliv­ ered texts aimed at readers, they also had a visual, non-textual dimension in their very presence but also in their forms and formats. An inscription could thus also have an effect on non-readers by means of its existence and likely its graphics. This must be especially true for tribute lists, catalogues of conquered places and peoples, and the like. I refer broadly to this point, including the issue of a semi-literate audience and basic written messages e.g. on coins, later on. Other kinds of sources containing geographic information also belong to the category of visual semi-literate evidence. These include Tituli Picti, short commercial inscriptions on amphorae indicating the origin and destination of products, mainly wine;22 instrumenta domestica, short texts inscribed or stamped on private objects that might include geographic or ethnographic informa­ tion;23 and milestones offering limited written information regarding locations and distances.24 All these types of evidence required some ability to read and were common in Roman society,25 but they have the potential to show how geographic knowledge might have been available in the public domain. Unlike the symbolic and visual value of inscriptions or brief written messages on coins accompanied by images, both of which were available to the uneducated masses even without reading, the deciphering of commercial inscriptions, stamps and milestones required a certain, minimal ability to read. Without this skill, none of them would have been available to the public. They, accordingly, do not feature in our quest for unwritten geography, although further research in this direction might be informative. Other channels of unwritten geographic information include testimony both literary and material for merchandise such as agricultural products, tools, fabrics and raw materials. Items such as Macedonian wood, Egyptian grain and Indian spices carried with them reputed geographical data that was probably

8

Evaluating the unwritten and the unread

available to the public and especially to those actively involved in trade. Athenian Old Comedy, for instance, contains ample evidence for merchandise associated with specific places of origin (Chapter 3). Another pool of sources, already mentioned, might be fables and folk tales and other so-called “popular literature”, which in the written form as we know it probably reflects stories circulating among lower social classes.26 Finally, in various historical periods other kinds of poetry besides drama were performed orally in public or in pri­ vate symposia.27 Meticulous analysis of the geography embedded in poetry in general might contribute to our understanding of the knowledge available to a group larger than the immediate social circle of educated poets. In this volume, however, the focus is on dramatic texts.

Methodological outline With these questions, goals and target sources in mind, the aim of this book is to extract all information relevant to geographic knowledge from the avail­ able evidence, be it explicit or implied. The first step is to collect references to bare toponyms, including place-names of continents, rivers, mountains, seas, islands, gulfs, settlements and kingdoms. As this portion of the study contains considerable detail regarding names and numbers arranged in tables and maps, readers more interested in the discussion and its conclusions are advised to skip to the concluding remarks at the end of each section and chapter. The col­ lection and register of these names is nonetheless intended to reveal a certain acquaintance, be it direct or indirect, with the places or peoples in question and at least a general awareness of their existence. The second step is to sort the toponyms according to geographic categories within the inhabited world at the time. This division is not by continent, but rather strives to reflect the main spheres of political and economic activity in the periods in question. Thus several regions or zones are defined as related to, and contemporary with, the main cultural centres in the defined periods of time, namely and primarily mainland Greece, the Aegean islands, Asia Minor and Italy and Sicily. Seven world regions are thus in question: (1) main­ land Greece; (2) the islands; (3) Italy or Sicily; (4) Europe other than Greece and Italy; (5) Asia Minor; (6) greater Asia; (7) Africa. Sorting toponyms thus serves to reveal patterns of geographic knowledge, including e.g. the interplay between centre and periphery. For comparative purposes, the same division is applied to all sources. Third, from the pool of toponyms the most extreme points are drawn, both verbally and on the accompanying maps, according to the four cardinal points West, North, East and South. This presentation of the data aims to capture the general spatial scope inherent in the sources, or at least the limits of their interests and perhaps of their actual geographical knowledge. The next step is to go beyond bare toponyms and ethnonyms to see if, how and when additional geographic information was included in the sources. As always, the focus is on what a member of the audience could

Evaluating the unwritten and the unread

9

grasp or had the potential to grasp. When Andocides implies in a speech, for example, that one sails up or crosses over (anapleusai) to the Hellespont and Ionia (On the Mysteries, 76), even if geography is not the main issue, the audience could pick up details regarding specific, often remote and unknown, places. But this is not a clear-cut situation, since at this point the issue of the amount of geographic knowledge, whether topographic or ethnographic, that an average Athenian or Roman possessed, presents itself. Based on what we know regarding the mobility of various levels of society, a more extensive general acquaintance with neighbouring communities or with those situated on major trade routes should be assumed, along with a lesser degree of awareness, if not complete ignorance, of remote and foreign sites. The practical experience and daily geography, so to speak, of many Athenians and Romans probably influenced how they absorbed related aural and visual information. As for visual evidence, whether monuments or smaller scale depictions, the goal here is to trace non-cartographic representations of geographic or ethno­ graphic elements. Geographic features are in a sense abstract by nature because, outside of exact one-to-one drawings or images, it is difficult if not impos­ sible to deliver visual information regarding a specific, recognizable place. Illustration of a site could accordingly be achieved in several ways. One is through symbols, which usually involve elements such as typical plants, objects or monuments. Places are thus reduced to items associated, probably in popu­ lar mind, with them. Egypt, for example, is associated with crocodiles, Judaea with palm trees. Another technique for the visual transmission of geographic details is through personification.28 In this way rivers or cities are personified, and even if they appear in human form, they represent geographic details. A third way to illustrate a region is by depicting its typical inhabitants. Images of the unique appearance of foreigners, including both physiological traits and garments, often serve to depict stereotypes or ethnic types rather than indi­ viduals.29 How foreigners were represented, whether on vases, in sculpture or on coins, may reveal both how they were perceived and how they were intro­ duced to the general, often illiterate public. Our method is thus to see how places and peoples were depicted in visual terms, and to examine the choice of places and the spatial notions such choices reflected. Before the evidence is considered, some further preliminary thoughts related to procedure will be useful. In the first place, it is only natural that any person, and certainly poets and authors, absorbs his (or her, even if rarely in antiquity) physical surroundings and reflects his (or her) experience in written or visual compositions. We thus expect our sources to offer impressions of the immedi­ ate geographic world of each society: classical Athens would understandably concentrate on Attica and on the most frequent travel and trade routes at the time, mostly in the Aegean; likewise, Republican Rome on Italy and the regions around it, reflecting the gradual progress of Roman conquest. Even if we accept these hypotheses, we must first firmly establish the popular audible and visual availability of these concepts and other geographic data.

10 Evaluating the unwritten and the unread

In addition, it should be kept in mind that it is impossible to measure or quantify the geographic knowledge of the Greek and Roman public; the sim­ ple truth is that, as in many other cases, we will never know exactly what people knew. There are some bits of information one can safely assume most people had: probably most Athenians knew about neighbouring communities such as Aegina or Megara, while Carthage was not a totally obscure place for Romans. Clearly one cannot estimate the extent of overall mass knowledge; two people attending the same play or speech or observing the same monu­ ment would take away different impressions. Moreover, the assumption by an orator, a playwright or an artist that his audience would respond to or recognize specific geographic details may not have matched reality, since the audience may not have followed the presentation. At the same time, we can recognize that certain geographical details were mentioned while others were not, and thus try to reconstruct a common pool of geographic exempla. What was actually absorbed depended on the personality, interests and mental abili­ ties of the individual observer or the listener. But the point for us is that a large body of information was available outside the realm of letters.30 In addition, we are dealing with probabilities rather than certainties. Our goal is to observe potential opportunities for the public to access information, even if only passively. As noted, the fact that a certain toponym was mentioned in a comedy or that a foreigner was depicted on a coin does not mean that everyone heard or saw these details. Someone might attend a play or hold a vase and not grasp some of its details. It is therefore impossible to measure how many people heard and absorbed the content of a particular speech, or how many saw and grasped the presence and meaning of a specific monument, making it preferable to concentrate on potential knowledge and the availability of data. The goal here is accordingly to examine what was available to the pub­ lic and what authors or artists might have assumed would impress non-reading audiences.

Literacy, illiteracy and orality This volume aims to study unwritten geographic knowledge, and illiterate sec­ tors within Greek and Roman society are thus specifically relevant as a central target audience of such communications, even if audible and visual informa­ tion was available to everyone, including the educated elite. In these contexts, what does “illiterate” mean? We may rely either on modern definitions of literacy/illiteracy or on modern understandings of classical literacy/illiteracy. This book attempts to utilize both approaches, and a brief review of modern notions of literacy and related issues is accordingly appropriate at this point. Reading and writing are often independent skills; the acquisition of reading often precedes writing. Someone who can write can also read, but not neces­ sarily the other way around. The extent of literacy is therefore usually meas­ ured primarily according to the ability to read.31 A basic modern definition of illiteracy may be drawn from UNESCO standards,32 according to which

Evaluating the unwritten and the unread

11

illiterates are individuals who completely lack the ability to identify, under­ stand and interpret written signs or to recognize letters and numbers, even if these appear separate from any context or complete words. Modern studies of education also recognize a state of functional literacy or semi-literacy, which means the ability to decipher letters or even individual simple words (e.g. one’s own name) or short, basic sentences (e.g. “cave canem”), but not to read entire composite sentences and certainly not to absorb sophisticated literary compositions. Modern studies of ancient literacy,33 however, show that these modern definitions do not fully accommodate the situation in ancient Greco-Roman society. The main problem is that in antiquity the difference between literacy and illiteracy was not a clear dichotomy, since there were many “literacies”. Rosalind Thomas, for example, has shown that the meaning of reading and writing is different in different societies and even in different contexts – politi­ cal, social, cultural – within a single society.34 In Athens, for example, Thomas discerns name-literacy, meaning the ability to write one’s name; commercial literacy, applied in very simple transactions and contracts; and even list literacy. Accordingly, in one society, let alone in several, there are often numerous “lit­ eracies”. The same line of thought was taken up by Greg Woolf, who alluded to commercial and craft literacies and suggested the following inclusive defini­ tion of literacy: “a generalized communicative competence in using graphic symbols”.35 This broad understanding of literacy and of the variety of literacies leads to the conclusion that most of the population in classical antiquity had sufficient competence with the graphic signs needed for everyday life, i.e. most people were to some extent literate. But for our purposes this rather inclusive definition is inadequate. We are not relying on estimates of the literacy rate in antiquity, but on the assumption that the majority of the population, regardless of its degree of semi-literacy, did not produce or consume literary or scholarly texts. Without going into an extensive discussion of literacy/illiteracy conditions in our two target societies, it is worth offering a brief outline of the situation in each. In Athens in the 5th/4th centuries bce, there were different types of literacy, which were divergent in their political and social contexts:36 literacy related to banking; name-literacy, apparent for instance in ostracisms or law courts, and including the mere ability to read and write names; commercial literacy involving contracts, letters, receipts and loans; list literacy; literacy of the officials in the boulē; and others. Financial literacy differed from democratic literacy, but at the same time complete illiteracy was widespread and even more so outside of Athens. This situation changed gradually towards the end of the 4th century, but never resulted in a wholly literate society. Athenians who were fully literate were usually officers who used written texts, and members of the social and economic elite.37 Even then, most of the population could not read or write much more than their own names. Due to a lack of accurate information, it is impossible to determine the size of the groups situated at various points on the spectrum between complete illiteracy and full education,

12 Evaluating the unwritten and the unread

but it seems safe to say that most of the Athenian population was illiterate even as the literacy rate expanded during the late 5th and early 4th centuries.38 It was in this cultural context that Cleon supposedly described Athens’ citizens as “spectators of speeches (theatai tōn logōn)” (Thucydides 3.38). The literacy rate in Rome was similar to the one assumed for classical Athens and involved more or less the same sectors within society. There is thus evidence for diversity in the use of writing and reading within Roman society, and there must have been a range of literacies here as well: literary, commercial, religious, military and more. The geopolitical expansion of the Roman state and the emergence of a new urban culture were connected with an expansion of writing among larger numbers of people, as were the various bureaucratic and administrative needs associated with running the Empire and urban existence generally. But such literacy was limited to short, formulaic texts and did not require readers to have any extensive or elaborate knowledge. Even if a certain documentary mentality developed gradually in the final two centuries of the Roman Republic, therefore, relatively few individuals pos­ sessed the broad set of skills essential to full literacy.39 In fact, the civil wars of the 1st century bce drove the agricultural population towards the city of Rome. Their education was minimal, their commercial skills limited and many were illiterate.40 The aim of the present venture is to assess knowledge acquired through unwritten channels, and another central issue is the geographic knowledge of common, uneducated people, as opposed to that of the educated elite. My goal is to determine if and how there was a difference between the body of geographic information available in scholarly or literary texts and that avail­ able through non-textual channels, mainly oral or visual. For these purposes, therefore, and as opposed to the broad definition offered above, “literates” are here regarded as only the minority of educated males who shared the abil­ ity to successfully confront sophisticated texts and use them to gain access to geographic knowledge. The rest – the majority – of the population, meaning everyone who could not afford financially and intellectually to confront such written material, is treated here as illiterate or analphabetic. Given the goal of this project, therefore, the terms analphabetic and illiterate will be taken in a broad, comprehensive sense to denote educational levels allowing for reading at various points on a spectrum situated between two extremes. At one end of this spectrum stand individuals who entirely lacked the ability to deal with letters and numbers, while at the other end stand those who enjoyed some functional literacy, but limited to their everyday life and as part of their pro­ fession or social circle. As opposed to the definitions discussed earlier, which focus on cognitive status, for these purposes ancient semi-literates are illiterates as well, because literary texts were beyond their reach.41 Even within educated circles, moreover, specifically scientific or mathematical works of geography were accessible only to a minority. The groups between these two extremes, who were the majority of the population in classical antiquity, are the focus of the present study.

Evaluating the unwritten and the unread

13

A large portion, probably most, of what we know today about GrecoRoman society is based on written texts. This is certainly the case for histori­ cal facts and realities, but it is even more so in regard to abstractions such as thoughts, ideas and concepts that prevailed in ancient communities. In the pursuit of an understanding of the ancient world, material evidence is highly significant and our only real channel of information. What has survived in writing, moreover, is only a very small portion of what was written at the time, but the texts that have survived are still our main vein of information regarding both the daily life of the ancients and their conceptual world. These textual sources were produced by individuals who could write, and were apparently addressed to other individuals who could read them. Those who could write and read complex literary texts were, in both Greek and Roman society, mem­ bers of the socio-economic elite, who could afford the time and resources needed to acquire an education. These were for the most part free adult males, although there were also some educated women and slaves, especially in impe­ rial Rome, as depicted for example by Propertius’ Arethusa, who learns of her husband’s travels from a drawn map (“e tabula pictos ediscere mundos”, 4.3.37). But non-elite males, as well as most women, foreigners and slaves, were not part of this limited literate sector. According to the understanding of these matters put forward here, therefore, most of the population was illiterate, anal­ phabetic. As a result, almost everything we know about classical antiquity is inherently directed towards the life of male intellectual elites.42 Even if more ancient texts and material sources had survived, we could not expect them to reveal what other sectors of the population thought, felt, planned or did. Although the percentage of readers and the level of literacy varied by place and period, and despite the fact that it is impossible to accurately ascertain the extent of literacy according to any particular definition, we can take it as a given that mass literacy did not exist at any point in antiquity.43 In circumstances of relatively high levels of illiteracy as understood here, oral communication prevailed. People relied more on their memory in their everyday private transactions and in the public sphere as well. In the context of the Athenian demokratia and the Roman res publica in particular, oral per­ formances were addressed to crowds, who absorbed information by hearing.44 Oral transmissions featured in both public settings, such as professional perfor­ mances of epic poetry by rhapsodes and popular philosophical debates by soph­ ists, and in private ones, such as symposia in which a limited circle of friends participated.45 As a result, in both societies orality played a role similar to mass literacy in the modern world. Specific aspects of these mass communications are discussed in the chapters that follow on public speeches and drama. For the moment, however, it should be noted that aural absorption here replaces literacy, while the audible and visual replaces the textual.46 That said, it should be emphasized that with regard to textual versus audible and visual transmission before literate versus illiterate audiences, the situation is apparently asymmetrical and not mutually exclusive. While texts were beyond the reach of most individuals and groups within Greek and Roman society,

14 Evaluating the unwritten and the unread

audible and visual transmission was available to everyone. The educated elite in both societies certainly attended the theatre, public assemblies and processions, and absorbed visually rich surroundings. In this sense, unwritten geography broadly speaking is often our only source of information about the knowledge of the uneducated. But it is not a source of information about the knowledge of the uneducated alone, but rather about that of everyone who found them­ selves in the environment in question. We may thus at times focus on the social and intellectual stature of the audience and consider their abilities to absorb items of information, or simultaneously turn our attention to the nature of the evidence and the circulation of information regardless of specific target groups in the public.

The crowds and their culture Although this is a somewhat problematic category,47 “crowds” and “masses”, “hoi poloi” and “demos”, “plebs” and “populus” are here defined not according to their social, political or economic aspects, but in a broader sense as the uned­ ucated or illiterate, those who lacked full literacy. Wealth, tradition, blood and power are thus not the criteria employed here for the concept of elite versus ordinary people.48 We know of well-educated, fully literate slaves, who were socially non-elite but nonetheless elite in terms of literacy, and also of ignorant masters, who were socially elite but non-elite in terms of literacy. There was in fact considerable overlap between groups that were aristocratic, wealthy and politically powerful and simultaneously fully literate. But the economic or political stature of our target mass of individuals is of no concern here. As already noted, most of the population in Greco-Roman societies lacked full competence in reading scholarly or sophisticated texts, and certainly could not write such texts, if they could write at all. The ancient scholarly texts we possess today thus do not represent the physical and mental world of the masses, but the world of the same limited male elite who produced and con­ sumed these works. Even when non-elite members of the society appeared as characters in literary works, for example Odysseus’ wet-nurse in the Odyssey or the sausage seller in Aristophanes’ Knights, they revealed how these people appeared to elite authors rather than the actual life and thoughts of such char­ acters. Accordingly, ancient philosophical ideas and even historiography are compatible with the realities and interests of this elite sector, which was edu­ cated and had the leisure to discuss abstract concepts and analyze past events. Even in matters closely related to reality – daily life, economy, science or travel – the ancient texts available to us mainly reflect the point of view of the limited male elite, and all we can hope to deduce from them is information about their interests and their knowledge.49 The masses, however, had a culture of their own. This popular culture involved the political, religious and social aspects of life that occurred in open-air spaces, in public gatherings or in private spheres. In both Athenian and Roman society, ordinary people heard and saw, and thus absorbed, a considerable

Evaluating the unwritten and the unread

15

amount of communal information. Our access to the world of popular culture is easier when we are dealing with urban rather than rural crowds, and with public expressions of culture rather than private ones. As already noted, the focus here is on several specific sources of public domain information flow. In order to make sense of the general atmosphere, however, brief mention of several of the best attested mass activities available to the crowds in classical Athens and Republican and Imperial Rome seems worthwhile. First and foremost, meetings of public assemblies were held in the open air and in daylight. The Athenian ekklesia usually convened on the Pnyx, while Roman comitiae convened in the Forum or the Campus Martius. Public dis­ course was part of these meetings, and speakers aimed to persuade the crowd. Judicial speeches were also part of commoners’ daily life. In Athens, the public courts (dikasteria) included juries composed of citizens allotted from all social sectors.50 In Rome, legal proceedings took place in the Forum before the eyes of the people. Forensic speeches too thus depended on the reactions of bystanders and spectators. All the functions of the res publica had to be car­ ried out publicly, and they were frequently accompanied by verbal or writ­ ten explanations or by information addressed to the people.51 Beginning in the time of the principate of Augustus, the situation changed. Decisions and elections were removed from the citizen assemblies and given to the senate. The orator’s position changed accordingly, although skilled public speaking remained valuable in the senate and the law courts. But the exposure of the wider public to such speeches diminished significantly, and decisions were now made in private areas rather than public ones.52 Speeches dated to the time of the emperors are thus irrelevant to the present inquiry. There were also public events associated with the religious life of the polis or the urbs. Dramas performed in the Athenian theatre of Dionysus, various religious processions in both Athens and Rome, crowded funerals and other popular ceremonies were activities in which the wider public participated. The Athenian agora, the Pnyx and the theatre of Dionysus, on the one hand, and the Roman Forum, Campus Martius, arena and theatre, on the other, thus functioned as public stages where spectators were present as passive participants. In addition to these ordinary public conventions, which were part and par­ cel of the political structure of government and of religious norms in both soci­ eties, other informal public activities were held within the common domain of the community. In all such gatherings, every attendee or spectator shared some sort of popular cultural experience. Where did these activities take place? On the streets; at public gatherings, be they spontaneous (for instance on market days) or organized (in the theatre or the arena); in spheres of military life, such as soldiers’ conversations and jokes; on board ships, where sailors and merchants exchanged anecdotes; and generally in any group or private interaction.53 Most of these informal exchanges and folklore experiences were of course not recorded, and the knowledge and thoughts of uneducated Greek and Roman crowds are thus largely beyond modern reach.54 As noted, however, hints and clues as to some notions held by non-readers may be cautiously

16 Evaluating the unwritten and the unread

traced, although we are not dealing here with actual popular culture but with potential knowledge. Information presented orally or visually was certainly accessible to all sectors of the population, sometimes including even chil­ dren and foreigners. Oral transmission, for example through public speeches delivered at citizen assemblies both in Athens and in Rome, or in popular law courts, included details that could at least in theory reach all the various groups in the audience. The same is true of ideas and facts included in dra­ mas. Likewise, visual representations, whether on public monuments such as temples, sculptures or triumphal constructions, or on private artefacts such as vases and coins, had the potential to indiscriminately impress their viewers.55 This was certainly true for monumental public art, which usually represented elite messages, but there was also ordinary private art produced and consumed within lower sectors of society.56

Daily and practical geography The life of many Greeks and Romans involved constant mobility, both within the confines of their local communities and beyond them. There were four main causes for travel: commerce, worship, war and tourism. Travelling by sea or by land, people could reach foreign communities and experience unknown places.57 Merchants, soldiers and pilgrims could then establish primarily for themselves ideas of a “world” beyond their homeland, and they probably took these impressions back with them through physical merchandise, but also through tales and anecdotes. In classical Athens, lively trade routes, together with the geopolitical circumstance of the formation of the Delian League with its widespread set of colonies (klerouchiai), meant that many citizens were involved in travel at least within the Aegean zone, but also towards the Black Sea and Sicily. Pericles commented that “we have citizens for pilots, and our crews in general are more numerous and better than those of all the rest of Hellas” (Thucydides 1.143.1).58 Military service too sent Athenians far away from their polis, mostly to battlefields located in central Greece, but also to Asia Minor, Sicily and as far away as Egypt.59 Athenian audiences were thus not necessarily always geographically ignorant; various regions, places and peoples were directly known to segments of Athenian society. At the same time, such knowledge cannot be taken for granted: there were still individuals whose sole means of learning about the existence of certain places were aural and visual sources. In a parallel but not entirely symmetrical way, Romans dominated trade in their time. Although mobility was great for the elite in their roles as magistrates or land owners, other sectors of Roman society also travelled, mainly in connection with agricultural trade.60 In addition, since the time of the Punic Wars Roman legions had visited frontiers in northern Africa, north­ ern Europe and the East, so that Roman soldiers were constantly exposed to other places and peoples.61 In addition, while some Athenians and Romans were “out there”, most also had repeated opportunities to encounter foreigners within their own

Evaluating the unwritten and the unread

17

neighbourhoods, as it were. As the centre of the Delian League, classical Athens became a major geopolitical, cultural and financial hub in the Greek world. Metics and other non-Athenian spectators were present at the public parts of Athenian festivals, and representatives of the Athenian colonies and allies even participated in the procession which was part of the Dionysia.62 Parallel to this, Rome, as the centre of the Roman state, became a meeting point for vari­ ous ethnic groups after the Punic Wars and even more so in imperial times. We hear, for example, that British chieftains visited Rome in the Augustan age (Strabo 4.5.3). While Athens drew people mostly from within the Greek world, Rome had wider ethnic horizons. The cosmopolitan atmosphere in Imperial Rome burst forth from its architecture, its spectacles, its merchandise, its menus and its human landscape. Everywhere in the city, elements of the conquered world were on public display.63 These encounters enabled Romans, and Athenians within their own polis, to gain some geographic information regarding remote places; meeting a foreigner perhaps introduced the name of his or her homeland, its location, and the unique details of local dress and cui­ sine. These impressions of ethnic character may also have nourished prejudices as the basis for popular proverbs and idioms (Chapter 4). A common and important chance to meet foreigners was through the pres­ ence of slaves from remote and unknown places. In classical Athens, many slaves came from the Black Sea region, Thrace and Colchis, and there were also Getic slaves from the lower Danube region and Scythians. A significant clue to the variety of ethnic origins of slaves is found in the names given to them by Athenians, for in most cases these indicated the regions the individuals came from. Most ethnic names in Attica referred to foreign peoples in general rather than specific places, for example Syros, Lydos and Thratta, or were names characteristic of foreign peoples. These names hinted at the broader area of origin rather than at specific settlements, and thus do not allow for the recovery of fine-grained detail as to the geographical origins of slaves.64 At the same time, they implied and delivered some ideas of geographic and ethno­ graphic significance. Finally, constant trade enhanced popular knowledge of foreign places and peoples, primarily through the reputation of various local products, as apparent for example in Athenian comedy and in popular idioms (Chapters 3 and 4). Pericles proudly commented that “all the products of the entire earth (gē) flow in upon us” (Thucydides 2.38.2). This was no less true for Rome. Imported goods represented faraway lands and often contributed to the image of these places. Similarly, merchants who arrived in Athens or Rome represented their geographic and ethnic origins not only through their merchandise, but also through their appearance. Thus we find evidence for a female Thracian ribbon seller (Eupolis fr. 26265), a “most disgusting” Egyptian fish dealer (Archippus fr. 23) and the perfume merchant Deinias of Egypt (Strattis fr. 34). All these daily encounters with places and peoples must have contributed to the informal geographic competence of the public. Athenian and Roman crowds were thus far from ignorant, and when they listened to a speech,

18 Evaluating the unwritten and the unread

watched a play or gazed at a monument, they could probably appreciate some of the geographic messages these sources were passing on. It seems at least equally plausible that there were cases in which some members of these crowds sometimes or in some contexts were exposed to new geographic information such as unknown place names, exotic peoples or unfamiliar spatial notions, which came to them through aural or visual means.

Greek and Roman geography – realities and availability The task of assessing the extent of unwritten geographic knowledge is closely linked to written geographies available to educated people at the time. Elaborate and sophisticated scholarly texts included much geographic information deliv­ ered in various levels and genres. There was strictly scientific documentation, along with mathematical presentations of the world produced by specialists and aimed at an advanced scholarly readership. There were systematic ver­ bal descriptions of regions and peoples, often included within historiographic compositions, and there were sporadic allusions to geographic information, for example in poetry.66 All these sources and types of information were available to individuals who were educated enough to be able to read them, and these texts thus formed the foundation of their world view practically and conceptu­ ally. We cannot say for certain that every educated person read these works and possessed the entire scope of available knowledge. But based on what we can uncover today from surviving literary sources, we can at least say with a reasonable degree of certainty that authors acquired various levels of geo­ graphic awareness, and that their readers and audiences had access to the facts and theories blended into these texts. Moreover, authors who incorporated geographic details into their work, even when these were not their main focus of interest, did so on the assumption that they would be understood by their readers. Similarly, authors whose focus was geographic or ethnographic themes wrote on the assumption that a public interested in their work existed. The ancient written body of geographic knowledge is important as a meas­ uring rod for evaluating the extent of geographic knowledge available through audible or visual means. By comparing what was available in writing with what was available orally or visually, we can arrive at clearer conclusions regarding the differences, if any, between the two pools of data. It is thus relevant to offer here a brief description of the extent and limits of geographic knowledge reflected in the scholarly texts created and available in the periods under discus­ sion, i.e. extending from classical Athens to Imperial Rome. This allows us to see what the actual or real limits of the known world were at the time, so that public knowledge can be assessed against this standard. The Archaic period of Greek colonization during the 8th–6th centuries bce was already an age of massive movement of Hellenic people. Expeditions led by colonists motivated by unpromising living conditions in their places of origin moved along various Mediterranean sailing routes towards the west, the coasts of Asia Minor and the Black Sea, and North Africa. In fact, the

Evaluating the unwritten and the unread

19

geographic conditions in mainland Greece and the Aegean, i.e. coastal settle­ ments and insularity, stimulated constant movement, even if this was limited to short sailing trips to neighbouring communities, and established a network of Greek poleis.67 At the same time, and specifically after the gradual end of the colonizing period, the formation of the Greek poleis as independ­ ent autonomous and autarkic societies encouraged separation and isolation. Late 6th- and 5th-century Hellenic communities concentrated on forming their own identities and engaged in promoting local interests. This process became common to almost the entire Hellenic diaspora, including relatively new settlements. Historical circumstances put Athens on a unique political route, which greatly influenced the city’s geopolitical stature. The facts are well known, but a brief contextual survey of their geographical significance is perhaps appropri­ ate. After the victories over the Persians in 490 and 480–479 bce, in which Athens played a leading role, the Athenian polis took the helm in organizing against future external threats. This was the pretext for the formation of the Delian League, whose treasury was placed first on the island of Delos, and then from 454 bce on the Athenian acropolis. The initial goals of this league, which involved Athens and numerous other states in mainland Greece and the Aegean, was to avenge earlier Persian assaults and to form a solid front against future attacks. The decision to place the treasury on Delos pointed to the geopolitical orientation of the pact, by putting its centre in the middle of the Aegean. The later unilateral Athenian decision to move the treasury to Athens marked the city’s increased political stature, but also a change in geographic hub. Thus, Athens in the 5th and 4th centuries experienced a gradual growth in political power beyond the limits of the polis, including dominance of large amounts of territory.68 Information included in the tribute lists of the Athenian League at its peak (454–409 bce) and from complementary historiographic sources allows the geographical limits and scope of the Empire to be reconstructed (Map 1.1). The distribution itself, as it appeared on the tribute lists, was defined through geographic divisions into groups of allied tribute payments (phoroi).69 These groups were the insular (nesiotikos phoros), the Ionian (Ionikos phoros), the Carian (Karikos phoros), the Thracian (Thrakios phoros), the Hellespontic (Hellespontios phoros), the Actaean (Aktaios phoros) and the Pontic (Pontikos phoros). Such divi­ sions clearly represented a geographic awareness of separate spatial sections within the scope of Athenian hegemonic aspirations. This awareness was due to the city’s leading officials, who initiated and composed these decrees, which were then publicly displayed. Accordingly, the most extreme limits of the main spatial scope of the Delian League were Corcyra in the west, the imaginary line from Rhodes to Byzantium in the east, Byzantium in the north and Carpathos in the south. All these were more or less situated around the Aegean Sea, but several poleis situated beyond this frame were also linked to Athens and thus expanded its geographical reach. These were Inaros in Egypt (which rebelled in 461 bce), Rhegium on the Italian peninsula and Segesta in Sicily.

20 Evaluating the unwritten and the unread

Map 1.1 The geographical scope of the Delian League.

This expansion necessarily involved more navigation to these places and, as a result, likely an increase in geographic awareness even among uneducated citizens of a wide region whose political centre was Athens and whose geo­ graphic centre was the Aegean. Such awareness probably penetrated many sec­ tors within Athenian society beyond those that played a significant political or military role, such as treasurers, sailors and merchants. This was thus a period when geographic scope widened outside the limits of the defined territorial space of each polis and perhaps – this remains to be shown – affected public discourse or at least potential popular knowledge. As for “educated” geography as reflected in literary texts, there is abun­ dant information in well-known sources such as Herodotus, Thucydides and Xenophon, but also in the Hippocratic corpus and Plato. The world enfolded within these texts was wider than the scope of the Athenian league and reached the central areas of Attica, the Peloponnese and the Aegean, but also Asia Minor and as far as India, Scythia and Iberia.70 Macedonian involvement in the Greek world under Philip II, and later the campaigns of Alexander the Great, changed the geopolitical situation of

Evaluating the unwritten and the unread

21

Athens and the entire Aegean region and influenced the horizons of geo­ graphic knowledge. Alexander’s concern to document his endeavours and his choice to include a group of historians and scientists in his entourage produced a set of written records and analyses related to the new geographic scope. At least in academic terms, the records of more than 20 treatises produced by indi­ viduals who attended Alexander on his journeys expanded geographic knowl­ edge through detailed accounts of Persia, India and the Persian Gulf. As for Rome, the Middle and High Republic up to the early Imperial period and the death of Hadrian was an age of continuous geopolitical expan­ sion. Moreover, contemporary Rome, like Athens earlier, has bequeathed us numerous, diverse historical sources. Although this too is a well-known and much-discussed period, its geographic significance deserves a brief sum­ mary. Almost five centuries after Rome’s foundation, during which time the city established its rule over the Italian peninsula, local conflict in southern Italy and Sicily caused the Romans to be involved with powers outside of Italy. The war in Sicily, the first Punic War, opened a new geopolitical era for Rome. Whatever Roman motivations were, after the military encounter with Carthage in the 3rd century bce, the Republic gradually expanded and acquired more and more territories, which became Roman provinces. The Roman urbs remained the centre, but Roman power expanded beyond the geographic limits of the Italian peninsula and later beyond Europe. Roman colonies were formed, and new regions became known. This gradual process of geopolitical growth continued up to the time of the Augustan principate. Augustus inherited a large empire, but added to its scope by both extend­ ing its territory and pacifying border regions such as Gaul and Spain. The Roman emperors after the Augustan age engaged in frontier wars and led Roman armies onto foreign soil. These campaigns resulted in a number of conquests, mainly under Claudius and Trajan, that increased the limits of the Empire further. Significant territorial expansions included Britain in 43 ce under Claudius, who was granted the title Britannicus for this achievement, and Dacia in 107 ce under Trajan, called Dacicus. These achievements, which culminated in Trajan’s conquest of Dacia, the Parthian wars and a formal rec­ ognition of Arabia as a province,71 made the Roman state the largest ever. Its limits expanded as far as Lusitania in the west, Arabia in the east, Britain in the north and Egypt in the south (Map 1.2), and knowledge of even farther places, such as Scotland, India and the Sahara, featured in contemporary literary texts. Finally, Hadrian confirmed his predecessors’ geographic achievements through journeys to numerous Roman provinces.72 Geopolitical expansion carried with it a corresponding expansion of geo­ graphic knowledge, which was integrated into scientific and literary texts. Previously unknown regions and peoples thus began to appear in mathemati­ cal treatises surveying new coordinates, in travelogues including new distances, and in descriptive geography depicting recently encountered regions and peo­ ples. It also penetrated poetic work that incorporated toponyms, ethnonyms and even brief descriptions of places.73

22 Evaluating the unwritten and the unread

Map 1.2 The geographical scope of the Roman Empire in Trajan’s Age, c. 117 ce.

Written geographies – not for the masses Written geography in all its branches – the descriptive, the mathematical and the itinerant – was written by educated males for educated males, and thus reflected the experience and thoughts of educated males. Strabo, active in the late 1st century bce and early 1st century ce, and the author of a geographical description of the entire inhabited world, was aware of different levels of rec­ ognition among potential audiences: The person who crosses the sea or travels through flat land is guided by certain common notions (koinai fantasiai), by which both the uneducated (apaideutos) and the statesman operate, being ignorant of the heavenly bod­ ies and unfamiliar with the differences of appearance related to them. For he sees the sun rising and setting and in mid sky, but he does not consider how this happens. For this is not useful to him in regard to his task. (Strabo, Geography 2.5.1)

Evaluating the unwritten and the unread

23

Here, Strabo differentiates between practical geography in the sense of actual travel, which relied on common notions probably based on practical sensory experience, and educated geography, which relied on mathematics and accu­ rate observation. He claims that statesmen act like uneducated persons in their approach to their geographic surroundings, because both groups fail to recog­ nize the real scientific foundations of the world, and rely instead on what they see or hear. On the basis of modern scholarship, we can affirm that ancient treatises of mathematical or scientific geography were addressed to a very lim­ ited group of readers even within the educated elite, unlike the more accessible descriptive geography. Strabo then adds: The geographer writes geography neither for country-men nor for such statesmen who do not consider at all especially the so-called mathematic sciences. Nor for harvesters and diggers, but for the person who can be persuaded that the entire earth is such as the mathematicians say. (Strabo, Geography 2.5.1)74 But what about the harvesters and diggers? What about the uneducated popu­ lation? What did they know about their environment, both immediate and remote? What were the common notions (koinai fantasiai) prevalent among the public? How did a poor Athenian fisherman understand the world? Had a Roman midwife ever heard of Egypt or India? What could children assume about Persians or Gauls? What could even educated persons who did not read geographical treatises learn about geography through aural or visual media? The simplest and most honest answer is that we will never know. We can take it for granted, for instance, that in Archaic Greece during the so-called age of colonization many journeys occurred; people were often on the move, net­ works of metropoleis and new poleis were created, and this mobility enhanced the “practice of space”, as it were, meaning that a significant portion of the population had ideas about the geography of at least their immediate and possibly their wider surroundings. Similarly, in a very different geopolitical atmosphere, Roman soldiers who served in Africa or Gaul in the 2nd and 1st centuries bce probably absorbed some actual knowledge of foreign environ­ ments and imported their ideas to people at home. Even if we acknowledge such everyday experiences, we cannot form a definite, let alone an accurate, idea of the extent of geographic knowledge among the masses – but we can attempt to assess its potential, and it is to this endeavour that I now turn.

Notes 1 2 3 4

See mainly Jacob 1991; Dueck 2012; Bianchetti-Cataudella-Gehrke 2016.

See mainly Horsfall 2003;Toner 2009; Grig 2017.

Geus-Thiering 2012, especially 2–10.

Compare to modern popular notions in the 20th century in Burgess-Gold 1985.

24 Evaluating the unwritten and the unread 5 Casson 1994, 65–94 (Greece), 115–225 (Rome); Laurence 1999; Horden-Purcell 2000, 123–172, 342–400. 6 For sources of Athenian geographic education, see Olshausen 2000, 112–118. 7 See the similar 18th- and 19th-century correspondence between the increase in geo­ graphical knowledge and the colonial process: Driver 1992, with relevant bibliographic references; Moatti 2015, 45. 8 Danziger–Purcell 2005. For the same end date serving other analytical premises, see Chaniotis 2018, with rationale on pp. 1–9. 9 Csapo-Slater 1995, 286–287; Goldhill 1997; Johnsson-Gerö 2001. 10 Beacham 1991, 1–26; Parker 1999. 11 Gavrilov 1997; Goldhill-Osborne, 1999.The exclusiveness of these recitations does not allow for a comprehensive conclusion regarding the availability of these texts to illiter­ ate groups, and they are therefore excluded from this study, but see Wiseman 2008 for a more complete view of the wide availability of “high” poetry. 12 Nagy 1996; Foley 1997. 13 Vernant 1983; Haarmann 2015. 14 Ramin 1979; Hawes 2017, esp. 1–13. 15 Severin 1987; Dickie 1995; Bittlestone et al. 2005. 16 Harder 1994. 17 Finkelberg 1998. 18 Gottesman 2013. 19 Mainly Beard 2007. 20 Christesen-Kyle 2014; Kyle 2015. 21 For the social role of visuality in Greek and Roman societies, see Hölscher 2018. 22 CIL vol. XV. 23 Harris 1993; Pucci 2001. 24 Brodersen 2001; French 2012. 25 Woolf 2009. 26 W. Hansen 1998, xvii–xxiii; Kurke 2011. 27 Goldhill-Osborne 1999. 28 H.A. Shapiro 1993;A.C. Smith 2011, 27–40. 29 Isaac 2004; Gruen 2011. 30 Most importantly Horsfall 1996, 103–109; 2003, 48–63. 31 On some basic notions regarding literacy, see Olson 1994, 1–19. 32 “…[The] ability to identify, understand, interpret, create, communicate and compute, using printed and written materials associated with varying contexts”. 33 See Werner 2009. 34 Thomas 2009 and a broader span of discussion in Kolb 2018. 35 Woolf 2015, 36; cf. Hanson 1991. 36 Thomas 2009. 37 Morgan 1999; Pébarthe 2006. 38 Yunis 2003, 2–10. 39 Woolf 2009. 40 Clarke 2003, 28. 41 See Woolf 2015, 41:“competence in handling olive oil containers or kiln records was not simply a diminished form of a general competence that when fully developed allowed one to read the Aeneid”. 42 Clarke 2003, 1–3. 43 Hanson 1991, 159–160;W. Hansen 1998, xvii. 44 Thomas 1992; Bakker, 1999, especially 29–33. On literacy and popular culture, see Grig 2017, 28–30. 45 Rhapsodes: Dalby 2006, 157–168; symposia: Jacob 2013, 5–8. 46 Compare Wiseman 2008 for a thorough reconstruction of pre-literary archaic Rome emphasizing oral and visual transmission.

Evaluating the unwritten and the unread

25

47 Fagan 2011, 88–93. 48 Compare the definitions in Clarke 2003, 4-7; Knapp 2011, 3. 49 Exceptions are compositions of popular origin or purpose, such as Aesop’s fables or parts of the New Testament. 50 Ober 1989; Patterson 2007. 51 Millar 1998, 13, 41 and 115. 52 Steel 2006, 20–21. 53 Horsfall 1996, 2003;Toner 2009; Grig 2017. 54 For modern theories of popular culture, see Grig 2017, 3–14. 55 In comparing Athens and Rome, there is clearly more relevant information related to Roman society, as already noted by Grig 2017, 2.This may have to do with social and political structures. 56 Clarke 2003. 57 Casson 1994, 65–94 (classical Greece), 115–225 (Rome); Pikoulas 2007. 58 For estimates of the number of citizens serving in the Athenian fleet, see M.H. Hansen 1985, 43–45. 59 For estimates of army strength, see M.H. Hansen 1985, 36–43. 60 Laurence 1999, 136–147. 61 For the number of soldiers in the Roman army in various periods, see Goldsworthy 1996; Keppie 1998.The link between military activity and geographic knowledge is well demonstrated in Seneca, NQ 6.8.3. For a comprehensive discussion, see Syme 1988. 62 Dillon 1997, 124–148. For Athenian encounters specifically with Phrygians, see DeVries 2000, 339–341. 63 Edwards-Woolf 2003, and see the ethnic diversity of the audience at the Imperial arena as depicted by Martial, Spec., 3 and Chapter 5 here. 64 Kanavou 2011, 197–200; Lewis 2011. 65 Old Comic fragments are numbered according to Kassel-Austin 1986. 66 For a general overview, see Dueck 2012. 67 On the Greek idea of insularity, see Constantakopoulou 2007, 1–28; Chiai 2012. On Greek networking, see Malkin 2011. 68 Rhodes 1985; Mattingly 1996; Futo Kennedy 2006; Constantakopoulou 2007, 61–89. 69 See the inscriptions IG I3 71; 270; 287, and discussion of their geographic significance in Paarman 2004. 70 India: Hdt. 3.98-106; Scythia: Hdt. 4.16-36; [Hipp.], Airs, Waters, Places, 22; Iberia:Thuc. 6.90.3; Xen. Hell. 7.1.20. 71 Bennett 1997, 61–105, 166–207. 72 Speller 2003; Danziger–Purcell 2005, 129-138. On the geographic significance of his­ torical circumstances, see Nicolet 1991; and recent critical approach in Merrills 2017, 6–15. 73 Dueck 2003; 2012. 74 Despite this distinction, even Strabo, who endeavoured to concentrate on world geog­ raphy, admitted that he was not wholly interested in mathematical geography (e.g. Geog. 1.1.14).Thus there were several levels within geographical knowledge as a whole.

2

Speeches

You … who became spectators of speeches (theatai tōn logōn).

(Thucydides 3.38.4)

Political practice and the atmosphere in both classical Athens and Republican Rome encouraged and demanded delivering and absorbing public speeches. I briefly describe this well-known historical fact in order to emphasize its rel­ evance to the present study. There is no need for extensive discussion of the central place that ora­ tory and speeches occupied in democratic Athens. However, because we are dealing with popular audiences, it should be kept in mind that the birth of democracy was followed shortly by the birth of professional oratory, which stemmed from public oral communications delivered by both professional and untrained speakers. This political and social phenomenon was closely associ­ ated with the participation of numerous citizens, primarily as the audience and regardless of their socio-economic or intellectual status. Men from all sectors of Attic society thus attended the assembly and the courts: rich and poor, farm­ ers and fishermen, artisans and merchants, educated and illiterate.1 Similarly, political life in the Roman Republic demanded the delivery of speeches and the public communication of complex forms of information, argument and persuasion. Nearly all forms of communal political activity were performed in open spaces, and up to 20,000 people might have been present in and around the Forum at moments of particular political significance.2 This meant that there was a large, although perhaps passive, audience that shared the ability to absorb words and ideas. In Imperial Rome, political and judicial decisions were removed from the citizen assemblies, and decisions were made in private areas rather than public ones.3 As a consequence, the public was less exposed to speeches addressed to a mass audience, and I shall therefore not discuss speeches from the Imperial Age. Fortunately, we possess written versions of speeches said to have been delivered publicly before various audiences. The social composition of these crowds both in the assembly and courts of 5th- and 4th-century democratic Athens and in popular assemblies in the Roman Republic was diverse due to

Speeches

27

the very definition of these institutions in their political contexts. The citizen body, which consisted exclusively of men, included rich and poor, old and young, experienced and untrained, and – most important – literate and illiter­ ate alike. All these individuals attended the same gatherings and heard the same speeches. What was delivered in public speeches both in the assembly in politi­ cal contexts and in the courts in legal contexts was accordingly available to the audience, including numerous non-readers, for whom this was often a major vein of information. The written versions of speeches delivered by Greek and Roman orators can thus be regarded as a corpus of originally oral communica­ tions made available in audible form to the crowds. That said, two reservations should be noted. First, we cannot be certain that the speeches we read today are exact transcripts of those delivered orally in public. Clearly, some revisions and improvements were made in the process of writing and eventual publication. Moreover, not only is there evidence for such changes, but the oral and written versions were probably aimed at dif­ ferent audiences; the oral version was directed at a jury or assembly of voters, while the intended readership of the written version was a relatively small lit­ erate elite. Despite this situation, which is sometimes questioned but not fully dismissed,4 the written versions of speeches available to us can be regarded as reliable evidence for ideas, political agendas and moral values delivered in pub­ lic and thus available to ancient crowds. In relation to the possible gap between the oral and written versions of speeches, moreover, manipulations or modifi­ cations are less likely to have occurred in reference to geographical information for the following reasons. One aspect of my methodology attempts to enumer­ ate and map toponyms even when they are devoid of descriptive information, and we may cautiously assume that specific place-names were less likely to be deleted or added in the course of transition from oral to written versions, simply because these were technical rather than conceptual details. In addition, Thomas Hubbard has shown that the most common editorial act, insofar as these can be traced, was to remove elements included in the original oral ver­ sion of the speech.5 If so, what we have is perhaps shorter than the original, but it is unlikely that much has been added to it. At the same time, one ought not to ascribe too much importance to silence, so that place-names which are absent from a particular corpus of speeches or other texts might still have been known to the author. In fact, it is almost certain that speakers did not include everything they knew in their speeches, and we are in any case interested in knowledge available to the audience rather than in the geographical education of the orators themselves. We deal with what we have, which represents an approximation of what the public probably heard. We might thus still draw some conclusions as to the more familiar environment of the intended audi­ ences of specific speeches, particularly if we can compare them with other sources from the same genre or period, or from another genre or period. In dealing with geographic information within speeches, we should bear in mind the possibility that geographic data served as a rhetorical and even manipulative tool when the speaker wished not to supply information but to

28 Speeches

conceal it. An orator might have deliberately used unknown toponyms to con­ fuse his audience or to exploit the fact that they did not know certain places. Or he might have mentioned a string of known regions or have alluded to famil­ iar sites to arouse specific reactions in the audience in line with his political or judicial purposes. Thus geographic information could have been manipu­ lated, especially when it was relevant to important decisions, for instance in the debate in 415 bce about whether to send Athenian forces to Sicily. Thucydides says, specifically (6.1.2 and 7.44), that the ignorance of the Athenian citizenry regarding the geographic conditions involved in that campaign caused them to vote carelessly for a hazardous plan. The main point is that, even if we cannot measure actual knowledge, we can seemingly still assess the potential knowl­ edge available to the public. One final, perhaps self-evident point before we move on to the evidence itself, and one that was already made in regard to the actual absorbing of speeches, plays or other oral transmissions: two persons attending the same speech or play may not catch the exact same details or even the same general ideas, due to both the physical limits of audibility in open-air delivery and indi­ vidual cognitive abilities. We therefore cannot be certain that any one person heard what we can read today in part or in whole, but we can say that there was the potential to hear this data and that certain details and concepts were available to contemporary audiences.

The Attic Orators The main body of evidence for classical Athenian rhetoric consists of the speeches of the Ten Attic Orators as they were canonized in 3rd-century bce Alexandria.6 This canonization determined the survival of these speeches, and in my analysis I concentrate on information gleaned from speeches ascribed to the Ten Orators while holding to three principles: (1) Only speeches delivered in popular fora, i.e. the assembly or the popu­ lar courts, are examined. Ceremonial speeches or those delivered on the Areopagos are excluded, along with speeches composed as rhetorical exer­ cises.7 One could claim that some rhetorical exercises were meant to teach speaking in front of uneducated audiences and thus may have exploited suit­ able techniques, perhaps including the geographic component. However, these exercises were composed for the benefit of those who took a course in rhetoric, meaning elite members of society, and we cannot be sure whether the information within them is relevant to our aims. (2) Doubts regarding the identity of authors of speeches are of no concern to us, so long as we know that specific speeches were delivered before the Athenian public. In the triad author-text-audience, we are concerned with the text-audience link, and authorship is irrelevant. (3) Since we are dealing with Attic orators, who were by definition deeply embedded in local issues and in the daily life of the Athenian polis (even

Speeches

29

if some of these orators were not Athenian citizens), we exclude from this survey local toponyms of Attic sites and Attic demes, and concentrate on regions and places outside Attica. In the following pages, the geographical information in these speeches is ana­ lyzed and discussed according to the methodology presented in Chapter 1. The order of orators is chronological according to their primary period of activity, from the earliest to the latest. This allows for an assessment of possible links between chronological progress and geopolitical change, culminating in the geographic picture emerging from each orator’s speeches.

Antiphon (480–411

bce)

It is unclear whether there were one or two Antiphons, but for our purposes it is enough that 15 speeches dated to the final two decades of the 5th cen­ tury are ascribed to an Athenian orator by that name.8 Politically, Antiphon was an uncompromising opponent of democracy, and as such he even rep­ resented the subject states of the Delian League against the oppression of the democratic imperialists. Two of his lost speeches represented Samothrace and Lindus and may have included geographic information regarding areas beyond Attica. Only three now-complete speeches were delivered in pub­ lic (others were rhetorical exercises), and since our focus is specifically on the public character of the speeches, we must rely on these (excluding the so-called Tetralogies) and on what we can make of the fragments of other speeches. Within the surviving speeches, Antiphon deals mainly with private legal issues, which by their nature involve little geography. Thus the com­ plete speeches include only four toponyms in several contexts. These are, from north to south: Aenus (Thrace), Methymna, Mytilene and Naxos. To these we may add Lindus and Samothrace, as these poleis were represented by Antiphon in the Athenian courts in now-lost speeches, and Samos and Thrace, which were mentioned in the now-fragmentary Samothracian case. Accordingly, the extreme points in Antiphon’s narrow world are Naxos in the west, Aenus in the north, and Lindus representing both the southernmost and the easternmost points (Map 2.1). The toponyms in Antiphon’s speeches refer to a relatively narrow region of the Aegean along the coast of western Asia Minor with a clear insular orienta­ tion, and all the poleis mentioned were members of the Delian League, while Thrace is a region (Table 2.1 and Table 2.1.a in Appendix A). This limited number of geographic references might be explained by the themes of Antiphon’s speeches, by the relatively small number of speeches that are extant and relevant, and perhaps by the geographic knowledge of Antiphon himself. The main point is that these are glimpses or morsels of geographic knowledge that became available or were already known to a contemporary audience. Significant portions of the crowds were perhaps already familiar with some or all of these places because they were allied poleis, while many

30 Speeches

Map 2.1 The geographical scope of Antiphon’s world.

Table 2.1 Geographic distribution of places in Antiphon’s speeches

Mainland Greece

Islands

Italy/Sicily

Europe

Asia Minor

Greater Asia

Africa

TOTAL

0

6

0

2

0

0

0

8

Athenians listening to Antiphon had been involved in voyages in the Aegean region for trade or on missions related to the League. Beyond mere names, one of Antiphon’s speeches reflects on a sailing trip, including its route: I sailed from Mytilene, gentlemen, as a passenger on the same boat as this Herodes … We were bound for Aenus … we happened to meet with a storm, which forced us to put in at a place within the territory of Methymna, where the boat … lay at anchor. (On the Murder of Herodes, 5.20–21)

Speeches

31

A fragment of Antiphon’s lost On the Tribute of Samothrace preserves the follow­ ing geographic information referring to the island: The island we inhabit is mountainous and rocky, as can be clearly seen from afar. Its productive and cultivatable portion is small, but the unpro­ ductive portion is large, while it is overall quite tiny. (F 51 Sauppe9) The geopolitical reality of the Delian League, at the time, seems to have had a double effect on the geographic awareness of the Athenian public. First, there was a general increase in mobility about the Aegean in contexts related to the functioning of the Delian League under Athens’ leadership. Significant portions of the Athenian citizenry were thus directly acquainted with routes and sites in the region. Second, this reality penetrated public speeches and offered primarily topographic information to Athenian audiences, included to individuals who had never travelled. Antiphon’s limited corpus reveals this phenomenon.

Lysias (445–380

bce)

Of Lysias’ over 200 speeches, only 34 are extant. Of those we possess, five are probably the work of other authors, a point that is again not crucial for our discussion, provided we can establish that a speech was delivered in pub­ lic. I exclude from this analysis speeches meant to celebrate Lysias’ style10 and speeches delivered before the Areopagos or the boulē.11 Both the Aeropagos council and the Athenian boulē did not include the entire body of citizens, even when, during the peak years of the democracy in the 5th century bce, their composition changed to include individuals who were not part of the traditional aristocracy. Since my focus is on speeches addressed to the widest possible public, I examine only speeches by Lysias that were delivered in the Athenian law courts or in the assembly, 24 in total. Lysias was born in Athens to a family of Sicilian origin and spent significant amounts of time outside of Athens, mostly in Thurii in southern Italy starting when the place was founded in 444 bce. His career as a logographer (speech writer) flourished towards the end of the 5th century, when he was back in Athens.12 In comparison to Antiphon, there are more toponyms, and thus more geographic information, in Lysias’ speeches, probably because we have more of them. Yet, because most of the speeches refer to private legal matters, the scope of the place-tagging is narrow.13 There are 30 place names in Lysias, most of which refer to mainland Greece and the islands (Table 2.2 and Table 2.2.a in Appendix A). Lysias included Sicily and specifically Catana in his speeches, but did not mention Thurii despite his personal acquaintance with the place. The focus of his geographic world clearly tended to Hellenic sites in western Asia Minor and in Europe, and towards points closer to the Hellespont. Greater Asia and Africa

32 Speeches Table 2.2 Geographic distribution of places in Lysias’ speeches Mainland Greece

Island

Italy/Sicily

Europe

Asia Minor

Greater Asia

Africa

TOTAL

10

8

3

4

5

0

0

30

are not mentioned in the relevant speeches. The extreme points in Lysias’ list of sites are Catana in the west, Thrace in the north, Citium (Cyprus) in the east and Curium (Cyprus) in the south (Map 2.2). Lysias’ world is thus very Aegean, centred on mainland Greece, the Aegean islands and western Asia Minor. This probably reflects the influence of the extension and activities of the Delian League, although not all places mentioned in the speeches were among Athens’ allies. Beyond the mere toponymic parameters, which are certainly indicative of the extent of inserted geographic information, what could a member of the Athenian crowd potentially have grasped or recognized by listening to Lysias’ speeches? If he was unfamiliar with the extent of Athenian dominance, he could learn that Catana was a polis in Sicily (For Polystratus, 20.24); he could

Map 2.2 The geographical scope of Lysias’ world.

Speeches

33

pick up that the Thermodon was a river (On the Murder of Eratosthenes, 1.4); he could affirm that one had to sail to get to Citium (Cyprus) (Against Andocides, 6.26), Megara (Against Eratosthenes of the Thirty, 12.17) or Eretria (Euboea) (For Polystratus, 20.14), although most Athenians must already have known that, since Megara and Eretria were neighbouring poleis. An Athenian listener could also determine that grain was imported from the Chersonese (Against Diogeiton, 32.15). In an effort to emphasize Andocides’ widespread bad influence, Lysias offered a string of place-names representing a large spatial region: During his absence abroad, he has caused commotion in many cities, in Sicily, Italy, the Peloponnese, Thessaly, the Hellespont, Ionia and Cyprus. (Against Andocides, 6.6) We can imagine the rhetorical effect of this speech and the “geographic sen­ sation” it may have created in listeners’ minds. In another speech, we find a comment that perhaps reached the consciousness of the crowds. Lysias is discussing a legal case associated with a certain Pancleon, who was Plataean but claimed to have the rights of an Athenian citizen. At one point, Lysias says about Pancleon that he: was living as an alien in Thebes. But I think you understand that if he was a Plataean, he might be expected to live as an alien anywhere rather than in Thebes. (Against Pancleon, 23.15) This comment implies a close link, political or geographic, between Plataea and Thebes such that a Plataean could not be an alien in Thebes, or perhaps some form of enmity, making it undesirable to be a Plataean alien in Thebes. Both Plataea and Thebes were poleis in Boeotia, not far from each other, and in fact not far from Athens, since Boeotia was Attica’s northern neighbour. Could this information become part of the audience’s knowledge? Or did Boeotia’s relatively nearness mean that people already possessed this knowledge and thus understood Lysias’ comment better? Elsewhere, the idea of geographical centre and periphery is implied: [Alcibiades] condemned himself to exile, and preferred to become a citizen of Thrace and any sort of city rather than belong to his own native land. (Against Alcibiades 1, 14.38) Context and tone suggest that Thrace is a remote place on the outskirts of the Greek world. The rhetorical effect seems to be achieved either through the audience’s existing familiarity with this remote location or perhaps through their ignorance of the site and the implied contrast between proximity and remoteness – but this was not just rhetoric. Alcibiades did go to the Thracian Chersonese, and Thrace was a region dominated by Athens in the time of the

34 Speeches

Delian League. It seems, therefore, that many Athenians knew what Lysias was talking about.

Andocides (440–390

bce)

Andocides was active in the latter half of the 5th century.14 He was accused of mutilating the Herms on the eve of the expedition to Sicily during the Peloponnesian War, and on that charge lost some of his civil rights and was forced to leave Attica. When he returned, he served as an Athenian repre­ sentative in the peace negotiations with Sparta. Four speeches are attributed to Andocides and deal with his own cases and political activities.15 They include 42 different toponyms, which can be divided as in Table 2.3 and Table 2.3.a in Appendix A. Andocides’ speech-world, like that of his predecessors, centred on mainland Greece and the Aegean, and its limits were Segesta in the west, Macedon in the north, and Cyprus in both the east and the south (Map 2.3). The centre of this world seems to be mainland Greece simply because there are more allusions to places in Greece and fewer or none to other regions, which turns them into peripheral areas. Places outside the immediate range of activity of Andocides and his fellow Athenians are included for their rel­ evance to the themes of the speeches: Sicily and its poleis in the context of the expedition to the island during the Peloponnesian War (On the Peace with Sparta, 3.30), and the Hellespont and Ionia in the context of the spatial scope of Athens’ dominance of the Aegean (On the Mysteries, 1.76). In the course of the speeches, the audience gets to hear about Syracuse, Segesta, Catana and other sites. Andocides’ speeches thus reflect the immediate environment of Athenian citizens, with the addition of several “places in the news”. It is accordingly relevant that Macedon and Thurii are included in the speeches, the former for its active involvement in the Greek world, the latter as a relatively new Athenian colony. This means that in theory any person attending the speech could, without leaving the polis of Athens, know something about the physical situation in other regions of the world, be it because he was already aware of this or because these facts were added to his personal mental world. In some cases, Andocides supplies geographic and ethnic information beyond mere names, apparently not with a deliberate eye to geographic education. We can nevertheless use these points to assess potential knowledge, either what the orator assumed was not included previously in his audience’s awareness, or what was well known and played a rhetorical role within specific speeches. Table 2.3 Geographic distribution of places in Andocides’ speeches Mainland Greece

Islands

Italy/Sicily

Europe

Asia Minor

Greater Asia

Africa

TOTAL

20

11

6

2

3

0

0

42

Speeches

35

Map 2.3 The geographical scope of Andocides’ world.

Thus, one could learn that Cyprus was a source of grain for Athens (On his Return, 2.20–21); that Lemnos, Scyros and Imbros were islands (On the Peace with Sparta, 3.14); that Athens controlled the Chersonese, Naxos and two-thirds of Euboea (On the Peace with Sparta, 3.9); and that one sailed up the Hellespont and crossed over to Ionia (On the Mysteries, 1.76). These details were simple and straightforward, and often pertained to nearby sites or famous ones, but we should not take an assumed body of knowledge for granted. The main point is that such details circulated orally and were available to all audiences. One section in Against Alcibiades16 describes how Alcibiades was received in Asia Minor and the adjacent islands: The people of Ephesus erected a Persian pavilion twice as large as that of our official deputation. Chios furnished him with beasts for sacrifice and with fodder for his horses, while he requisitioned wine and everything else necessary for his maintenance from Lesbos. (Against Alcibiades, 4.30) Even if these allusions do not supply any spatial or local information about these sites, anyone in the audience who was ignorant of them could perhaps

36 Speeches

grasp that they were part of a cluster of places situated roughly in the same region. At the same time, the fact that little additional information is offered may indicate that the speaker relied on Athenian familiarity with these sites specifically as belonging to the Delian League. On another occasion in the same speech, the speaker wishes to deliver a sense of broad achievement and a zone of activity through a list of places which the public was perhaps less competent to identify or place mentally: I have been sent on missions to Thessaly, Macedonia, Molossia, Thesprotia, Italy and Sicily. (Against Alcibiades, 4.41) Here one can hear name-dropping of places representing a wide spatial scope relative to the audience’s location in an Athenian law-court: in the north, Thessaly and Macedon, a rising power at the fringes of the Greek world; in the west, Molossia and Thesprotia, located in Epirus, slightly away from central Greece; and beyond the frame of the Greco-Aegean world, Italy and Sicily. When Andocides in 391 bce discussed the possibility of peace with Sparta, he referred to past situations and advised the Athenians to “take the days when we were fighting Euboea and controlled Megara, Pegae and Troezen” (On the Peace, 3.3). Despite several historical errors in this part of the speech,17 geographically the crowd could have grasped the meaning and scope of geo­ political power, whether or not they knew exactly where each place was.

Isocrates (436–338

bce)

Isocrates was a wealthy, well-educated Athenian logographer who knew Socrates, and whose teachers were the sophists Gorgias and Prodicus.18 Most of the speeches ascribed to Isocrates were not delivered in public, but were com­ posed as display-pieces treating contemporary political issues. Their exposure to the public was thus of uncertain extent. I accordingly examine only five speeches that we know were delivered before a people’s court,19 which con­ tain ten toponyms:20 Coronea, Decelea, Pherae, Delos, Byzantium, Thrace, Aspendus, the Hellespont, Pontus and Phoenicia, which can be divided as in Table 2.4 and Table 2.4.a in Appendix A.

Table 2.4 Geographic distribution of places in Isocrates’ public speeches Mainland Greece

Islands

Italy/Sicily

Europe

Asia Minor

Greater Asia

Africa

TOTAL

3

1

0

2

3

1

0

10

Speeches

37

Map 2.4 The geographical scope of Isocrates’ world.

Of these ten points, the most extreme are: Pherae (Thessaly) in the west; Thrace in the north; Phoenicia in the east; and Delos in the south (Map 2.4). This is a relatively narrow strip tending towards the eastern part of the Mediterranean. The popular audience for Isocrates’ speeches could absorb several minor bits of geographic information beyond the bare place-names: that going to Byzantium required sailing (Trapeziticus, 17.8); that the Phoenician fleet sailed from Phoenicia to Aspendus (On the Team of Horses, 16.18); and that Athens lost its fleet in the Hellespont (Against Callimachus, 18.59), a reference to Aegospotami without mention of the exact point where the battle took place. Most of these allusions – perhaps all of them – refer to places we might assume most Athenians already knew. Byzantium was an Athenian ally, and awareness of the loss of the Athenian fleet, manned by the very sort of people attending the speech, was surely widespread. But perhaps the speaker assumed that the Hellespont would be better known to the crowd than Aegospotami.

Isaeus (early 4th century

bce)

Isaeus was a pupil of Isocrates and the teacher of Demosthenes.21 He was prob­ ably born in Euboea and, despite being a metic, composed speeches relating

38 Speeches Table 2.5 Geographic distribution of places in Isaeus’ speeches Mainland Greece

Islands

Italy/Sicily

Europe

Asia Minor

Greater Asia

Africa

TOTAL

4

3

1

3

1

0

0

12

mainly to civic law, including inheritance and civil rights. There are 11 com­ plete speeches, in which we find 12 place names: Calydon, Sicyon, Lechaeum, Thessaly, Chios, Crete, Mytilene, Cnidus, Sicily, Olynthus, Thrace and Spartolus. The distribution of these names (Table 2.5 and Table 2.5.a in Appendix A) shows that Isaeus too reflects a world concentrated on mainland Greece and the Aegean. The scope of Isaeus’ speech-world is perhaps also manifest in the extreme points in this small collection of toponyms: Sicily in the west, Thrace in the north, Cnidus in the east, Crete in the south (Map 2.5). This is again a very Aegean world, limited by mainland Greece in the west and Asia Minor in the east.

Map 2.5 The geographical scope of Isaeus’ world.

Speeches

39

What geographic knowledge could be gleaned from Isaeus’ speeches beyond mere toponyms? Some of it must have been trivial to an Athenian audience: that arriving at Mytilene required sailing (On the estate of Astyphilus, 9.14), as did travel to Crete (On the estate of Hagnias, 11.48); that Spartolus was in the territory of Olynthus (On the estate of Dicaeogenes, 5.42); and that one withdrew or retired (hypochōreo) to Sicyon (On the estate of Philoctemon, 6.20), implying distance or isolation. Some of these items of information were likely common knowledge for people who sailed a good deal and shared a basic orientation within their wider environment. But we should not entirely dismiss the possibility that some people had no idea of any of this.

Lycurgus (390–324

bce)

Lycurgus was active in the 4th century bce, in an age when Athens struggled for her position in the Greek world before the gradual rise of Macedon.22 At least 20 titles of his speeches are known, but only one survives complete, along with fragments of several others. Conclusions regarding geographic informa­ tion or any other literary or content-related details are thus limited mostly to a single law-court speech, Against Leocrates. This contains 34 different toponyms, distributed as in Table 2.6 and Table 2.6.a in Appendix A. Lycurgus’ place-names are more widely distributed than those in the speeches of earlier orators; he includes sites in six of the seven regions we have defined (none for Africa). As in the public speeches of his predecessors, however, the emphasis is on mainland Greece and the Aegean islands. The scope of Lycurgus’ world according to the extreme points on the map extends to Mount Etna in the west, Macedonia in the north and Persia in the east and south (Map 2.6). Persia is the southernmost point in Lycurgus’ world, while Rhodes is the southernmost in the Aegean. Additional geographic information was included in Lycurgus’ speech. (The fragments mention several other sites, without much geographic detail.) When he describes Athenian geopolitical supremacy in the 5th century, he clearly founds it on geographic grounds, even if the historical facts are not always accurate: They ravaged Phoenicia and Cilicia, triumphed by land and sea at the Eurymedon, captured 100 barbarian triremes, and sailed round the whole of Asia laying waste to it. And to crown their victory: not content with erecting the trophy in Salamis, they fixed for the Persian the boundaries necessary for Greek freedom and prevented him from overstepping them, making an agreement that he should not sail his warships between the Cyaneae and Phaselis, and that the Greeks should be free not only if they lived in Europe, but in Asia too. (Against Leocrates, 72–73)

40 Speeches Table 2.6 Geographic distribution of places in Lycurgus’ speeches Mainland Greece

Islands

Italy/Sicily

Europe

Asia Minor

Greater Asia

Africa

TOTAL

14

8

2

2

6

2

0

34

Map 2.6 The geographical scope of Lycurgus’ world.

Note specifically the spatial zone of permitted sailing and the awareness of the difference between Europe and Asia, all notions and details available to the public. The sailing zone the Persians were allowed appears again in Demosthenes’ On the false embassy, 19.273, where it is defined thus: “the King of Persia was not to approach within a day’s ride of the coast, nor sail with a ship of war between the Chelidonian Islands and the Cyaneae”. Isocrates too mentioned these limits, but not in speeches delivered publicly: “the barbarians were prevented from marching with an army beyond the Halys River, and from sailing with their ships of war this side of Phaselis” (Panathenaicus, 12.5923). While there is some slight variety in the specific relevant geographic points, all three orators refer to roughly the region between the western part of southern Asia Minor and the Bosporus, that is, along the coastline adjacent to the Greek settlements. The allusions by both Lycurgus and Demosthenes to the Cyaneae demonstrate the application of mythical geography which, as we shall see, takes a larger role in drama. In public speeches, geographic information was mostly based on reality but, as is apparent here, mythical details sometimes emerged. This theme is expanded in Chapter 3.

Speeches

41

In another, expressive part of Lycurgus’ speech, the orator depicts the drama of an eruption of Mount Etna (Against Leocrates, 1.95).24 The audi­ ence, if not yet familiar with the fact, learned that the mountain was a vol­ cano located in Sicily. There are reasons to assume that this knowledge was relatively widespread, since Mount Etna was a famous point of reference also in Athenian tragedy (Chapter 3), but we cannot accurately determine the line between common and newly acquired geographic knowledge. We can see, however, that within the anecdote concerning Etna, Lycurgus says that the “stream of fire” which burst from the mountain flowed “near a certain city of the Sicilians”. Either he or his source did not know the exact location and the name of this city, probably because Etna might affect a number of places, or he did not want to bother his audience with the specific name. Elsewhere Lycurgus recalls the decrease in Athens’ geopolitical power: The people whom Lacedaemonians and Peloponnesians, whom the Greeks of Asia used once to summon to their help, were now entreating men of Andros, Ceos, Troezen and Epidaurus to send them aid. (Against Leocrates, 42) Similar to the effect of using minor geographic “lists” to build Athens’ geopolitical reputation and power, we see here the use of a four-point list to illustrate the process of decline. Even without enough information to understand the exact location of Andros, Ceos, Troezen and Epidaurus, the audience could have grasped at least their names. Finally, the Athenian audience had a chance to learn about one section of the grain-shipping route used at the time: “from Epirus to Leucas, and from there to Corinth” (Against Leocrates, 1.26).

Hyperides (390–322

bce)

As a member of the Athenian elite, Hyperides was actively involved in the political life of the polis, mainly representing the anti-Macedonian cause.25 He was a disciple of Isocrates and a professional speech-writer, but also served as a prosecutor in public trials. His political and military involvement took him to Chios, Rhodes, Euboea and Byzantium. Hyperides’ speeches have survived mainly on papyri, and we have five which were delivered to the people’s courts. These contain 28 toponyms, distributed as in Table 2.7 and Table 2.7.a in Appendix A. There is a clear concentration here on mainland Greece, some attention to Asia Minor, and complete ignorance of Italy26 and greater Asia. The scope of Hyperides’ world according to its extreme points is: Dodona in the west, Macedonia in the north, Anaea (Asia Minor) in the east, and Egypt in the south (Map 2.7).

42 Speeches Table 2.7 Geographic distribution of places in Hyperides’ speeches Mainland Greece

Islands

Italy/Sicily

Europe

Asia Minor

Greater Asia

Africa

TOTAL

12

5

0

5

5

0

1

28

Map 2.7 The geographical scope of Hyperides’ world.

Additional geographic information the audience could gain was that Molossia was a “country (chōra)” rather than a polis, and that it contained a temple to Dione (In Defence of Euxenippus, 4.25). There are also at least two hints at ethnographic notions related to people who belonged to specific groups. One is Hyperides’ comment that “No man can be good in Lemnos, if he is bad in Athens” (In Defence of Lycophron, 1.18), probably meaning that Athens is a standard of morality for other Greek communities, or that a man’s character does not depend on geography. Another is the observation that Athenogenes “is a speechwriter, a market-place type and, most significant

Speeches

43

of all, an Egyptian” (Against Athenogenes, 3.3). Athenogenes was an Athenian resident alien (metic) of Egyptian origin, but the emphasis on his origins, together with the entire sequence in this context, hints at a negative notion, perhaps linked not specifically to Egypt but to being an alien. Ideas associated in the popular mind with Egypt (e.g. fear, strangeness, extreme cultural dif­ ference or simple foreignness) may also have been part of the expected effect on the audience.

Aeschines (389–314

bce)

Aeschines was politically active in Athens and known for his opposition to Demosthenes.27 He served as a member of various embassies within the Greek world, mainly connected with the Macedonian threat to Greek freedom. Only three authentic speeches by Aeschines survive, all of them delivered to the people’s courts. There are relatively large numbers of toponyms in these speeches, 77 in all, distributed geographically as in Table 2.8 and Table 2.8.a in Appendix A. By now, we can cautiously suggest a pattern in the speech-world of the Athenian orators: the density of places is again higher for mainland Greece and the Aegean islands, with a total of 48 places altogether. But what seems unique to Aeschines is the inclusion of 22 places in Europe (excluding Italy and Greece). Notably, he mentions many places in the Macedonian region, which seems to reflect a closer acquaintance with the region, probably due to geopolitical developments. Africa and Greater Asia do not appear in Aeschines’ speeches. The scope of his world according to its four extreme points is: Leontini in the west, Scythia in the north, Cilicia in the east, and the Peloponnese in the south (Map 2.8). This is a very Mediterranean world. What geographic knowledge was imbedded in these speeches beyond the names of sites? Here are samples of small bits of information: it is com­ mon to sail to Salamis and see Solon’s statue there (Against Timarchus, 1.25); there are several poleis within the region of Phocis (On the Embassy, 2.9); Anthemon, Therma and Strepsa are situated in the Macedonian region (On the Embassy, 2.27); Mount Cotylaeum lies near Tamynae and can be crossed (Against Ctesiphon, 3.86); the current of the Euripus is a proverbial image for unstable and twisted situations or people, “making more twists and turns than the Euripus” (Against Ctesiphon, 3.90); the plain of Cirrha

Table 2.8 Geographic distribution of places in Aeschines’ public speeches Mainland Greece

Islands

Italy/Sicily

Europe

Asia Minor

Greater Asia

Africa

TOTAL

34

14

2

22

5

0

0

77

44 Speeches

Map 2.8 The geographical scope of Aeschines’ world.

was once inhabited by the Cirrhaeans and the Cragalidae, “who repeat­ edly committed sacrilege against the shrine at Delphi” (Against Ctesiphon, 3.107). Moreover, in a sentence very relevant to our discussion, Aeschines reveals, even if mockingly, how an orator (Demosthenes) can introduce place-names to his audience: He [Demosthenes] it is, fellow citizens, who first discovered SerrhiumTeichus and Doriscus and Ergiskē and Myrtiskē and Ganus and Ganias; for before that we did not even know the names of these places. (Against Ctesiphon, 3.82) Aeschines’ comment is important because it makes it clear that speeches teach geography, or at least that the public learns the names of unknown places through them. Furthermore, this short list of places echoes a section in Demosthenes’ On the Crown (18.27) in which the orator mentions Serrhium, Myrtenus and Ergiskē. Aeschines makes fun of Demosthenes’ insistence on these little places through the overall tone and context, but also by coining

Speeches

45

Myrtiskē from Myrtenus to rhyme with Ergiskē, and inventing Ganias to go with Ganus.28 We can only guess that because these toponyms were relatively rare, the audience may never have heard of them and perhaps could not sepa­ rate fact from fiction here.

Demosthenes (384–322

bce)

Demosthenes is well known for his rhetorical career and for his political activi­ ties in Athens specifically as regards the looming Macedonian threat.29 A bio­ graphical sketch thus seems superfluous in the present context, although it should be mentioned that Demosthenes occasionally left Athens and, like other Athenians, visited other places either on military expeditions or in connection with private matters. Both private law court speeches and political ones by him are preserved. Among the latter, the best known are the Philippics.30 Because we have substantially more speeches by Demosthenes than by any other orator, and because these speeches involve issues linked to geographic affairs, such as military strategy, there are significantly more toponyms in his speeches than in those of other orators, 159 in total, divided geographically as in Table 2.9 and Table 2.9.a in Appendix A. Demosthenes’ world is relatively wide, and lies between the following extreme points: Sicily in the west, Thrace in the north, Ecbatana in the east, Naucratis in the south (Map 2.9).31 He mentions many places in mainland Greece and the Aegean islands, but in comparison to the other Attic Orators, he is very familiar with Europe, particularly with sites in the northern Aegean and the Macedonian regions. This is linked directly with the themes of his speeches, many of which focus on the growing dominance of Macedon. Demosthenes is also the first Attic orator to reference all seven regions of the world as we have defined them, for he alludes to both Greater Asia and Africa. In addition to mere toponyms, there are bits of geographic information of various levels of resolution or depth. Demosthenes’ audience could understand that Zelea was in Asia (Third Philippic, 9.43); that a voyage to Ace cost forty minae, thus possibly making an estimate of its relative distance possible (Against Callipus, 52.20); that Messene was associated with the Lacedaemonians, and Orchomenus and Coronea with the Thebans, and that both were in Boeotia (Second Philippic, 6.13); and that there were three Elean colonies in Cassopia, named Pandosia, Bucheta and Elatea (On Halonnesus, 7.32).

Table 2.9 Geographic distribution of places in Demosthenes’ public speeches Mainland Greece

Islands

Italy/Sicily

Europe

Asia Minor

Greater Asia

Africa

TOTAL

51

38

2

43

19

4

2

159

46 Speeches

Map 2.9 The geographical scope of Demosthenes’ world.

More elaborate remarks which supply some sense of direction, borders and spatial arrangement are apparent in the following example: The boundary of the Chersonese is not Agora, but the altar of Zeus of the Marches, half-way between Pteleum and Leukē Aktē, where there was going to be a canal across the peninsula. (On Halonnesus, 7.39–40) The nature of the details and the way they are presented – the emphasis on explanation, the estimate of distance, hints at future construction – may suggest that Demosthenes here presents his audience with local information previ­ ously unknown to them. Again, we have no definite proof or measure of the border between self-evident and new knowledge, but we must be attuned to such possibilities. Either way, even without having been in the region, and clearly without consulting a map, a member of the audience could grasp that the Chersonese (i.e. the Thracian Chersonesus on the Hellespont) was a peninsula, and at least that Agora, Pteleum and Leukē Aktē were neigh­ bouring sites. Mathieu de Bakker has offered an interesting way to understand Demosthenes’ manipulation of his audience through the use of toponymic information: “repeating, in quick succession, names of fallen cities… he pre­ sents them as soundbytes (sic), reminding his audience time and again of the imminent danger of Philip”.32 The idea of the aural effect of the very sound of names of places is highly significant for our discussion of unwritten reception of geographic information. Finally, in his first Olynthian speech Demosthenes reveals an ethnic preju­ dice associated with the Thessalians by saying, “The Thessalians were always born traitors, and Philip finds them today just what everyone has found them

Speeches

47

in the past” (First Olynthiac, 1.22). This comment was probably based on popu­ lar notions of a xenophobic nature, and at the same time further promoted such notions in the Athenian audience present at the speech.

Dinarchus (361–291

bce)

Dinarchus, the last of the Ten Attic Orators, was originally a Corinthian and lived in Athens as a metic.33 For this reason he had no right to speak in public, and like several of his predecessors, he therefore became a logographer who produced speeches for Athenian citizens. His fame flourished after the death of Alexander the Great, as is apparent in the effect of geopolitical changes at the time on the scope of Dinarchus’ speech world. Even without a systematic analy­ sis of the details, the geographic change is evident when we first encounter India in an Athenian speech (Against Demosthenes, 1.34), as part of Dinarchus’ descrip­ tion of a state of crisis “when Alexander, so they said, was in India”, i.e. as a direct result of the geopolitical situation. To avoid misunderstandings, it is clear that India was known to the Greeks even before Alexander. Hints of its exist­ ence appeared already in the Homeric epics, and the geographical denomination is attested for the first time in the 6th-century survey of Hecataeus of Miletus.34 As we shall see (Chapter 3) Aeschylus too mentioned India before an Athenian audience. But Dinarchus is the only Attic orator to include this eastern country in his addresses to the people. In fact, in the period to which Dinarchus wished to allude, that of the war led by Agis III of Sparta against the Macedonian hegemony in 331 bce, Alexander was still in Persia, reaching India only in 327 bce. This historical inaccuracy is perhaps the result of Dinarchus’ wish to enhance the rhetorical effect on the people,35 for India must have sounded more remote and more exotic, and at the same time more recently discovered. Of 160 speeches reported in antiquity as composed by Dinarchus, we possess only three designed for the law courts. These contain 24 placenames, distributed geographically as in Table 2.10 and Table 2.10.a in Appendix A. Dinarchus’ world is clearly centred in central Greece; he does not deal at all with the western Mediterranean, Italy, Sicily or Africa, but does allude to Alexander’s visit to India. The scope of the world reflected in his surviving speeches is, according to the four extreme points, Corcyra in the west, the socalled Thracian or Macedonian Methōnē in the north, India in the east, and Naxos in the south (Map 2.10).

Table 2.10 Geographic distribution of places in Dinarchus’ speeches Mainland Greece

Islands

Italy/Sicily

Europe

Asia Minor

Greater Asia

Africa

TOTAL

11

6

0

3

3

1

0

24

48 Speeches

Map 2.10 The geographical scope of Dinarchus’ world.

Audiences attending these speeches could have assimilated some minimal geographical information, such as that the Cadmea was part of Thebes (Against Demosthenes, 1.38), probably a trivial bit of knowledge, since Boeotia was Attica’s northern neighbour, and that a certain “Arthmius, son of Pithonax, the Zelite” came from Zelea (Against Aristogiton, 2.24), wherever that might be, although the site was mentioned also by Demosthenes. The Athenian public could also grasp more elaborate descriptions, including hints of spatial scales, for instance when hearing the following: He [Timosthenes] sailed round (peripleusas) the Peloponnese and defeated the Lacedaemonians in a naval battle at Corcyra … he captured Samos, Methōnē, Pydna, Potidaea and 20 other cities besides. (Against Demosthenes, 1.14) During the Peloponnesian War and later on, as part of the continuous rivalry between Athens and the Peloponnesian poleis, the Athenian fleet sailed around the peninsula several times along its coastline, and many Athenians were familiar with local conditions there. The allusion to the circumnavigation thus simul­ taneously relies on familiar reality and promotes it among those who may have

Speeches

49

not been aware of the situation. Further information offered is that Corcyra was situated beyond the circuit of the Peloponnese, and that Methōnē, Pydna and Potidaea were all in more or less the same region in the northern Aegean.36 The information was implicit, and an attentive listener with a minimal spatial sense could perhaps have learned something. For lack of an accurate means of measuring assumed vs. unknown items of knowledge, we must understand the details inclusively. It should also be noted that this excerpt is repeated almost word for word in another speech by Dinarchus, Against Philocles, 3.17.37 But beyond an insight into Dinarchus’ working methods, this does not affect our attempt to draw conclusions regarding potential geographic knowledge avail­ able to the public. Finally, Dinarchus refers to several ethnic groups and inhabitants of specific places. Such references also contribute to a sense of the geographic knowl­ edge of the audience, particularly when certain ethnic groups are associated with specific character traits. He mentions a Scythian land-surveyor work­ ing in Athens (F 16.4 Sauppe), and in an emotional exclamation we, like the Athenian crowd before us, can understand that the Scythians were synony­ mous with savage barbarism: Will you then absolve this abominable wretch, this Scythian – really, I can­ not contain myself – whom no mere individual but the whole Areopagos has shown, after inquiry, to be in possession of money to your detriment, whose bribery and corruption against the city have been revealed and established beyond doubt? Will you not punish him and make him an example to others? (Against Demosthenes, 1.15) Both references indicate that Scythians were encountered in Athens, and the point is not that some Athenians travelled as far as Scythia; the visual Scythian presence in Athens is discussed in Chapter 6.

Speeches in Thucydides In addition to the canonized speeches of the Attic Orators, seven speeches from the second half of the 5th century are recorded by Thucydides and probably reflect real addresses delivered to the Athenian assembly.38 These speeches also contribute to our emerging recognition that considerable geo­ graphical information was included in Athenian public speeches and that geographic knowledge could reach the public in this way. This is true also for Plato’s Apology of Socrates, which alludes to battlefields from the Peloponnesian War. It then again becomes apparent that Athenians were acquainted with places due to military service, as Socrates himself was sta­ tioned at Potidaea, Amphipolis and Delium (Plato, Apology, 28e). Let us then approach the geography in the speeches in Thucydides along the lines of analysis followed so far.

50 Speeches

The following Table 2.11 presents the distribution of toponyms within each of the seven speeches according to our usual division. Since there are relatively few toponyms, they are listed by name in addition to the numerical presentation. These speeches involved the Greek world centred on mainland Greece (12 allusions) and the Aegean islands (4), but the specific debate regarding the expedition to Sicily of course included geographic references to the island and its poleis (11 allusions), thus expanding the world of the Athenians. Historical circumstances at the time must have driven the constant allusions to Sparta and its region. The world beyond immediate political events – Asia Minor, greater Asia and Africa – probably seemed irrelevant (no allusions). Pericles’ speech (no. 1), delivered to the assembly on the eve of the war with Sparta, contains a geopolitical analysis emphasizing the spatial and tactical differences between continent and islands, sea power and land power: If they march against our country, we will sail against theirs, and it will then be found that the desolation of the whole of Attica is not the same as that of even a fraction of the Peloponnese … we have plenty of land both on the islands and the continent. The rule of the sea is indeed a great matter … Suppose we were islanders: can you conceive a more impreg­ nable position? … Dismissing all thought of our land and houses, we must vigilantly guard the sea and the city. (Thucydides 1.143.4–5) This piece could have contributed to the geographic education of the audi­ ence, like the argument in another speech by Pericles (no. 2): The visible field of action has two parts, land and sea. In the whole of one of these you are completely supreme … your naval resources are such that your vessels may go where they please, without the King or any other people on earth being able to stop them. (2.62.2) Beyond general notions of sea power and insularity, there are also instances of encapsulated geographic information with the potential to penetrate the audi­ tors’ minds, although most of these public discussions involved scenes in which Athenian citizens were active and present even at locations outside of Attica. The speeches of Cleon (no. 3) and Diodotus (no. 4) both refer to the incident in Mytilene, but there is no hint in the speeches as to the location of Mytilene or how distant it is from Athens. The only indication with geographic sig­ nificance is that the island on which Mytilene was located (not mentioned by name; perhaps universally known) is fortified (meta teichon) (3.39.2). In slight contrast, the speeches discussing the expedition to Sicily (nos. 5–7) have as their main theme tactical issues, and they thus involve more toponyms and, more significantly, more geographic information. In his first speech (no. 5),

Speech (ref. in Thuc.)

Pericles 1.140-144

Pericles 2.60-64

Cleon: Mytilenaean debate 3.37-40

Diodotus: Mytilenean debate 3.42-48

Nicias: Sicilian expedition debate 6.9-14

No.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

0

1

0 Lacedaemon Sparta

2

1 Mytilene

0 Mytilene

0 Segesta Selinus Sicily Syracuse 4

0

0

2

0 Chalcidice Thrace

0

0

1

1

Europe Potidaea

0

Italy/Sicily

Aegina

Islands

0

Delphi Lacedaemon Megara Olympia Peloponnese 5 Lacedaemon 1

Mainland Greece

Table 2.11 Geographic distribution of places in speeches preserved in Thucydides

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Asia Minor Greater Asia Africa

8 (Continued )

1

1

1

7

TOTAL

Speeches 51

12

4

1

1

Nicias: Sicilian expedition debate 6.20-23

7.

TOTAL

0 Naxos

Mantinea Olympia Peloponnese 3 Peloponnese

6.

Islands

Mainland Greece

Speech (ref. in Thuc.)

Alcibiades: Sicilian expedition debate 6.16-18

No.

11

2 Catana Segesta Selinus Sicily Syracuse 5

Sicily Syracuse

Italy/Sicily

3

0

0

Europe

Table 2.11 (Continued) Geographic distribution of places in speeches preserved in Thucydides

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Asia Minor Greater Asia Africa

30

7

5

TOTAL

52 Speeches

Speeches

53

Nicias mentions two sailing routes to Sicily which formed a limit between the island and Athens: “the Ionian Sea for the coasting voyage, and the Sicilian across the open main” (6.13.1). In his second speech (no. 7), he reflects on local conditions in Sicily: They also have money, partly in the hands of private persons, partly in the temples at Selinus, and at Syracuse first-fruits from some of the barbarians as well. But their chief advantage over us lies in the number of their horses, and in the fact that they grow their grain at home instead of importing it. (6.20.4) An Athenian who had never left his polis or travelled as far as Sicily could thus acquire information about the names of poleis in Sicily, local animal stock and local agricultural products, even if he had no idea where Sicily was or what was its landscape like, let alone if he had already heard of the island, as might have been the case for some Athenians.39 Alcibiades in turn (no. 6) mentions the naval superiority of the Athenians,40 but pays less attention to the local geographic conditions in Sicily and more to the nature of the island’s inhabitants: The cities in Sicily are peopled by motley rabbles, and easily change their institutions and adopt new ones in their place. (6.17.2) Clearly both speakers aimed to convince the Athenians to support or oppose the expedition to Sicily, and they thus exploited geographic information accord­ ing to their interests. These geographic windows contributed to the unwritten knowledge of the audience. Two comments by Plutarch offer an image, pos­ sibly fictitious, of Athenians who were actively occupied by the Sicilian issue: Many were they who sat in the palaestras and lounging-places sketching out (hypographein) on the sand the shape (to schēma) of Sicily and the posi­ tion (thesis) of Libya and Carthage. (Plutarch, Alcibiades 17.3) The production of these popular “maps” apparently involves elite youths and not large crowds; perhaps they shared some geographic knowledge based on written texts. It is interesting to see how Sicily is said to have been represented in spatial relation to Libya and Carthage. This wider scope is further explained in the strategic considerations presented in another work by Plutarch: The youth in their training-schools and the old men in their work-shops and lounging-places would sit in clusters drawing the shape (to schēma) of Sicily, the nature (hē physis) of the sea about it and of the harbors and dis­ tricts of the island which look towards Libya. For they did not regard Sicily

54 Speeches

itself as the prize of the war, but as a mere base of operations, purposing from there to wage a contest with the Carthaginians and get possession of both Libya and all the sea within the Pillars of Heracles. (Plutarch, Nicias 12.1–2) Here, the image of geographic and cartographic awareness is supplemented by wider strategic planning. It thus seems that some geographic knowledge was available to at least a subset of Athenian citizens; public speeches certainly had a share in the geographic education of the public.

Geography in Attic Speeches Athenian orators were clearly aware of geographic knowledge and of spatial visions of their world, but each one incorporated these facts in a different way and to a different degree. This variation is closely related to the topics which initiated the speeches. Surely geopolitical conditions changed from the first half of the 5th century to the 4th, during the expansion of the Athenian League and then when Macedon became involved in Athenian life and after Alexander’s campaigns in Asia. Occasionally, the way an orator presented a geographic detail seems to imply that he had some notion of what to expect regarding his audience’s pre­ vious education. The audience was probably not entirely lacking in geographic awareness, and some information could have been regarded as self-evident. A balance between what was already known and what was presented as new information thus seems to lie behind the geographic portions of these speeches. We cannot accurately define what could have been taken for granted as known to the wider public, but we can perhaps offer some insights here and there. Can we assume, for instance, that Egypt and Macedon were known to everyone, but that specific places such as Curium in Cyprus or Ergiskē in Thrace were not? The combination of historical events involving the Athenian fleet, for instance, with an awareness that most Athenians probably left their homeland at some point, might offer a basis for assessing the balance between already acquired knowledge and a process of learning in individual cases. Personal tendencies aside, some patterns of geographic scope are apparent in the speeches of the Attic Orators. Tables 2.12 and 2.13 summarize these similarities and variations. Table 2.12 depicts the number of place-names in the speeches of the Attic Orators and their distribution according to the geographic divisions we have defined. This table can be considered in several ways, emphasizing e.g. patterns of geographic information within the work of specific orators, or the number of the references to specific regions. For the sake of an intermediate conclusion in this chapter, two parameters reflected in this table should be emphasized. First, most of the orators, with the exception of Antiphon, mentioned more place-names in mainland Greece than in any other region. This is apparent in the total number of sites in mainland Greece referenced in the work of each orator, but also in the

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Antiphon Lysias Andocides Isocrates Isaeus Lycurgus Hyperides Aeschines Demosthenes Dinarchus TOTAL

Orator

0 10 20 3 4 14 12 34 51 11 159

Mainland Greece 6 8 11 1 3 8 5 14 38 6 100

Islands 0 3 6 0 1 2 0 2 2 0 16

Italy/Sicily 2 4 2 2 3 2 5 22 43 3 88

Europe 0 5 3 3 1 6 5 5 19 3 50

Asia Minor 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 4 1 8

Greater Asia

Table 2.12 Number and geographic distribution of places in speeches of the Attic Orators arranged chronologically

0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 3

Africa

8 30 42 10 12 34 28 77 159 24 424

TOTAL

Speeches 55

56 Speeches

total number of mentions, 159 of 424. Other regions where Greek settlements prevailed are also densely represented: a total of 100 allusions for the mostly Greek islands and 50 for Asia Minor. Sites on the European continent, except those situated in mainland Greece and Italy, feature frequently in the speeches (88 mentions) and, as the detailed analyses of individual orators’ speeches have shown, these sites are concentrated in Macedon and Thrace, both significant spots in geopolitical terms in the period under consideration. Greater Asia and Africa are clearly peripheral, and the limited number of references to them are linked to political discussions related mainly to Persia and specific sites within its territory, and to the Greek community in Naucratis in Egypt (in Demosthenes). A second aspect of these findings that deserves emphasis is the compari­ son between patterns within each orator’s popular speeches, particularly when related to dates of activity. There is patently no correlation between date and number of geographic allusions. Antiphon, the earliest of the Orators, mentions only eight places, while Lysias, who follows him, mentions 30, but slightly later Isocrates and Isaeus again have fewer sites (10 and 12, respec­ tively). Demosthenes leads with a total of 159 places distributed throughout our seven geographic divisions. These results thus do not reflect a gradual expansion in geographic knowledge, but seem to reflect the issues under dis­ cussion in each orator’s public speeches. As already noted, we have inspected only speeches delivered before the broad Athenian citizen public, and the number of speeches or amount of text is different for each orator. The com­ parative dimension is thus not mathematical, but it seems safe to conclude that the unwritten geographic knowledge potentially transmitted to the audience was directly influenced by the speaker’s knowledge and by the occasion and theme of his speech. In all cases, these speeches were probably channels for audible geography. The extreme geographic points referred to in the speeches of each of the Ten Orators (Table 2.13) hint at other trends or patterns of geographic knowledge. In the speeches of six of the Ten Orators, the westernmost limit is on Sicily, either via allusion to the entire island or by reference to specific points on it, Table 2.13 Extreme points of the known world in the speeches of the Ten Attic Orators

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Orator

West

North

East

South

Antiphon Lysias Andocides Isocrates Isaeus Lycurgus Hyperides Aeschines Demosthenes Dinarchus

Naxos Catana Segesta Pherae Sicily Mount Etna Dodona Leonitini Sicily Corcyra

Aenus Thrace Macedonia Thrace Thrace Macedonia Macedonia Scythia Thrace Methōnē

Lindus Citium Cyprus Phoenicia Cnidus Persia Anaea Cilicia Ecbatana India

Lindus Curium Cyprus Phoenicia Crete Persia Egypt Peloponnese Naucratis Naxos

Speeches

57

such as Catana, Segesta, Mount Etna and Leontini. The level of acquaintance with or interest in specific points on the island thus varies among the orators who display an awareness of Sicily. The orators who do not mention Sicily in their speeches have a western limit within a narrower Greek world. The narrowest is that of Antiphon, who focuses on the Aegean Sea, with Naxos as the westernmost point. Overall, Athenian speeches show no interest in regions beyond Sicily. The northernmost limit in Attic popular speeches is in Thrace or Macedon in nine of ten cases, twice through specific points, Aenus, mentioned by Antiphon and Methōnē, mentioned by Dinarchus. The only exception is the even more northerly region of Scythia in Aeschines. There is more variety in the easternmost limits. Three orators are lim­ ited to the Greek islands of Rhodes and Cyprus; three reference sites in Asia Minor; one expands his world to Phoenicia; two mention Persia; and the latest, Dinarchus, who knew of Alexander’s campaigns, includes India. The expan­ sion of the easternmost limit of the world of the speeches generally corresponds to the chronological point at which the individual orators were active, perhaps reflecting a gradual growth of geographic knowledge. Six of ten of the southernmost limits of the worlds of the speeches are situ­ ated within the Greek Aegean, one in the Peloponnese; the other five on one of the Greek islands, the southernmost being Crete. Isocrates and Lycurgus mention Phoenicia and Persia, respectively, as both their easternmost and southernmost limit. Demosthenes and Hyperides reach as far as Naucratis and Egypt. The detailed lists in Appendix A and the series of ten respective maps thus show that Athenian oratory in the classical period reflected a geographic world centred on mainland Greece and the Aegean islands, while its periphery expanded according to the themes of each orators’ speeches, but also according to the emergence of wider geographic horizons. (The speeches in Thucydides reflect a similar situation.) The combination of an orator’s rhetorical require­ ments or circumstances with his personal geographic education produced the extent and nature of the information incorporated in his speeches, and this information was made orally available to the citizen body. An unwritten world was thus revealed. I turn now to similar evidence in Roman speeches.

Roman speeches – Cicero Remnants of now-lost speeches show that, as one would expect, references to places and peoples were included in early Roman speeches.41 Both political and forensic speeches reflected their settings in daily life, including geography. We know, for instance, that in 279 bce, during the war with Pyrrhus, Appius Claudius Caecus referred in the earliest attested political speech in Latin to the Chaonians, Molossians, Tarantines and Samnites;42 in 171 bce Cato the Elder represented the Lusitanians and Hispanians in a Roman court, and must thus

58 Speeches

have referred to those regions and probably to specific places in them;43 and in 118 bce L. Licinius Crassus delivered a speech concerning the colony of Narbonensis.44 The state of the evidence, unfortunately, does not allow for a comprehensive study or conclusive judgments. In addition, speeches preserved in historiographic works from this period, for instance by Sallust and Livy, are generally regarded as products of those authors rather than as accurate records of real speeches.45 The evidence for Roman oratory is thus asymmetric to the amount we have for Athens. Fortunately, we possess many of Cicero’s speeches.46 Although this collec­ tion of political and legal speeches represents the mindset and style of only one orator, it covers a period of over 30 years and is thus valuable evidence for this study. Many of Cicero’s speeches were addressed to the Roman public in the popular assemblies, but even his judicial speeches, delivered to a narrower group of judges, probably captured the attention of the wider public, since they were given in the open air in the Forum and hint at the speaker’s aware­ ness of the presence of a circle (corona) of common spectators and bystanders.47 We may therefore take these speeches as representing information orally avail­ able to a large audience including many uneducated persons. Of 88 recorded speeches of Cicero, 52 have survived. For our pur­ poses, the “popular” speeches are the main body of evidence, and I exclude speeches delivered in the Senate. Cicero’s extant relevant speeches contain numerous geographic names divided as in Table 2.14 and Table 2.11.a in Appendix A. Since the Athenian speeches have already been analyzed, it is immediately apparent that the number and distribution of places within Cicero’s speeches is very Roman, primarily in the clear and detailed focus on Italy and Sicily (66 toponymic allusions), but also in the overall number of toponyms (141) repre­ senting the entire known world at the time. In comparison to the toponymic allusions in Attic speeches, mainland Greece and the islands are peripheral and appear in total in only 18 place-names. The centre and scope of this Roman world is also reflected in the extreme points within the list of toponyms: Gades in the west, Lake Maeotis (the Sea of Azov) in the north, India in the east, and Egypt in the south (Map 2.11). Other than mere geographical allusions, what information and knowledge could a member of Cicero’s popular audience hear and possibly acquire? What could the uneducated crowds grasp? To answer this question, let us take for instance the following enthusiastic section from Cicero’s 66 bce speech, which aimed to convince the populus Romanus to support the Lex Manilia by giving Table 2.14 Geographic distribution of places in Cicero’s public speeches Mainland Greece Islands

Italy/Sicily Europe

Asia Minor

Greater Africa Asia

TOTAL

8

66

26

4

141

10

20

7

Speeches

59

Map 2.11 The geographical scope of Cicero’s world.

Pompey supreme command in the war against Mithridates. This speech is full of geographic information. Speaking of the problem of the Mediterranean pirates, Cicero explains the essence of maritime power, mentions three domi­ nant sea powers, and demonstrates the idea of insularity: Was there ever a state in times past – I do not mean Athens, whose sea power is said to have been quite extensive, or Carthage, strong as she was in her navy and in sea warfare, or Rhodes, the skill and reputation of whose seamen has survived to our own times – but was there ever in the past, I say, a state so weak, an island so small, as to be unable by her own resources to defend her harbours, her fields and a portion of the sea and the coast? (Leg.Man., 54) The audience could then grasp some of the geopolitical theory associated with specific places, particularly when Cicero linked it to the Roman state: We who in former days, besides keeping Italy safe, were able to guarantee the safety of all our allies in the farthest coasts (in ultimis oris) by the prestige

60 Speeches

of our Empire – in the days when, for instance, the island of Delos (insula Delos), although set so far from Rome in the Aegean Sea and visited by all men from every country with their merchandise and their cargoes, packed though the island was with riches, small though it was and defenseless, had nothing to fear – we, I repeat, were kept from making use not only of our provinces, the coasts of Italy and our own harbours, but even of the Appian way. (Leg.Man., 55). Hearing such words allows a member of the audience to (1) get a sense of Roman spatial expansion: “the whole of Italy”, “farthest coasts”, remote Delos; and (2) learn that Delos is an island situated in the Aegean Sea far from Rome, crowded and wealthy. These details were probably not learned in the sense of a careful inspection of every detail in the speech with an attentive ear to geographical elements in particular. But we can detect here potential geo­ graphic details and ideas. In the same speech, Cicero demonstrates Pompey’s vast achievements by indicating geographic points related to three Roman provinces. By means of this allusion, the audience learns about Rome’s sources of grain: Pompey, though the sea was still unfit for navigation, visited Sicily, explored Africa, sailed to Sardinia and, by means of strong garrisons and fleets, made secure those three sources of our country’s grain supply. (Leg.Man., 34) In other cases, Cicero weaves in actual itinerary information, for instance in Pro Cluentio 27, where he says: “Teanum in Apulia, which is 18 miles from Larinum”. Cicero means to explain where Teanum is, and this brief indication allows the audience to get some idea of a bit of geographic reality even if they had no idea where Teanum or Larinum were. A spatial notion of distance and enormity appears in two references to the Alps: first when Cicero says that Clodius “fixed the Ianiculum and the Alps as the bounds of his prospective possessions” (Mil., 74), meaning a vast, almost imaginary degree of ambition, and second in: What then is the meaning of this prosecution, which finds it easier to climb the Alps than just the few steps which lead to the treasury, which defends the treasury of the Ruteni more jealously than that of the people of Rome? (Font., 4) The unwritten educational gain for the audience in this piece is as follows: the Alps are mountains, climbing them is a difficult task, the Ruteni are remote and foreign. At the same time, there are related details which were possibly still unknown: the location of the Alps and the identity of the Ruteni. However,

Speeches

61

Roman heritage and some basic awareness probably contributed to a relatively widespread and popular knowledge of the Alps: most Romans had at least heard of Hannibal’s daring journey across the mountains, and their unusual nature was probably famous.48 This is thus another case where we can focus on the evidence in circulation and guess about the exact nature of popular reception. More abstract geographic notions appear in two phrases reflecting on spa­ tial concepts. One is when Cicero speaks of “interior” lands: “Asia, Cilicia and Syria and the kingdoms of the interior (regnisque interiorum nationum)” (Leg.Man., 64), thus delivering an almost cartographic image of the situation of these regions. Another is when he – not for the first time; see Chapter 3 – speaks of the “upper sea – mare superum” (Clu., 192), meaning the Adriatic. This is coupled with the inferior or lower sea, mare inferum, to denote the Tyrrhenian Sea.49 Both cases reveal a non-cartographic perception of space, related to simple, two-dimensional and linear ideas of geographic layout.50 Was the audience aware of this mental arrangement? Could they understand which seas were meant? Did they wonder why one was “upper” and the other “lower”? We may guess that Cicero’s intellectually diverse Roman audience included individuals who possessed such concrete knowledge, while others (the majority?) did not, but we are in no position to offer accu­ rate assessments of the degree of geographic knowledge among the various sectors of society. Here is another example of a rhetorical piece imbued with geographic information: The Asia that you talk of consists of Phrygia, Mysia, Caria and Lydia. Is it then a proverb of ours or of yours that a Phrygian is usually improved by beating? What more? Is not this a common saying of you all with respect to the whole of Caria, if you wish to make any experiment accompanied with danger, that you had better try it on a Carian? Moreover, what saying is there in Greek conversation more ordinary and well known than, when any one is spoken of contemptuously, to say that he is the very lowest of the Mysians? For why should I speak of Lydia? What Greek ever wrote a comedy in which the principal slave was not a Lydian? (Flac., 65) We find here several notions pertaining to places in Asia Minor, but also ste­ reotypical and idiomatic ideas associated with Asian peoples (see Chapter 4). Cicero thus both absorbs and promotes popular beliefs, and we can only guess at the effect this mix of facts and conventions had on his audience. At the very least, they became familiar with certain toponyms and ethnonyms. Another example of the way a sense – almost a sensation – of places is delivered in Cicero’s speeches, beyond reference to their strict geographic situation, is apparent in his comment on Alexandria:

62 Speeches

We used to hear of old Alexandria; now we know it (audiebamus Alexandream, nunc cognoscimus). It is the home of every sharp practice, every deceit; it is from its inhabitants that writers of farces draw all their plots. (Rab.Post., 35) Cicero here differentiates between knowledge of a place through hearsay and actual acquaintance. But when he addresses his audience thus, he certainly does not mean that all of them have travelled to Alexandria, but rather that they have enough knowledge, rather stereotypical, of the city’s reputation that they practically know it. This supports our premise that speeches have a significant potential to teach their listeners orally. In another context, Cicero promotes an unflattering ethnic prejudice: All the records and histories of past ages have established for us the tradi­ tion (omnia monumenta vetustatis atque omnes historiae nobis prodiderunt) that the Phoenicians are the most treacherous of peoples. The Poeni, their offshoots, proved by the many warlike outbreaks of the Carthaginians, and by their repeated violation and infringement of treaties, that they had not degenerated from their forefathers. (Scaur., 42) This “established tradition” is the very unwritten ethnography we are discuss­ ing. Chapter 4 will show that Cicero’s speeches were a central source for Latin geographic and ethnographic proverbs and idioms. Since speeches later on, in the Imperial period, were not available to the general public, Cicero stands out as a unique rhetorical source for audible geography.

Comparison and conclusion Unsurprisingly, the scope and emphases of the Athenian rhetorical world were different from those of the Roman or, better put, the Ciceronian one. While Athenian audiences focused on their more or less immediate environment of central mainland Greece and the Aegean islands, Cicero’s listeners were offered a large number of toponyms relating to the Italian peninsula, which was thus converted into a geographic centre. The apparent periphery in the Attic speeches was related to its general centre, but the distance to the periphery changed according to the geographic scope of specific speeches. According to the majority of the Orators, the edges of this small Greek world were Sicily, Macedon, Asia Minor and Crete – sites tightly linked to the spread of Hellenic settlement. We do find occasional allusions to places beyond this narrow frame, such as Scythia, Ecbatana, India and Naucratis, but not all in a single orator. Geographic awareness of remote places evidently existed, but it was not neces­ sarily exploited in full, probably because it was not always relevant to specific speeches. The bottom line is that the masses of Athenian citizens who attended these speeches had a chance to get a mental image of their world based on what

Speeches

63

they already knew from practical experience or ideas they had formed through information offered to them orally. Roman audiences lived in a different geopolitical atmosphere and might have absorbed a sense of a wider world stretching from Gades to India, and from Lake Maeotis to Egypt. Through his rhetorical skills, Cicero illustrated places and peoples, making these more accessible to individuals who never left Rome and had no chance to read geographic descriptions. An unwritten mental image of countries and occasionally of peoples thus had the potential to contribute to illiterate, audible knowledge of geography. Athenians and Romans were often personally exposed to places and peo­ ples either during military and commercial journeys or through encounters at home. Public speeches were, accordingly, not delivered to an audience entirely lacking in geographic education. Our interest here, however, is less in the level of knowledge of the receiving crowds, and more in the extent of circulation of geographic details within the public sphere unlinked to the written word. We may still suggest that, despite the practical experience of the public, in both societies and periods most of the audience could not place sites on a mental map, and could perhaps not even recognize exact distances to specific points or between them, let alone understand directions and spatial relationships between sites. We can thus say that geographic details and ideas were clear features of public speeches in both Athenian and Roman society, and that the very names and occasional descriptions, whether encapsulated or elaborated, must have had an effect on ideas of space or on more concrete geographic notions, even if they were basic and simple.

Notes 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

Ober 1989; 2008; Canevaro 2017.

Millar 1986; 1998, esp. 214–224; Morstein-Marx 2004.

Steel 2006, 20–21.

Worthington 1991; Gagarin 1999.

Hubbard 2008.

R.M. Smith 1995.

I rely on the classification in Ober’s catalogue: Ober 1989, 341–348.

Gagarin 2002.

Fragments of the Attic orators are numbered according to the edition by Hermann

Sauppe, in Oratores Attici, fragment volume, Zurich, 1850. Speeches 2, 33, 34. Speeches 3, 4, 7, 16, 24, 26, 31. See classification in Ober 1989, 347–348. Todd 2007, general introduction. For Lysias’ treatment of space, see de Bakker in de Jong 2012, 377–392. On Andocides, see Gagarin-MacDowell 1998, 95–98. Four minor fragments supply no details relevant to this discussion. For doubts concerning Andocides’ authorship of this speech, see Raubitschek 1948. M. Edwards 1995, 194.The historical sketch in this part of Andocides’ speech (3–12) was adopted by Aeschines in his On the embassy, 2.172–176, but the place-names interwoven into it were copied only in part. On Isocrates, see Poulakos-Depew 2004, introduction. Speeches 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, according to the classification in Ober 1989, 346–347.

64 Speeches 20 There are many more in Isocrates’ non-public speeches.The strategic awareness in the Panegyricus 4.108, for instance, proves that Isocrates knew his geography; but this was a political pamphlet and was probably not widely available. 21 On Demosthenes, see M. Edwards 2007, 1–4. 22 On Lycurgus, see Worthington-Cooper-Harris 2001, 155–158 (Harris). 23 And again, in Panegyricus, 4.118; Areopagiticus, 7.80. 24 The dramatic effect of this mountain is probably the reason for its appearance in plays by all three Athenian tragedians and in the comedies of Aristophanes. See Chapter 3. 25 On Hyperides, see Worthington-Cooper-Harris 2001, 61–68 (Cooper). 26 Although a lost speech of Hyperides probably referred to the Etruscans, as noted by Harpocration s.v. komistika ploia. 27 On Aeschines, see Harris 1995. 28 Adams ad loc. in the Loeb Classical Library edition, 1958, pp. 372–373, and see Demosthenes below. 29 See for example Worthington 2013, especially xv–xx. 30 Several speeches in the Demosthenic corpus may be ascribed to Apollodorus or Hegesippus; a definitive conclusion regarding authorship is not essential for our discussion. 31 For Demosthenes’ treatment of space, see de Bakker in de Jong 2012, 393–412. 32 de Bakker in de Jong 2012, 412. 33 On him, see Worthington-Cooper-Harris 2001, 3–9 (Worthington). 34 Od. 1.23–24 (“Eastern Ethiopians”); FGrHist 1 F 299. 35 Worthington-Cooper-Harris 2001, 21 nn. 27–28. 36 This Thracian Methōnē, slightly north of Pydna on the Macedonian coast, could easily have been confused with its homonym the Messenian Methōnē in the Peloponnese, or possibly with other places by the same name in Argolis and Euboea.The context of the three poleis hinted at the geographic situation of Timosthenes’ activities. 37 Timosthenes’ exploits, together with some of these geographic points, appear also in speeches by Isocrates (Antidosis, 15.107–113) and Demosthenes (For the Liberty of the Rhodians, 15.9). 38 Based on Ober’s conclusions in Ober 1989, 46–47, 342. Other speeches in Thucydides might either reflect real speeches or speeches written by the historian imitating the style and content of real popular speeches, allowing them to serve our goal, or else be written in ways Thucydides might have assumed that his educated and literate readers would appreciate.These would thus have deviated from our interests, and I have therefore ana­ lyzed only the seven speeches judged by Ober to reflect real ones actually delivered in front of Athenian crowds. 39 See relevant discussions in Harrison 2000; D.G. Smith 2004. 40 Alcibiades mentioned the Persians in 6.17.7, but more as a historical allusion than a geographic or ethnographic one, as a consequence of which it is not counted above. 41 Collected in Malcovati 1955. Discussion in Morstein-Marx 2004; Steel-Van der Blom 2013;Van der Blom 2016. 42 Caecus F 10 Malcovati. 43 Cato F 154 Malcovati. 44 Crassus F 15–17 Malcovati. 45 Nicolai 2002 on Sallust; Forsythe 1999 on Livy. 46 May 2002. 47 Millar 1998, specifically related to Cicero’s speeches in pp. 13, 71, 91. 48 For a collection of studies on the representation of the Alps in classical antiquity, see Geographia Antiqua vol. 27, 2018. 49 For instance, in Philipp. 12.9: Tres ergo, ut dixi, viae: a Supero mari Flaminia, ab Infero Aurelia, media Cassia. 50 For a key analysis of such perceptions, see Janni 1984.

3

Drama

We have found a kind of rhetoric addressed to such a public as is compounded of children and women and men, and slaves as well as free. (Socrates on tragedy, in Plato, Gorgias 502d)

Public dramatic performances were an essential part of the culture and political atmosphere in both Athens and Rome.1 Both societies produced and attended plays performed in open-air theatres, although their drama derived from dif­ ferent origins and was set in different social environments. In this study, these theatrical pieces will be added to public performances of speeches and shows in arenas. In 5th- and 4th-century Athens, drama was a major communal event which involved the entire body of Athenian citizens on all social levels, and perhaps non-citizens as well.2 Not only were all citizens, i.e. free males, entitled to attend the plays performed as part of the annual festival of Dionysus, but they likely wanted to participate in order to reinforce their identity as members of the Athenian polis. The public theorikon, a festival fund initiated by Pericles, funded attendance at the theatre for poorer citizens and thus assured the pres­ ence of various sectors of the population in the crowds. The group probably included 14,000–17,000 spectators at each performance, and was composed mainly of free adult male citizens belonging to various groups within Athenian society: priests and dignitaries, officers of the polis and youths, rich and poor, educated and illiterate. In addition, foreigners, resident aliens (metics) and per­ haps a few slaves attended some performances. It is not known whether women attended shows, and if so, how many did.3 But for our purpose it is sufficient to know that both tragedies and comedies were displayed in Athens for and in front of an audience including a majority of analphabetic spectators and that they were meant to be seen and heard.4 The theatre thus functioned as a place for mass communication within a society in which oral discourse prevailed. Similarly, crowds were an integral part of Roman theatre. Beside early local, vulgar oral storytelling, mimes and farces, the written remains of Roman drama indicate powerful influence by Greek drama in both content and form. With their beginnings in the 3rd century bce, these plays were addressed specifically to

66 Drama

crowds composed of all sectors of society.At this time, as a result of geopolitical developments, the number of traders and craftsmen in Roman society increased greatly, along with their political and social importance. Ordinary, popular, illiter­ ate masses accordingly dominated the city itself and affected the composition of theatrical audiences. Moreover, due to social and historical differences, the share of female spectators was larger in Rome than in Athens. Earlier local tendencies towards satire and farce meant that Roman dramatists and spectators preferred comedy to tragedy. This is why we have complete extant “Republican” com­ edies rather than tragedies, and our study focuses on a few Roman comedies dated to the relevant period.These plays engaged with themes involving decep­ tion and impersonation, and were clearly addressed primarily to the common, unsophisticated and uneducated masses.5 In Imperial times, both production and performance of drama diminished, but I will nonetheless examine Seneca’s tragedies for their geographical data, despite modern doubts regarding whether they were actually performed and thus their public circulation.6 As in the case of rhetoric, we face an asymmetrical situation here, since Athenian sources are more abundant and diverse than those from the Roman Republic and the Imperial period. But the comparison seems valid neverthe­ less since, along with the accumulation of information from the other kinds of evidence examined in this volume, it contributes to our ability to assess popular geographical knowledge and to suggest some conclusions. Let us then approach Greek and Roman plays in search of geographic information.

Athenian tragedy Athenian tragedies, despite their mythological themes, reflect the historical con­ text of the time and the place of their creation. Scholars have shown that con­ temporary values as well as material and historical realities penetrated the set-up and the plot of tragedies composed in 5th-century Athens. This contemporary dimension is also occasionally apparent to some degree in the reflection of the geographic world known at the time. In this way, the knowledge of the tragedi­ ans was transmitted to and potentially became the knowledge of their audiences. There have been several modern studies of geography within Greek tragedy. André Bernand7 offered a general characterization of the use of geography by each of the three canonical Athenian tragedians: Aeschylus applied “mythic geography” and schematically emphasized its symbolic significance and imagi­ nary elements; Sophocles used “pathetic geography”, in which the heroes’ agony was stressed by the bareness and roughness of topography; and Euripides presented “affective geography”, expressively emphasizing light and colour to reflect his heroes’ sentiments. Bernand also defined four concentric zones within the geography of Athenian tragedy, incorporating the idea of centre and periph­ ery: (1) the most familiar (Attica, Argos, Thebes, Delphi, Corinth); (2) recently Hellenized regions (Macedon, the Troad, Asia Minor, Sicily); (3) “barbaric” lands (Persia, Egypt, Scythia); (4) the imaginary geography of regions populated by fabulous creatures such as gorgons, griffons, pygmies and Hyperboreans.

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Bernand’s study is important as a comprehensive review of the overall approach to geography in Athenian tragedies. The present analysis, however, pays atten­ tion to more concrete and solid components of geography in search of specific details of geographic knowledge. Unlike Bernand, I deal neither with general and atmospheric landscapes and topographies, nor with imaginary geography, but instead attempt to assess more or less defined scopes of factual geography. Roberto Nicolai8 turned attention to the spatial concepts embedded in Athenian tragedy with specific concern of ideas of boundaries and limits associated with the edges of the inhabited world, the oikoumene. He termed the geographic image in tragedy “pre-geography”, and showed that it was deeply influenced by earlier concepts in the Homeric epics. Places mentioned in tragedy were significant to the plot, and geographic awareness determined the composition of specific sections within some plays. While Nicolai exam­ ined the geography in these plays from the informed perspective of modern geographic knowledge, my goal here is to analyze geographic detail as it was grasped on the level of the plays themselves, or better, from the eye-level of contemporary audiences. In addition to the work of Bernand and Nicolai, other studies focus on specific plays to show how plot-lines relate to geographic notions, and will be considered below at the relevant points. At the outset, it can be said that in Athenian tragedy the concept of the geographic world became an essential component of the mythic story in each play. While Greek tragedy contained didactic elements, the tragedians seemingly did not aspire to offer accurate and complete geographic surveys. But ample and diverse geographic information was still included in the plots and blended into the verses. Even before a play began, the stage revealed a specific idea of space.9 Traditionally, staging reflected basic spatial notions: the skene included a stone structure symbolizing a specific place (e.g. a palace, house or cave), and the two entrances (eisodoi) on either side reflected paths to locations in the wider world, beyond the stage and the sight of the audience. In plays set near the sea, the eisodoi probably distinguished inland and shore, while in plays set in cities, they indicated the roads inside and outside the city.10 Thus in Sophocles’ Philoctetes, the scene was placed on the island of Lemnos before Philoctetes’ cave, while in Euripides’ Cyclops the stage represented Polyphemus’ cave, and on the two sides one path led to the moun­ tains, the other to the sea.Audiences could thus absorb some sense of location, both concrete or specific and wide or undefined, or in spatial terms scenic space, extra-scenic space and distanced space.11 But it was certainly through the spoken or sung verses that geographic details were delivered to the crowds.We must thus imagine how what we read today was transmitted orally, and how the crowds could absorb what they saw and heard.

Aeschylus According to ancient Greek tradition, Aeschylus was a member of an elite Athenian family.12 He participated in battles against the Persians, and probably

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in these circumstances visited various places outside of Attica and acquired direct experience of geographic significance. Several of Aeschylus’ plays con­ tain in their essential, traditional storyline wide geographic scopes as well as specific geographic arrangements. Persians straddles the palace of the Persian king at Susa and the battlefield at Salamis, and thus necessarily involves rel­ evant geographic detail.13 Prometheus Bound concentrates on Prometheus and the place where he is being punished at the edges of the Earth, and includes a detailed description of Io’s wanderings. And Agamemnon (281–316) depicts the route of the beacon-messages sent from the Troad to Argos. Margalit Finkelberg14 has thoroughly and convincingly analyzed the geog­ raphy of the Prometheus Bound, concluding that at least some parts of it reflect geographic knowledge of the 4th century, later than the period of Aeschylus’ activity and the original staging of the play in Athens. Despite this conclu­ sion, which points to different chronological layers in the text and challenges Aeschylean authorship, for our purposes we can still assume that at least some parts of the geographic descriptions in the tragedy were available to Athenian spectators at the time the play was first performed. In addition, Rebecca Futo Kennedy15 has argued that geographic elements in Aeschylus’ Eumenides were neither random nor unintentional and were closely associated with Athenian imperial ideology of the time. While concentrating on Aeschylus’ motives in the inclusion of geography within his plays, she also hints at the fascination of the audience with this “form of mapping”,16 which probably reinforced a proimperialist ideology and reminded them of newly re-conquered territories. Andrea Blasina17 in turn focuses on Aeschylus’ treatment of African geography. While defining Aeschylus’ geography as a “pre-geography”, he points out that these parts in the tragedies often consisted of geographic lists reflecting actual itineraries. This catalogue structure was typical of oral poetry and enabled the poet to reflect current geographic information, perhaps based on the work of Hecataeus of Miletus. Aeschylus’ knowledge of Africa was thus in line with actual knowledge at the time. Most recently, Aara Suksi18 has tackled another aspect of geography in Aeschylean tragedy by analyzing the cartographic dimensions of Prometheus’ description of Io’s route and Clytemnestra’s depiction of the beacon route. Suksi shows how this “map making”19 by the tragic characters fits within simi­ lar earlier approaches to spatial descriptions and contributes to another set of messages related to the epic approach, which reserves this ability to cast a syn­ optic cartographic gaze for divine characters. What follows is an attempt to add to these studies a strictly quantitative reflection of toponymic information enfolded in Aeschylus’ extant tragedies according to the same methodology used for speeches (Chapter 2). We thus find 162 place-names in Aeschylus’ extant plays, divided as in Table 3.1 and Table 3.1.a in Appendix B. In terms of density, Aeschylus’ world is framed by mainland Greece and Asia Minor, including the Aegean islands, while the Italian peninsula is beyond the focus of his tragedies and only three sites on Sicily are mentioned. The

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Table 3.1 Geographic distribution of places in Aeschylus’ tragedies Mainland Greece

Islands

Italy/ Sicily

Europe

Asia Minor

Greater Asia

Africa

TOTAL

54

26

6

19

31

17

9

162

number of toponymic references demonstrates a tendency towards the Aegean and the East, probably as a result of the subject matter of the plays and specifi­ cally the Persians with its eastern setting. In comparison to Athenian speeches, note also the nine different allusions to places in Africa, enhancing the impres­ sion of an extensive geographic education on Aeschylus’ part. The extreme points in Aeschylus’ world are Liguria in the west, Scythia in the north, India in the east, and Libya (traditionally indicating Africa) in the south (Map 3.1). This is a relatively wide world which mostly, except in the west, corresponds to parallel boundaries in contemporary scientific or scholarly works such as the Histories of Herodotus.20 This means that Aeschylus was geographically welleducated, and his preoccupation with geography has, as already noted, been discussed at length by modern scholars.

Map 3.1 The geographical scope of Aeschylus’ world.

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Let us now more closely inspect Aeschylus’ (and his audiences’) geographi­ cal knowledge beyond mere toponyms.21 A basic component in the traditional myth of Prometheus was apparently his punishment by being chained at the edges of the Earth. Accordingly, the use of geographic indicators is meant to produce a sense of remoteness, strangeness and fear.22 Aeschylus follows tradi­ tion and puts Prometheus at “the most distant region of Earth, around Lake Maeotis” (PV 418–419), that is by what is today called the Sea of Azov, sig­ nifying the border of the known world. Departing from another edge of the inhabited world, this time at the south, Aeschylus draws a mental route of Io’s progress from there up to the Egyptian Delta: You will then come to a land at the furthest bounds of the earth, to a black tribe that dwells at the sources of the sun, where flows the river Aethiops. Follow the bank of this river until you come to the cataract where the Nile pours down from the Bybline Mountains … it will lead you to the threecornered land of Nilotis. (PV 807–814) What could the audience potentially grasp? First, a general sense of faraway regions beyond their reach; second, a sense of the relative, possibly even lin­ ear positions of places;23 third, specific place-names such as the river Aethiops (perhaps the Indus24), the Nile, the Bybline Mountains and Nilotis (the Nile Delta). On the whole, such descriptions include travel routes and spatial orientation. Stephen White has compared Io’s journey as presented by Aeschylus both in Prometheus Bound (partially cited above) and in Suppliants (538-555, partially cited on the next page), and defined these parts of the plays as “an exer­ cise in ‘parageography’”. By this, he meant that the geographic presentation was inaccurate, eccentric and often eclectic. While Io’s route in Suppliants is shorter and clearer, the one in Prometheus emphasizes moral and cultural remoteness more than physical distance. Finally, White pointed out that places mentioned in these sections were relevant to later historical times, including for example Ionian claims in Asia Minor.25 This geopolitical relevance must have fallen on eager ears in an audience that, based on their military or mer­ cantile experiences, had some existing knowledge of some of these places, or at least of their names. Some sense of spatial orientation reflecting movement in specific geographic environments also appears in the description of the withdrawal of the Persian troops from mainland Greece towards Asia in a parallel advance of navy and infantry. To emphasize the linear progress, I have highlighted the relevant points on this route: The commanders of the remaining ships took to headlong, disorderly flight… the rest of the host suffered continual losses, first of all in the land of the Boeotians … while we survivors … passed on into the country of

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the Phocians and the land of Doris and came to the Malian Gulf, where the Spercheus waters the plain and provides drink bountifully. From there the soil of Achaea received us, and then the cities of Thessaly … then we reached the land of Magnesia and entered the country of the Macedonians, coming to the river Axius, the reed swamps of Lake Bolbe, and Mount Pangaeum in the land of Edonia. (Pers., 480–495) The gradual progress from south to north is contained in allusions to both regions and specific sites. The larger units indicating the land march are Boeotia, Phocis, Doris, Achaea (Phthiotis), Thessaly, Magnesia, Macedonia and Edonia. These regions in fact reflect an orderly, accurate line. In addition, there are specific sites en route, most of them related to waterways and thus hinting at the parallel advance of the Persian navy. These are the Malian Gulf, the rivers Spercheus and Axius, Lake Bolbe and Mount Pangaeum. The latter point was probably visible from the coast. Similarly, in describing Io’s escape, the chorus in Suppliants offers a linear route, the main points of which are again highlighted: She rushed through the land of Asia, from end to end of sheep-rearing Phrygia, and passed through the Mysian city of Theutras, up the vales of Lydia and through the mountains of Cilicia, speeding across the land of the Pamphylians, its ever-flowing rivers and its deep rich soil, and the land of Aphrodite (i.e. Phoenicia) abundant in wheat. (Supp., 547–555) The regions of Phrygia, Mysia, Lydia, Cilicia and Pamphylia, in the order they are given by Aeschylus, mirror a linear itinerary which is not straightforward but winds in a route roughly resembling the letter S. The route then skips from Pamphylia to Phoenicia. This curved geographic advance was perhaps apparent only to those who recognized the location of regions within Asia Minor. Most likely it was meant to reflect a sense of unfocused escape rather than a targeted march like the one performed by the Persians. Another verbal almost-drawing appears in Aeschylus’ description of the extent and boundaries of Pelasgus’ kingdom: I am master of all the land through which flows the holy Strymon, on the side of the setting sun, and I mark as my boundary the land of the Paeonians, and the parts beyond Pindus near the Perrhaebians, and the mountains of Dodona. (Supp., 254–258) These points are clear markers of an almost linear delineation of Pelasgus’ realm, including an allusion to relative locations on the western side of the river by reference to the setting sun. A similar technique of verbally delivering

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a sense of the spatial extent of land is apparent in a fragment from the lost Niobe that defines the extent of the region of Phrygia in Asia Minor: The land I sow extends for twelve days’ journey: the country of the Berecyntians, where the territory of Adrastea and Mount Ida resound with the lowing and bleating of livestock, and all of the Erechthean plain. (Aeschylus fr. 158 Radt) In another context, Mount Etna is clearly presented to the audience as a vol­ cano in a way that suggests a personal visit: Mount Etna; on its topmost peaks Hephaestus sits forging red hot iron, and from thence one day will burst forth rivers of fire, devouring with their savage jaws the smooth fields of Sicily with their fine crops. (PV, 365–370) On a larger scale, Aeschylus’ plays marked the boundary between Europe and Asia by the course of the river Phasis (fr. 191 Radt) or the Bosporus (PV, 734–735). Aeschylus could also describe the course of the Nile from Ethiopia to Egypt (fr. 30 Radt). Apart from these detailed descriptions of remote places, there was of course topographic information about regions situated closer to Athens. In these cases, Athenians likely did not need to go to the theatre to learn that “there lies Aegina, in the direction from which the south wind blows” (fr. 404 Radt). But these verses may put into clear words what most Athenians knew on the basis of daily experience. The Athenian audience could also catch glimpses of the habits of remote or unknown peoples without leaving their seats and their homes in Athens: I hear that there are nomad women in India, near neighbours to the Ethiopians, who saddle their way across country on camels that run like horses. (Supp., 284–286) and “I strike myself blows like an Arian and in the manner of a Cissian woman” (Cho., 423–424), referring to extravagant lamentation associated with Persians or Oriental peoples.26 Epithets or a few brief words often offered some minimal local informa­ tion along with specific place-names. Such were “Babylon rich in gold (poly­ chrysos)” (Pers., 53–54) or “the steep heights of Arachnaeum, the watch-points nearest our city (astygeitonas skopas)” (Ag., 308–309). In these small capsules of geographic information, as well as in the more expansive pieces, we should again keep in mind and envisage an individual in the theatre audience and his potential for absorbing these names, details, facts and perspectives. Still, how could someone attending the play tell the difference between Boeotian

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Thebes and Egyptian Thebes? There were probably occasions when such rec­ ognition was impossible, but in others, context may have supplied additional information enabling a definite identification. For instance in Persians, when an allusion was made to “Ariomardus, governor of ancient Thebes” (37–38), the audience could perhaps understand that this was Thebes in Egypt because the context as a whole referred to the combined Persian forces, including the Egyptians, and alluded to other Egyptian environments such as the Nile and Memphis. Aeschylus’ geography was closely linked to mythic ideas and was therefore often erratic and even purely mythical. It thus included Amazons, Arimaspians, Hyperboreans and Maryandini, and made use of the traditional semi-mythic places on the edges of the world. But it also included much real geographical information based on an educated knowledge of the world, and an unedu­ cated audience watching Aeschylus’ plays could widen its geographic horizons through unwritten means while remaining in Athens.

Sophocles …the unhappy man here … is battered from all sides, like a cape facing north, in storms buffeted by the winds. Even so is this man also battered over the head by grim waves of ruin breaking over him that never leave him, some from where the sun goes down, some from where it rises, and others from the Rhipaean Mountains, shrouded in night. (Soph., OC 1239–1248) These verses from Sophocles’ Oedipus at Colonus do not describe an actual visit to a concrete place, but serve instead as an expanded simile for a stormy situ­ ation. But the poet’s choice of simile involves geographic, topographic and meteorological information. There is an awareness of directions (north, west and east), knowledge of how capes are exposed to battering waves and how tur­ bulent winds behave, and a reference to “the Rhipaean (‘Blasty’) Mountains”. These mountains serve in classical texts to indicate the furthest point north, rather than a specific place. There have been several attempts to identify them with known northern peaks such as the Alps27 or the Ural Mountains,28 but in most contexts they simply stand for extreme north, as several translators of these verses have decided.29 For our discussion, this passage may be taken to deliver a sense of space and place, perhaps an “ekphrasis of place”.30 The audi­ ence could have grasped the association of the north, even if a vague north, with extreme weather conditions and perhaps with instability and fear. As we shall see, extant Sophoclean tragedies offer a variety of geographical informa­ tion ranging from an inventory of place names, to encapsulated or emblematic geographic descriptions, to verses providing a sense of spatial orientation. The biographical details regarding Sophocles indicate that he was born to a wealthy family and was thus well-educated and relatively well travelled due to his political career.31 He held several offices in the polis, as treasurer, strategos and

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proboulos, and participated in the Athenian campaign against Samos in 440 bce. His career then molded him into someone well acquainted with the general affairs of Athens, who personally travelled at least as far as the island of Samos. We know of 120 plays attributed to him, but only seven survive intact. In Sophocles’ extant tragedies and the fragments of the lost plays, 114 different toponyms are distributed as in Table 3.2 and Table 3.2.a in Appendix B. Compared to Aeschylus, who mentioned 162 different sites, Sophocles mentioned 114. This difference could be the result of different plot-settings or of the authors’ education, although the scope of their worlds appears quite similar. Sophocles’ world is similarly focused on mainland Greece and Asia Minor, but he also shows awareness of some places beyond the main frame in Italy and Sicily, Africa and as far as India. The extreme points in Sophocles’ world are Liguria in the west, Scythia in the north, India in the east, and Libya (Africa) in the south (Map 3.2), identical to Aeschylus’ world. When we go beyond mere quantitative data, i.e. the enumeration of geo­ graphic names and their location on the map, and turn to a more qualitative search, we see several kinds of geographic information in Sophocles’ tragedies. First, there is simple name-dropping of known or unknown places, for instance in indicating that in a chariot race one chariot was from Barce (El., 727). No additional information is supplied. We can only guess what effect such casual name-dropping had on the Athenian audience, but we know that Barce was a Greek colony in northern Africa, close to Cyrene, and that a representative of Barce won the wrestling event at the Olympic games in 460 bce (see Chapter 5). Either the Athenians recognized the place or they did not, but perhaps they got a sense of the exotic, esoteric essences of remote worlds. Similarly, condensed, simple geographic information was included in epi­ thets of specific places. Epithets were either invented or borrowed based on traditional notions, but in either case they seem to be based on real local traits, mainly those that derived from the visual perception of landscapes.Thus we, and the Athenian audience before us, hear of “lofty (aipeinos) Oechalia” (Trach., 859),32 “seagirt (perirrutos) Scyros” (Phil., 239–240) and “rocky (petraia) Scyros” (Phil., 459), the river Pactolus “rich in gold (euchruson)” (Phil., 394), and “Peparethus, rich in grapes (eubotrus)” (Phil., 548–549). Modern readers perhaps cannot always recognize where these places were, but they nevertheless get a sense of some topographic or other local traits of the places. This was per­ haps the effect on members of the Athenian audience who grasped these epi­ thets through hearing. In some cases, such as in the references to Scyros, many of them probably knew the island because it was an important spot for the Table 3.2 Geographic distribution of places in Sophocles’ tragedies Mainland Greece

Islands

Italy/ Sicily

Europe

Asia Minor

Greater Asia

Africa

TOTAL

56

13

5

13

20

3

4

114

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75

Map 3.2 The geographical scope of Sophocles’ world.

formation of the Delian League led by Athens. But some of them perhaps could not say where Scyros was, although they were almost sure that it was a rocky island. A closer acquaintance with places seems to be included in very short, encapsulated descriptions, including information about typical local produce and merchandise.Thus we hear of an Etnean colt and a Thessalian sunhat (Ant., 312–314) and of electrum from Sardis and gold from India (Ant. 1037–1039). Slightly more detailed are short glimpses of scenery and topography, for instance the comment on “the snow-beaten rocky ridge of Cyllene” (Aj., 695– 696) or “Thebes, by the watery flow of Ismenus” (Ant., 1115–24). Sophocles refers to Oeta, a mountain situated in Thessaly, for example, in three different ways in Trachiniae: the meadow of Oeta, never cropped by the scythe (Trach., 200) the lofty glades of Oeta (Trach., 436) the mountain of Oeta, which belongs to highest Zeus (Trach., 1191)

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Besides the need for poetic variation, one gets a sense of a mountain situated in the far north and surrounded by meadows. Then there are more elaborate sections, including hints of actual travel routes by land or by sea, and of spatial orientation. These might have implied to the audience the general location of specific places, hinted at distances, and perhaps denoted a general sense of the insularity of specific locales: Take me either to your home or to the Euboean dwelling of Chalcodon – from there I have a short voyage to Oeta and the ridge of Trachis and the broad stream of Spercheus. (Phil., 488–492) And: By the shore of the Bosporus of the dark waters of the double sea was the Thracian place Salmydessus. (Ant., 968–970) The lost Inachus, which probably told the story of the first king of Argos, included a description of the course of the river Inachus named after the king. The channel is depicted verbally according to topographical points, including an indication of its current beneath the sea: For he flows from the summit of Pindus and from Lacmus of the Perrhabians to the Amphilochians and Acarnanians, and mingles with the waters of Achelous … From there he crosses the sea to Argos and comes to the community of Lyrcaeum. (Sophocles fr. 271 Radt) The river’s course begins in the mountains, crosses regions inhabited by vari­ ous peoples, and finally reaches Argos. Another fragment, from Triptolemus, describes the western parts of the Italian peninsula in a way that hints at an actual presence in and close acquaintance with the region: And the region lying behind you on the right, the whole of Oenotria and the Tyrrhenian Gulf and the Ligurian land, shall receive you. (Sophocles fr. 598 Radt) First, the indication of directions by reference to a position behind and to the right of the person making this journey configures this as a voyage along the west Italian coastline, with Oenotria serving as a reference point. The voy­ age is made within the Tyrrhenian Sea towards the northern Mediterranean coast, where Liguria is situated. Someone clearly knew the route – perhaps Sophocles, perhaps his source, and, possibly some members of the play’s audi­ ence. If not, since this was a relatively less frequent route outside of the Aegean

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world, this bit of information became available to the public. Even an aware­ ness of the point where two continents separate appears in the tragedies in connection with a search for Heracles: Where does he abide …? In the channels of the Black Sea (Pontos)? Or leaning against the two continents? (Trach., 98–101) In other contexts, the identification of places requires expanded previous knowledge. For instance, when the chorus in Trachiniae approaches the fol­ lowing group of people: Dwellers by the harbour and the hot springs by the rocks and by the gulf of Malis in the centre and the coast belonging to the maiden of the golden distaff, where lie the famous places of assembly of the Greeks at the Gates. (Trach., 634–639) Where did these people live? Could the audience, or could we, grasp that Sophocles is hinting at Thermopylae? Occasionally there is a sense of a picturesque landscape, as if Sophocles was actually in place and recorded his impressions, for instance in the following verses: Upon you looks her fiery flame of pitch beyond the rock with dou­ ble peak, where walk the Corycian Bacchic nymphs, and where is the Castalian spring. And the ivy-covered slopes of the hills of Nysa and the green coast with many grapes send you here. (Ant., 1126–1133) As for ethnography, there is similarly emblematic information about the habits of foreign peoples. Regarding the Egyptians, for instance, we are offered the ste­ reotypical Herodotean33 image of an upside-down society: “There [sc. in Egypt] the males sit in their houses working at the loom, and their consorts provide the necessities of life out of doors” (OC, 339–341). The tragedies of Sophocles thus reveal a relatively rich source of geographical information. The author seems to be highly educated and well informed, and in addition well travelled. Some of the descriptions, mostly the more elaborate ones, even deliver a sense of the actual presence of the author and not simply traditional epithets. In this sense they were highly educational and a rich source of unwritten geography for the masses.

Euripides There are several versions of Euripides’ biography, none of them essential to the present discussion. But these sources, as well as the plays, reveal that he was well educated. Euripides probably wrote more than 90 plays, of which 19 survive, more than the number of extant tragedies by Aeschylus or Sophocles. That this was likely an accidental circumstance of textual transmission should

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be borne in mind when we refer to the extent of geographical knowledge within his plays, since there is more Euripides. Which places did Euripides incorporate in his plays? 150 different place-names are found in the tragedies, divided as in Table 3.3 and Table 3.3.a in Appendix B. There are far more references to mainland Greece in Euripides than to other regions, but like the other tragedians, he frames his world between mainland Greece and Asia Minor. Many islands (23 allusions) are also men­ tioned, as well as spots in greater Asia, Africa and Sicily. Some of these places derive directly from the theme of Euripides’ plays, for instance Helen, which takes place in Egypt. The scope of Euripides’ dramatic world is accordingly relatively wide and is situated between the following extreme points: Mount Etna in the west, Lake Maeotis in the north, Bactria in the east, and Libya in the south (Map 3.3).

Table 3.3 Geographic distribution of places in Euripides’ plays Mainland Greece

Islands

Italy/ Sicily

Europe

Asia Minor

Greater Asia

Africa

TOTAL

75

23

3

15

21

7

6

150

Map 3.3 The geographical scope of Euripides’ world.

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Beyond this basic data, Euripides clearly displays geographic knowledge and notions which were conveyed to his audience.34 He includes many geographic epithets or encapsulated local details, most of them self-explanatory: “the grassy haunts of Etna” (Cyc., 61–62); “the wintry land of Thrace” (Alc., 67); “the waterless shrine of Ammon” (Alc., 115); “Thrace rich in gold” (Alc., 498); “Phrygia rich in gold” (Hec., 492); “thirsty Argos” (Alc., 560); “fair-flowing Lake Boebias [Thessaly]” (Alc., 590); “snow-clad Thrace” (Andr., 215); “silver­ flowing Hebrus” (HF, 386–387); “Maeotis of the many rivers” (HF, 409); “bee-nurturing Salamis” (Tro., 799). In Hippolytus, when Aphrodite refers to “all who dwell between the Black Sea (Pontos) and the Pillars of Atlas (Atlantikoi)” (Hipp., 3–4), she clearly means all mankind. The expression emphasizes the spatial notion of the inhabited world from end to end, and the audience is meant to grasp that the Pontos marked one end and the Pillars of Atlas the other. The same notion appears in the phrase “beyond the Pontos and the Pillars of Atlas” (Hipp., 1053), mean­ ing beyond the limits of the world. The Black Sea in Euripides’ plays is both a physical and a mental boundary in the following verses as well: [Themis] brought her [Medea] to Hellas across the sea through the dark saltwater over the briny gateway of the Black Sea, a gateway few traverse. (Med., 209–212) Boundaries are also implied in references to Mount Ida “luxuriant with ivy, watered with the stream of melted snow, the boundary of Earth first struck by the sun’s rays, an abode illuminated and holy” (Tro., 1–2), while an awareness of the division of the continents is apparent in Athena’s prophecy regarding Ion’s descendants: Children born of these shall come to dwell in the island cities of the Cyclades and the coastal cities of the mainland … they shall dwell in the plains in two continents on either side of the dividing sea, Asia and Europe. (Ion, 1583–1585) Geography was exploited again to denote distances and wide extents of space through the use of two significant rivers serving as boundaries “You ought to be driving her off to a place beyond the Nile or the Phasis” (Andr., 650– 651), meaning to a faraway place, beyond the rivers which marked the eastern boundaries of the inhabited world. Similarly, at the judgment of Paris, Hera’s promise to the Trojan prince was “that he would hold sway over both Asia and the bounds of Europe. if he awarded her the victory” (Tro., 927–928). The context required that the proposed gift be significant, and thus the crowd, even the uneducated, may have understood that Asia and Europe were separate spaces and that controlling both was an enormous achievement. Rivers again serve to mark limits of regions when Euripides describes Aeolia: “All the land

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that Peneus and Asopus bound and enclose within their watery arms … is named Aeolia” (Euripides fr. 481 Kannicht). Mythic tales, for instance the one involving the Cyclopes, included actual geographies, in this case the depiction of the sailing route from the southern tip of the Peloponnese to Sicily: As we were rounding Cape Malea, an east wind blew down on the ship and cast us to land near this crag of Etna, where … the Cyclopes dwell in their remote caves. (Cyc., 18–22) The issue of whether Cyclopes exist and the overall mythic theme of the play are irrelevant to the real maritime route reflected in these verses. Today we can clearly envisage this route and the 5th-century Athenian audience could probably grasp some sense of direction and related locations. A significant aspect of these geo­ graphical references is that many members of the audience probably recognized these regions: the Athenian fleet sailed round the Peloponnese several times in the first years of the Peloponnesian War. This is true for land routes as well: He took the whip into his hand and applied it to his horses all together. And we servants, on the ground beside the chariot, near the bridle, accompa­ nied our master along the road that makes straight for Argos and Epidaurus. (Hipp. 1194–1197) In another part of the same play a servant standing on the shore on a headland projecting into the Saronic Gulf describes the view: We saw an unearthly wave, its peak fixed in the heavens, so great that my eye was robbed of the sight of Sciron’s coast, and the Isthmus and Asclepius’ cliff were hid from view. (Hipp., 1206–1209) The audience could sense the storm but also grasp the specific, likely familiar places which were not imaginary but real: Sciron in Attica, on the eastern part of the gulf; the Corinthian Isthmus, on the northern part of the gulf; and Asclepius’ cliff or rock, probably near Epidaurus in the Peloponnese, on the western coast of the gulf. In fact, this description nicely reflects real, daily geographical knowledge based on a basic awareness of one’s surroundings. Similarly, the author, and his audience with him, knew the Aegean islands, first from south to north, Myconos to Lemnos, and then with reference to Euboea: The beaches of Myconos, and the reefs of Delos and Scyros and Lemnos, and the promontories of Caphereus shall be filled with the bodies of many dead. (Tro., 89–91)

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They were also aware of the position of Corinth between two seas (Euripides fr. 1084 Kannicht) and became familiar with the river Crathis in southern Italy: watered by Crathis the lovely, who turns your hair the color of gold, who cherishes the land with his holy streams and makes it blessed in its brave men. (Tro., 226–229) Euripides’ allusion to Sicily combines myth, topography and ethnographic awareness: “Hephaestus’ home, beneath the shadow of Etna, fronting Phoenicia, the mother of Sicilian hills” (Tro., 220–223). This context, both literal and geographic, assures us that this Phoenicia was in fact the Phoenician settlement of Carthage situated across the sea from Sicily. In addition, the crowds attending Euripides’ plays could have got some information regard­ ing local produce or the typical traits of places. The Athenians must have seen some of these outside the theatre in Athenian or in foreign markets, as well as in the streets or in households. Examples are the Libyan pipe (Alc., 346; HF, 684), the Thessalian javelin (Hipp., 221), Venetian colts (Hipp., 231) and horses (Hipp., 1131), pine wood from Mount Ida (Hipp., 1253–1254), and Lydian or Phrygian slaves (Alc., 675–6), who were actually present in Athenian households.35

Geography in Athenian tragedies Fragments of lost plays by other tragedians do not yield much information. Little text survives, and there are thus not many geographical allusions, while the fragments that survive generally have geographical scopes similar to those in the plays of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides. Of more exotic places, Sidon appeared in Phrynichus’ plays (TrGF frr. 10–11), as also in Aeschylus and Euripides; Bactria was mentioned by Diogenes (TrGF fr. 1), as it was by both Aeschylus and Euripides; and Barce (discussed above) was apparently referred to in another tragedy besides the one by Sophocles (adesp. tr. fr. 391). Our conclusions regarding Athenian tragedy must thus rely on the plays of the three great tragedians. Extant Athenian tragedies abound with geographic details, which often match the real layout of regions and sites. In addition to mere allusions and simple lists of places, all three tragedians offer further geographic informa­ tion in several similar ways, most minimally through frequently traditional and even Homeric epithets containing basic local information, then through brief references to unique local produce, habits or topography, and finally through expanded descriptions of routes or regions, including a general mental image of space. The merely toponymic component in the extant tragedies of each of the three playwrights is distributed as in Table 3.4. Clearly, Aeschylus and Euripides offer more allusions to specific geographic sites than Sophocles does. This could be the result of plots which traditionally

82 Drama Table 3.4 Number of place-names in each poet’s extant tragedies Region

Aeschylus

Sophocles

Euripides

Mainland Greece Islands Italy / Sicily Europe Asia Minor Greater Asia Africa TOTAL

54 26 6 19 31 17 9 162

56 13 5 13 20 3 4 114

75 23 3 15 21 7 6 150

Table 3.5 Extreme points in each poet’s extant tragedies Poet

West

North

East

South

Aeschylus Sophocles Euripides

Liguria Liguria Mount Etna

Scythia Scythia Lake Maeotis

India India Bactria

Libya Libya Libya

(the stories of Io, Prometheus and Medea, for instance) or historically (Persians) involved spatial movement, or might reflect personal intellectual background and interests. All three tragedians spread their geographic knowledge through­ out the known world at the time, and refer to its various parts, including greater Asia and Africa. But as in the case of the world of the Attic Orators, their geographical focus is on the world of Greek culture as defined by main­ land Greece, the Aegean islands and Asia Minor. As to the extent of the world included in the tragedies according to the most extreme points represented, the situation is as in Table 3.5. The limits of the world according to Aeschylus and Sophocles are identical, and even Euripides’ world is very similar in scope, except for the western limit, which is slightly nearer (Mt. Etna vs. Liguria). Geographic survey was obvi­ ously not the main goal of the tragedians, who seemingly did not aim to edu­ cate their audience by deliberately inserting accurate, up-to-date knowledge of this sort. Nevertheless, as we have seen, considerable information is included in the plots. As noted above, Bernand’s overall analysis of geography in Athenian tragedy suggests three types corresponding to the individual approaches of the three tragedians.36 Rehm and Lloyd, meanwhile, concentrate less on specific geographic points than on the concept of space in Attic tragedy, while defining inner and outer spatial levels related to the theatre and the plays.37 These studies and their conclusions do not contradict our present assumptions, but simply show that geography, both concrete and conceptual, was a central component of tragedy.

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As noted in Chapter 2, both Lycurgus and Demosthenes alluded to the Cyaneae, a semi-mythical topographic point.38 This raises the broader issue of mythical geography. Attic tragedies dealt mainly with mythic tales and heroes, and thus incorporated mythic places in certain contexts. These unreal details can be divided into three groups. The first offers an independ­ ent, extra-worldly spatial idea and a set of geographic details related to the underworld. Traditionally, this world featured various rivers or lakes encircling the kingdom of Hades: Acheron or Styx, Cocytus, Lethe and Phlegethon or Pyriphlegethon.39 In some cases, there are hints or attempts to link this spatial set-up to the real topographic world, for instance in connection with the river Acheron in Thesprotia, which streamed into a dark underground channel and was accordingly said to connect with the underworld Acheron (accordingly counted among Sophocles’ toponyms), or regarding the Styx, which was said to flow near Nonacris in Arcadia (Hdt., 6.74). Athenian audiences thus heard verses such as the following, in which real and imaginary rivers appeared in a single context: Cassandra: Scamander, my native stream! Upon your banks in bygone days, unhappy maid, was I nurtured with fostering care; now by Cocytus and the banks of Acheron I soon might chant my prophecies. (Aeschylus, Agamemnon, 1157–1161) Although real and imaginary are mixed here, the very structure and meaning of Cassandra’s words indicate the disparity between the calm and glorious past and the horrifying present, between life and death, between real rivers and imaginary ones. It is thus reasonable to assume that most people, even the uneducated, knew that this entire “world” belonged to the unreal or mythic realm of the dead. It seems unlikely that anyone thought of these as accessible regions. A second group of mythic places are those sites said to be part of the real geographic world, but that have unusual, often dangerous traits. These sites are often confused with other, similar places both in antiquity and in mod­ ern discussions of the ancient sources. To this group belong the Symplegades (“Clashing Rocks”), the Planctae (“Wandering Rocks”), the Cyaneae (“Blue Rocks” or “Blue Islands”), and the monsters/rocks Scylla and Charybdis. All of these were situated somewhere in the Mediterranean, since they are spe­ cifically associated with the journeys of the Argonauts and Odysseus.40 In the mythological tradition, some of these threatening rocks moved and clashed, so that passing through them was extremely dangerous. Despite this legendary dimension, which is likely based on actual sailing hazards or optical illusions,41 modern attempts have been made to identify the geographic location of these straits or rocky islands, including as the straits of Messina, somewhere around Sicily, somewhere in northwest Greece, or near the island of Leucas at the Bosporus.42 When the Cyaneae appear in a rhetorical context in the speeches of Lycurgus and Demosthenes, therefore, the reference is to a concrete site,

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since mythic elements were usually irrelevant to the real world of speeches. In tragedy, however, the use of these semi-mythic toponyms seems to represent a deliberate attempt to offer the sense of an unreal atmosphere. The third group, like the second one, included places traditionally thought to belong to the real geographic world, but that were situated beyond the Mediterranean or on the edges of the Earth, that is on the margins of the inhabited world, beyond solid knowledge.43 Such were the Rhipaean Mountains, Elysium or the Isles of the Blessed, and the isle of Erytheia, which were traditionally situated on the Ocean at the western limit of the Earth. Modern studies have suggested their exact identification and locations.44 Legendary peoples were also part of this semi-mythic worldview incorpo­ rated into Athenian tragedy. These were often associated with remote and unknown places representing a varying mixture of fact and fiction, for exam­ ple the Amazons in Asia Minor and the Arimaspians and Hyperboreans in the extreme north. Since we are dealing with the potentially concrete geographic knowledge of the Athenian public, I have not included imaginary sites in my detailed survey. This mix of real and mythic within tragic geography nonetheless calls for some attention: could spectators, and specifically laymen and uneducated people, tell the difference between real and mythical places? Did they have a different category for a real place they had never heard of and for an imaginary or mythical place? Did they share a mental image or even a mental map of non­ existing places in a way parallel to the real world? Here too we can only offer educated guesses. Fundamentally, practical knowledge of geography seems to have contributed to the ability to process information. As already noted, many Athenians knew their environment, including the wider Aegean, on the basis of trade ventures, the requirements of the Delian League or military campaigns during the Peloponnesian War. This practical experience must have allowed them to distinguish between real and unreal geographies. Thus, we can assume that they could tell that the underworld was imaginary and unconnected to real, known places. Sites on the edge of the real world were perhaps more prob­ lematic in terms of spatial and geographic assessment. We might thus assume a sort of scale of credibility among individuals within Athenian audiences. On this scenario, some members of the audience could perhaps not differentiate between the Erythraean Sea and Erytheia, but others could. Moreover, even in primarily scholarly geographic texts, especially early ones, there is a mixture of fact and fiction, meaning that intellectual mist still prevailed even in texts avail­ able to the literary elite (for instance Hecataeus and Herodotus). As we shall see, mythical geography in tragedy was not the same as the imaginary worlds depicted in comedy, for instance Cloudcuckooland in Aristophanes’ Birds or, in Plautus’ comedies, e.g. Bibesia, the land of thirst. In a comic context, we can assume that most members of the public could appreciate a pseudo-geographic joke. Perhaps this is the very essence of unwritten oral geography: it is not necessarily accurate or well defined, but is an impressionistic, amorphous body of knowledge embedded in reality.

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The comedies of Aristophanes The comic genre was more popular in the sense that it depicted and appealed to common situations, language and storylines. In this sense it differed in essential ways from the austere mythical atmosphere of the tragedies, which included an educated background and content. This difference influenced geographic notions within the two genres: while tragic geographies were designed accord­ ing to an aristocratic worldview relying on myth, Aristophanes’ approach to geographic knowledge was based on everyday realities.45 The composition of the audience for Athenian tragedies and comedies was the same, but Aristophanes was aware of various levels of education and sophis­ tication in his audience: Let the wise (hoi sophoi) judge me because of whatever is wise in this piece, and those who like a laugh (hoi gelōntes) by whatever has made them laugh. In this way I address pretty much everyone. (Eccl., 1155–1157) This comment and other hints in Aristophanes’ comedies46 may indicate that playwrights recognized that their plays could be absorbed on several levels, and that different details appealed to different social sectors. In the context of our discussion of unwritten geographic knowledge, this notion may emphasize that while information is included in the plays, its absorption cannot be taken for granted. The target sectors the authors had in mind when inserting diverse geographic elements and observations must remain a matter of speculation.47 Aristophanes’ comedies include 128 different toponyms spread across the entire known world at the time, divided as in Table 3.6 and Table 3.4.a in Appendix B. Aristophanes’ stock of place names shows that his world was relatively wide and similar to the one reflected in tragedy. It of course focused on mainland Greece and the islands, but included a few sites in greater Asia and Africa. His plays include six toponyms from Sicily, probably as a result of Athenian involvement on the island when Aristophanes was active. A single allusion to southern Italy is the reference to Thurii (Nub., 332), which was a relatively new Athenian colony at the time, having been founded in 444 bce, about 20 years before the play was performed. Public geographic knowledge was thus extended through this update of Athenian horizons. The extreme points

Table 3.6 Geographic distribution of places in Aristophanes’ plays Mainland Greece

Islands

Italy/ Sicily

Europe

Asia Minor

Greater Asia

Africa

TOTAL

45

31

7

16

18

7

4

128

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Map 3.4 The geographical scope of Aristophanes’ world.

in Aristophanes’ world are: Tartessus in the west; Lake Maeotis in the north; Ecbatana in the east; Libya, that is Africa, in the south (Map 3.4). Eckart Olshausen has rightly claimed that the fact that sites are left unmen­ tioned does not prove that either Aristophanes or his audience were unaware of their existence. Olshausen then further assumes that the toponyms included in the comedies imply that the dramatist expected his audience to know them and relied on their previous knowledge.48 My suggestion, however, here and throughout the entire discussion, is that some members of the audience may have lacked any knowledge of certain geographical details within the plays (or speeches). Personal mobility and the geopolitical situation in Athens enhanced practical geographic knowledge, so that many people became aware of their wider environment. Despite this, we should not ignore the existence of indi­ viduals or groups who were less informed about their surroundings and at times even completely unaware of remote places and peoples. For them, oral delivery through speeches and plays potentially broadened their mental hori­ zons of the world. We cannot tell what Aristophanes, or any other playwright or orator, could assume his audience knew, or whether or not he or they wanted to exploit a well-known set of details. But we should at least raise the

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possibility that certain geographic details were a novelty for some individuals in the theatre or the assembly. Aristophanes knew much more than a list of toponyms and sites at the edges of the Earth. The use of concrete geographic information within the comedies had several purposes, among them the definition and description of persons, objects and actions; wordplay; and historical allusion.49 Unlike the poetic conventions of Athenian tragedy, in which there were fixed epithets for specific places along the lines of the epic tradition, in the comedies details of geographic significance were presented in a typically versatile style and, most important, were aimed at ordinary people. There are several instances in Frogs in which Aristophanes quotes verses from the Athenian tragedians that include toponyms, for instance one from Euripides that mentions Pisa (Ran., 1232 = Euripides, IT 2) and one from Aeschylus that mentions the Spercheus (Ran., 1383 = Aeschylus F 249).50 Aristophanes’ audiences either knew and could appreciate familiar allusions, or they could be led to know that there was “a wall of great bricks … at Babylon” (Av., 552); that there were “swans on the banks of the Hebrus” (Av., 774) and iron money in Byzantium (Nub., 249); and that cranes regularly migrated to and from Libya, that is Africa (Av., 710 and 1136–1137). Furthermore, Aristophanes alluded to typical local items such as Persian slippers (Nub., 151; Lys. 229–230) and cloaks (Vesp., 1137), Laconian shoes (Vesp., 1158), Amorgan fabric (Lys., 150), and a “Naxian beetle … as a boat” (Pax, 143).51 Wine from Thasos also had a great reputation: A still more delicious aroma is that of the wine of Thasos; its sweet bou­ quet delights the drinker for a long time, whereas the others lose their bloom and vanish quickly. Therefore, long life to the wine-jars of Thasos! (Eccl., 1118–1122) Such references to local produce, and specifically wines, were abundant in contemporary comedy, as far as we can tell from the fragments (p. 92). In addition, the Athenians were probably amused to hear the depiction of “our neighbours in Boeotia” (Lys., 701–702): Dicaeopolis:Ah! Good day, Boeotian, eater of good round loaves. What do you bring? Boeotian: All that is good in Boeotia: marjoram, penny-royal, rush-mats, lamp-wicks, ducks, jays, woodcocks, water-fowl, wrens, divers. Dicaeopolis: It’s a very hail of birds that beats down on my market. Boeotian: I also bring geese, hares, foxes, moles, hedgehogs, cats, lyres, martins, otters and eels from the Copaic lake (Ach., 872–880).52 This passage depicts Boeotians as having a good appetite, and offers a long, exaggerated list of local Boeotian products (partially repeated at Pax, 1003– 1005) and even a specific landmark, Lake Copais. An extraordinary and ridicu­ lous appetite is also hinted at in an ethnic joke in one of the fragments:

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How do our meals compare to the Lydians’ or the Thessalians’? Well, a Thessalian meal needs many more carts to hold it. (Aristophanes fr. 507) Egypt and Phoenicia are associated with abundant wheat and with circumci­ sion, respectively:53 Pisthetaerus: The cuckoo was king of Egypt and of the whole of Phoenicia. When he called out “cuckoo,” all the Phoenicians hurried to the fields to reap their wheat and their barley. Euelpides: Hence no doubt the proverb, “Cuckoo! Go to the fields, you circumcised!” (Av., 504–507) The association of people with specific places became apparent to Aristophanes’ audience through a variety of ethnic slave names, likely reflecting actual Athenian social conventions.54 His comedies also feature an apparent awareness of regional space and of the edges of the known world. Socrates addresses the chorus of clouds: Whether you are sitting upon the sacred snow-covered summits of Olympus, or in the gardens of Father Ocean you form a sacred dance with the Nymphs, or you draw in golden pitchers the streams of the waters of the Nile, or you inhabit the Maeotic lake or the snowy rock of Mimas, listen to our prayer, and receive the sacrifice and favour the sacred rites. (Nub., 270–274) The geographic points depicting faraway edges of the world seem carefully cho­ sen, perhaps on the basis of what Aristophanes thought the crowds would rec­ ognize as extremely remote spots both in terms of travel distance and extreme height. The chosen points are accordingly: Mount Olympus and the Ocean, reflecting height and depth, and the Nile and Lake Maeotis (Sea of Azov), reflecting extreme points to the south and north, respectively. Mount Mimas in Asia Minor completes the geographical sense, by alluding to a point on the third continent. This idea is consistent, of course, with the essence of clouds. But at the same time the choice of sites reflects a world at a specific point of time, which was offered to the Athenian audience to learn from, or which exploited what the poet assumed they already knew to be extreme points on the Earth. The cho­ rus of clouds responds to Socrates’ image with a similar birds’ eye – better put, “clouds’ eye” – view in the following verses, while clearly referring in a poetic fashion to the entire world throughout its length, breadth, depth and height: Let us rise to look with our dewy, clear-bright nature, from loud-sounding Father Ocean to the wood-crowned summits of the high mountains, in

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order that we may behold clearly the far-seen look-out points, and the sacred earth that fosters crops, and the rushing sounds of the divine rivers, and the roaring, loud-sounding sea. (Nub., 275–284) This depiction must have delivered a sense of space and wide horizons, even if one not linked to a specific site but to the land, its peaks and fields, and the watery ways of its rivers and seas. When advising the heroes in regard to their search for a new city in Birds, the Hoopoe offers a choice of real places, all deliberately beyond the more or less regular centre:55 Epops: But there is a city of delights such as you want. It's on the Red Sea. Euelpides: Oh, no. Not a sea-port, where some fine morning the Salaminian galley can appear, bringing a law officer along. Have you no Greek town you can propose to us? Epops: Why not choose Lepreum in Elis for your settlement? Euelpides: By Zeus! I could not look at Lepreum without disgust, because of Melanthius. Epops: Then, again, there’s Opuntian Locris, where you could live. Euelpides: I wouldn’t be Opuntian for a talent. (Av., 144–154) The political and historical circumstances in the latter half of the 5th cen­ tury bce which were part of the life of Athenian citizens are also reflected in Aristophanes’ comedies through mentions of specific geographic con­ texts. Examples are references to military service in Byzantium (Vesp., 236) and Egypt (Nub., 1130), and an allusion to the Battle of Artemisium (Lys., 1251–1253). Athenian geopolitical dominance is also emphasized on the basis of geographic details, for instance in observations that Athens is “master of a multitude of cities from the Black Sea (Pontos) to Sardinia (Sardo)” (Vesp., 700) and a financial centre: “A thousand cities there are that now pay us tribute” (Vesp., 707). There are also references to the tribute paid by Potidaea (Eq., 438) and the revolt of Scione (Eq., 209–210), as well as this comment in Birds about Athenian policies: It’s now called merely a site (polos), but as soon as you settle and fortify it, this site will instead be called a city (polis). And then you’ll rule over human beings as you do over locusts; and as for the gods, you’ll destroy them by Melian famine. (Av., 182–186) This blunt statement may be critical of Athenian policies, or is perhaps instead a joke that appealed to an Athenian audience that did not care about Melian suffering.56 Furthermore, a unique reference to Olophyxos (Av., 1041), a place not referenced in the other aural evidence examined here, seems to be

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directly influenced by contemporary Athenian activities. The scene depicts a decree-seller who offers the inhabitants of Cloudcuckooland a decree accord­ ing to which they should use the same measures and weights as the people of Olophyxos. This town near Mount Athos was small and insignificant, but it was also an Athenian ally. Its appearance in a play performed in 414 bce may jokingly echo the coinage decree issued by the Athenians to their allies.57 There are also occasional puns or jokes based on toponyms and topography. People who shared the geographic knowledge in these verses would get the joke, others perhaps not. One example is the demand of the Athenian delegate in Lysistrata: “Give us Echinus here and the Malian Gulf behind it and both Megarian legs” (Lys., 1168–1170), mentioning Echinus, a polis in Acarnania, the Malian Gulf near Thermopylae and the walls of Megara, but hinting at var­ ious female body parts.58 Another instance is the reference to a tree that grows “beyond Cardia” (Av., 1473–1474) to describe a particular person. Cardia in Thrace, well known to some Athenians as a base for their fleet, may be in question, or this might be interpreted as indicating the heart, in which case the point is that this person was far from courageous.59 Finally, one section of Aristophanic comedy most relevant to our discus­ sion is the anecdote reflecting a simpleton’s confrontation with some sort of cartography: Strepsiades: So what’s that [geometry] good for? Disciple: For measuring land. Strepsiades: You mean land for settlements (klerouchiai)? Disciple: No, land in general … This is a periodos of the entire world. See (horās)? This is Athens. Strepsiades: What are you saying? I don’t believe it; for I don’t see any juries in session. Disciple: Anyway, this is truly the Attic territory. Strepsiades: Then where are the Cicynnians, my fellow-tribesmen? Disciple: Here they are. And Euboea here, as you see, is stretched out a long way by the side of it to a great distance. Strepsiades: I know; for it was stretched by us and Pericles. But where’s Lacedaemon? Disciple: Where is it? Here it is. Strepsiades: So close to us! Pay great attention to this, to get it very far away from us. (Nub., 202–216) We do not know what the exact nature of this “map” was, but it is presented in a specifically scholarly context, Socrates’ school.60 We may however draw two insights relevant to our discussion, one related to Strepsiades, the unedu­ cated character in the play, and the other related to uneducated persons in the play’s audience. Strepsiades clearly has trouble interpreting the abstract depic­ tion of the geographical layout of the region: he has difficulty moving from the

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concrete, detailed, physical nature of his environment to a semi-intellectual, conceptual abstraction of it; he cannot read distances and directions into the periodos; and he cannot grasp that some details are missing. And as for the uneducated crowds who heard this description? Perhaps some of them grasped the episode as an absurd joke involving imaginary and exaggerated elements, similar to one in a different play involving peace treaties in the form of jars of wine (Ach., 187–202), but if some of the rest of them had had a chance to see such a periodos, they could enjoy the joke on another level.

Fragments of Old Comedy Beside Aristophanes’ plays, fragments of other Attic comedies dated to the 5th and 4th century bce do not always allow for a comprehensive, systematic assessment of the geographic information contained in the original plays; the context and any sense of the whole are missing. Nevertheless, some excerpts, even in fragmentary form, offer relevant tidbits.61 To begin with, there are titles of lost plays named after certain peoples in the ancient world, such as Assyrians and Persians by Chionides, Seriphians and Thracian Women by Cratinus, Samians by Crates, Lemnian Women and Cretans by Nicochares, Phoenician Women by Strattis, Lydians by Magnes, Persians by Pherecrates, Sicily by Demetrius Comicus and Laconians by Cratinus, Nicochares and Plato Comicus. The cho­ ruses in many of these lost plays probably represented these ethnic groups through dress and speech, thus promoting notions of foreign people, regard­ less of whether they were factual or stereotypical. There are even allusions to plays entitled Nēsoi (Islands) that probably personified islands and perhaps added some geographical or spatial information related to them. Details collected from the preserved bits and pieces of lost comedies by defi­ nition only partially reflect the information included in the originals. By col­ lecting what is at hand, however, we can at least compile a pool of places and peoples mentioned in these plays. Clearly these represent many other places which must have been mentioned in other, lost portions of the comedies, but even those included in the preserved fragments may support some cautious sug­ gestions. Many sites are handled in a manner similar to what we have already found in Athenian speeches and plays. Various places within the Aegean world appear in the fragments, while mainland Greece, the Aegean islands and sites in western Asia Minor are unsurprisingly the main zones mentioned. In this sense, the lost comedies probably represent a geographical span similar to the one in contemporary speeches and plays. But at the same time, among the sites included in the comic fragments there are few which do not appear elsewhere in the sources examined in the present study. In mainland Greece, we find references to Amyclae, Amyrus, Eutresis, Lebadea and Tripodiscus. Islands or places on islands are Cydonia, Gortyn, Pramnos, Psyra and Trageae. To Asia Minor belong Adramyttium, Mariandynia and Teos, while on the European continent we find Atrax, Brea, Galepsus and Paeonia. If there is anything com­ mon to this collection of places, it is perhaps their insignificance; they do not

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represent entire poleis or powerful and famous ones, but smaller communities such as Atrax in Thessaly, Brea and Galepsus in Thrace. Occasionally, these are specific sites within known poleis, for instance Trageae on Naxos, Tripodisce in Megara and Lebadea in Boeotia. As noted, these places do not include all the toponyms in the Old Comic fragments, but only those absent from the other sources examined here, and that thus seem unique to these originally oral per­ formances. How many of these did Athenian audiences recognize? A safe guess would be that they knew of neighbouring Tripodisce and Lebadea, but were less acquainted with more remote places. Beyond mere toponyms, we can collect some points of local information related to geography and ethnography which became available to the Athenian audience in this way. A relatively long fragment from one of Hermippus’ plays lists different kinds of merchandise brought by Dionysus on his return from his sailing trips to the east. The list reflects a relatively large geographic span and, besides the straightforward comic character of a long list of any sort, demon­ strates how commodities were associated with specific places and how images of places were created through these popular, widely available channels: From Cyrene stalks of silphium and ox hides, from the Hellespont mack­ erel and salted fish of all sorts, from Italy grain and sides of beef … Syracuse exports pork and cheese … from Egypt hanging gear, sails and papy­ rus cables, from Syria frankincense. The beautiful land of Crete exports cypress wood for the gods’ statues, Libya much ivory for sale, and Rhodes raisins and figs that give good dreams. Then from Euboea pears and plump apples, slaves from Phrygia, mercenaries from Arcadia. Pagasae exports slaves and branded men, the Paphlagonians hazelnuts and shiny almonds … Phoenicia dates of the palm tree and hard wheat, Carthage rugs and multicoloured cushions. (Hermippus fr. 63) This mapping of trade at the time is illuminating in the context of our discus­ sion. In addition to comic details intertwined in the list, such as “ships full of lies” from Perdiccas, we can extract what seems to be a real snapshot of ancient local trade. Visible here is a wide world of Mediterranean commerce stretching to North Africa (Egypt, Cyrene, Carthage, Libya), Sicily and the eastern shores of Phoenicia and Syria.62 Other fragments of Old Comedy, as we have seen in Aristophanes, contain frequent allusions to local wines asso­ ciated with e.g. Lesbos, Chios, Thasos, Byblos and Mende (Philyllius fr. 23; Hermippus fr. 77).63 Other local products seem to have featured widely in Old Comedy, given the numerous surviving allusions to them in the fragments.64 Thus we find Aeginetan barley cakes (Cratinus fr. 176); spicy marjoram from Arcadia (Plato Comicus fr. 169); Cephisian turnips (Crates fr. 30); a grain cake from Ithaca (Cratinus fr. 264); Cilician loaves of bread (Plato Comicus fr. 92); eels from Lake Copais (Strattis fr. 45); Cretan robes (Eupolis fr. 334); salt fish from Phrygia or Gades (Eupolis fr. 199); Lydian blood sauce (Pherecrates fr.

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195); scallops from Mytilene (Philyllius fr. 12); Naxian almonds (Eupolis fr. 271; Phrynichus Comicus fr. 73); crimson red from Sardis (Plato Comicus fr. 230); Thasian pickle brine (Cratinus fr. 6); Thessalian shoes (Lysippus fr. 2); golden items from Egypt (Cratinus fr. 76); and Egyptian perfume (Plato Comicus fr. 71). Beyond this list of merchandise, there are references to a more elaborate idea of geography. One fragment delivers a sense of direction and an actual sailing trip: “From there we crossed the open sea (to pelagos) to Italy on a south wind to the land of the Messapians…” (Demetrius Comicus fr. 1). Another hint at a concept of the spatial span of the world is found in the following fragment: “you will come to the ends of the earth (termata gēs) and see Mount Cisthene” (Cratinus fr. 343). This allusion to the mountain in Thrace perhaps indicates that this region in the northern Aegean at some point marked a limit of a well-known geographic zone and was thus conceived as the “end of the earth”. In another fragment of Cratinus we find the following nutshell journey: “Then you will come to the Sabae and the Sidonians and the Eremboi, and to the city of slaves” (Cratinus fr. 223). The context is missing, but the specific peoples and places are especially remote and exotic: the Sabae inhabited south­ ern Arabia, the Sidonians the eastern coast of the Mediterranean; the Eremboi were either an eastern or African people already mentioned in the Odyssey;65 and the “city of slaves”, Doulonpolis, may be a comic utopia or a real city in Asia Minor.66 The audience, perhaps ignorant of the very existence or at least the exact location of these peoples, could probably sense the extent of this comment. In addition to trade journeys, we hear of travels made by soldiers on military service: “Peisander served at Pactolus, and there he was the most cowardly soldier in the army” (Eupolis fr. 35). Pactolus was a river in Lydia proverbially known for its gold (Chapter 4). A character in one of Eupolis’ plays tells another: “Now look over here (theō) at Mariandynia” (Eupolis fr, 302). Mariandynia was a region between Paphlagonia and Bithynia on the coast of the Black Sea. The suggestion to “look” at the place may indicate that the characters stand within viewing dis­ tance of the site and look at it from afar, or perhaps that they are examining a map in a way similar to the situation in Aristophanes’ Clouds 206–216. It should be noted that while this place is not mentioned elsewhere in the sources we have examined, it does appear again in a comic fragment attributed to Pherecrates: “among the barbarians at Mariandynia, they call black figs ‘pots’” (fr. 74). Perhaps one playwright was influenced by the other, or perhaps the site was notorious at the time. Another indication of some sort of mental geo­ graphical notions is found in the comment “by himself he could swallow down the entire Peloponnese” (Hermippus fr. 46), which may convey the idea that the peninsula was very large. The fragments also contain many comments regarding ethnicity and the character of various peoples. Since these are made in a comic context, they often have vulgar or popular overtones. To “awaken an Arabian musician in this chorus” (Cantharus fr. 1) accordingly meant going on and on; wise advice

94 Drama

would be “If you have any sense, avoid Boeotia” (Pherecrates fr. 171); Chios had a reputation for producing meddlers (Aristomenes fr. 11); there was “a man from Iberia with a beard like a goat’s” (Cratinus fr. 108); Ionian soldiers were spoiled weaklings: “you’ve come here with a bathtub and a brass pot, like a shesoldier (stratiōtis) from Ionia that’s just given birth” (Eupolis fr. 272); and Cypriot men had hairy butts (Plato Comicus fr. 3). These comments and others which suggest some actual or prejudiced knowledge of foreign habits, behaviour or appearance, often gained a proverbial dimension, and many idioms, later attested independently in other contexts, originated in these comedies (Chapter 4). One lost comedy by Eupolis is of particular interest for our discussion. Poleis featured a chorus of women representing cities allied with Athens who criticize Athenian policies toward them. The play included comments as to the role of these personified communities within the actual Athenian League: She is Tenos, with many scorpions and informers. (fr. 245) She is Chios, a fine city, for she sends you warships and men whenever there is need, and the rest of the time she is nicely obedient, like a horse that needs no whip. (fr. 246) She is Cyzicus, full of staters. (fr. 247) These personified geopolitical units or “figured abstractions” played a role within the imaginary landscape or geographic notions of the Athenian audi­ ence. The choice of gender is consistent with and parallel to what may be seen in visual personifications of ethno-geographical details within Athenian artefacts in this period (Chapter 6). It probably does not represent a specific attitude to foreign poleis, but is rather part of a general view in which all poleis were feminized in the Athenian imagination.67

Menander’s geography In the late 4th century bce, Macedon supported the oligarchic faction in Athens. As a result, the festival fund (theorikon), which ensured the attendance of the lower classes at theatrical performances, was abolished.68 This must have affected the composition of the audience, which probably tended more to the wealthier classes. But attendance at New Comedies likely remained relatively wide, so that its content is relevant to our purposes. Menander’s comedies, after the intermediate period of Middle Comedy, dominated the so-called New Comedy at Athens with their different approach and themes compared to the Old Comedy of Aristophanes and his generation. One

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Table 3.7 Geographic distribution of places in Menander’s plays Mainland Greece

Islands

Italy/ Sicily

Europe

Asia Minor

Greater Asia

Africa

TOTAL

4

7

0

4

9

1

1

26

major change directly related to our present study was the address of stock daily situations through a fixed set of characters instead of the earlier preoc­ cupation with political and contemporary issues. While in the comedies of Aristophanes and other Old Comic playwrights local Athenian political issues were to the fore, the wider world offered by the conquests of Alexander dis­ mantled this limited viewpoint and produced wider, more general views of abstract social relations.69 One apparent feature in Menander’s plays was slaves with names seemingly pointing to their places of origin. Examples are Syros, Lydos, Getas, Donax, Sikon, Daos – all males – and Doris, a slave girl. Aristophanes’ comedies also included ethnic slave names, but not always for central characters. Besides these veiled allusions to places and peoples, the geographic information in the surviv­ ing plays of Menander is relatively meagre. There are 26 place-names in the plays, distributed as in Table 3.7 and Table 3.5.a in Appendix B. The widening of horizons resulting from Alexander’s campaigns seems to have had no real effect on the number of geographic allusions in Menander’s comedies as compared to those of his predecessors. While relatively few places are mentioned in Menander’s plays, however, the inclusion of Bactria in this small collection is probably indicative of the expansion of geographical knowl­ edge driven by Alexander’s campaigns. Bactria was already mentioned by Euripides; Aeschylus and Sophocles alluded to India, but Menander’s reference seems to derive from the real life of ordinary people: I’d have left this city, off to Bactria somewhere, or Caria, living my life there as a soldier. (Samia, 627–629) The context for this allusion is military and offers a significant hint that a cen­ tral channel for the popular spread of geographic knowledge within the public may have been soldiers who served in remote places. The extreme points on the world reflected in the plays are Sicyon in the west, the Getae in the north, Bactria in the east and Carthage in the south (Map 3.5). It must be admitted that beyond brief allusions to place-names aimed simply at indicating where people or things are, there is little local information which might be considered geographic in Menander’s plays. The compressed impres­ sion of the regions of northern Asia Minor is an exception:

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Map 3.5 The geographical scope of Menander’s world.

Demeas: Pontus: fat old men, no end of fish,

disgusting business. Byzantium:

absinth and all things bitter …

Niceratos: One feature of that region, Demeas,

particularly puzzled me. Sometimes

you couldn’t see the sun for hours on end.

a dense fog, so it seems, blotted it out!

Demeas: No, it saw nothing there of note, so it

shone on the people there the least it could!

(Samia, 98–100, 106–111) Other than this, the audience could grasp that “in Lycia there’s a river called Xanthos” (Aspis, 23–24) and that “The Black Sea (ho Pontos) is not a healthy place” (Samia, 417), and could take the idiom “Thracian goat” (Samia, 520) as indicating someone extremely vulgar.

Victory odes Before examining the geographic information available to Roman theatre audi­ ences, it is important to briefly discuss geographic information within Greek victory odes, specifically those of Pindar. This is important mainly because

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these items were performed in public before Greek audiences. So-called epini­ cian odes were composed to celebrate athletic victories. Each ode focused on a specific victor and was dedicated to his skills and achievement. Around the specific person and particular event, other elements were praised: the places where the victory was achieved and where the victor originated from, the victor’s family and the Hellenic spirit in general. These elements were usually blended with a dominant mythic theme. Modern studies differ regarding both the scene and the mode of perfor­ mance of these odes. The various suggestions affect the understanding of these odes as the centre of private or public events, and thus pertain directly to their relevance to the present study of illiterate geography. Scholarly questions include whether the odds were performed by Pindar himself, by another solo performer or by a chorus.70 There is also the question of a small aristocratic audience gathered around the victor versus a wider public participating in local celebrations.71 Another issue involves the question of first performance versus re-performance. Victory odes may have been first performed when the victor arrived at his hometown.72 Later, re-performances – perhaps on an annual basis – could have occurred either in the victor’s native polis or even throughout the Greek world, thus celebrating the panhellenic spirit.73 These poems therefore potentially reached the attention of a broad social range of Greek audiences.74 The focus here is on Athenian audiences; thus, if we take the first performance, and possibly later annual re-performances, of such odes as occurring primarily in the victor’s homeland, we should examine the Pindaric odes dedicated to Athenian victors. There are only two Athenian victors, however, celebrated in Pindar’s odes: Megacles (Pyth., 7) and Timodemes (Nem., 2). Both odes are very short and include minimal information of geographic significance: a praising allusion to Athens and Delphi (Pyth., 7) and brief comments on Salamis, Nemea, Mount Parnassus and Acharnae, the Athenian deme of the victor’s origin (Nem., 2). Other odes are longer and much richer in information. Nancy Felson has emphasized how Pindar’s victory odes gave their audience the illusion of par­ ticipating in events set in places and times other than their actual present.75 Mainly through the linguistic technique of deixis (display), epinician odes made the audience travel across space and time to the site of victory and to the vic­ tor’s hometown. This “vicarious travel” was created through fixed features such as toponyms, and through indications of spatial movement via the motif of a round-trip journey.76 An example is the local display of Cyrene as a polis “on the white breast of a hill” (Pyth., 4.8) in the ode dedicated to Arcesilas, who won the chariot race in the 462 bce games at Delphi. The Cyrenaean audience is then dislocated through the verses from Cyrene to Delphi (vv. 4–8) and from Delphi to Thera, the metropolis of Cyrene (vv. 9–12).77 Christopher Eckerman has simi­ larly shown how the landscape of Olympia becomes almost tangible to Pindar’s audiences.78 Such “localized allusions”,79 based on Pindar’s education and breadth of mind,80 transmitted to his audience a sense of places, even remote ones. Since we have no definite proof that Pindar’s odes were performed specifi­ cally in Athens, and because they are not typically or significantly Athenian, a

98 Drama

systematic analysis of the geographic information they contain does not match the standards set for the rest of our evidence and the comparative dimension becomes irrelevant. However, we should at least be aware of this possible channel of knowledge, since it complemented the sense of wider Hellenic community created by the games themselves (Chapter 5).

Drama in Rome The history of Roman drama is deeply embedded in Greek dramatic traditions, but the earliest texts are mostly lost. We know, for instance, that Ennius in his Satires referred to the wide plains (lati campi) of Africa (frr. 10–11 Vahlen) and to the Rhipaean Mountains (frr. 67–68 Vahlen); that Naevius mentioned the cold weather near the Ister (fr. 22 Ribbeck); that Pacuvius spoke of “a rugged cavern in Mount Etna” (fr. 272 Ribbeck); and that Accius alluded to “green fields of Locri, far and wide, in crops abundant” (fr. 318 Ribbeck). But the plays by these poets, like the comedies of Caecilius and the satires of Lucilius, are too fragmentary to allow for any conclusions regarding geographic items they might have included. Our first chance to conduct an examination some­ what parallel to the one conducted for Athenian drama involves the surviv­ ing comedies of Plautus and Terence.81 Both poets probably had no intention of promoting the geographic education of their audiences, but their plays – one’s more than the other’s – still absorbed and delivered information and thus reflected a channel for the circulation of geographic facts and ideas. For the Imperial Age, when both production and performance of theatrical plays became less frequent, I will rely on the tragedies of Seneca, despite the ongoing controversy regarding whether they were performed in public.82

Plautus (c. 254–184

bce)

I begin with the comedies of Plautus. The poet lived at a time of wide Roman conquests, when Rome in the course of the First and Second Punic Wars and the Macedonian Wars emerged from the Italian peninsula and annexed her first provinces of Sicily, Corsica, Sardinia and Hispania. This expansion was geographically significant, since new regions came under Roman rule and geographic information was part of the political atmosphere. We possess 20 complete plays out of a total of about 130 that Plautus composed, and these contain 89 different toponyms, distributed as in Table 3.8 and Table 3.6.a in Appendix B. Table 3.8 Geographic distribution of places in Plautus’ plays Mainland Greece

Islands

Italy/ Sicily

Europe

Asia Minor

Greater Asia

Africa

TOTAL

23

14

16

7

15

7

7

89

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99

Plautus’ world straddles Greece and Rome. It includes numerous places from the traditional zone of Greek culture, framed by mainland Greece and the western parts of Asia Minor. There are thus 23 places in mainland Greece, 15 in Asia Minor, and in between, mostly in the Aegean, 14 names of Greek islands. (Sardinia and Corsica are absent.) Unsurprisingly, Plautus is not ignorant of Italian and Sicilian places (16 allusions), nor were his Greek predecessors; but it is significant that he makes more allusions to the traditional Greek world. He also does not fail to incorporate names from greater Asia and Africa. At first sight, it is surprising that mainland Greece gets more mentions than Italy, but the fact that Plautine comedies were modelled on Greek prototypes meant that the Roman audience got a relatively large number of Greek toponyms. The setting was usually a Greek polis, so that a Latin play featured Athens, Corinth, Megara or other cities. We may thus assume that the audience in the Roman theatre recognized these names. Again, it is difficult to believe that they could all have located these places on a map, if one was available, or that they knew the distances between them or how to reach them. We can at least guess that they knew that these were not Roman sites, but Greek ones. The most extreme points mentioned in Plautus’ comedies suggest the following scope of world: Hispania in the west, the Boii (Boia) in Gaul in the north, India in the east, Libya or Africa in the south (Map 3.6). This corresponds almost exactly to the typical peoples dwelling at the edges of the inhabited world (oikoumene) as depicted by Ephorus in the 4th cen­ tury bce: the Celts, Scythians, Indians and Ethiopians.83 The echo of this more scientific knowledge in Plautus’ comedies may mean that the poet has absorbed what was known about the world in his time. However, we can also see that Plautus’ world is almost identical with the world of the three Athenian tragedians except for the western frontier; while theirs was Liguria or Mount Etna in Sicily, Plautus has Hispania, probably due to the geopo­ litical involvement of Rome in the Iberian Peninsula. Thus Plautus’ own education meant that this information had the potential to become part of the public consciousness. Beside these lists, which reveal the stock of geographic names available to Plautus and, through him, his audience, several verses display some ideas related to geographic perceptions. In Brothers Menaechmus, the background to the plot involves the separation of a pair of twins in childhood, when one of them was kidnapped. The remaining twin sets out to search for his brother, and at one point Messenio, the slave of the searching twin, favours ending the search when he says: Why, what end is there to be of searching for him? This is the sixth year that we’ve devoted our attention to this business. We’ve already been carried round the Istrians, the Hispanians, the Massilians, the Illyrians, the whole Upper Adriatic Sea, and foreign Greece, and all the shores of Italy, wherever the sea reaches them. (Men., 232–241)

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Map 3.6 The geographical scope of Plautus’ world.

The point is to emphasize the duration as well as the extent of the search, and it is worth noting that Plautus chose these specific toponyms and ethnonyms to describe such a large area, great distances and remote places. The emphasis is clearly on the western part of the Mediterranean, or at least west of mainland Greece. Italy and Sicily, here designated “foreign Greece (Graecia exotica)”, form the centre between the Adriatic Sea and Hispania. This is a result of the fact that the twins were originally from Syracuse in Sicily, whereas the abduction took place in Epidamnus, in Illyria. The coasts of the Adriatic Sea and the regions of the Istrians (on the Adriatic Sea), the Massilians (modern day Marseille), and as far as the Hispanians, were thus relevant. Plautus, or his source, knew the general geo­ graphic outline of the region, but more important, his audience heard it: not only mere toponyms, but related toponyms that deliver a sense of distance and space. A second example comes from Curculio. Curculio, the parasite, is sent by Phaedromus to the banker Lyco to trick him into buying Planesium as a slave-girl: Lyco: Where is he himself? Why doesn't he come? Curculio: I'll tell you; because it’s only four days since we arrived in Caria, from India; he now intends to order a solid golden statue there to be

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made of Philippean gold, which is to be seven feet high – a memo­ rial of his exploits. Lyco: For what reason this? Curculio: I'll tell you; why, because within twenty days he has sin­ gle-handedly subdued the Persians, Paphlagonians, Sinopians, Arabians, Cretans, Syrians, Rhodes and Lycia, Peredia and Bibesia, Centauromachia and Classia Unomammia, and all Libya and all Conterebromia; he has conquered one-half of all peoples unaided in twenty days. (Curc., 437–446) This is clearly a parody, as is apparent from the exaggeration, the number of supposedly conquered people, and their association with exotic, distant regions: Persians, Arabs, Syrians and Libyans, mixed in with a short list of people dwelling in Asia Minor and Rhodes. Although Phaedromus is said to have arrived in Caria from India, the most easterly conquered region is Persia, and further to the south, Arabia. India is not included in his conquests. To this the poet adds another significant comic component: invented places with funny meanings. These are Peredia – “hungry-land”; Bibesia – “thirsty-land”; the land of the centaur-war; the land of the one-breasted people; and the land of piercing. When we envisage the public, often uneducated, perception of this stream of verses, we can assume at least two levels of geographic understanding: one which could not tell the difference between real and invented places, and which thus probably simply absorbed an impression of numerous, unusual places, and another that could discern real from imaginary and thus enjoy the ethno-geographic joke. One final example, again part of an attempt to invent an exaggerated, exotic journey, appears in the Trinummus: Charmides: What places have you visited? Sycophant: Places exceedingly wonderful in astonishing ways. Charmides: I’d like to hear about them, unless it’s inconvenient. Sycophant: Really, I quite long to tell you. First of all we were conveyed to Pontus, to the land of Arabia. Charmides: How now? Is Arabia in Pontus, then? Sycophant: It is. Not the Arabia where frankincense is produced, but where the wormwood grows, and the wild marjoram the poultry love. (Trin., 931–935) We see how Plautus imbedded invented comic features within purely geo­ graphic information.84 The audience was perhaps expected to know that Arabia was not in Pontus, and if they did not know that, the character of Charmides taught them this. What was confusing was that the sycophant was inventing another, clearly non-existent Arabia, something that was probably clear due to the comic tone and the emphasis on the fact that the sycophant was an impostor.

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Terence Only six comedies by Terence survive. This means that we have less text in comparison to Plautus or, earlier, to Aristophanes, so that we expect fewer toponyms. In fact, Terence offers only a very limited number of geographic references, distributed as in Table 3.9 and Table 3.7.a in Appendix B. The region most referenced in Terence’s plays is the Aegean islands, seven of which are mentioned: Andros, Cyprus, Imbros, Lemnos, Myconos, Rhodes and Samos. Asia Minor and mainland Greece follow, with four allusions each, while the rest of Europe and Africa are represented only one time apiece: Perinthus and Ethiopia, respectively. Although Terence wrote in Rome for Roman audience in a Roman theatre, the extant plays surprisingly include not a single allusion to Italy or Sicily. The scope of Terence’s world according to its extreme points is: Corinth in the west, Perinthus in the north, Cilicia in the east, and Ethiopia in the south (Map 3.7), no doubt a very “Greek” and rather narrow world reflecting the poet’s sources of inspiration. Beyond the occasional incorporation of mainly Greek toponyms, not much geographical information is included in Terence’s plays. We hear only of peo­ ple sailing to Cyprus and a hint at the slave market on the island (Ad., 224, 229–230); of persons living in or originating from Miletus (Ad., 654–655),

Table 3.9 Geographic distribution of places in Terence’s plays Mainland Greece

Islands

Italy/ Sicily

Europe

Asia Minor

Greater Asia

Africa

TOTAL

4

7

0

1

4

0

1

17

Map 3.7 The geographical scope of Terence’s world.

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Andros (An., 70) and Lemnos (Phorm., 66); of a Samian woman living on Rhodes (Eun., 107), “a poor old woman … a stranger from Corinth” (Haut., 96) and “a captive from Caria, rich and from a noble family” (Haut., 608–609). The audience could learn that Andros was an island (An., 222) (a trivial fact for Athenians), and that one could have a military career and earn riches and glory in Asia [Minor] (Haut., 111–112, 117), but not much more than this. Terence did not include itinerary details or small bits of descriptive geography.

The tragedies of Seneca Seneca composed his tragedies sometime around the middle of the 1st century ce, during the time of the Julio-Claudian emperors. Because there is no evidence that his plays were performed in Rome in his time, there is an ongoing mod­ ern scholarly debate regarding their mode of distribution, whether in full-scale theatrical performance, in partial theatrical production or in private recitations.85 However, a unique piece of evidence seems to point to wide public circulation in a way significant to our present study: a verse from Seneca’s Agamemnon has been found as graffiti in Pompeii. Two components of this line hint at the possi­ bility that it was heard by someone from a non-elite register: it is not a proverbial verse that might have circulated by word of mouth, and it is misspelled, imply­ ing that it was written by someone who heard the verse rather than read it.86 Of particular interest is the fact that the graffito alludes to the groves of Mount Ida, a topographic point. The verse is taken from Cassandra’s comment as she is about to enter Agamemnon’s palace: “I see the groves of Ida” (Agam., 730), meaning her own doom. Although the context refers to mythic circumstances and should be taken symbolically, it still exploits geographic notions probably absorbed by someone educated enough to transcribe it on a wall, but not educated enough to have access to a written version of the text. I thus cautiously take Seneca’s tragedies as possibly available to a wide and diverse public. Ten plays are ascribed to Seneca, two of them perhaps spurious. Although there are doubts regarding Seneca’s authorship of Hercules of Oeta87 and Octavia,88 they are included in this discussion on the assumption that both were performed in public.89 While the exact identity of their composer is not essen­ tial for our assessment, therefore, their public nature is, and if we accept their wide circulation, we are free to inspect the contents for geographic knowledge aurally delivered. Beside the Octavia, Seneca’s plays were mostly adaptations of Greek myths as found in Athenian tragedy. Thus, some place names out of the total of 101 in his plays are borrowed from the geographic world of his Greek predecessors (Table 3.10 and 3.8.a in Appendix B): There are three particularly dense regions in Seneca’s world: mainland Greece (25 allusions), pointing to his Greek models; Europe (26); and greater Asia (22). Contrary to what might have been expected from a Roman drama­ tist, Italy and Sicily are neglected, with a total of only eight allusions for both. Even the three sites mentioned for Italy are irregular: first the Archaic name of Italy as Ausonia, then the Eridanus (Po) and Lake Avernus. Moreover, some

104 Drama Table 3.10 Geographic distribution of places in Seneca’s plays Mainland Greece

Islands

Italy/ Sicily

Europe

Asia Minor

Greater Asia

Africa

TOTAL

25

7

8

26

9

22

4

101

specific references within the plays reveal a unique geographic tendency based on an updated source (or sources) of information. Seneca’s plays mention sev­ eral places and peoples that appear nowhere else in the aural or visual channels examined in this volume. One element which gets considerable emphasis in Seneca’s tragedies are rivers used as landmarks to denote places, but also to express spatial distance. There are 24 rivers in Seneca’s plays, most of them unmentioned in the non­ literary sources examined here. Several of these rivers refer to remote regions either on the edges of the known world or in newly acquired territories within the Roman Empire. From west to east, these are the Tagus on the Iberian Peninsula, the Albis (Elbe) and the Rhine, the Tanais (Don) and the Danube, the Araxes, the Hydaspes and the Indus and the Ganges. The Nile marks another limit to the south. Another distinct point is Seneca’s emphatic allusions to exotic peoples and tribes. These groups represent isolated and remote peoples: the Dahae, Getae, Sarmatae, Scythians and Suebi on the northern outskirts of Europe; the Alani, Sabae and, most remote, the Seres in Asia; and the Gaetulians and Garamantes in the southern Saharan regions of Africa. Seneca’s Roman point of view, the possible influence on him of Alexandrian learning and Vergilian fantasy,90 and the era in which he was active, are reflected in the general scope of his dramatic world and his allusions to specific places. It is important to note that Seneca him­ self heard a personal report of two military officers sent by Nero to explore the sources of the Nile (NQ, 6.8.3). His record of their account, including details they saw and their encounters with local rulers, emphasize his interest in real geography and the link between individual soldiers’ military experiences and the popular availability of geographic information. Seneca’s world thus extended as far as Tartessus in the west, Thule in the north, the Seres in the east and Libya in the south (Map 3.8). Tartessus in the Iberian Peninsula was already known to Aristophanes and marked the western limit in his world, and Libya-Africa was a constant southern limit for a number of dramatists. But Seneca is the first and only playwright to mention in a dramatic context the Seres, a people living in north­ ern China,91 and Thule, probably Iceland or the Shetlands.92 This is a uniquely wide world that reflects the geographical awareness and reality of Seneca’s time. Mark Grant claims that Seneca’s geography was manifested mainly in an accumulation of names whose rhetorical aim was to overwhelm theatre audi­ ence and readers. On this view, clusters of geographic names create emotional resonance. At the same time, Grant discerns a pattern in the scale of references,

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Map 3.8 The geographical scope of Seneca’s world.

which mostly emphasize Greece, then refer to the east and finally to the west.93 The quantitative analysis in Table 3.10 suggests a slightly different distribution of places, although, as noted, the old Greek world and various border regions are certainly emphasized. The idea of a world marked by river beds is appar­ ent not merely through their conspicuous presence in the tragedies, but also through a clear context of spatial expansion, for instance in Hercules’ desperate monologue: Where shall I flee? Where shall I hide myself, or in what land bury myself? What Tanais, what Nile, what Tigris raging with Persian torrents, what warlike Rhine, or Tagus turbid with the golden sands of Spain (Hibera) can cleanse this hand? Though cold Maeotis should pour its northern sea upon me, though the whole Tethys (ocean) should stream along my hands, still will the deep stains cling. (H.Fur., 1321–1329) The central idea is to suggest that there is no place to hide even in the most remote places. In another context, the core idea is that a person eager for riches will never be satisfied even if he travels to faraway spots:

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Another longs to appease his hunger with treasure; and yet not all gembearing Ister’s (gemmiferus Hister) tract would satisfy, nor would the whole of Lydia sate his thirst, nor the land which, lying beneath the west wind (Zephyrus), marvels to see bright Tagus gleam with golden water; nor if all Hebrus were his own, and rich Hydaspes should be added to his fields, and he should gaze on Ganges flowing with all its stream within his boundaries. (H.Oet., 621–630) In another sort of philosophical contemplation we, and Seneca’s popular audi­ ence, hear that: Kings should gather themselves together, both they who vex the scattered Dahae and they who dwell upon the Red Sea’s margins … they who leave unguarded the Caspian heights to the bold Sarmatians; though he strive against him who dares on foot to tread the Danube’s waves and … to despoil the noble Serians (Seres nobiles). (Thy., 369–379) This thought is meant to apply to “all” kings; it is delivered through references to extreme geographic points related to both places and peoples. Some knowl­ edge of the North is apparent in the notion that the ocean near the Scythians freezes, “frozen waters without waves” (H.Fur., 536), and that the Scythian sea is “beneath the icy pole” (sub axo frigido) (H.Oet., 1251).94 The idea of an unprecedented and limitless space is expressed in the Medea. Here, not only is knowledge wide, but distances seem shorter and borders, both physical and ethnic, collapse: All bounds have been removed, cities have set their walls in new lands, and the world, now passable throughout, has left nothing where it once sat: the Indian drinks from the cold Araxes, the Persians drink the Albis (Elbe) and the Rhine. There will come an age in far-off years when Ocean shall unloose the bonds of things, when the whole broad earth shall be revealed, when Tethys shall disclose new worlds and Thule shall not be the limit of the lands. (Med. 369–379) Remote peoples are typically associated with riches and unique exotic prod­ ucts. Thus, the rich Arabs (Med., 711) are “blessed with their cinnamon groves” (Oed., 117) and gather incense “from Sabaean trees in worship of the Sun” (H. Oet., 792–793), while the distant Seres (ultimi Seres), that is the Chinese, col­ lect webs from trees (Hip., 389; H.Oet., 666–667; Phaed., 389), meaning silk. If Seneca’s tragedies were indeed publicly performed, we see that as geo­ graphic reality changed, the new information reached the crowds aurally. Mark Grant suggests that both the numerous geographic allusions and their remote­ ness and strangeness were part of a deliberate scheme. Seneca’s geography was inaccurate and ill-defined, and readers or audiences were not necessarily able

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to pinpoint every place he mentioned on a map. Grant believes that political codes were hidden within these geographies, while the geographic bounds presented through specific places in the plays threatened a traditional imperi­ alistic approach by the sheer impossibility of their conquest. This was accom­ panied by an idea of noble barbarians similar to the one offered by Tacitus in his Germania. A reader or a member of the audience would have been famil­ iar with this technique.95 But how is Seneca’s geography different than the one offered in other Athenian and Roman plays? The audience must always have included individuals with varying abilities to recognize geographic details, depending on their practical experience, education and access to aural, vis­ ible or written sources of information. When Athenian tragedians referred to the Aegean world, most Athenians may well have recognized the majority of places, but when Seneca alluded to Thule, the Seres or numerous exotic rivers, most people perhaps heard these names for the first time.

Comparison and conclusion When we compare geographic knowledge in Greek and Roman plays, the spatial and geographic scope reflected in the Roman plays appears to be slightly wider than it is in the Athenian ones. Since Roman playwrights consciously relied on their Greek predecessors, the geographic centre in both corpora is mainland Greece, but the scope of the poets’ worlds changed according to polit­ ical and historical circumstances. The world known to a 5th-century Athenian dramatist was different from the one open to a later Roman comedian. Greek tragedy shared the traditional context and setting of mythical tales as they had been preserved orally since early pre-literate times. The tragedians retained these traditions by blending them with their geographic knowledge of the real world. In this sense, geography was no different from other reflections of contemporary culture embroidered onto the mythic plot, such as furniture and food, political norms and social structures. When setting out to describe a “world” or “edges” or “faraway places”, poets exploited both traditional and updated information. In this way, they unknowingly preserved for us a picture of the state of geographic knowledge in their time. Perhaps more important in the context of our present quest, they delivered to their audiences a specific understanding of the size of the world, of routes within it, of places and peo­ ples. These reflections often relied on familiar surroundings, so that individuals in the audience could recognize specific details and spatial ideas. In the comic tradition, we have seen that Plautus exploited the geographic aspect of jokes by blending invented place-names with real ones. In this sense, he too, like the tragedians who blended mythical with factual geography, could expect his uneducated audience either to be confused or to fully enjoy the implied layers of meaning. As Rebecca Futo Kennedy has put it in another context, “geography is rarely just incidental or ornamental”.96 Regardless of whether we define geog­ raphy within drama as “para-geography” or “pre-geography”, therefore, we

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can conclude that a variety of geographic information was available to both Athenian and Roman crowds through drama. When we add this channel of mass communication to those produced by speeches, proverbs and visual art, we capture a larger picture.

Notes 1 There is an abundance of literature on various aspects of Greek and Roman theatre and drama, which are beyond the scope and purpose of the present study. I therefore refer only to two items specifically relevant to issues of audience and performance cultures: Martin 2007; Rehm 2007. 2 Csapo–Slater 1995, 286–287; Rehm 2002, 50; Patterson 2007, 154. 3 Unlike the assembly, which was exclusively for male citizens. See Csapo–Slater 1995, 286–287; Henderson 2007, 183–184. 4 Csapo-Slater 1995, 286-290; Goldhill 1997; Hall 2006; Robson 2017. On the level of sophistication and competence of the Athenian audience, see Revermann 2006. 5 Duckworth 1952; Beacham 1991, esp. 1–26; Parker 1999. On Roman tragedy, see Kohn 2015. 6 Kohn 2013, 6–14. 7 Bernand 1985. 8 Nicolai 2016 9 For this “scenic space”, see Rehm 2002, 20–21; further detailed discussions of space within the plays of each of the three tragedians in de Jong 2012, 307–357. 10 Lloyd in de Jong 2012, 351. 11 De Jong 2012, 307–357. 12 Sommerstein 2002, 33–34. 13 For its spatial dimension, see Rehm in de Jong 2012, 307–310. 14 Finkelberg 1998. 15 Futo Kennedy 2006. 16 Futo Kennedy 2006, 36. 17 Blasina 2008. 18 Suksi 2017. 19 Suksi 2017, 210. 20 Romm 1992, esp. 32–41. 21 For a thorough discussion of Aeschylus’ integration of the visual setting of his plays and the narrative creation of scenic, extra-scenic and distanced space, see Rehm in de Jong 2012, 307–324. 22 Rehm 2002, 156–167. 23 For such linear perception, see Janni 1984. 24 Brown 1983, 113. 25 White 2001, 115–120. 26 Brown 1983, 43. 27 Poseidonius, BNJ 87 F 48. 28 Pliny, HN 4.24. 29 Also in Aristeas of Proconnesus, BNJ 35 F 8; Arist. Met. 1.13;Verg. G. 1.240; and more. For a thorough study of the Greek concept of the North, see Rausch 2013. 30 Rehm in de Jong 2012, 327, and see his entire discussion of Sophocles’ narrative trans­ mission of space on pp. 325–339. 31 Sommerstein 2002, 41–42. 32 A place whose location was already disputed in antiquity; see Strabo 8.3.6. 33 Hdt. 2.35–36. 34 Mainly in messenger speeches, as the study of Euripides’ treatment of space makes clear: Lloyd in de Jong 2012, 341–357.

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35 Phrygians were generally depicted as cowards in Athenian drama. See DeVries 2000, 341–342. 36 Bernand 1985. 37 Rehm 2002; Rehm and Lloyd in de Jong 2012, 307–357. 38 These “Blue Rocks” or “Blue Islands” should not be confused with the Lycian town of Cyaneae in southern Asia Minor not far from Phaselis. 39 Clark 2001. 40 For instance, Od. 12.55–80; 16.176;Apollonius, Argonautica, 2.317–340; 4.782–788;Virg. Aen. 3.684–686. 41 Pickard 1987. 42 Severin 1987, 200–214; Dickie 1995. 43 Romm 1992. 44 The Rhipaeans as the Alps: Poseidonius, FGrHis and BNJ 87 F 48, or as the Ural Mountains: Pliny, HN 4.24; the Blessed Islands as the Madeiras: Keyser 1993; Erytheia as the islands near Gades: Strabo 3.2.11; Mela 3.47. See also Fernández Camacho 2015. 45 Olshausen 2000, 101. On his treatment of space, see Bowie in de Jong 2012, 359–373. 46 Robson 2017, 82–86. 47 For a thorough discussion of geographic knowledge in Aristophanes’ audience, see Olshausen 2000. 48 Olshausen 2000. 49 Olshausen 2000, 103–112. 50 Olshausen 2000, 112. 51 See list in Olshausen 2000, 116–117. 52 The Boeotians, and specifically Heracles, were ridiculed for their large appetites. See also Boeotians in proverbs and idioms in Chapter 4. 53 Similar images and stereotypes appear in proverbs and idioms (Chapter 4) and in visual images (Chapter 6). 54 Kanavou 2011, 197–200. See also the reference to this phenomenon in Chapter 1. 55 Fabbro 2018. 56 Melian famine became a proverbial expression. See Chapter 4. 57 IG I3 1453. Cf. Kanavou 2011, 123. 58 Kanavou 2011, 145. 59 Kanavou 2011, 126. 60 Brodersen 2012, 105–107. 61 Kassel–Austin 1986; Harvey–Wilkins 2000. 62 Gilula 2000. 63 Dalby 2000. 64 This survival is clearly dependent on the interests of the quoting and thus preserving authors, for instance Athenaeus, who frequently refers to comedies and whose interests were food and entertainment. 65 Soden 1959. 66 Utopic: Du Bois 2007, 440–442; real, in Acanthus, Cnidus: Pliny, NH 5.104. 67 Rosen 1997. 68 Csapo–Slater 1995, 287. 69 Hofmeister 1997. 70 Felson 1999, 10; Eckerman 2011a. 71 Felson 1999, 12; Eckerman 2013, 33. 72 Eckerman 2011b; 2014a. 73 Eckerman 2012; 2013, 33. 74 Currie 2004; Morrison 2007; Eckerman 2008, 46–48. 75 Felson 1999, 1–6. 76 For an overview of visuality in Pindar, see Fearn 2017. 77 With analysis by Felson 1999. 78 Eckerman 2013, and likewise for Delphi in Eckerman 2014b.

110 Drama 79 Pavlou 2010. 80 M. West 2011. 81 Note also Wiseman’s thesis (Wiseman 1998; 2008) that the Roman historical tradition was largely created and perpetuated in dramatic performances at the Roman games, for which see Chapter 5. 82 Kohn 2013, 6–14. 83 BNJ 70 F 30a–b. 84 Occasionally he included even very specific local details; see Blackman 1969. 85 Fitch 2000; Kohn 2013, 6–14. 86 Kohn 2013, 13. 87 Friedrich 1954. 88 Ferri 2003, 5–7, 31. 89 Krageland 1988;Wiseman 2008, 200–209. 90 Syme 1987; Grant 2000, 88–90. 91 McLaughlin 2010, 1–22. 92 Wijsman 1998. 93 Grant 2000. 94 A thorough study in Rausch 2013. 95 Grant 2000, especially 92–95. 96 Futo Kennedy 2006, 37.

4

Proverbs and idioms

Thus far, I have endeavoured to assess unwritten, aural geography through verbal communications which were originally oral but are preserved today in written form. This evidence, in the form of public speeches and plays, was composed by educated authors whose knowledge, often broad and current, permeated their work and, in this way, reached the unwritten public sphere. I now turn to another body of evidence, representing a different approach to oral-written sources, namely proverbs and idioms. Proverbs and idioms are popular by definition. They usually originate in ordinary experiences, become prevalent in common colloquial use, and convey simple, unsophisticated notions of the world.1 Their humble origin and oral transmission ensure that these phrases both reflected and promoted notions, sometimes biased, of uneducated sectors of societies in the classical world.2 We can easily imagine how soldiers who spent months in foreign lands on campaign, or merchants who travelled to faraway places and dealt with strange populations, absorbed certain impressions and carried them home, often through idiomatic or stereotypical imagery. Many proverbs and idioms pertain to specific regions and locations, so that various placenames became quintessential and refer to typical human characteristics or local conditions. These expressions offer a treasure trove of primary information regarding the unwritten geographic knowledge and notions of the public, including the illit­ erate crowds. Popular experience was not the only origin of ancient proverbs. Citations from literature, particularly poetic verses or public speeches, sometimes escaped their original context to form a free-standing saying. Many of these phrases were from comedy, which in its essence imitated and reflected the language and thoughts of the common people, and like them contained exag­ gerations and stereotypes. Other idiomatic expressions are found in public speeches, which again may reflect two possibilities for the interplay between popular modes of speech and structured rhetorical addresses: either the public adopted memorable phrases from public speeches or the orators incorporated popular phrases in their speeches. There thus appears to be a bilateral correla­ tion between poetry and speeches, on the one hand, and proverbs and idi­ oms, on the other. This is because poetry, particularly comedy, used popular

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expressions reflecting spoken language, and specific verses were detached from their original poetic context to become widespread expressions. There are, accordingly, several intersections between the evidence discussed in Chapters 2 and 3 and the present chapter. These do not weaken the argu­ ment. I regard these short sentences or phrases, which are independent of any context, as reflecting what uneducated people thought or could know, regardless of whether the public created or absorbed these proverbs or idioms. Either way, regardless of their origin, they were at some stage and to some extent prevalent in everyday spoken language and thus contained and spread information within specific social groups and periods of time, but also to future generations. Several methodological issues require clarification. I define Greek and Latin proverbs and idioms as sentences or phrases fitting one of the following criteria: (1) defined by ancient quoting sources as proverbs (paroimia or proverbium); (2) included in extant ancient collections of proverbs; or (3) representing a double or non-verbal meaning, if used in this sense in more than one source. Another, perhaps self-evident, point is that I consider “geographic proverbs” to mean proverbs that include a geographic reference, often a toponym or ethnonym, which relates to specific local circumstances at a given point of time.3 Because the creation and evolution of proverbs or idiomatic expressions are usually inseparable from oral agents, it is difficult to pinpoint the exact cir­ cumstances of their origin. We are thus forced to rely on their sporadic appear­ ances in literature. The ancient collections of Greek and Roman proverbs, although of somewhat late provenance, permit a relatively systematic glance at these components of ancient conversations. Through these now-written texts, which document originally oral expressions, we can glean some idea of what non-reading social strata assumed – be those assumptions solid facts or mere stereotypes. At the same time, it should be emphasized that although I begin with the late collections of proverbs, the great majority of the phrases included here are found in earlier literary sources, mostly from classical Athens and Republican and Imperial Rome, and can thus be taken to reflect the popular atmosphere in these societies. Finally, when dealing with proverbial expres­ sions, namely with colloquialisms, chronology is less reliable than it is with lit­ erary texts that can be ascribed to a specific author, or with material evidence. We know that an idiom existed and, in most cases, we can even locate it in a datable context, but we cannot know who coined it first or when, or for how long, it was used or even precisely where it circulated. While we cannot assess how common specific phrases were, or when and in what context they entered the vernacular, we do have evidence of their existence and often of the writ­ ten contexts of their use in literary texts. Regardless of whether specific idioms were widespread, therefore, colloquial phrases can reasonably be regarded as representing an important aspect of illiterate geographic knowledge.

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Due to the unique nature of proverbs and idioms and the methodologi­ cal issues just noted, it is misleading to suggest that the survey and analysis of proverbs can tell us precisely what Athenians and Romans knew about geography in the periods considered in this volume. We cannot be certain that one expression circulated in mid-5th-century bce Athens and another in 2nd-century bce Rome. What is possible, however, is to demonstrate the presence of geographic information in a selection of Greek and Latin prov­ erbs and idioms, in order to show their relevance to the general theme of unwritten geography. In what follows, I rely on modern editions of ancient collections of Greek proverbs: the Corpus Paroemiographorum Graecorum (= CPG) and the recent edi­ tion of Zenobius.4 For Latin proverbial expressions, I use the collection in Otto (1962). Erasmus’ collection of Adages is also useful because it is heavily based on classical expressions.5 Additional sources of idioms are the standard Greek and Latin dictionaries and lexica: LSJ, Lewis and Short and the OLD. Paroemiographic works, or collections of sayings, developed as handbooks to aid ancient orators and teachers. The collections of Greek proverbs we possess are relatively late, but are based on earlier ones. Zenobius, a sophist in the time of Hadrian (117–138 ce), based his compilation on the Hellenistic collections of Didymus and Lucillus of Tarrha, and arranged it in sets of 100 (centuriae), with each centuria arranged in alphabetical order according to the initial word of the proverb. Diogenianus, a contemporary of Zenobius and a lexicographer, was the author of another compilation of popular proverbs also arranged alphabetically for academic purposes. Medieval compilations of the 13th–15th centuries copied and preserved parts of these earlier collections.6 Although late, these corpora often include very early, even 6th century bce, proverbs and idioms, to the extent that their origins can be traced by their appearance in other written sources. These collections are thus the surviving record of much earlier material. A selection of geographic and ethnographic proverbs and idioms is consid­ ered here. For the reasons specified above, this must be only a selection rather than a comprehensive, chronologically defined list. Appendix C lists 173 Greek geographic and ethnographic proverbs and idioms organized alphabetically by location; Appendix D holds 67 Latin examples. I will not discuss every one of these phrases, but will instead attempt to offer some insights regarding their possible role in the circulation of popular geographic knowledge, by using a few examples to demonstrate the role of geography and ethnography in them. At all stages, the popular origin of these notions and their public circulation should be kept in mind.

Geographic layout and spatial awareness An impossible endeavour, not necessarily a geographic one, could be referred to with the Greek expression “beyond Gadeira (Gades) there is no passage”. The earliest attested use of this phrase is in Pindar’s odes (Nem., 4.69), where

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the poet alludes also to the inclination of the place towards the “darkness (zophos)”. The thesis that this proverb refers to impossibility is based on an awareness that Gades (Cadiz) was located on the Atlantic coast facing what was at the time considered the edge of the world. The idea that Gades marked the western limit of the inhabited world, of Baetica, Europe or the Roman Empire, is found in various literary sources.7 The fact that its position became proverbial even for abstract extremes demonstrates the wide popular circula­ tion of this idea, including its geographic component. Knowledge of ethnic distribution within regional limits is reflected in the expression “Telmissians live in Caria”, which must have originated in an acquaintance with the relevant region in Asia Minor, since Telmissus was in Caria; thus the meaning of the phrase derived from the implied local informa­ tion, since it referred to similar people who join each other. Similarly, the proverb “Athos conceals the flank of a Lemnian cow” derived its meaning from a topographic fact: Mount Athos is situated on the peninsula of Chalcidice in the northern Aegean with an elevation of 2033 m, and the island of Lemnos is situated about 60 km to the southeast of Mount Athos. It was said that the projection of the mountain’s shadow reached the marketplace of Myrina on Lemnos (Plin., NH 4.73), where a statue of a cow was located.8 The proverb is attested in (or derived from) a verse by Sophocles preserved as a fragment of a lost tragedy (fr. 776 Radt). While the phrase alluded superficially to two spe­ cific sites, it was meant to describe a person who obscures the fame of another. We see here how the dynamics of unwritten geography must have worked: people experienced a local phenomenon, be it real or slightly exaggerated; the phenomenon became famous by word of mouth, and it began to be used as a metaphor for other kinds of concealment. These three stages explain the transformation from topographic reality to proverbial expression. But what is most important for our quest is the final outcome: people who were not directly familiar with the region in question had the potential to learn a few, even if minor, geographic details: that Athos was a mountain, that Lemnos was not far from it (sense of distance) and that there was a famous cow on Lemnos. Many Athenians likely shared some understanding of the northern Aegean, since it was a central region with much ship traffic, so that this information was perhaps not entirely new to them. Regardless, we see here how ordinary experience circulates timelessly within popular means for centuries and regard­ less of specific location. A similar geographic awareness emerged in the connection of the River Eurotas and Mount Taygetus, both on Spartan territory, in an expression implying impossible or absurd things: “A bull stretching over the Taygetus to drink from the Eurotas”. The origin of this phrase is Spartan, since it appears in an anecdote preserved in Plutarch’s Life of Lycurgus: A saying (logos) is reported of one Geradas, a Spartan of the very early times, who, on being asked by a stranger what the punishment for adul­ terers was among them, answered: “Stranger, there is no adulterer among

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us”. “Suppose, then”, replied the stranger, “there should be one”. “A bull”, said Geradas, “would be his fine, so large that it could stretch over the Taygetus and drink from the Eurotas”. The stranger was astonished and said: “But how could there be a bull so large?” Geradas laughed and said: “But how could there be an adulterer in Sparta?” (Plutarch, Lycurgus, 15.109) This anecdote and its punch line could be a witty Laconophile quip formu­ lated centuries later, but Plutarch – or his source, specifically – ascribes it to very early times. In addition, later formulation and circulation still have the same significance for our discussion. This is therefore probably a phrase based on an early tradition and deriving directly from local topography recorded as a proverb by natives. The geographic significance of the idiom relates both to distance and to regional geography, implying that the mountain and the river are in the same region, but that the mountain is large and significant. Mount Oneion too, situated on the border of Boeotia, could reach popular aware­ ness through the phrase “Easier than the Boeotians climbing Mount Oneion” to denote those who exceed a limit, because it was probably natural for the Boeotians to reach that mountain. Finally, the saying “you live in Cescos” played precisely on the fact that this place was – and still is – unknown, to indicate somewhere small and forsaken. Latin proverbs and idioms often relied on earlier Greek ones and were trans­ lations of the original incorporated into Latin literary contexts. But several Latin idioms were original and, from a geographic point of view, reflect the wider world known to the Romans. One example of wider Roman horizons reflected in popular idioms is the phrase “extreme Thule”. In ancient tradi­ tion, both semi-mythical and scholarly, Thule was an island located in the extreme north of Europe, a strange area where days and nights varied greatly in duration. These notions were based on the early experience of Pytheas of Massilia, who is said to have sailed to these parts of the world.10 Many locations have been proposed for Thule, such as Iceland, the Shetlands or Scandinavia.11 Because of its obscurity and insularity, Thule represented a dreamlike pos­ sibility near the borders of the Earth, where that which could not exist in the centre was found. Proverbially, the name was either applied to any extremely distant place or used metaphorically to denote an ultimate goal or end.12

Local environment Proverbs and idioms often reflected environmental conditions in specific places. These expressions referred mainly and typically to weather conditions and to local fauna and flora, particularly when these were unique or extreme. The more an unknown environment was different from the familiar one, the more it was retained in the popular mind and referenced in idiomatic speech. Thus the River Acis on Mount Etna symbolized extreme cold,13 while the solitude of northern Scythia turned the region into an idiomatic solitude.

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Barrenness and infertility likewise contributed to the use of the island of Scyros and of Azania in northern Arcadia as separate proverbials for insignificance and poverty. Typical local animals often served to denote extreme or specific traits, especially in human beings: “Cilician he-goats” denoted a shaggy appear­ ance; “Cyprian ox” meant an unperceptive person; “Etnian beetle”, a large and triumphant man; “Milesian sea-bass”, greedy persons; “Seriphian frog”, a mute person;14 “Tartessian eel”, someone extremely large; and “Tartessian weasel”, someone shameless. “Scyrian she-goat” appears in the sources with two meanings representing almost opposite ideas. According to one interpre­ tation, the goats on the island of Scyros produced very good milk, and the phrase thus indicated persons who do well. Another comment explains that these goats used to knock over the pails containing their milk and thus became proverbial for a sorry ending to a good beginning. Latin idioms too used places as symbols for typical local physical phenomena and thus for multitude or size. Through them the public could learn that Mount Athos abounded in hares, Mount Hybla in bees and flowers and that Mount Etna was massive and clothed in fire. Africa also figures prominently in Greek and Roman idioms and proverbs.15 As a remote and unknown place, the region aroused fear, awe and astonish­ ment. It thus became common knowledge that “Africa always brings some­ thing new”. Strange animals, unfamiliar plants and foreign peoples were all probably reflected in this generalization and exaggerated idea of Africa. Similar popular sentiments or notions regarding the oddity of African conditions – as compared with those in the Graeco-Roman world – probably produced the idiomatic “African beast”, meaning anything unusual. The basis for this popu­ lar notion of Africa as a bearer of strange natural phenomena was the “other­ ness” of conditions there, and specifically of the fauna, in relation to what was known in the Greek and Roman world. This caused astonishment as well as fear, and fixed such notions in the collective consciousness. Another trait with which Africa became closely associated in the popular mind was its abundance of grain, which became proverbial for enormous amounts of anything, “as much grain as Africa reaps”. This proverbial expression appears with slight variations in Horace (below), Statius (Silvae, 3.3.89–91) and Martial (6.86.5–6). In all these contexts, it refers to an excessive and exaggeratedly large amount, specifically of wealth. In one of his satires, Horace refers to avarice through the example of the perverted values of a certain Staberius, who ordered his heirs to record his exact financial status after he died, because he thought the richer a man was, the better he was: The heirs of Staberius had to engrave upon his tomb the sum of his estate; should they fail to do so, they were bound to provide for the people a hundred pairs of gladiators, with a feast such as Arrius would direct, and as much corn as Africa reaps. (Horace, Satires, 2.3.84–87)

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The same idea was transmitted in the phrase “every grain that is swept from the threshing floors of Libya”, again denoting extreme abundance. The clearly exaggerated amount of grain was based on the real dependence of Rome specifically on Egyptian grain.16 It is worth noting that the numismatic symbols for Africa on Roman Republican and Imperial coins was a personi­ fied woman with emblematic configurations of distinctive animals, as well as ears of grain and sheaves of wheat symbolizing the fertility of the country (Chapter 6). This tiny bit of geographic information thus circulated both aurally and visually. A third trait for which Africa became known in popular idiomatic ideas, again typically reflecting an exaggeration, was its enormous amount of sand, which was unfamiliar to the Greeks and Romans. Thus “as great a number as the African sands” or, via a slight variation, “as great as is the number of Libyan sand” became idiomatic for an enormous quantity of anything. It is applied, for instance, to joys (Catullus 61.202–206), kisses (Catullus 7.3–6), vinenames (Virgil, G., 2.105–6) and masters (Claud., Against Eutropius, 1.32–33). Although all examples derive from literary texts, some specifically addressed to connoisseurs, the fact that the expression is used in different contexts proves that it became proverbial to denote excessive amounts of anything. The topos of the large amount of African sand contributed to the mental concept of the sandy continent even for non-travelling and uneducated Romans. The very toponym Africa/Libya became a colloquial coinage, even if some people had no idea where the region was. The nature of proverbs as independent linguistic idioms thus allows a cautious assumption that these ideas were widespread in oral form.

Local products and resources As always, proverbs and idioms marked unique or unusual phenomena from the point of view of the observing society. Accordingly, real or imagined extreme abundance of strange local resources or products became prover­ bial for particular qualities. Egypt had a reputation for having abundant grain, Cilicia saffron and Athens owls, real or on coins; as a consequence, bringing grain to Egypt, saffron to Cilicia or owls to Athens denoted an unnecessary venture and at the same time spread word about these local goods. Purple-red dye was produced in Sardinia, and “Sardinian dye” idiomatically indicated a blush of shame or the blood of a wound, for instance when Dicaeopolis says in Aristophanes’ Acharnians: “tell me plainly … so I won’t dye you with Sardinian dye” (111–112), hinting at bloody wounds. Proverbial expressions also taught that Tenea abounded in wine, Colophon in gold, and Thasos in all good things. The coins of Cyzicus were famous for their excellent engraving, and “Cyzican staters” thus became proverbial for something expertly engraved. Worthless merchandise was also mentioned in Latin idioms, such as “Samian vase” or “Sardinian cheese”, both denoting extreme unimportance and cheap­ ness. Moreover, Psyra, a small island near Chios, was famous for its poverty

118 Proverbs and idioms

and lack of vineyards. Thus “worshipping Dionysus in Psyra” indicated people who do not drink wine or, on a higher metaphoric level, extreme poverty. Two rivers were associated in Latin idiomatic phrases with gold: the Pactolus in Asia Minor and the Tagus in the Iberian Peninsula. This second river marked the expanded geographic knowledge of the Romans as they became aware of the western part of the Mediterranean. In Latin proverbs and idioms, Arabia, Persia (“Persian golden mountains”), Babylon and India all became idiomatic for extreme riches and abundance. These geographic points constituted a group of faraway places east of the Mediterranean, and as such they expanded the mental world of the public, including the uneducated masses. These notions also nourished a semi-legendary concept of the edges of the world.17

Local myth and history Idioms often include details related to scenes occurring in the mythical or histori­ cal past but attached to specific locations. As years went by, the phrases persisted, while their original context was sometimes forgotten. But they were still linked to specific places, and in this sense they probably contributed to the popular knowledge of regions around the world. Thus “Boeotian enigmas” represented any unintelligible thing, after the well-known riddles of the mythical Theban Sphinx. “You are asking me for Arcadia” represented large and inconvenient requests, after an oracle mentioned in Herodotus (1.66). A “Daulian crow” meant the nightingale or, metaphorically, any talkative or singing person, because traditionally the myth of Procne and Philomena (who turned into birds) was set in Daulis. An accumulation of troubles was expressed through the idiom “Lerna of ills”, perhaps after the mythic abode of the monstrous Hydra in Lake Lerna. Historical situations or events also penetrated Greek proverbs and idioms. The Arcadians were once mercenaries, and “imitating Arcadians” meant labour­ ing in vain. The Carians, who were also proverbial mercenaries, were depicted as the underdog in the expression, “The risk on the Carian”, to denote letting others take one’s risks. “Lemnian evil” as an idiom for extreme evil derived from the killing of the Lemnian men by their wives. The short, late flourishing of comedy in Megara explained the idiom “Megarian laugh”, as representing laughter at inappropriate times. Alternatively, the expression may have derived from an ethnic stereotype of the Megarians as slow and unsophisticated. Forced tears were “Megarian tears”, and the explanation included in the ancient col­ lections of proverbs is that the people of Megara had to be forced to mourn the death of their king. “Melian hunger”, that is extreme famine, commemorated the Athenian siege of the place in 415 bce. And an unfair, apparently histori­ cal attack carried out by the Thessalians produced the proverbial “Thessalian trick”, denoting any unfair behaviour.

Ethnic idioms The most prevalent element in popular proverbs and idioms are references to other groups of people. Most Greek and Latin phrases involving notions of

Proverbs and idioms

119

the world allude to human characteristics, exaggerated and mostly ridiculed, and to local habits and unique customs. These often represent prejudices or stereotypical views. These popular assessments were based on acquaintance with foreign peoples either through travel on the part of Greeks and Romans, or through visits of non-Greeks and non-Romans to the Greek and Roman cultural zones. People in Athens, and even more so in cosmopolitan Rome, could stay at home and meet a variety of human characters.18 The link between ethnographic notions and geographic knowledge of the world seems self-evi­ dent: once one hears of a people or a tribe, one associates it with specific regions. In addition, particular traits or customs were often linked directly to local physical conditions, so that in the popular mind people were inseparable from place. Finally, modern scholars have thoroughly discussed the image of “others” within Greek and Roman circles, and have shown how these often stereotypical images contributed to the framing of the world within both the collective and private minds of the observing society.19 This is a cultural uni­ versal and often demonstrates prejudice.20 What ideas regarding other people did Greek popular wisdom absorb and transmit? The inhabitants of Abdera were considered stupid, and their ethnic denomination in itself indicated stupidity. Other stereotypical and proverbial fools were the people of Arbela in Sicily (“Who will not succeed when com­ ing to Arbela?”) and the Boeotians (“Boeotian brains”), who were also dull and inattentive (“Boeotian ear”). The Carians were crude and unsophisticated (“Carian muse”). The people of Abydus were reputed to be slanderers, so the place became proverbial for danger. Cretans and Aeginetans had a bad pro­ verbial reputation as cheaters, the Argives as thieves and informers, the peo­ ple of Chalcis in Euboea as greedy and thus frugal, the Cilicians as extremely cruel (“Cilician destruction”), the people of Colophon as proud (“Colophonian hybris”), the Locrians and Thessalians as unreliable and deceitful, the Lydians as stupid thieves but also sexually licentious, the people of Rhegium as cowardly and the Samians as given to pleasure. The people of Leibethra near Mount Olympus gained a reputation as uneducated and uncultured because, accord­ ing to myth, Orpheus was killed in the region. The environment of Myconos influenced the character of its inhabitants: the barren island caused them to become proverbial misers and parasites. The people of Tenedos were reputed to be harsh and cruel; thus “Tenedian man”, “Tenedian axe”21 and “Tenedian advocate”. One saying even graded the wickedness or bad image of three ethnic groups: “Lydians are wicked, second are Egyptians, and third are Carians, who are the most awful of all”. In all these expressions which established a constant, inherent link between groups of people and their supposed traits, a public image of places and peoples was formed, to the extent that each ethnic group that appeared in popular phrases became proverbial for the human trait at the core of the phrase. Instead of indicating that something or someone was foolish, for example, Cicero wrote in his letters, in Greek: “Here was Abdera” (Att., 4.17.3) and “This is Abderitan” (Att., 7.7.4). The same was true for anything related to Boeotia or Boeotians, as a synonym for simplicity and ignorance (e.g.

120 Proverbs and idioms

at Hor., Ep., 2.1.244; Nepos, Alcib., 11.3). One primary way to communicate with other social groups was through speech, and there were thus pronuncia­ tion types named after groups, for example an “Eretrian rho” in Greek to denote the way the inhabitants of that polis on the island of Euboea pronounced the letter, and a reference to Praeneste in Latin to denote a ridiculous dialect. Some ethnic groups had a reputation for servility, so that “an Egyptian porter” became idiomatic for anyone who carried heavy loads, while “more slavish than a Messenian” made Messene a measuring rod for servitude. This was probably in opposition to the Spartans, who became proverbial for being the most free people there were, with both idioms reflecting social reality in Laconia. The Phrygians were deemed servile and “better when beaten”. Only the Athenians were depicted as wise and credible, so that “bringing an ass to Athens” referred to an uneducated person, and an “Attic witness” meant a reliable one. In the expression “Attic neighbour”, however, they symbolized troublesome and dangerous neighbours who yearn for expansion, based on the historical behaviour of the Athenians as understood by the people adjacent to them, for instance the Corinthians.22 Lydian chariots were considered fast and a symbol of high achievement. The people of Argos were distinguished and modest, at least as the common knowledge of the masses would have it, so that “worthy of the Argive shield” was a compliment. Local habits and laws were also recorded in popular colloquialisms, particu­ larly when they were strange, appalling or abnormal from the point of view of the observing culture. Thus “a dessert of Abydus” indicated an unpleasant event, since the local inhabitants were reputed to bring their howling children to the table after dinner, making for a noisy event. A “Carian sacrifice” was inedible, because the Carians were said to sacrifice dogs, while the “Lydian custom” was divination. Several parallel idioms hint at unique local sexual habits, such as “a Chian laugh” and “an Ionian laugh”. Various places and peoples, both within and beyond the Greek cultural zone, were associated with extreme wealth and luxury. These included the Medes in farther Asia, but also the Sicilians, and specifically the people of Sybaris and Syracuse. The proverbial expression for the situation in these communities var­ ied, but the elements of place, people and traits seem to have been associated in the popular mind. Thus “Median table”, “Sicilian table”, “Sybaritic table” and “Syracusan table” all denoted an extravagant, luxurious lifestyle – perhaps originally and specifically associated with food. “The tithe of Syracuse” meant extreme wealth, while “Sybarites through the streets” indicated people who walked pompously, perhaps based on the origin proud conduct of the Sybarites due to their riches. Local customs were sometimes so identified with a place and a people that verbs were formed to indicate similar – in most cases bad – behaviour. Such places were: Chalcis (chalkidizein) = imitate the Chalcidians in pederasty or parsimony; Crete (krētizein) = speak like a Cretan, i.e. lie;

Proverbs and idioms

121

Corinth (korinthiazesthai) = practice fornication;

Lesbos (lesbiazein) = do like the Lesbian women, i.e. perform fellatio;

Siphnos (siphniazein) = play the Siphnian;

Sicily (sikelizein) = do like the Sicilians, i.e. play the rogue;

Sybaris (subarizein) = live like a Sybarite, i.e. as a voluptuary;

Cilicia (enkilikizesthai) = cheat.23

In addition, a participle derived from the name of the Cretan polis of Gortyn (engegortynomenos) became an adjective, “Gortynified”, denoting nasty behaviour. Other proverbs and idioms were associated with local customs explained in length by the paroemiographers. The inhabitants of Delphi used to claim a share for the knife, meaning that they took a portion of sacrifices performed in the sanctuary. This custom became proverbial for greed in the “Delphic knife”. The Thebans denied funerary honours to those who killed themselves, and an ironic proverb reflected this law: “Why don’t I kill myself? So that the Thebans might have a hero”. A very specific local habit created the expres­ sion “Aspendian cithara player” to denote selfish persons. The story behind it was that citharists from Aspendus in Asia Minor were known for playing the instrument with the fingers of the left hand instead of the plectrum, and with the upper side of the instrument turned inwards, concealed from the view of the spectators. It is not always possible to know if those who applied or heard these expressions were aware of their background, but beyond simply con­ taining a toponym or ethnonym, these phrases deliver condensed geographic information. Latin ethnic idioms inherited many stereotypes from Greek, and also incor­ porated others reflecting the wider world at the time of the Roman conquests and the new peoples the Romans encountered. The Parthians were collec­ tively regarded in the popular mind as heavy drinkers, as reflected in the pro­ verbial phrase: “The more the Parthians drink, the more they become thirsty”. Some peoples became associated with particular traits: the Phrygians with extreme barbarity; the Rhodians with arrogance; the Gauls with credulity; and the Phoenicians with deceitfulness. In an expression understandably lacking a parallel in Greek, the Greeks were conceived in Latin proverbial expressions as idle (“Greek leisure”), silly (“Greek frivolity”) and unreliable (“Greek faith”). However, the Athenians were still proverbially witty and trustworthy. The Ionians, that is the Hellenic inhabitants of the western coast of Asia Minor, were traditionally considered soft and spoiled, and Spartan taciturnity became proverbial in extreme “Laconic” brevity. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Latin proverbial expressions included fewer ethnic groups living in the Greek spatial zones and more inhabiting the Roman and Italian regions, hence “Capuan pride” and “Gallic credulity”. As we saw in Greek proverbs, which reveal the high self-esteem of the Athenians, Latin proverbs and idioms feature a self-awareness of the Romans’ good reputa­ tion. “A Roman wins by sitting still” accordingly indicated the high degree

122 Proverbs and idioms

of local competence and the notion that the Romans gained easy victories, while “Roman custom” implied direct, sincere conduct. A sense of centre and periphery was thus created within the pool of geographic and ethnographic phrases.

The world within the word Political and social points of view clearly penetrated common ethnographic notions as reflected in Greek and Roman idioms and proverbs. The Romans often inherited such notions from earlier Greek phrases, so that we see the same expressions in both Greek and Latin. This is probably the explanation for what seems to be an original Greek idea of inferior and unintelligent epichoric Greek communities in contrast to the witty and faithful Athenians. This appears to be a reflection of social centre and periphery with a sense of Athenian supe­ riority and self-esteem. In other cases, such ethnographic ratings, so to speak, appear to reflect a Roman point of view, for instance in the idiomatic “Greek frivolity” versus “Roman gravity”. This division between centre and periphery represents not only the geo­ graphic distribution of proverbial peoples, but also a difference in the essence of proverbial prejudice and image. Local tribes and people are typed mostly with personal attributes such as deceptiveness, arrogance and stupidity, quali­ ties usually perceived through direct acquaintance and perhaps specifically interaction through trade; one can tell if the person one does business with is devious and dishonest, too proud of himself or his merchandise, or stupid and gullible when doing business.24 Remote peripheral peoples, by contrast, are typed more often with habits or local conditions which seemed extraordinary to Greek and Roman observers, such as extreme riches, “unusual” skin colour, or what were taken to be uncivilized habits. In all likelihood, the emergence of such proverbial prejudice is based less on direct and frequent encounters than on rare visits which produced popular rumours and exaggerated images. To what extent did these mostly ethnic idioms and proverbs expand the geographic knowledge of the public and specifically of uneducated persons? Or can we, in fact, speak in this context of geographic knowledge beyond mere symbolic resonance? Regardless of the balance between facts and preju­ dice, first of all, these expressions created and promoted notions associated with specific ethnic groups who were linked, even if vaguely and formlessly, with places around the world. Perhaps members of the wider public could tell whether certain people were Hellenes or not, neighbours or remote, familiar or foreign. Second, some ethnic idioms and proverbs implied a link between environment and ethnic traits, so that anyone who heard or used them could gain purely geographic information. Finally, the very toponyms and ethno­ nyms which were at the core of these phrases contributed to an awareness of location and in some cases even of spatial layout. This was certainly true regarding places already known to the public on the basis of commercial or military travel.

Proverbs and idioms

123

There is thus considerable information, even if unscientific and often ste­ reotypical, embedded in Greek and Latin proverbs and idioms. Keeping in mind the inherent delicacy of the evidence in our selection of expressions, let us apply again our tools for assessing the extent of potential geographic knowl­ edge. First, the distribution of places featured in proverbs according to our seven-region framework (Table 4.1). In the two groups of selected proverbs and idioms, the number of Greek phrases is almost double that of Latin ones. Since some Latin idioms simply adopt earlier Greek ones, the numbers tend to stress yet more the Greek use of geography and ethnography within popular speech. This is the reason for the higher number for the Greek selection in almost every region. But the rate of difference is distinctly higher in reference to Hellenic communities in mainland Greece and the islands, both regions extensively represented in Greek proverbs. Moreover, the degree of detail is greater; it is not only great poleis such as Sparta, Corinth and Megara that feature in these phrases, but also minor sites such as Azania and Leibethra. The inclusion of so many places in the Greek world derives from internal Hellenic sources and seems to reflect the political organization of the Greek world into small, autonomous poleis and very local communities. This produced a strong local awareness, as well as attention to differences and local characteristics. Latin idioms in turn unsurprisingly represent the geographic circumstances of the Roman state in our target periods. The distribution of places men­ tioned in these phrases (Table 4.1) shows that the geo-ethnic centre gets more attention at this point. The emerging picture is thus a reflection of centre and periphery, the centre composed of the traditional hearts of Greek and Roman cultures, i.e. the Italian peninsula, mainland Greece and its islands, and Asia Minor. After this there is a nearer periphery (North Africa, Massilia and Gaul) and a remote periphery (Scythians, Indians, Parthians, Arabs, and as far as Thule). One geographic region deserves further comment. The Iberian Peninsula is represented in Greek proverbs and idioms through references to Tartessus and Gades, and in Latin phrases through references to Sisapo (in the modern municipality of Almodóvar del Campo) and the River Tagus (modern Tajo). These geographic points emphasize an essential difference between geographic knowledge in the two societies. Tartessus and Gades were known in 5th­ century Athens at least by Herodotus, who emphasized their position outside the Mediterranean,25 while Tartessus was mentioned in public by Aristophanes Table 4.1 Geographic distribution of places in Greek versus Latin idioms and proverbs Mainland Islands Italy/Sicily Europe Asia Minor Greater Greece Asia Greek 26 Latin 8

29 7

4/7 6/4

7 6

16 10

4 6

Africa TOTAL 3 3

96 50

124 Proverbs and idioms

and later on by Seneca, as already noted in Chapter 3, while Gades was known in public only through Cicero’s speeches, as seen in Chapter 2. This means that these sites were referred to in literary works such as that of Herodotus, but were mentioned less frequently in aural transmissions (in Athens: Tartessus once, Gades not at all; in Rome: each place mentioned once). Both sites were situated on coastlines relevant to maritime routes, but not major routes. They nonetheless reached popular awareness within idioms as well, but the informa­ tion of the latter sort regarding them is external and relates to the geographic position of Gades and unusual creatures in Tartessus. Such information could have been delivered by word of mouth through merchants impressed by these local traits. By contrast, the Iberian spots referenced in Latin idioms are both situated in the interior of the Peninsula, and reflect a closer and more direct knowledge of local circumstances: gold in the river Tagus and the management of mines in Sisapo. This may reflect the actual Roman presence in the region, which yielded a different perspective in the popular geographic awareness. No traces of sophisticated geographic analyses or educated spatial concepts can be discovered in popular Greek and Latin idioms; this was not appropri­ ate to their format or intentions. Still, there are valuable pieces or hints of geographic knowledge in some of them which could help form a partial, even if vague mental image of the world even for uneducated groups or individu­ als. This knowledge pertains to various sorts and layers of information, from unique or odd topographic conditions, to specific indigenous products, to the characteristics of local peoples. Certain images of places and peoples were thus impressed in and through these colloquialisms and became potentially available to the common ear. When these were added to practical everyday experience and other aural and visual channels of information, an unwritten idea of a world emerged.

Notes 1 Barley 1972; Kindstrand 1978; Huxley 1981;Tzifopoulos 1995; Russo 1997; S.O. Shapiro 2000;Yeroulanos 2016, 525–552. 2 Horsfall 1996, 110; Lardinois 2001. 3 Dueck 2004, 42. 4 Bühler 1987. 5 Mann Phillips 1982. 6 OCD 1996 s.v. paroemiographers.The collection by Erasmus is valuable: Mann Phillips 1982.

7 Sulimani 2011, 191–194.

8 On the factual elements behind this notion, see Beschi 1997.

9 The same anecdote in Plutarch’s Sayings of Spartans, Mor., 228 C.

10 Roseman 1994; Bianchetti 1998; McPhail 2014.

11 De Anna 1998;Wijsman 1998; Mund-Dopchie 2009; McPhail 2014.

12 It was specifically linked to the propaganda of Augustus as a world conqueror, for

instance by Virgil at G., 1.30. 13 Note the modern Fiumefreddo (= cold river) on the same spot. 14 Also on coins from Seriphos, and see Chapter 6.

Proverbs and idioms 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

125

Dueck 2016. Rickman 1980, esp. 232–235. Romm 1992. Noy 2000; Moatti 2015, 45–93. Romm 1992; Malkin 2001; Isaac 2004; Gruen 2011. Dueck 2021. Tenedian coins displayed axes too, and see Chapter 6. Thucydides, 1.70. For a comprehensive list, see S.J.D. Cohen 1999, 175–178. Isaac has noted another geographic pattern in this ethnic prejudice: people in northern Italy are depicted as arrogant, while people in the south are conceived thieves. See Isaac 2004. 25 Hdt. 1.163; 4.152 (Tartessus); 4.8 (Gades).

5

Spectacles and public shows

Nowadays even the knight’s interest has wholly passed

from the ear to the empty delights of the roaming eye.

(Verum equitis quoque iam migrauit ab aure uoluptasomnis ad incertos oculos et gaudia uana). (Horace, Epistles, 2.187–188)

Greco-Roman society attributed a significant political and social role to the masses. In both Athens and Rome, public performances and ceremonies of various sorts, in addition to speeches and drama, were part of daily life, but in very different ways. The evolution and nature of these shows diverged in the two societies, but the essence was similar: popular events, staged in open-air venues, designed to attract the crowd’s attention and appeal to their tastes and interests. Thus, the combination of the political significance of the public and the fact that most of the urban populace was illiterate, channelled mass com­ munication into public shows and turned Athens and Rome into performance cultures. Public spectacles in both societies included implied information, explicit or hidden messages and diverse visual imagery, which became avail­ able to all spectators. In line with the approach and methodology adopted so far, this chapter is not meant to offer a survey of the history, development and nature of public shows in antiquity,1 but to search for unwritten geographic information embedded in such performances and potentially accessible even to non-readers.2 In the category of public shows or performances designed for wide audi­ ences, I include sporting contests, triumphal processions, animal shows and staged battles. These are discussed only when they include relevant geographic information or concepts, be it implied or concrete. Evidence of the nature of such spectacles comes mainly from written sources, but unlike the texts of plays, the sources that refer to spectacles and public shows are secondary to the events themselves; they do not give us words uttered during the shows, but record impressions of the events, probably as witnessed by individuals who attended them, often the authors themselves. In addition, visual records or material evidence regarding public spectacles sometimes contribute to our

Spectacles and public shows

127

understanding of their nature and atmosphere, but offer no solid information regarding potential geographic knowledge.3 Unlike with some of the textual records which in the previous chapters enabled a more or less systematic analy­ sis of geographic data, assessments of public performances and ceremonies must be impressionistic; there is evidence of spatial awareness in some shows and often of real geographic details expressed through allusions to places and peo­ ples. But discovering a comprehensive set of geographic ideas is more difficult.

Athenian public events Greek society in the classical age centred on the polis, which was relatively small and local. The polis guarded its autonomy and self-definition of citi­ zenship carefully, and thus nurtured its identity. Most Athenian communal gatherings, in addition to those for public speeches or dramatic performances, accordingly, developed around local religious festivals or panhellenic games. Athenian festivals were focused on civic celebrations of the local gods, who were patrons of the polis and thus expressed internal communal solidarity with little broader geographic messaging. Exposure to wider scopes within the con­ text of these festivals may have come only through encounters with foreign delegations of pilgrims who attended such events, which were thus open to a broad spectrum of spectators.4 Beyond the local dimension, panhellenic gatherings promoted a wider Hellenic identity first by the coming together of representative of various Greek poleis, and then by self-definition through the exclusion of non-Greeks. As part of the wider cultural community of the Hellenes, the Athenians (like the citizens of other Greek poleis) participated every four years in the Olympic Games and the panhellenic events at Delphi, and every two years at the Isthmus of Corinth and Nemea.5 At such meetings, they first and foremost met citi­ zens of other poleis and heard other Greek dialects spoken, while displaying their own local customs and naturally their athletic abilities. This idea of mass gatherings is slightly misleading, since the athletes who participated and per­ formed in the games were usually members of a limited social elite.6 But the wider circles at such events included petty merchants and traders, providers of various services, and a large crowd of spectators. The general atmosphere was one of a popular mass spectacle.7 At such gatherings the masses, or at least some of them, were accordingly exposed to merchandise and products from other locales, to other Greeks from distant poleis, and to a general sense of an expansive Hellenic world. Panhellenic games were by definition designed as exclusively for Hellenes. Non-Greeks were prohibited from participation. In this sense, exposure to peoples and places beyond the Greek world was impossible. We may guess, however, that even an uneducated Athenian who seldom left Attica could gain at these gatherings an idea of a space beyond the environs of his own polis. As already noted, an Athenian of this sort must have been relatively rare, since citizens from all levels of society were often on the move for commercial or

128 Spectacles and public shows

political reasons. Moreover, Hellenic identity seems to have been nurtured through these gatherings, so that a sense of the wider scope of Greek culture emerged. One way to check the scope of this Greek world as it became avail­ able to the crowds is through the victor lists for the relevant period of time.8 Before we consider these lists, a few words of clarification are needed. First, the lists as we have them derive from a combination of sources, and for some periods, especially the earlier ones, they are not always reliable. For our tar­ get chronological window, however, they seem to reflect historical reality.9 Second, it is unlikely that an average or even a fully educated person in clas­ sical Athens had access to or read the entire list of Olympic victors. Thus, it cannot be assumed that anyone actually perceived the implied geographical information in these lists in the way I propose to read them. Despite this, it should be kept in mind that this information was orally transmitted; the crowds probably heard of the victors in the year of the Olympics, especially if they were celebrated locally. If so, a person could hear during his lifetime about several such victors, and could thus get some sense of a wider scope of Greek culture. Finally, since we are dealing throughout with probabilities and assumed potential knowledge, we can take the relevant information in this list and cautiously make of it what we can. As usual, we cannot draw an exact line between what was perhaps common knowledge (can we confidently assume that every Athenian knew of Corinth and Thebes, both situated near Attica?) and the information that in fact offered the crowds a fresh education and enriched their geographic knowledge (can we assume they did not know of Cleitor and Camarina?). In the existing lists, the relevant parameter for our purposes is the place of origin of the victors. In the portion of the list for between 508 and 340 bce, there are victors from 77 Greek poleis.10 Some poleis had only one vic­ tor in this period, while others produced many: Elis 22, Athens and Sparta 19 apiece, Syracuse 11, and Cyrene ten. For us, this means that these names were perhaps more dominant in the crowds’ awareness than one-timers, so to speak, such as Halicarnassus, Mytilene or Scotussa. Arranged according to our seven-region division, this list yields the division as in Table 5.1 and Appendix E Table 5.1.a. In terms of centre and periphery, the table shows a Greek world clearly and unsurprisingly centred in mainland Greece and the Aegean islands. But there is a significant Greek presence in southern Italy (seven) and Sicily (seven) as well. The most extreme geographic points from which Olympic victors originated

Table 5.1 Geographic distribution of Olympic victors 508–340 bce Mainland Greece

Islands

Italy/ Sicily

Europe

Asia Minor

Greater Asia

Africa

TOTAL

41

13

14

2

5

0

2

77

Spectacles and public shows

129

during these years were Acragas in the west, Maronea in the north, Aegae in the east, and Barce in the south (Map 5.1). Even if the hypothetical uneducated spectator could not grasp this spatial image, he still had the potential to absorb here and there both some notions of concrete place-names and a general sense of geographic space. The very partic­ ipation of various poleis, as well as the reputation of the victors, if only on the day of victory, meant that the public could probably realize that Croton in Italy or Barce in Africa were Greek places, even if situated in a region unknown or barely known to them. When the same approach is applied to the victor list from the next century, from 336 to 240 bce, i.e. during and after Alexander’s campaigns, the follow­ ing picture emerges (Table 5.2 and Appendix E Table 5.2.a):

Map 5.1 The geographical scope of places of origin of Olympic Victors 508–340 bce. Table 5.2 Geographic distribution of Olympic victors 336–240 bce Mainland Greece

Islands

Italy/ Sicily

Europe

Asia Minor

Greater Asia

Africa

TOTAL

22

6

3

3

6

0

2

42

130 Spectacles and public shows

The enumeration includes by definition only communities defined as Hellenic, and there is thus no overlap with the general expansion of geo­ graphic knowledge at the time. This is clearly apparent in the absence of any site in greater Asia, while scholarly records of the same time abounded with the newly acquired impressions of Alexander’s associates. There are nonethe­ less some traces of the new geopolitical developments in the expansion of the Hellenic world apparent in these lists. Among the places of origin in this period are four victors from Alexandria, founded by Alexander; one from Philippi, the new name given to Crenides by Philip II in 356 bce;11 and one from Tralles, which was a Persian city until Alexander’s conquests.12 The most extreme geo­ graphic points from which victors at the Olympics originated during these years are Ambracia in the west, Philippi in the north, and Alexandria, repre­ senting both the easternmost and southernmost points (Map 5.2). The victor lists patently record only a small portion of what went on at Olympia, but in a way that allows us to assume that aural and visual information regarding places and peoples circulated in public events and conventions of similar sorts. Another cultural institution with a clear panhellenic aspect and relevance to geographic knowledge was the oracle at Delphi. Especially in the Archaic Age, but also during the 5th century, the oracle offered divine guidance to colonists who asked for advice regarding where to settle. These instructions

Map 5.2 The geographical scope of places of origin of Olympic Victors 336–240 bce.

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often specified locations and topographic details.13 This centre of geographic and topographic knowledge served the entire Greek world and did not direct its information solely at Athenians, but there was a link at Delphi between a somewhat authoritative source of geographic guidelines and popular absorp­ tion of this information. Potential access to the mental image of the Greek world became avail­ able when people left Athens or when outside information penetrated the polis. But to what extent was geographic information recognized by the pub­ lic through other civic performances or ceremonies? Unlike in Rome, there were no popular shows designed for mass entertainment in Athens. Public events were mainly associated with local festivals, most obviously the annual Panathenaea and the Great Dionysia. These ceremonies were, by definition, exclusively Athenian events reserved for citizens. Despite this, there were met­ ics and other non-Athenian spectators present in the public parts of these fes­ tivals. Representatives of the Athenian colonies and allies even participated in the procession at the Dionysia. In addition, some foreigners from within and beyond the Greek world arrived in Athens on the occasion of these festivals to trade or to supply services. These events must thus have opened the Athenian polis up to the circulation of some geographic and ethnographic knowledge, but usually limited to the scope of the Hellenic world. (On victory odes, see Chapter 3.)

Roman ceremonial triumphs These high achievements are brought before the eyes of the citizens (hupo tēn opsin agetai tois politais) by what are called “triumphs”. (Polyb. 6.15.8) The link between Roman conquests and ceremonial triumphs and the impor­ tance of these events to the political and social life in Rome need not be expanded on here, as they have been thoroughly studied by other scholars.14 While keeping in mind our present purposes, however, we might briefly emphasize several facts in regard to unwritten geography. From a relatively early stage in Roman history, even before the state confirmed its political dom­ inance over the Italian peninsula, the custom of publicly celebrating victories over enemies of the people became an essential part of the Roman ethos and identity. As an institution defined by law, the triumphus both commemorated recent geopolitical achievements and nurtured future endeavours toward simi­ lar victories. For the masses – soldiers who participated in campaigns, craftsmen and other workers who stayed at home, the poor and foreigners who happened to be in the city, women and children – the spectacular procession of the vic­ torious general enhanced a sense of power, awe and joy at the dominance of the Romans, who had conquered other peoples and places.15 The very design and essence of the ceremonial victory procession were tied to details of geographic and ethnographic significance. The idea was to make

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clear to the public the extent of the conquests through the illustration of often unknown peoples and regions. Fortunately, we have several detailed descrip­ tions of such processions which reflect the depiction of geopolitical successes before the crowds. These testimonies are significant evidence for the avail­ ability of geographic information to spectators of all sorts, including those who were illiterate. The geographic aspect of triumphal processions is apparent in the inclusion of various sorts of proof or displays associated with the achievement: enemy rulers, often of remote and unknown peoples; captives, sometimes with unique physiques and in exotic dress; spoils emphasizing the riches of different cul­ tures; exotic animals; and even inscriptions of foreign place-names.16 Cicero, for instance, says that the victors “keep the enemy generals alive longer, in order that, while they are led in triumph, the Roman people may enjoy an ennobling spectacle and a splendid fruit of victory (pulcherrimum spectaculum fruc­ tumque victoriae)” (Cicero, Against Verres, 2.5.77). This comment vividly illus­ trates the spectacular dimension of the procession and the deliberate, conscious motives behind its details, which clearly aimed at the masses. The goal of these processions was probably not geographic education or the deliberate transmis­ sion of knowledge, but had more to do with imperialism and often with ethnic prejudice. But one outcome of such processions was that “spectators could easily read the parade (my emphasis) … recognizing whom to cheer as ‘us’ and whom to despise and ridicule as ‘them’”.17 These distinctions patently involved geographic and ethnographic notions. There is abundant testimony to these magnificent events, and I shall offer here only a few examples. Two literary representations of the size of the crowds demonstrate, if only through the words of educated poets, how triumphal shows may have been understood. The first is by Horace, who emphasized that public shows appealed especially to the uneducated crowd. The context is a satire which, in accordance with its genre, exaggerates situations and is not necessarily to be taken as documenting reality precisely. It nevertheless seems to reflect a situation in which ordinary, lower-class groups sought visu­ ally entertaining performances: Often even the brave poet is frightened and routed, when those less in worth and rank, but greater in number, uneducated and stupid (indocti stolidique), always ready for a fight if the knights challenge them, shout for bears or boxing right in the midst of the play: it’s that the rabble (plebecula) love. Nowadays even the knight’s interest has wholly passed from the ear to the empty delights of the roaming eye. The curtain’s drawn back for four hours or more, while squads of infantry, troops of horse, sweep by: defeated kings are dragged past, hands bound behind them, chariots, carriages, wagons and ships hurry along, loads of captured ivory, Corinthian bronze.

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If Democritus were still here on earth, he would smile, watching the crowd, more than the play itself, as presenting a spectacle more worth seeing than some hybrid creature, the camelopard or a white elephant, catching their attention. (Epist., 2.1.182–196) Horace speaks from an ironic, critical point of view, emphasizing the stupidity and unimportance of the crowds, plebecula, “little rabble”. But at the same time, he depicts precisely how the various elements in the triumphal processions – captive kings, riches and rare animals – appeal to the masses. Similarly, Ovid depicts a scene demonstrating the popular absorption of specifically geographic elements in a Roman triumphal procession. In his Art of Love, the poet advises the suitor to go with his girl to triumphal ceremonies. Here too, as in Horace’s satiric reflection, the context and genre require an amusing exaggeration of the situation, but the examples seem to be based on actual presentations during triumphal processions: And if she, among them, asks the name of a king, what place, what mountains, and what stream’s displayed, you can reply to all, and more if she asks: and what you don’t know, reply as memory prompts. That’s Euphrates, his brow crowned with reeds; that’ll be Tigris with the long green hair. I make those Armenians; that’s Persia’s Danaan crown; that was a town in the hills of Achaemenia. Him and him, they’re generals; and say what names they have, if you can, the true ones, if not, the most fitting. (Ars am., 1.219–228) Triumphal processions thus certainly included geographic information, which was likely absorbed to a certain extent by the crowds.18 What was the nature and extent of the geographic knowledge embedded in triumphal processions? Evidence for specific ceremonies abounds.19 In 194 bce Rome celebrated Quinctius Flamininus’ victory over the Macedonians. The ceremony lasted three days and included many details which must have had a significant effect on the geographic knowledge of the crowds. Here is an abridged version of Livy’s description; one can almost feel the effect of the public show on the masses: On the first day, the procession displayed the arms, weapons, and stat­ ues of bronze and marble, more of which had been captured from Philip than received from the cities of Greece … On the third day, 114 golden crowns, gifts from the cities, were carried past; the victims were in the procession, and in front of the chariot were many noble prisoners and

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hostages, among them Demetrius, the son of King Philip, and the Spartan Armenes, son of the tyrant Nabis … A striking sight (species) in the proces­ sion was furnished by the prisoners who had been released from slavery, following with shaven heads. (Livy 34.52.4–12) The ethnic element displayed in the procession of prisoners and the items of spoil may have delivered a sense of places and spaces beyond the city of Rome, even if these were not specifically identified. Similarly, Aemilius Paulus staged a celebration of his victory over Perseus of Macedon in 168 bce, and his pro­ cession promoted a sense of power associated with geographic scope, again delivered through foreign items and prisoners of war: Three days were assigned for the triumphal procession. The first barely sufficed for the exhibition of the captured statues, paintings, and colossal figures, which were carried on 250 chariots. On the second day, the finest and richest of the Macedonian arms were borne along in many wagons … and the sight (hē opsis) of them, although they were spoils of a conquered enemy, was not without terror … These were followed by the chariot of Perseus, which bore his arms, and his diadem lying upon his arms. Then, at a little interval, came the children of the king, led along as slaves, and with them a throng of foster-parents, teachers, and tutors, all in tears, stretching out their own hands to the spectators (hoi theatai) and teaching the children to beg and supplicate… Behind the children and their train of attendants walked Perseus himself, clad in a dark robe and wearing the high boots of his country … He too was followed by a company of friends and intimates. (Plut., Aem., 32.2–34.1) Another example, the most important for this study, is the description of the triumphal procession of Pompey in 61 bce. Here we see a clear and probably deliberate use of geography in the exhibition of power: Inscriptions borne in advance of the procession indicated the peoples over which he triumphed. These were: Pontus, Armenia, Cappadocia, Paphlagonia, Media, Colchis, Iberia, Albania, Syria, Cilicia, Mesopotamia, Phoenicia and Palestine, Judaea, Arabia, and all the power of the pirates by sea and land which had been overthrown … The captives led in tri­ umph, besides the chief pirates, were the son of Tigranes the Armenian with his wife and daughter; Zosime, a wife of King Tigranes himself; Aristobulus, king of the Jews; a sister and five children of Mithridates; Scythian women; and hostages given by the Iberians, the Albanians, and the king of Commagene. There were also very many trophies, equal in number to all the battles in which Pompey had been victorious either in person or in the persons of his lieutenants. But what most enhanced his glory and had never been the lot of any Roman before, was that he

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celebrated his third triumph over the third continent. For others before him had celebrated three triumphs; but he celebrated his first over Libya, his second over Europe, and this his last over Asia, so that he seemed in a way to have included the whole world in his three triumphs. (Plut., Pompey, 45)20 There is no need to explain the relevance of this scene to our theme. We might guess that the ancient crowds were speechless before such a show of power and achievement, which put on display remote, awesome, exciting, strange places, and from which they probably absorbed a bit of geographic knowledge. This report of Pompey’s parade lists inscriptions of conquered peoples, which allow some reconstruction of the world reflected through them.21 Clearly, completely illiterate persons could not have read these inscriptions. But what level of literacy is required to read a plaque with the name “Cilicia” or “Arabia” upon it? This basic competence of even unedu­ cated people is the same one needed to understand minimal captions on coins (Chapter 6). And even a spectator who could not read these inscrip­ tions, could add the impression to the overall spectacle, which probably left no spectator ignorant of Pompey’s great geopolitical achievement. Plutarch’s comment that his conquest encompassed the three known continents, a geo­ graphic assessment par excellence, may be his own educated judgment, but might also have originated in an observation made in Pompey’s time by someone who was there, perhaps one of the spectators. Most spectators could probably not link every conquered people with a specific region or with its precise location on the globe, but they still had a chance to hear of places and peoples, to see their dress and behaviour and to grasp some of their geopoliti­ cal significance.22 The tradition of public triumphal processions nicely suited the Roman emperors’ pursuit of recognition and glory.23 One occasion involving Caligula and attested by Suetonius is particularly interesting: Turning his attention to his triumph, in addition to a few captives and deserters from the barbarians, he chose all the tallest of the Gauls, and as he expressed it, those who were “worthy of a triumph”, as well as some of the chiefs. These he reserved for his parade, compelling them not only to dye their hair red and let it grow long, but also to learn the language of the Germans and assume barbarian names. (Suet., Cal., 47) Caligula’s instructions clearly demonstrated the performative element of the triumphal procession, relying here on popular images or notions of how Gallic and German captives would look and behave.24 Another significant pub­ lic display of the link between conquest and unwritten geography was the procession and parade held on the occasion of the triumph of Vespasian and Titus over Judaea in 71 ce as it is described by Josephus (BJ, 7.132–160).

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This description includes numerous details regarding the preparations for the parade, the appearance of the victors, and other elements which were an inte­ gral part of other triumphal ceremonies, including the ones mentioned above. There is, accordingly, no need to offer the entire account, but the geographic meaning of several details presented to the audience deserves emphasis. The spectacle included “the wonderful and precious productions of various peo­ ples (par allois)” (133); “beasts of many species” (136); vivid depictions of war scenes shown “to those who had not witnessed them, as though they were happening before their eyes” (146); and the spoils from the Temple of Jerusalem (148–150). We thus see in these processions a clear link between geographic visual vocabulary, so to speak, and the population that observed and listened to it and potentially absorbed this information. On the public’s end, this link might have resulted in a passive reception, but the initiators and designers of the celebrations, which were based on traditional practice, inserted geographic language deliberately. Our ability to estimate the impact of such processions on the public relies on the visual effect of such triumphs and on the records we have of the number and circumstances of the ceremonies. Mary Beard has pointed out that, as with any public event, in addition to what was seen and experienced by those who were physically present at the live performance, an effort was made to publicly commemorate the event in various ways.25 This commemoration existed both in written descriptions and in material records, such as public monuments, tri­ umphal arches, coins and sculpture. Visual means for transmitting geographic knowledge are discussed in the next chapter. To these impressions can be added a more concrete suggestion regarding how to assess the extent of popular unwritten geography. The Fasti Triumphales or Acta Triumphorum are pieces of important evidence for the centrality of the triumph in Roman society.26 This monumental inscription was published around 12 bce and contains a list of about 200 triumphs from the foundation of Rome to the reign of Augustus, preserved as part of a larger inscription, the Fasti Capitolini.27 Some of the triumphs included in the inscription, mostly early ones, are mythical or fictitious. However, for our purposes, even if some triumphs were invented in retrospect, the need to do this and to publicly display such a list served the same purpose of creating mass enthusiasm for conquest and expansion. In this sense, it does not matter if the sense of spatial expansion and broad geographic horizons was delivered through real or ficti­ tious victories. The point is still the same: the crowds absorbed geographic notions and knowledge. As a public inscription erected in the Augustan age, the Fasti must have delivered a message regarding the long series of triumphs ab urbe condita and thus regarding the impressive geographic and ethnographic surrender to Rome. This inscription may thus serve our purposes in two ways: as a document delivering a public message regarding the long duration and vast expanse of victories and conquests, and as a record of actual triumphs which took place over the course of much of our period, i.e. the 3rd century bce to the Augustan Age, when the list ends.

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The inscription offers a list of triumphs, including the year counted from the foundation of Rome; the name and official position of the triumphant general; the number of the triumph, if the same person had more than one; the name of the people or region defeated; and the day of the year in which the triumph was celebrated. From this inscription, we learn that between the first year of the First Punic War (264/3 bce) and the last year recorded (19 bce), there were more than 113 triumphs, almost yearly.28 As typically in the ancient world, the human dimension of the conquests was the main issue, and victories are thus presented mostly as over peoples rather than over regions or territories. When the ethno­ geographic information embedded in this list is analyzed on our standard divi­ sion, the following distribution emerges (Table 5.3 and Appendix F): Table 5.3 Geographic distribution of places in the Fasti Triumphales Mainland Greece

Islands

Italy/ Sicily

Europe

Asia Minor

Greater Asia

Africa

TOTAL

2

6

45

24

5

5

3

90

As regards names of conquered peoples (90, different from the total number of triumphs, which is 113), the celebration of Roman dominance can be seen to be particularly detailed in regard to the tribes and peoples inhabiting the Italian peninsula, which number 44, while Sicily is mentioned only as a complete geo­ graphic unit with no list of its individual communities, probably because the Romans got control of the island at one fell swoop after the First Punic War. Second after the Italian peninsula in terms of the number of toponymic and ethnonymic allusions is the European continent, with 24 conquered peoples. It should be emphasized that these numbers reflect different ethno-geographic des­ ignations included in the lists of triumphs and not necessarily the size or signifi­ cance of the military or political achievement. Early victories over ten local tribes around Latium clearly did not compare to the great triumph over Carthage, which is only one of the three African peoples that appears in this table. What is of interest here is the variety of names and their potential for being absorbed in the public mind in a way that would allow an image of a spatial world to be cre­ ated. The most extreme peoples in these lists are accordingly the Lusitani in the west, the Scythians in the north, the Parthians in the east, and the Numidians in the south. This allows for a general sketch of spatial scope as shown in Map 5.3. Another aspect of the conceptual thread linking the ideas of conquests-tri­ umphs-crowds-geography is the phenomenon of geography-related Roman cognomina. A thorough study of the of inscriptional evidence by Iiro Kajanto29 has shown that throughout Roman history there were 643 Latin cognomina derived from geographic terms. Among these, it is predominantly “ethnics” that were used as cognomina. The most important groups of “eth­ nics” used are those of peoples, tribes, regions and towns. Other geographic

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Map 5.3 The geographical scope of conquered people in the Fasti Triumphales.

terms, such as mountains, rivers and lakes, are of minor importance. Geographic cognomina were recorded as early as the 6th century bce and probably reflected the native places of the nobility. This is why there are no examples of foreign ethnics in the early nomenclature of the Roman nobil­ ity. In many cases, a geographic cognomen was found in the neighbourhood of the place it reflected. Interestingly, some cognomina are formed on the model of geographic cognomina, but represent unknown places. Cognomina derived from conquered towns and peoples are found only among the nobil­ ity and are specifically attached to victors. Several well-known examples of such cognomina are Africanus (201 bce),30 Asiaticus (189 bce), Macedonicus (146 bce), Allobrogicus (120 bce), Baliaricus (121 bce), Callaicus (133 bce), Delmaticus (117 bce), Numidicus (106 bce) and Germanicus (9 bce). This tradition continued with the Roman emperors, who received titles from significant conquests, for instance Claudius as Britannicus (44 ce) and Trajan as Dacicus (102 ce) and Parthicus (114 ce). At the same time, the geographic cognomina of slaves or freedmen often reflected their place of origin, for instance Suebus Germanus, a native of Germania who belonged to the tribe of the Suebi when he was captured or bought.31 “Ethnics” of Latin towns are similarly given as slave names to denote the slave’s place of abode, such as “Narbonensis” and “Reatinus”.32 The wider collection of geographic cognomina offers names of numer­ ous derivations occurring at various periods of time throughout the Roman Empire and its provinces. We can assume that it was not always recognized that specific names had a geographic origin, but when foreign geographic names were applied, and especially to famous generals and victors, we can add this allusive or indirect information to the channels through which unwritten geo­ graphic knowledge reached the public.

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Showing Roman conquests The conquered peoples move in long array, as diverse in fashion of dress and arms as in language. (Virgil, Aen., 8.722–723) Julius Caesar’s famous “veni, vidi, vici” was an inscribed saying marking his tri­ umph over Pontus in 46 bce.33 In other triumphal processions, names of con­ quered peoples and places were carried through the crowd.34 These placards were yet another means of enhancing the achievement as specifically attached to geographic and ethnographic elements. Spectators in the streets of Rome could grasp the magnificence of a geopolitical achievement through these plac­ ards: if they were completely analphabetic, through their mere presence; if they were semi-literate, through the ability to read one or two; and if they were fully educated, completely.35 The number and variety of placards was impressive, but it is essential to understand that they were not detached from a broader context, primarily the triumphal procession itself. There were thus almost always additional visual items which made the geopolitical spectacle complete.36 For example, in the famous triumph of Pompey (p. 134): There were carried in the procession images of those who were not pre­ sent … representing them as fighting, as vanquished, and as fleeing. Even the besieging of Mithridates and his silent flight by night were represented. Finally, it was shown how he died, and the daughters who perished with him were also pictured, and there were figures of the sons and daughters who died before him, and images of the barbarian gods decked out in the fashion of their countries. A tablet was also borne with this inscription: “Ships with brazen beaks captured, 800; cities founded in Cappadocia, eight; in Cilicia and Coele-Syria, twenty; in Palestine the one which is now Seleucis. Kings conquered: Tigranes the Armenian, Artoces the Iberian, Oroezes the Albanian, Darius the Mede, Aretas the Nabataean, Antiochus of Commagene”. These were the facts recorded on the inscription. (App. Mith., 117) We see here a combination of means of delivering the message closely associ­ ated with geographic and ethnographic information: lists, images and depic­ tions of battle scenes.37 This combination assured that no spectator could escape the geographic message. Our imaginary uneducated man could probably grasp the names of Cappadocia or Cilicia and of Tigranes or Darius. Another detailed bit of evidence describes the triumphal celebrations of Cornelius Balbus in 19 bce for his victory over the African Garamantes: In his own triumphus beside Cydamum and Garama were carried the names and images of all the other nations and cities, which went in this order: the town of Tabudinum, the Niteris tribe, the town of Milgis Gemella, the tribe or town of Bubeium, the Enipi tribe, the town of Thuben,

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the mountain called Niger (Black), the towns of Nitibrum and Rapsa, the Viscera tribe, the town of Decri, the river Nathabur, the town of Thapsagum, the Tamiagi tribe, the town of Boin, the town of Pege, the river Dasibari, next the following towns: Baracum, Buluba, Alasit, Galsa, Balla, Maxalla, Cizania, Mount Gyri, in front of which an inscription [say­ ing] that it produces precious stones. (Pliny, NH 5.36–37) Where were Nitibrum or Buluba? There have been several modern attempts to identify the exact geographic position of these early African sites, but for our purposes this is perhaps more effective as a demonstration of the impression achieved even when the exact cartographic position of such places is unknown: we too, regardless of our present location on the globe or degree of geographic knowledge, get a sense of foreign, unknown, faraway places and of a large spatial scope of conquered lands and peoples. This was probably the almost physical message the Roman masses, both educated and uneducated, absorbed. As Andy Merrills has pointed out, the mode of presentation was almost anticartographic, since this geographic name-dropping included no reference to the actual spatial context of the conquered sites. No spectator could have rec­ onciled these places with any real or mental map, since the parade of conquests stood in fundamental contrast to the cartographic mode of display.38 Even the order of places and peoples presented in a triumphal procession was not geo­ graphic, but likely relied on political importance or order of conquest. The number of conquered sites was more important than their names or how they were displayed.39 Thus, the point was not accurate geographic display but pro­ ducing an overall effect of awe and excitement. As a more direct channel to the consciousness of the crowds, triumphal pro­ cessions often included, in addition to real captives, graphic depictions of con­ quered peoples.40 In describing the triumphal procession of Scipio Africanus, who celebrated his victory over Carthage, Silius Italicus more than two cen­ turies later lists the noble captives (Syphax, Hanno, Macedonian chiefs, blackskinned Moors and Numidians, and the Gramantes) and then alludes to images of the conquered peoples and regions: Then Carthage was seen in the procession, stretching out her conquered hands to heaven; and other figures (effigies) also – Spain now pacified, Gades at the world’s end, Calpe the limit of the achievements of Hercules in ancient times, and the Baetis that is in the habit of washing the sun’s horses in its sweet waters. There too was Pyrene, the fierce mother of wars, thrusting her forest-clad height to heaven, and the Ebro, no gentle stream when it pours in violence into the sea all the streams it has brought down with it. (Sil., Pun., 17.635–642) These were not mere symbols limited to a simple iconographic interpreta­ tion, but elaborate pictures with expression, composition and context. The

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places depicted, highlighted in the text, meanwhile, define the edges of the Roman state at the time. These geographic definitions rely on extreme points (Carthage, Gades, Calpe) and on linear topographies of rivers and mountain chains (Baetis, Pyrene, Ebro). At least one point, Calpe on the Gibraltar Straits, was probably meant to denote the western limit of the known inhabited world. The implied meaning was clearly an association of Roman power with a large spatial scope and with the edges of the world in particular: Rome ruled eve­ rything. It should be admitted that Silius’ description may be based to some extent on the poet’s own imagination. The triumphal convention, however, may reflect actual norms current in Silius’ time. Merrill is again right to note that “an individual who stood within the crowd of fellow citizens, and who caught glimpses of a statue of the personified Nile … would experience a dif­ ferent appreciation of the river from one who gazed upon a perspectival land­ scape”.41 But both could absorb, with one degree of sophistication or another, unwritten geographic knowledge. Lands and regions were also depicted independent of triumphal processions, but were still associated with victories and conquests, for instance on the occa­ sion of Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus’ triumph over the Sardinians in 174 bce: A tablet was set up in the temple of Mater Matuta with this inscription: “Under the command and auspices of Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus, the legion and army of the Roman people conquered Sardinia. In this prov­ ince, more than 80,000 of the enemy were slain or captured … he brought the army back home safe and secure and enriched with booty; for the second time he entered the city of Rome in triumph. In commemoration of this event, he set up this tablet to Jupiter”. It had the form of the island of Sardinia (Sardiniae insulae forma erat), and representations of battles were painted (simulacra pugnarum picta) on it. (Livy 41.28.8–10) This “animated geographical map”42 located in a public place in the Forum Boarium is a unique example of unwritten geographic knowledge. It perhaps depicted the scenes in a bird’s-eye view parallel to other triumphal paintings and Nilotic scenes (pp. 178-180),43 or the forma was a sort of map or a statue personifying the island.44 Another somewhat evasive allusion mentions a pic­ ture of Italy, again on the walls of a temple: On the festival of the Sementivae, I had gone to the temple of Tellus … I found there Gaius Fundanius, my father-in-law; Gaius Agrius, a Roman knight of the Socratic school; and Publius Agrasius, the tax-farmer, exam­ ining a picture of Italy on the wall (spectantes in pariete pictam Italiam). (Varro, Rust., 1.2.1) What was the nature of this pictus? Was it a map, a piece of landscape paint­ ing, a personification of Italy, some other visual depiction, or an imagined

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artefact in a narrative fiction? Roman Roth has examined the various options and suggests that the image was real, a narrative chorography in a hodological approach based on the network of Italian roads perhaps reflecting natural fea­ tures and agricultural practices. Roth specifically associates his understanding of this lost image with the Nile mosaic in Praeneste (below on pp. 179-180).45 If we add to this the evidence regarding Agrippa’s public display of the orbis terrarum (on p. 184), we have significant evidence for the visual representation of the world through works meant to inspire and impress.46 Unfortunately, none of these textually described depictions survive. We can only guess how spectators understood them and their details, and there are hints of professional commentators who were employed to explain processions to non-readers or those who lacked a direct view of the events.47

Circenses: beast shows, gladiators and staged battles Horace’s depiction of the illiterate masses’ demand for thrilling spectacles (quoted on p. 132) reflects the central role of such public shows in Roman soci­ ety, both for the consuming spectators and for the producing aristocratic and imperial authorities. The more exotic and violent such performances became, the more the crowds longed for them and the patrons attempted to supply them.48 We are interested in them here, however, only when they included geographic information, even if it was not always concrete or accurate. There were two main pretexts for funding and offering popular perfor­ mances in Roman society. One was triumphal celebrations (already discussed), the other annual religious festivals that included public games (ludi) and shows. During these dates in the Roman calendar, dramatic performances and ago­ nistic circus games entertained the public. These communal gatherings were part of local celebration of identity through honouring the Roman gods. By the 1st century bce, there were seven such festivals.49 The geographic messages in Roman stage drama have been discussed in Chapter 3, and I turn now to circus games. The Athenian orator Isocrates mentioned annual shows held in Athens including “lions which are gentler toward their trainers than some people are toward their benefactors, and bears which dance about and wrestle and imitate our skill” (Isoc., Antid., 213). Unlike similar shows in Rome, however, these performances did not associate geography with power, and in fact did not link animals with specific locations. In Rome, by contrast, the size and scope of the world beyond the city itself was of primary significance, and rare animals enhanced the geopolitical thrill while making the crowds conscious of previ­ ously unknown places and peoples.50 Early in his career, after an impressive African victory in 81 bce, Pompey hitched elephants to his chariot to enhance his achievement and inspire awe, but the triumphal gate through which the procession was meant to go was too narrow for the animals (Plut., Pomp., 14.651). This integration of rare animals in the triumphal procession patently displayed and illustrated imperial power

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and hinted at the existence of a larger world with a larger mental space. The exhibition of exotic animals illustrated victory and power, and at the same time was associated with remote, unknown places (as also on coins; see Chapter 6). Other “strange” animals were often part of triumphal processions, but there were also separate shows in the arenas that presented rare and unusual animals. These shows were initiated and financed by notables who wished to please the crowds and thus promote their own reputations. For us, it is significant that such animals were often associated with unfamiliar and remote places, and sometimes with specific regions or countries in the known world. The mental chain of links Rome–dignitaries–conquest–power–places–world–audi­ ences–geography was thus established once again. These mental associations meant that Rome as a state and an empire was the platform and inspiration for its dignitaries, whether military leaders or emperors, who attempted new con­ quests, which when achieved enhanced both Rome’s and their own power, and relied on the Roman presence in places which reflected a larger and larger world beyond the confines of earlier Roman dominance. All parts of this train of thought were publicly transmitted to the audiences, potentially expanding their knowledge of geography. Let us consider several examples. In the war against Pyrrhus of Epirus, Romans saw elephants for the first time, and the consul of 275 bce, M. Curius Dentatus, exhibited four elephants taken from Pyrrhus in his triumph (Plin., NH 8.16). During the First Punic War, in 252 bce, Caecilius Metellus exhibited as spoils of war 142 elephants captured from Carthage and brought from Sicily on rafts; these were used at the Circus Maximus in a mock battle with slaves (Plin., NH 8.6.16–17). In 189 bce, after the victory over the Aetolian League, the consul M. Fulvius Nobilior initiated ten days of games which included among other events “a hunt of lions and panthers” (Livy, 39.22.1–2). Pliny in Book Eight of his Natural History mentions the first time various animals were introduced in Rome. The cir­ cumstances were usually linked with conquests, victories or the power of indi­ vidual notables. Many are associated specifically with the emperors, but some occurred already in the time of the Republic: Q. Scaevola, the son of P. Scaevola, when he was curule aedile, was the first to exhibit at Rome a combat of a number of lions; and L. Sulla, who was afterwards dictator, during his praetorship gave the spectacle of a fight of 100 lions with manes. After him, Pompeius Magnus exhibited 600 lions in the Circus, 315 of which had manes; Caesar, the Dictator, exhibited 400. (Plin., NH 8.53) Then there were rhinoceri, and possibly lynx and monkeys, introduced by Pompey (Plin., NH 8.70–71); hippopotami and crocodiles exhibited by the aedile in charge of games, M. Scaurus, in 58 bce (Plin., NH 8.96); and giraffes (cameleopards) in Julius Caesar’s time (Plin., HN 8.69).52 Sometime in the 1st century bce, zoos or parks were set up:

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Fulvius Lupinus was the first Roman to form parks (vivaria) for the recep­ tion of these and other wild animals; he first fed them in the territory of Tarquinii. It was not long, however, until imitators were found in L. Lucullus and Q. Hortensius. (Plin., NH 8.211) The trend of public interest in animal shows was parodied in one of Plautus’ comedies: “He says he wants to give African mice to the aediles for the pro­ cession at the ludus” (Plaut., Poen., 1011–1012), which does however prove that these shows were eagerly consumed by the crowds and, most important, that they were often associated with geographic designations. Animals sym­ bolized territorial control.53 The Roman emperors seem to have competed with their predecessors in their desire to increase the enthusiasm of Roman audiences. Suetonius’ biographies of the emperors abound with allusions to animal shows and staged battles.54 These were part of the policy of “panem et circenses” (Juvenal, 10.81) for the crowds,55 but at the same time they brought not only glory for the emperor but also glimpses of a wider geographic and ethnographic world. As we shall see, parallel trends and similar imagery feature in imperial iconography (Chapter 6). Beast shows were not limited to the exhibition of animals, but were often integrated into staged hunts (venationes) or duels between man and beast.56 The men who fought these animals, bestiarii, were either forced into combat as pun­ ishment or fought voluntarily for pay.57 Evidently, then, there were numerous animal shows designed to appeal to the crowds and to increase excitement. But how could these events enhance geographic knowledge? First, the association of victories, triumphal ceremonies and imperial power was clearly linked to the specific location of the conquered lands and people. This link included both a general sense of the size of the world beyond Rome and information regard­ ing specific places and peoples. Second, animals were probably often associ­ ated with specific spots in the world, most clearly with Africa58 (elephants, lions, giraffes), but also in the case of the lynx (chama) with Gaul.59 Even if, unlike with other bits of information, we cannot offer a concrete extent of this “world” or point to solid facts or terms which became available to the crowds’ awareness in this way, we can say that these shows contributed to the sense of a larger, even if amorphic space beyond the limits of their known environment. Parallel to these animal spectacles, gladiator shows catered primarily to the crowds’ taste for violence and excitement.60 At the same time, they often involved hints at ethnic and geographic information by including foreign pris­ oners of unique physical appearance or behaviour. The earliest known gladia­ tor contests (munera) date to the 4th century bce in Paestum; the first in Rome are traditionally dated to 264 bce, as part of the funeral of L. Junius Brutus Pera.61 Gradually, arenas were built around the Empire from Antioch to Gaul, Roman rulers became eager to show off their wealth and concern for the public’s pleasure. The ethnic identity of gladiators was often emphasized in texts which reported their looks, dress, behaviour, language and names. Thus we hear that

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Spartacus’ group included Gauls and Germans (Livy, Epit., 97); that most of the gladiators at the school in Capua were Gauls or Thracians; and that Spartacus himself was a Thracian of the Maedi people (Plut., Crass., 8).62 We can only guess that spectators recognized that the opponents in these shows were often foreign­ ers, and that they could perhaps sometimes even identify their places of origin. Another way of engaging the crowds’ enthusiasm and linking it with both a specific statesman’s reputation and the glory of Roman power was the rep­ resentation and enacting of famous battle scenes or any battle that produced an important military achievement. Such events included ethnic and geographic information about the combatants and their appearance. Particularly magnifi­ cent and logistically alluring were the naumachiae, sea-battles, usually performed in artificial ponds.63 In 46 bce, Julius Caesar offered one as part of his quadruple triumph: The spectacles (spectacula) he exhibited to the people were of various kinds … Circensian games, wrestlers and the naumachia … A lake having been dug in the little Codeta, ships of the Tyrian and Egyptian fleets, contain­ ing two, three and four banks of oars, with a number of men on board, afforded an animated representation of a sea-fight. To these various diver­ sions there flocked such crowds of spectators from all parts, that most of the strangers were obliged to lodge in tents erected in the streets, or along the roads near the city. Several in the throng were squeezed to death, among them two senators. (Suet., Iul., 39) Augustus too took pride in initiating a staged naval battle in 2 bce as part of the dedication of the temple of Mars Ultor:64 I gave the people the spectacle of a naval battle (navalis proeli spectaculum / naumachias thean) beyond the Tiber, at the place where the grove of the Caesars now stands, the ground having been excavated for a length of 1,800 feet and a breadth of 1,200 feet. In this spectacle, 30 beaked ships, triremes or biremes, and a large number of smaller vessels met in conflict. In these fleets there fought about 3,000 men exclusive of the rowers. (Res Gestae, 23) Other sources report both that the mission was accomplished and that, in addi­ tion to the historical dimension, clear geographic and ethnographic messages were associated with this show: A naval battle between the “Persians” and the “Athenians” was given on the spot where even today some relics of it are still pointed out … and the “Athenians” prevailed as of old. Afterwards water was let into the Circus Flaminius and 36 crocodiles were slaughtered there. (Cass. Dio 55. 10.7–8)

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Ovid seals this image by emphasizing the role of the masses in the spectacle: What about when Caesar brought in Persian and Cecropian ships in a simulated naval battle? Surely young men and girls came from every land, and the whole world was in the City. (Ov., Ars am., 1.171–174) The Roman emperors after Augustus did not fall short in their attempts to impress the populace, and there is ample evidence for extravagant shows.65 Especially memorable was the naval battle introduced by Nero, including real sea-water and an impressive set of aquatic animals (Suet., Nero, 12), while in 109 bce Trajan devoted no less than 117 days to the final celebration of his Dacian victory. These included almost 5,000 gladiatorial pairs and 11,000 wild and tame animals which were displayed and killed, as well as a naumachia rep­ resenting mock-sea battles.66 A unique piece of evidence for Roman spectacles is the so-called Liber Spectaculorum or Spectacula ascribed to Martial. Although there are doubts regard­ ing the author, scope, title, length and themes of this book of epigrams, the epigrams are all related to aspects of public Roman spectacles.67 Throughout them, there is a clear panegyric tone reflecting the climate in which they were composed and delivered. Whether they refer to Titus, Domitian, both, or the generic idea of “Caesar”, they mirror the constant link between the praise and reputation of the Roman emperor and the quantity and quality of the spectacles that took place in his reign. In one epigram in the collection, the author suggests the status of the Flavian Amphitheatre on a global scale by claiming its superiority over other wonders of the world. In doing so, he relies on an already widespread idea of the Seven Wonders, which likely circulated even among the lower strata of Roman society. Here there is a strong link between locations and monuments: Memphis with the Pyramids, Assyria with Babylon (hinting at the Hanging Gardens) and Caria with the Mausoleum (Spect., 1). Another epigram demonstrates how a sense of location and a wider world became apparent through the presence of various foreign peoples among the audience for the shows. Roman spectators thus met foreigners at the Amphitheatre, and in this atmosphere ethnic notions became visually available: What people is so far removed and so barbarous that there is no specta­ tor from it in your city, Caesar? The farmer of Rhodope has come from Orphic Haemus, the Sarmatian has come, fed on draughts of horses’ blood, and he who drinks the headwaters of the Nile, discovered at last, and he whom the wave of furthest Tethys pounds. The Arab has come hurrying, the Sabaei have come hurrying, and here the Cilicians have been sprayed with their own mist. The Sugambri have come with their hair curled in a knot, and the Ethiopians with their hair curled in another way. The speech of the peoples sounds different and yet, when you are hailed as the true father of the fatherland, they all then speak as one. (Spec., 3)68

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The images in this piece can be taken in one of two ways. One possibility is that they are based on real events, when many people of various remote places around the world did in fact arrive in Rome to attend public shows presented in the Amphitheatre. If so, we have an opportunity to understand how information about the wider world became available in another unwritten way, through encounters with foreigners in Rome. Another possibility is that Martial is using these ethnic groups as abstract entities representing the idea that the world recognizes the Roman emperor’s greatness. On both readings, the specific peoples chosen and the way they are described is revealing.69 The Thracian visitor is designated through two mountain ranges in that region: Haemus and Rhodope. His presence perhaps indicates the northern edge of the Aegean world. The Sarmatian represents another northern border tribe, here parallel to southern people living by the Nile. The parallel is based not only on the northern vs. southern position of the foreigners, but also on the representation of their beverages: one drinks horses’ blood, the other the water of the Nile. Then come the Arabs and the Sabaei, representing other remote, exotic people. The Cilicians are depicted in the epigram as encountering in Roman markets their own product of saffron scent (which became prover­ bial; see Chapter 4). This hints at Rome’s central position as a cosmopolitan juncture of peoples and products. The epigram ends with another ethnic sym­ metry by way of contrast. The two poles in this symmetry are the Sugambri, a German tribe, and the Ethiopians. Like the poetic contrast drawn earlier between Sarmatians and Egyptians, here too one community dwells in north­ ern regions, the other in the south, and here again they are compared through an ethnic trait related to the arrangement of their hair: one tribe has hair curled in a knot, the other hair curled in a different way. The epigram itself was probably not accessible to a wide readership, but it may reflect real situations in the Roman Amphitheatre, in which foreigners attended spectacles and thus attested to their existence and identity through this visual ethnography. This cosmopolitan audience turned the ethnic world into an accessible entity within the city of Rome.

Conclusion Different historical, social and political circumstances shaped popular cul­ ture in Athenian and Roman society. Both communities had public perfor­ mances and ceremonies involving the crowds, and a number of these events inherently involved geographic and ethnic information. But the two societies behaved in their own distinct ways. The Athenian community was a unified polis nurturing its local identity, while the Romans gradually became a world power stretching far beyond the spatial limits of the city of Rome. While the Athenians were defined by a strong sense of separateness, the Romans’ exist­ ence relied on the notion of conquests, victories and continual spatial expan­ sion. These different geopolitical orientations were reflected and promoted by different ceremonial customs.

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The public ceremonies which involved citizens in Athens were either local ones, mainly the Panathenaea and the Dionysia celebrated with dramatic per­ formances, or the wider athletic games involving other Greek communities and celebrated at fixed intervals in a number of places, but especially Olympia and Nemea. Common to these two sets of public events was the enhance­ ment of the people’s local self-identity as Athenian citizens within the polis of Athens, and as Hellenes in panhellenic games. Whatever geographic and ethnic messages were present thus turned inward and implied by way of contrast, the definition of insiders versus outsiders. The geographic education of the public focused on the Greek world and its limits with an emphasis on its inner and central parts. Since the Archaic Age, Greek settlements had established networks of cultural identity throughout the Mediterranean region, but the geographic scope reflected in these gatherings encompassed mainly the central and eastern regions of the Mediterranean.70 Geography served to enhance Roman identity as well, but in a different way. In Rome, it was the public celebration of conquests which contributed to collective identity. It was thus precisely foreign peoples and unknown or border regions of the world that were the focus of public performances and celebrations. When we add to this Roman monuments commemorating victo­ ries, and especially triumphal arches (Chapter 6), we can see that not only was geographic information related to conquests available for the passive reception of the crowds, but the Roman population almost had no choice but to absorb the geopolitical message which was transmitted repeatedly and through so many channels that it could scarcely have been missed. Once this mental link was created, conquest generated curiosity,71 and the scope of both geographic and theoretical worlds was significantly increased in the minds of everyone, including the uneducated.

Notes 1 For this, see in particular Bell 2004; Futrell 2006; Dodge 2011; Christesen–Kyle 2014; Scanlon 2014; Kyle 2015; Latham 2016. 2 Clarke 2003, 130–159. 3 Bergmann–Kondoleon 1999;Aldrete 2014;Tuck 2014. 4 Dillon 1997, 124–148. 5 Kyle 2015, 132–146. 6 Kyle 2015, 190–208. 7 Dillon 1997, 99–123; Crowther 2001; Kyle 2015, 128. 8 Christesen 2007. 9 Kyle 2015, 100–101. 10 The polis of origin of 13 victors is unknown. 11 Hansen-Nielsen 2004, no. 632. 12 Hansen-Nielsen 2004, no. 941. 13 Malkin 2005. 14 Versnel 1970; Künzl 1988; Itgenshorst 2005; Beard 2007; Östenberg 2009a; Lange 2016. 15 Kyle 2015, 249–253. 16 Östenberg 1999; 2009a; 2009b. 17 Östenberg 2014b, 185.

Spectacles and public shows 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61

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More on popular response to visual art in Clarke 2003, 10–14. Futrell 2006; Östenberg 2009a. For a detailed analysis of this triumph, see Beard 2007, 7–41. In the full description, Plutarch mentions other, more elaborate inscriptions of taxes and booty. For additional details of these inscriptions, see App., Mith., 117. The fact that geographic and ethnic otherness was an essential part of the triumphal visual message is also apparent in the need to seek alternatives when declaring victories in the Civil Wars; see Östenberg 2014b; Lange 2016. Goldbeck–Wienand 2017. Woods 2007. Beard 2007, especially 42–71. Beard 2007, 61–67; Moatti 2015, 57–68. Degrassi 1954 and online at http://www.attalus.org/translate/fasti.html retrieved in 20.11.19. There are many lost lines in the inscription and thus several chronological gaps. The actual number is therefore larger. Kajanto 1965, 43–52, 180–210. “Scipio … was the first general to bear the name of the country he had conquered (devictae referens primus cognomina terrae)” (Sil., Pun., 17.626). Burns 2003, 163. Kajanto 1965, 51–52.The ethnic slave names in Athenian comedy have been discussed in Chapter 3. Östenberg 2013. Östenberg 2009b. On reading skills involved in visual art, see Clarke 2003, 270–273. On the geography of triumphs, see Merrills 2017, 69–86. Östenberg 1999. Merrills 2017, 13. Merrills 2017, 81–83. For a general overview, see Ferris 2000. Merrills 2017, 13. Torelli 1992, 121. Torelli 1992, 121. Talbert 2012, 166. Roth 2007;Talbert 2012, 167. Merrills 2017, 27–39. Merrills 2017, 86–91. Horsfall 2003, 64–74; Fagan 2011; Latham 2016. Scullard 1981;Wiseman 2008, 175–186. Östenberg 2014a. And see Mader 2006, pointing to possible aspirations to imitate Alexander. Performances involving exotic animals appear also in Martial, Spec., 11–13; 18; 20–22; 26. Coleman 1993. Tiberius 7; Caligula 18; Claudius 17, 21; Nero 11–13; Titus 7; Domitian 4. Galsterer 1990. At least one was initiated by Augustus in the Ludi Saeculares of 17 bce: ILS 5050 = CIL 6.32323. Kyle 2015, 253–257. This is reflected also in the popular proverbs “Africa always brings something new” and “African beast”, on which see Chapter 4. Plin., NH 8.70. Wiedemann 1992; Futrell 1997; Dunkle 2008, and, in a psychological context Fagan 2011. Futrell 1997.

150 Spectacles and public shows 62 On prejudice associated with events in the arena, see Fagan 2011, 155–188. 63 Coleman 1993. 64 For his emphasis on other spectacles and images excluding a triumphal procession, see Hickson 1991. 65 Wiedemann 1992, 1–54, 165–182; Coleman 2006, lxxiv–lxxv; Christesen–Kyle 2014, 463–532. 66 Bennett 1997, 105. 67 Coleman 2006, specifically the general introduction on pp. xix–lxxxvi (sic). 68 Translation by Coleman 2006, 37, reproduced with permission of the Licensor through PLSclear. 69 For a detailed commentary, see Coleman 2006, 42–53. 70 Malkin 2011. 71 Moatti 2015, 67.

6

Visualizing geography

This study is focused on the theme of unwritten geography, with specific if not exclusive attention to uneducated audiences who lacked access to literary and scientific texts. Nevertheless, we have not – and indeed could not have – avoided the use of written records. As we have seen, the preservation of originally oral and aural communications was made possible through written reports of them that were eventually produced, and even non-verbal activities such as public shows are known to us mostly through written descriptions. In this chapter I consider evidence which is not based on language and in most cases does not rely on written texts to communicate its messages, either in its original circumstances or in the way it survives today. In particular, this chapter explores various types of visual evidence, attempting to assess the geographic content they potentially make available to the public.1 Artefacts or monuments are, by definition, available to all observers regard­ less of their education, social status, political affiliation, gender, age or ethnic origin. When they contain geographic or ethnic information, we may infer that unwritten geography is communicated to viewers. In this context, we might mention other sensory routes by which geographic ideas reach the crowds.2 People could get an idea of foreign communities and places by hearing unfa­ miliar languages or local music, from the taste of different local products and food, from the smell of spices and the like or from the feel of furs or fabrics. All these means could deliver a sense of faraway regions and convey some knowl­ edge of the world beyond one’s immediate surroundings. This often amorphic and abstract knowledge might have been associated with specific places, for instance spices and incense with Arabia,3 wine with Thasos4 and grain with Egypt.5 These impressions probably did not coalesce into a coherent idea of the world and the arrangement of its regions on the globe, but they offered the masses pieces of faraway places and thus added to their basic geographic education.6 Fortunately, we possess some remains of what the Athenian and Roman masses could see. The goal here is to demonstrate how both societies incor­ porated geographic or ethnographic information within their visual world in channels available to mass reception. Since there are numerous modern stud­ ies of both general trends and particular images, referring to a vast number of

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objects, I cannot presume to supply a systematic, comprehensive catalogue of visual geography. Moreover, I do not wish to examine previously uncovered evidence, and my hope is instead that assembling various kinds of material from a distinct point of view will allow me to create a wider understanding of unwritten geographic knowledge and add to the information accumulated in previous chapters. What follows is thus a survey of modes and formats for visually representing geography. As we shall see, these modes and formats were varied and differed in the two societies, as well as within media, and their geo­ graphic impact varied accordingly. I concentrate on public rather than private art, including any artefacts, tan­ gible items or monuments available in the two target societies that contain geographic or ethnographic information. One distinctive feature of such items relevant to this discussion is that they did not and do not require any education or previous knowledge, and certainly not reading skills; anyone can perceive or at least has the potential to absorb the existence of a visual element.7 A drawing, relief or decorated monument is available to anyone with eyes, regardless of his or her personal identity. The location of a work of art often tells us about the audience and the expectations the patron had of that audience. An artist or an architect may have aimed at specific viewers, but once the item was produced and released into the more or less public domain, it could in principle reach anyone. As we shall see, the meaning of the image occasionally required some visual literacy or previous knowledge and cultural background in order to rec­ ognize what was being transmitted visually and interpret the image, although in most cases the context was self-explanatory or the iconography self-evident. Nonetheless, every work might have sent different messages to a range of pos­ sible viewers. John Clarke, in an extensive study of non-elite Roman viewers of art,8 assumed a viewer whose knowledge of myths, visual models, literary sources and styles had limits, no matter how learned he or she might have been. Although Clarke rightly pointed out that there is no way to identify the ancient Roman viewer, he conjectured – as I have throughout this discussion – view­ ers whose acculturation was different from that of elite persons. Following our policy regarding oral transmissions, in examining visual material as well we should keep in mind that the fact that an item existed does not mean that it reached the awareness of numerous, or indeed any, observers. However, as in the case of our analysis of oral-to-written sources, here too we deal with potential knowledge and the availability of bits of geographic information in the public domain.

Roads to visual geography Theoretically, geographic information can be transmitted visually in several ways. In modern times, the first that come to mind are cartographic images in the form of maps, which (along with satellite images) are currently the most accurate and scientific visual record of geographic conditions. But maps in the modern sense were not produced in classical antiquity, and even textual

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hints at possible graphic depictions of the earth probably reference something different from a modern scaled map.9 We hear that, before the Sicilian cam­ paign in 415 bce, many Athenians “sat in the palaestras and lounging-places drawing the shape (schema) of the island (Sicily) and the position of Libya and Carthage” (Plut., Alc., 17.3), and there is the “cartographic” scene in Aristophanes’ Clouds (Chapter 3). This may show that within the Athenian context there was some idea of geographic shapes and positions, but there are no concrete remains that could be used for the present study. Moreover, most of the textual evidence for proto-cartographic drawings in Athens sug­ gests that, beyond improvised drawings perhaps in the sand (Chapter 2), such sketches were reserved for individuals, often members of the military or intellectual elite. Thus, we cannot assume the existence of maps available to the Athenian public. Although cartography along modern standards of accu­ racy did not exist in Roman society either, there are remains demonstrating the existence of some form of public, two-dimensional and linear depictions of a primarily cartographic nature. Another visually perceptible means of describing geography are landscapes of specific places. Such images are not limited to one topographic item, e.g. an unusual mountain or unique rock, but can include a set of related items reflecting the scenery of a place. In this study, only landscapes representing places which can be definitely recognized are relevant, in contrast to general landscapes of e.g. trees, fields or houses. When an image is typical of a place, we can assume that viewers could absorb a sense of place from it and along with that a sense of space and “world”. We shall see below that one common example of such illustrated depictions is the so-called Nilotic scenes found mainly in Roman mosaics and frescoes. A third visual means of delivering geographic notions or even solid facts are individual items or objects which are typical of a specific place and can therefore be associated with it. Such items often turn into symbols of a place, region, country or continent. What unique symbolic features could communi­ cate a place? These could be typical local topographies, monuments, animals or plants. We shall see below that the use of locally significant symbols was typical of ancient coins as a small material platform containing simple, straightforward visual messages. Personifications of regions or topographies are another way to represent geographic information in visual form. In classical antiquity, local personifica­ tions represented the geographic phenomena after which they were named, either to indicate where a particular scene took place or within the context of mythological scenes where the character was already personified.10 In Rome, various conquered peoples and provinces were personified to symbolize their subordination.11 As we shall see, the use of geographic personifications was common in visual media, including vases, coins and monuments. These are four ways of delivering geographic information in visual form: cartography, landscape, symbols and personification. In what follows, I discuss them as they occur in a number of visual media in both Athens and Rome.

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Attic vase paintings and reliefs The flourishing industry of fine painted pottery in classical Athens produced goods consumed mainly by the wealthy, but ordinary households could pur­ chase such vases on the second-hand market. Moreover, vases were not as expensive in Athens as they were for distant customers in remote markets. Attic economic realities enabled the visual presence of such vessels to affect wider groups. The artists themselves, the customers at the market, the trad­ ers and anyone who visited certain houses, could all see pieces of painted pottery. Uneducated social sectors in Attica thus potentially recognized their style and perhaps their meaning. John Boardman suggests that the medium was perfectly familiar to all members of Athenian society outside their own homes, in private and public contexts, and that the visual messages borne by decorated vases were specific to Athenian society but intelligible at another level everywhere, even to non-Greeks.12 As argued throughout this volume, the messages on vases were not the product of deliberate propaganda or a wish to educate the masses, but reflected the mood and attitudes current in Athens at the time, making them suit our quest to assess unwritten geogra­ phy. These messages complemented the ones delivered in plays and speeches and thus reflected the level of education and the shared thoughts and experi­ ence of the lower classes.13 How was geographic or ethnographic information depicted on vases? A general and primary sense of space and place was achieved through signals and symbols, for instance an altar indicating a sanctuary or a door standing for a house. This visual economy was based on a conventional metonymy, in which a single item represented an entire environment.14 Specific sites were depicted mostly through personifications. Early Greek myth incorporated several personified components associated with geographic entities. Okeanos (Ocean) and his sons, the rivers, are one example. Okeanos often appeared with Gē (earth) to denote the entire world. An Attic vase dated to 470–460 bce depicts Okeanos with his river sons, Strymon, Neilos (Nile), Adranos, Scamander and Maiandros, indicating the breadth of the known Greek world at the time through rivers situated in remote regions. Significantly, all the char­ acters are shown as typical Athenians, emphasizing contemporary Athenian power. Aegina is shown on another vase with her sisters, Harpina, Corcyra, Nemea, Salamis and Thebe, forming another cluster of personified sites.15 Rivers were depicted as a mix of human, snake and bull, and in the classi­ cal period they were more and more often humanized as heroic men.16 Figure 6.1 shows the fight between Heracles and the river Achelous as it appears on a black-figure Attic vase dated to 550–500 bce. In Greek mythology, Achelous had a special status first as the god of all water, and then as the prince of all river deities.17 According to tradition, he fought Heracles over the river nymph Deianeira, and textual reports of this scene, like visual ones, associate him with a snake and a bull.18 Since antiquity, there had been several rivers known as

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Figure 6.1 The Achelous Painter, Attic amphora, Early 5th century bce. Detail: Heracles wrestles the river Achelous. Purchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey, Toledo Museum of Art, 1952.65.

Achelous, and because of its clearly mythological iconography, the geographic message, if it existed at all, was seemingly very faint. It is difficult to believe that viewers of the scene envisaged an actual river in a specific site rather than a mythic struggle familiar from other sources. In this sense, this is not a case of unwritten geography. Similar iconographic approaches were applied to the river gods Gelas from Gela and Amenanus from Catana, who are depicted, mainly on coins, as bearded human heads with bulls’ ears and horns. Gradually, river personifications became more human, beardless but still with small bulls’ horns or ears. One example is the depiction of the river god Cephisus on the Attic “Echelos” relief dated to 410 bce (Figure 6.2).19 The horns on the central man’s head hint at his identity, but exact recognition is dependent on context or a written label. When identified, these iconographic local personifications primarily indi­ cated where a scene took place. There were thus personifications of Nemea as a bystander in the fight between Heracles and the Nemean lion,20 of Thebe at the meeting of Cadmus and Harmonia at Thebes,21 and of Delos assisting Leto at the birth of Apollo.22 In other iconographic contexts, personifications bearing toponyms allude to traditional mythic tales. Such is the scene depict­ ing Zeus’ pursuit of the nymph Aegina, perhaps representing Athens’ attempt to get control of the homonymous island.23 Other geographic personifications include Hellas, Macedon and Peloponnesos, all embodied as ageless women, and the eponymous nymph of Attica and the eponymous hero of Marathon.

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Figure 6.2 Plaster cast of a marble votive amphiglyphon, dedicated by Kephisodotos son of Demogenes, Athens, c. 410 bce. Detail: a bearded god, horned personification of the river Cephisus, a nymph CG.D.46 Cast of a relief dedicated to Hermes and the nymphs, from Athens Image © Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford.

In addition to personifications, on several occasions symbols on vase paint­ ings denote specific sites in the Hellenic cultural zone, for example an ompha­ los for Delphi24 and a palm tree for Delos.25 For further geographic horizons, beyond the Hellenic world, we find a camel for eastern or African regions, usually combined with typically oriental or negroid human beings (Figures 6.3 and 6.4), and a crocodile for Africa or Egypt, usually with a black human being.26 Towards the end of the Peloponnesian War, document reliefs including personifications of places relevant to the document were set up in sanctuaries and marketplaces. These images were usually female personifications of a polis or male personifications of its citizenry. The personifications perhaps helped make the content of the document intelligible to non-readers or to those who

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Figure 6.3 Attic lekythos, 410–400 bce. Man in oriental costume on camel (Dionysos?), procession in oriental costume © Trustees of the British Museum.

Figure 6.4 Attic pelike, c. 480 bce. Negroid youth with whip, camel, tree. Image is taken from www.hermitagemusum.org, courtesy of The State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia.

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Figure 6.5 Decree relief, Athens, 406/5 bce. Personification of Athens and Kios. Courtesy of the Fairfield University Art Museum Plaster Cast Collection, lent by the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

could not or would not read the entire inscription. To signal the less than divine status of these personifications, they are depicted as smaller than gods but larger than real people.27 One example appears in Figure 6.5, showing a personification of Athens while the goddess Athena shakes hands with a figure representing Kios, as an engraving above the character’s head indicates. The relief accompanies a document concerning Bithynian Kios. Amy Smith has pointed out that the iconography of geographic personifica­ tions was gradually humanized and specifically converted to become Athenian. The physical forms of the personified places and spaces on Athenian vases thus seem to bring non-Attic geography into the realm of Athens, as the rivers, streams, islands and cities shed their monstrous or sub-human forms and take on the clothing and appearance of respectable Athenians. All of these images were part of a political statement and contributed to the image of Athenian maritime power.28 It is clear that a wide audience was envisaged for most 4th­ century personifications, and that the Athenian public had become accustomed to them through their popularization in comedies and on painted vases during the Peloponnesian War years. Indeed, local personifications of foreign cities on

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document reliefs would have been more intelligible to an Athenian audience than foreign deities would have.29 As for foreign peoples, we find several typical and stereotypical images. Since most scenes depicted on Athenian vases were related to myths, there were often typical characters associated in mythical plots with foreign regions. Examples are Midas the Phrygian, Croesus the Lydian, Bousiris the Egyptian, Memnon the Ethiopian and Penthesilea the Amazon. Ethnic attributes often emerged within these iconographies. The images of some “others” were based on Athenian experience with foreign cultures, but certain ethnic models were portrayed inaccurately. Most Athenians were at least casually familiar with Phrygians, because there were many Phrygian slaves in Athenian households, and Phrygian met­ ics performed jobs all over Attica.30 While drama depicted them primarily as cowards, on Attic vases they are represented as if they were Greeks. No con­ ventions marking Phrygians as alien appear on 6th-century vases in the same way they do for Thracians, Scythians, Egyptians and Lydians. Phrygians are dressed like Greeks. But during the 5th century, Attic conventions began to incorporate elements of eastern dress for them. The most common element for painted Phrygian characters (usually Midas) was the kidaris (a Persian royal tiara) and an attendant with a feather fan. This tendency to replace Greek with eastern costume made the Phrygians visually more alien from a Greek perspective. Compared with the Phrygians, Lydians were less present in Attica,31 but the Greeks had ample opportunity to meet them in their home territory, as they were situated close to the Ionian settlements in Asia Minor. In the Greek mind, Lydians were conceived of as soft and cowardly. On Attic vases, their foreign­ ness is apparent through the mitra (turban) and boots with out-turned tops and horizontal bindings (kothornoi) they wear. Eastern wine-drinking practices are also associated visually with Lydians, for instance the use of a ladle and drink­ ing directly from a vessel reserved in Hellenic culture for libations rather than drinking. Lydian wine-pourers are depicted as clothed, as opposed to nude Greeks. In these iconographic ways, the otherness of these characters is empha­ sized in contrast to Greek cultural norms. The attributes that distinguish Thracians in Greek art include their behaviour and their physical appearance in their hair and beards, tattoos, garments, weapons and a special kithara.32 Their typical dress is a Thracian cap (alopekis) made from a fox’s pelt with its tail at the back hanging down the neck; a thickly woven woolen mantle (zeira) embroidered with geo­ metric patterns; and fawn-skin boots with down-folded overlapping tops. Their typical weapons are javelins, light crescent-shaped shields, and dag­ gers (Figure 6.6). On a few Attic vases, Thracians have red or light coloured hair and dis­ tinctive pointed beards. These two physical features are also seen on other foreigners, such as Scythians and Persians, visually separating Greeks from

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foreigners. Another iconographic group is Thracian musicians, who share physical and dress elements similar to those of warriors, but hold a Thracian kithara. Thracian women appear either as wild and free or as devoted slaves. Their attributes are usually tattoos on chins, arms and legs, and light hair.33 The overall image of Thracians is of an exotic, slavish, strange, ferocious people, skilled in war and music. They are shown as visually and morally different, but not necessarily inferior.34 By the end of the 5th century, Athenian depictions of Thracian subjects decreased, and they were gradually abandoned in the 4th century. Athenian visual awareness of Egyptian culture is hardly surprising, given the extensive trade networks in the Mediterranean in the 8th through 6th centu­ ries and the evidence for Egyptian use of Greek mercenaries.35 Typical images of Egyptians on Athenian vases include shaved heads, large earrings and linen garments (Figure 6.7). The contrast to Greeks is apparent in dress and physiognomy, emphasiz­ ing their moral inferiority. A common visual context depicts Bousiris engaged in human sacrifice, emphasizing an ethical as well as an ethnic difference. Another myth involves Ethiopian elements.36 Memnon the Ethiopian came to the aid of Priam during the Trojan War. Traditionally he was the son of Eos and a nephew of Priam, and he is accordingly depicted as a European Greek. But his soldiers are depicted on Athenian vases with a characteristic profile, a snub nose, thick lips and curly hair. In other visual interpretations, Memnon himself appears as a black negroid figure. In Athenian vase paintings, in both

Figure 6.6 Attic kylix (drinking cup), 470–460 bce. Warrior in Thracian costume. Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of David M. Robinson. President and Fellows of Harvard College.

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Figure 6.7 Red figure hydria (detail), Athens, 500–450 bce. Herakles with sword, Busiris, draped Egyptian youths with hydria, tray and torch, altar © Staatliche Antikensammlungen und Glyptothek München. Photograph by Renate Kühling.

mythological or daily-life contexts, Africans appear either with negroid fea­ tures or as comic masks as objects of humour. But these depictions probably did not reflect prejudice or marginalization. They were not visually interesting merely for being bizarre or exotic, and ethnic prejudice was largely irrelevant to these depictions.37 Other foreigners include Persians, Scythians and the semi-legendary Pygmies and Amazons. The Persians’ visual traits are a snug, sleeveless jacket; patterned trousers; white socks; a flat, turban-like hat; a short kilt; and a thin battle-axe (Figure 6.8). Scythian archers are typically presented with a short kilt, no trousers, a pointed cap, and a bow and arrows. Some of these depictions put on display the practice of Athenian males wearing exotic items associated with various types of foreign dress.38 African figures and Amazons are also often presented in a stereotypical way.39 In the case of peoples who were not directly encountered by Athenians or were semi-mythical, it is generally acknowledged that most of these depictions are generic rather than reflections of historical reality.40 Artists probably never met such exotic and remote foreigners, and earlier Archaic types were copied and reproduced in later pottery. Scythian archers, with their typical iconography of “Scythian cap”, Scythian dress and bows, represent the military status of archers rather than an ethnic reality.41 Alan Shapiro has sys­ tematically demonstrated that Athenian artists invented an imaginary world

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Figure 6.8 Attic kalyx krater, Athens, 475–425 bce. Persian archer running with sword and bow © Antikenmuseum Basel und Sammlung Ludwig.

called Persia, in which the Persians were depicted in an unreal, ahistorical man­ ner. They were often associated iconographically and contextually with other semi-mythical foreigners such as Ethiopians, Scythians, Amazons and Trojans. This invented image reflected the ambivalence of attraction and repulsion, in a way similar to what Aeschylus presented in his tragedy.42 But the amount of historical truth and accuracy in these depictions, whether visual or oral, is not our main concern. The iconographic meaning of scenes involving Scythians or Persians or other “generic” non-Greek figures is less relevant than the fact that these figures featured in publicly available visual material, allowing the masses to “read” them visually. Even if these depictions did not convey an accurate image of these foreigners or barbarians, they still symbolized “Scythians” or “Persians” or “barbarians”. On a strictly educational level, therefore, we cannot offer definite proof that authentic ethnographic or geographic information was delivered or received by Athenian non-readers. However, we can assume the establishment of some sense of otherness in the public’s consciousness, associating symbolic images with specific regions and peoples, regardless of the credibility of any of this. What is important, is that foreigners were depicted in ways that created and nourished a constant image in the consciousness of the public, most of whom (including the artists, poets and orators themselves) never visited the regions where these foreigners dwelt. Often these depictions played an important role in the definition of Athenian ethnic identity as visually opposed to “others”.43

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Shapiro compares the images of foreigners in Athenian art to a kind of logo advertising the exotic sources of some of the products contained in Attic ves­ sels.44 This terminology effectively demonstrates the bilateral process of trans­ mitting and receiving ethnic information through an unwritten channel. Even though the information was often inaccurate, the crowds read these visual images and absorbed a sense of space, world and others. Thus the Persians in particular represented in various contexts in Athenian vase paintings a mytho­ logical race inhabiting a fantasy world of luxury and sensuous pleasure.45

Greek coins Every ancient coin is almost by definition associated with its place of origin, as these small metal items usually depict local deities and symbols, celebrating the identity of a specific political unit. The symbols illustrating local identity can be typical plants or animals, agricultural products, specific tools and goods, and even ethnic dress. Ordinary people, and indeed everyone, could “read” these visual symbols and learn about foreign communities. In this way, coins can be understood as vehicles for the transmission of geographic or ethnic information in an unwritten way available to everyone. It is significant that coins were by nature portable and as such circulated in a wide spatial scope. The geopolitical organization of the Greek world in the classical period was based on self-contained, local polis-communities, which at the same time shared a sense of panhellenic culture and a consciousness of being part of a net­ work.46 This situation was reflected in local mints, which produced coins with local denominations and symbols. These coins circulated in Mediterranean markets and thus carried information at least of the existence of other Greek communities. The focus in what follows is on Athens, which during its ascent to power as the leader of the Delian League eventually forced its allies to use its currency.47 Nevertheless, we know that other currencies circulated even within the Athenian agora, to say nothing of other markets where Athenian citizens could have encountered these coins. Some geographic and ethnic information thus probably reached the awareness of Athenians through such coins. At the beginning of this chapter, four ways in which geographical informa­ tion could be depicted in visual form (cartography, landscapes, symbols and personifications) were mentioned. Since coins are relatively small and have a limited surface on which to place an image, the geographic or ethnographic information on them had to be in the form of symbols or personifications. As noted, once a polis adopted a symbol for its currency, the symbol became a synonym for the polis in economic, political and social senses. Any symbol could do. The coins of Boeotia bore the typical local shield, those of Aegina the turtle or tortoise, those of Croton a tripod, and those of Byzantium a horned deer.48 On Rhodes, the local coins depicted a rose, hinting at the name of the island, and in Poseidonia a picture of the sea god Poseidon appeared on coins, a clear association of the polis with the god after which it was named.49 These were pictographic symbols of a sort which could be read

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even by analphabetic observers. In cases where the local symbol offered addi­ tional information about the place, the potential for popular education might have been broader. Such were the coins of Gela in Sicily, with the personi­ fication of the local river as a human-headed bull (Figure 6.9), and those of Camarina in Sicily, with a horned portrait of the river Hipparis and the figure of the nymph Camarina.50 Many springs and fountains were shown on coins of non-Athenian cities near the entities they personified, and thus served as polis emblems.51 Could an inhabitant of a remote place who held such a coin understand its meaning and grasp its place of origin? The more politically dominant a polis, the better known its coins would have become to the masses. The Athenian “owls” at the peak of Athenian dominance in the Greek world are an exam­ ple.52 We can thus imagine the chain of thought of a merchant on Rhodes or on Lesbos who held an Athenian coin: there is a polis named Athens; it is large and important; it is rich; the route to Athens lies in that direction; “such-and­ such” merchandise is available there; and more. In Athens, or any other polis at the time, beyond the recognition that a coin was foreign, it is difficult to assess whether ordinary people could associate it with an exact place of origin – let alone know where that place was. But daily economic transactions involved people from all levels of society, so that people probably recognized at least the currencies of neighbouring communities.

Figure 6.9 Silver Coin, Gela, Sicily, c. 480–470 bce. River god. Caption: Celas. CNG.

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Visual geography in Athens Visual geography in Athens seems to have appeared mainly on smaller scale artefacts, such as vase paintings, document reliefs and coins. Trophies com­ memorating the defeat of enemies were erected, not as permanent monu­ ments, however, but as anthropomorphic panoplies of enemy armour set up on the battlefield on a tree stump.53 Because they were not displayed in public places inside the poleis, the exposure of these was limited. There are not many remains of such Greek trophies from the 5th and 4th centuries bce, and most important, even the existing evidence, sometimes based on numismatic and literary records, shows that these monuments did not carry straightforward geographic or ethnic images even when they were associated with specific enemies. There is also evidence for a monumental painting of the Battle of Marathon located in the Stoa Poikilē in Athens which included images of the Persians, denoting a sense of a faraway foreign entity.54 But as a rule, the evi­ dence suggests that no geographic visual vocabulary was expressed in Athenian sculpture, landscape paintings or public monuments. This is in notable contrast to the situation in Rome, but should not detract from the visual geography that was in fact present in Athenian art. Visual geography in Athens was mostly hidden within personifications in mythological contexts, painted on vases or in symbols on coins. On document reliefs, the political bodies involved in the text were sometimes depicted via personifications. Which places were depicted? Broadly speaking, the places on Athenian visual media reflected the Aegean world and panhellenic culture. If we take into account mythic characters associated with geographic details, the spatial scope in this group reflected the world of the earliest period of myth. Coins, on the other hand, reflected the geography of commerce, while docu­ ment reliefs reflected the geography of politics and diplomacy. When depicting foreign peoples, Athenian artists preserved and promoted established semimythical images, which despite being inaccurate may have delivered a sense of location and some spatial feeling. In these depicted ethnographies, the charac­ ters reflected non-Hellenic entities that were by definition beyond the Aegean world, mostly at its edges: Scythians, Ethiopians, Amazons and Persians.

Roman triumphal monuments In addition to live triumphal processions, which also played on the visual sig­ nificance of geographic elements (Chapter 5), conquests and the celebrations of them were commemorated on monuments in the city of Rome and on Roman coins. It would be superfluous to survey all the evidence for Roman triumphal monuments, but I offer several examples, highlighting their geographic signifi­ cance and the ways they could visually transmit geographic knowledge to all sectors of Roman society. There are records of at least ten triumphal arches dated from the 3rd century bce to the end of the Augustan Age. Many others were erected in Imperial

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times to celebrate the achievements of individual emperors.55 The mere pres­ ence of an arch delivered an unwritten message of “triumph–conquest–space”. In addition to written inscriptions specifying the historical context of a vic­ tory, arches often featured visual elements which offered geographic or eth­ nographic information. Not all the relevant arches are sufficiently preserved to demonstrate this, but we have several good examples and can also draw infer­ ences from more elaborate depictions on later instances. Figure 6.10 shows a piece of relief from the Arch of Augustus in Orange,56 which features a typical trophy composed of Gallic weapons and armour commemorating the defeat of the Gauls. An observer could draw from this at least the concept of the region and people of Gaul. Other details of weapons or local symbols might also have garnered atten­ tion. Unlike Greek trophies, Roman ones were erected in a cultural and politi­ cal atmosphere which celebrated military triumphs, and they were accordingly larger and more elaborate.57 The Alpine Trophy in La Turbie, for instance, included a monumental inscription listing the conquered Alpine tribes and panel reliefs depicting two trophies and two pairs of barbarian captives. These were men bound with their hands behind their backs and women with hands crossed on their lap, possibly tied.58 In 51–52 ce, by decree of the Senate and the People of Rome, the aque­ duct originally built by Agrippa in 19 bce was extended and remodelled to commemorate the emperor Claudius’ conquests in Britain in 43 ce. This span became known as the Arch of Claudius, and it contained an inscription

Figure 6.10 Triumphal Arch, Orange, France, 27 bce–14 ce. Reliefs depicting trophies of defeated Gauls. Photograph by Roberto Piperno.

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specifically alluding to the triumph over the Britons. In addition, relief frag­ ments depict four women in “native” dress. These are probably ethnic personi­ fications representing Moesia and Thracia as standing, and Hispania Citerior and Gallia Comata as kneeling.59 Similar visual messages depicting conquered individuals in submissive posi­ tions appear earlier on Augustan objects such as the cuirass on the Prima Porta statue of Augustus,60 the Gemma Augustea61 and the Boscoreale bowls.62 The latter two objects were probably not intended for the wider public, but they bring out the tendency to depict foreigners in a similar way whether publicly or privately. In all these compositions, the ethnic element is not straightfor­ ward but a generalized portrait of defeat. It is thus unlikely that, without pre­ vious knowledge or the epigraphic and topographic context, a person could have understood whether the defeated were specifically from the Alps or Gaul, or prisoners of another sort. In Rome, foreigners were depicted as a means of enhancing the triumphal atmosphere and Rome’s achievements, but concrete geographic education in evidence of this type seems minimal. The Forum of Augustus must have inspired that of Trajan,63 but while the Augustan complex emphasized the emperor’s desire to gain acceptance of his rule from the senate and the people, Trajan wished to show the magnificent results of imperial warfare and to illustrate how and why the Roman army always won its wars. The entire complex was thus meant to amaze view­ ers. A central monument within it was the well-known column of Trajan.64 Everyone, from elite citizen to foreigner, who entered the Forum and moved through it toward the column, saw a basic message regarding Trajan’s power. This message relied on a careful iconographic scheme composed of three ele­ ments: Trajan, the Dacians and the Roman army.65 The images of the Dacians on the column are different from those on other Trajanic monuments outside of Rome.66 The portrayal of them as barbarians is stereotypical and relies on a stock repertoire of imagery with symbolic value. In this sense, the issue was characterization in a way legible for mass audiences, rather than accurate description of a real situation. “The barbarian was almost the icon of the Trajanic age”.67 Dacians are depicted in disorder among the defeated, in contrast with Roman military order, to create a visual opposition between nature and culture. Dacian leaders are portrayed committing suicide, and Dacian women are seen being forcefully exiled, while their strongholds are destroyed. The overall visual message seems to be the dehumanization of the barbarian foes as generic, timeless enemies of Rome. These Dacians, probably from the Carpathian region, wear long trousers, long-sleeved tunics with side­ slip skirts, rectangular cloaks, and sometimes soft caps (Figure 6.11). Other types depicted on the column appear with their hair twisted up into a knot on the side of the head. There are also enemies who are represented as the only armoured barbarians in all of Roman art.68 This column served as a proto­ type for the slightly later column of Marcus Aurelius, which borrowed whole scenes from Trajan’s monument, but within a harsher and more violent tone.69 How much of the detail of either monument could have been perceived and

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Figure 6.11 Trajan’s Column, relief. Rome, 107–113 ce. Detail: Dacians with long tunics, trousers, long hair, beards and sickles. By permission, Roger B. Ulrich.

understood by viewers remains a matter of conjecture.70 But the very presence and context of the columns at least must have delivered a message. Around the Forum, a number of giant statues of male Dacians were set up. These presented another visual contrast to the Augustan and Julio–Claudian strategy of depicting conquered peoples through female personifications (pp. 169-172). The visual images of barbarians became more focused in terms of dress, hairstyle and military equipment. But sculptors likely lacked any experi­ ence of actual Dacians or any barbarian frontier reality, and their work must thus have relied on stereotypical images representing elite imperialist percep­ tions of distant enemies. For our purposes, the level of accuracy of the images of foreigners may be interpreted in two complementary ways. Because we are discussing public education and the unwritten circulation of information, we may conclude that the visual “language” through which barbarians were depicted became comprehensible to observers by means of conventional under­ standings. This was how foreigners were depicted, and within certain icono­ graphic usages and styles of presentation, the ideas of conqueror and defeated,

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of Romans and others, may have been understood. At the same time, these stereotypes did not necessarily teach truth or facts. Because they relied on stock images, ordinary people who were not located at the frontier had no access to real situations, and in fact their understanding of geography and ethnography fed on these conventions. Supposed cultural features such as clothing, weap­ onry and hairstyle thus became a visual topos for identifying enemies.71 The set of Egyptian obelisks imported and set up in Rome should also be included in this discussion of monuments indicating conquests.72 Two obe­ lisks were placed in front of the monumental bronze inscription of Augustus’ Res Gestae, perhaps enhancing the message of vast conquests spread by the inscription. In this way, the public could absorb the idea even without reading the document. In 10 bce, Augustus brought two obelisks from Heliopolis to Rome. One was erected on the spina of the Circus Maximus, the other formed the gnomon or Horologium of the Solarium Augusti in the Campus Martius. An obelisk without hieroglyphs was brought to Rome from Alexandria by Caligula in 40 ce for the spina in the Circus Vaticanus of Gaius and Nero (Plin., NH 16.201). It was originally set up on Augustus’ orders in the Forum Iulium in Alexandria by the prefect Cornelius Gallus around 30–28 bce. Other than these original Egyptian monuments, several copies, meant to deliver the same message of conquest and power, were commissioned by Roman emper­ ors. One copy was commissioned by Domitian and erected at the temple of Serapis. Another was commissioned by Hadrian and erected in Tivoli, and was later moved by Elagabalus to decorate the spina of the Circus Varianus.

Ethnic portraits Geographic elements, when not to scale, must admittedly be abstract to some extent and thus rely in part on mental envisioning joined to the basic, apparent visual elements. Thus, the depiction of inhabitants of certain regions implied the geographic units they occupied. This metonymy is linked to the ancient idea that conquests and geographic presence were always related to human habitation. Empty or deserted places were of no significance in classical antiq­ uity, be it politically or scientifically. Geographic surveys focused exclusively on inhabited regions, and what was beyond them was both unknown and uninteresting. This approach is apparent in the very Greek term for the world, the (gē) oikoumenē, namely the “inhabited (earth)”. In a Roman political con­ text, the idea of conquests and triumphs was always linked with tribes and peoples, and less with land as such. This is why we find evidence in Rome for depictions of foreigners directly linked to victories and political achievements. A combination of material and textual evidence demonstrates this important visual channel for transmitting knowledge related to geography via the public depiction of ethnic portraits.73 In 55 bce, Pompey built a theatre in the Campus Martius. Behind its scaena he placed a colonnade to shelter spectators from sudden showers and to offer room for preparation of stage outfits. This roofed colonnade was a rectangular

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court, including four parallel rows of columns. A garden was placed in its cen­ tre, and works of art decorated the site. Among them was a series of 14 portraits of conquered peoples (simulacra gentium) made by the sculptor Coponius.74 Augustus initiated a similar public display, building a colonnade in which he assembled images representing different peoples. This building was accord­ ingly called the Porticus ad Nationes. The portraits were probably accompa­ nied by inscriptions (tituli) identifying the conquered peoples.75 In addition, in the inner part of the Augustan Altar of Peace, the Ara Pacis, there was a minor frieze depicting a series of standing and seated feminine figures, some of them armed, in various, often exotic dress. Between 50 and 66 such figures were arranged along the entire perimeter of the Altar. These probably repre­ sented Nationes rather than provinces.76 Several of the characters on the main outer frieze were identified as barbarians from eastern and western regions or as Bosporan royalty.77 Unfortunately, nothing remains of the Pompeian and Augustan portraits, but evidence dated to Imperial times suggests the nature of earlier ethnic por­ traits. In the Sebasteion in Aphrodisias in Asia Minor, constructed under the Julio-Claudians, there was a series of ethnic portraits with inscribed names of their ethnē.78 Figure 6.12 offers a surviving sample, which shows that these por­ traits included typical physical features and attributes such as headgear, jewelry and hairstyles. In this way, specific ethnic characters could be recognized. The tituli probably assisted precise identification, but the main components were most likely typical and possibly stereotypic portraits. A series of female ethnic personifications appeared on the Arch of Claudius and in the group reliefs surrounding the Hadrianeum.79 This temple of the deified Hadrian was dedicated in 145 ce by Antoninus Pius and included ide­ alized women carrying weapons and wearing the typical dress of their home­ lands – 19 reliefs survive from what was originally a larger collection, with no identifying inscriptions. In most cases, depictions of foreign peoples did not rely on accurate appear­ ances, but were generic. Like the barbarians in Greek art, who became arche­ types of “others”, in Roman reliefs and paintings as well, both the context and emblematic features enabled identification of the figures as e.g. Parthians or Gauls.80 But in Rome the propaganda aspect was much stronger; the oth­ ers were always conquered peoples, who were presented in an iconographic context related to Roman dominance, and as such they were not necessarily accurate ethnographic studies. In this way, like the stereotypic notes in idioms (Chapter 4), these images both represented existing popular images and pro­ moted and preserved them.81 Jessica Hughes has vigorously asserted that, without written labels, most people in antiquity would have been unable to interpret and understand the exact meaning of ethnic personifications.82 From the fact that modern view­ ers are often at a loss regarding the specific ethnicity depicted in a relief or on a coin, she infers that such personifications could also be problematic for the ancient viewer. This difficulty would increase particularly in group

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Figure 6.12 Relief and inscription, Sebasteion, Aphrodisias, 1st century ce. “People of Bessi”. Inscriptions of Aphrodisias http://insaph.kcl.ac.uk/iaph2007/iAph090 009.html, by permission, Charlotte Roueche.

presentations of series of personified peoples, where individual elements would be subordinate to the group context. But even Hughes accepts that groups of ethnic personifications, such as the one in the Hadrianeum, served to illustrate and celebrate Rome’s power over conquered foreign peoples, even if these were not individually and precisely identified. The question is thus whether the geographic sensation that came across to the public was more of a general, vast geographic space translated into power, or included identification of specific peoples and places within the spatial scope of the Roman Empire. As we have seen, specific physical features, dress and equip­ ment were often attributed to specific peoples. Even when these depictions tended more to the generic or stereotypical, it still seems possible – or, in view of the various media that applied similar visual vocabulary, even prob­ able – that these details were legible for mass communication; they had the potential to be understood even by uneducated viewers, and the ethnic and

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geographic ideas they represented could have been grasped and absorbed by at least some viewers.

Roman coinage The political structure of the Roman state and its cultural atmosphere were fundamentally different from those in classical Athens and other Greek poleis. The extensive power of the Romans over conquered regions and peoples beyond the Italian peninsula, together with the impulse toward further trium­ phal achievements, was an essential element of politics and the social ethos and, as already seen, was oriented towards foreign peoples and unknown, extended horizons. These messages were also delivered publicly on coins, mainly in two ways: through personifications of subdued ethnic entities83 and through sym­ bols of foreign lands.84 Although foreign currencies still circulated, I focus here on geographic messages in the currency minted at Rome as it gradually became the centre of an empire. Elaborate visual messages usually appeared only on coins of higher denomi­ nations. Smaller coins were simple in both form and iconography. Geographic images were usually linked to personifications of foreign peoples in a subor­ dinate position. Personified peoples and places appeared in four iconographic and compositional types:85 (1) In the capta types, the foreign captives kneel, sit or stand in grief beneath a trophy, and are naked, partially or fully dressed. They do not interact with the power that has subjugated them. (2) In the supplicatio or adoratio type, the kneeling or standing figures reach out to the conqueror, either offering a gift intended to gain the Roman peo­ ple’s favour (supplicatio) or holding out their hands in a gesture of prayer or pleading (adoratio). (3) In the restitutio type, a Roman leader takes the hand of a female figure kneeling below him in order to restore her to a standing position. (4) In the fides type, a personified province stands either alone or with a per­ sonification of Roman power. The conquered land is thus depicted as a faithful partner of Rome, while its inferiority is indicated by its position to the left or by its smaller size. These types appear already in the final decades of the Republic and in the Augustan Age. One of the earliest examples is the depiction of Pompey and Hispania handing over a palm branch as a symbol of victory (Figure 6.13). Other Augustan coins show kneeling characters representing a conquered Parthian and an Armenian (Figure 6.14). Both have typical attributes which enable identification: the Parthian holds the stolen Roman signia, while the Armenian wears a typical tiara. A short caption seals the delivery of the mes­ sage. The Julio–Claudian and Flavian emperors adopted these numismatic ico­ nographies and issued coins with similar messages of conquests associated with

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Figure 6.13 Roman silver coin, Corduba mint, 46–45 bce. Hispania handing over a palm branch to Pompey. Caption: Cn(aeus) Magnus Imp(erator). CNG.

Figure 6.14 Roman coins, 19 bce. Left coin: Kneeling Parthian holding a Roman military standard. Caption: Caesar Augustus Sign(ia) Rece(pta), CNG. Right coin: Kneeling Armenian with a Tiara. Caption: Caesar Divi F(ilius) Arme(nia) Capt(a), OCRE.

ethno-geography.86 A famous example is the Iudaea Capta coin of Vespasian struck in 71 ce to commemorate and celebrate the victory in Judaea (Figure 6.15).87 On it, a clothed female figure sits in mourning under a palm tree, while on the other side a half-naked soldier stands, with his armour on a low branch to the side. The visual message is delivered by the human figures and by the palm tree representing typical Judaean scenery.

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Figure 6.15 Roman bronze coin, 71 ce. Standing figure of armed victor, palm tree, seated mourning woman. Caption: Iudaea Capta SC. CNG.

The so-called travel coins of Hadrian are a unique series. The emperor made two long journeys around the Roman world, which were commemorated on coins minted between 134 and 138 ce.88 Unlike previous issues, which depicted foreign peoples and lands following successful military campaigns and conquests of the depicted personified lands, the Hadrianic coins allude to the places the emperor visited, emphasizing the geographic extent of the Empire and Hadrian’s personal glory – 25 provinces or provincial cities are depicted on these coins. The obverse always bears Hadrian’s portrait, while the reverse presents the personified sites in one of three ways (Figure 6.16): (1) The simple type: a single personification with local and often stereotypical attributes accompanied by an inscription with the name of the province. The Achaea character, for instance, is accompanied by an amphora, and the Arabia one by a camel. (2) The adventus type: the personification, again with typical attributes, together with the emperor offering sacrifice to commemorate his arrival in the province. (3) The restitutori type: the emperor grips the hand of the kneeling province as if to raise her up. The overall impression is of an atmosphere of unity and respect towards the various parts of the Empire. The entire selection is in fact a sort of visual catalogue of places. Even if one would never have the entire series in one’s

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Figure 6.16 Coins, Hadrian’s travel issues. Rome, 130–138 ce From left to right: personifications of Hispania, Britannia, Gaul, Africa. CNG.

hand at one time, a single sample would deliver the idea of place associated with Roman power, the idea of empire and the personality of Hadrian. This message accompanied the almost identical one, in terms of both means and content, surrounding the Hadrianeum complex. When personifications were not applied, symbols told the story, for example a triumphal chariot led by elephants symbolizing an eastern or African victory89 on a coin from 125 bce (Figure 6.17) and a crocodile symbolizing the conquest of Egypt90 on a coin dated to 28–27 bce (Figure 6.18). Other symbols were typical foreign armour or local dress, such as the Armenian tiara (Figure 6.19). Africa was also represented typically and symbolically. An elephant hide, com­ plete with ears and trunk, for instance, appeared on coins perhaps depicting Pompey and hinting at his military successes in Africa.91 This idea was further enhanced on coins which included other typical symbols for Africa in Roman eyes, such as a plough and an ear of grain (Figure 6.20 and Chapter 4 for similar associations in proverbs and idioms). The same procedure for representing conquered peoples and places on coins seems to have prevailed from the late Republic to the High Empire. Only the identity of the conquered peoples depicted altered as a reflection of geo­ graphic changes and the expanded limits of the Empire. Thus the Spaniards

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Figure 6.17 Roman coin, 125 bce Jupiter on an elephant biga, Victoria flying with a victor’s wreath. Caption: Metellu(s). CNG.

Figure 6.18 Roman silver coin, 28–27 bce Caption: Aegypto Capta. CNG.

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Figure 6.19 Roman silver coin, c. 19–18 bce Armenian tiara with bow quivers. Caption: Armenia Capta. CNG.

Figure 6.20 Roman coin, Utica, 47–46 bce Head of Africa laureate and clad in elephant scalp, stalk of grain, plough. Caption: Q(uintus) Metell(us) Scipio Imp(erator). Private Collection.

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and Gauls of the Republican and Augustan types are replaced on Flavian coins by Britons, Jews and Germans. The ideal of the Roman leader as a conqueror and the Roman state as a spatially vast empire could remain constant in the public mind.92 Bernhard Woytek has recently put one of the central questions in this study in a straightforward way: “did the (supposed) message always find an audience?”93 This question is relevant to our discussion from beginning to end: what was the relationship between the message and its reception, not only in regard to coins, but also in regard to other visual material, and oral and aural transmissions as well? My aim throughout has been to discover the possible effect of bits of geographic information on audiences and viewers. Woytek focuses on coins as serial, portable objects which circulated widely in antiquity, and defines them as “miniature monuments”.94 He rightly notes that the absorption of numismatic messages depended on the amount of attention a person devoted to a coin and to his or her associative ability or speed of thought, which also relied on previous knowledge. This, in turn, depended on education and literacy. The authorities issuing coins likely had a target audience in mind, and were wishing to spread their messages as widely as possible. These intended audiences were probably not only members of the educated elite. Like spectacles and full-size monuments, coins were meant to be seen by as many people as possible, especially since they were port­ able and numerous. While Woytek’s questions are important, the impact of coin images, and in fact the impact of all aural and visual messages discussed in this volume, cannot be measured. “Citation” of earlier Republican coin types by later Imperial copies may prove an understanding of visual mes­ sages, but perhaps only by educated persons. We thus cannot know how con­ temporaries responded to numismatic visual ideas. However, as we near the end of this study, we can see that the accumulation of geographic messages through several channels, as well as their constant depiction and oral allusions, aimed at and probably reached wide audiences. This potential absorption must have relied on individual practical knowledge influenced by historical circumstances.

Nilotic scenes in Rome Roman society was particularly preoccupied with everything related to Egypt.95 On the basis of constant economic and political contacts with the region, Roman art depicted and promoted typical images of Egypt. The most prevalent expressions of this interest are the so-called Nilotic scenes or Nilotic landscapes. These are images of the Nile and the banks of the river including the flora, fauna, buildings and activities of the population.96 In Greek art land­ scapes served as backgrounds for the main figurative scenes and vase paintings, as we have seen, included only generalized symbols of scenery in the form of trees or curves of land, but with a focus on the landscapes of specific regions or places. The Romans turned landscape scenes into the main iconographic

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theme, not entirely abandoning figures, but turning them into secondary ele­ ments. Most of these depictions treat space realistically, but present idealized landscapes with an exotic flavour. They are generalized representations which could belong to any land.97 Within this general tendency, however, Egyptian landscapes are an exception, since they constantly and clearly refer to an inven­ tory of typical details related to scenes by the Nile. Nilotic scenes first appear at the end of the 2nd and beginning of the 1st cen­ turies bce in Italy, and are an important genre mainly in Rome and Pompeii. The repetitive and typical elements in these landscapes are plants near or on the Nile, such as lotus, papyrus and palm trees; animals such as crocodiles, hippopotami, ducks and ibises; houses, villas and huts; boats and Nilometers. The spaces are peopled by Egyptian priests, dwarves and Pygmies, all engaged in ritual activities or in hunting and fishing.98 These landscapes become part of a trend, and most people could apparently have a solid idea of Egypt and its Nilotic atmosphere even without visiting the country.99 Often such scenes, especially in wall paintings and mosaics, were placed in private villas belonging to members of elite society. In this sense, they were not publicly available, but there are many examples of this visual genre, some intended for wide circula­ tion, and we are dealing with the general phenomenon of unwritten geogra­ phy, even within limited circles. A systematic, learned study of this material, including a catalogue of 131 Roman Nilotic scenes, is available in Versluys (2002). I expand here on one famous bit of evidence for this Roman “Aegyptiaca”. This is the Nile mosaic found in Praeneste (Palestrina) and dated to 120–110 bce (Figure 6.21), mak­ ing it the earliest and most comprehensive example of an Egyptian scene to have survived from the Roman world.100 This mosaic was set up in the elite context of a private villa, and thus was not exposed to a wide public, but similar visual vocabulary is used in other contexts listed in Versluys’ volume. The detailed depiction at Praeneste presents a bird’s-eye view of the course of the Nile, including numerous details of landscape, fauna and flora, population and buildings. The upper part represents a hunting scene in Ethiopia, the lower part scenes in Egypt at the time of the annual Nile inundation. The landscape is quite detailed and offers evidence of accurate observation. It contains more than 40 types of animals and 14 types of trees or plants. Small inscriptions with names are often included. There are many buildings and a variety of populations engag­ ing in characteristic activities and wearing typical dress.101 The visual effect is achieved both through the picture as a whole and through the individual vignettes of Egyptian life by the Nile. These scenes include items typically associated with the Nile, primarily the water of the river and within it local animals such as crocodiles, hippopotami, ducks, ibises and fish; local plants such as reeds, papyrus and palm trees; local inhabitants such as Pygmies; and activities such as hunting and fishing. It seems a safe guess that those who saw such images knew that they represented Egypt, the Nile, a strange faraway region, and so forth.

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Figure 6.21 Mosaic, Praeneste, 120–110 bce. Detail: Nile scene. By permission, corvinus.nl.

The shape of Rome Textual hints of simple Athenian sketches of relative positions of sites and partial evidence for the Roman use of shapes to depict geographic units do not reflect a coherent cartographic awareness. Allusions to possible maps in use by Roman emperors in the 1st century ce102 are too vague to be informative and in any case remain part of the cultural world of private and elevated social circles. In Rome, however, there are remains of public large-scale drawings with basic cartographic traits. These emerged against the background of the practice of surveying to divide up cultivatable land and then representing these surveys on stone or bronze plates set up in public, occasionally even depicting entire cities.103 Fundamentally, our proposed chronological end limit is the age of Hadrian, but if we slightly expand this span, we can refer to the unique so-called Forma Urbis Romae.104 This chronological exception is intended to illuminate earlier public visual presentations of parts of the world, and may provide grounds for assessing these monuments within the context of proto­ cartographic or pre-cartographic displays. The Forma was a giant marble plan of the city of Rome about 18m wide and 12m high dated to about 200 ce, and probably commissioned by the emperor Septimius Severus. It was composed of 150 marble slabs placed on an outer wall of the Temple of Peace. On it, linear shapes were engraved representing

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Roman streets and buildings covering an area of about 13.5 square kilome­ tres at a scale of 1:240. It showed every ground floor room in the city, indi­ vidual columns, steps, staircases and more. Many temples on this sketch were coloured, probably representing familiar landmarks. These depictions were accompanied by inscriptions marking public buildings, aqueducts and roads.105 Figure 6.22 shows a group of fragments of the Forma constituting the corner of a slab. Engraved on its top is a horizontal street flanked by a row of small shops. At the bottom and occupying most of the lower right corner of the fragment group lies a large porticoed structure. A colonnade surrounds three clamp-shaped features in the centre of the building. These engravings in fact represent a simple map including a flat image of architectural units and the rela­ tive position of these elements. The presentation of this plan on a wall hints at a contemporary recogni­ tion that it was not meant to be useful in a practical way, because absorbing it, particularly in detail, was difficult. No one could gain more than a general impression of the plan, and viewers had to stand back in order to fully grasp its significance.106 At the same time, the overall design suggests a conscious effort to offer a map accessible and meaningful to many viewers, including the barely

Figure 6.22 Fragments of marble slab, Forma Urbis Romae, Rome, 200 ce Ant.Com. 1364bis; fr. n. 11fh Viminal with a sector of the Vicus Patricius. Photographic Archive of the Capitoline Museums © Roma – Sovraintendenza Capitolina Ai Beni Culturali.

182 Visualizing geography

literate. The meaning was probably not in the minute details and the preci­ sion, but in the overall vision of Rome as the capital of the Empire. Such an emotional effect complemented the other visual means used to glorify Rome’s conquests.107 While these remnants represented the city of Rome, their very existence perhaps illuminates the interpretation of other earlier formae mentioned above. Some sort of general drawings of shapes of foreign regions, or of a more gen­ eral mock-up of the world, may have been publicly available, even if not as a common phenomenon. Could people understand these displays? No doubt the very presence of a monumental forma had its effect. As for its details, the answer depends on the assumed skills needed to understand a cartographic drawing which involves abstraction. Unlike modern cartography, the Forma and, as far as we know, other similar sketches in antiquity did not involve a defined and consistent scale, a relief or a grid of longitudes and latitudes. It did apply simple symbols such as lines for walls and a sense of direction and distance. Overall it manifested an aerial and miniature perspective. The ability to interpret this large-scale engraving depended on individual skills at grasping such abstrac­ tions, but was probably based on the simple understanding of spatial relation­ ship between real-world features.108 Most people who knew their environment could thus probably grasp at least the general concept of a sketched city and even recognize specific details in it.

The visual aspect of epigraphic lists We are explicitly dealing here with unwritten, visual geographic information and are emphasizing the potential availability of such knowledge to illiterate sectors of Greek and Roman societies. Some mention ought nonetheless to be made of a primarily written form of evidence, with particular attention to its visual aspect. Public inscriptions were apparently aimed first and foremost at reading audiences, and were intended to deliver the written word to as many people as possible. Thus creeds, laws and celebratory messages were inscribed by the authorities on large pieces of durable material, such as stone or metal, and placed in public places. But such monumental inscriptions also had a physi­ cal presence and a visual dimension which likely appealed to non-readers as well. I accordingly assume that inscriptions could have delivered messages even without being read. The very existence of a large piece of stone or metal in a central place within the community, first of all, must have created a sense of respect, importance and even awe from any passer-by. Second, the script itself may have had a visual effect: the arrangement, number and size of letters, and graphic repetitions could all have made their way into the crowds’ conscious­ ness. We can thus assume that when a semi-literate person encountered such an inscription, and even when a completely uneducated person absorbed some hints or solid information about the general content of the inscription based on what he saw or heard, both took in the inscription’s meaning, and its pub­ lic effect was achieved. Lists containing geographic information thus had the

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potential to influence the extent of geographic knowledge among the crowds, even if only in the form of very general spatial concepts. Modern scholarship supports this line of thought. Since the 1980s, scholars have ceased to consider inscriptions simply in functional terms as sources of historical information, and have begun to treat them as a cultural and symbolic phenomenon, often (and specifically at Rome) tightly linked to monuments.109 We can thus imagine individuals in our target group approaching a monu­ mental inscription. The completely analphabetic could appreciate the physical context (the stele, building or arch) and grasp that the inscription on or near it relayed an important message. Semi-literates, ranging from those who could decipher individual letters to those who could read a few words, could perhaps even understand parts of the text. In our search for geographic details and spatial notions, we can consider several examples of such inscriptions which might have reached non-reading groups in Athenian and Roman society. Let us begin with the Athenian trib­ ute lists dated to 454–410 bce.110 These monumental decrees published lists of members of the Delian League and their share in the joint effort to sup­ port the defensive pact. Although there were three kinds of lists, they were all catalogues of names of communities and their tribute (assessed or paid). These poleis were partially, although inconsistently, arranged according to geographic groupings,111 but even without any deeper analysis of the details, we can guess at the effect of such an inscription on an uneducated bystander. Figure 6.23

Figure 6.23 Athenian stone inscription, Mid-5th century bce Fragment of tribute list © David Gill.

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shows a segment of an Athenian tribute list dated to the mid-5th century bce. Anyone could recognize the repetition, the presence of numbers on the right, and perhaps, with some minimal understanding of basic letters, the repeti­ tious ioi, which is the suffix for the plural noun denoting members of polis communities. Turning to Rome, we find several examples of geographic lists, all installed during the Augustan Age. A famous yet controversial example was probably part of an initiative by Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, Augustus’ devoted general and friend. Pliny reported that Agrippa intended “to display the orbis terrarum for the world to see (orbem terrarum orbi spectandum propositurus esset)” (Plin., NH 3.17). The likely goal was to promote the princeps’ reputation by emphasizing the magnificence of his geopolitical achievements, for which public visibil­ ity was essential.112 Several modern scholars have argued that Agrippa’s pro­ ject involved a large-scale map.113 Kai Brodersen, by contrast, suggests that it was probably a monumental inscription posted in a portico displaying lists of regions, cities, mountains, rivers, islands and the names of tribes and peo­ ples.114 We do not know the order in which the information in these so-called commentarii was arranged (topographic? geographic? alphabetic?). But we can understand this evidence to show that there was at the time a monumental toponymic list on public display in Rome. As far as we can tell, this inscription consisted of bare names with no additional information, and we might guess that it had a primarily visual effect on the masses by its mere existence, and possibly by its content as available to semi-literates.115 Four other Augustan monumental lists of conquered peoples are known: on the Segusio Arch; on the Lugdunum altar; on the La Turbie trophy; and Augustus’ Res Gestae. All four were situated outside the city of Rome, probably to propagate Augustus’ fame and word of his achievements in the provinces. Thus all four amply demonstrate the transmission of a general geo­ graphic awareness even to uneducated people, or to those who did not read Latin. But most significant, at least three of the lists had an accompanying visual relief portion which left no doubt about the public dimension of the intended message. The Arch of Augustus in Segusio records the peace between Augustus and Marcus Julius Cottius, king of the Cottian Alps. It bears an inscription: Marcus Julius Cottius, son of King Donnus, leader of the following com­ munities: the Segovii, Segusini, Belaci, Caturiges, Medulli, Tebavii, Adanates, Savincates, Ecdinii, Veaminii, Venisamores, Iemerii, Vesubianii, and Quadiates, and the (aforementioned) communities who were under this leader (dedicated this arch) to Imperator Caesar Augustus.116 The arch also included several reliefs perhaps depicting the king and repre­ sentatives of the Cottian communities, but the remains do not allow us to reconstruct a definite visual ethnic message available to all observers. Another list of tribes was inscribed on an altar in Lugdunum (modern Lyon):

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The temple that was collectively dedicated by all the Galatae to Caesar Augustus is situated in front of this polis at the confluence of the rivers. There is a notable altar with an inscription of the tribes, 60 in number, and images of them, one for each tribe. (Strabo, 4.3.2) Surely the combination of inscriptions and ethnic images enhanced the message: the idea was that it was available to everyone. Part of the Tropaeum Alpium in La Turbie, mentioned above, also included a monumental inscription celebrat­ ing Augustus’ conquest of the Alps through a detailed list of conquered Alpine peoples.117 Finally, Augustus’ monumental inscription of his life achievements, the Res Gestae, which was placed both in the city of Rome and in the eastern provinces, also included sections (nos. 26–33) enumerating conquered places and peoples.118 These clusters of exotic names were designed to impress their audiences, but they were all written. They are thus essentially and significantly different than similar selections included in texts which were originally delivered orally. To what extent did these detailed written sources reach the perception of illiterate popular audiences? We must again rely on guesswork; but even those who read the inscription in its entirety probably could not understand every detail or recognize each tribe and its location. This is all the more true for non-readers. But the association of geography with power, and specifically with the image of Augustus, together with the “rhetoric of the list”,119 likely penetrated the observer’s consciousness. What is common to these sets of geographic and ethnographic lists in both Athenian and Roman society is that they link geog­ raphy with political power: Athens as the leader of a league of Greek poleis, reflecting its political and financial power (more allies, more tribute, more power), and Rome with its pride in its extensive conquests manifesting its growing significance as a centre of an empire (more conquered people, more land, more power). And it seems that in both contexts the aim of these lists was to distribute information regarding the image and power of the state among as many spectators as possible, including non-readers. At Rome in particular, this goal was achieved by combining monumental epigraphic lists with visual images. At the same time, unlike the stream of geographic details in speeches and drama, it is hard to evaluate the mass absorption of specific place-names, especially obscure ones, and the geographic effects of these monuments prob­ ably had more to do with a general sense of space than with the recognition of specific toponyms and ethnonyms.

Conclusion – The visual impact Various visual channels enabled the expression of geographic information. Athenian and Roman observers could have expanded their mental world first through the absorption of a general sense of spatial scope, mostly related to political power, but also through references to specific places, even some not

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mentioned in contemporary oral communications. The evidence is sporadic and does not always offer an opportunity for a systematic, comprehensive anal­ ysis. But the accumulation of information seems to allow for some solid con­ clusions regarding the potential impact of visual geography. Any production of artefacts or monuments involves artists, designers or builders, on the one hand, and customers or audiences, on the other. Common to most items discussed here is the fact that they were displayed within the public domain. This is certainly true of triumphal monuments and coins, but even decorated vases, ultimately owned by individuals, were probably exposed to more than one set of eyes. The intended audiences of the various items were thus composed of numerous people belonging to different social and economic registers. Clearly designers of triumphal monuments or large-scale city plans aimed at the largest crowd of spectators possible: the point was to deliver the message widely. Similarly, the vast circulation of coins exposed their visual details to numerous people. Purpose and exposure thus promised an extensive dissemination of the imagery. Visual representations played an important role in both Athens and Rome, but in very different ways. Visual evidence for classical Athens and for Republican and Imperial Rome is not as symmetrical as might be wished; there was no Roman vase industry parallel in volume and quality to the one in 5th–4th-century bce Athens, and the Athenian polis had no cultural room for triumphal monuments similar in size and content to those in Rome. However, by examining how geographic details were transmitted visually and circulated in both societies, we can supply another piece in the emerging picture of unwritten, illiterate geography. In regard to Athenian art, we mostly examined small-scale depictions on vases, reliefs and coins. These were often associated with mythical scenes, and use personifications to denote geographic elements. Such depictions were probably grasped mostly as parts of the mythological tale rather than as strictly geographical markers. We can therefore assume that the educational compo­ nent related to geography within these personifications was very subtle, if it was apparent at all to observers. At the same time, symbols on coins closely linked with the cities that produced them probably had a greater chance of delivering a sense of place. These joined ethnographic vase images which, despite being inaccurate and stereotypical, had a constant identification with specific peoples. The common background for all these images was panhel­ lenic culture, specifically its mythology and history, and the political stature of Athens throughout the 5th century bce. A very different atmosphere set the tone of visual geography in Rome. Gradual geographic expansion and the social and political emphasis on con­ quests and victories offered the main context for almost every depiction of geographic and ethnographic images. Paul Zanker has observed that “even the uneducated viewer was indoctrinated in the new visual program”,120 referring specifically to the Augustan Age, in which the lofty stature of the Roman state and its princeps was closely associated with world rule. As we have seen, most

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depictions of regions and peoples were associated with triumphs. A cosmopoli­ tan personification such as the oikoumene, the inhabited world, or globes sym­ bolizing the entire world, emphasized the breadth of the Roman Empire.121 But constant specific visual reference to unknown and well-known places and to foreign peoples aimed this sense of domination at a concrete awareness of geographic detail: “Images … provided a medium through which the inhabit­ ant of the Roman city might experience the wider world more directly, appar­ ently unmediated by text”.122 In looking at images related to geography and ethnography, viewers had to be able to recognize and understand iconography, style and context. People examining visual representations probably deciphered them by seeking out the familiar: compositions, motifs and details they could identify from their own experience. Thus, a certain level of visual literacy was required to capture the meaning and the message. There accordingly seems to have been a range of visual literacies: the basic one was practiced through public monuments and employed familiar visual ideas or topoi, while higher levels required consid­ erable cultural erudition.123 Keeping in mind our broader purpose, we may conclude that the visual channel complemented oral information, but did not replace it. Images could instead create a sort of impressionistic geography.

Notes 1 For key studies of visual imagery and their public effect, see Clarke 2003; Elsner 2004; 2007; 2018; Hölscher 2004; 2018; Elsner-Meyer 2014. Specifically for the Augustan Age, see Zanker 1990; Nicolet 1991, 29–84. 2 For a general discussion, see Betts 2017.

3 Hdt., 3.110–112.

4 Arist., Eccle., 1118–1122 (Chapter 3).

5 Chapter 4 and this chapter on p. 175..

6 Rome became “a miniature of the whole world”, Moatti 2015, 56.

7 For a general overview and important insights regarding the cultural dynamic of public

art in antiquity, see Clarke 2003, 1–13.

8 Clarke 2003.

9 Brodersen 2003; 2012;Talbert 2017.

10 H.A. Shapiro 1993;A.C. Smith 2011, 27–40.

11 Ostrowski 1990; 1991; 1996.

12 Boardman 2001, 155–160.

13 Boardman 2001, 172–173.

14 Rehm 2002, 18.

15 A.C. Smith 2011, 27–33, 149–150.

16 Gais 1978; Ostrowski 1991.

17 Il. 21.194 and Paus., 8.38.10.

18 Soph., Trach., 9–14.

19 Gais 1978, 356–358.

20 A.C. Smith 2011, 30.

21 A.C. Smith 2011, 32.

22 A.C. Smith 2011, 34–35.

23 A.C. Smith 2011, 30.

24 For instance, in BAPD 2847; 10546; 44979.

25 For instance, in BAPD 683; 743; 2090.

188 Visualizing geography 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73

For instance, in BAPD 209467; 218716; 9030014.

A.C. Smith 2011, 91–102.

A.C. Smith 2011, 38–39.

A.C. Smith 2011, 106–107.

DeVries 2000, 339–356.

DeVries 2000, 356–363.

Tsifakis 2000, 364–372.

Tsifakis 2000, 372–380.

Tsifakis 2000, 388–389.

Miller 2000, 417–430; Spier–Potts–Cole 2018.

Bérard 2000, 395–402.

Snowden 1976; Gruen 2011, 211–220.

B. Cohen 2001.

H.A. Shapiro 2009, 58–63.

H.A. Shapiro 2009; Gruen 2011, 40–52.

Ivanchik 2007.

H.A. Shapiro 2009. For an overview of Athenian-Persian contacts and cultural influ­

ences, see Miller 1997. B. Cohen 2001. H.A. Shapiro 2009, 63. H.A. Shapiro 2009, 78. Malkin 2011. Kroll 2009. Boeotia: MK-B 18206842; Aegina: MK-B 18203107; Croton: MK-B 18250601; Byzantium: MK-B 18234626. Rhodes: MK-B 18257643; Poseidonia: MK-B 18250601. MK-B 18206124. A.C. Smith 2011, 29, 38. Kroll 2009. W.C.West 1969; Stroszeck 2004; Kinnee 2018. De Angelis 1996. Kleiner 1985; Lange 2016, 195–198. Stanley-Brown 1929. Kinnee 2018. One significant example is the sculptural part in the so-called “Trophies of Marius” dated to Domitian’s time. Ferris 2011, 189–190, with other similar examples from the Augustan period on pp. 190–192. Boatwright 2015, 246–248, and see Ostrowski 1990; 1996. Ingholt 1960; Zanker 1990, 187–192. Zanker 1990, 230–231; Pollini 1993. Zanker 1990, 227–230; Kuttner 1995, esp. 69–93; Martiz 2004, 91. For a detailed analysis of the ethnic dimension of the Forum Traiani, see Coulston 413–424. Rossi 1971;Touati Leander 1987; Coarelli 2000; Ferris 2003, 55–60. Clarke 2003, 28–41. Ferris 2003. Ferris 2003, 54. Coulston 399–413. Beckmann 2011. For a visibility analysis, see Beckmann 2011, 188–193. Coulston 2003. Swetnam-Burland 2010; Boatwright 2015, 242–243. R.R.R. Smith 1988; Nicolet 1991, 43; C. Edwards 2003, 65–66. For a parallel 19th­ century phenomenon, see Bell 1982.

Visualizing geography 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116

189

Vitr., 5.9.1; Prop., 2.32.11–13; Plin., NH 36.41; Suet., Nero 46.1.

Vell., 2.39.2; Serv. ad Aen. 8.72.

Rose 1990.

Liverani 1995, 220–221; for similar later evidence, see 222–249.

R.R.R. Smith 1988; 2013, 113–121, and see another painted set from the Flavian era

in Spain: De Hoz 2007. Hughes 2009, and more generally in Ostrowski 1990; 1996. Ferris 2011, 185–186. For typical physical stereotypes at the time, see Isaac 2004; Gruen 2011. Hughes 2009, 2, 8–11, 14. Ostrowski 1990; 1996. For an overview of representations of foreigners on Roman coins, see Woytek 2015. Clearly defined and described in Cody 2003. Methy 1992; Cody 2003. Brin 1986; Cody 2003, 107–110. Toynbee 1934, 24–29; Kammerer 1972–73; Danziger–Purcell 2005, 129–138; Hughes 2009, 4–5. Hickson 1991, 135–136. Vecchi-Vecchi Gomez 2002, pace Darycott 2012, who associates the crocodile specifi­ cally with Cleopatra. Maritz 2004, 90. Cody 2003, 123. Woytek 2018, 355, and see also Hekster 2003. Woytek 2018, esp. 355–356, 367–378. Bricault–Versluys–Meyboom 2007; Spier–Potts–Cole 2018 For a thorough survey, see Versluys 2002. Ling 1991, 142–149 and cf. Leach 1988. Inventory of elements in Versluys 2002, 261–285. On pygmies and dwarves, see Meyboom 1995, 150–154. See also Fritze 2016, 71–106. Torelli 1992, 121; Meyboom 1995;Versluys 2002, 52–54; Merrills 2017, 50–65. Meyboom 1995, 20–42. Talbert 2012, 170. Talbert 2012, 163–166. The Stanford digital Forma Urbis Romae project at https://formaurbis.stanford.edu/ index.html Talbert 2012, 172–177. The same is true of the columns of Trajan and Marcus Aurelius: Beckman 2011, 188– 193. Possibly similar purpose and effect in the later 300 ce Peutinger Map: Talbert 2012, 177–186. Ottosson 1988. Specifically in Roman contexts:Wiseman 2008, 4; Lloris 2014. Meritt–Wade–Gery–McGregor 1939-; Paarman 2004. Paarman 2004, 77–78. Zanker 1990, 143; Nicolet 1991, 95–122; Boatwright 2015, 236–243; Merrills 2017, 37–38. Tierney 1963; Dilke 1985, 41–53; Nicolet 1991, 98–114; Talbert 2012, 167–170; Boatwright 2015, 241–242.The exact nature of this map has been much disputed. Brodersen 2003, 268–285. Literary geographic lists mentioned, for instance, in Pomponius Mela’s De chorograhia and, slightly later, in Pliny’s encyclopedic Natural History, were not publicly displayed and were thus less available to crowds. See also Gilbert 2002. CIL V 7231.

190 Visualizing geography 117 CIL V 7817; Pliny, NH 3.136; Ferris 2011, 189–190. 118 Nicolet 1991, 15–28. Boatwright 2015, 242–243, suggests that the geographic emphasis was perhaps enhanced by the two Egyptian obelisks set up in front of the inscription. 119 Merrills 2017, 84. 120 Zanker 1990, 112. 121 Arnaud 1984; Nicolet 1991, 29–56. 122 Merrills 2017, 50. 123 Clarke 2003, 269-275;Trimble 2017, 106–113.

7

The scope of an illiterate geography

This study aspires to examine and assess what the crowds in Greek and Roman societies might have known about geography. The core of the discussion was largely concerned with the availability and dissemination of information, rather than with the identification of a defined, solid body of knowledge. This was dictated by the fact that we cannot access and assess knowledge among the target population, as a consequence of which the outlook of illiterate or barely literate individual remains almost impenetrable. The study was based mostly on concrete details, but I add here a few theoretical observations concerning simple geographic knowledge. These are intended to contribute to a reconstruction of a theoretical framework of the ways people grasp their wider environment. The analysis of popular geographic knowledge in Greek and Roman socie­ ties involves “naïve geography”.1 Such geography is naïve in the sense that it focuses on the body of knowledge people have about their environment and geographic world without access to scientific reasoning or tools. It typically involves common-sense reasoning about geographic space, qualitative reason­ ing methods, descriptive rather than analytical methods, and instinctive, spon­ taneous and intuitive approaches (e.g. “halfway between Pteleum and Leukē Aktē” in Dem., 7.39–40). It is therefore sometimes contrary to objective observation of the real, physical world and often contains “errors” or incon­ sistencies. Such naïve or simple geography is typically based on direct experi­ ence and thus produces incomplete information and gross simplifications. It includes two-dimensional concepts, oversimplifications, and local rather than global distances often expressed in time units (e.g. “the land I sow extends for twelve days’ journey” in Aeschylus fr. 158 Radt).2 Spatial awareness in antiq­ uity was also based on hodological rather than cartographic thinking, meaning that it pertained to a lived space in contrast to an objective or scientific one, and applied simple linear concepts of relative sites more often than advanced cartographic thought.3 There are various levels of geographic awareness or knowledge: the ability to move from point A to point B within one’s local environment; the ability to move from point A to point B on a wider scale (between towns, regions, islands or continents); the awareness of the existence of foreign lands and people; and spatial awareness beyond what a person sees from an individual viewpoint.4 It

192 The scope of an illiterate geography

was primarily experience that contributed to the geographic skills of ancient people. These skills enabled a farmer to travel to the neighbouring farm, or to the agora or campus on market days; they allowed a fisherman to circumnavigate his island and return home; and they helped soldiers find their legion after a chaotic battle. They stemmed from basic human–environment relations based on simple sensory and observational data. In all of these daily functions, what stood behind these activities was a practical knowledge of space, rather than intellectual knowledge about space.5 Throughout this book, I have attempted to supplement illiterate phenomenal geography based on daily experience with intellectual geography, not in the sense of literary and scientific geography, but in the sense of information delivered through hearsay or sight. Not all geographic knowledge is spatial in nature. Basic knowledge involves recognition of places in the sense of labelling and mentally maintaining an inventory of them (e.g. “the Asia you talk of consists of Phrygia, Mysia, Caria and Lydia” in Cic., Flac., 65). Second to this is the recognition of place-to-place relations in a basic spatial arrangement. This involves a sense of orientation and direction and an idea of proximity and adjacency (e.g. “the island of Delos … set so far from Rome in the Aegean Sea” in Cic., Leg.Man., 55). Casually observing environments without a repertoire of spatial concepts, theories or generalizations, produces informal or incidental knowledge.6 Cognitive maps are thus personal and include the ability to follow a familiar route, think up a new and shorter route, or point toward places one cannot see.7 In terms of cognitive demands, there are two levels within the ability to pro­ cess geographic knowledge: the “what and where” and the “why and how”.8 The “what and where” skill in our target body of material can be accessed and assessed via the detailed toponym tables in the appendices. The “why and how” skill is another matter. Most sources for the aural and visual circulation of geographic knowledge concentrate on simple, basic information. Proverbs, for instance, are flat and straightforward: they briefly indicate small nuggets of information. Similarly, visual material offers no explanation, context or reason­ ing; “what you see is what is there”. In most cases, even plays and speeches, which are by nature more elaborate, offer nothing more than simple, basic, linear geographic information. The complex issue of knowledge assessment is apparent, for example, in the circulation of an inventory of place-names. Toponyms carry symbolic reso­ nance e.g. in proverbs and idioms, but also when they are mentioned in plays or speeches. But do they convey concrete geographic knowledge, understand­ ing deeper than a vague idea of a polis or a people “out there”? These ques­ tions become even more acute in connection with symbols. Do palm trees, for example, really imply anything beyond the fact that they were associated with Delos or Judaea? The association seemingly tells the viewer nothing about geography, but only underscores the symbolism. Similarly, crocodiles were an efficient means of indicating Egypt on coins, but to many, Egypt would just have been a vague land somewhere. I nonetheless argue that most people were not entirely ignorant. Some were completely unaware of their wider

The scope of an illiterate geography

193

environment, but it seems safe to say that many ordinary people in classical Athens or Rome lived actively within their environment and shared some knowledge of places and peoples beyond their immediate surroundings, so that they had basic spatial awareness. In order to secure solid results, the best analytical policy seems to be to emphasize the availability and circulation of knowledge in the public domain. An attempt to estimate the nature and amount of geographic information potentially available to the public in classical Athens and Rome must now be made. The present effort to reconstruct their intellectual environment in the sense of available information, both oral and visual, may illustrate at least one side in the process of accumulating knowledge, i.e. the “giving” side. The nature and extent of reception can only be conjectured. Even if we could interview or quiz the ancient Athenians and Romans, the issue of “knowl­ edge”, and specifically geographic knowledge, would remain to some extent obscure. Yet we can still make several determinations regarding unwritten geography and the circulation of geographic knowledge among uneducated sectors of Athenian and Roman society based on aural and visual channels of information. We have seen that information about the wider world could be gathered and displayed with no aspiration to practical use. People who never left their birthplace could still absorb fragments of geographic information through vari­ ous channels. At the same time, there was probably no homogeneous mode of understanding such material, and the oral and visual information accessible to the public may have been assimilated on various cognitive levels. Gaps in knowledge could be caused not only by differences in individual abilities, but also by place of residence; people who lived closer to public centres, that is urban residents, could have attended assemblies and public shows easily and frequently, thus expanding their unwritten geographic education, while those who lived in more remote places would remain in relative ignorance. Daily practice also influenced the number of opportunities a person had to encounter foreign places and peoples directly. Military and commercial expeditions were the main contexts for the direct expansion of one’s horizons, and involvement in the public life of Athens or Rome, even at home, enabled contacts with foreign products and persons. Speeches delivered in public assemblies or law courts included information, both basic and detailed, about real places relevant to the issues under discus­ sion. Tragedy offered a mix of mythical geography and real facts. Comedy, both Athenian and Roman, sometimes employed invented place names and nonexistent geographic elements along with mentions of real sites. Proverbs and idioms focused mostly on peoples, but also referred to places, almost always pointing to unusual, strange or stereotypical aspects. In Athens, public specta­ cles associated with ceremonies and shows enhanced collective Hellenic selfidentity, offering a political education in the Greek world, while in Rome other spectacles promoted collective self-identity toward other peoples, emphasizing victories and empire. Visual geography was generally consistent with the trends

194 The scope of an illiterate geography

in the oral channels, namely Hellenocentric ideas in Athens and triumphal ones in Rome, and often exploited visual topoi to deliver its messages. Could the public distinguish fictional from factual geography? As we have seen, both components were included in drama and idioms, and the simple answer is that we must assume that some individuals believed that the Styx was an actual river, that Bibesia really existed, that Thule marked the end of the world, and that all Boeotians were stupid. Unwritten geography was also avail­ able to all sectors of society and not only to the illiterate. Thus even educated people may have absorbed geographic information through the oral or visual channels, or through secondhand agents, with no reading involved. This point is related to the issue of the previous geographic knowledge of uneducated persons. It seems unlikely that anyone was entirely ignorant of his immedi­ ate or wider surroundings. In classical Athens, where trading journeys were a basic part of life, and in Republican Rome, where military expeditions to remote areas took place constantly, people probably heard of a wide range of places and peoples. Angelos Chaniotis speaks of unprecedented movements of populations in the “long Hellenistic Age” marked by globalization, networks and connectivity.9 But there was no single body of knowledge, and we cannot offer a definite estimate of the level of geographic awareness. We can at least cautiously hypothesize that there were several layers of common knowledge, and that places such as Persia, Egypt, Macedon and Sicily were more widely known than Scotussa, Lake Boebias, Buluba and Galsa. We can further assume that the uneducated sectors of society shared knowl­ edge from two different channels of information: they absorbed geographic information from their everyday practical conduct as soldiers, merchants, small businessmen and neighbours, but they could simultaneously absorb knowl­ edge from public oral performances or visual monuments and artefacts. The audience in the theatre, at the assembly, in court or in the streets had a pool of existing geographic knowledge when it assimilated information from the sources we have examined. Thus, an orator, dramatist or artist could perhaps assume, as we do today, that people already know of certain places beyond their immediate surroundings. Perhaps some authors played on this previous knowledge. When alluding to a sailing route, for instance, facts and details were seemingly presented to those who did not know them. But drawing the line between what may be assumed as previous knowledge and what may not is tricky, since we rely to some extent on our own knowledge of ancient geogra­ phy. How many of us have heard of Leukē Aktē or Oriculum? But then again perhaps these places were common knowledge in some context. Likewise, Byzantium or Arabia are relatively well known to modern people, due at least in part to historical circumstance; but were these sites as familiar in antiquity? We can only guess, assess and assume. Was there a clear dichotomy between scholarly and uneducated geography? Since some authors of orally transmitted “geographies” were themselves edu­ cated, their knowledge penetrated their speeches or plays and reached wider audiences who did not acquire such information through an organized course

The scope of an illiterate geography

195

of education. In this sense, it seems wrong to speak of an unwritten geography essentially different from a written one. But the choice of places and peoples reflected in proverbs and idioms, which were basically popular in origin, did not overlap entirely with the selection of place names and peoples in speeches and plays. Originally, popular knowledge was based more on places actually visited, and less on theoretical knowledge of the world. Moreover, the selec­ tion of geographic ideas and details in unwritten channels was generally more concrete, simple and practical than the one in written geography, particularly in its scientific branch. There we find abstract theoretical discussions of which almost no trace survives in publicly available transmissions. These include the­ ories about the shape of the earth and its parts, and calculations of its size; the theory of climatic zones and its botanical, zoological and ethnographic sig­ nificance; the mathematical calculation of coordinates on the globe – none of which circulated widely. In fact, the geographic information we have located at the core of the unwritten availability of knowledge was simple and twodimensional, and concerned places, peoples and occasionally topographic issues rather than actual geography. We thus have no reason to believe that anyone other than professionals learned about scientific geography, but the pool of publicly circulated knowledge could have contributed to an understanding of the extent and nature of the world. Perhaps we can assume awareness by some authors and artists of the nature of their audiences, so that public communica­ tions, whether oral or visual, were deliberately addressed to an audience that included ordinary, uneducated people. If so, the places mentioned and the mode in which they were presented must have been simpler and more “down to earth”. The evidence for unwritten geography in Athens and Rome is asymmet­ ric in both quantity and nature. For the periods treated in the present study, we possess more Athenian public speeches and tragedies than Roman ones, while Roman comedies mostly depend on Greek models. At the same time, there were no triumphal monuments in classical Athens, and the atmosphere surrounding Roman public spectacles and processions was foreign to Greek public life. The availability of geographic information also varied between the two societies. Athenian geography was set in a Mediterranean cultural framework within a network of Hellenic culture. A sense of cross-communal cultural unity, combined with Athens’ practical interests as the leader of the Delian League and geographical ideas transmitted or hinted at orally and visu­ ally, enhanced the sense of Hellenic unity in the face of external geopolitical and ethnic units. In Rome, geography was closely linked with conquests and victories, and became significant from the Punic Wars on. Geography thus played a major role in this ethos, but was a means rather than an end. In both societies and periods, uneducated crowds could expand their mental notion of the physical world. Athens and Rome developed politically and historically in very different ways, which can be expected to have led to different conclu­ sions regarding unwritten geography. There nonetheless seems to be room for conclusions regarding both societies.

196 The scope of an illiterate geography

The modes, both aural and visual, by which geography reached the aware­ ness of the crowds were usually straightforward, self-explanatory or based on simple toponyms or visual associations. Audiences and spectators could prob­ ably form some image of the world based on their intellectual abilities and cognitive contexts. They could get an idea of neighbouring regions and of remote ones as far as the supposed edges of the world. They could understand that there were many peoples and places in Asia and Africa, and they could envisage an Egyptian landscape or a Scythian wilderness. Throughout this study, I have emphasized the conjectural element within the discussion. This inability to offer firm answers to some questions, how­ ever, should not make us abandon the project as a whole. Instead, I hope that it makes contributions to two points in particular: first, the question of the amount of knowledge the masses had, and second, the methodology used to reach them through unwritten channels of information. This endeavour links well with Strabo’s comment on diggers and harvesters with which this study began: The person who crosses the sea or travels through flat land is guided by certain common notions (koinai fantasiai), by which both the uneducated (apaideutos) and the statesman operate … The geographer writes geogra­ phy neither for country-men … nor for harvesters and diggers, but for the person who can be persuaded that the entire earth is such as the mathema­ ticians say. (Strabo, Geography, 2.5.1) We are now at a position to better understand two elements in this observation: (1) The “common notions” shared by the uneducated and statesmen were the details and ideas publicly available through the channels discussed in this volume. (2) At least in educated circles, there was an awareness of the difference between educated-mathematical, i.e. scientific and written geography, and common-unwritten geography. Geographic information was thus widely available outside the scholarly class, and the Athenian and Roman publics could have absorbed this information without reading a single word. What remains beyond our reach is discerning how illiterates in Athens or Rome converted their naïve geographic knowl­ edge – gleaned haphazardly, and often uninformative or more or less fictional – into a worldview with a coherent appreciation of the spatial relationship between places and geographic features.

Notes 1 Egenhofer–Mark 1995.

The scope of an illiterate geography

197

2 Egenhofer–Mark 1995, 6–13. 3 Janni 1984. For experienced versus conceptual spaces in Greek and Roman societies, see Hölscher 2018, 15–27. 4 Egenhofer–Mark 1995, 6 5 Golledge 2002, 1. 6 Golledge 2002, 9–10. 7 Kuipers 1978, 1–5. 8 Golledge 2002, 1. 9 Chaniotis 2018, 386–400.

Appendix A Lists of place-names in speeches

200 Appendix A Table 2.1.a List of place names in Antiphon’s relevant speeches Mainland Greece

0

Islands

Italy/ Sicily

Lindus Methymna Mytilene Naxos Samos Samothrace 6 0

Europe

Asia Minor

Greater Africa TOTAL Asia

0

0

Aenus Thrace

2

0

8

Table 2.2.a List of place names in Lysias’ relevant speeches Mainland Greece

Islands

Italy/ Sicily

Europe

Asia Minor

Corinth Decelea Delphi Isthmus Megara Nemea Peloponnese Plataea Thebes Thessaly 10

Citium Curium Cyprus Eretria Mytilene Salamis Samos Thasos

Italy

Byzantium Chersonese Leukē Aktē Thrace

Cyzicus Ephesus Halicarnassus Hellespont Ionia

8

3 (1+2) 4

Catana Sicily

5

Greater Africa TOTAL Asia

0

0

30

Appendix A

201

Table 2.3.a List of place names in Andocides’ relevant speeches Mainland Greece

Islands

Italy/ Sicily

Europe

Asia Minor

Greater Africa TOTAL Asia

Argos Boeotia Corinth Decelea Delium Delphi Elis Isthmus Lacedaemon Laconia Lechaeum Megara Molossia Olympia Orchomenus Pegae Sparta Thesprotia Thessaly Troezen 20

Aegina Chios Cyprus Euboea Imbros Lemnos Lesbos Melos Naxos Samos Scyros

Italy Thurii

Chersonese Macedonia

Ephesus Hellespont Ionia

11

6 (2+4)

2

3

Catana Segesta Sicily Syracuse

0

0

42

Table 2.4.a List of place names in Isocrates’ relevant speeches Mainland Greece

Islands

Coronea Decelea Pherae 3

Delos

1

Italy/ Europe Sicily Byzantium Thrace 0

2

Asia Minor

Greater Asia

Aspendus Hellespont Pontus 3

Phoenicia

1

Africa TOTAL

0

10

Table 2.5.a List of place names in Isaeus’ relevant speeches Mainland Greece

Islands

Italy/Sicily Europe

Asia Minor Greater Asia

Calydon Lechaeum Sicyon Thessaly 4

Chios Crete Mytilene

Sicily

Olynthus Spartolus Thrace

Cnidus

3

1

3

1

0

Africa TOTAL

0

12

202 Appendix A Table 2.6.a List of place names in Lycurgus’ speech Mainland Greece

Islands

Italy/ Sicily

Europe

Asia Minor

Boeotia Chaeronea Corinth Decelea Delium Delphi Epidaurus Epirus Megara Messene Plataea Sparta Thermopylae Troezen 14

Aegina Andros Ceos Euboea Leucas Rhodes Salamis Samos

Persia Etna, mt. Macedonia Asia Phoenicia Sicily Europe Cilicia Cyaneae Eurymedon Phaselis Troy

8

2

2

6

Greater Asia

2

Africa TOTAL

0

34

Table 2.7.a List of place names in Hyperides’ relevant speeches Mainland Greece

Islands

Boeotia Chaeronea Dodona Elis Lamia Molossia Oropus Plataea Pylae=Thermopylae Pylaea Taenarum Troezen 12

Delos Hephaestia Lemnos Rhenea Thasos

5

Italy/ Sicily

0

Europe

Asia Minor

Chalcidice Europe Macedonia Olynthus Sestos

Aeolia Anaea Asia Myrine Troy

5

5

Greater Africa TOTAL Asia Egypt

0

1

28

Appendix A

203

Table 2.8.a List of place names in Aeschines’ relevant speeches Mainland Greece

Islands

Italy/Sicily Europe

Asia Minor

Alponus Acarnania Arcadia Artemisium Boeotia Cadmeia (Thebes) Chaeronea Cirrha Cithaeron, mt. Corinth Cotylaeum, mt. Decelea Delphi Elatea Elis Euripus Leuctra Mantinea Megalopolis Megara Nemea Nicaea (near Thermopylae) Opus Orchomenos Oropus Pellene Peloponnese Phocis Plataea Thebes Thermopylae Thessaly Thronion Thyteion 34

Aegina Andros Chalcis Corcyra Eretria Euboea Imbros Lemnos Naxos Oreus Salamis Samos Scyros Tamynae

Leontini Sicily

Amphipolis Anthemon Athos, mt. Byzantium Chersonese Cimmerian Bosporus Doriscus Eion Ergiskē Ganus Larissa Loedias, r. Macedonia Myrtenus Olynthus Pella Scythia Serrhium-Teichus Strepsa Strymon, r. Therma Thrace

Cilicia Hellespont Panticapaeum Pontus Troy

14

2

22

5

Greater Asia

Africa

TOTAL

0

0

77

204 Appendix A Table 2.9.a List of place names in Demosthenes’ relevant speeches Mainland Greece

Islands

Italy/Sicily

Europe

Asia Minor

Greater Asia Africa

Acarnania Ambracia Antron Boeotia Bucheta Cassopia Chaeronea Cirrahean plain Coronea Corsia Decelea Delphi Dodona Echinus Elatea (Epirus) Elatea (Phocis) Elis Haliartus Halus Hedyleum Larissa Leuctra Magnesia Mantinea Megalopolis Megara Messene Naupactus Neon/Neones Nicaea Olympia Orchomenus Oropus Pagasae Pandosia Pellene Pherae Phlius Phocis Phyle Plataea Pylos Sicyon Sparta Tanagra Thebes Thermopylae Thespiae Tilphosaeum Tricaranum Triphylia 51

Aegina Andros Antissa Argura Carystus Chalcis Chelidonian islands Chios Corcyra Cos Cyprus Cythnus Eresus Eretria Euboea Geraestus Halonnesus Imbros Lemnos Lesbos Leucas Mytilene Naxos Oreus Peparethus Porthmus Proconnesus Rhodes Salamis Samos Sciathos Scyros Siphnos Styra Tamynae Tenedos Tenos Thasos

Locri

Abdera Acanthus Aenus Agora Amphipolis Anthemus Apollonia Borysthenes, r. Byzantium Cabyle Cardia Chersonese Cimmerian Bosporus Crithote Doriscus Drongilus Eion Ergiskē Heraeum (Thrace) Leukē Aktē Maronea Mastira Mende Methōnē Myrtenus Olynthus Pallene Panticapaeum Pella Perinthus Potidaea Pteleum Pydna Sacred Mount Scione Selymbria Serreum Serrhium Teichus Sestus Strymon, r. Theodosia Thrace Tiristasis

Abydus Aegospotami Caria Cebren Chalcedon Cyaneae Cyzicus Erythrae Hellespont Hierum Lampsacus Lydia Paphlagonia Phaselis Phrygia Pontus Scepsis Sigeum Zelea

Ace Ecbatana Persia Susa

Egypt Naucratis

38

2 (1+1)

43

19

4

2

Sicily

TOTAL

159

Appendix A

205

Table 2.10.a List of place names in Dinarchus’ relevant speeches Mainland Greece Islands Amphissa Chaeronea Dodona Isthmus Leuctra Megara Messene Olympia Pellene Peloponnese Thebes 11

Italy/ Sicily

Chalcis Corcyra Eretria Euboea Naxos Samos

6

0

Europe

Asia Minor Greater Africa TOTAL Asia

Methōnē Potidaea Pydna

Cnidus Pontus Zelea

India

3

3

1

0

24

Islands

Chios Cos Crete Delos Lipara Mytilene Rhodes Samos Sardinia Tenedos

Mainland Greece

Achaea Athens Boeotia Corinth Greece Megaris Petra (Boeotia) Sicyon

Alatrium Alba Alsium Ameria Ancona Appenines Apulia Aquileia Aquinum Aricia Ariminum Arretium Asculum Axia (castle) Baiae Beneventum Bovianum Brundisium Caieta Cales Campania Capua Cumae Etruria Fabrateria Falernum Ferentum Gaurus, mt. Heraclea (Lucania) Lanuvium Larinum

Italy/Sicily Ager Gallicus Alps Apollonia (Illyria) Bosporus Byzantium Chersonese Corduba Dyrrachium Gades Gaul Hispania Illyricum Macedonia Maeotis,lake Massilia Narbo New Carthage Saguntum Tarraco Transalpine Gaul

Europe

Table 2.11.a List of place-names in Cicero’s relevant speeches

Amisus Asia Bithynia Cappadocia Cilicia Cnidus Colophon Cyzicus Ephesus Erythrae Halicarnassus Hellespont Laodicea Lycia Miletus Myndus Pamphylia Paphlagonia Perga Phaselis Phrygia Pisidia Pontus Sinope Smyrna Taurus

Asia Minor Armenia India Syria Tyre

Greater Asia Africa Alexandria Carthage Cyrene Egypt Mauretania Utica

Africa

(Continued )

TOTAL

206 Appendix A

Mainland Greece

Islands

Luceria Minturnae Misenum Mutyca Naples Nuceria Numantia Ocriculum Ostium Picenum Pisaurum Prilius, lake Privernum Puteoli Regium Samnium Tarentum Tarracina Teanum Tibur Trasumenus, lake Tusculum Umbria Volaterrae

Italy/Sicily

Europe

Table 2.11.a (Continued) List of place-names in Cicero’s relevant speeches Asia Minor

Greater Asia

Africa

(Continued )

TOTAL

Appendix A 207

Islands

10

Mainland Greece

8

66 (54+12)

Achradina Etna, mt.

Agrigentum

Agyrium

Arethusa fons

Calacte

Lilybaeum

Messana

Pachynus

Panhormus

Segesta

Sicily

Syracusae

Italy/Sicily

20

Europe

Table 2.11.a (Continued) List of place-names in Cicero’s relevant speeches

26

Asia Minor

4

Greater Asia

7

Africa

141

TOTAL

208 Appendix A

Appendix B Lists of place-names in dramatic plays

Africa Bybline, mt. Canobus Egypt Ethiopia Libya Memphis Nile Thebes Triton, r.

Greater Asia Aethiops, r. = Indus Arabia Asia Babylon Bactria Caucasus Cissia India Lyrna Persia Phasis, r. Phoenicia Sidon Susa Susiana Syria Tyre

Asia Minor Adrastea Aegospotami, r. Agbatana Berecyntus, mt. Caicus, r. Chrysa Cilicia Cisthene Cnidus Halys, r. Hellespont Ida, mt. Ilium = Troy Lydia Lyrnessus Miletus Mysia Pamphylia Phrygia Pontus Propontis

Europe Athos, mt. Bolbe, lake Cimmerian Bosporus Colchis Edonia Europe Ister, r. Liburnia Liguria Macedonia Maeotis,lake Pangaeum, mt. Perinthus Phlegra Salmydessus Scythia Sestos Strymon, r. Thrace

Italy/Sicily

Adria Rhegium Etna, mt. Himera Sicily Syracuse

Islands

Aegina Andros Cenaeum, mt. Chalcis Chios Crete Cyprus Delos Euboea Icaros Lemnos Lesbos Macistus, mt. Myconos Naxos Paphos Paros Rhodes Salamis

Mainland Greece

Achaea Phthiotis Achelous, r. Aegae Aegeira Apia Arachnaeum, mt. Arcadia Argos Asopus, r. Axius, r. Boeotia Bura Cerchnea Ceryneia Cithaeron, mt. Corycian cave Daulia Delphi Dirce, r.

Table 3.1.a List of place-names in Aeschylus’ tragedies

(Continued )

TOTAL

210 Appendix B

Islands

Salamis (Cyprus) Samos Seriphos Sileniae Soli Tenedos Tenos

Mainland Greece

Dodona Doris Dyme Epidaurus Erasinus, r. Euripus Helice Inachus, r. Ismenus, r. Lerna Magnesia Malian Gulf Messapian hills Molossia Naupactus Oeta, mt. Olenus Olympus, mt. Parnassus, mt. Perrhaebia Phigaleia

Italy/Sicily

Europe

Table 3.1.a (Continued) List of place-names in Aeschylus’ tragedies

Sardis Sarpedon’s bank Scamander, r. Sigeum Simois, r. Teuthrania Themiscyra Thermodon, r. Tmolus, mt. Troy

Asia Minor

Greater Asia

Africa

(Continued )

TOTAL

Appendix B 211

Islands

Phocis Phthia Pindus, mt. Plataea Pleitus, r. Potniae Rhypae Sardonic narrows Sepias cape Sparta Spercheus, r. Thesprotia Thessaly Troezen 54 26

Mainland Greece

6 (2 + 4)

Italy/Sicily

19

Europe

Table 3.1.a (Continued) List of place-names in Aeschylus’ tragedies

31

Asia Minor

17

Greater Asia

9

Africa

162

TOTAL

212 Appendix B

Africa Barce Carthage Egypt Libya

Greater Asia Chaldaea India Syria

Asia Minor Asia Artace Chryse Cilla Corycus Hellespont Ida, mt. Lycia Lydia Magnesia Mysia Nysa Pactolus, r. Percote Phrygia Pontus Sardis Sigeum Sipylus, mt. Troy

Europe Athos, mt. Bosporus Colchis Getae Ister, r. Liguria Pelion Pieria Rhipaean mt. Salmydessus Sarpedonian rock Scythia Thrace

Italy/Sicily

Etruria Italy Oenotria Tyrrhenian, g. Etna, mt.

Islands

Acarnania Cenaeum, mt. Cephallenia Chrysa Cnossos Crete Delos Euboea Lemnos Oechalia Peparethus Salamis Scyros

Mainland Greece

Abae Achaea Achelous, r. Acheron, r. Aetolia Alpheus, r. Amphilochia Arcadia Argos Athens Aulis Boeotia Castalia, fountain Cephisus, r. Chalcodon (Boeotia) Cithaeron, mt. Corinth Crisa Cyllene, mt.

Table 3.2.a List of place-names in Sophocles’ tragedies

(Continued )

TOTAL

Appendix B 213

Daulis Delphi Dirce, r. Dodona Erymanthus Eurotas, r. Hypereia Inachus, r. Lacmus, mt. Laconia Las Lerna Locris Lyrcaeum Melis Molossia Mycenae Nemea Oeniadae Oeta, mt. Olympia Olympus, mt.

Mainland Greece

Islands

Italy/Sicily

Europe

Table 3.2.a (Continued) List of place-names in Sophocles’ tragedies Asia Minor

Greater Asia

Africa

(Continued )

TOTAL

214 Appendix B

Islands

13

Mainland Greece

Parnassus, mt. Peloponnese Perrhaebia Pherae Phocis Pindus, mt. Pleuron Pylos Sparta Spercheus, r. Thebes Thermopylae Thessaly Tiryns Trachis 56

5 (4 + 1)

Italy/Sicily

13

Europe

Table 3.2.a (Continued) List of place-names in Sophocles’ tragedies

20

Asia Minor

3

Greater Asia

4

Africa

114

TOTAL

Appendix B 215

Crathis, r. Aegina Etna, mt. Caphereus Sicily Cephallene Chalcis Chios Crete Cyclades Cynthus, mt. Cyprus Delos Dictynna (Crete) Echinae isles Erytheia Euboea Geraestus Ithaca Lemnos Leucas Peparethus Salamis Scyros Seriphos Thronium

Achelous, r. Aetolia Alpheus, r. Amphanae Anaurus, r. Apidanus, r. Arcadia Argos Asclepius’ cliff Asopus, r. Aulis Boebias, lake Boeotia Calydon Castalia, fountain Cithaeron, mt. Corinth Corycia Delphi Dirce, r. Dodona Doris Elis Epidaurus Euripus

Italy/Sicily

Islands

Mainland Greece

Table 3.3.a List of place-names in Euripides’ tragedies

Axius, r. Bistonia Bosporus Chersonese Colchis Edonia Europe Hebrus, r. Ister, r. Leuke Akte Maeotis, lake Pangaeum, mt. Strymon, r. Tauris (=Crimea) Thrace

Europe

Africa Egypt Ethiopia Libya Nile Pharos Phoenicia (Carthage)

Greater Asia Arabia Bactria Medes Phasis, r. Phoenicia Sidon Tyre

Asia Minor Aeolia Asia Caria Celaenae Cilicia Dardanus Ida, mt. Ilium=Troy Lycia Lydia Mysia Nysa, mt. Phrygia Sardis Scamander, r. Simois, r. Sipylus, mt. Symplegades Thebaia Tmolus, mt. Troy

(Continued )

TOTAL

216 Appendix B

Eurotas, r. Helicon, mt. Homole, mt. Inachus, r. Iolcus Ismenus, r. Isthmus Lacedaemon Laconia Lerna Magnesia Malea, cape Megara Messenia Molossia Mycenae Nauplia Nemea Oechalia Olympia Olympus mt. Ossa, mt. Othrys, vale Pamisus, r. Parnassus, mt. Parthenion, mt.

Mainland Greece

Islands

Italy/Sicily

Europe

Table 3.3.a (Continued) List of place-names in Euripides’ tragedies Asia Minor

Greater Asia

Africa

(Continued )

TOTAL

Appendix B 217

Islands

Peirene, fountain Pelion, mt. Peloponnese Peneus, r. Pharsalia Pherae Phocis Phthia Pieria Pisa (Peloponnese) Potniae Pylos Rhium Saronic gulf Sciron Sepias Sparta Taenarum Taphia Thebes Thesprotia Thessaly Tiryns Trachis Troezen 75 23

Mainland Greece

3 (1 + 2)

Italy/Sicily

15

Europe

Table 3.3.a (Continued) List of place-names in Euripides’ tragedies

21

Asia Minor

7

Greater Asia

6

Africa

TOTAL

150

218 Appendix B

Africa Carthage Egypt Libya Nile

Greater Asia Babylon Ecbatana Medes Persia Phasis, r. Phoenicia Red Sea Sidon

Asia Minor Abydus Caria Caystrian plains Cilicia Clazomenae Cyzicus Ephesus Iberia Lydia Miletus Mimas, mt. Mysia Paphlagonia Pontus Sardis Scamander, r. Simois, r.

Europe Byzantium Cardia Chalcidice Chersonese Hebrus, r. Ister, r. Maeotis, lake Odomantice Olophyxos Potidaea Scione Scythia Strepsa Tartessus Thrace Triballia

Italy/Sicily Thurii Camarina Etna, mt. Gela Sicily Sybaris Syracuse

Islands

Aegina Carystus Chios Cimolus Corcyra Crete Cynthus, mt. Cyprus Cythera Elymnium Euboea Geraestus Ida, mt. (Crete) Ithaca Lemnos Melos Mitylene

Naxos Oreus Paphos Peparethus

Mainland Greece

Achaea Achelous, r. Aetolia Alpheus, r. Amyclae Arcadia Argos Artemisium Boeotia Chaonia Cithaeron, mt. Copais, lake Corinth Cyllene Delos Delphi Dodona Echinus

Elis Epidaurus Eurotas, r. Lacedaemon

Table 3.4.a List of place-names in Aristophanes’ comedies

(Continued )

TOTAL

Appendix B 219

Phanae Pramnus, mt. Salamis Samos Samothrace Sardo = Sardinia Seriphos Tenos Thasos Zacynthus

Laconia Lepreum Malian Gulf Megara Messene Olympia Olympus, mt. Opuntian Locris Orneae Parnassus, mt. Pellene Pharsalus Phthia Pisa (Peloponnese) Plataea Prasiae Pylos Sicyon Spercheus, r. Taenarum Taygetus, mt. Thermopylae Thessaly 45

31

Islands

Mainland Greece

7 (1+6)

Italy/Sicily

16

Europe

Table 3.4.a (Continued) List of place-names in Aristophanes’ comedies

18

Asia Minor

7

Greater Asia

4

Africa

128

TOTAL

220 Appendix B

Appendix B

221

Table 3.5.a List of place-names in Menander’s comedies Mainland Greece

Islands

Boeotia Corinth Phyle Sicyon

Ceos Crete Cyprus Lemnos Leucas Rhodes Samos

4

7

Italy / Sicily

Europe

Asia Minor Greater Asia

Africa

Byzantium Getae Perinthus Thrace

Cappadocia Bactria Caria Ephesus Iberia Lycia Mylasa Phrygia Pontus Xanthos, r. 9 1

Carthage

0 4

1

TOTAL

26

7

7

16 (13+3)

14

15

Africa Alexandria Carthage Cyrene Egypt Libya Magara (Carthage)

Arabia Babylon India Persia Phoenicia Seleucia Syria

Asia Cappadocia Caria Cilicia Cnidus Ephesus Ilium/Troy Ionia Lycia Miletus Paphlagonia Pergamon Phrygia Pontus Sinope

Boia Hispania Illyria Ister, r. Macedonia Massilia Pella

Alatrium Animulia Apulia Campania Capua Cora Frusino Massicus, mt. Praeneste Sarsina Signia Tarentum Umbria Agrigentum Sicily Syracuse

Carystus Chalcis Chios Crete Cyprus Eretria Euboea Lemnos Lesbos Leucas Rhodes Samos Thasos Zacynthus

Aetolia Ambracia Arcadia Argos Athens Boeotia Calydon Corinth Delphi Elatia Elis Epidamnus Laconia Megara Molossia Naupactus Nemea Olympia Piraeus Sicyon Sparta Thebes Thessaly 23 7

Africa

Greater Asia

Asia Minor

Europe

Italy/Sicily

Islands

Mainland Greece

Table 3.6.a List of place-names in Plautus’ comedies

89

TOTAL

222 Appendix B

Appendix B

223

Table 3.7.a List of place-names in Terence’s comedies Mainland Islands Greece Athens Attica Corinth Piraeus

4

Andros Cyprus Imbros Lemnos Myconos Rhodes Samos 7

Italy/Sicily Europe

Asia Minor Greater Asia Africa

Perinthus Asia Caria Cilicia Miletus

0 1

4

TOTAL

Ethiopia

0 1

17

22

4

7

25

9

Gaetulia Garamantes Libya Nile

Alani Arabia Araxes, r. Assyria Caucasus Heniochia Hydaspes, r. Hyrcania Ganges, r. Indus, r. Libya Mede Parthia Phasis, r. Persia Red Sea Sabae Seres Sidon Tanais, r. Tigris, r. Tyre Gargara Lydia Maeander, r. Pactolus, r. Sipylus, mt. Thermodon, r. Tmolus, mt. Troy Xanthus, r.

Albis, r. Athos, mt. Baetis, r. Calpe Caspian sea Colchis Dahae Danube, r. Getae Hebrus, r. Ida, mt. Ister, r. Maeotis, lake Pangaeum, mt. Philippi Phlegra Pyrenees, mt. Rhine, r. Sarmatae Scythia Spain (Hibera) Strymon, r. Suebi Tagus, r. Tartessus Thule 26

Ausonia Avernus, lake Eridanus, r. Eryx Etna, mt. Hybla Pelorus Sicily

Caphereus Cenaeum Crete Cydonia Delos Lemnos Pandataria

Achelous, r. Arcadia Argos Aulis Chaonia Cirrha Cithaeron, mt. Corinth Daulis Delphi Dodona Haemonia Lerna Molossia Mycenae Olenus Pherae Phocis Pindus, mt. Pisa Sparta Taenarum Taygetus, mt. Thebes Thessaly

8 (3+5)

Africa

Greater Asia

Asia Minor

Europe

Italy/Sicily

Islands

Mainland Greece

Table 3.8.a List of place-names in Seneca’s tragedies

101

TOTAL

224 Appendix B

Appendix C Selection of Greek geographic and ethnographic proverbs and idioms

An owl to Athens

Γλαῦξ εἰς Ἀθήναs = γλαῦκ’ Ἀθήναζε

Athens

Pointless, unnecessary venture

Uneducated persons

An ass to Athens

Ὄνος εἰς Ἀθήναs

Athens

Argos

He is worthy of the Argive Highly distinguished shield Argive persecution Libelers and informers

Large and inconvenient requests Those who labour in vain

Extreme fools

Ἄξιος εἶ τῆς ἐν Ἄργει ἀσπίδος Ἀργεία φορά

Who will not succeed when coming to Arbela? You are asking me for Arcadia Ἀρκάδας μιμούμενος Imitating Arcadians

Extreme coldness Two equally bad characters who hoax each other Excellent beginnings, poor ends

A stupid man Beware of dangers Place of slanderers Unpleasant event

Meaning

Argos

Arcadia

Arcadia

Arbela

Aegina

River Acis A Cretan (acts) with an Aeginetan Of old Aegina rears the finest men

A man of Abdera Don’t go to Abydus This is Abydus The dessert of Abydus

Ἀβδηρίτης Μὴ εἰκῆ τὴν Ἄβυδον Ἄβυδος ἐστίν Ἀβυδηνον ἐπιφόρημα Ἄκις ποταμός Κρὴς πρὸς Αἰγινήτην Τὰ πρῶτʼ ἀρίστους παῖδας Αἴγινα τρέφει Τίς οὐ γενήσῃ τυγχάνων εἰς Ἀρβέλας; Ἀρκαδίην μ’ αἰτεῖς

Abdera Abydus Abydus Abydus

Acis, r. Aegina

Translation

Proverb/idiom

Location

After an ancient oracle (Hdt. 1.66) Arcadians were mercenaries who won victories for others Bronze shield given as prize in the festival of Hera at Argos Reputation as informers and avid litigants Athens considered the capital of wisdom Many owls in Athens, real ones or coins

Ethnic reputation

Deterioration of morals

Ethnic reputation Ethnic reputation as slanderers Ethnic reputation Local custom to bring crying children after dinner Cold river on slopes of Mt. Etna Bad reputation of both

Explanation

References are to volume and page of the Corpus Paoemiographorum Graecorum (=CPG) Items are arranged according to alphabetical order of locations.

(Continued )

CPG 1:59

CPG 1:439

CPG 1:209

CPG 1:32

CPG 1:47–48

CPG 1:207

CPG 1:312 (iambic trimester) CPG 1:341

CPG 1:208 CPG 1:268

Dem., 17.23 CPG 1:277 CPG 2:239 CPG 1:180

Reference

226 Appendix C

Caria

Caria

Camarina Caria

Boeotia Byblos

Boeotia Boeotia Boeotia

Azania Boeotia

Attica

Attica

Ἄθως καλύπτει πλευρὰ Λημνίας βοός

Athos, mt.

Translation

Meaning

Explanation

Athos conceals the flank of Anyone obscuring the fame A white marble statue of a cow a Lemnian cow of another on the island of Lemnos was struck by the shadow of Mount Athos Ἀττικὸς μάρτυς An Attic witness Someone telling the truth Reputation of credibility (or, ironically, a liar) Ἀττικὸς πάροικος Attic neighbour Most troublesome and Historical circumstances dangerous neighbours Ἀζάνια κακά Azania (equals) misfortunes Extreme misfortunes Barren and fruitless region Βοιώτια αἰνίγματα Boeotian enigmas Difficult riddles After the mythic riddles of the Sphinx Βοιώτιος νοῦς Boeotian brains Uneducated, stupid Ethnic reputation Βοιώτιον οὖς Boeotian ear Inattentive, dull Ethnic reputation Ῥᾷον ἢ τὸ Ὄνειον Easier than the Boeotians Those who exceed the limit Mount Oneion marked ὑπερέβησαν οἱ climbing Mount Boeotian borders Βοιωτοί Oneion Bοιωτοῖς μαντεύσαιο Prophesy to the Boeotians Bring forth evils Mythical/Historical event Bύβλινον τοὐμὸν My wine is Bybline Corrupting deeds Local produce μέθυ Μῦθοι Καμαριναίων Tales of the Camarineans Long and silly stories Ethnic reputation Πρὸς Κᾶρα καρίζεις You are Carizing to a You are acting the rustic Ethnic reputation Carian with a rustic Cf. Crete Τελμισσεῖς οἰκοῦσιν Telmissians live in Caria Similar people join together Telmissus was in Caria ἐν Καρίᾳ Ἐν Καρὶ τὸν The risk on the Carian Those who run a risk on Mercenaries faced the dangers κίνδυνον behalf of others of combat first

Proverb/idiom

Location

(Continued )

CPG 1:70–71

CPG 3:663

CPG 2:189 CPG 2:205

CPG 1:53 CPG 1:389

CPG 1:357 CPG 1:223 CPG 1:448

CPG 1:46 CPG 1:50

CPG 1:40

CPG 1:215

CPG 1:355

Reference

Appendix C 227

What day is it in Ceos? Cercyrian whip

You live in Cescos To Chalcidize A Chian laugh

If someone brings saffron to Cilicia

Cilician he-goats Cilician destruction To act like a Cilician

Ἐν Κέῳ τίς ημέρα Κερκυραία μάστιξ

Κέσκον οἰκεῖς Χαλκιδίζειν Γέλως Χῖος

Εἴ τις ἐν Κιλικίᾳ κρόκον ἄγοι

Κιλίκιοι τράγοι Κιλίκιος ὄλεθρος Ἐγκιλικίζεται

Ceos Corcyra

Cescos Chalcis Chios

Cilicia

Cilicia Cilicia Cilicia

Carpathos

Forsaken place Being stingy and frugal Related to local sexual habits Pointless, unnecessary venture (cf. owls to Athens) Shaggy Utter destruction To act maliciously

Something expected to bring benefit but causes harm instead Those who propose a feast Incessant talkers

Self-evident

Lydians are wicked, Λυδοὶ πονηροὶ, second are Egyptians, δεύτεροι δʼ and third are Carians Αἰγύπτιοι, τρίτοι who are most awful δὲ πάντων Κᾶρες of all ἐξωλέστατοι Καρπάθιος τὸν A Carphathian [and] the λαγών hares

Caria

Caria

Crude and unsophisticated Those who do not agree among themselves Lean or inedible sacrifice

Καρικὴ μοῦσα Carian muse Πολλοὶ στρατηγοὶ Many generals ruined Καρίαν ἀπώλεσαν Caria Καρικὸν θῦμα A Carian sacrifice

Meaning

Caria Caria

Translation

Proverb/idiom

Location

Local fauna Reputation as cruel Ethnic reputation

Cilicia famous for its saffron

No order Instrument dedicated by Corcyra Unknown, small city Ethnic reputation Local habits

An anecdote

Ethnic reputation Worthless character of the Carians The Carians used to sacrifice dogs Ethnic reputation

Explanation

CPG 1:262 CPG 1:100 CPG 1: 395 (Continued )

CPG 1:399

CPG 1:99 CPG 1:333 CPG 1:230

CPG 1:405 CPG 1:98

CPG 1:98

CPG 1:274

CPG 1:268 CPG 1:298 Iambic trimeter CPG 1:332

Reference

228 Appendix C

Crete

Corinth Corinth Corycus, mt.

Corinth

Corinth

Corinth

Ὁ Κρής τὴν θάλατταν

Εἴη μοι τὰ μεταξὺ Κορίνθου καὶ Σικυῶνος Οὐ παντὸς ἀνδρὸς ἐς Κόρινθον ἔσθ̓ ὁ πλοῦς Κορινθιάζειν Κορίνθιον κακόν Κωρυκαῖος ἠκροάζετο

Ἀκροκορινθία ἔοικας You seem like you’re going to sell piglets in χοιροπωλήσειν Acrocorinth Εὐδαίμων ὁ Blest is Corinth, but I Κόρινθος, ἐγὼ δ̓ wish to be a Tenean εἴην Τενεάτης

Corinth

CPG 1:174

Reference

Local prostitution Local prostitution Local topography on Mt. Corycus in Pamphylia and local brigands Crete as an island was the centre of maritime empire

(Continued )

CPG 1:131

CPG 2:179 CPG 2:180 CPG 1:104

CPG 1:135

An oracle to a man from Asia, CPG 1:82 who enquired whether it was better to change his home to Corinth Near these two places there CPG 2:27 were fruitful fields

Reputation as wealthy and CPG 1:266 proud Piglet for female genitals; many CPG 1:334 prostitutes in Corinth

Local resources

Explanation

Not everyone can afford Expensive Corinthian luxurious life in Corinth prostitutes

Wealth

Rustic, simple life is preferable than splendor

You seem about to earn some money

Extreme hybris

High-quality gold

Meaning

“Corinthiate” Engage in prostitution Corinthian evil Prostitution A Corycaean was listening Someone who tries to conceal what he is doing, but is revealed The Cretan and the sea People who pretend to be ignorant of something they are particularly skilled in

Not for every man is the sea voyage to Corinth

I wish I had what is near Corinth and Sicyon

Colophonian hybris

Colophonian gold

Χρυσὸς ὁ Κολοφώνιος Κολοφωνία ὕβρις

Colophon

Colophon

Translation

Proverb/idiom

Location

Appendix C 229

A Daulian crow

You sing as if you were sailing to Delos Delphic knife

He eats the meat himself after offering sacrifice in Delphi The Dodonaean bronze

Δαυλίαν κορώνην

Ἄιδεις ὥσπερ εἰς Δῆλον πλέων Δελφικὴ μάχαιρα

Δελφοῖσι θύσας αὐτὸς οὐ φαγῇ κρέας Tὸ Δωδωναῖον χαλκεῖον

Daulis

Delos

Dodona

Delphi

Delphi

βάμμα Κυζικηνόν Cyzican dye Κυζικηνοὶ στατῆρες Cyzican staters

Cyzicus Cyzicus

Cyprus

Crete Croton

Cyprian ox

A Cretan (acts) with an Aeginetan To play Cretan with a Cretan “Creteate” Healthier than Croton

Κρὴς πρὸς Αἰγινήτην Πρὸς Κρῆτα κρητίζεις Κρητίζειν Κρότωνος ὑγιέστερος Βοῦς Κύπριος

Crete

Crete

Translation

Proverb/idiom

Location

Ethnic reputation Known for its athletic training and physical health Local fauna

Ethnic reputation

Bad reputation of both

Explanation

Those who speak a little

Greedy and selfish person

Greedy persons

CPG 1:393

CPG 1:393

CPG 2:94

CPG 1:61

CPG 2:325 CPG 3:491

CPG 2:331

CPG 1:452 CPG 1:427

CPG 1:268, 2.181 CPG 2:205

Reference

With Corycaean whip produced CPG 1:163 very loud vibrations (Continued )

Delphian sacrificers claimed a share for the knife Greedy Delphians

Coarse and unperceptive man; they say that Cypriot oxen eat dung Cowardice Arist., Pax 1176 Something expertly Coins famous their excellent engraved stamp Nightingale; talkative people After the myth of Procne and or people who sing Philomena taking place in Daulis Those who live luxuriously Local reputation

To lie Very healthy

Two equally bad characters who hoax each other Use lying against a liar

Meaning

230 Appendix C

Etna, mt. Eurotas, r.

Etna, mt.

Ethiopia

Ephesus Eretria Eretria

Egypt

Egypt

Egypt

Εἴ τις ἐν Αἰγυπτῳ σῖτον ἄγοι

Egypt

Translation

Meaning

If someone brings grain to Pointless, unnecessary Egypt venture (cf. owls to Athens) Ἀχθοφόρος Egyptian porter Those who carry heavy Αἰγύπτιος burdens The Lydians are wicked, Self-evident Λυδοὶ πονηροὶ, second are the δεύτεροι δʼ Egyptians, and third are Αἰγύπτιοι, τρίτοι the Carians who are δὲ πάντων Κᾶρες most awful of all ἐξωλέστατοι Δεινοὶ πλέκειν Egyptians have a Cunning and liars wonderful gift for τοι μηχανὰς Αἰγύπτιοι weaving webs Ἐφέσια γράμματα Ephesian letters Deceit and magic Ἐρετριέων ῥῶ Eretrian Rho (the letter) Deep Rho Ἐρετρικὸς Eretrian catalogue The extremely rich κατάλογος Aἰθίοπα σμήχων Wash an Ethiopian A person’s nature cannot be changed Βαρύτερον Αἴτνας Heavier than Etna’s crags Extremely heavy σκοπέλων Αἰτναῖος κάνθαρος Etnian beetle Large and triumphant Ταῦρος υπερκύψας A bull stretching over the Impossible and absurd thing τὸ Ταΰγετον ἀπὸ Taygetus to drink from τοῦ Εὐρώτα ἔπιεν the Eurotas

Proverb/idiom

Location

CPG 1:66

CPG 1:274

CPG 2:322

CPG 1:399

Reference

An anecdote A Spartan anecdote: no adulterers in Sparta

Local topography

Ethnic physiology

(Continued )

Eur. Herc. 639–640 CPG 1:190 CPG 3:652

CPG 1: 18

Ethnic reputation CPG 1:244 Specific mode of pronunciation CPG 1:240 Historical list of hostages CPG 2:168

Ethnic reputation

Poets often say that the Egyptians are porters Ethnic reputation

Egypt famous for its grain

Explanation

Appendix C 231

Lesbos

Lerna

Leontini

Lemnos

Lemnos

Lemnos

Laconia Leibethra

Ionia

Gortyn Imbros

Something impossible

Meaning

Explanation

The geographical position of Gades (Cadiz) outside the Mediterranean ἐγγεγορτυνωμένος Gortynified Being mean Ethnic reputation Ἴμβριος δίκη Imbrian suit Those who make excuses in Defendants used to say that they cases at law were in Imbros or Lemnos Γέλως Ἰωνικός An Ionian laugh Related to local sexual Local habits habits Cf. Chios Λακωνικὸν τρόπον Spartan-style Sexual custom Ethnic reputation Ἀμουσότερος More unmusical than the Extremely uncultured Local reputation of uneducated Λειβηθρίων Leibethrians people, and Orpehus was killed in this region Ἄθως καλύπτει Athos conceals the flank of Anyone obscuring the fame A white marble statue of a cow Lemnian cow of another on the island of Lemnos πλευρὰ Λημνίας βοός was struck by the shadow of Mount Athos Λήμνιον κακόν Lemnian evil Very bad deed The women of Lemnos killed their husbands Λημνίᾳ χειρί By a Lemnian hand Cruelly and lawlessly The women of Lemnos killed their husbands Ἀεὶ Λεοντῖνοι περὶ The Leontinians are Self-evident The defeated Leontinians turned τοὺς κρατῆρας always at their cups to drinking Λέρνη κακῶν A Lerna of ills An accumulation of troubles The cleansing water of the lake absorbed all impurities/the abode of the Hydra Μετὰ Λέσβιον ᾠδόν After the poet of Lesbos Come off second best Historical anecdote

Τὰ γὰρ Γαδείρων οὐ Beyond Gadeira there is περατά no passage

Gadeira (Gades)

Translation

Proverb/idiom

Location

CPG 1:118 (Continued )

CPG 1:108

CPG 1:203

CPG 1:110

CPG 1:110

CPG 1:355

CPG 3:497 CPG 1:27

CPG 1:230

PCG Leucon F 5 CPG 2:175

CPG 3:661

Reference

232 Appendix C

A Locrian ox

Λοκρικὸς βοῦς

Παρὰ Λύδιον ἅρμα Beside the Lydian chariot

Λυδίῳ νόμῳ

The Lydians are wicked, Λυδοὶ πονηροὶ, second are the δεύτεροι δʼ Egyptians, and third are Αἰγύπτιοι, τρίτοι the Carians who are δὲ πάντων Κᾶρες most awful of all ἐξωλέστατοι Λυδὸς τὴν θύραν A Lydian closed the door Stupid thieves ἔκλεισεν Λυδὸς ἐν μεσημβρίᾳ A Lydian at noon Undisciplined, sexually licentious

Locris

Lydia

Lydia

Lydia

Lydia

Lydia

Lydian custom

Locrian agreement

Λοκρῶν σύνθημα

Locris

Libya/Africa Lindus

Fit for Lesbians Libya always produces something bad Libyan beast Lindians at their sacrifice

Λεσβίων ἀξία Ἀεὶ φέρει τὶ Λιβύη κακόν Λιβυκὸν θηρίον Λίνδιοι τὴν θυσίαν

Lesbos Libya/Africa

Reference

Local environment Local custom to curse Heracles while scarifying Cf. Rhodes Historical reputation

Ethnic reputation Local environment

Ethnic reputation

Ethnic reputation

(Continued )

CPG 1:272

CPG 1:114

CPG 1:274

CPG 1:274

CPG 1:274

CPG 1:116

CPG 1:114

CPG 2:78 CPG 1:113

CPG 1:109 CPG 1:45

Reputation of local sexual habits CPG 1:452

Explanation

The Locrians sacrificed a small wooden ox Keeping up with the betters Lydian chariots considered fast or a chariot related to Pelops Divination The Lydians considered prophets Self-evident Ethnic reputation

Fraudulent persons and practices Cheap substitution

Follow the sexual custom in Lesbos Vain and foolish things Unknown and strange things Unusual phenomena Bad language in sacred places

“Lesbiate”

Λεσβιάζειν

Lesbos

Meaning

Translation

Proverb/idiom

Location

Appendix C 233

Myconos

Molossia

Miletus

Miletus

Miletus

Melia (Caria) Melos Messene

Megara

Medes Megara

Massilia

A Lydian is selling

Λυδὸς καπηλεύει

Lydia

Deception

Meaning

Explanation

Cyrus attempted to feminize the Lydians and forced them to be shopkeepers Εἰς Μασσαλίαν You should sail to Massalia Going to the dogs, Luxurious and effeminate πλεύσειας deteriorate reputation Μηδικὴ τράπεζα Medic table Extreme luxury Ethnic reputation Γέλως Μεγαρικός Megarian laugh Laughter in an inappropriate Short flourish of local comedy time Μεγαρέων δάκρυα Megarian tears Forced tears Megarians compelled to weep when king died Τὸ Μηλιακὸν πλοῖον The Melian vessel Worthless An anecdote Λιμὸς Μηλιός Melian hunger Extreme starvation The historical siege of Melos Δουλότερος More slavish than a Extremely slavish Social reality in Messene Μεσσήνης Messenian Πάλαι ποτʼ ἦσαν Once long ago the Lost strength Milesians ruined by luxury ἄλκιμοι Μιλήσισι Milesians were might men Οἴκοι τὰ Μιλήσια The Milesian things are at Those who boast their An anecdote home domestic luxury when it is least acceptable Λάβρακες Μιλήσιοι Milesian sea basses Greedy persons Many and big sea basses in Miletus Βοῦς ὁ Mολοττῶν Molottian ox Cut into very small pieces Local custom to divide an ox to very small pieces Μία Μύκονος One Myconos Homogenous group All inhabitant bald

Translation

Proverb/idiom

Location

CPG 1:122 (Continued )

CPG 1:53

CPG 1:428

CPG 1:144

CPG 1:152

CPG 1:310 CPG 1:113 CPG 1:67

CPG 1:117

CPG 1:275 CPG 1:230

CPG 1:330

CPG 1:115

Reference

234 Appendix C

Phrygia

Phoenicia Phrygia

Phoenicia

Phocaea

Oneion, Mt.

Oenoe

Easier than the Boeotians climbing Mount Oneion Phocaean vow

Reputation of inhabitants because of infertility of the island Geographical layout

Explanation

Geographical layout

Ethnic reputation Phrygian slaves considered lazy

Ethnic reputation

After Hdt. 1.165

Ethnic reputation Historical: Costly provisions in it/or slaughter by Philip II Those who are the cause of An anecdote their own misfortune Those who exceed the limit Mount Oneion marked Boeotian borders

Non-valid vow, those who repent what they have decided Σύροι πρὸς Φοίνικας Syrians against Phoenicians Enemies for each other and deceivers Φοινίκων συνθῆκαι Phoenician bargains Villainous and deceitful Φρύξ ἀνὴρ πληγεὶς A beaten Phrygian man Ethnic image ἀμείνων καὶ is better and more

διακονέστερος serviceable

Χωρὶς τὰ Φρυγῶν The lands of the Phrygians Extremely remote things, καὶ Μυσῶν and Mysians are far opposites ὁρίσματα apart

Ῥᾷον ἢ τὸ Ὄνειον ὑπερέβησαν οἱ Βοιωτοί Φωκαέων ἀρά

Χωρὶς τὰ Φρυγῶν καὶ Μυσῶν ὁρίσματα Ἔσχατος Μυσῶν Φρουρῆσαι ἐν Ναυπάκτῳ Οἰνόη τὴν χαράδραν To Oenone the torrent

Mysia

Mysia Naupactus

Myconian neighbour

Μύκονιος γείτων

Myconos

Meaning

Someone who comes to a banquet uninvited, a miser The lands of the Phrygians Extremely remote things, and Mysians are far opposites apart Farthest of the Mysians Extremely contemptuous Keep watch in Naupactus Tight guard

Translation

Proverb/idiom

Location

(Continued )

CPG 3:730

CPG 1: 318 CPG 1:376

CPG 1:307

CPG 1:171–172

CPG 1:448

CPG 1:131

CPG 1:411–412 CPG 1:171

CPG 3:730

CPG 1:124

Reference

Appendix C 235

Meaning

Dye of Sardinia (=red)

βάμμα Σαρδινιακόν

Ὁ Σκιοναῖος κολυμβᾷ Αἲξ Σκυρία

Ἀρχὴ Σκυρία

Sardinia

Scione

Scyros

Scyros

Reference

CPG 1:36

CPG 1:303

CPG 2:101

CPG 1:153

A narrow street in which CPG 1:330 luxuries were sold by prostitutes A place where luxurious parties CPG 1:330 were performed Colour of the highest quality CPG 2:325

Local custom to curse Heracles while scarifying Cf. Lindus Historical circumstances

An anecdote (Aesop)

Local reputation

Psyra, a small barren island near CPG 1:465 Chios unable to grow wine

Explanation

Blush of shame or blood of a wound The Scionian swims/dives Those who have experience After the skilled Scionian CPG 2:195 swimmers Like a goat that fills its pail with CPG 1:36 Scyrian she-goat Those who ruin good milk, then knocks it over; deeds/sorry ending to a or the good milk of Scyrian good beginning or those goats who do well Scyrian empire Poor, insignificant Scyros – a rocky island CPG 1:11 (Continued )

Extreme form of pleasure

Samian flowers

Σαμίων ἄνθη

Samos

Samos

Ἀληθέστερα τῶν ἐπὶ More true than [the battle] Incredible Σάγρᾳ at Sagra Σαμιακὴ λαύρα The Laura at Samos Those given to shameful pleasure

Sagra, r.

Rhodes

Rhodes

Rhegium

Ψύρα τὸν Διόνυσον ἄγοντες

Psyra

Translation

Worshipping Dionysus in People who do not drink Psyra wine in symposiums/a display of poverty Ῥηγίνων δειλότερος More cowardly than Extremely coward Rhegians Αὐτοῦ Ῥόδος, αὐτοῦ Here is Rhodes, jump Prove what you can do here καὶ πήδημα here and now Ῥοδιοι τὴν θυσίαν Rhodians at their sacrifice Bad language in sacred places

Proverb/idiom

Location

236 Appendix C

A Scythian with the donkey

Ἡ ἀπὸ Σκυθῶν The Scythian answer/ ῥῆσις speech Ὁ Σκύθης τὸν ἵππον The Scythian (with) the horse

Seriphian frog

The Sicilian [and] the sea

Σκύθης τὸν ὄνον

Βάτραχος Σερίφιος

Ὁ Σικελὸς τὴν θάλασσαν

Scythia

Scythia

Seriphos

Sicily

Sicily

Sicily

Sicily Sicily

Being prudish at the mention of something but in fact desiring it To bid a person weep or wish him ill Those who covet something secretly, but in the open appear to detest it Voiceless, mute

Extreme wilderness

Meaning

Those who are tempted to expose themselves to a risk a second time Σικελικὴ τράπεζα Sicilian table Very lavish and luxurious Σικελὸς στρατιώτης A Sicilian soldier A foreign mercenary soldier; someone willing to undertake any sort of service for love of gain Σικελὸς ὀμφακίζεται A Sicilian is picking unripe Those who do themselves fruit great injury for little anticipated gain Σικελίζειν “To Sicilize” To dance and play the rogue

Scythian solitude

Σκυθῶν ἐρημία

Scythia

Scythia

Translation

Proverb/idiom

Location

CPG 1:250–251

CPG 2:208, 3:643 CPG 1:452–453

Reference

CPG 1:141-142

CPG 2:17

Ethnic reputation

Ethnic reputation

Cohen 1999, 175-178 (Continued )

CPG 1:153

Local way of life CPG 3:641 Used to employ foreign soldiers CPG 1:157 in Hiero’s time

There were dumb frogs on the island of Seriphos An anecdote

Scythians’ admiration for horses CPG 1:144

After Hdt. 4.127

An anecdote

Local conditions, uninhabited

Explanation

Appendix C 237

Σικυώνιος δραπέτης Sicyonian runaway

“Siphniate”

More free than Sparta

Σιφνιάζειν

Ἐλευθεριώτερος Σπάρτης Συβαριτικὴ τράπεζα Συβαρῖται διὰ πλατείας Συβαρίζειν

Συρακουσία τράπεζα Syracusan table

Ἡ Συρακουσίων The tithe of Syracuse δεκάτη Σύροι πρὸς Φοίνικας Syrians against Phoenicians Enemies for each other and deceivers Ταινάριον κακόν Taenarian bane Exceptionally cruel punishment on slaves Γαλῆ Ταρτησία Tartessian weasel Malicious and shameless person

Siphnos

Sparta

Sybaris Sybaris

Syracuse

Syracuse

Tartessus

Taenarum

Syria

Sybaris

Sybaritic table Sybarites through the street “To Sybarize”

A Sicyonian attacks

Sicyon

Sicyon

Very lavish and luxurious Those proceeding pompously To live luxuriously, or to cause an uproar Extreme wealth, extravagance Extreme wealth

Doing something daring but accomplishing nothing Doing something daring but accomplishing nothing Follow the sexual custom in Siphnos Extremely free

Wealth

I wish I had what is near Corinth and Sicyon

Εἴη μοι τὰ μεταξὺ Κορίνθου καὶ Σικυῶνος Σικυώνιος ἐπαπέδυ

Sicyon

Meaning

Translation

Proverb/idiom

Location

CPG 2:207

CPG 2:207

CPG 2:27

Reference

CPG 1:246

Weasels were big there

Local habit in Sparta

Ethnic reputation

Local conditions

Reputation

Ethnic reputation

(Continued )

CPG 1:228

CPG 1:329

CPG 1:307

CPG 1:418

Cohen 1999, 175–178 CPG 1:158

Local conditions and way of life CPG 1:156 Local image CPG 1:157

Reputation

Reputation of local sexual habits CPG 1:452

Ethnic reputation

Ethnic reputation

Near these two places there were fruitful fields

Explanation

238 Appendix C

Blest is Corinth, but I wish to be a Tenean

Abounding in wine more than Tenea Tenedian axe

Εὐορκότερος Τενεάτου Τενέδιος πέλεκυς

Tenea

Thebes

Thasos

Tenedos

Tenedos

CPG 3:663

CPG 3:660 CPG 3:652

Reference

Law in Tenedos that adulterers should be slain with an axe, and the myth of Tennes Τενέδιος συνήγορος Tenedian advocate A harsh and severe advocate The local hero, Tennes, ordered to strike off with an axe the head of false witnesses Θάσος ἀγαθῶν Thasos of good things Abundance of good things Fertile island, known for its wine Τί οὐκ ἀπήγξω, ἵνα Why I don’t hang myself? Irony related to a local habit In Thebes people who killed Θήβῃσιν ἥρως so that the Thebans themselves were denied all γένῃ might have a hero honour

Cruel actions or a stern refusal

(Continued )

CPG 1:166

CPG 1:94

CPG 3:664–665

CPG 1:317

Those who are merciless or Explanation in Strabo 6.1.5 CPG 1:342 severe Rustic, simple life are An oracle to a man from Asia, CPG 1:82 preferable to splendour who enquired whether it was better to change his home to Corinth Extreme abundance Local produce CPG 1:413

Εὐδαίμων ὁ Κόρινθος, ἐγὼ δ̓ εἴην Τενεάτης

The hero in Temesa

Tenea

Temesa

Telmissus

Tartessian sea-eel Extreme size Local fauna A bull stretching over the Impossible and absurd thing A Spartan anecdote: no Taygetus to drink from adulterers in Sparta the Eurotas Telmissians live in Caria Similar people join together Telmissus was in Caria

Ταρτησία μύραινα Ταῦρος ὑπερκύψας τὸ Ταΰγετον ἀπὸ τοῦ Εὐρώτα ἔπιεν Τελμισσεῖς οἰκοῦσιν ἐν Καρίᾳ Ἐν Τεμέσῃ ἥρως

Explanation

Tartessus Taygetus, mt.

Meaning

Translation

Proverb/idiom

Location

Appendix C 239

Thessalian trick

Thessalian custom

Thracians do not understand oaths Thracian pretence

You need to go to Troezen

Θετταλῶν σόφισμα

Θετταλῶν νόμισμα

Θρᾳκες ὅρκια οὐκ ἐπίστανται Θρᾳκία παρεύρεσις

Εἰς Τροιζῆνα δεῖ βαδίζειν

Thessaly

Thessaly

Thrace

Troezen

Thrace

Translation

Proverb/idiom

Location

Changed sides in the Peloponnesian War Deceptive reputation

Historical event

Explanation

Deceptive reputation Cf. Hdt. 5.7 and Ephorus 5 On men with poor or sparse Pogon (=a beard) was the beards harbour of Troezen

Unreliable people

Unreliable people

Unfair fight and bad behavior Fraud and deceit

Meaning

CPG 2:68

CPG 1:94

CPG 1:93

CPG 1:92

CPG 1:92

Reference

240 Appendix C

Appendix D Selection of Latin geographic and ethnographic proverbs and idioms

As numerous as the hares A great number (cf. on Athos Hybla) Witty Athenians Great wisdom and wit Attic faith Good faith Babylon

Aspendius citharista

Quot lepores in Atho

Attici sales

Attica fides

Babylon

Arabia Arcadia

Aspendus

Athos, mt.

Attica

Attica

Babylon

Africa

Africa

Africa

Africa

Semper aliquid novi Africa Africa always brings adfert something new Frumenti quantum metit As much grain as Africa Africa reaps Quicquid de Libycis verritur Every grain that is swept areis from the threshing floors of Libya Pulveris Africi subducit As great a number as the numerum African sands Quam magnus numerous As great as is the number Libyssae harenae of Lybian sand Arabum divitiae Arabian wealth Arcadia Arcadia

Africa

Ethnic reputation

Explanation

Extreme abundance

Extreme wealth Difficult or evasive task Aspendian cithara player Selfish persons or thieves

Local resources

Ethnic reputation

Ethnic reputation

The way men from Aspendus played their citharas Local fauna

Local resources Oracle in Hdt. 1.66

An excessive amount Local sand scenery

An excessive amount Local sand scenery

An excessive amount Africa abundant in grain

Unusual and rare Unfamiliar phenomena on things this continent An excessive amount Africa abundant in grain

Stupidity

Abdera

Abdera

Abdera

Meaning

Translation

Proverb/Idiom

Location

Items are arranged according to alphabetical order of locations

Otto 1962, p. 44 Originally Greek Otto 1962, p. 52 (Continued )

Otto 1962, p. 44

Ovid, AA 2.517

Otto 1962, pp. 33–34 Otto 1962, p. 35 Originally Greek Otto 1962, p. 43 Originally Greek

Otto 1962, p. 8

Otto 1962, p. 8

Otto 1962, p. 1 Originally Greek Otto 1962, p. 8 Originally Greek Otto 1962, p. 8 Originally Greek Otto 1962, p. 8

Reference

242 Appendix D

Boeotian Boeotian riddles Capuan pride Worthy of Seplasia and Capua Try it on a Carian

Colophon It is not for everyone to go to Corinth Corycian

Cretan liar Cyprian cow/ox

Boeotus Enigma Beoti

Capuae superbia Seplasia dingus et Capua

In Care experiri

Colophon

Non omni contingit adire Corinthum Corycaeus

Creta mendax

Cyprius bos

Delphis tibi responsum ducito

Boeotia Boeotia

Capua Capua

Caria

Colophon

Corinth

Corycus

Crete

Cyprus

Delphi

Ethnic reputation Seplasia was a street in Capua full of perfumers and hairdressers Ethnic reputation

Ethnic reputation The riddles of the Sphinx

Explanation

Busy body, overhearing private conversations Habitual liar

Reputation of Delphic oracle

Image of local cattle

Ethnic reputation

Habit of locals to spy

Any experiment accompanied with danger End, finish Expertise of Colophonian cavalry to end wars Expensive endeavour Courtesans in Corinth

Extreme pride Luxury and indulgence

Stupidity Difficult riddles

Meaning

Dung eaters or those who are not particular with their food You receive an answer in Very sure thing, like Delphi amen

Translation

Proverb/Idiom

Location

(Continued )

Otto 1962, p. 30

Otto 1962, p. 98 Originally Greek Otto 1962, p. 58 Originally Greek

Otto 1962, p. 88 Originally Greek Otto 1962, p. 92 Originally Greek Otto 1962, p. 95 Originally Greek

Cic. Flacc. 65

Otto 1962, p. 56 Plaut., Poen. 443 Originally Greek Otto 1962, p. 74 Otto 1962, p. 318

Reference

Appendix D 243

Etnian fires Gallic credulity Greek frivolity Greek faith

Atratior quam Aegyptini

Aetna gravius

Aetnaei ignes

Gallorum credulitas Graecorum levitas

Graeca fides

Egypt

Etna, mt.

Etna, mt.

Gaul Greece

Greece

Maeander, r.

Laconia

India Ionia

Hybla, mt.

Greece Hybla, mt.

A prophet truer than Dodona More black than Egyptians Heavier than Etna

Dodona verior augur

Dodona

Intense fire / heated situations Extreme naïveté Habitual frivolity

Extremely heavy

Very black

Extreme credulity

Meaning

Ill faith (cf. Attic and Punic faith) Graecorum otium Greek leisure Idleness Quot apes pascuntur in As numerous as the bees A great number (cf. Hybla on Hybla Athos) Quot flores Sicula nascantur As many flowers as in A great number in Hybla Sicilian Hybla Divitiae Indiae Indian wealth Extreme wealth Iones molles Soft Ionians Luxury and softness of spirit Laconica brevitas Laconic brevity Extreme brevity (of speech) Maeander Meander In reference to meandering, twisted, crooked ways

Translation

Proverb/Idiom

Location

The outline of the channel of the Maeander River

Ethnic reputation

Ethnic reputation A mountain famous for its honey and flowers A mountain famous for its honey and bees Local resources Ethnic reputation

Ethnic reputation

Giants buried underneath the mountain and bore it Volcanic eruption on the Etna Ethnic reputation Ethnic reputation

Reputation of oracle in Dodona Ethnic image

Explanation

(Continued )

Hor., Od., 3.24.1 Otto 1962, p. 177 Originally Greek Otto 1962, p. 184 Originally Greek Otto 1962, p. 204 Originally Greek

Otto 1962, p. 168

Otto 1962, p. 156 Otto 1962, p. 168

Otto 1962, p. 152 Otto 1962, pp. 155–156 Otto 1962, p. 156

Otto 1962, p. 7 Originally Greek Otto 1962, pp. 7–8

Otto 1962, p. 215

Otto 1962, p. 119

Reference

244 Appendix D

Samos Sardinia Sardinia

Puni Rhodes Rome Rome

Puni

Praeneste

Persia Persia Phrygia

Osci Pactolus, r. Parthia

Myconos Mysia

Massilian habits

Mores Massilienses

Massilia

Meaning

Severe and good manners Myconius calvus Myconian bald Typically bald Mysorum ultimus Farthest of the Mysians Extremely contemptuous Opicus (Oscus) Oscan Stupid or rough Pactolus aurifer Gold bearer Pactolus Extreme riches Quanto plus biberunt, tanto The more the Parthians Unsatisfied desire / magis sitiunt Parthi drink, the more they Desire or facility become thirsty increases activity Persarum montes aurei Persian golden mountains Extreme riches Persicus apparatus Persian splendour Extreme riches Phryx plagis fit melior A Phrygian is made Servile and inferior better by beating image Praenestinus A man from Praeneste Arrogant or related to ridiculous dialect Punica fides Punic faith Ill faith, deception Punica fraus Punic deception Lanterna Punica Punic lantern Horn lantern Rhodius gloriosus Arrogant Rhodian Extreme arrogance More Romano By the Roman custom Sincerely, directly Romanus sedendo vincit A Roman wins by sitting High competence and still easy victories Vas Samium Samian vase Cheap and fragile Sardi venales Sardinians for sale Cheap and worthless Sardis caseum Sardinian cheese Worthless

Translation

Proverb/Idiom

Location

Local produce Ethnic reputation Ethnic reputation Attributed to Fabius Maximus Local reputation Local reputation Local reputation

Ethnic reputation

Ethnic reputation

Local conditions Local conditions Ethnic reputation

Ethnic reputation Local conditions Ethnic reputation

Ethnic reputation Ethnic reputation

Ethnic reputation

Explanation

Otto 1962, p. 307 Otto 1962, p. 308 Otto 1962, p. 309 (Continued )

Otto 1962, p. 291 Otto 1962, p. 300 Otto 1962, p. 302 Otto 1962, p. 301–302

Otto 1962, p. 291

Otto 1962, p. 273 Otto 1962, p. 273 Otto 1962, p. 278 Originally Greek Otto 1962, p. 286

Otto 1962, p. 237 Otto 1962, p. 237 Originally Greek Otto 1962, p. 256–7 Otto 1962, p. 261 Otto 1962, p. 267

Otto 1962, p. 214

Reference

Appendix D 245

Translation This is Sardinia Scythian solitude Worthy of Seplasia and Capua Sicilian meals As if it were Sisapo Syracusan tables Numerous are the Syrian vegetables A Syrian, that is a scoundrel Gold bearing Tagus Soft Tarentum Extreme Thule

Proverb/Idiom

Sardinia est Scytharum solitudo

Seplasia dingus et Capua

Siculae dapes

Tamquam Sisaponem

Syracusiae mensae

Multa Syrorum olera

Syrus ac mastigias

Tagus aurifer Molle Tarentum

Ultima Thule

Location

Sardinia Scythia

Seplasia

Sicily

Sisapo

Syracuse

Syria

Syria

Tagus, r. Tarentum

Thule

Ethnic reputation

Local reputation

Mines in Sisapo (Hispania) worked by a company Local reputation

Seplasia was a street in Capua full of perfumers and hairdressers Local reputation

Local reputation Uninhabited regions

Explanation

Extreme wealth Local resources Indulgence and Local reputation extreme luxury Any distant place Thule as Iceland or the beyond the known Shetlands world

A cheater, a crook

Extreme fertility

Extreme luxury

Extreme luxury and extravagance Joint business

Luxury and indulgence

Unhealthy, deadly Extreme solitude

Meaning

Otto 1962, p. 340 Otto 1962, pp. 340–341 Otto 1962, p. 348

Otto 1962, p. 321 Originally Greek Otto 1962, p. 338 Originally Greek Otto 1962, p. 338.

Otto 1962, p. 321 Originally Greek Otto 1962, p. 325

Otto 1962, p. 308 Otto 1962, p. 315 Originally Greek Otto 1962, p. 318

Reference

246 Appendix D

Appendix E List of place-names in Olympic victor lists

Table 5.1.a Place names in Olympic victor lists 508–340 bce Mainland Greece

Islands

Italy/Sicily

Europe

Asia Minor

Ambracia Apollonia Arcadia Argos Athens Cleitor Cleonae Corinth Dipaea Dymae Elis Epidamnus Epidauros Epirus Heraea Larisa Lepreum Locris Lokroi Mainalos Mantinea Messene Methydria Opous Orchomenos Parrhasia Pelinna Pellene Pharsalos Pheneon Phigaleia Scotussa Sicyon Sparta Stratos Stymphalia Thebes Thespiae Thessaly Tiryns Troezen 41

Aegina Andros Astypalaea Chios Corcyra Cos Crete Eretria Malia Mytilene Rhodes Samos Thasos

Caulonia Croton Locri Poseidonia Rhegium Tarentum Thurii

Macedonia Aegae (Cilicia) Maronea Ephesus Halicarnassus Magnesia Miletus

13

14 (7+7)

Greater Asia

Africa

TOTAL

Barce Cyrene

Acragas Camarina Gela Himera Hyblaia Messene Syracuse

2

5

0

2

77

248 Appendix E Table 5.2.a Place names in Olympic victor lists 336–240 bce Mainland Greece

Islands

Italy/Sicily

Europe

Asia Minor

Aegeira Aegion Aetolia Ambracia Amphissa Anthedon Arcadia Argos Athens Boeotia Cleitor Corinth Crannon Elis Heraea Mantinea Megara Patrae Pharsalus Sparta Tegea Thessaly

Chalcis Cos Lindus Mytilene Rhodes Samos

Naples Tarentum

Amphipolis Macedonia Philippi

Clazomenae Colophon Magnesia Miletus Pergamon Tralles

22

6

3 (2 + 1) 3

Messene

6

Greater Asia

Africa

TOTAL

Alexandria Cyrene

0

2

42

Appendix F List of place-names in the Fasti Triumphales 264/3–19 bce

Mainland Islands Greece

Italy/Sicily

Europe

Asia Minor

Greater Asia

Aetolia Epirus

Aequi Anagnia Antemnae Antium Apuani Apulians Asculum Aurunci Brutii Caenina Caleni Campanii Eleates Etruscans Falerii Hernici Latini Lavinii Ligurii Lucani Marsi Medullia Messapia Nequinum Palaeopolis Pedani Picentes Privernium Rhegium Sabinii Sallentini Samnites Sassina Satricum Sidicini

Allobroges Alps Arverni Boii Carni Celtiberi Contrubii Dalmatians Gauls Germans Getae Iapydes Illyrians Insubres Istri Lusitani Macedonia Parthini Saluvii Scordisci Scythians Spaniards Thrace Vocontii

Asia Cappadocia Cilicia Paphlagonia Pontus

Armenia Africa Judaea Carthaginians Parthians Numidians Seleucids Syria

Baleares Cephallenia Corsica Cosyra Crete Sardinia

Africa

TOTAL

(Continued )

250 Appendix F Mainland Islands Greece

2

6

Italy/Sicily

Europe

Asia Minor

Greater Asia

Africa

TOTAL

Sora Styni Tarentum Tibur Traquinii Veii Velitrae Volsci Vulsinii Sicily 45 (44+1)

24

5

5

3

90

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Index

Aeschines 43–45, 55–57, 203 Aeschylus 66–74, 81–83, 87, 95, 162, 191, 210–212 Agrippa, M. Vipsanius 142, 166, 184 Alcibiades 33–36, 52–53 Alexander the Great 3, 20–21, 47, 95 Andocides 5, 9, 33–36, 55–56, 201 Antiphon 29–31, 54–57, 200 Argonauts 6, 83 Aristophanes 14, 84, 85–91, 93–95, 104, 117, 123, 153, 219–220 Attic vases 154–161, 163, 165 Augustus 15, 21, 136, 145–146, 166–167, 169–170, 173, 184–185

ethnic portraits 169–172 Euripides 66–67, 77–82, 87, 95, 216–218

Caligula 135, 169 cartographic perception 53–54, 61, 68, 90, 140, 152–153, 163, 180, 182, 191 Cato the Elder 57–58 Cicero 5, 57–63, 119, 124, 132, 206-208 circus games 142–145 Claudius 21, 138, 166, 170 Cleon 12, 50–51 cognomina 137–138 coins, Greek 163–164 coins, Roman 172–178 colonies and colonization 16–19, 21, 23, 34, 58, 74, 85, 130–131 common sense geography 2, 191

illiteracy see literacy Io 6, 68, 70–71, 82 Isaeus 37–39, 55–56, 201 Isocrates 36–37, 40-41, 55–57, 142, 201

Delian League 2–3, 16–20, 29, 31–32, 34, 36, 89–90, 94, 163, 183–184, 195 Delphic oracle 130–131 Demosthenes 37, 40, 43–49, 55–57, 83, 204 Dinarchus 47–49, 55–57, 205 Diodotus 50–51 Dionysia, festival 7, 17, 131, 148 Domitian 146, 169

Fasti Triumphales 136–138, 249–250 Forma Urbis Romae 180–182 gladiator shows 6, 116, 142, 144–145 Hadrian 3, 21, 113, 169–171, 174–175, 180 Hecataeus of Miletus 47, 68, 84 Herodotus 20, 69, 77, 84, 118, 123–124 Horace 116, 126, 132–133 Hyperides 41–43, 55–57, 202

Julius Caesar 139, 143, 145 knowledge, assessment and theory 10, 14, 16, 18, 23, 28, 49, 54, 61–62, 84, 86, 123–124, 128, 151–152, 178, 191–193 lists, geographic 182–185 literacy 1–3, 10–14, 135, 152, 178, 187 Livy 58, 134, 141, 143, 145 Lycurgus (Athenian orator) 39–41, 55–57, 83, 202 Lysias 31–34, 55–56, 200 Martial 116, 146–147 Menander 94–96, 221 merchants 2, 15–17, 20, 26, 111, 124, 127, 194 metics 4, 17, 37, 43, 47, 65, 131, 159 Mithridates 59, 134, 139 mobility 9, 16, 18–19, 23, 31, 86

Index mythical geography 6, 40, 66–67, 70, 73, 80–81, 83–84, 97, 103, 107, 115, 118–119, 154–155, 159-163, 165, 186, 193 naumachiae 6, 145–146 Nero 104, 146, 169 Nicias 51–54 Nilotic scenes 141, 153, 178–180 Odysseus 6, 83 Olympic Games 74, 127–130, 247–248 Ovid 133, 146 Panathenaea, festival 131, 148 Pericles 50, 65 Perseus of Macedon 134 personifications 94, 153–156, 158, 163, 165, 167–168, 170–172, 175, 186 Pindar 96–98, 113–114 Plato 49, 65 Plautus 5, 84, 98–102, 107, 144, 222 Pliny the Elder 139–140, 143, 184 Plutarch 53–54, 114–115 Pompey 59–60, 134–135, 139, 142–143, 169, 172–173, 175 popular culture 14–16 prejudice, ethnic 17, 43, 46–47, 61–62, 77, 93–94, 118–122, 161, 167–171 Prometheus 6, 68, 70, 82 Punic Wars 3, 16–17, 21, 98, 137, 143, 195 Pyrrhus 57, 143

265

reliefs 154-156, 158-159, 165–168, 170–171, 184 sailors 5, 15, 20 Seneca the Younger 66, 98, 103–107, 124, 224 Silius Italicus 140–141 slave names 17, 88, 95, 138 Socrates 49, 65, 88, 90 soldiers 2, 15–16, 23, 93–95, 104, 111, 131, 160, 192, 194 Sophocles 5, 66–67, 73–78, 81–83, 95, 114, 213-215 stereotypes see prejudice Strabo 17, 22–23, 185, 196 Suetonius 135, 144 Terence 98, 102–103, 223 Thucydides 12, 16–17, 20, 26, 28, 49–54, 57, 64 n.38 Titus 135–136, 146 trade and commerce 2, 7–9, 16–17, 63, 66, 84, 92–93, 122, 127, 154, 160, 165, 193 Trajan 21–22, 138, 146, 167–168 Tribute Lists, Athens 7, 19, 183–184 Triumphal Arches 166, 170, 184 Triumphal Columns 167–168 Triumphal processions 131–136 venationes (beast shows) 6, 144 Vespasian 135–136, 173 victory odes 96–98