Rose
Shimberg
Discussion
Questions and Topics for Dilke "Periploi" reading.
2/12/18-
Periploi
1.
To start off, what is a periplus? Consider which periploi
mentioned in
this chapter, in your opinion, are the most significant to our
understanding of
ancient geography and navigation. Did the nature of these
records differ based
on factors such as the period in which they were written, the
purpose of the
voyage, or whether or not the intended destination was reached?
Examples:
·
The Periplus of the
Erythraean Sea-
emphasis on trade
·
Arrian’s Periplus
of the Euxine-
of military use to the Roman Empire
2.
Prior to reading this section, I didn’t know that the
landmark of the
Columns of Hercules was actually the Straits of Gibraltar. How
did barriers
such as this impact who was able to journey to far-off lands,
and when? It was
noted that for a period starting around 500 B.C. the Phoenicians
and
Carthaginians took care to exclude other civilizations from
passing beyond the
strait. Did you connect this with any of our other readings?
3.
What do you think the effect of translation had on
ancient periploi?
Consider how the scholars chose which works they considered
worthy of
translating into Greek. Similarly, what was the impact of
temporality? Writers
that depicted earlier works that are now lost have a great deal
of influence
over their perception and validity today. Why was Pytheas
praised by
Eratosthenes and Hipparchus and criticized by Polybius and
Strabo?
4.
Different forms of measurement were used by ancient
navigators to convey
distance. One example is the stade, and another is the number of
days sailed.
These contribute to the amount of uncertainty we continue to
have regarding
where and how far these travelers actually went. How have modern
scholars gone
about addressing these uncertainties?