Ancient Greek geographical writing is represented not just by the surviving works of the well-known authors Strabo, Pausanias, and Ptolemy, but also by many other texts dating from the Archaic to the Late Antique period. Most of these texts are, however, hard for non-specialists to find, and many have never been translated into English. This volume, the work of an international team of experts, presents the most important thirty-six texts in new, accurate translations. In addition, there are explanatory notes and authoritative introductions to each text, which offer a new understanding of the individual writings and demonstrate their importance: no longer marginal, but in the mainstream of Greek literature and science. The book includes twenty-eight newly drawn maps, images of the medieval manuscripts in which most of these works survive, and a full Introduction providing a comprehensive survey of the field of Greek and Roman geography.

In this study of the world of ancient Greek mariners, the relationship between the natural environment and the techniques and technology of seafaring is focused upon. An initial description of the geology, oceanography and meteorology of Greece and the Mediterranean, is followed by discussion of the resulting sailing conditions, such as physical hazards, sea conditions, winds and availability of shelter, and environmental factors in sailing routes, sailing directions, and navigational techniques. Appendices discuss winter and night sailing, ship design, weather prediction, and related areas of socio-maritime life, such as settlement, religion, and warfare. Wide-ranging sources and illustrations are used to demonstrate both how the environment shaped many of the problems and constraints of seafaring, and also that Greek mariners' understanding of the environment was instrumental in their development of a highly successful seafaring tradition.

Of all the areas colonised by the Greeks, the Black Sea is one of the least-known in the West, although the area is gradually opening up to Western scholarship. This volume presents the work of Western and Eastern scholars - archaeologists, historians, linguists, epigraphists - on the Black Sea. Contents: Greek colonisation of the Black Sea Area: Stages, models and native population (G. R. Tsetskhladze) ; Greek ideas of the north and the east (M. Vassileva) ; Pontic interactions: the cult of Sabazios (A. Fol) ; Notizen zur griechischen Kolonisation am westlichen Schwarzen Meer (M. Lazarov) ; Apollonia Pontica: Recent discoveries in the Necropolis (K. Panayotova) ; Zum beginn der r�mischen Kontrolle der griechischen St�dte an der Westkueste des Pontos Euxeinos (A. Avram) ; Megaran colonisation in the Western half of the Black Sea (J. Hind) ; The Greek colonisation of the Black Sea region in the light of private lead letters (Y. Vinogradov) ; Ionia and the North Pontic Area: Archaic metalworking (M. Treister) ; Olbia and Berezan: the early pottery (J. Boardman) ; Archaic Berezan: Historical-archaeological essay (S. Solovev) ; The foundation of Tauric Chersonesus (S. Y. Saprykin) ; Greek Colonisation of the Bosporus (G. A. Koshelenko and V. D. Kuznetsov) ; The Achaeans and the Heniochi: reflections on the origins and history of a Greek rhetorical topos (D. Asheri) ; Writing and re-inventing colonial origins (D. Braund) ; Die Gruendung von Sinope und die Probleme der Anfangsphase der griechischen Kolonisation des Schwarzmeergebietes (A. L. Ivantchik) .

Ptolemy's Geography is the only book on cartography to have survived from the classical period and one of the most influential scientific works of all time. Written in the second century AD, for more than fifteen centuries it was the most detailed topography of Europe and Asia available and the best reference on how to gather data and draw maps. Ptolemy championed the use of astronomical observation and applied mathematics in determining geographical locations. But more importantly, he introduced the practice of writing down coordinates of latitude and longitude for every feature drawn on a world map, so that someone else possessing only the text of the Geography could reproduce Ptolemy's map at any time, in whole or in part, at any scale. Here Berggren and Jones render an exemplary translation of the Geography and provide a thorough introduction, which treats the historical and technical background of Ptolemy's work, the contents of the Geography, and the later history of the work.

A History of the Alans in the West was first published in 1973. Minnesota Archive Editions uses digital technology to make long-unavailable books once again accessible, and are published unaltered from the original University of Minnesota Press editions. The Alans, a nomadic people from the steppe lands of south Russia, were among the many invaders of the Roman empire who helped to bring about its fall. Unlike the majority of the invaders, they were not Germans — they were Indo-Iranians—and they were not, like most barbarians, organized in agricultural communities. This history traces their westward movement from the time of their first mention in sources of classical antiquity through the early Middle Ages. Professor Bachrach discusses the social and religious institutions of the Alans and especially their military customs. As he shows, they contributed much to the military repertoire of the West, especially the feigned retreat tactic and the role of the cavalry as the primary part of the army. In their westward movement the Alans were assimilated by people in Gaul and Italy and served the empire in a military capacity during the fourth and fifth centuries. IN addition to their military and political impact in several areas, the Alans also influenced early medieval artistic styles, literary developments, place names, and personal names. A number of illustrations provide examples of the artistic influence of the Alans, and there are maps pertinent to the history.

An introduction to the earliest ideas of geography in antiquity and how much knowledge there was of the physical world.

Addresses the importance of ancient literature for Byzantine society and explores various ways of recycling and understanding ancient works.