Historiography of Space in Homer and Herodotos Susan Ford

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Historiography of Space in Homer and Herodotos Susan Ford Historiography of Space in Homer and Herodotos Susan Ford A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy of The Australian National University September 2015 This thesis is my own work. All sources used have been acknowledged. All translations are my own unless explicitly stated otherwise. Susan Elizabeth Ford September 2015 ii Again I am grateful to generous friends Dr Rachel Hendery and Dr Colleen Chaston for reading whole chapters. I remain deeply indebted to Emeritus Professor Jill Julius Matthews for her persistence in supervision of my prolonged and prorogued apprenticeship. iii Acknowledgements This thesis owes even more, perhaps, than most PhD theses, to the support and encouragement of friends and family. My mother and sisters, Audrey, Margaret, Prudence and Kate, have provided support, endless bed and board, and emergency funds on more than one occasion, without demur or delay. Dr Rachel Hendery, ‘linguist extraordinaire’, has been a friend always available for advice, encouragement and practical help, including the loan of cars and cats, for the whole course, even when she had deadlines to meet herself. Dr Colleen Chaston read and re-read anything I wrote, with insight and expert knowledge, provided country hospitality, coached me for interviews and led me up mountains, all with extraordinary patience and grace. I am grateful to the College of Arts and Social Sciences, and the swift decision- making of Professor Joan Beaumont, for granting me a later-year PhD scholarship; I have also to thank the College for the award of fieldwork funding in 2010 to enable me to go to Greece. I am especially grateful also to the Canberra / ANU Friends of the Australian Archaeological Institute at Athens for the award of substantial special funds which enabled me to extend my stay in Greece. I have found companionship and collegiality among the very many extraordinary students, past and present, of linguistics at ANU, especially Lila, Shannon, Antoinette and Elisabeth. There has been consolation and jollity among the students, especially Elaine, Will and Ian, of the ANU Anglo-Saxon reading group, run by Assoc. Prof. Cynthia Allen, whose patience in explaining the Great Vowel Shift for the fiftieth time is proverbial. Jill Greenwell† has been a friend of matchless competence to be called on in any circumstances and Dr Phoebe Garrett stepped in at the last moment to proof read. The opportunity to discuss Herodotean matters with Dr Doug Kelly was very valuable and the comments of Dr Erica Bexley, who generously read the penultimate draft, kept me on track. My thesis advisors Dr Avery Andrews, who turned me away from ontological speculations in the nick of time, Dr Peter Londey, who allowed me just to read Greek, Professor Elizabeth Minchin, who taught me Homer and Professor Richard Baker, who introduced me to some of the wondrous writing of modern geography, have been patient. My greatest intellectual debt is to my supervisor of the last two years, Professor Jill Julius Matthews, who, an historian herself, may often have despaired of turning me into one, but as a supervisor nevertheless continued to coach, encourage and, finally, demand, that I think more and write better. iv Abstract The Homeric poems and the Histories of Herodotos are crucial to our understanding of the intellectual life of the ancient Greeks. They are the earliest extant poetry and the earliest extant prose; they have never been lost and have always been read. Knowledge of the external world and of other peoples, though far from formalised as the study of ‘geography’ in this period, is prominent throughout the poems and the Histories: most readers of the Iliad get a very strong impression of place from their interaction with the text: the plain before the great citadel of Troy where the battle is fought, and the homes of the Trojan allies. Similarly, the Odyssey persuades many that they know and can recognise Ithake and surrounding islands. The Histories are an encyclopaedia of geographical knowledge of fifth-century Greeks which, conspicuously, includes knowledge of Skythia, Egypt and Persia as ‘other’ lands. In spite of this strong impression of place enduring even into the modern world it is not easy to know exactly why and how it arises and what narrative structures and strategies create it. The Homeric poems and the Histories are fundamentally about people and places (not cosmologies, or plants, or machines). Their completeness and length make it possible to study the spatial concepts held by their creators in detail. The thesis offered is that there have been three largely independent approaches to understanding the thinking about space in these texts and that by studying these approaches we can learn more about what categories of space are presented, thus avoiding a petitio elenchi. The three approaches discussed with this purpose in mind are autopsy, or retracing of steps, graphic demonstrations, and linguistic analyses (for which I present a number of case studies). v Contents Abstract ...................................................................................................................................... v Introduction ...............................................................................................................................1 1. Motivation .....................................................................................................................1 2. Historiography ...............................................................................................................2 3. Overview ..................................................................................................................... 11 4. Recapitulation ............................................................................................................. 21 Part I Autopsy.......................................................................................................................... 22 Chapter 1 Historical Autopsy .................................................................................................. 22 1.1 Geographical description ........................................................................................ 22 1.1.1 Recognisability ................................................................................................ 26 1.2 Naïve Geography .................................................................................................... 28 1.3 Identifying landscapes ............................................................................................ 29 1.4 Autopsy by Leaf ....................................................................................................... 30 1.5 Autopsy by J. V. Luce ............................................................................................... 38 1.6 Summary ................................................................................................................. 42 Chapter 2 Autopsy by Homer and Herodotos ........................................................................ 44 2.1 Text and landscape ................................................................................................. 44 2.2 Motivation for autopsy ........................................................................................... 45 2.3 Herodotos’ Labyrinth Description ........................................................................... 54 2.4 Goat Island .............................................................................................................. 56 Part I: Summary ...................................................................................................................... 58 Part II Visualisation ................................................................................................................. 60 Chapter 3 Visual Forms ........................................................................................................... 60 3.1 Setting up the problem: Ancient Greek cartography (or not) ................................ 60 3.1.1 Ancient Greek cartography ............................................................................. 60 3.2 The intention of graphics ........................................................................................ 66 3.3 Visualisation research ............................................................................................. 71 Chapter 4 Pseudo-maps .......................................................................................................... 74 4.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................ 74 4.1.1 Origins ............................................................................................................. 75 4.2 Nineteenth-century ................................................................................................ 77 4.2.1 Rennell’s Geographical system of Herodotos ................................................. 77 4.2.2 Spruner-Menke, Müller, Smith & Grove ......................................................... 80 4.2.3 Müller .............................................................................................................. 83 4.2.4 Edward Bunbury ............................................................................................. 85 4.2.5 Myres and the two maps available to Herodotos .......................................... 87 vi 4.3 Twentieth century..................................................................................................
Recommended publications
  • NISSOS SOFIA for Sale
    Nissos Sofia For Sale Greece, Ionian Islands, The Echinades POA € QUICK SPEC Year of Construction Bedrooms Half Bathrooms Full Bathrooms Interior Surface approx TBA m2 - TBA Sq.Ft Exterior Surface approx 176,000 m2 - 1, 894,448 Sq.Ft Parking Cars Property Type Private Island TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS This unique property comprises a private island in the centre of the ionian Sea. Named Nissos Sofia and part of the Echinades complex, the small island is a green paradise of protected natural environment. With a long sea front, gentle sloping terrain and proximity to the west coast of mainland Greece, The island has a surface of c. 176, 000 sqm; it is flat, with ample vegetation and all along its West coast it is covered by perennial cedars. The landscape is breath-taking, the sea shallow and as clean as it could ever be. The region has been designated as a RAMSAR site - a fact that ensures a high level of privacy and tranquility to its residents. There are valid certificates regarding the designation of shoreline, the forest/ non-forest areas, and the absence of areas of archeological interest. The island has obtained a number of certificates and has progressed planning status.. Large part of the island has been characterised as private forest land by the Forestry which offers immense privatcy and a serene natural environment. According to the building regulations, 6 houses of 130 sqm each can be built under its full development capacity. PROPERTY FEATURES BEDROOMS • Master Bedrooms - • Total Bedrooms - • Suite - BATHROOMS • Full Bathrooms - • Total Bathrooms - • Half Bathrooms - ISLAND FEATURES • Nissos Sofia and part of the Echinades,Situated between the islands of Ithaka (only 4 miles away) and Lafkada.
    [Show full text]
  • Navigating Without Vision: Principles of Blind Spatial Cognition
    Navigating without Vision: Principles of Blind Spatial Cognition Chapter 15, Handbook of Behavioral & Cognitive Geography (edited by D.R. Montello) Nicholas A. Giudice Spatial Informatics Program: School of Computing and Information Science Virtual Environments and Multimodal Interaction (VEMI) Laboratory (umaine.edu/vemi) The University of Maine Abstract This chapter considers what it means to learn and navigate the world with limited or no vision. It investigates limitations of blindness research, discusses traditional theories of blind spatial abilities, and provides an alternative perspective of many of the oft-cited issues and challenges underlying spatial cognition of blind people. Several provocative assertions pertaining to visual impairment and spatial abilities are advanced that help to better understand navigation without vision, provide greater explanatory power relevant to many of the current debates, and offer some needed guidance on the development of new spatial learning strategies and technological solutions that will ultimately have a significant positive impact on the independence and quality of life of this demographic. An underlying and related theme of the chapter emphasizes the importance of ‘space’ in spatial cognition research, rather than vision as its principle mechanism. There is no debate that vision is an amazing conduit of spatial information, but it is also important to remember that it does not have a monopoly on space. Indeed, all of our senses encode spatial information to one degree or another, and as we will discuss, this commonality allows for equivalent performance on many of the same spatial behaviors, independent of whether they originate from visual or nonvisual perception. 1. Introduction For most sighted people, navigating from place to place is a fundamental component of daily life, performed without much conscious thought or active attention (Merleau-Ponty 1962).
    [Show full text]
  • Cognitive Neuroscience of Spatial and Geographic Thinking
    Bond University Research Repository Cognitive neuroscience of spatial and geographic thinking Schinazi, Victor R.; Thrash, Tyler Published in: Handbook of Behavioral and Cognitive Geography DOI: 10.4337/9781784717544.00016 Licence: Other Link to output in Bond University research repository. Recommended citation(APA): Schinazi, V. R., & Thrash, T. (2018). Cognitive neuroscience of spatial and geographic thinking. In D. R. Montello (Ed.), Handbook of Behavioral and Cognitive Geography (pp. 154-174). Edward Elgar Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781784717544.00016 General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. For more information, or if you believe that this document breaches copyright, please contact the Bond University research repository coordinator. Download date: 28 Sep 2021 Cognitive neuroscience of spatial and geographic thinking Victor R. Schinazi and Tyler Thrash Chair of Cognitive Science, ETH Zurich, Switzerland Abstract Cognitive neuroscience has provided additional techniques for investigations of spatial and geographic thinking. However, the incorporation of neuroscientific methods still lacks the theoretical motivation necessary for the progression of geography as a discipline. Rather than reflecting a shortcoming of neuroscience, this weakness has developed from previous attempts to establish a positivist approach to behavioral geography. In this chapter, we will discuss the connection between the challenges of positivism in behavioral geography and the current drive to incorporate neuroscientific evidence. We will also provide an overview of research in geography and neuroscience.
    [Show full text]
  • The Linguistic Encoding of Landscape in Lokono
    UvA-DARE (Digital Academic Repository) The linguistic encoding of landscape in Lokono Rybka, K.A. Publication date 2016 Document Version Final published version Link to publication Citation for published version (APA): Rybka, K. A. (2016). The linguistic encoding of landscape in Lokono. LOT. General rights It is not permitted to download or to forward/distribute the text or part of it without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), other than for strictly personal, individual use, unless the work is under an open content license (like Creative Commons). Disclaimer/Complaints regulations If you believe that digital publication of certain material infringes any of your rights or (privacy) interests, please let the Library know, stating your reasons. In case of a legitimate complaint, the Library will make the material inaccessible and/or remove it from the website. Please Ask the Library: https://uba.uva.nl/en/contact, or a letter to: Library of the University of Amsterdam, Secretariat, Singel 425, 1012 WP Amsterdam, The Netherlands. You will be contacted as soon as possible. UvA-DARE is a service provided by the library of the University of Amsterdam (https://dare.uva.nl) Download date:02 Oct 2021 337 English summary: The linguistic encoding of landscape in Lokono This thesis investigates the how landscape elements are expressed linguistically in Lokono (Arawakan). As a background to the analysis, an account of language vitality and a description of the grammar of space are given. The linguistic analysis of landscape starts with landform terms, which form a system of non-lexicalized phrases sharing a generic term horhorho ‘landform’.
    [Show full text]
  • DESERTMED a Project About the Deserted Islands of the Mediterranean
    DESERTMED A project about the deserted islands of the Mediterranean The islands, and all the more so the deserted island, is an extremely poor or weak notion from the point of view of geography. This is to it’s credit. The range of islands has no objective unity, and deserted islands have even less. The deserted island may indeed have extremely poor soil. Deserted, the is- land may be a desert, but not necessarily. The real desert is uninhabited only insofar as it presents no conditions that by rights would make life possible, weather vegetable, animal, or human. On the contrary, the lack of inhabitants on the deserted island is a pure fact due to the circumstance, in other words, the island’s surroundings. The island is what the sea surrounds. What is de- serted is the ocean around it. It is by virtue of circumstance, for other reasons that the principle on which the island depends, that the ships pass in the distance and never come ashore.“ (from: Gilles Deleuze, Desert Island and Other Texts, Semiotext(e),Los Angeles, 2004) DESERTMED A project about the deserted islands of the Mediterranean Desertmed is an ongoing interdisciplina- land use, according to which the islands ry research project. The “blind spots” on can be divided into various groups or the European map serve as its subject typologies —although the distinctions are matter: approximately 300 uninhabited is- fluid. lands in the Mediterranean Sea. A group of artists, architects, writers and theoreti- cians traveled to forty of these often hard to reach islands in search of clues, impar- tially cataloguing information that can be interpreted in multiple ways.
    [Show full text]
  • Rule Book T a B L E O F C O N T E N T S
    HELLENES: Campaigns of the Peloponnesian War 1 RULE BOOK T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S Introduction .................................................................. 2 12.0 Peace of Nicias ................................................ 12 1.0 The Map ............................................................. 2 13.0 Persian Aid ....................................................... 12 2.0 The Blocks ......................................................... 3 14.0 Victory ............................................................. 13 3.0 The Cards ........................................................... 4 15.0 Scenarios .......................................................... 13 4.0 Actions ............................................................... 5 15.1 The 431 Campaign .................................. 13 5.0 Movement .......................................................... 6 15.2 The Sicily Campaign .............................. 14 6.0 Combat .............................................................. 7 15.3 The 413 Campaign .................................. 14 7.0 Siege .................................................................. 8 15.4 The 415 Campaign .................................. 15 8.0 Siege Combat ..................................................... 9 Strategy Notes ............................................................ 15 9.0 Winter .............................................................. 10 Credits ....................................................................... 15 10.0
    [Show full text]
  • The World View of the Anonymous Author of the Greek Chronicle of the Tocco
    THE WORLD VIEW OF THE ANONYMOUS AUTHOR OF THE GREEK CHRONICLE OF THE TOCCO (14th-15th centuries) by THEKLA SANSARIDOU-HENDRICKX THESIS submitted in the fulfilment of the requirements for the degree DOCTOR OF ARTS in GREEK in the FACULTY OF ARTS at the RAND AFRIKAANS UNIVERSITY PROMOTER: DR F. BREDENKAMP JOHANNESBURG NOVEMBER 2000 EFACE When I began with my studies at the Rand Afrikaans University, and when later on I started teaching Modern Greek in the Department of Greek and Latin Studies, I experienced the thrill of joy and the excitement which academic studies and research can provide to its students and scholars. These opportunities finally allowed me to write my doctoral thesis on the world view of the anonymous author of the Greek Chronicle of the Tocco. I wish to thank all persons who have supported me while writing this study. Firstly, my gratitude goes to Dr Francois Bredenkamp, who not only has guided me throughout my research, but who has always been available for me with sound advice. His solid knowledge and large experience in the field of post-classical Greek Studies has helped me in tackling Byzantine Studies from a mixed, historical and anthropological view point. I also wish to render thanks to my colleagues, especially in the Modern Greek Section, who encouraged me to continue my studies and research. 1 am indebted to Prof. W.J. Henderson, who has corrected my English. Any remaining mistakes in the text are mine. Last but not least, my husband, Prof. B. Hendrickx, deserves my profound gratitude for his patience, encouragement and continuous support.
    [Show full text]
  • View / Download 2.4 Mb
    Lucian and the Atticists: A Barbarian at the Gates by David William Frierson Stifler Department of Classical Studies Duke University Date:_______________________ Approved: ___________________________ William A. Johnson, Supervisor ___________________________ Janet Downie ___________________________ Joshua D. Sosin ___________________________ Jed W. Atkins Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Classical Studies in the Graduate School of Duke University 2019 ABSTRACT Lucian and the Atticists: A Barbarian at the Gates by David William Frierson Stifler Department of Classical Studies Duke University Date:_______________________ Approved: ___________________________ William A. Johnson, Supervisor ___________________________ Janet Downie ___________________________ Joshua D. Sosin ___________________________ Jed W. Atkins An abstract of a dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Classical Studies in the Graduate School of Duke University 2019 Copyright by David William Frierson Stifler 2019 Abstract This dissertation investigates ancient language ideologies constructed by Greek and Latin writers of the second and third centuries CE, a loosely-connected movement now generally referred to the Second Sophistic. It focuses on Lucian of Samosata, a Syrian “barbarian” writer of satire and parody in Greek, and especially on his works that engage with language-oriented topics of contemporary relevance to his era. The term “language ideologies”, as it is used in studies of sociolinguistics, refers to beliefs and practices about language as they function within the social context of a particular culture or set of cultures; prescriptive grammar, for example, is a broad and rather common example. The surge in Greek (and some Latin) literary output in the Second Sophistic led many writers, with Lucian an especially noteworthy example, to express a variety of ideologies regarding the form and use of language.
    [Show full text]
  • Athens Guide
    ATHENS GUIDE Made by Dorling Kindersley 27. May 2010 PERSONAL GUIDES POWERED BY traveldk.com 1 Top 10 Athens guide Top 10 Acropolis The temples on the “Sacred Rock” of Athens are considered the most important monuments in the Western world, for they have exerted more influence on our architecture than anything since. The great marble masterpieces were constructed during the late 5th-century BC reign of Perikles, the Golden Age of Athens. Most were temples built to honour Athena, the city’s patron goddess. Still breathtaking for their proportion and scale, both human and majestic, the temples were adorned with magnificent, dramatic sculptures of the gods. Herodes Atticus Theatre Top 10 Sights 9 A much later addition, built in 161 by its namesake. Acropolis Rock In summer it hosts the Athens Festival (see Festivals 1 As the highest part of the city, the rock is an ideal and Events). place for refuge, religion and royalty. The Acropolis Rock has been used continuously for these purposes since Dionysus Theatre Neolithic times. 10 This mosaic-tiled theatre was the site of Classical Greece’s drama competitions, where the tragedies and Propylaia comedies by the great playwrights (Aeschylus, 2 At the top of the rock, you are greeted by the Sophocles, Euripides) were first performed. The theatre Propylaia, the grand entrance through which all visitors seated 15,000, and you can still see engraved front-row passed to reach the summit temples. marble seats, reserved for priests of Dionysus. Temple of Athena Nike (“Victory”) 3 There has been a temple to a goddess of victory at New Acropolis Museum this location since prehistoric times, as it protects and stands over the part of the rock most vulnerable to The Glass Floor enemy attack.
    [Show full text]
  • Eroticism in Theognis Josh C
    University of Arkansas, Fayetteville ScholarWorks@UARK World Languages, Literatures and Cultures World Languages, Literatures and Cultures Undergraduate Honors Theses 5-2015 Eroticism in Theognis Josh C. Koerner University of Arkansas, Fayetteville Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarworks.uark.edu/wllcuht Recommended Citation Koerner, Josh C., "Eroticism in Theognis" (2015). World Languages, Literatures and Cultures Undergraduate Honors Theses. 2. http://scholarworks.uark.edu/wllcuht/2 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the World Languages, Literatures and Cultures at ScholarWorks@UARK. It has been accepted for inclusion in World Languages, Literatures and Cultures Undergraduate Honors Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UARK. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. Eroticism in Theognis An Honors Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for Honors Studies in Classical Studies By: Joshua Koerner 2015 Classics J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences The University of Arkansas Introduction and Background to Theognis 3 Background to Symposium 13 Eroticism in the Theognidean Corpus 25 Appendices 75 Bibliography 122 Acknowledgements 125 !2 of !125 Introduction and Background to Theognis Understanding masculinity and the way it self-defines is an integral part of understanding symposia as “masculine,” and using an elite context inherently includes in its discussion a greater degree of contrast between the self, or the community that identifies in a particular way, and the other. Further, given that sexuality is an integral component to the human experience, it is quite relevant to pursue the question of eroticism in a general context as well as the specific.
    [Show full text]
  • That Greece Might Still Be Free the Philhellenes in the War of Independence
    William St Clair That Greece Might Still Be Free The Philhellenes in the War of Independence From reviews of the first edition: ‘A brilliant and bitter history’. Richard Holmes, The Times ‘an author who aspires to the highest standards of scholarship and prose. the last word on its subject and likely to remain so for many years’. Sunday Telegraph ‘a magnificent narrative based on thorough research and careful judgment’. The Guardian ‘Mr. St Clair looks at the war as it involved the philhellenes. whose names are now associated with the myth of the glorious fight for Greek Freedom. His diligent and wide research has paid a rich dividend. He has added to the book’s value by including many portraits, paintings, and maps’. The Economist ‘tells their melancholy story with sardonic relish and lucid scholarship. Like his previous book on ‘Lord Elgin and the Marbles’ it is a brilliant and elegant performance that puts all previous work in the shade’. C.M. Woodhouse, The Observer One can pick a hero figure out of almost page of a classical dictionary, and without this magic appeal of antiquity it is improbable that Greece would have obtained independence so early in the century. As William St Clair points out in “That Greece Might Still Be Free” the bloody revolt of the Serbs against the Turks in 1808 aroused no interest in Western Europe. Yet when the Greek revolution broke out in 1821 Philhellene foreigners volunteered by the shipload to join a non-existent Greek army’. Daily Telegraph 'Mr. St Clair's study of the philhellenes in the Greek revolution is noteworthy for its sprightly narrative and vivid biographical sketches.
    [Show full text]
  • Early Greek Alchemy, Patronage and Innovation in Late Antiquity CALIFORNIA CLASSICAL STUDIES
    Early Greek Alchemy, Patronage and Innovation in Late Antiquity CALIFORNIA CLASSICAL STUDIES NUMBER 7 Editorial Board Chair: Donald Mastronarde Editorial Board: Alessandro Barchiesi, Todd Hickey, Emily Mackil, Richard Martin, Robert Morstein-Marx, J. Theodore Peña, Kim Shelton California Classical Studies publishes peer-reviewed long-form scholarship with online open access and print-on-demand availability. The primary aim of the series is to disseminate basic research (editing and analysis of primary materials both textual and physical), data-heavy re- search, and highly specialized research of the kind that is either hard to place with the leading publishers in Classics or extremely expensive for libraries and individuals when produced by a leading academic publisher. In addition to promoting archaeological publications, papyrolog- ical and epigraphic studies, technical textual studies, and the like, the series will also produce selected titles of a more general profile. The startup phase of this project (2013–2017) was supported by a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Also in the series: Number 1: Leslie Kurke, The Traffic in Praise: Pindar and the Poetics of Social Economy, 2013 Number 2: Edward Courtney, A Commentary on the Satires of Juvenal, 2013 Number 3: Mark Griffith, Greek Satyr Play: Five Studies, 2015 Number 4: Mirjam Kotwick, Alexander of Aphrodisias and the Text of Aristotle’s Meta- physics, 2016 Number 5: Joey Williams, The Archaeology of Roman Surveillance in the Central Alentejo, Portugal, 2017 Number 6: Donald J. Mastronarde, Preliminary Studies on the Scholia to Euripides, 2017 Early Greek Alchemy, Patronage and Innovation in Late Antiquity Olivier Dufault CALIFORNIA CLASSICAL STUDIES Berkeley, California © 2019 by Olivier Dufault.
    [Show full text]