Strabo's Cultural Geography: The Making of a Kolossourgia

by Daniela Dueck (Editor), Hugh Lindsay (Editor), Sarah Pothecary (Editor)

Strabo of Amasia, a Greek geographer of the Augusto-Tiberian period, collected his observations of the Roman world of his time in his magnum opus, the Geography, which he described as a 'Kolossourgia', a colossal statue of a work. This term reflects not only the work's size in seventeen books, but also its multi-faceted nature. An international team of Strabo scholars explores its details, and the cultural, political, historical and geographical questions addressed in the Geography. They present different approaches to the study of Strabo, from traditional literary and historical perspectives to newer material and feminist readings.

304 pages, Hardcover

First published December 21, 2001

Reviews

[Marie-aimée · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very good compilation of papers on Strabo's Geographia. His main theme is culture. I have favourite articles :
-Kolossourgia, 'A colossal statue of a work', by Sarah Pothecary. It gives the name to the entire book. This paper deals with an explicite expression in his Prolegomena : 'kolossourgia'. The author explains what it means and its consequences on the purpuses of writting. It gives the importance of the Greek culture in Strabo's work. She reveals the two sides of this metaphor : his work as a kolossourgia and the koloussourgia as a greek sculpture adopted by Romans.
- Reflections of philosophy : Strabo and geographical sources, by Christina Horst Roseman. Well here you will find everything you need to know on philosophical influences in Strabo's work. I like her point on Pythagoricians (because it is largely unknown), and she doesn't developped to much the Stoïcian view. I only regret she does'nt go further on the link between the text and its decryptage in the philosophical way.
-Strabo and Homer: a chapter in cultural history, by Anna Maria Biraschi. One of the best papers. A very traditional subject but innovative! Here you will understand the importance of Strabo's education and experiance in homeric exegese. And I agree with her hypothesis on 'why Strabo has been forgotten for so many years?' (I will not say more, read it).
-Strabo use of poetry, by Daniela Dueck. I confess I am a huge fan of D.Dueck. A very usefull paper with statistics! I loved the way she explains the fonction of poetry in Strabo's work.
-Amasya and Strabo's patria in Pontus, by Hugh Lindsay. Because we know not enough on Strabo's life, I found very interesting this study of Strabo's point of view on his own city. And there are pictures!
If you want to know more about Strabo's work (and if you have already read the Strabo's biography by D.Dueck), this book is for you. If you're looking for methodology on sources, it is also for you. It's always well written and easy to understand.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating series of insights into aspects of Strabo's life, influences and environment as he surveys the whole of the known world at the time of Augustus. I enjoyed each essay with their very diverse themes.