By introducing a multifaceted approach to epic geography, the editors of the volume wish to provide a critical assessment of spatial perception, of its repercussions on shaping narrative as well as of its discursive traits and cultural contexts. Taking the genre-specific boundaries of Greco-Roman epic poetry as a case in point, a team of international scholars examines issues that lie at the heart of modern criticism on human geography. Modern and ancient discourse on space representations revolves around the nation-shaping force of geography, the gendered dynamics of landscapes, the topography of isolation and integration, the politics of imperialism, globalization, environmentalism as well as the power of language and narrative to turn space into place. One of the major aims of the volume is to show that the world of the Classics is not just the origin, but the essence of current debates on spatial constructions and reconstructions.

The Hekale, by the Hellenistic poet Kallimachos, is one of the most famous short epics in Greek literature, and was highly regarded in Antiquity. At the centre of this study is the rarely asked question of the relationship between the Hekale and Homeric epic, in particular the Odyssey. The results show that the Odyssey had a clear and lasting influence on the language, the constellation of the characters and the entire structure of the plot of the Hellenistic mini-epic. The analysis employs reading strategies based on inter- and intratextuality, narrative theory, poetical etymology, oral vs. written tradition and gender research in order to document the various and numerous ways in which Kallimachos had recourse to, echoed and borrowed from the Odyssey on the linguistic, figurative and even structural level. Within this methodological framework several interpretations are offered which can throw light on the a little peoplea oe of both the Homeric and Hellenistic epics.