A lively new translation of Strabo’s complete Geography—an encyclopedic guide to the ancient world of the first century CE—connecting it with the world of the twenty-first century Strabo’s Geography is an encyclopedic description of the ancient world as it appeared to a contemporary observer in the early Roman Empire. Information about taming elephants, collecting saffron, producing asphalt, and practicing yoga is found alongside accounts of prostitution, volcanic activity, religious festivals, and obscure eastern dynasties—all set against the shifting backdrop of political power in the first century CE. Traveling around the Mediterranean, Strabo gathered knowledge of places and people, supplementing his first-hand experiences with an immense amount of reading to create a sweeping chronicle that attempts to answer the implicit questions “Who are we?” and “Where do we come from?” Sarah Pothecary’s new translation of Strabo’s complete Geography makes this important work more accessible, relevant, and enjoyable than ever before. Conveying the informal, lively, and almost journalistic style of Strabo’s Greek, this translation connects the ancient and modern worlds by providing modern names and maps for places mentioned in the text, a generous page layout, and marginal notes, allowing readers to appreciate Strabo’s work directly and immediately. The result mimics what Strabo was doing two thousand years ago—relating the rapidly changing present of his original readers to their own ancient past. A remarkable translation of Strabo’s remarkable window on the ancient world, this is essential reading for anyone interested in how we look at both antiquity and the world today.

Strabo of Amasia, a Greek geographer of the Augusto-Tiberian period, observed the Roman world of his time. He collected his observations 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, composed of many different elements like the detailing on a statue. In this 2005 volume an international team of Strabo scholars explores those details, discussing the cultural, political, historical and geographical questions addressed in the Geography. The collection offers a number of different approaches to the study of Strabo, from traditional literary and historical perspectives to newer material and feminist readings. These diverse themes and approaches inform each other to provide a wide-ranging exploration of Strabo's work, making the book essential reading for students of ancient history and ancient geography.

Strabo of Amasia, a Greek geographer of the Augusto-Tiberian period, observed the Roman world of his time. He collected his observations 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, composed of many different elements like the detailing on a statue. In this 2005 volume an international team of Strabo scholars explores those details, discussing the cultural, political, historical and geographical questions addressed in the Geography. The collection offers a number of different approaches to the study of Strabo, from traditional literary and historical perspectives to newer material and feminist readings. These diverse themes and approaches inform each other to provide a wide-ranging exploration of Strabo's work, making the book essential reading for students of ancient history and ancient geography.