Artemidorus(2)
, fl. 104–101 BCE
Artemidorus(2)
, fl. 104–101 BCE
- Eric Herbert Warmington
- and Simon Hornblower
Extract
Artemidorus (2) (fl. 104–101 BCE), a Greek of *Ephesus; his name means ‘gift of *Artemis', the city’s most important goddess. He voyaged along Mediterranean shores, outer Spain (and Gaul?), and in *Alexandria (1) wrote eleven geographical books (Περίπλους, Τὰ γεωγραφούμενα, Γεωγραφίας Βιβλία), often quoted. His records, especially of distances in western regions, including (misapplied) use of Roman measurements, were fair, with errors and confusions (K. Miller, Mappaemundi (1898), 6. 127 ff.). For eastern waters and Ethiopia Artemidorus relied on *Agatharchides, adding distances and details as far as Cape Guardafui; for India, on *Alexander (3) the Great's writers and *Megasthenes. He made two calculations of the inhabited world's length and two of its breadth, without determining positions by latitude and longitude. He was an important intermediary source between Agatharchides and *Strabo. A remarkable new papyrus of Artemidorus, including *maps and other drawings, was published in 2008.Subjects
- Ancient Geography
- Greek Literature