The Edges of the Earth in Ancient Thought [Hardcover]

James S. Romm (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0691069336 | ISBN-13: 978-0691069333 | Publication Date: June 1, 1992

For the Greeks and Romans, the Earth's furthest perimeter was a realm radically different from what they perceived as central and human. The alien qualities of these "edges of the Earth" became the basis of a literary tradition that endured throughout antiquity and into the Renaissance, despite the growing challenges of emerging scientific perspectives. This survey reveals that the Greeks, and to a somewhat lesser extent the Romans, saw geography not as a branch of physical science but as an important literary genre. The tradition described by Romm emerged in Homer and Hestiod, whose imaginative geography defined the Earth by giving it boundaries - the river Ocean, the Pillars of Heracles, and other mythical forms of circumscription. Other Greek authors developed exotic literary landscapes by filling these "limits" with idealized human societies and bizarre or monstrous animal life, while the Romans adapted the concept of perimeters to goals of imperial conquest. As Hellenistic and Roman voyages of exploration failed to confirm the fancied landscapes, the tradition came to be seen as one in which invented narratives had masqueraded as truths. As a result, some of late antiquity's most daring innovations seized on geography as a theme for prose fiction, and the explorer's log became an important antecedent of the early modern novel.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

For the ancient Greeks and Romans, geography was as much a form of narrative fiction as a scientific description of terrains or peoples. In an interesting, suggestive, and thoroughly documented study, Romm (classics, Bard Coll.) traces the development of geography from early accounts in Homer and Herodotus through the various texts emerging from the conquests of Alexander the Great, such as those by Strabo and Pliny, to the Romans. He explores the symbolic landscapes, realms of wonders, and other literary conventions that formed the backdrop for these texts. He also looks at the perceptions of other ancient peoples, from the Ethiopians in the South and Hyperboreans in the North to the Indians in the East. A handy, readable, and valuable contribution. For educated readers.
- T.L. Cooksey, Armstrong State Coll., Savannah, Ga.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

An immensely engaging and erudite work, packed full of provocative insights.... Romm successfully sorts out for us some of the most complex traditions of ancient geographic literature; and he deserves high marks for doing it in such an intelligent, original, and attractive manner. -- T. Corey Brennan, Bryn Mawr Classical Review



Romm's incisive and brilliant analysis of Greco-Roman ideas of earth's geography is grounded in a linguistic interpretation of Greek conceptions of space and boundary. . . . His work captures the imagination as few others have and will provide material for the study of the classical legacy in the shaping of the modern scientific mind for many years to come. -- Helen Liebel-Weckowicz, Classical Bulletin
--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 252 pages
• Publisher: Princeton Univ Pr (June 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0691069336
• ISBN-13: 978-0691069333
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,678,149 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

James Romm was born in 1958 in New York. After receiving his B.A. in Classics from Yale, he went on to earn a Ph.D. from Princeton in 1988. He has taught Greek language, literature and history at Bard College since 1990.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How did the ancient Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, and other civilizations view the Earth?, November 21, 2010

By 

Roger D. Launius "Historian" (Washington, D.C., United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Edges of the Earth in Ancient Thought (Paperback)

James S. Romm, professor of classics at Bard College, undertakes a decidedly sophisticated literary turn to analyze the manner in which the ancients perceived the far reaches of the Earth. He finds that they approached geography as much as a form of narrative fiction as a description of terrains or peoples grounded in fact and analysis. That, in itself, is a fascinating conclusion and suggests that many of the tales we are familiar with, such as Atlantis, the Hyperboreans, and the like should be taken more as creative writing than factual reporting.

Ancient geographers--although that term is a bit of mischaracterization--elieved that their own country was the center of a disk-like world. A disk-like Earth, surrounded by an Ocean with islands full of wonders and monstrosities, explained the world. As one traveled farther and farther away from Mediterranean culture, those inculcated in that culture believed, the world becomes stranger and in going to the farthest ended humans were reported to behave inhumanely.

This belief evolved over time and while such writers as Herodotus enjoyed the outrageous story and his histories are filled with the, he took care to note that such and story was related to him and sometimes discounted it in his discussion. In addition, he also criticized others for their uncritical recitation of wild stories for lands far away. Over time others did the same, and the move toward greater concern over the reporting on lands and peoples far away emerged. This was especially the case in the era of Alexander the Great and thereafter as geographical knowledge based on the ground truth provided by expeditions became more reliable; that coupled with the concerns of Alexander himself that hard data be collected to aid in his efforts at conquest. Even so, assigning barbarian (and sometimes magical) status to those at the "edges of the Earth" remained present.

This is, of course, a thoroughly documented study that raises many questions, many more questions than it answers. It is illuminating at several levels, but I found several key points that struck me as especially interesting.

The first of these is the deep philosophical belief in "Ocean" as the source of all that exists and that its boundlessness surrounds all the land and water that the ancient Greeks knew. This "primordial water," to use Jean Rudhardt's term, created a useful understanding of creation, order, universe, and humanity's place in it. "The entire nexus of associations outlined above--connecting Ocean's role as boundary of earth with its vast extent, impassibility, atavism, and monstrous disorder--is neatly embodied in a set of Greek epigrams...`It [Ocean] is greatest because of this: It is beyond all things, but beyond it is nothing'" (pp. 25-26). Floating in Ocean was the World and beyond the great unknown, perhaps an unknown that was impenetrable but certainly one that was dangerous and unknown. The power of Ocean in ancient thought gave rise to the ideas of sea monsters and falling off the Earth as seafaring was viewed as a treacherous exercise. Over the centuries as Mediterranean culture expanded outward and more and more territories came to be know the idea of Ocean did not abate but the unknown of it moved outward as well. So when the Romans incorporated much of Britain into its empire Ocean moved beyond the English Channel but it still existed in some form.

The second fascinating message was the gradual realization and spread of the idea of Earth as a sphere that was surprisingly like our understanding of it today. At some level the idea of Ocean and the idea of Earth as a sphere are inconsistent with each other but they were held in creative tension in ancient philosophy through a rather complex set of exercises. A sweeping account of what the Earth might look like from above by imagining the cosmos from a new vantage point above the Earth served ancient Greek philosophers in considering this issue. As Romm describes it, one would perceive the Earth as "a brightly colored spherical object adorned with gold, silver, and jewels." He quotes Eratosthenes in considering the whole Earth: "Five encircling zones were girt around it: two of them darker than grayish-blue enamel, another one sandy and red, as if from fire....Two others there were, standing opposite one another, between the heat and the showers of ice; both were temperate regions, growing with grain, the fruit of Eleusinian Demeter; in them dwelt men antipodal to each other" (pp. 127-28). This categorization of the planet as having zones of hot and cold and temperate climates moved beyond Ocean as an explanation of the world. Hellenistic and Roman writers took a new turn that profoundly affected Mediaeval thought about the Earth.

"The Edges of the Earth in Ancient Thought" is a superb investigation not only of the idea of the "edges of the Earth" but also the idea of the Earth writ large.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Geography with a Purpose, November 30, 2000

By 

Ricky Hunter (New York City, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Edges of the Earth in Ancient Thought (Paperback)

The most fascinating aspect of reading The Edges of the Earth in Ancient Thought by James S. Romm is to learn that for the ancients, geography was more of a literary device than a budding science. In a way, it was more complex than that as the lines between literature and science were often blurred. It is interesting to note that the idea of the edge of the earth was most often used to create a moral lesson and what a better well to draw a taste of moral water from than the area where the least information is available. It was a blank slate of sorts for the ancient historians, geographers, philosophers and various other writers to create their own messages for their own purposes. And in that the variety lies the pleasure in this short, readable look at the times of ancient Rome and Greece.

3 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great book for geographers !, October 21, 1997

By 

Marcia S. Carvalho "[e-mail]" (Londrina, Paraná Brazil) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Edges of the Earth in Ancient Thought (Paperback)

It's a very interesting book for geographers. We could understand very well about myths - places, people - and fantasies about other lands emerging from the Ancient writers. Read it !