Customer Reviews

Ptolemy's "Geography": An Annotated Translation of the Theoretical Chapters

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The introduction is excellent and translation is well done, however the book is incomplete - it offers only a tiny sampling of Ptolemy's geography (only the book concerning Gaul), which may disappoint some (I was certainly surprised, expecting to see a full translation).

Reading the translated text of Ptolemy's Geography gives you a glimpse into the scientific, technical, social and political minds of those times. From a technical aspect, the maps are really quite good, considering the limited tools and data that Ptolemy had at his disposal. There are many mistakes, those about Africa and Asia are extreme, but it is possible to recognize the general shapes of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. The descriptions of how to determine locations from astronomical observations and the manner whereby it is interpreted is a classic example of stretching a technology to its' limits. For somewhere in the neighborhood of fifteen centuries, his maps were not significantly improved, which is a technical achievement that may be unequaled in any other field.
From the political and social realm we see that the Mediterranean is the hub of the world, with China and India a significant, albeit peripheral part. Africa below the Sahara desert is a great unknown, as there is little more than an empty spot on the map. North Africa is simply Libia and southern Africa is Ethiopia.
The translators have done a very good job with what was a very difficult subject. They begin with a great deal of explanation and close with a series of appendices that clarify many of the intermediate points. There is also a section of maps, where Ptolemy's are compared with modern ones. However, this is a translation of the theoretical chapters only, so if you are looking for the complete text, you will have to look elsewhere.
One of the greatest technical triumphs of the ancient world, Ptolemy's Geography can teach us much about the world in which he lived and worked. I found this translation of his great work to be well worth reading.