Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of maps
- List of illustrations
- List of tables
- List of figures
- List of contributors
- Acknowledgements
- List of abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1 Kolossourgia. ‘A colossal statue of a work’
- 2 Reflections of philosophy: Strabo and geographical sources
- 3 Who is a barbarian? The barbarians in the ethnological and cultural taxonomies of Strabo
- 4 Gender at the crossroads of empire: locating women in Strabo's Geography
- 5 Strabo and Homer: a chapter in cultural history
- 6 Strabo's use of poetry
- 7 Strabo's sources in the light of a tale
- 8 The foundation of Greek colonies and their main features in Strabo: a portrayal lacking homogeneity?
- 9 Ανδρες ἔνδοξοι or ‘men of high reputation’ in Strabo's Geography
- 10 Comparing Strabo with Pausanias: Greece in context vs. Greece in depth
- 11 The European provinces: Strabo as evidence
- 12 Amasya and Strabo's patria in Pontus
- 13 Cappadocia through Strabo's eyes
- 14 Greek geography and Roman empire: the transformation of tradition in Strabo's Euxine
- 15 Josephus' hidden dialogue with Strabo
- 16 Temporal layers within Strabo's description of Coele Syria, Phoenicia and Judaea
- Bibliography
- Index of geographical names
- Index of personal names
16 - Temporal layers within Strabo's description of Coele Syria, Phoenicia and Judaea
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 18 December 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of maps
- List of illustrations
- List of tables
- List of figures
- List of contributors
- Acknowledgements
- List of abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1 Kolossourgia. ‘A colossal statue of a work’
- 2 Reflections of philosophy: Strabo and geographical sources
- 3 Who is a barbarian? The barbarians in the ethnological and cultural taxonomies of Strabo
- 4 Gender at the crossroads of empire: locating women in Strabo's Geography
- 5 Strabo and Homer: a chapter in cultural history
- 6 Strabo's use of poetry
- 7 Strabo's sources in the light of a tale
- 8 The foundation of Greek colonies and their main features in Strabo: a portrayal lacking homogeneity?
- 9 Ανδρες ἔνδοξοι or ‘men of high reputation’ in Strabo's Geography
- 10 Comparing Strabo with Pausanias: Greece in context vs. Greece in depth
- 11 The European provinces: Strabo as evidence
- 12 Amasya and Strabo's patria in Pontus
- 13 Cappadocia through Strabo's eyes
- 14 Greek geography and Roman empire: the transformation of tradition in Strabo's Euxine
- 15 Josephus' hidden dialogue with Strabo
- 16 Temporal layers within Strabo's description of Coele Syria, Phoenicia and Judaea
- Bibliography
- Index of geographical names
- Index of personal names
Summary
One of the central problems inherent in the study of all ancient works is that authors used earlier works, most of which are now lost, and wove sources from different periods into their compositions. Sometimes they did mention earlier writers, but the system of scientific footnotes was not, of course, in use. The character of the author and his familiarity with his subject influenced the way in which he combined the sources and the way in which he used his own first-hand knowledge. In the Geography, various authors are mentioned as sources for details but it is unclear whether the entire description relies on them or only specific details.
In my opinion, we should not look for one writer or one text which influenced Strabo, but should rather examine the nature and period of these sources. Strabo's description of Judaea and Phoenicia is an especially interesting case in point and I shall examine the temporal layering in Strabo's text through this particular case-study.
Strabo lived between the second half of the first century bce and the second decade of the first century ce. Before and during his lifetime the regions of Judaea and Phoenicia underwent a series of changes. During the fourth decade of the second century bce, the Hasmonaean revolt broke out, and beginning in 112 bce – according to archaeological findings in the past decade – Judaea gained formal independence.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Strabo's Cultural GeographyThe Making of a Kolossourgia, pp. 250 - 258Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2005