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28 - Dionysios Periegetes

from PART IV: - Roman Period

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 March 2024

D. Graham J. Shipley
Affiliation:
University of Leicester
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Summary

This chapter presents a new, annotated translation (approximating English iambics) of the sophisticated poem, preserved in its entirety under the title Oikoumenes periegesis (Guided Tour of the Inhabited World), which was written in skilful Homeric hexameters by Dionysios of Alexandria between AD 130 and 138. The chapter introduction establishes the date of the work, which includes a tribute to Hadrian’s companion Antinoös, and its relationship to other possible works by Dionysios. Its sources may include Strabo, though it is difficult to sift Strabo’s geography from that of his sources. The poem—Hesiodic in conception, Homeric in language, with many echoes of hellenistic poets—is mostly framed in terms of west–east movement, with a north–south progression within each part of the oikoumene. It remained popular in literate society between the 4th century and the late Middle Ages, being translated into Latin twice, copied frequently, annotated intensively, and printed in Greek as early as 1512. The translation replicates the acrostics within the poem, including a fourth one newly discovered.

Type
Chapter
Information
Geographers of the Ancient Greek World
Selected Texts in Translation
, pp. 760 - 808
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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  • Dionysios Periegetes
  • D. Graham J. Shipley, University of Leicester
  • Book: Geographers of the Ancient Greek World
  • Online publication: 25 March 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009184236.007
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  • Dionysios Periegetes
  • D. Graham J. Shipley, University of Leicester
  • Book: Geographers of the Ancient Greek World
  • Online publication: 25 March 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009184236.007
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Dionysios Periegetes
  • D. Graham J. Shipley, University of Leicester
  • Book: Geographers of the Ancient Greek World
  • Online publication: 25 March 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009184236.007
Available formats
×