The Geography of Strabo; Volume 1

A native of Pontus (today central northern Turkey along the Black Sea), Strabo is the author of a multivolume Geography that gives a full sense of geographical knowledge of the Roman Empire at the time of Augustus. Although a native of Asia Minor, Strabo spent many years in Rome in circles close to the imperial family. During the course of his Roman stay, he adopted tenets of the Stoic philosophy. Strabo's first work, "Historical Sketches," is almost entirely lost. It is said to have recounted known history from the middle of the second century b.c. to the founding of the Roman Empire. Strabo's second work, the Geography, is extant in its entirety. In composing it, Strabo relied heavily on secondary sources, even for areas that he himself knew. He described the world from Spain and Mauritania in the West to India and Persia in the East. Strabo knew next to nothing of northern Europe and Asia or sub-Saharan Africa. In describing the eastern Mediterranean, Strabo was particularly concerned with identifying sites mentioned in Homer, a topic that has fascinated several modern writers, too. Among the many topics in the Geography, Strabo discusses the religious customs of the various areas he describes.