Roman Geographies of the Nile
From the Late Republic to the Early Empire
$46.99 (C)
- Author: Andy Merrills, University of Leicester
- Date Published: August 2021
- availability: Available
- format: Paperback
- isbn: 9781316628287
$
46.99
(C)
Paperback
Other available formats:
Hardback, eBook
Looking for an examination copy?
This title is not currently available for examination. However, if you are interested in the title for your course we can consider offering an examination copy. To register your interest please contact collegesales@cambridge.org providing details of the course you are teaching.
-
The River Nile fascinated the Romans and appeared in maps, written descriptions, texts, poems and paintings of the developing empire. Tantalised by the unique status of the river, explorers were sent to find the sources of the Nile, while natural philosophers meditated on its deeper metaphysical significance. Andy Merrills' book, Roman Geographies of the Nile, examines the very different images of the river that emerged from these descriptions - from anthropomorphic figures, brought repeatedly into Rome in military triumphs, through the frequently whimsical landscape vignettes from the houses of Pompeii, to the limitless river that spilled through the pages of Lucan's Civil War, and symbolised a conflict - and an empire - without end. Considering cultural and political contexts alongside the other Niles that flowed through the Roman world in this period, this book provides a wholly original interpretation of the deeper significance of geographical knowledge during the later Roman Republic and early Principate.
Read more- Explores the full range of ways in which the physical world was represented in classical society through six case studies, including cartography, triumphal display, landscape painting, itineraries, natural philosophy and poetry
- Proposes a new view of classical geographical thinking, which moves beyond traditional 'geographical' texts, and reveals the influence of other media in shaping attitudes to the wider world
- Brings together various different traditions of scholarship for the first time, allowing readers to see how art historical, philological, philosophical and archaeological approaches to the study of ancient conceptions of space are inter-related
Reviews & endorsements
'… Merrills has performed an enormous scholarly service in reconstructing the diversity of the Roman geographical imagination in this stimulating and scholarly volume.' Robert Mayhew, Isis
Customer reviews
Not yet reviewed
Be the first to review
Review was not posted due to profanity
×Product details
- Date Published: August 2021
- format: Paperback
- isbn: 9781316628287
- length: 354 pages
- dimensions: 228 x 151 x 20 mm
- weight: 0.527kg
- contains: 28 b/w illus.
- availability: Available
Table of Contents
Introduction: what we talk about when we talk about Roman geography
1. A world full of maps? Public 'chorographies' in late Republican and early Imperial Rome
2. The dismembered Nile: the geography of triumphs and monuments
3. Gazing on the Nile: the domestication of the river
4. Creatio ex Nilo: metaphysics and the unknowable river
5. This river is a jumbled line, perhaps? (4): journeys and lines
6. Triumph and disaster: rendering the river in verse
Afterword: the many Niles of the Elder Pliny.
Sorry, this resource is locked
Please register or sign in to request access. If you are having problems accessing these resources please email lecturers@cambridge.org
Register Sign in» Proceed
You are now leaving the Cambridge University Press website. Your eBook purchase and download will be completed by our partner www.ebooks.com. Please see the permission section of the www.ebooks.com catalogue page for details of the print & copy limits on our eBooks.
Continue ×Are you sure you want to delete your account?
This cannot be undone.
Thank you for your feedback which will help us improve our service.
If you requested a response, we will make sure to get back to you shortly.
×