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conceptions are inferior to those of some earlier Greek writers; he follows
Eratosthenes in supposing that country to occupy the south-eastern angle of Asia, whence the coast trended northwards to Scythia, and then swept round westward to the Caspian Sea. As usual, he places the
193:; the latter was probably unknown to Mela. But Pomponius is unique among ancient geographers in that, after dividing the Earth into five zones, of which two only were habitable, he asserts the existence of
399:(1685 and 1696), A. Gronovius (1722 and 1728), and Tzschucke (1806–1807), in seven parts (Leipzig; the most elaborate of all); G. Paithey's (Berlin, 1867) for its text. The English translation by
197:, inhabiting the southern temperate zone inaccessible to the folk of the northern temperate regions from the unbearable heat of the intervening torrid belt. On the divisions and boundaries of
261:
Ocean. In western Europe his knowledge (as was natural in a
Spanish subject of Imperial Rome) was somewhat in advance of the Greek geographers. He defines the western coast-line of Spain and
157:, were all part of Italic communities settled in various parts of Spain that eventually relocated in Rome. It has been conjectured that Pomponius Mela may have been related in some way to
361:; and so again works back to Spain. Like most classical geographers he conceives of the continent of Africa as surrounded by sea and not extending very far south.
583:
158:
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Bay (Mela ii. 6, § 96; but the text is here corrupt). The date of his writing may be approximately fixed by his allusion (iii. 6 § 49) to a proposed
31:
735:
506:
277:, which he defines and locates pretty correctly. Of northern Europe his knowledge was imperfect, but he speaks of a great bay ("
67:) remained in use nearly to the year 1500. It occupies less than one hundred pages of ordinary print, and is described by the
578:
means Seneca, the philosopher and tutor of Nero, his brother Gallio, and
Annaeus Pomponius Mela, the writer on geography.
757:
409:
281:") to the north of Germany, among whose many islands was one, "Codanovia", of pre-eminent size; this name reappears in
109:
Little is known of
Pomponius except his name and birthplace—the small town of Tingentera or Cingentera (identified as
777:
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767:
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in AD 43. That this passage cannot refer to Julius Caesar is evidenced by several references to events of
762:
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and their position are also clearer than his predecessors. He is the first to name the
Orcades or
422:
134:
722:
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349:—to west, north, east and south successively—from Spain and Gaul round to India, from India to
597:
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77:, and occasionally relieved by pleasing word-pictures." Except for the geographical parts of
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8:
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133:'s reign; especially to certain new names given to Spanish towns. Mela, like the two
321:, probably because it was derived from the accounts of navigators. He begins at the
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A recent
English translation is that of F. E. Romer, originally published in 1998.
162:
49:
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as an inlet of the
Northern Ocean, corresponding to the Persian and Arabian (
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Mela's descriptive method follows ocean coasts, in the manner of a
130:
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This article incorporates text from a publication now in the
487:
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the
19:"De situ orbis" redirects here. For the Carolingian treatise, see
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J. Wight Duff characterizes this as "a serious confusion between
575:
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222:
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586:, who was Seneca's brother, and Pomponius Mela, the geographer."
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I tre libri di
Pomponio Mela del sito, forma, e misura del mondo
414:
I tre libri di
Pomponio Mela del sito, forma, e misura del mondo
228:
546:. De chorographia.English. University of Michigan Press. 1998.
354:
341:, and so returns to Spain along the north shore of the Euxine,
325:, and describes the countries adjoining the south coast of the
209:, he repeats Eratosthenes; like all classical geographers from
206:
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more accurately than
Eratosthenes or Strabo, his ideas of the
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73:(1911) as "dry in style and deficient in method, but of pure
262:
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427:(in Italian). Venezia: Gabriele Giolito de Ferrari. 1557.
105:
Pomponius Mela's description of Europe (F. Nansen, 1911)
125:
expedition of the reigning emperor, almost certainly
85:(where Mela is cited as an important authority), the
639:Quellen und Forschungen zur alten Gesch. und Geog.
530:(3rd ed.). London: Thomas Tegg. p. 284.
48:, who wrote around AD 43, was the earliest known
744:
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30:Reconstruction of Pomponius Mela's world map by
721:
492:
89:is the only formal treatise on the subject in
595:
739:. Vol. 18 (11th ed.). p. 87.
661:. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
510:. Vol. 18 (11th ed.). p. 87.
387:in 1471; the first critical edition was by
658:Pomponius Mela's Description of the World
543:Pomponius Mela's description of the world
452:. Harvard University Press. p. 128.
373:Title page of 1518 Vadian's first edition
172:
596:J. Wight Duff (November–December 1920).
527:Chronology, or The historian's companion
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368:
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25:
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240:) in red with its many islands in green
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181:mainly agree with those current among
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391:(Wien, 1518), superseded by those of
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13:
297:were both Latin renderings of the
14:
789:
637:, ii. 352–368, and D. Detlefsen,
620:Romer 1998, "Introduction", p. 4.
52:. He was born in Tingentera (now
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610:(7–8). London: John Murray: 177.
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16:1st century AD Roman geographer
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573:. London: William Heinemann.
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598:"Martial: Epigrams (review)"
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449:A Source Book in Geography
397:Johann Friedrich Gronovius
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758:Ancient Roman geographers
567:Walter C. A. Ker (1919).
383:of Mela was published at
329:; then he moves round by
177:The general views of the
778:Silver Age Latin writers
727:Beazley, Charles Raymond
655:Romer, Frank E. (1998).
498:Beazley, Charles Raymond
305:, the Germanic name for
65:De situ orbis libri III.
773:1st-century geographers
736:Encyclopædia Britannica
723:Bunbury, Edward Herbert
696:in Latin, digitised at
507:Encyclopædia Britannica
494:Bunbury, Edward Herbert
403:(1585) was celebrated.
70:Encyclopædia Britannica
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173:Geographical knowledge
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768:Romans from Hispania
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393:Johann Heinrich Voss
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251:Rhipaean Mountains
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232:The shores of
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285:'s work as
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56:) and died
35: [
747:Categories
433:References
335:Asia Minor
303:SkaĂ°inawio
295:Scatinavia
287:Scatinavia
238:Baltic Sea
147:Quintilian
753:45 deaths
729:(1911). "
629:See also
500:(1911). "
343:Propontis
339:Black Sea
291:Codanovia
257:near the
161:, son of
119:Algeciras
97:Biography
54:Algeciras
524:(1824).
395:(1658),
365:Editions
359:Ethiopia
347:littoral
319:periplus
259:Scythian
253:and the
213:(except
131:Augustus
75:Latinity
720::
678:in the
649:Sources
641:(1908).
491::
337:to the
223:Red Sea
215:Ptolemy
155:Hadrian
143:Martial
135:Senecas
123:British
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684:Books
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416:, 1557
355:Arabia
351:Persia
246:Indian
207:Africa
199:Europe
191:Strabo
151:Trajan
41:(1898)
465:6 May
385:Milan
331:Syria
183:Greek
167:Lucan
139:Lucan
117:, on
115:Spain
79:Pliny
39:]
692:and
663:ISBN
548:ISBN
467:2018
454:ISBN
377:The
357:and
333:and
293:and
263:Gaul
244:His
205:and
203:Asia
733:".
694:III
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189:to
81:'s
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690:II
688:,
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600:.
576:M.
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153:,
149:,
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141:,
137:,
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58:c.
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671:.
556:.
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301:*
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