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Potere e territorio. Gli Achemenidi nei Geographikà di Strabone

Publication date: 19.12.2017

ELECTRUM, 2017, Volume 24, pp. 93 - 105

https://doi.org/10.4467/20800909EL.17.023.7505

Authors

Omar Coloru
Università di Pisa; Lungarno Pacinotti, 43, 56126 Pisa, Italy
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Titles

Potere e territorio. Gli Achemenidi nei Geographikà di Strabone

Abstract

Although posterity knew Strabo only as the “Geographer,” he nonetheless conceived the Geographikà as a complement to his Historikà hypomnemata, a continuation of the Histories of Polybius. Throughout his geographical work, it is possible to find many references concerning the history of the Greek world, and not only. In this framework, the Achaemenid Empire is present in the form of anecdotes on historical, ethnographic as well as linguistic aspects of the Persian world. Particular attention is devoted to those kings who played a prominent role in the confrontation between the Greeks and the barbarians (i.e. Cyrus II, Darius I, Xerxes and Darius III), while the other monarchs are nothing more than shadows. From the analysis of the passages on the Achaemenids, it is possible to argue that, in Strabo’s eyes, the Persians did not have an exclusively negative image when compared to the Parthians, and special emphasis is placed on their capability in shaping and modifying the geographical space through their technical knowledge.

References

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Information

Information: ELECTRUM, 2017, Volume 24, pp. 93 - 105

Article type: Original article

Titles:

Italian:

Potere e territorio. Gli Achemenidi nei Geographikà di Strabone

Authors

Università di Pisa; Lungarno Pacinotti, 43, 56126 Pisa, Italy

Published at: 19.12.2017

Article status: Open

Licence: CC BY-NC-ND  licence icon

Percentage share of authors:

Omar Coloru (Author) - 100%

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Publication languages:

Italian