Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts covered in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book concentrates on Strabo's intellectual profile and the ways in which his scholarly character and biographic background influenced his world views. It discusses Strabo's idea of prosperity and fertility and showed that, perhaps unsurprisingly, Strabo reveals simple economic thought, with no profound economic terminology. The book also proposes to study the place women occupy in Geography and Strabo's attitudes toward gender and sexual difference. It also treats mathematical aspect of Strabo's geographical interest. The book also devotes to the issue of Strabo's Geography as a literary text. It also deals with the transmission of the original Greek text of the Geography and with linguistic challenges in translating this text. Strabo's family already had a history of Roman connections; his ancestors on his mother's side had been associates of the kings of Pontus, but chose to support the Romans during the Mithridatic Wars.