ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the extent to which Strabo's portrayal of the Iberian Peninsula is the result of earlier approaches or a product of the intellectual milieu within which his account was created. A brief outline of Strabo's description of the Peninsula in Book 3 will help understand the type and range of material included therein. Strabo proceeds to describe the Guadalquivir valley before returning to the coast to discuss Turdetania. Strabo defined ethnic groups according to their degree of civilization and their ties with the wider Mediterranean. Strabo's assessment of what is 'barbarian' or 'civilized' is based on his own perception of what is 'normal' behaviour – a template that he then applies to his description of geographical entities. Strabo refers to a range of earlier sources by name from a variety of genres: the Stoic Philosopher Athenodorus and Seleucus, a Chaldaean seer, on tides.
