Dionysius Periegetes
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Dionysius Periegetes (, literally Dionysius the Voyager or Traveller, often Latinized to ''Dionysius Periegeta''), also known as Dionysius of Alexandria or Dionysius the African,''Encyclopædia Britannica'', 4th edition, 1810, 9''
506
/ref> was the author of a description of the then-known world in Greek
hexameter Hexameter is a metrical line of verses consisting of six feet (a "foot" here is the pulse, or major accent, of words in an English line of poetry; in Greek as well as in Latin a "foot" is not an accent, but describes various combinations of s ...
verse. He is believed to have been from
Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...
and to have lived around the time of
Hadrian Hadrian ( ; ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. Hadrian was born in Italica, close to modern Seville in Spain, an Italic peoples, Italic settlement in Hispania Baetica; his branch of the Aelia gens, Aelia '' ...
(r. 117–138), though some date his lifetime as late as the end of the 3rd century. The work enjoyed popularity in ancient times as a schoolbook. It was translated into
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
by Rufius Festus Avienius, and by the grammarian Priscian. Archbishop Eustathius of Thessalonica wrote a commentary on his work for John Doukas.


References


Editions and translations

* * *: reprinted Hildesheim: Olms, 1974 (this book contains also Eustathius' comment, the scholia, Avienius' ''Descriptio orbis terrarum'' and Priscian's ''Periegesis''). *: reprinted Hildesheim: Olms, 1974 . * * * * *


Further reading

*Ulrich Bernays: ''Studien zu Dionysius Periegetes''. Heidelberg: Winter, 1905. * E. H. Bunbury, ''A history of ancient geography among the Greeks and Romans from the earliest ages till the fall of the Roman Empire'', 2 vols, London, 1879; 2nd edn 1883. Bunbury (vol. 2, p. 480) regards Dionysius as having flourished from the reign of
Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68) was a Roman emperor and the final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 until his ...
(54–68 CE) to that of
Trajan Trajan ( ; born Marcus Ulpius Traianus, 18 September 53) was a Roman emperor from AD 98 to 117, remembered as the second of the Five Good Emperors of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. He was a philanthropic ruler and a successful soldier ...
(98–117 CE). Ancient Greek travel writers Roman-era Alexandrians 2nd-century Greek writers Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown {{AncientGreece-writer-stub