Claudius Ptolemy, Geography 5.16.1-2
created: This entry is taken from Geography 5.16.1-2 written by Claudius Ptolemy in 130-1
edition published: 2023-06-30-05:00
language: grc; grc
availability: Except for materials quoted from other sources, this entry is copyright 2023 by the contributors (Joseph L. Rife, et al.) and the Caesarea City and Port Exploration Project. It is licensed under the Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license. Some texts quoted in this entry may be in the public domain in the United States. No copyright is asserted for these quotations. Some texts quoted in this entry may have copyright restrictions and are reused under Section 107 of the Copyright Act of (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)

https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/305

Caesarea Maritima is indirectly attested at Claudius Ptolemy, Geography 5.16.1-2. This passage was written ca. 130-170 C.E. possibly in Alexandria. Claudius Ptolemy was a learned Greek scholar, apparently of Greco-Egyptian descent and Roman citizenship, who conducted research in the fields of astronomy, mathematics, and geography during the 2nd century C.E. Apart from the Almagest, the famous astronomical treatise, his most influential work was a detailed survey of the world containing a gazetteer of places plotted in coordinates, his version of longitude (degrees of arc from a notional meridian through the Blessed Isles) and latitude (degrees of arc from the equator). In the book on Asia, Ptolemy defined the limits of Palestine-Judaea and plotted the settlements along the coast, including “Caesarea Stratonis.”

(1) Ἡ Παλαιστίνη, ἥτις καὶ Ἰουδαία καλεῖται, περιορίζεται ἀπὸ μὲν ἄρκτων καὶ ἀνατολῶν Συρίᾳ κατὰ τὴν ἐκτεθειμένην γραμμήν, ἀπὸ δὲ [ἀνατολῶν καὶ] μεσημβρίας Ἀραβίᾳ Πετραίᾳ κατὰ γραμμὴν τὴν ἀπὸ τοῦ πρὸς τῇ Συρίᾳ ἑωθινοῦ ὁρίου μέχρι τοῦ πρὸς τῇ Αἰγύπτῳ πέρατος, οὗ πέρατος ἡ θέσις ὡς εἴρηται ξδ° δʹ λ° γοʹ ἀπὸ δὲ δύσεως τῷ τε ἐντεῦθεν μέχρι θαλάσσης ἐκτεθειμένῳ τῆς Αἰγύπτου μέρει, καὶ τῷ ἐφεξῆς πελάγει μέχρι τοῦ ὁρίου τῆς Συρίας κατὰ περιγραφὴν τοιαύτην· (2) Μετὰ τὰς τοῦ Χορσέου ποταμοῦ ἐκβολάς· Καισάρεια Στράτωνος ξϛ° δʹ λβ° ͵ʹ Ἀπολλωνία ξϛ° λβ° δʹ Ἰόππη ξε° γοʹ λβ° ιβʹ Ἰαμνιτῶν λιμήν ξε° λβ° Ἄζωτος ξε° δʹ λα° ͵γʹ Ἀσκαλών ξε° λα° γοʹ Γαζαίων λιμήν ξδ° ͵γιβʹ λα° ͵ʹ Ἀνθηδών ξδ° ͵γʹ λα° γοʹ

[Ed. Stückelberger and Graßhoff 2006]

1) Palestine, which is also called Judaea, is bordered on the north and the east by Syria along the line mentioned above. On the east and south it is bordered by Arabia Petraea along a line drawn from the southeastern border of Syria to its terminus at Egypt. The location of that terminus is, as stated, 64° 15ʹ 30° 40ʹ. On the west it is bordered by the part of Egypt extending from there to the sea, and by the adjacent sea to the border of Syria according to the following description: 2) After the mouth of the river Chorseas: Caesarea Stratonis 66° 15ʹ 32° 30ʹ Apollonia 66° 32° 15ʹ Ioppe 65° 40ʹ 32° 05ʹ Iamnia (port) 65° 32° Azotus 65° 15ʹ 31° 50ʹ Ascalon 65° 31° 40ʹ Gaza (port) 64° 55ʹ 31° 30ʹ Anthedon 64° 50ʹ 31° 40ʹ

[Trans. J. L. Rife with ref. to Stevenson 1932 and Stückelberger and Graßhoff 2006]

Works Cited

[...] 5 16.1-2
[...] 128

[Anthedon

Apollonia

Arabia Petraea

Ascalon

Azotus (Ashdod)

Chorseas, River

Egypt

Gaza

Iamnia

Iope (Ioppe, Ioppa, Joppa, Jaffa)

Judaea

Palestine

Syria]

[Geography

Natural Environment]