Claudius Ptolemy, Geography 8.20.14
https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/306
Context
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, his 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 this work’s final
book, Ptolemy provided captions about places for an atlas of regional maps. Among these
he defined the limits of Palestine-Judaea and plotted the settlements along the coast,
including “Caesarea Stratonis.”
Text
(13) ἡ δὲ Δαμασκὸς
ἔχει τὴν μεγίστην ἡμέραν ὡρῶν ῑδ δʹ ἔγγιστα (ῑδ δʹ) καὶ διέστηκεν Ἀλεξανδρείας πρὸς
ἀνατολὰς μιᾶς ὥρας 𐅵ιβʹ (𐅵ιεʹ)(14) Τῆς δὲ Παλαιστίνης Ἰουδαίαςἡ μὲν
Καισάρεια τοῦ Στράτωνος ἔχει τὴν μεγίστην ἡμέραν ὡρῶν ῑδ ϛʹ
καὶ διέστηκεν Ἀλεξανδρείας πρὸς ἀνατολὰς μιᾶς ὥρας γιεʹ(15) ἡ δὲ Ἀσκαλὼν ἔχει τὴν
μεγίστην ἡμέραν ὡρῶν ῑδ ηʹ ἔγγιστα (ιδ ϛʹ), καὶ διέστηκεν Ἀλεξανδρείας πρὸς ἀνατολὰς
μιᾶς ὥρας γʹ (γιβʹ)1
Textual Note
Ed. Stückelberger and Graßhoff 2006Translation
(13) Damascus has
a longest day of almost 14¼ hours, and its distance from Alexandria to the east is 7/12
hours (17/30 hours).(14) [Chief cities] of Palestine, [i.e.]
Judaea:
Straton’s Caesarea has a longest day of 14⅙ hours,
and its distance from Alexandria to the east is 2/5 hours.15) Ascalon has its
longest day of nearly 14⅛ hours (14⅙ hours), and it distance from Alexandria to the east
is ⅓ hours (5/12 hours).2
Translation Note
Trans. J. L. Rife with ref. to Stevenson 1932 and Stückelberger and Graßhoff 2006Works Cited
- 1 Claudius Ptolemy, Ptolemaios, Handbuch Der Geographie, Griechisch-Deutsch I-II, ed. Alfred Stückelberger and Gerd Graßhoff, 2nd ed. (Basel: Schwabe, 2017), bk: 8, ch: 20.14.
- 2 Claudius Ptolemy, Claudius Ptolemy: The Geography, trans. Edward Luther Stevenson, repr. 1991 (New York: Dover Publications, 1932), map: 4.
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How to Cite This Entry
Joseph L. Rife, “Claudius Ptolemy, Geography 8.20.14,” in Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia, entry published October 19, 2022, https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/306.
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Bibliography:
Joseph L. Rife, “Claudius Ptolemy, Geography 8.20.14.” In Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia, edited by Joseph L. Rife, Phillip I. Lieberman and David A. Michelson., edited by Joseph L. Rife et al.. Caesarea City and Port Exploration Project, 2022. Entry published October 19, 2022. https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/306.About this Entry
Entry Title: Claudius Ptolemy, Geography 8.20.14
Authorial and Editorial Responsibility:
- Joseph L. Rife, general editor, Vanderbilt University
- Joseph L. Rife, Phillip I. Lieberman, and David A. Michelson, editors, Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia
- David A. Michelson, Daniel L. Schwartz, and William L. Potter, technical editor, “Claudius Ptolemy, Geography 8.20.14”
- Joseph L. Rife, entry contributor, “Claudius Ptolemy, Geography 8.20.14”
Additional Credit:
- TEI encoding by William L. Potter
- Electronic text added by Joseph L. Rife
- Testimonia identified by Joseph L. Rife