6
The Glory of Italy and Rome’s Universal
Destiny in Strabo’s Geographika
Marta García Morcillo
Introduction: Strabo and the
glory of Italy
After reporting the former influence of the Samnites in Campania and in
Latium, Strabo describes in book 5 their insurrection against the Romans
and the severe defeat inflicted by Sulla, who judged that ‘no Roman could
even live in peace so long as the Samnites held together as a separate
people’.1 The destruction and decadence of the Samnites is illustrated in
geographic and urban terms, noting how most of their cities (poleis) had
been reduced to simple villages (komai) and even vanished. Among the
cities mentioned are Bovianum, Aesernia, Panna and Teselia (close to
Venafrum).2 ‘None of them’, continues Strabo, ‘deserves to be regarded as
a city, but I, for my part, am going into detail, within due bounds, because
of the glory and power of Italy’ (di> t]n tÁj ,Ital8aj dÒxan ka< dÚnamin).
Strabo’s reference to Italy’s doxa and dynamis connects the text with the
main theme of books 5 and 6, summarised in the famous long epilogue at
the end of book 6:3 Italy’s central position in the oikoumene and its
excellent natural conditions, together with the incomparable virtues and
greatness of its people, explained, according to Strabo, its universal
hegemony (sÚmpasa =gemon8a). Together with the relevance of this
geographical factor, Strabo offers a short account of the history of Rome
from its founding to its supremacy of the world under Augustus. Rome’s
expansion in Italy, he argues, was due not to a conscious imperialistic
programme, but rather to reactions against frequent hostilities. So,
Rome was able progressively to overcome the Latini, Tyrrheni, Celti,
Samnites, those Tarantini led by Pyrrhus, and the Carthaginians, who
had invaded Sicily and Italy. Next, Strabo reports on the Roman con-
quests outside Italy until the Parthians’ submission to the Emperor
Augustus. Strabo returns then to Italy and points out that in the face
of the frequent discord (,Ital8an diast©san poll£kij), Roman rule had
saved it from error and corruption by the excellence of its government
(tÁj polite8aj ¢retˇ) and its rulers. The section ends with an elogium to
Augustus’ absolute authority (1xous8an aÙtotelÁ), continued by
Tiberius and his sons.4
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In this chapter I explore Strabo’s construction of Rome’s universal
hegemony not only as a simple consequence of Roman imperialism, but
also as the culmination of a long and complex historical process and as the
outcome of Italy’s natural excellence, cultural and ethnic diversity. Three
aspects in particular will be analysed: Strabo’s use of economic informa-
tion to construct an image of Rome as the central geographic and political
power;5 his focus on pictures of splendour and decadence amongst the
Italic and Greek peoples linked with the legitimacy of Roman rule; and his
interest in the persistence of ethnic traits and cultural traditions beyond
or despite mythic constructions and structures of the Roman domination.
Was Strabo’s discourse of political unity really compatible with the picture
of Italy’s natural and cultural diversity? How does this image fit with
Strabo’s view of Roman universal hegemony? And, returning to the pas-
sage quoted at the beginning: in what way did the list of vanished cities
which once belonged to the defeated Samnites contribute to Italy’s claimed
glory and power?
Italy and the Augustan ideology
In line with the Hellenistic tradition of cultural geography, the
Geographika provides a vision of the oikoumene also in accordance with
Augustan propaganda.6 A typical Augustan theme is also the patriotic idea
of Italy’s unity that recalled the so-called laudes Italiae. This literary topos
was particularly explored by authors such as Varro, Virgil and Dionysius
of Halicarnassus, which projected a harmonious and ideal depiction of the
different regions as fertile and prosperous landscapes.7 The creation of
stereotyped ethnic and regional communities according to this pattern
promoted the construction of a globally dominant national Roman iden-
tity.8 Despite the resort to mythical and cultural stereotypes, Strabo’s
Geographika also attempted to transmit an image of Italy and its diversity
nearer to geographic and historical reality. In this regard, Italy’s unity
appears here not as a category already existing in the original conception
of territory and its peoples, but firstly emerging as a direct consequence of
the Roman conquest.
Homogeneity is therefore simply assumed by Strabo as a political
fact. Strabo’s positive view of Roman rule tends thus to harmonise with
the depictions of cultural diversity and the influence of Hellenism.
Accounts of military and political submission to Roman power are
conveniently balanced with descriptions of cultural tolerance.9 In ac-
cordance with the Augustan image of world hegemony, Strabo presents
his Geographika as a complete work, a unity of time and space, in which
there is no place for futures other than the perpetuation of the present.
The excellence of Roman government, first deployed successfully in
Italy, hence emerges as a mirror and model to be followed all over the
oikoumene.
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6. Rome’s Universal Destiny in Strabo’s Geographika
Italy’s economic prosperity and
Roman imperialism
Scholars generally agree in qualifying Strabo’s interest in the economy as
predominantly superficial and anecdotal.10 Natural and mineral resources,
the fertility of the soil, the excellent productivity of the land, the capacity
of transport and export – all these elements present in the Geographika,
are recognised as typical features of the Hellenistic periegetic tradition. In
many cases, it is also possible to recognise the traces of Strabo’s main
sources, namely Artemidorus, Posidonius, Polybius and Timaeus. The
outstanding productivity of Campania (5.4.3), the legendary fortune of
Sybaris (6.1.13), the famous wine of the Thouroi (6.1.14), or the extraordi-
nary fertility of the land surrounding the Vesuvius (5.4.8), are some of the
commonplaces borrowed by Strabo from such authors.11 Indeed, his use of
outdated information, stereotypes and inaccuracies is evident across the
whole work.
A characteristic feature of the Geographika is the attribution of the idea
of prosperity (eudaimonia) to the cities, as opposed to the archaism of the
rural world. Opulence and wealth, demographic growth, consumption and
the development of infrastructures and monumental building are all
central to the description of cities. As regards Italy, Strabo makes use of
these elements to construct an image of Italy’s excellent natural conditions
and related economic progress as decisive factors in Rome’s inexorable
rise: references to harbours, roads, mines, wine, oil and cereal production
and the excellence of certain manufactures are some of the topoi issued by
Strabo in order to (a) depict Rome and the Urbs as a magnetic centre and
main recipient of material wealth coming from the rest of Italy; and (b)
explain processes of economic and urban change, decadence or growth in
certain regions and among ethnical groups, including Magna Graecia.
Generally speaking, Strabo appears to make an ideological use of econom-
ics. But does such information merely support the idea of Italy’s political
unity under Rome or does it also somehow contribute to the confection of
cultural diversities? Are both realities compatible in Strabo’s discourse?
To what extent did Strabo take into account up-to-date information on the
natural and economic resources of the regions considered?
Several passages of the Geographika connect descriptions of high qual-
ity resources with the economic dependence of the Italic regions on Roman
rule as well as their contribution to the prosperity of Rome. In his account
of Cisalpina and the Padus, Strabo emphasises the fertility of the region
and the wealth of its cities. Among their abundant natural resources are
mentioned fruits and forests, in which there are herds of swine destined
to feed Rome. Also exceptional is the yield of millet, wine and wood
(5.1.12).12 Patavium (Padova) is admired for the quantity and quality of its
manufactured goods, clothing in particular, which is also sent to Rome
(5.1.7);13 whereas the large harbour of Luna is well known for its exports
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Marta García Morcillo
of excellent marbles, used in many cities but especially in Rome for
prestigious works of art (5.2.5).14 Tyrrhenia (Etruria) meanwhile supplies
wood for building, being transported from the mountains via the rivers
(5.2.5).15 The prosperity (eudamonia) of Tyrrhenia is seen to be directly
linked to its large and numerous lakes, providing fish, marsh-birds, cat-
tail, papyrus and reed. These were transported to Rome thanks to the
navigability of the lakes, connected to several rivers flowing into the Tiber
(5.2.9). Tyrrhenia’s natural facilities for fluvial communication with Rome
illustrate the region’s economic prosperity. In similar terms, Strabo re-
ports Pisa’s former and present reputation, describing its fertility, its
stone-quarries, and timber resources, employed for ship-building as well
as luxury villas and other buildings at Rome (5.2.5).16
Strabo’s accounts of economic prosperity make visible supply depend-
encies between peripheral producers and a centre of consumption.
Accordingly, even if Greek foundations such as Luna or Pisa had enjoyed
an ancient flourish, Strabo prefers to accentuate their reputation as
goods-suppliers of Rome. In fact, the economic improvement of certain
cities is, in places, directly linked to the settlement of Roman colonies, as
is the case of Novum Comum, formerly just a modest settlement (aÛth d,
Ãn m5n katoik8a metr8a) and the metropolis of Mediolanum, in the past just
a village (p£lai m5n kèmhn) (5.1.6). The emporium of Aquileia, founded by
Romans (180 BC), at the end of the Amber route, formed a focus for trade with
the Illyrians to the north of the Alps, who imported slaves, cattle and hides
in exchange for fish, wine or olive-oil exported by the Romans (5.1.8).17
This scheme is also found in the description of the once flourishing cities
of Magna Graecia. So, for example, the excellent harbours of Brentesion
(Brundisium) are expressly referred to by Strabo as the main doorway into
the Italian peninsula for those sailing from Greece and Asia towards
Rome. These routes were, according to Strabo, extended through two main
roads: one which crossed the territory of the Dauni and the Samnites; the
other, going past Tarantum, was the famous Via Appia (6.3.7).
The most evocative example of this view of economy in terms of territo-
rial and political dependencies is of course Sicily. Its inclusion in book 6
responds to Strabo’s view of the first Roman province as a mirror and
complementary case of the evolution of Magna Graecia under Roman rule.
The ‘storehouse’ of Rome (tame√on tÁj +Rèmhj), considered even superior to
Italy as regards its fertility, beautiful Sicily exported almost all its pro-
duce, including not only grain, but also livestock, pelts, wool, etc. (6.2.7)
Strabo’s description of Latium and in particular the city of Rome, as
might be expected, unveils his first-hand knowledge of the region and its
most frequented areas.18 The places and episodes included in his account
are part of an intentional selection linked to the idea of the Urbs as a
political and economic central place. Together with certain references to
archaic Rome and its settlement, Strabo shows here an almost exclusive
interest in the contemporary city and in the aedilician activity undertaken
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6. Rome’s Universal Destiny in Strabo’s Geographika
by Augustus and Agrippa.19 This part is preceded by an interesting remark
on the differences between Greeks and Romans in the way they set
priorities in building (5.3.2).20
By emphasising Rome’s foresight (pronoia) in her construction of roads,
aqueducts and canals, Strabo focuses on the importance of engineering
and its functionality for the communication between rural places, urban
centres and Rome. The interest in transport, supply and import of goods
underlines Augustus’ food policy (5.3.7-8).21 Particular stress is put on the
importance of the city walls and the essential role of the Tiber for the
import of commodities coming from the sea and along the coasts, despite
the difficulties caused by the lack of a proper harbour at Ostia (5.3.5).
Rather than accentuating Rome’s aesthetic values, Strabo displays the
superiority of the Urbs on account of its infrastructural development and
degree of urbanism. Where well-known locations and characteristic monu-
ments of the city are missing, Strabo provides accurate descriptions of
contemporary mirabilia, such as the buildings of the Campus Martius and
Augustus’ Mausoleum.22 The former are admired not only because of their
beauty and size but also for their multifunctional public uses, while the
last embodies Rome’s religious character according to the patterns of the
emerging Augustean ideology.
Strabo’s image of Augustan Rome indeed anticipates Pliny’s Naturalis
Historia in highlighting the Urbs as a microcosm of Rome’s universal
power.23 The prominence given to its infrastructure and engineering mar-
vels also locates Rome at the very centre of a communication and economic
system, exemplified by the Via Appia.24 Economic splendour is thus ex-
pressed by Strabo as a unidirectional phenomenon and a sign of Rome’s
power over Italy and the world.25 Consequently, no news on financial
activities, monetary circulation, and redistribution of goods, exports or
manufacture should be expected in this account.
Processes of decadence and renaissance
If the Geographika’s view of the economy mostly considers relationships
of political and territorial dependence, Strabo’s interest in Italy’s past
primarily formulates a schematic construction of historical cycles culmi-
nating in the present.26 His accounts of the splendour and decadence of
regions and ethnic groups depict a culturally heterogeneous Italy that was
destined to be politically unified by Rome. According to this historical
progression, allusions to Italic and Greek communities are recurrently
modelled in the Geographika by moral and propagandistic projections.
Vanished cities, ruined temples and depopulated territories, caused by
internal or external factors, are typically confronted by Strabo with former
images of memorable pasts and prosperity. Such involutions affected
Latium, Etruria, Samnium, Campania and above all Magna Graecia and
Sicily.27 This degradation is further associated with a progressive phe-
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nomenon of barbarisation.28 As observed in the commentary on the de-
feated and once powerful Samnites, in line with a classical Greek concept,
the image of decadence in the Geographika appears geographically and
precisely displayed – notably – through the striking idea of poleis degraded
into simple komai, thus projecting a view of civilisation and prosperity
directly linked with urban space and life.29 Strabo’s resorting to this
discourse can be explained through his priority for reconstructing Italy’s
ethnographic and historical diversity, even if this means evoking negative
aspects or almost forgotten episodes.30
Causes of such processes may be external – e.g. the Samnite, Punic or
Social Wars – and the consequence of internal crisis and negative aspects,
such as self-indulgence and progressive loss of identity. In a contrast to
the period of renaissance experienced in many regions – particularly in
Magna Graecia – during the Augustan age, Strabo only rarely refers to the
struggles of Rome’s own civil wars and the end of the republic. Such
depictions involve also the funding of Rome itself and the processes
leading to the progressive disappearance of several Latial cities con-
demned by their proximity to the future metropolis to become mere
villages or private properties, like Collatia, Antemnae, Fideae and
Labicum (5.3.2).31 In the case of Sicily, Strabo reports the decay of many
cities and settlements, such as the Greek colonies Naxos and Megara
(6.2.2). He further admits not knowing of any settled population still living
in former poleis, such as Himera, Gela, Calipolis, Selinus or Euboea, and
other ‘barbarian’ cities.32 The fading of so many urban centres was due,
according to Strabo, to the effect of successive wars provoked by Tyrrhe-
nian pirates, barbarians, Carthaginians and also Romans (6.2.5). Roman
conquest and domination are thus not directly omitted as being responsi-
ble for Sicily’s decline, although no negative assessment in this regard is
expressed.33 Having formerly grown on account of its fertility and the
excellence of its harbours, Syracuse suffered oppression by the Carthagini-
ans and by Roman siege. Yet Strabo prefers here to evoke the recent past
by emphasising Augustus’ creation of a colony and his efforts to restore the
city and its infrastructures after the abuses committed by Sextus Pom-
peius (6.2.4). Augustus’ measures in Syracuse represent one of the few
signs of urban progress detected in Sicily.34
The image of increasing ‘ruralism’ and ‘barbarism’ of the island also
affected the survival of cultural and religious activities. Symptomatic is
the demise of the old and celebrated temple of Aphrodite at the Eryx hill,
and its surrounding settlement (6.2.6).35
Strabo’s discourse of the decadence of Magna Graecia is set within a
well-known cultural tradition.36 The leitmotiv of the account is the nega-
tive consequences of the war between Romans and Carthaginians, and the
progressive barbarisation affecting the region.37 He also describes the loss
of Leucani, Brettii and Samnites of south Italy (6.1.2), reduced in such a
way that it is difficult even to distinguish their several settlements,
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6. Rome’s Universal Destiny in Strabo’s Geographika
attending that no common organisation (systema koinon) has survived in
their ethnê. Their other cultural features, such as language, armour,
dresses and similar elements, have completely vanished, while their set-
tlements are no longer of any importance.38 This follows a reference to the
barbarisation process of these regions and to the fact that the Roman
domination resulted in all these people becoming Romans (ka< g>r aÙto<
+Rwma√oi gegÒnasin). The lack of a systema koinon, a structural unity, and
the extinction of cultural signs of an ethnos (language, dresses and recog-
nising military symbols), contrasts again with the political and cultural
unity supplied by Romans.39 The passage ends with the celebrated state-
ment on the need of exploring not only the facts of the present, but also
those of the past – as far as they are relevant (endoxa) – in order to attempt
a description of the earth (ges periodos). Implicit in the assertion is the
history of those peoples and places only existing as memories or ruins.
A prototypical image of urban decline is the case of the region of Iapygia
(Daunia, Apulia), described in book 6.3. Although this region seems to
have been fertile and productive, Strabo prefers to emphasise the former
existence of thirteen cities in this territory, all of them, with the exception
of Tarentum and Brentesion, now just small centres (polismatia) (6.3.5).
The once wealthy temple (hieron plousion) of Athena in the territory of the
Salentium, the great cities of the Italiots surrounded by fortifications
(Canusium and Argyrippa) and the polis archaia of the Dauni (Luceria),
now in ruins (tetapeinotai) (6.3.9),40 are some examples of Strabo’s picture
of decay. The Geographika intentionally identifies the demographic de-
cline of the region as an immediate consequence of the war against
Hannibal and not as a result of a longer-term process of urban decline.41
In other cases, Strabo resorts to internal crisis as an explanation.
Campania’s proverbial fertility is introduced as both a positive and nega-
tive feature, since it has been the cause of the extravagant character of its
inhabitants but also of its present splendour.42 Strabo hence reports that
the Roman rule not only brought severe punishments to the Campani, who
had submitted to Hannibal, but subsequently a new prosperity to their
cities by settling new colonists, enhancing their old reputation (5.4.13).43
In a similar way, Sybaris, in Lucania, enjoyed a considerable influence in
the region not because of its fortune, but by reason of its luxurious way of
living: it was defeated first by the Crotonians and later by Athenians and
other Greeks, who moved the city to another place renaming it Thurii
(6.1.13). Strabo’s depiction of Tarentum follows a similar schema. The
marvellous harbour and buildings, the market place, a colossal bronze
statue of Zeus and the admired acropolis, adorned with ancient and
precious votive objects, all contributed to the grandeur of the polis and
suffered the destructions and abuses at the hands of Carthaginians and
Romans.44 A further passage offers an explanation of the fall of the city by
exploring the character of the Tarentini: on account of their prosperity,
they had a weak morality (tryphe), so that the public festivals were more
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numerous than the days of the calendar. As a result, they were also badly
governed and often required the support of foreign generals. The account
of the successive conflicts and wars held by the Tarentini is followed by a
short reference to their loss of eleutheria during the Second Punic Wars
and by the establishment of a Roman colony in 122 BC. Strabo finally
states that the Tarentini now live at peace and better than before.45
Portraits of Italic identities: the survival of
traditions and institutions
Particular interest is paid by Strabo to the survival of regional traditions
and rituals in spite of the Roman political and cultural domination. This
tendency is on occasions due – as seen above – to the author’s selective and
coherent discourse concerned with the marginalisation of others. Sympto-
matic of this is the case of lucus Feroniae, in former Tyrrhenia, in whose
sanctuary was honoured a native goddess in Strabo’s time.46 On the
endurance of religious festivals in Latium, the author also cites the sacred
rites still practised in the temples of Aphrodite in the former cities of
Lavinium and Ardea, devastated by the Samnites.47 Similarly, at the kome
of Fregellae, destroyed in 125 BC, Strabo attests to the regular meeting in
this former settlement of inhabitants from surrounding cities ‘both to hold
markets (agorai) and to perform certain sacred rites’.48 Beside the well-
known sanctuaries of Heracles at Tibur and Fortuna at Praeneste, Strabo
refers to the so-called Artemisium or Nemus Dianae of Aricia, where an
ancestral ritual with barbaric and Scythian elements continued to be
performed in his times.49
In addition to religious activities, Strabo highlights certain ethnic
differences among the inhabitants of Latium. He recognises for instance
the existence of autochthonous communities not belonging to recognised
ethnic groups. In his account of the relationship between Romans and
Albans (5.3.4), Strabo seems surprised by the fact that both actually spoke
the same language, had the right to intermarriage with one another, hold
the same sacrifices at Alba, and shared other dikaia politika. However,
they were separately governed and later war arose between them. Beyond
the legendary familiar bonds between Albans and Romans, Strabo thus
suggests the existence of a Latin ethnos based on a common ius civilis,
shared in this case by two communities otherwise institutionally differen-
tiated.50 As regards certain cultural distinctions of Sabina, Strabo defines
its peoples as an ancient and autochthonous race (genos) characterised by
their bravery and other excellent qualities, which have enabled them to
survive to the present time (5.3.1).51
Particularly striking appears Strabo’s testimony on the endurance of
the Oscan dialect, perceived within the context of a literary contest held
by the Romans in which poems were recited on stage. The events in
question were the so-called Atellana fabulae, a literary genre from the
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6. Rome’s Universal Destiny in Strabo’s Geographika
former Oscan city of Atella (5.3.6).52 In Magna Graecia, the presence of
Greek cultural features is also described, regarded as a consequence of
both their enduring influence and the tolerant character of the Roman
government in that part of Italy. Strabo admires for instance the contin-
ued existence of Greek order (kosmos) in Cumae, both in the rites and
usages of law: Ómwj d, oân 4ti sózetai poll> ∏cnh toà +Ellhnikoà kÒsmou ka<
tîn ;erîn ka< tîn nom8mon, although its inhabitants suffered numerous
outrages and contaminations at the hands of the Campani (5.4.4). How-
ever, both the information on the use of Oscan in a public context and on
Greek rites and laws in Cumae seem to be outdated. Particularly on
Cumae, the author omits the fact that in his own days Romans had largely
rebuilt the city and that Oscan and Latin had been actually regularly
employed in the territory during the last two centuries BC.53 It was less
difficult for Strabo to trace Greek culture in Neapolis, for the polis, as
numerous inscriptions attest, preserved many Greek offices and institu-
tional elements even during the principate. Strabo’s account includes
gymnasia, ephebeia, phratria, and Greek names of things, although its
inhabitants are Romans. The author describes then the sacred festivals
(synteleia) celebrated in Neapolis every five years, including music and
gymnastic events lasting several days, comparing them with the most
famous of those celebrated in Greece (5.4.7).54 The fact that the games were
indeed dedicated to Augustus and introduced in 2 BC demonstrates the
special status enjoyed by Neapolis under Roman rule, evoking the former
greatness of the City (5.4.13).55 The case of Neapolis epitomises Strabo’s
view of the Roman world as the legitimate heir of the Greek culture.
Conclusions
Strabo’s complex description of Italy and Sicily provides readers with some
valuable keys to understand Rome’s rise towards world hegemony. In
accentuating the arete of its politeia, Strabo searches for a way to legiti-
mate Rome’s imperialism, based on military conquests. The earlier politi-
cal fragmentation of Italy and its peoples, including Greeks, is thus
opposed to the excellence of Roman governance, particularly improved
under Augustus. On the other hand, Strabo draws attention to Italy’s
natural and geographical conditions as essential factors in Roman expan-
sion. In this regard, Rome’s central position in Italy (and in the oikoumene)
is expressed through the quantity and quality of imports arriving in the
Urbs from the Italic regions. Rome’s depiction as global consumer empha-
sises further its imperial position. His portrayal of the economic prosperity
of cities and entire regions is also often examined in relation to earlier
processes of both decadence and splendour, and the subsequent benefits
brought by Roman rule. Strabo’s conscious search for traces of vanished
cities, temples, autochthonous rites, local traditions and other uses, also
transmits an image of a rich and heterogeneous cultural and ethnical
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Marta García Morcillo
landscape. These features, sometimes surviving the collapse of political
structures, served to link Rome and its history with Italy’s character and
past. Italy’s doxa and dynamis, guided by Rome and its political and
military qualities, are thus presented by Strabo as the consequence of a
long and complex process, shared by different peoples and communities in
different moments and contexts. In this way, Strabo presents a coherent
image of Italy also congruent with his idea of universalism and the
permeable links between history and geography. Accordingly, diversity
and plurality should to be regarded as complementary to collectivity and
unity. If Rome provided Greeks and Italics with a necessary political unity,
so Italy – including the defeated cities of the Samnites – supplied Rome
with an ideal starting point towards universal hegemony.
Notes
1. Str. 5.4.11, tr. H.L. Jones, Loeb Classical Library.
2. On the defeat of the Samnites and the decline of their cities after the Social War
and Sulla’s offensive in 82 BC see Salmon (1967) 340-99 and Tagliamonte (1997) 21-3,
154ff. On Strabo’s complex depiction of the Samnites, see Musti (1988) 197-216.
3. Str. 6.4.1-2. Following a didactical purpose, the epilogue provides the reader
with the main keys to fix the different topics and regions in an umbrella theme
that dominates Strabo’s geography: the central position of Rome and Italy, both
geographical and political. Accordingly, Strabo himself admits in another passage
that he will follow a methodological strategy in which certain omissions are the
necessary consequence of a intentional selection, and in which singular aspects are
subordinated to a global concept, 6.3.10: tîn m5n g>r meg£lwn oÙd5n .n paral8poimen,
t> d5 mikr> ka< gnwrisq2nta micrÕn ênhse ka< parapemfq2nta 4laqe ka< oÙd5n À [oÙ]
pol) toà panteloàj 4rgou par2luse. On the idea of the construction of the work as
a colossal statue or kolossourgia, see Duek (2000) 145-87; Duek et al. (2005).
4. The epilogue of book 6 is connected with the didactical aim of the work,
expressed in the prolegomena; cf. Biraschi (1988) 127-43.
5. See Clarke (1999) 307-28, on how Strabo’s universalism is embodied in
Augustan Rome, as a spatial and temporal culmination of Italy’s doxa kai dyna-
mis. The ethnic and topologic data provided by Strabo present a complex structure,
in which singular synchronic and diachronic accounts are intentionally integrated
in the work as part of a programmatic model; cf. Pocetti (1988) 223-63.
6. See for instance Galinski (1996) 80-140, 225-87. On Strabo and the Augustan
conception of the oikoumene, see Nicolet (1988) 69ff., 103ff., Engels (1999) and
Duek (1999), 85-106. On the influence of contemporary politics in Strabo see
further Engels, in this volume.
7. Varro, RR 1.2.6-7: Contra quid in Italia utensile non modo non nascitur, sed
etiam non egregium fit? Quod far conferam Campano? Quod triticum Apulo? Quod
vinum Falerno? Quod oleum Venafro? Non arboribus consita Italia, ut tota pomar-
ium videatur? The same topic is found in Dionysius of Halicarnassus, 1.36-7.
Virgil’s Georgica draws on the myth of a pre-urban and rural Italy, Verg. Georg.
2.167ff.; cf. Grimal (1985) 128-43.
8. Beyond the laudes Italiae, Augustan patriotism developed the idea of the
laudes Romae, the glorification of Rome’s universal hegemony, as expressed by
Vitruvius, who underlines the connection between Rome’s excellent and temperate
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6. Rome’s Universal Destiny in Strabo’s Geographika
clime with the domination of the world 6.1.10-11: Cum ergo haec ita sint ab natura
rerum in mundo conlocata et omnes nationes inmoderatis mixtionibus disparatae,
vero inter spatium totius orbis terrarum regionisque medio mundi populus Roma-
nus possidet fines. Namque temperatissimae ad utramque partem et corporum
membris animorumque vigoribus pro fortitudine sunt in Italia gentes … Ita divina
mens civitatem populi Romani egregiam temperatamque regionem conlocavit, uti
orbis terrarum imperii potiretur; see Nicolet (1988) 208-9. On the debate of the
unity of Italy, see further Gabba (1978) 11-27; Giardina (1997); David (1994) 218ff.
9. According to Vanotti (1992) 183, Strabo provides a midpoint between an
Italocentric and a Hellenocentric view of the peninsula.
10. See particularly Foraboschi (1988) 177-88; Pocetti (1988) 224.
11. Principally from Posidonius, see Desy (1993), 145-7; Clarke (1999) 129-92.
12. Only the mines, Strabo argues, seem to have lived better times. Strabo
might have followed here Polybius 2.15.1-3; cf. Biffi (1988) 246.
13. The tunicae Patavinae made of thick wool are evoked also by Martial 14.143.
14. On the importance of the harbour of Luna for the transport of marble, see
Dolci (2003) 77-100.
15. On the traditional intensive commercial relationships between Etruria and
Latium, see Smith (1998) 31-49.
16. The use of the Tiber as communication network between Latium, Sabina
and Etruria has been analysed for instance by Patterson (2004) 61-73.
17. The importance of the Amber route is described by Pliny, Nat. 37.31-2.
18. Strabo’s familiarity with Latium and Rome has been analysed by Coarelli
(1988) 75-91.
19. On the beauty of the Augustan Rome as a contrast to the practical interest
in architecture by ancient Romans, Str. 5.3.8: o; d,Ûsteron ka< m£lista o; nàn ka<
kaq, =m©j oÙd5 toÚtou kaqust2rhsan, ¢ll, ¢naqhm£twn pollîn ka< kalîn 1plˇrwsan
t]n pÒlin.
20. On the contrast between the aesthetic qualities of the Greek architectonic
techniques and the old Roman building, see Vanotti (1992) 189.
21. See Foraboschi (1988) 186-7.
22. On the Augustan building programme on the Campus Martius, cf. Macdon-
ald (1985) 137-48; Favro (1996) 116ff., 143ff.
23. See for instance Plin. Nat. 3.67: Fateaturque nullius urbis magnitudinem in
toto orbe potuisse ei comparari; 36.101. This idea is also expressed in Pliny’s
description of Agrippa’s map, displaying the oikoumene, 3.17: Cum orbem terrar-
ium urbi spectandum propositurus esset. Rome’s grandeur is defined by its
magnetism, 36.101: non alia magnitude exurget quam si mundus alius quidam in
uno loco narretur. Accordingly, Italy is defined as rectrix parensque mundi, 37.56,
and terra omnium terrarum alumna eadem et parens, 3.39. On Pliny’s conception
of Rome’s centrality, see Carey (2003) 41-74. While Strabo emphasises Rome’s and
Italy’s centrality as a consequence of a long historical process, Pliny draws on the
moral qualities of its peoples, 3.40: tanta nobilitas omnium locorum, quos quis
attigerit, tanta rerum singularum populorumque claritas tenet; cf. Poccetti (1988) 226.
24. Strabo shows his first hand knowledge of areas in Latium connected to the
Via Appia. See also the description of the Via Appia in Sabina, 5.3.6. Cf. Coarelli
(1988) 82-4.
25. See in this regard, Foraboschi (1988) 186ff. Recent contributions have
demonstrated on the contrary the relevant role played by the city of Rome in the
interregional production, marketing and redistribution of goods; see for instance
Morley (1996) 13ff.; Parkins (ed.) (1997).
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Marta García Morcillo
26. The new monumental Rome designed by Augustus represents in this regard
both the spatial centrality and the culmination of this diachronic process, as noted
by Clarke (1999) 245-51. As Coarelli points out, (1988) 89, Strabo shows almost no
interest in republican Rome.
27. Caere: Str. 5.2.4; Caulonia (in Croton): 6.1.0; Poplonium: 5.2.6; Pyrgi: 5.2.8.
Cf. Musti (1988) 11ff., 61ff.; Prontera (1988) 96-109; Tosí (1988) 25-43.
28. On the concept of barbarisation in Strabo see Van der Vlied (1984), esp. 35-8;
Thollard (1987) 27ff.
29. On Strabo’s precise use of terms such as metropolis, polis, polisma, kome,
komion or chorion to emphasise gradual decline, see Foraboschi (1988) 179. On the
treatment of urban spaces in the Geographika, see Pédech (1972) 234-53.
30. In line with this tendency, it is not surprising that Strabo at 5.3.10
mentioned the destruction of Aesernia during the wars against the Marsi, while
overlooking the fact that the city had been reconstructed under Augustus, as
Coarelli (1988) 79 points out. In contrast to the mainly positive depictions of
fertility and economic prosperity of the Italic territories under Roman rule,
Strabo’s explanation at 5.1.12 of the decline of the mines in the Padana region is
a surprise: it was caused by the fact that ‘those in the country of the Transalpine
Celti and in Iberia are more profitable’. A further passage confirms the ruin of the
famous copper mines of Temesa, in Lucania, at 6.1.5.
31. See Coarelli (1988) 80.
32. By taking possession of mountains and plains, Romans realised the country
was deserted and enabled herdsmen to occupy these territories. Strabo also
comments that the process of barbarisation (barbarikon) equally affected indige-
nous cities, Str. 6.2.6.
33. As has been observed by Biffi (1988) 258.
34. Increasing of population in Sicily is merely attested in cities provided with
new Roman settlers; see 6.2.3.
35. The sanctuary had been known for being the wealthiest in Sicily, cf. Polyb.
1.55.8; Paus. 8.24.6, yet during the early principate it is described as a ruin: Suet.
Claud. 25: … templumque in Sicilia Veneris Erycinae vetustate conlapsum. A
renowned icon of former grandeur and affluence was also the temple of Hera
Lacinia in Croton, ‘which at one time was rich and full of dedicated offerings’,
6.1.11. See further Biffi (1988) 318.
36. Cf. Brunt (1971) 353-65; Musti (1988) 11ff.
37. Exceptions to this tendency are Taras, Rhegium and Neapolis: see 6.1.2. On
the destructions caused by Hannibal in Apulia, see 6.3.11.
38. Laurence (1998) 101, mentions the importance of these elements as signs of
ethnicity in Strabo.
39. According to Van der Vliet (1984), 38-39, with the idea of systema koinon, Strabo
emphasises the essential role played by the political organisation in the successful
working of communities. On the ethnic identity of these peoples see also Musti (1988)
259-87. The loss of political independency of the Greek cities is thus linked to the
disintegration of cultural and institutional elements, cf. Poccetti (1988) 235
40. Luceia’s prosperous past is suggested by Strabo’s reference to an existing
temple of Athena, containing, in his day, ancient votive objects (palaia
anathemata).
41. Strabo seems to follow Polybius and not Artemidorus or Poseidonius in this
case, as has been pointed out by Desy (1993) 164-6.
42. Strabo also mentions that the luxurious living of the Tyrrheni, who occupied
the region before the Samnites provoked their fall, see 5.3.4.
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6. Rome’s Universal Destiny in Strabo’s Geographika
43. On the Roman colonialism and its consequences in Campania, see Brunt
(1971) 307; Frederiksen (1984) 297; Toynbee (1964).
44. Str. 6.3.1. Among the booty token by Fabius Maximus after capturing the
rebelled city, there was a bronze statue by Lysippus, now in the Capitol of
Rome.
45. Str. 6.3.4. In the case of Rhegium, Strabo evokes the destructions provoked
by Dionysius (II) of Syracuse, the Campani and several earthquakes. Once again,
Strabo points out here Augustus’ successful repopulation of the city, 6.1.6. Add to
the abuses of Dionysus in the zone, the case of Locro: Str. 6.1.8.
46. Str. 5.2.9. On the famous panegyris of the lucus Feroniae, attended by Sabini
and Latini and its survival in Augustan times, see Dion Hal. 3.32; 4.49; Liv. 1.30.5.
Cf. Gabba (1975) 155; Coarelli (1988b) 127ff.
47. Str. 5.3.5. See further Biffi (1988) 271. Generally speaking, Strabo shows a
major interest in Italic and Greek cult places, both extant and extinct, and sees
them as physical signs of Italy’s qualities and magnetism; cf. Rouveret (2000) 49.
48. Str. 5.3.10. Strabo also mentions the existence of a sacred precinct
(hieron timenon) in Fregellae, which was venerated by the people of Minturnae,
5.3.6. The continuous religious activity on the sanctuary, close to the Via
Latina, is also attested in Iul. Obs. 52, see further Coarelli (1987) 23-33; (1991)
177-85.
49. Str. 5.3.12. On the popularity of the Nemus Dianae and the rituals under-
taken in the sacred place at the end of the republic and under Augustus, see
Coarelli (1987) 174ff.; Green (2007) 26ff.
50. On Strabo’s interpretation of ethnic identity in this passage see Ammirante
(1988) 376-80.
51. On Sabini and the antiquity of their traditions see Musti (1988) 235-57; Biffi
(1988) 263.
52. According to Biffi (1988) 272, the Atellana, originally in Oscan language
were celebrated already in the fourth century, cf. Cic. Fam. 7.1.3.
53. Livy reports that in 180 BC the inhabitants of Cumae addressed to Rome a
petition of permission to use Latin officially in their territory, 40.43.1. Further
Velleius Paterculus 1.4.2, claiming that sed illis diligentior ritus patrii mansit
custodia, Cumanos Osca mutavit vicinia. Cf. Frederiksen (1984) 100; Biffi (1988)
288.
54. The gymnastic contest in Augustan Neapolis are mentioned by Suetonius,
Aug. 98.9: tamen et quinquennale certamen gymnicum honori suo institutum
perspectavit et cum Tiberio ad destinatum locum contendit. The survival of Greek
institutions in Roman Neapolis and the special status of the city is attested in
several sources, cf. Cic. Balb. 21: In quo magna contentio Heracliensium et Neapoli-
tanorum fuit, cum magna pars in iis civitatibus foederis sui libertatem civitati
anteferret; Vell. Pat. 1.4.2: Pars horum civium magno post intervallo Neapolim
condidit. Utriusque urbis eximia semper in Romanos fides facit eas nobilitate atque
amoenitate sua dignissimas. Varro reports the existence of Greek phratria in
Neapolis: LL 5.15: Sunt qui a fratria dixerunt: fratria est Graecum vocabulum
partis hominum, ut Neapoli etiam nunc phratria. See further De Martino (1952)
333-43; Biffi (1988) 293. An up-to-date archaeological study of the city and its
territory is provided by Zucca (ed.) (2005).
55. As Prontera underlines, (1988) 100, Strabo’s interest in the Greek institu-
tions in Neapolis contrasts with the absence of information on these aspects
provided by the author for other Italic cultures.
99
Marta García Morcillo
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