World and Hour in Roman Minds: Exploratory Essays

by Richard J. A. Talbert

Overview

World and Hour in Roman Minds: Exploratory Essays seeks to penetrate Romans' consciousness of space and time, aspects of antiquity currently attracting intense interest. Historian Richard Talbert presents here a cohesive selection of nineteen essays, published over the course of thirty years, all but one previously appearing in widely scattered publications. Now reinforced by an Introduction and textually and visually updated, these essays document the progress of pioneering efforts to glimpse the worldviews of Romans up and down the social scale--even Julius Caesar and Claudius--and to reassess the communicative role of Roman mapping along with its strengths and limitations. Talbert interprets the Antonine Itinerary and Artemidorus and Peutinger maps afresh, visualizing the latter with a wider perspective than in previous scholarship and probing the challenges of its design, production and copying. He also casts doubt, however, on the idea that Romans conceptualized their long-distance roads as an interconnected system, as did certain comparable premodern states across the Americas and Asia. The most recent essays share findings that emerge with a shift of focus from space to time, specifically Romans' daily timekeeping by hours--another neglected dimension of their social mentalité. Talbert suggests that Romans' tracking of time should be regarded as uncannily similar to that of the Japanese before Westernization. Throughout, the essays are unified by the methods applied. The value of broader, often comparative, approaches is demonstrated, as well as the creative potential of untapped testimony and digital technology--altogether an invaluable platform to stimulate further inquiry.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780197606360
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	02/14/2023
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	43 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Richard J. A. Talbert is Research Professor of History at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. He has edited the Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World and authored Rome's World: The Peutinger Map Reconsidered as well as Roman Portable Sundials: The Empire in Your Hand.

Table of Contents

Abbreviations Introduction Part I: World and Empire in the Mind's Eye 1. Oswald Dilke's Greek and Roman Maps (1985) 2. China and Rome: The Awareness of Space 3. Grasp of Geography in Caesar's War Narratives 4. Trevor Murphy's Pliny the Elder's Natural History: The Empire in the Encyclopedia (2004) 5. An English Translation of Pliny's Geographical Books for the Twenty-First Century 6. Boundaries Within the Roman Empire 7. Rome's Provinces as Framework for Worldview 8. Worldview Reflected in Roman Military Diplomas 9. Author, Audience and the Roman Empire in the Antonine Itinerary 10. John Matthews' The Journey of Theophanes: Travel, Business, and Daily Life in the Roman East (2006) Part II: Maps for Whom and Why 11. The Unfinished State of the Artemidorus Map: What is Missing, and Why? 12. Claudius' Use of a Map in the Roman Senate 13. Cartography and Taste in Peutinger's Roman Map 14. Peutinger's Map: The Physical Landscape Framework 15. Copyists' Engagement with the Peutinger Map Part III: From Space to Time 16 Roads Not Featured: A Roman Failure to Communicate? 17. Roads in the Roman World: Strategy for the Way Forward 18. Communicating Through Maps: The Roman Case 19. Roman Concern to Know the Hour in Broader Historical Context Bibliography Index

Editorial Reviews

"Some 35 years ago, Richard Talbert began an intellectual journey into almost uncharted scholarly territory, studying world and hour in Roman minds. He now allows us to retrace the most important steps of these explorations in detail. This most welcome collection enables all readers to understand why Talbert's research has substantially changed the way we think about space and time in the Roman world." — Kai Brodersen, Erfurt University, Germany

"Talbert has developed new areas for research in Ancient History across his career. This thematic collection of essays demonstrates the steps that he took to develop some of these new lines of inquiry, notably into the views of the ancients on space and time. The essays come from both the pre-digital and the digital age, thus providing the reader with an insight into how Talbert adapted his research to the new opportunities provided by the digital revolution that reshaped how research is undertaken. He is in many ways a pioneer in searching for both new lines of historical inquiry and in adapting his research to the advantages associated with new technologies." — Ray Laurence, Professor of Ancient History, Macquarie University

"A delightful landscape of Talbert's studies displayed as a collection of important milestones in modern scholarship. This academic journey through part of Talbert's rich and brilliant career is joined by Julius Caesar, Pliny the Elder, anonymous Roman soldiers and travellers and many others. Mental and real maps intertwine with Roman spatial awareness and geographical worldview and result in a coherent array of intellectual discussions." — Daniela Dueck, author of Illiterate Geography in Classical Athens and Rome

From the Publisher