This geographical treatise offers a clear, comprehensive and thorough overview of ancient geographical thought from its mythical origins in Homer to the fall of the Roman Empire. Duane W. Roller vividly captures the spirit of wonder, excitement, and adventure that pervaded the geographical endeavors of the Greeks and Romans. The study of ancient geography rests on three elements, often independent of each other, but which must be considered in combination. The first is empirical information: topographical data collected by people who actually travelled. The second element of ancient geography is the theoretical approach to the nature of the earth. This was originally the subject of research by natural philosophers, as there was no empirical data beyond the apparent curvature of the earth and what one could discern in one’s surroundings. The third issue that concerns a modern scholar is the sources. The loss of ancient literature has been particularly hard on geographical texts. Only four geographical textbooks have survived, and they date back to the Roman period. Given these limitations, the amount of geographical knowledge acquired in Greco-Roman antiquity is impressive. Classical scholars, geographers, historians and all those who are interested in the fascinating and mysterious way in which the Greeks and Romans perceived and recorded the world around them, both near and far, will find in this textbook a wealth of information about maritime routes and distances, which were recorded at sea and exchanged between sailors in the ports where they met.