Is it necessary to introduce Richard Talbert’s Atlas of Classical History? Since its initial publication in 1984, the book has been reprinted on numerous occasions and has been used by successive generations of students of ancient history. For maps and plans of the Greco-Roman world, this source offers a reliable overview. Since the 1980s, however, there have been significant developments in historical geography, as evidenced by the comprehensive Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World (2000), edited by the same Richard Talbert. It provides a detailed inventory of all known locations from the various periods of antiquity, including their coastlines and geographical features, and is supported by a regularly updated bibliography on https://pleiades.stoa.org/.
This revised edition of the Atlas of Classical History has benefited from this formidable tool. The atlas now includes 130 full-colour maps derived from the Ancient World Mapping Center’s Map Tiles, which employ the WGS 84 coordinate system and the web Mercator projection (EPSG:3857). So far as is practicable, the tiles restore landscape, rivers and shorelines to their ancient aspect. A large part of the accompanying text has been revised by a team of thirty authors and fourteen students (who are referenced in full at the end of the preface).
Regulars of the Barrington Atlas will find their bearings in a number of ways. They can use the Gazetteer to locate all mentions of a particular place or city, or they can refer to the Locator cards, which allow them to find specific plans or maps:
- Battles, cities, regions, shrines to around 300 BCE (p. 1)
- Rome’s Empire and Beyond (including Battles) (pp. 114–115)
The atlas is organised chronologically, with maps ranging from ancient Egypt and the Near East between 1200 and 500 BCE to the Roman Empire and Successor Kingdoms around 530 CE. These two maps are new to this edition, but they are not the only ones.
The following commentary follows the order of the atlas and compares it with the first edition. The maps on pp. 1–77 focus on the Greek world. As expected, both the maps and the commentary have been revised in light of bibliography through 2023 (pp. 201–210).
The early history of Greece has been given a new map entitled “Neolithic and Bronze age Greece and the Aegean” (pp. 6–7), which shows the precise location of the sites for each period. Some studies have been augmented, such as the site of Troy, which is the subject of a more detailed commentary accompanied by not just one but two plans of the citadel and its subsequent development, as well as a plan of the lower town. A number of maps have been revised, including those of Knossos (p. 10) and Mycenae (p. 11), which now include a new map of the surrounding sites within the citadel’s boundaries. To enhance visual clarity, the maps of the Homeric World have been colour coded.
The atlas incorporates recent developments in historiography, with the maps entitled “Dark Age Greece” and “Late Geometric Greece” being reworked and replaced by a map entitled “Iron Age Greece.” Additionally, the explanatory notes have been updated. Some articles, for example the one about Greek Colonization, have remained relatively unchanged. Furthermore, the commentary and data on the map of the Persian Empire (pp. 22–23) remain unchanged, while recent scholarship has proposed more precise routes for the Royal Road.[1]
Colours often make maps and battle plans easier to read, as in the case of Thermopylae, Artemision, Salamis, and Plataea. This is also the case in the map Growth of Macedonian Power 359–336 BC (p. 58), where the colours provide more clarity in the various annexed regions than the dot maps allowed. On the other hand, the choice of the relief map as a background for the dialect map c. 450 BC (p. 47) makes it somewhat less legible than the original map.
In comparison to the map of the Persian Empire (pp. 60–61), the map of Alexander’s campaigns from 334–323 BCE is of a significantly higher accuracy. Instead of providing a vague itinerary, the former illustrates the most likely route, taking into account archaeological evidence and topography. It should be noted, however, that the map entitled “The Hellenistic World: The Kingdoms” shows Hellenistic cities and regions rather than the kingdoms themselves. It would have been beneficial to have a map of the 3rd, 2nd and 1st centuries BCE showing the kingdoms of the Diadochi, or at the very least the Seleucid, Lagid, and Attalid zones (as in the New Pauly Atlas[2] or the French Atlas de l’Antiquité grecque by editions Autrement[3]), which would provide students with a more comprehensive understanding of the “kingdoms.”
Some maps and detailed plans of the cities have been refined. For example, the city of Alexandria is presented with a street grid (p. 66), while Pergamon includes data on the Roman period (p. 77). Delos (pp. 78–79) is presented at three distinct scales: that of the island as a whole, that of the area between the stadium district and Mount Kythnos, and that of the city centre between the agora of the Delians and the agora of the Italians.
The Etruscan-Roman world is discussed from p. 80 onwards, with a map of Etruria and a new summary map showing the peoples of Italy and their languages in the 1st century BCE (pp. 84–85). In addition to the map of Latium (p. 86), a map of Campania (p. 87) illustrates the proximity of Greek and Roman settlements in this region. The map of Roman expansion (p. 89) is no longer limited to 268 BCE; instead, it extends to 241 BCE, in accordance with the commentary. The different phases of colonization in Italy up to the time of Augustus (p. 92) are highlighted by coloured dots and two inserts.
It should be noted that some of the maps of settlements in the original edition have been removed, including those of Luna and the site of Veii. Conversely, the city of Rome is depicted at various points in time, including 300 BCE with the Roman forum (p. 91), at the end of the Republic (p.101), at the time of Augustus (p.116), at the death of Trajan (p. 128), and at the death of Constantine (pp. 184–185). The addition of a map of Portus (p. 120) to that of Ostia enables a more comprehensive understanding of the relationship between the two ports and the Tiber.
With regard to conquests, while the map of the Roman Campaigns (58–30 BCE) provides a good overview of the main battle sites (Gergovia and Alesia for Gaul, for example), it could be suggested that it lacks a certain dynamism. It would have been beneficial to highlight the expansion of the Roman Empire and the route taken by the imperatores. Some battle plans have been withdrawn, such as Cynocephalus (197 BCE), Thermopylae (191 BCE) and Pharsalus, in favour of the siege of Numantia and its region in 133 BCE (p.100) and the naval battle of Actium (p. 107)[4].
The authors have skillfully combined the three relief maps of Italy, the regions, and the Augustan sites into a single map that illustrates the known communication routes (pp. 108–109: Italy from Alps to Campania). In addition, Corsica has been included on the map, and a paragraph has been devoted to it (p. 111). The enhanced colour plan of Pompeii (p. 123), offers a more accessible understanding of the site. Similarly, the extended plan of Herculaneum (p. 124), incorporates the Villa dei Papiri, providing a more comprehensive representation of the original site’s dimensions.
Like the previous one, the atlas provides a map of the Roman Empire around 60 CE (pp. 130–131), followed by regional maps. The map of Britain (pp. 132–133) also depicts Hadrian’s wall (p. 135) and the Antonine walls (p. 136), which are presented in a separate map. However, the map of Silchester (Calleva Atrebatum) is no longer included. The map of the Iberian peninsula (p. 138) is complemented by a plan of the copper-producing Vipasca region (p. 139).
Two pages are dedicated to the African continent, from Mauritania Tingitana to Libya (pp. 140–141), whereas half a page is devoted to Proconsular Africa and Numidia. Additionally, a plan of Thamugadi (p. 139) and another of Cyrene (p. 145) have been included. The map of Gaul (p. 147) may be perceived as less clear in colour than the original version, particularly with regard to the boundaries of the provinces. However, the map of the gradual installation of the limes on the Rhine and Danube is much more legible thanks to the colours differentiating the emperor (p. 151).
It appears that the Eastern Regions have been the subject of greater attention than in the previous atlas. A map of Roman Greece is provided (p. 155), while the eastern part of Roman Asia Minor allows for the tracing of Roman routes as far as Artaxata in Armenia (pp. 162–163). The atlas also includes plans of Aphrodisias in Caria (p. 157), Antioch in Syria under Tiberius and Theodosius (p. 165), and Dura Europos (p. 166), as well as a map of Jerusalem-Aelia Capitolina (p. 167). Furthermore, an image of the Madaba mosaic has been included. In addition to the maps of the Roman Empire, there are also maps of Arabia (p. 173), India (pp. 174–175) and the Middle East (p. 173) outside the Empire.
Furthermore, there is a growing interest in the latter periods, spanning from the map of the Roman Empire in 211 CE (pp. 178–179) to that of 314 CE (pp. 188–189). This interval includes plans of Diocletian’s palatial villa in Split, dated to around 300 CE (p. 186), as well as Constantine’s capital, Constantinople (p. 187). Additionally, a map of the barbarian invasions is provided (pp. 196–197). The continuous arrows may give the impression of rapid, simultaneous progression, although the dates indicate a gradual advancement. The map entitled “Roman Empire and successor kingdoms around 530 CE” provides a useful conclusion to the period covered by the Atlas.
Although the map of the Mediterranean trade has disappeared, some maps relating to travel are a useful addition to the set:
- The map of explorers (pp. 52–53), which appeared in the original edition, gives an overview of ancient geographical knowledge.
- The map of currents, summer winds, and sea routes according to Diocletian’s edict on prices provides interesting information on the conditions of navigation in antiquity.
Three maps show routes:
- Paul’s Journeys (pp. 160–161).
- The interesting tour of the Roman Empire by Aurelius Gaius between 289–299 CE, based on a study by Kevin Wilkinson, illustrates travel in the late Empire.
- A map transcribes the places mentioned by two portable sundials (pp. 194–195), giving a glimpse of the possible places visited by their owners throughout the empire.
In sum, it can be reasonably asserted that the revised edition of this atlas will continue to serve as an invaluable resource for both researchers and students for at least the next twenty years.
Notes
[1] For example: Christian Marek, In the Land of a Thousand Gods: A History of Asia Minor in the Ancient World, Princeton University Press 2016, p. 159, Map 7 and Hélène Roelens-Flouneau, Dans les pas des voyageurs antiques, Circuler en Asie Mineure à l’époque hellénistique (IVe s. av. n. è. – Principat), Bonn, Habelt Verlag (AMS 86), p. 348, fig. 15.
[2] Helmut Schneider et al., Brill’s new Pauly: Encyclopedia of the Ancient World. Supplement 3, Leiden, 2010, pp. 115–119
[3] Laurianne Martinez-Sève and Nicolas Richer, Grand Atlas de l’Antiquité grecque, classique et hellénistique, Paris, éditions Autrement, 2019, pp. 113–119.
[4] On the subject of the “damaging nimbleness” of Antony’s ships, see Isabelle Jouteur, Johan Fourdrinoy, Germain Rousseaux, L’histoire du rémora: à quoi voulez-vous croire? Études et essais sur la Renaissance, 131. Libido sciendi, 2. Paris: Classiques Garnier, 2023, which explains the immobility of Antony’s ships at Actium.