Periplus Totally Explained

Everything about Periplus totally explained

A periplus (περίπλους, literally "a sailing-around' in Greek, roughly corresponding to the Latin navigatio, a "ship-voyage") in the ancient navigation of Phoenicians, Greeks, and Romans was a manuscript document that listed in order the ports and coastal landmarks, with approximate distances between, that the captain of a vessel could expect to find along a shore. Several examples of periploi have survived:

The Periplus of Hanno the Navigator, a 6th century BCE Carthaginian colonist and explorer, described the coast of Africa from present-day Morocco deep into the Gulf of Guinea.

The Massaliote Periplus, a description of trade routes along the coasts of Atlantic Europe, possibly dating to the 6th century BCE

Pytheas of Massilia, (4th century BCE) On the Ocean (Περί του Ωκεανού), hasn't survived; only excerpts remain, quoted or paraphrased by later authors.

The Periplus of Pseudo-Scylax, generally thought to date to the 4th or 3rd century BCE.

The Periplus of Scymnus of Chios is dated to around 110 BCE.

The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea was written by a Romanized Alexandrian in the 1st century CE. It gives the shoreline itinerary of the Red (Erythraean) Sea, starting each time at the port of Berenice. Beyond the Red Sea, the manuscript describes the coast of India as far as the Ganges River and the east coast of Africa (called Azania).

The Periplus Ponti Euxini, a description of trade routes along the coasts of the Black Sea, written by Arrian in the early 2nd century CE. A periplus was also an ancient naval manoeuvre in which attacking triremes would outflank or encircle the defenders in order to attack them in the rear.

Further Information

Get more info on 'Periplus'.

External Link Exchanges

Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:

<a href="http://periplus.totallyexplained.com">Periplus Totally Explained</a>

Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned.