Oxford University Press's
Academic Insights for the Thinking World

  • Author: Duane W. Roller

Oxford Classical Dictionary

Geography in the ancient world

By Duane W. Roller

Imagine how the world appeared to the ancient Greeks and Romans: there were no aerial photographs (or photographs of any sort), maps were limited and inaccurate, and travel was only by foot, beast of burden, or ship. Traveling more than a few miles from home meant entering an unfamiliar and perhaps dangerous world.

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Cleopatra’s true racial background (and does it really matter?)

By Duane W. Roller

Racial profiling and manipulation have existed for a long time. It has become an issue in modern politics, and over 2500 years ago the Greek historian Herodotos wrote that ethnicity was often turned to political ends. Cleopatra VII, the last queen of Egypt, is often a victim of racial profiling.

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