Marcian of Heraclea (Greek: Μαρκιανὸς Ἡρακλεώτης, Markianòs Hērakleṓtēs; Latin: Marcianus Heracleënsis; fl. c. 4th century AD) was a minor Greek geographer from Heraclea Pontica in Late Antiquity.[1]
His known works are:
- A Periplus of the Outer Sea.[2][3] It mentions places from the Atlantic ocean to China.[1]
- An epitome of Menippus of Pergamon.[4]
- An epitome of Artemidorus Ephesius:[5]
Artemidorus and Menippus both likely wrote around the 1st century AD.[6] Only little survives of the epitomes, through citations in the work of Stephanus of Byzantium,[7] but in the case of Menippus there is also some manuscript material. From it, it seems Marcian had not improved much upon Menippus.[6] Early in its publication history, the work of Pseudo-Scymnus had been attributed to Marcian. Apart from his writings, philologists believe that an annotated collection Marcian made of his sources in geography formed the basis of today's extant manuscripts of these earlier works.[7][8]
References
Citations
- 1 2 Kazhdan, A. P (1991). The Oxford dictionary of Byzantium. Vol. 2. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 1302. ISBN 978-0-19-504652-6.
- ↑ Periplus maris exteri, ed. Müller (1855),515-562.
- ↑ Schoff, 1927
- ↑ Menippi periplus maris interni (epitome Marciani), ed. Müller (1855), 563-572.
- ↑ Artemidori geographia (epitome Marciani), ed. Müller (1855), 574-576.
- 1 2 Diller, 147-150
- 1 2 Diller, 45-47
- ↑ Bianca Maria Altomare, For a new critical edition of Marcianus of Heraclea (Summary of PhD Thesis)
Bibliography
- Bunbury, Edward (1879), A History of Ancient Geography among the Greeks and Romans from Earliest Ages till the Fall of the Roman Empire, vol. II, London: John Murray, pp. 660 ff
- Diller, Aubrey (1952), The Tradition of the Minor Greek Geographers, American Philological Association, hdl:2027/mdp.39015011229641.
- Dittrich, Heinrich Theodor, under the pseudonym B. Fabricius, ed. (1843), Lectiones Marcianeae..., Dresden: B. G. Teubner. (in Latin) & (in Greek)
- Müller, Karl Wilhelm Ludwig, ed. (1882), Geographi Graeci Minores, vol. I, Paris: Firmin-Didot & Co., pp. 515-576.
- Schoff, Wilfred Harvey, ed. (1927), Periplus of the Outer Sea, East and West, and of the Great Islands Therein, Philadelphia: Commercial Museum, OCLC 5303996.