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Beyond the Pillars of Hercules: the classical world seen through the eyes of its discoverers
History of exploration in ancient times.
- GenresNonfiction
272 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1966
About the author
Rhys Carpenter
54 books1 followerFrom wikipedia: Rhys Carpenter (August 5, 1889 – January 2, 1980) was an American classical art historian and professor at Bryn Mawr College.
Carpenter was unconventional as a scholar. He analyzed Greek art from the standpoint of artistic production and behavior. He argued for dating the Greek alphabet to the eighth century B.C.
Early life and career
Carpenter was born in Cotuit, Massachusetts in 1889. He received his B.A. in Classics from Columbia University in 1909. Carpenter won a Rhodes scholarship at the University of Oxford, studying at Balliol College. There he published his own poetry and earned a second B.A. (1911), upgraded to an M.A. in 1914.
He spent the year 1912–13 at the American School of Classical Studies in Athens. The president of Bryn Mawr College, Martha Carey Thomas (1857–1935) invited Carpenter to establish a department of classical archaeology at the college, which he did while completing his own graduate work at Columbia University; he completed his Ph.D. in 1916 with a dissertation on The Ethics of Euripides.[1]
By 1918 he was already a full professor at Bryn Mawr. In 1918 Carpenter married Eleanor Houston Hill. In 1926 Carpenter became professor at the American School of Classical Studies in Athens, and established the school's journal, Hesperia in 1932. He also was instrumental in the planning of the American excavations of the agora in Athens. He returned to teaching at Bryn Mawr College and also delivered the Martin Classical Lectures at Oberlin College, which appeared in print as The Humanistic Value of Archaeology (1933). He was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1935.[2] He delivered the Sather lectures in 1946 on "Folk tale, fiction, and saga in the Homeric epics."[3]
Carpenter was unconventional as a scholar. He analyzed Greek art from the standpoint of artistic production and behavior. He argued for dating the Greek alphabet to the eighth century B.C.
Early life and career
Carpenter was born in Cotuit, Massachusetts in 1889. He received his B.A. in Classics from Columbia University in 1909. Carpenter won a Rhodes scholarship at the University of Oxford, studying at Balliol College. There he published his own poetry and earned a second B.A. (1911), upgraded to an M.A. in 1914.
He spent the year 1912–13 at the American School of Classical Studies in Athens. The president of Bryn Mawr College, Martha Carey Thomas (1857–1935) invited Carpenter to establish a department of classical archaeology at the college, which he did while completing his own graduate work at Columbia University; he completed his Ph.D. in 1916 with a dissertation on The Ethics of Euripides.[1]
By 1918 he was already a full professor at Bryn Mawr. In 1918 Carpenter married Eleanor Houston Hill. In 1926 Carpenter became professor at the American School of Classical Studies in Athens, and established the school's journal, Hesperia in 1932. He also was instrumental in the planning of the American excavations of the agora in Athens. He returned to teaching at Bryn Mawr College and also delivered the Martin Classical Lectures at Oberlin College, which appeared in print as The Humanistic Value of Archaeology (1933). He was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1935.[2] He delivered the Sather lectures in 1946 on "Folk tale, fiction, and saga in the Homeric epics."[3]
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 26, 2014
I found this both fascinating and frustrating, with the latter dominating.
The subject matter is engaging enough: an survey of ancient Egyptian, Carthaginian, & Greek expeditions outside of their own lands. This includes early Greek forays to the western Mediterranean and Black Sea; Egyptian & Carthaginian explorations around coastal Africa; ventures into the African interior (limited though they were), Pytheaus the Massilian's journey to Britain and Ultima Thule (Iceland?), etc. Along the way, it touches on a host of related subjects-- geography, anthropology, trade, politics, ancient shipbuilding/seamanship, etc. The author tries, where possible, to rely upon ancient texts to recount these expeditions-- primary ones where they exist, secondary ones where they do not-- and then seeks to use modern knowledge of geography, linguistics, astronomy, climatology and ecology, and other features to see if it is possible to corroborate these ancient accounts. As such, a lengthy quotation from say, Herodotus, may be followed by data from a publication of modern "Sailing Directions" from the U.S. Hydrographic Office.
So, why did I find this frustrating? Mainly, it was style. The prose is horribly long-winded, self-important, and contorted to my ears. Run-ons abound and even grammatically correct sentences are needlessly wordy. In nearly every paragraph, we get a phrase like, "In the light of such evidence it is impermissible to deny credence to the explicit statement that the Garmantes drove chariots…" that could have instead just been something like: "This evidence supports the claim that the Garmantes drove chariots." Also, rhetorical questions are plentiful, and there are times when the author utilizes the technique of argument-by-assertion, dismissing potential counter-arguments and propping up his own weaker claims simply by stating that the claims are true (e.g. "We must assume that…" and "There can, of course, be no uncertainty about…" It all just made for a slow read, and one that made me think that the author was sometimes trying to lead me along by his sheer enthusiasm and confidence, rather than evidence.
Also, the book needed more maps. Lots more maps.
In fairness, though it should be noted that this is a 50-year old book, and that it's author was in his 70s when he wrote it-- so, it may just be that some of my stylistic criticisms come down to a multi-generational gap in taste. (At times, it does read like a late Victorian novel, rather than a 20th century work of popular history.) Ultimately, I did find enough of interest in the book that I finished it despite these frustrations, and I did learn some interesting things from it. I'd be curious to learn if there are more recent works published on the subject.
The subject matter is engaging enough: an survey of ancient Egyptian, Carthaginian, & Greek expeditions outside of their own lands. This includes early Greek forays to the western Mediterranean and Black Sea; Egyptian & Carthaginian explorations around coastal Africa; ventures into the African interior (limited though they were), Pytheaus the Massilian's journey to Britain and Ultima Thule (Iceland?), etc. Along the way, it touches on a host of related subjects-- geography, anthropology, trade, politics, ancient shipbuilding/seamanship, etc. The author tries, where possible, to rely upon ancient texts to recount these expeditions-- primary ones where they exist, secondary ones where they do not-- and then seeks to use modern knowledge of geography, linguistics, astronomy, climatology and ecology, and other features to see if it is possible to corroborate these ancient accounts. As such, a lengthy quotation from say, Herodotus, may be followed by data from a publication of modern "Sailing Directions" from the U.S. Hydrographic Office.
So, why did I find this frustrating? Mainly, it was style. The prose is horribly long-winded, self-important, and contorted to my ears. Run-ons abound and even grammatically correct sentences are needlessly wordy. In nearly every paragraph, we get a phrase like, "In the light of such evidence it is impermissible to deny credence to the explicit statement that the Garmantes drove chariots…" that could have instead just been something like: "This evidence supports the claim that the Garmantes drove chariots." Also, rhetorical questions are plentiful, and there are times when the author utilizes the technique of argument-by-assertion, dismissing potential counter-arguments and propping up his own weaker claims simply by stating that the claims are true (e.g. "We must assume that…" and "There can, of course, be no uncertainty about…" It all just made for a slow read, and one that made me think that the author was sometimes trying to lead me along by his sheer enthusiasm and confidence, rather than evidence.
Also, the book needed more maps. Lots more maps.
In fairness, though it should be noted that this is a 50-year old book, and that it's author was in his 70s when he wrote it-- so, it may just be that some of my stylistic criticisms come down to a multi-generational gap in taste. (At times, it does read like a late Victorian novel, rather than a 20th century work of popular history.) Ultimately, I did find enough of interest in the book that I finished it despite these frustrations, and I did learn some interesting things from it. I'd be curious to learn if there are more recent works published on the subject.
February 17, 2018
A fascinating approach to pre-history's great explorers, examining the routes of discovery based on ancient texts.
At times the writing is a little cumbersome and overlaid, but it is an interesting read which questions some of our accepted norms and sheds light on many forgotten, and even unknown, heroes and travel pioneers.
At times the writing is a little cumbersome and overlaid, but it is an interesting read which questions some of our accepted norms and sheds light on many forgotten, and even unknown, heroes and travel pioneers.
July 26, 2019
Brilliant!! I really enjoyed this book. It does what it says in the subtitle, but this is no dry as dust rendition of ancient accounts, it really brings the people to life explaining the constraints that they worked under, the limits of the documents that have survived and does a very good job of explaining some of the more obscure points. Wonderful.
November 15, 2024
Very detailed and well-written, though a bit dry.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews