'Aegean Islands and the Province of Asia'

The Classical Review, 2007

Kentron Epistemonikon Ereunon. Epetirida, 2010

English translation of the article, Η Πτολεμαϊκή Γεωγραφία στο Βυζάντιο. Pages 1-6 are also examined in detail in my article, Maximos Planoudes and the “Diagram” of Ptolemy. The 47verse poem of Planoudes, Praise to Polemy, is translated in English for the first time and commented analytically (pp. 7-12). The 14th c. scholars and their cartographical contribution are examined for the first time, too.

2023

The paper summarizes and discusses the main theses exposed in a pre- vious book (L’America dimenticata, Mondadori Università, 2013 [in Italian]) in light of more recent results. Specifically, the work addresses the problem of explaining the origin of the systematic error on longitudes in Ptolemy’s Geographia and its logical relation with the reduced estimate for the dimension of the Earth there given. The thesis is sustained that, conversely to a frequently advanced conjecture, the shrinking of the dimension of the Earth is a consequence of the scale error on the longitudes, which, in turn, was originated by a misidentification of the Islands of the Blessed. The location of the Islands of the Blessed according the source of Ptolemy is identified in the Car- ibbean. The analysis of a passage by Pliny provides an independent and quantitative confirmation of the proposed identification, which sheds new light on possible contact among civilizations.

Change and Resilience. The Occupation of Mediterranean Islands in Late Antiquity, 2018

This paper aims to present briefly the archeological finds that were unearthed in the Dodecanese islands and date in the Late Bronze Age Ia period, the era of the Minoan floruit in the Mediterranean basin. We discuss the so−called “Minoanisation” of the Aegean, based on the literary sources and the archaeological record, trying to elucidate the reasons behind the strong Minoan influence detected, especially on the islands of the south−eastern part of the Aegean Sea. We suggest that the Dodecanese, together with Crete and the coastal areas of south−western Anatolia form an “insular” arc that displays certain specific features relating not only to the material culture and the mythical background of all these regions, but to geomorphology, environment, and climate as well.

Electrum, 2016

T h i s p u b l i c a t i o n i s p r o t e c t e d u n d e r c o p y r i g h t l a w. Al l r i g h t s r e s e r v e d. No p a r t o f t h i s p u b l i c a t i o n ma y b e r e p r o d u c e d , t r a n s mi t e d , l e n t o r ma d e a v a i l a b l e i n l i b r a r y r e t r i e v a l s y s t e ms. T h i s p u b l i c a t i o n i s ma d e a v a i l a b l e t o t h e a u t h o r s o n l y. Abstract: The article is an attempt to fi nd answers to the fundamental questions of which Roman province the individual islands belonged to and from when. The literature on the subject frequently presents the opinion that some of the Aegean Islands were incorporated into the province of Asia at the moment of its creation. The status of the other islands was, in turn, regulated by Augustus. After a meticulous analysis of sources, the author shows that such an image is oversim-plifi ed. The administrative affi liation of the individual islands changed depending on the political circumstances and the good or bad will of the Roman generals operating in the East. The eff orts of the islanders themselves were also not without signifi cance. The locations of the individual Aegean Islands were very diff erent, and some of them formally became part of the Roman Empire only during the Flavian rule.