Item of the Day: Geographia Antiqua Delineata (1775)

Full Title: Geographia Antiqua Delineata; or, Antient Geography, Exhibited in a Set of Thirty-one Maps: Comprehending all the Several States of Greece, and the Numerous Parts of the Roman Empire, contained in the Greek and Latin Classicks, viz. Homer, Virgil, Ovid, Lucan, Eutropius, Corn. Nepos, Justin, Quin. Curtius, Sallust, Livy, Caesar, Plutarch, Xenophon, Herodotus, and Others. To which is added, A Map of the Places Mentioned in the Old and New Testament. The Whole Containing Several Hundred Places not laid down in Former Publications, with their Numerous Errors rectified. Designed for use of Schools. By Sol. Bolton; and engraved by the late Mr. Thomas Jefferys, Geographer to the King. London: Printed for R. Sayer, and J. Bennett, map and print sellers, 1775.

PREFACE.

The utility of the following collection of Maps, is too obvious to need any apology for their appearance, as the great omissions and considerable errors in all former collections for the use of Students, render it absolutely necessary to have a complete and correct set published; which was in great forwardness before the death of the Editor, since when it has been finished with as great care and exactness as their size will admit of. They are designed chiefly for the Students of Universities, and gentlemen of learned academies, to whom, their time being employed in literature with Greek and Latin authors, a correct set of Antient Maps cannot but be entertaining, useful, and improving.

All gentlemen who make their studies regular, will endeavour to be masters of the ancient geography, at the same time they study the modern; because the present system of maps and charts can be imperfectly useful without a collection of Antient ones to explain, not only what we read in the Jewish history, and Bible geopgaphy, but the multitude of places, and remarkable events, that we observe in perusing the celebrated works of Greek and Roman authors; and consequently Justin, Nepos, Sallust, Caesar, and Livy, have been, in our schools, taught with as much success as Terence, Virgil, Horace, and Cicero. And notwithstanding care has been taken to explain, by notes, in school-books, the names of hills, rivers, and cities; pointing out what kingdom or province they are situated in, yet for want of draughts to describe these kingdoms, and their divisions into provinces, neither the distance nor the respective situations of the places want of which distinction great confusion must necessarily arise in the mind. For which reason, to all the valuable editions of such schools-book as have wanted them, maps have been added; but as these editions have been necessarily held at so great a price, as not to be easily obtained for the youth at schools, for whom it was needful to print editions of a cheaper sort, so consequently in them these helps were omitted; to supply which this collection of Maps of the Antient World, and of such parts of it chiefly as are mentioned in the Classic Authors, is designed; wherein are described the chief citi4es, towns, rivers, and mountains, in as perfect a manner as so confined a size will admit; whereby the scholar will be able, by inspection, to see their situations, and, observing that each degree in the scale on the sides of the maps, contains about 60 miles, he may, in some tolerable manner, judge of their distance from each other.

LIST OF MAPS.

1. A Map of the World, as known to the Antients.
2. The World, with Greece and Italy, according to Justin.
3. Ancient Greece, in its whole Extent.
4. Hellas, or Greece, with the Kingdom of Croefus, according to Herodotus.
5. The Roman Empire, at its Beginning, according to Florus.
6. The Roman Empire in its growing State, according to Florus.
7. The Roman Empire, according to the Commentaries of Caesar.
8. The Roman Empire, according to Lucan.
9. The Roman Empire at its highest State, in the Reign of Trajan.
10. The conquests made my Pyrrhus, King of Epirus, according to Plutarch, ante Christum 280.
11. The Expedition of Hannibal into Italy, ante Christum 216.
12. A View of the Civil War between Pompey and Caesar.
13. The African War, according to Julius Caesar.
14. Syria, and Assyria, according to Ptolemy and others.
15. The Persian Empire under Cyrus the Great.
16. The Persian Empire, divided by Darius Hystaspis into 20 Provinces.
17. The Return of so many of the 10,000 Greeks as survived the Battle of Cunaxa, according to Xenophon, ante Christum 400.
18. The several Expeditions of Alexander the Great, according to Q. Curtius, Arrian, and others, ante Christum 330.
19. The Dominions that were subdued by Demetrius Poliorcester, whose father, Antigonus, was killed at the Battle of Ipsus, in Phrygia.
20. The Compass of the Trojan war, according to Dirtys and Dares, ante Christum 1184.
21. The Navigation of Ulysses, according to Homer, from his Birthplace Ithaca, to the Siege of Troy.
22. The Navigation of Aeneas from Troy to Rome, according to Dionysius.
23. The Navigation of Aeneas, according to Virgil.
24. The Expeditions of Agesilaus, King of Sparta, according to Xenophon.
25. Antient Gaul, according to Caesar.
26. Boeetica, or the South Part of Spain, as described by Caesar, in the Spanish War.
27. Places mentioned in the Church History of Eusebius.
28. Lybia, according to Herodotus.
29. Egypt, according to Herodotus.
30. The Journeyings of the Israelites mentioned in the Mosaick History. Also the Land of Canaan, shewing the Divisions of the Twelve Tribes of Israel, and the most remarkable Places in Joshua and Judges.
31. The Extent of St. Paul’s Travels, mentioned in the New Testaments.