Through the Pillars of Herakles: Greco-Roman Exploration of the Atlantic (review)

This fascinating and informative book helps redress the fact that, as noted in its introduction, "there has been no comprehensive study of exploration in over half a century" (xix), that is, since Cary and Warmington's The Ancient Explorers (1929). Roller has not himself attempted a comprehensive study of Graeco-Roman exploration of the oikoumene, but he has certainly covered one important chapter of that story in admirable depth: the maritime exploration of the Atlantic and its coasts. His account is organized chronologically and proceeds from the earliest Greek trading voyages of Kolaios and Euthymenes straight through to Roman military ventures; but his emphasis is very much on the Greek side of things, with a chapter also on Carthaginian expeditions, most prominently those of Hanno and Himilco (an epilogue supplies the Greek text of Hanno's Periplous with an original translation). Sensibly, Roller leaves discussion of Rome's invasion of Britain and other imperial Atlantic excursions to those who have already treated them in detail in other contexts. The strength of the book is in the close attention it gives to its one point of focus; Roller is able to give an entire chapter, for instance, to the shadowy figure of Pytheas of Massilia, the man whose On the Ocean drew the ire of so many Greek geographers.

The detailed and up-to-date research laid out in the footnotes is supplemented by Roller's own observations of the topography and physical remains of such exotic locales as the Canary, Shetland, and Orkney Islands, not to mention the famous Pillars themselves. Clearly the author became an explorer himself as he worked on this material, and his own photographs illustrate an impressive number of pages. It must be said, though, that many of these photographs, though admirably authentic, do not contribute nearly as much to the reader's understanding of the material as would detailed maps showing such features as topography, water depth and currents, and, above all, the presumed routes of the explorers under discussion. It is unfortunate that this study, so thorough and informative in other respects, includes only two maps, both vast in scope and lacking the kind of route indicators that, one would think, would be a sine qua non in a study of maritime exploration. What is more, the often unilluminating photographs have pushed up the book's price to the point where many will have trouble justifying its purchase.

My other principal criticisms have to do with matters of typography and printing, most of which are certainly not Roller's responsibility. My copy of the book was marred by a printing error which put the text of some pages much higher up than that of others, so high that headers and the tops of photographs were cut off. By a visually uncomfortable convention, dates are run together with the designation "B.C." or "A.C." (e.g., "525BC"), and why is the vaguely electrical A.C. used anyway, in lieu of either A.D. or C.E.? The plural form of periplous is given as periplooi rather than the standard form periploi, a distracting error since the word occurs so frequently in this study.

These small problems of form should not, however, obscure the great value of the book's content. Roller has isolated a topic that is both fascinating and badly in need of treatment, and the treatment he has given it is marvelously thorough, compelling, and expert. This study will illuminate the pursuits of scholars in many different fields, and, thanks to its lively style and generous provisions of background information, can be read with enjoyment by nonspecialists as well.