Gerrhos
Encyclopedia
Gerrhos is a place in Scythia
essential to interpreting Herodotus
' world-map, for it formed one of the corners of the great square that defined Scythia. A more familiar Gerrhos or reed-swamp — from the Alexandria
n point-of-view — lay to the east of the mouth of the Nile
. Herodotus drew a meridian
between the two Gerrhoi: that in Scythia was considered the source of the Boristhenes Dnieper. In the words of Herodotus (IV.53):
Livio Catullo Stecchini
, the unrivalled historian of earth-measuring
, assigned as Gerrhos, the area of swamps to the northeast of Smolensk
, today considerably reduced by post-glacial warming and drying of the climate
and by the conscious drainage and intrusion of agriculture. Later classical historians and geographers, such as Pomponius Mela
mislocated this Gerrhos.
Scythia
In antiquity, Scythian or Scyths were terms used by the Greeks to refer to certain Iranian groups of horse-riding nomadic pastoralists who dwelt on the Pontic-Caspian steppe...
essential to interpreting Herodotus
Herodotus
Herodotus was an ancient Greek historian who was born in Halicarnassus, Caria and lived in the 5th century BC . He has been called the "Father of History", and was the first historian known to collect his materials systematically, test their accuracy to a certain extent and arrange them in a...
' world-map, for it formed one of the corners of the great square that defined Scythia. A more familiar Gerrhos or reed-swamp — from the Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
n point-of-view — lay to the east of the mouth of the Nile
Nile
The Nile is a major north-flowing river in North Africa, generally regarded as the longest river in the world. It is long. It runs through the ten countries of Sudan, South Sudan, Burundi, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and Egypt.The Nile has two major...
. Herodotus drew a meridian
Meridian (geography)
A meridian is an imaginary line on the Earth's surface from the North Pole to the South Pole that connects all locations along it with a given longitude. The position of a point along the meridian is given by its latitude. Each meridian is perpendicular to all circles of latitude...
between the two Gerrhoi: that in Scythia was considered the source of the Boristhenes Dnieper. In the words of Herodotus (IV.53):
- As far inland as the place named Gerrhos, which is distant forty days’ voyage from the sea, its course is known, and its direction is from north to south; but above this, no one has traced it, so as to say through what countries it flows. It enters the territory of the Scythian Husbandmen after running for some time through a desert region… It is the only river besides the Nile the sources of which are unknown…
Livio Catullo Stecchini
Livio Catullo Stecchini
Livio Catullo Stecchini was a professor of ancient history at Paterson State Teachers College in New Jersey. He wrote on the history of science, ancient weights and measures , and the history of cartography in antiquity...
, the unrivalled historian of earth-measuring
Geodesy
Geodesy , also named geodetics, a branch of earth sciences, is the scientific discipline that deals with the measurement and representation of the Earth, including its gravitational field, in a three-dimensional time-varying space. Geodesists also study geodynamical phenomena such as crustal...
, assigned as Gerrhos, the area of swamps to the northeast of Smolensk
Smolensk
Smolensk is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River. Situated west-southwest of Moscow, this walled city was destroyed several times throughout its long history since it was on the invasion routes of both Napoleon and Hitler. Today, Smolensk...
, today considerably reduced by post-glacial warming and drying of the climate
Blytt-Sernander
The Blytt-Sernander classification, or sequence, is a series of north European climatic periods or phases based on the study of Danish peat bogs by Axel Blytt and Rutger Sernander...
and by the conscious drainage and intrusion of agriculture. Later classical historians and geographers, such as Pomponius Mela
Pomponius Mela
Pomponius Mela, who wrote around AD 43, was the earliest Roman geographer. He was born in Tingentera and died c. AD 45.His short work occupies less than one hundred pages of ordinary print. It is laconic in style and deficient in method, but of pure Latinity, and occasionally relieved by pleasing...
mislocated this Gerrhos.