Blurb:

Does the ancient understanding of geography concur with modern ideas? Ancient humans did not share our ideas. They had not experienced any modern “romantic” remoulding of the nature around us – nature would rather be understood as the nature of the human mind. Nature in the ancient sense was a dangerous place to be avoided. Greek and Roman tradition shows a remarkable interest in the landscape as evidenced in Pliny the Older, Pausanias and Strabon but also in Caesar’s Commentaries. The Bible shows, however, little interest in such matters. There are very few examples of what Pierre Nora classifies as lieux de mémoire, places to remember.