A Map of the Body, a Map of the Mind: Visualising Geographical Knowledge in the Roman World

Reviews / Votes

'A Map of the Body, a Map of the Mind is a study about the relationship between geography and power in the ancient Roman world, and most particularly about the visualisation of geographical knowledge in myriad forms of geography products, including geographical treatises, histories, poems, personifications, landscape representations, images of barbarian peoples, maps, itineraries, and imported foodstuffs.' - Epistula XXVII (2024) 'This is a work that goes beyond the geographical. Although the author deals with geography and cartography, the work mainly analyzes the geographical information transmitted by all kinds of artistic material, mainly from the imperial period and located in Rome itself. The geography in most of the examples compiled has an intention that is more evocative than descriptive, transmits real landscapes, but above all awakens the imagination, suggests connections, frightens, baffles or even reassures. ... This approach goes far beyond the traditional perspective of ancient geography, which tends to focus on literary sources of a historiographical or geographical nature from an ecumenical point of view. ... In short, the idea a priori is very suggestive and worth developing.' - Gonzalo Cruz Andreotti (2025): Bryn Mawr Classical Review 'Iain Ferris presents his readers with a beautiful, rich and stimulating book that offers essential answers to the questions of how the Romans thought about the(ir) world and how this impacted their identities in time. While reading, one has the impression of engaging with an academic periplus, as it were, whereby different shores introduce fresh perspectives on former strategies for visualising geographical information in the Roman world.' - Nikolas Haechler (2025): Journal of Roman Studies