CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

INTRODUCTORY.

Importance of the History of Geography—Subdivisions of Geography:
(i) Mathematical, (2) Physical, (3) Descriptive and Political, (4) Historical—
The Mediterranean Sea the Starting point in the Enquiry—Its Advantages
—Commerce and Settlements of the Phoenicians in the Aegean Sea, in
Africa and Sicily, and at Gades—Their selfish Policy detrimental to Know-
ledge-The Greeks; their Qualifications for the Study of Geography-
Greece a suggestive Country for this Subject, in its General Features, and
its Peculiar Phenomena—Disappearance of Rivers—Currents of the Euri-
pus—Volcanic Phenomena and Earthquakes—The Study of Geography
almost confined to the Greeks—Greek Explorers—Greek Scientific Geo-
graphers—Hardly any Roman Geographers—Geographical Eras and Cen-
tres—Greek Colonies—Miletus and the Ionian School—Herodotus—Early
Expeditions—Alexander's Campaigns—Foundation of Alexandria—Roman
Conquests—Augustan Age—Ptolemy—Stimulating Influence of Geogra-
phical Discoveries—Curious Information thus obtained—Means of testing
the Reports of Early Travellers—Marvellous Narratives not necessarily
Incredible..........i—18

CHAPTER II
GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOMERIC PERIOD,
The Argonautic Legend—Its Historical Significance—Homeric Conception of
the Earth-The River Oceanus-The Giant Atlas-Geography of the
Homeric poems—The North and East of the Aegean—Interior of Asia
Minor—Greece—Accuracy of Local Epithets—Description of the Styx-
Inaccurate Account of Ithaca—Outer Geography of the Iliad; .of the
T, b