"Imaginary Geography" in Caesar's Bellum Gallicum

Abstract

Caesar"s "imaginary geography" of Germania as an infinite extension without any patterns but simply endless forests contrasts with his presentation of Gallia as an overviewed space. Within these geographies different concepts of space prevail, all of which serve to explain why his celeritas ceases in Germania. Having crossed the Rhine and thereby entered terra incognita like Alexander and Pompey, he refrains from campaigning because of the geographical conditions. By alluding to Scythia"s similar space and Darius" failure, he shows himself to act prudently. It is also a characteristic of the imperator optimus to know when a venture is too risky.

Cut and covered: Subfossil trees in buried soils reflect medieval forest composition and exploitation of the central European uplands

“…Up to the late Holocene dense forests covered most of the central European uplands. These forests were mentioned by writers of antiquity as, summarized, the “Hercynian Forest” (Latin Hercynia silva ; Krebs, ), representing the high altitude (barbaric) opposite of the (Roman) civilization living at lower altitudes. Large parts of this area were still forests in the 12th/13th centuries A.D., which separated political territories such as the Duchy/Kingdom of Bohemia and the Margraviate of Meissen (later Duchy and Electorate of Saxony), forming in the Erzgebirge and its foothills the Miriquidi silva (Engl.…”

Subversive Geography in Tacitus'Germania

“…For Caesar, this cohesion provided a justication for his continued aggression, and dened the limits of his responsibilities. Krebs (2006) argues persuasively that Caesar's depiction of Germania was largely determined by his own strategic goals and self-promotion. 4 On the issue of the absent prologue, Beck 1998: 14-16.…”

“…For a recent survey on geography in the ancient world, Dueck and Brodersen 2012. On the rôle of geographical knowledge in classical texts see, for example: Thomas 1982; Romm 1992; Sundwall 1996; Evans 1999; Evans 2005; Dueck 2000; Jones 2005; Krebs 2006; Riggsby 2006: 21–46.…”

“…While Caesar is ‘brave and daring enough an explorer to cross the Rhine and enter terra incognita ’, he is prudent enough to avoid risking his troops in a space not conducive to military action. Caesar employs geographic descriptors to ‘create a boundless and indifferentiated [sic] space … In doing so he accounts for his (in)action in Germany’ (Krebs 2006: 132; 124).…”

Innovation and Cliché: The Letters of Caesar

“…The senate's refusal to read this letter casts Caesar as the wronged statesman making extraordinary efforts to achieve peace with dignity and the rejection of Caesarian closure (in appropriately epistolary form) implicitly 15 White (2003) 92. 16 Krebs (2006) Suet. Div.…”