Potere e territorio. Gli Achemenidi nei Geographikà di Strabone

Although posterity knew Strabo only as the “Geographer,” he nonetheless conceived the Geographikà as a complement to his Historikà hypomnemata, a continuation of the Histories of Polybius. Throughout his geographical work, it is possible to find many references concerning the history of the Greek world, and not only. In this framework, the Achaemenid Empire is present in the form of anecdotes on historical, ethnographic as well as linguistic aspects of the Persian world. Particular attention is devoted to those kings who played a prominent role in the confrontation between the Greeks and the barbarians (i.e. Cyrus II, Darius I, Xerxes and Darius III), while the other monarchs are nothing more than shadows. From the analysis of the passages on the Achaemenids, it is possible to argue that, in Strabo’s eyes, the Persians did not have an exclusively negative image when compared to the Parthians, and special emphasis is placed on their capability in shaping and modifying the geographical space through their technical knowledge.