DIES VENERIS PRID. NON. MART. MMDCCLII A.U.C. | IX
Cartographer: Robert de Vaugondy
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According to the Latin poet Marcus Annæus Lucanus, the story of Medusa spans from Mycenae to the farthest reaches of ancient Libya.

Ancient ‘place names often have to be interpreted in terms of the context in which they appear … The confidence with which we locate, say, “Ethiopia” today can lead to misunderstanding.’ ¹

Note the proximity of Mycenae to what the ancient Greeks regarded as Libya, just south of the isle of Crete.

Mycenae was a thalassocracy, an empire governed by the sea; ancient civilisations tended to be syncretic, absorbing customs & religious practises of neighbouring (often conquered) regions.

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¹ John Keay, The Silk Route (London: The Folio Society, 2005), 41.

Public domain image manipulated in GIMP.
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2012-Feb-06

Tags: Greek mythology | Medusa