Between rivers and the sea: The Hellenic aquatic divisions
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Kostuch, Lucyna [1]
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[1] Jan Kochanowski University
Jan Kochanowski University
Kielce, Polonia
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- Localización: International journal of maritime history, ISSN 0843-8714, Vol. 27, Nº. 2, 2015, págs. 177-191
- Idioma: inglés
- Enlaces
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Resumen
It would seem that the view of the river flowing into the sea was, for the Greeks, a natural phenomenon, unworthy of special attention – as it is for us. Nothing could be further from the truth. A careful analysis of the extant sources leads to the conclusion that the Greeks perceived a strong distinction between the rivers and the sea. Moreover, they perceived this distinction as part of the natural mechanism, not some quirk of nature that could only be recorded in the realm of paradoxography.
Moreover, in terms of géographie imaginaire, the innate ‘disagreement’ between the rivers and the sea – naturally predestined to each other’s existence – went beyond the usual aquatic division and opposition between the land and sea. This raises the question of how important this natural disagreement was to Greek culture. It turns out that perceptions about the organization of water resources reveal the Hellenic tendency to use the spatial location to explain cultural differences, political particularism and the fear of loss of historical memory. Thus, the strong distinction between the rivers and the sea is part of the Greek cultural heritage.
