Closed Harbours: an Open Question. Preliminary Thoughts Based on Archaic and Classical Evidence

Abstract

In archaeological publications on harbours, the phrase “λιμήν κλειστός” is often mentioned, especially when referring to the Graeco-Roman world. The expression must have a specific meaning, since it appears 14 times in the Periplus of Pseudo-Skylax, the only “Classical” nautical text that has survived to the present. Therefore, it should derive from technical, nautical terminology or, at least, should refer to a specific trait that harbours would have had in that era. Additionally, this phrase is not limited to a precise historical moment, since it also appears in other literary sources: indeed, it can be found in the geographical poem by Dionysus, son of Kalliphon, entitled Άναγραφή της Έλλάδος and in the Γεωγραφικά by Strabo. This paper is centred on the use of this phrase by Skylax for the following reasons: firstly, the Periplus of Pseudo-Skylax, despite being a controversial document, is the only text probably derived from written or oral nautical sources, and therefore it may cast light on earlier nautical jargon; secondly, it is possible that this same phrase changed over time, or that it was used with different meanings in different genres. In other words, it is not certain that the expression “λιμήν κλειστός” was used in the 6th–4th century BC with the same meaning that Strabo attributed to it in the Augustan Age; indeed, language is a complex system, which varies according to the sender, the receiver, and the circumstances.