The Periplus of Pseudo-Skylax and its Relationship with Earlier Nautical Knowledge

Abstract

This study focuses on the Periplus of Pseudo-Skylax, a controversial document from the late fourth century bc. Despite diverging views on its date and authorship, scholars agree this text could have derived most of its information from earlier and non-extant, nautical sources. This article contributes to addressing gaps and limitations concerning the Periplus’s relevance and the forms in which such currently lost information circulated at the time of, and preceding, its publication. Its aim is to identify the contents in the Periplus of Pseudo-Skylax which the author could have obtained from earlier nautical sources; compare them with other, maritime-derived extant documents; and further analyse this information from a practical and sailing perspective.