Physiognomy and Geosophy of Pergamon according to Aelius Aristeides

Abstract

Geographical depictions in ancient texts are often personal, biased, subjective, and sometimes imaginative. Therefore, the concept of geosophy coined by J. Kirtland Wright is important in terms of examining the geographical narratives and expressions in historical texts. According to him, geosophy is the study of geographical information in all respects and covers both true and false geographical ideas of all manner of people. Hence, Wright emphasizes that intuitive, imaginative and subjective thoughts are also valuable in geographical perception and should be taken into consideration. Examining all kinds of information related to the geographical perception in the texts from past to present brings the concept of geosophy closer to history as a discipline. In this study, physiognomic and geographical definitions of Aelius Aristeides, an orator and sophist of the 2nd century CE, about Pergamon, which is the most important ancient settlement of Kaikos Valley, and its surroundings are examined in terms of geosophical subjectivity and imagining categories. Thus, it is revealed that the examination of the narratives of ancient texts on terrestrial space from the geosophical point of view can offer new perspectives in studies on ancient history and historical geography.